Since I’d moved into his house last month, I didn’t come down here often, figuring that he should have a man cave. I didn’t want to take up his entire space, and he seemed to enjoy having a place that was still just his own. Sometimes he played games for fun, but often it was research, and I didn’t want to get in his way.
Now that Andrew was on the A-list of the tech and gamer crowd, he had to be seen at high-end events at least once a month. He always came down here to unwind after being social. I couldn’t always go with him, since I now had a dozen new clients to juggle.
“You don’t expect me to murder a bunch of people, do you?” I asked, plunking myself in the center of the huge sofa.
“No. I promise.”
As he handed me the controller, I could tell by his jittery hands that he’d had a bit too much coffee today. Making a mental note to serve him a glass of wine at dinner to chill him out, I checked out the buttons as he called up a game called “Jenna’s Garden.”
“What’s this?” I laughed.
“It’s just an experiment,” he said, sitting close beside me. “As you’ll see, the graphics aren’t very smooth. Give it a try and see how much you pick up naturally.”
“Okay.”
It was rather lovely that he wanted me to help test some of his work, so I wanted to do a good job. I tried to focus on the game, but Andrew was sitting close beside me, seeming so jumpy that it was a bit distracting.
Although the animation was simple, it was a sweet adventure game. My character was some sort of pink elf, and I walked her through the elaborate garden earning points for pulling weeds and watering flowers.
After a few minutes, I was zoned right into it, learning how to compost the leaves and weeds for a boost that allowed me to go a bit faster. Meandering past the flowerbeds, I found a sparkling silver watering can.
A dialogue box in an ornate gold frame popped up. “Water everything? Yes / No?”
I selected, “Yes.” My character lifted the can, causing it to rain heavily for a moment. It played a little song while it watered the entire garden at once.
Glancing at Andrew, he was absolutely beaming as if I’d discovered some sort of secret.
Walking the pink elf back into the center of the garden, all of the flowers were now much bigger and brighter, with more complex textures. It looked more like a photo now than a video game.
“Wow, this is really pretty,” I said, then a spot of flickering light caught my eye on the left. Walking around the large flowers that were now becoming overgrown, a single red rose grew in a fancy sparkling silver pot.
As I moved closer toward it, the rose grew, its petals opening and turning toward me to reveal something inside. Zooming in, it was a very realistically rendered diamond ring.
Another gold dialogue box popped up. “Will you marry me? Yes / Yes?”
I turned to Andrew, who was on his knees in front of me, holding out a beautiful round diamond solitaire, identical to the one on screen.
My hands flew to cover my mouth, dropping the controller as I gasped.
“I love you so much, Jenna,” Andrew said softly, his deep voice slightly raspier than usual. “I love every single thing about you, but I especially love that you’re good for me. You make me a bit less of an asshole. You bring me balance. We belong to each other. Will you please marry me and make it permanent?”
Nodding, my lungs finally pulled in enough air to squeak, “Yes!”
He slipped the ring on my trembling finger, then lunged for me, flipping so that he laid across the couch with me on top of him in his arms.
Kissing him rough and deep, I finally pulled
my lips away to laugh, “You rigged the game. I only had one choice.”
“Do you think I’d actually give you the option to say no?” he chuckled darkly.
“You’re far too paranoid to give me options,” I laughed. Slowly kissing down his nose, I murmured, “You’re right. We do belong together.”
“You already plan events and have all those connections,” he said. “Let’s get married within a year, okay?”
“What’s the rush?” I asked. Looking into his deep eyes, I was shocked that he almost seemed…bashful?
“Is it weird that I want us to be married before we start trying to have kids?” he asked gently.