“Clarissa, dear. Could you be a doll and run over to the drug store and pick up my prescription? I’m not feeling the best today.” Of course, my mother did it, complaining the entire time, but she did it.
Looking up, I was pulled from my thoughts. The beer guy had been talking to me and I hadn’t even realized it.
KC-Beer – Why are you playing a matchmaking game if you don’t want a match?
KC-Beer – Hello?
KC-Beer – Did you leave?
KC-Beer – Cass?
KC-Beer – I’m sorry. Let’s just sit down and have a cup of coffee and talk. That’s all.
Cass– Sorry, I had to pee.Well, shit. That didn’t come out right. Why couldn’t I have typed, I was getting a drink, answering the phone, had company. UGH! I had to pee? Really, Cass?
KC-Beer – lol that may be a little too much. You could have just said you were busy.
Cass – I WAS busy.
KC-Beer – You’re sort of a smart ass too, huh?
Cass – Maybe.
Answering beer guy’s questions, I did my own research, finding chat rooms, blogs, and forums about the game. They were basic pick-me-up questions. I answered when I heard the ding with quick, blow me off responses.
KC-Beer – What do you like to do for fun, Cass?
Cass – Oh, read, watch television.
KC-Beer – That’s boring. I said fun. What could you spend hours doing and never get tired of it?
Cass – I like to explore abandoned buildings. Does that count as fun?
KC-Beer – Hmm? I’m not sure. It sounds a little creepy to me. What kind of buildings?
Cass – All kinds. My favorite is old farm houses and barns.
KC-Beer – Really? I’m intrigued. Maybe you should take me sometime. Let’s go outside and sit. It’s a nice evening.
I sighed. He didn’t give me time to object, he was up and walking away from me before I had a chance. That was another one of the stupid rules. You couldn’t talk to someone across the room. The person had to be looking at you before you could type unless you were friends. I wasn’t adding this guy as a friend. No way.
Following beer guy to a table outside, I tilted my head. He had a very nice backside for a fake person. I wondered how he looked in real life, betting he looked nothing like his hot character. Holding the door for me to walk in front of him, he smiled down with a toothy, white, crooked grin. I wondered if his smile was really like that and if his eyes were really that blue.
I continued to read, only clicking back to the game when I heard the beep from my new stalker’s probing questions. I didn’t respond with any of my own questions. I didn’t care what or who he was. I was on a mission and beer guy wasn’t on the map.
KC-Beer – What do you do for a living?
Cass – Look, it was nice talking to you, but I gotta go. I have to work in the morning and I need to get to bed.
KC-Beer – Okay, meet me in Club Glitter tomorrow around eight.
Cass – No. I hate Dubstep.
KC-Beer – Okay, what kind of music do you like?
Cass – I like a lot of stuff, just not that. See ya around.
KC-Beer – Tomorrow. Meet me in …
I wasn’t meeting him at the club or anywhere else. I wanted him to leave me alone. Reading through some forums, I tried to figure out if I could somehow block him. I wasn’t interested in dating. I just wanted to make it through the levels to see if Becker was there or not. I didn’t have time to be playing online video games. Well, I had time, I guess. I just didn’t want to. I was never into the video game scene. I spent too many alone hours doing it as a kid, not that it was like Jurassic Park or anything else I had mastered. My dad would never have let me online.
***
I was up extra early the following morning, psyched to hear what Marti had to say about Becker. Taking my dad breakfast and a cup of coffee, he groaned at my choice of bagel. I couldn’t help it. I was a natural born chocolate lover and if it came in chocolate, that’s what I was having.
Listening to Matt speak about the cheating spouse case he was on, I paid more attention to the way he presented himself and his professionalism more than the case itself. Feeling confident, I did just like Matt. I opened my folder and began.
“Wayne Zimmer is under investigation for fraud. He’s moved a lot, staying one step ahead of the game. I located his current residence on Piedmont. I haven’t had a chance to get any pictures yet. He hasn’t come out of his house, but after observing the lawn being freshly mowed, I figured I’d give him a couple days.” I smiled, proud of my mimicking professionalism. I glanced over to Matt, who was wearing a smirk. He was either making fun of me or he was proud. Hoping it was the latter, I turned to Marti.