Glitch (Next Level #1)(10)

“I’ve never let technology beat me,” I say like a fucking asshat.

My manager slips into the back room with us, inserting himself into the convo, uninvited. “It’s true.” He grabs a box of candy bars to hand out to the kids. “Glitch is a wizard.”

“Well, Wizard. I appreciate this.” Ara steps back, and it takes everything in me to not take one step forward to keep our proximity close. She smells good. Looks good. Sounds good.

Bet she tastes amazing.

“I’ll text you.”

Her gaze lingers on mine for a heartbeat. “Looking forward to it.” Ara spins around to leave and stops halfway through the shop. Turning towards me again, she tosses an easy smile my way and I swear my entire shop glows from it. “I’m so glad we’ve finally met in person, Glitch.”

She walks off before I can say something back. It’s just as well. All my thoughts jumble and words lodge in my throat as she bumps the door with her fine ass and slips on sunglasses as she heads back to her car.

“Wow,” my manager whispers.

I want to throat-punch him.

“She’s hot.”

He’s definitely fired.

“Suuuuuper hot!” says one of the kids at the chess table.

I turn my attention to the middle schoolers and grind my teeth. “Respect, boys. Show some.”

I watch her drive off and remind myself I need to practice what I preach.





Chapter 5


Ara



Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh. My. God. Glitch is hot, swoony, sexy, fire.

Holy shit. HOLY. FUCKING. SHIT!

The instant I saw him, I was done. Then I heard his deep voice say my name and my body reacted viscerally. My fucking panties are soaked. And I do mean they’re sopping wet. I’m going to have to go home and change before I finish running my errands. Holy shit, I even started sweating in front of him. This is so embarrassing.

My creativity didn’t touch his level of hotness. It should be criminal to look, sound, and smell that good. It’s unfair to the rest of us mere humans.

Glitch has to be a demon. A big, sexy, came-to-fuck-the-soul-out-of-your-body demon.

Holy shit. I can’t pull myself together. I’ve painted pictures in my head of what I thought Glitch would look like. I didn’t do him justice. I wasn’t even close. He’s taller than I thought, built but not bulky, and the ink was everywhere. Did I mention his dark hair? It curls a little at the ends and looks fun to pull while riding his face.

Wait. No. Stop thinking like that, Ara.

I can’t stop. From the instant my name left his sexy fucking mouth, I started imagining the millions of things I wanted to do to him.

He’s probably not going to be able to fix my computer. Right now, I don’t care. I just want another excuse to see him again. Would it be wrong to throw my laptop off my balcony so he can fix that next?

After I leave Glitch’s shop, I drive home on autopilot. I can’t stop shaking. I’ve never been so tongue tied, nervous, turned on, and flabbergasted at the same time before. I legit had an adrenaline rush and he didn’t even touch me.

To know I’ve been talking to this man for months and he looks like that? Fuuuuuck.

I’m not worthy. I’m too fluffy for a guy like that. Too broke. Too everything-that’s-not-good-enough.

Stop it, Ara. You’re better than that. Self-deprecation isn’t cool.

I lip-stalled back at the shop with him. I couldn’t make words come out of my mouth for the life of me. He probably thinks I’m a tool.

All the bad thoughts start creeping in and it’s hard to force them out, but I do because I saw the way he looked at me. There was no disappointment in his expression when he saw me. He actually looked hungry. And talk about matching energies. His shop had some of my favorite anime painted on the walls. I wonder who the artist was? Did Glitch paint too?

How much do we actually have in common?

Look, after my last attempted relationship, life’s gone downhill. Beyond the sex drought, I barely leave my safe spaces anymore. I’ve poured all my energy into my art. And what little bit of sex life I have is with me, myself, and an imagination full of Glitch.

I’m not sure what this says about me.

Could he tell I get myself off on fantasies I conjure of us together? Oh god. I feel so seen. So transparent and stupid.

Well so what. Maybe he should be flattered that he drives me so wild. Bet I’d make him blush with all the dirty thoughts I have of him and then he’d be the one all hot and bothered, sweating in his shop.

I drive the whole way home, imagining us together—even for one night—and it makes me feel like a dirty girl. I like thinking dirty thoughts. I like doing dirty things. But seeing Glitch in real life has added a new element to my imagination.

Oh my God. He’s probably married. If he was mine, I’d put a ring on it. One on his finger and another on his motherfucking cock.

Guys as hot as Glitch do not stay single for long. Unless he’s a player.

Ugh. He’s probably a player.

But a player would have flirted with me online by now, and Glitch never has.

Pull yourself together, Ara. I take a deep breath before heading up to my apartment. Unlocking my door, cool air hits my face and I’m suddenly not interested in running more errands today. I came home to change my outfit—because yes, I’m telling you my panties were that fucking soaked—but now that I’m here, I don’t feel like doing anything except touch myself.