The Void Bunny

"Curveball?"

"Yeah, the newcomer," Ben said, gently pushing me toward Ali. "You're here to throw off the competition and surprise the viewers. Go get 'em, tiger."

I stumbled forward and followed Ali to a bunch of reporters. They all took my photo at once, making me nearly go blind. My palms were suddenly sweating, and I felt hot all over. I was not used to this much attention.

"Just answer their questions until I come back for you," Ali said, giving me a double thumbs up. I gave him a nervous smile and turned to the reporters.

"Who do you believe will be your toughest competition?" a reporter asked, shoving a mic in my face.

"Hendrix, for sure," I said. "He's, well, Hendrix."

"How would you describe your feelings toward Heylo Games after this experience?"

"Um, good, I guess? I mean, we haven't really started the tournament yet, but I really appreciate them bringing me out here to compete."

"Is this your first e-sports tournament?"

"It is."

"We saw you speaking with Wade Deckard just now. Is there anything you can tell us about him?"

"He's a nice guy. Very down-to-earth."

And the questions continued, one after the other, rapid-fire. I felt like I was being interrogated by the reporters. They just all seemed so... serious. I was relieved when Ali came back for me, JJ in tow. He greeted the reporters with a lot of enthusiasm.

"What now?" I asked Ali.

"Chill. Explore. Make friends," Ali said, and checked his watch for the millionth time. "Tournament starts at twelve. Make sure you're back at your station by then."

"Got it, boss."

I turned around to find Ben, but he was already standing there—which scared the shit out of me.

"Jeez, give a girl a warning, would you?" I said, putting a hand over my heart.

He gave me an apologetic smile. "Sorry. Wanna chill, explore, and make friends with me? Kit was nice."

I rolled my eyes, grabbed his arm, and dragged him toward the exit. "We're getting some air."

Ben laughed. "I was kidding about Kit. I can tell she bugs you."

"Don't say that so loudly," I hissed. "She probably already hates me for knowing you."

"Why do you say that?"

"I think she's interested in you."

He raised an eyebrow and looked over his shoulder, searching for her. "Really?"

I elbowed him in the stomach and he groaned, laughing. "Kidding," he choked out.

We burst out of the exit doors, and into the back parking lot. Ben opened the door all the way, using the doorstop to keep it open. We both looked up at the sky. The hot desert sun was beating down on Las Vegas, with temperatures already in the 80s—and it wasn't even noon yet.

"Beautiful day," Ben said, shielding his eyes.

"Yeah," I agreed. "You, um, didn't tell me about the Curveball thing. Is that really a thing?"

"It is for Heylo tournaments. They always throw a newcomer into the lion's den. Sometimes they get eaten alive, sometimes they surprise us. Either way, the viewers always end up rooting for them the most. I thought this would be a cool opportunity for you to get a jumpstart in your career."

"It is. Thank you again."

"It was no biggie. The other Curveball dropped out because of carpal tunnel, so we needed another fast. They asked if I knew anyone, and I knew you, so... well, it was a no-brainer. You can hold your own with those guys in there. You wasted Koolio with a plasma grenade. The average gamer can't do that. He's the king of dodging."

I blushed, shrugging. "It was whatever. He was distracted by Hendrix."

"Don't downplay your achievements, Kindra."

"Okay, jeez," I said, rolling my eyes. "I'm the queen of throwing plasma grenades. Happy now?"

"Yes."

"You're ridiculous."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"Kindra."

"What?"

"Your fly's down."

I laughed. "These pants don't have a zipper. They're jeggings."

"Damn it," Ben said, grinning. "Thought I could get you to look."

"You're juvenile, you know that?"

"Do you suffer from memory loss?"

"No... why?"

"Because I know I've told you that I'm twenty-six. Hardly juvenile."

I groaned, covering my face. "That was so cringey."

He gave me a wide, stupid-looking smile.

"Let's go for a walk," I said, and took off. Ben ran to catch up, his hand slipping into mine. My heart jolted from the touch, but I tried not to let it show on the outside. We swung our arms, hands held tight, and walked around the convention center. The front was actually littered with—fans.

"What are all these people doing here?" I asked.

"They're here for Hendrix and Kit and JJ, and all the rest. One day they'll be here for you."

Kit stepped outside, waving. The crowd went wild as she stepped forward to sign her autograph on posters and t-shirts, and God knew what else. She was in the middle of taking a bunch of selfies when she spotted us standing off to the side. Her eyes narrowed when she saw us holding hands, so I tried letting go, but Ben just held on.

"Ben, she'll get the wrong idea—"

"Let her," he said, sounding amused. "This might stop her from hitting on me for the rest of the day."

"She's gonna think I slept my way onto the lineup," I pleaded.

Ben let go of my hand. "I'm sorry, I didn't think of that."

"It's fine," I said, turning around. "I'm going back inside."

"Kindra—"

"I said it's fine."

Ben followed me silently. I was trying not to be mad, but I kind of was. It was so easy for guys. No one had to worry about him sleeping with me—it was me sleeping with him that was the problem. Great fucking industry, right?

—

"Bunny, take aggro," Hendrix said, his character sprinting past my screen. He threw some grenades and dove behind a boulder. I did as he asked and took on a more aggressive style of fighting, switching out the sniper for an automatic rifle. I hopped down from the ledge and I gunned down the other players, reloaded quick as lightning, and splattered the screen with more blood as I killed off every respawn of poor team yellow. I was pretty bummed to find out that the tournament would have respawns, but I got over it quickly; it was fucking exhilarating getting the opportunity to waste them so many times.

"I think you earned this buff, Bunny," Hendrix said, his character sprinting over to me and transferring me an item. It was an XP multiplier, which was super generous considering that the XP was what determined who was taking home the most money in the tournament. I glanced at the KDA board. Hendrix was leading by a long shot, but I thought he more than deserved it. He was the shotcaller, leading our team to victory, and he was kicking ass while doing it.

"JJ, if you can stop fucking farming and get back into the fight, that'd be great," Hendrix muttered. JJ was farming for items and points by destroying barrels and boxes. It was considered bad manners to do it during a tournament, but he was JJ-ice, and no one but Hendrix could really tell him what to do.

"On it, boss," JJ said, and ran out of the building to join us at the battlefront.

"Someone cover Bunny. She's a goddamn glass cannon," Hendrix said, and took a ladder to get to a vantage point to snipe from. A glass cannon was a player who dealt a large amount of damage while being very fragile themselves. I had no lives left, but I was making the bulk of the kills next to Hendrix, so they needed to get me through the game if they'd have any chances of taking the win. Pierce and JJ covered me while I made my signature headshots. What made them so signature? I was able to point and scope right at the head without having to move around to find it. Years of practicing headshots had made me into the player I was today.

And it had all led up to this moment.

"Who's going to get last hit?" Zap B said, his annoying announcer voice informing the viewers. "Will it be Hendrix or Bunny?"

"It'll be Bunny for sure," I heard Hendrix say.

I gasped. Hendrix had just died, shot down by an enemy sniper, and he had no lives left. He was done. It was up to me, JJ, and Pierce now.

"Aw, fuck," AWOL, who'd already died ten minutes ago, said. "We're done for."

"Nah, we have Bunny," Pierce said, cheering as I made two more headshots against the yellow team.

"What do you say we rush them, Pierce?" JJ asked. "Bunny can come with us."

"No!" Hendrix shouted into the mic. "Bunny can't die. Viper's still in the game. She'll fucking waste you guys without Bunny making those boss-ass headshots."

Kit Viper was still alive, and while I couldn't tell how many lives she had left, I did know I'd killed her twice, and there were only six lives.

"How many kills do we have on Viper?" I asked. "I've got two."

"Three," Hendrix said.

"Holy shit, she's got one life left," Pierce said excitedly. If we could take Viper down, the game was ours.

"Someone flush her out," I said, and brought down another yellow. This time, that player didn't respawn. Our team cheered.

"She's the last one left," Hendrix said. "You guys have this."

"I've got two lives," JJ said proudly. "I'll go flush her out."

JJ ran out into the field, and Kit Viper's head popped up to make the shot, but she wasn't fast enough. I'd already made my shot, taking her down. Confetti exploded on the screen.

"BUNNY TAKES LAST KILL!" Zap B screamed into the mic.

Red team had won the fucking game. I looked up at the board and my mouth fell open.

1. Hendrix

2. TheVoidBunny

3. JJ-ice

4. Pierce1786

5. AWOL0000

Cameras were shoved in my face, pictures were taken, and I was presented with a motherfucking trophy! A few minutes later, they brought me a giant check for—twenty-five thousand dollars! I tried very hard not to burst into tears. This was too overwhelming. I thought I was going to pass out.

I searched the room for Ben, and found him walking toward me already. I was panicking, but with his eyes on me, I felt a calm wash over me. He smiled, and I knew right then that everything would be okay.

—

The afterparty started at 10:30 at OMNIA, an insane nightclub with a dazzling light show that could make you go blind. I'd gone back to my hotel room after the tournament to sleep off the rest of the day. When I woke up, I ordered in some room service for dinner, and then called Ben.

"Hey, Kindra," he said. "How was your sleep?"

"How'd you know I was sleeping?"

"Because you weren't hanging out with me, so I figured you must be sleeping."

"Ah, yes, because I can only do fun stuff with you or not at all."

"That's how it works," he said playfully. "Are you going to the afterparty?"

"Yes."

"Wanna go together? Or is that—"

"The tournament's over, so let everyone think what they want to think. It's not like we're dating."

He was silent for a moment.

"Do you think I'm an asshole?" he asked. "I almost slept with you last night—"

"Except you didn't," I said flatly. "You're not an asshole for something you never did."

I didn't want to rehash what had happened. Not now, not ever. He'd made himself clear, and I'd have to respect it—but I'd made no promises to relive the rejection over and over again.

"I came close."

"You were drunk, Ben."

"That's not an excuse for predatory behavior."

I laughed in disbelief. "You're hardly a predator. I wanted you a lot more than you wanted me."

"Kindra, that's not true."

"It doesn't really matter anymore," I said. "I'm gonna start to get ready. Meet me at the lobby in twenty?"

"Sure."

I hung up and got myself out of bed, put on a backless sequin lilac party dress, a black lace choker, holographic six-inch stiletto heels, and carried a clutch shaped like a gaming controller. I decided not to go in character to the afterparty. I would go as myself. No wig, no bunny ears, no bubbly, outgoing personality. I was just going to be me and stay as down-to-earth as possible. Keep it real.

I met Ben in the lobby. He was wearing a white button-down shirt with a small embroidered Pikachu popping out of the pocket, slacks, and dress shoes. We both kind of stared at each other, startled.

"You look good," I said.

Ben's mouth opened, but no words came out. I laughed.

"Let's go," I said.

OMNIA was only a short drive from the hotel. While sitting in our Uber, I took Ben's hand. I knew that what had happened in the afternoon had likely spooked him. He wasn't going to touch me again unless I initiated contact—so that's what I did: initiated. Ben looked at me and smiled, closing his fingers around mine.

When we'd gotten into the club, we were still holding hands. We found our reserved tables and picked a booth to slide into. The music was already playing, lights flashing, but we were going to have a couple drinks before attempting to get on the dance floor. Ben and I ordered some shots and a few beers to chase them. We were talking about the atmosphere when Hendrix showed up with Kit on his arm.

"Oh my god, you guys came together too?" Kit asked. I saw her engagement ring flash in all the bright lights and forced a smile on my face.

"I'm just here for the free drinks," Hendrix said, grinning. He walked over and put out his fist. I bumped it with my own. "Sick game, Bunny."

"Ditto," I said. Hendrix slid into a seat across from us, and Kit joined him, pushing him further into the booth.

"So, are the execs coming or what?" Hendrix asked Ben. He shrugged.

"I have no idea who's actually interested in these things."

"Well, the rest of the players are coming for sure. Except for Pierce, I think. He's got a pregnant wife at home or something, so he's probably already on a flight back," Kit said.

The server brought our drinks and took Kit and Hendrix's orders. Ben and I had ordered two shots each, so we gave one to each of them and the four of us took shots together.

"So," Kit said, eyes narrowing. "You two an item?"

"No," I said. "Just friends."

"Pretty close for 'just friends.'" She was fucking relentless. "Have you been spending the entire trip together?"

"We're not sleeping together, if that's what you're asking," I said.

"Oh, no," she purred. "I was just curious if you were sharing a room. My bad."

"No offense, Kit, but it's really none of your business," Hendrix said out of nowhere.

Her eyes flashed. "I know that. I'm just making conversation."

Ben took over the conversation by changing the topic to the tournament. We all talked about the different rounds of the game, the food that had been served for lunch, and then made fun of Zap B's voice, which was a little on the squeaky side. The waitress kept the drinks coming, and by the time the rest of the players had shown up, the four of us were buzzed.

"Dance with me, Hendrix," Kit pouted.

"Let's go," Hendrix said, downing a drink. He got to his feet and the two of them squeezed onto the dance floor. The music was blaring, and the light show was spectacular. They looked like they were dancing in another world. More drinks kept being dropped off, and I kept drinking them until I finally got the courage to put my hand on Ben's and ask him to dance. He helped me out of the booth, and we went to find Hendrix and Kit. They were dancing almost animalistically, which made Ben and me laugh.

The music was a drug, pounding in my ears, sizzling in my veins, thrumming through every beat of my heart. With Ben so close, his hands coming to rest on my waist, I felt a surge of emotions crash through me. I lived in the moment, turning around and grinding against him, moving my hips to give him a drunken idea of exactly what he was missing. It was cruel and awful and good, so fucking good. His body moved with mine, swaying and grinding and jumping to the beat of all the synth waves. When I turned around to put my arms around his neck, I noticed Kit's glare.

Fuck it.

I pulled Ben down for a kiss, just a little one, but he deepened the kiss by leaning in almost immediately. Color exploded in my eyes. I tasted the alcohol on his tongue, the delicious burn of bad decisions, and gave into the feelings that were coursing through my veins. He kissed me hungrily, his lips soft and pliant, mouth moving with mine until we weren't even dancing anymore. We were jostled by the people around us, but still, our lips stayed locked together as we made out, chasing the lust as if it was going to run away from us.

We caught up to it.

"I need you," I said, pulling back. I was so turned on that I was having trouble keeping my knees from trembling.

"Yeah, right now," Ben slurred, grabbing my hand. He tugged me right out of the club. We left without saying goodbye.

We didn't even wait for an Uber. We just went right up to the front desk of Caesars Palace and got a room. Ben fumbled with his wallet, putting the credit card away as the front desk clerk handed him a keycard. In the elevator, we made out like a couple of teenagers, not even caring that it was making other people uncomfortable. The anticipation was intoxicating, and with each second that passed, it kept building and building, until finally I was sure I'd scream if we didn't get to the room fast enough.

The elevator dinged.

"This is our floor," Ben said against my mouth. He pulled back, took my hand, and tugged me into the hall. We looked to our left and our right.

"What's our room number again?" I asked.

"I don't even fucking know," Ben said with a drawn-out laugh. He was a lot drunker than me tonight.

"You better find out soon or else..." I said, running a finger down his cheek.

"Or else what?" he asked huskily.

"Or else I'll have you fuck me right here."

He groaned and closed his eyes. "I think it's on the keycard."

"Good," I said, as I stuck my hands in his pockets, fishing for the keycard. I found it and showed it to him.

"This way," he said, grabbing my hand and yanking me down the hall. I laughed.

We found our room, burst inside, closed the door behind us, and were reaching for each other again when I saw his eyes. Bloodshot red, half-open in lust.

"Ben—"

He walked me back against the wall and then kissed me, his hands grabbing my hips to steady me. I hadn't even realized I'd been swaying. I was lightheaded, my head swimming with lust and alcohol and every bad and terrible thing we were about to do. Lips gliding, teeth nipping, we kissed again, this time with an urgency that set my heart on fire. My skin was burning from his touches, from the way his hands went from my waist to my breasts, cupping them over my clothes. I cried out as he squeezed, my sensitive nipples crinkling.

"God, you're so hot," he said, taking my face in his hands. He gave me another soul-consuming kiss and my knees almost buckled. Had I ever wanted anything or anyone or any moment so much as I wanted this? Without wasting another second, I reached out and ran my hands along his groin, finding the thickness of his erection straining against his slacks. His breath hitched as I rubbed him through the fabric. His cock seemed to throb from my touch.

"Do you have a condom?" I asked.

"I—I think so."

"You better."

He laughed. "You're per-perfect, you know that?" He could barely talk.

My heart clenched, but not in a good way.

Ben reached into his pocket, pulling out his wallet, and squashed in there was a condom. He grinned, waving it in my face, and swayed. I grabbed his arm to steady him.

"Whoa," he said, his cheeks flushed.

My heart. It was hurting.

"Ben—"

"How do y-you want to do this? Sh-Should I get naked first or should you?" he asked playfully.

I took his hand and led him to the bed.

"Sit," I said. He sat, and I knelt down and took his shoes off.

"Kin-Kindra, you don't have to—"

"Don't worry about it," I said, my voice cracking. "Get into bed, Ben. We're going to catch some sleep together."