I pushed myself away from the desk. I could now feel the aches in my lower back from sitting for so long. Staring at the results on the monitor, I should have been satisfied. That had to be the tenth straight match, and I was at the top of the leaderboard again. I glanced down at my phone and sighed. It was getting a bit late, but nowhere near time to truly call it a night on a Friday evening.
I tapped a few keys and the game closed away to my desktop. I sat for a few minutes and felt the boredom begin to settle in once more, glancing around the room as if an idea were going to leap into my head. The dorm room was neat and tidy, lit only by the colorful lights from my desk. I started to regret not accepting the invitation to go out.
For a moment I considered finding my books and studying. I scoffed at myself. Any work I had to do for my classes was already completed. The thought of being a bookworm on a Friday night was depressing anyhow. I could go out somewhere alone, which was equally exciting, but looking down at the cozy set of sweats and the tank top I wore reminded me that lounging in my dorm room was more appealing.
I glanced at the door. The room was dark. I was alone, wearing only a simple pair of sweats. I was seated at my computer. For some reason, this mental checklist began taking my brain toward a devious place in my mind, like it was conditioned to go there. I checked the time. I had no idea how long Dalton and the others would stay out.
I resisted the urges for as long as I could. It seemed ridiculous, but the feelings kept swallowing me up inside. The temptation seemed to whisper suggestions in my head, telling me it would all be fine. Before I even consciously made the decision, the web browser was open and I was pecking away into the search bar.
Thumbnails were blasted onto the screen. Suggestive images and sweaty flesh filled my monitor and a wave of satisfaction flooded my body. It smothered any feelings of regret until they were gone. My hand drifted over my sweats to my crotch instinctively.
I never heard the door open, but I heard it shut.
White hot panic shot through me. In a fraction of a second I only had time to click once, and the window on the screen was minimized. I didn't even have time to curse myself.
I spun in the chair to see Dalton enter the room carrying a bag.
"Hey man," he greeted me.
"Hey," I said.
Dalton looked at me, then a smirk formed on his face.
"Am I interrupting something, Ian?" He asked.
I gave him a bored look, hoping to deflect the question.
"Hey, you know there's no judgement from me," Dalton said chuckling.
I shook my head. "Just finished binging Atlas Peak. Pretty sure I just swept about fifteen straight matches."
Dalton reached into the bag and offered me an energy drink. I watched his eyes to make sure they didn't drift to the monitor, or the open tab near the bottom of the screen.
"You're still playing Atlas?" He shook his head as I took the can. "There's better things to do with your life, man."
"Well, I definitely need something better to play," I added.
Dalton smiled and made a face as he crossed the room to the mini-fridge near the bunks.
"You should've went with us man," Dalton told me. "You gotta get out of this room sometime."
"Was Jessie with you guys?"
Dalton rolled his eyes at me. "Yes."
I shrugged. "Then there's no chance I would go anyway."
My roommate laughed.
"Dude, it was four cards, man," Dalton said. "Two of them weren't even good cards."
"Yeah, and two of them were rare cards," I added. "Which he lied about taking. Which he used in a tournament that he won."
Dalton looked up from the mini-fridge and gave me a face. He went back to restocking the fridge with drinks but kept shaking his head.
"Still pretty dumb if you ask me," I heard him say.
"How was the movie?" I asked, tired of talking about Jessie.
Dalton's expression told me all that I needed to know.
"Well, I wouldn't say it was bad," he said, "I just don't know that I'd recommend it. Basically all the good parts were in the trailer. Chase even fell asleep. I'd be surprised if they still do a sequel."
I eased my hand toward the mouse, shifting the cursor toward the bottom of the screen. Two clicks would be all that was needed. Two seconds, if I did it right. Just as I built the courage to do so, Dalton stood up and shut the door to the mini-fridge. My hand jerked away.
"Are you still coming to the tournament tomorrow?" Dalton asked me.
I nodded. "I guess. As long as Jessie doesn't try to play those cards again."
Dalton snickered. "It's his uncle's computer store, dude. He's letting us use the space as long as we clean up. Whole place is ours for the day. He said we can set up tables and everything. It'd probably be a bad idea to make a scene there."
"I'll be fine," I said.
Dalton opened the wall locker in corner and pulled off his shirt. I respectfully spun away from him when he changed out of his jeans.
"Hey, Shadow Hunt is coming out next month," Dalton said as he kicked his jeans away. "That's the like... stealth shooter multi-player thing I was telling you about? It should be right up your alley."
I glanced at him. "A stealth shooter? How does that even work?"
Dalton crossed the room to the computer where I sat. He still wore only his briefs.
"It's the one I was telling you about the other day," Dalton said.