Greyson parked his suitcase by the entryway console. He turned around and looked at Kaylee. His blue eyes were quiet and steady.

That familiar stare made Kaylee's vision blur. The hallway around her warped. Her mind was violently dragged back to her computer desk ten minutes earlier. Ten minutes earlier on her Twitch stream, Kaylee was controlling her champion in the mid-lane. The vibe in the chat was light and fun.

Suddenly, the enemy mid-laner typed a toxic message in the all-chat. The ID belonged to Jax Mercer, her ex-boyfriend.

Seeing that name made Kaylee's fingers freeze on the keyboard. Her champion stopped moving for half a second and took a massive hit to its health bar.

Jax didn't stop. He typed in the public chat that she was an unwanted loser in real life. The stream chat instantly flooded with question marks.

Kaylee took a deep breath. She forced down the physical nausea of her PTSD. She couldn't lose face in front of her viewers. She put on a tone of pure disdain.

She laughed into the microphone. She fired back that not only did she have guys chasing her, but the guy chasing her was ten thousand times better than Jax.

Jax sent a mocking emoji in the chat. He dared her to say the guy's name.

Anger completely clouded Kaylee's judgment. The name of the number one player in North America flashed in her mind. She blurted out the name Killer.

The moment she said it, the chat went completely dead for three seconds. Then, a tsunami of laughing emojis erupted.

Kaylee opened her mouth to change the subject. Before she could speak, the entire stream screen was covered in a massive, glowing gold animation.

The system highlighted a notification: User Killer has entered the chat and gifted 50 Tier 3 subscriptions.

Kaylee's right hand jerked. Her mouse flew off the mousepad. Her champion walked straight into an enemy tower.

The chat went absolutely insane. Everyone was screaming about the legend actually showing up.

A custom gold text bubble from Killer floated slowly across the center of the screen: Is that so? How come I didn't know about this?

That casual question hit Kaylee like a physical blow to the chest. Her face burned hot. She wanted the floor to open up and swallow her.

Jax spammed a row of laughing faces in the public game chat. That pushed Kaylee over the edge.

She bit the inside of her cheek hard enough to taste copper. She grabbed her mouse and dragged it back onto the pad. Her eyes went cold and entirely focused.

She executed an impossible flash combo with her champion. She dove under the enemy tower and killed Jax solo.

The second the kill registered, she hit exit. She ended the stream instantly and ripped the ethernet cable out of her computer.

The memory faded away like receding water. Kaylee's eyes refocused on Greyson's face in the real world.

Greyson watched the color drain from her cheeks. He took a step forward, his brow furrowing in fake concern. "Are you feeling okay?"

The physical dominance of his size as he moved closer made Kaylee jump backward. Her shoulder blades slammed hard into the wooden shoe cabinet.

She forced a smile that felt like a grimace. She waved her hands frantically. "I'm fine. Totally fine."

The corner of Greyson's mouth twitched upward for a fraction of a second. He politely asked where his room was.

Kaylee turned around like she was fleeing a fire. She practically ran down the hallway, leading him toward the guest room at the end.

She pushed the door open and pointed inside. She kept her eyes glued to the floor, terrified to look at his face.

Greyson said thank you. He carried his suitcase into the room, leaving her staring at his broad back.

Kaylee leaned against the wall outside the door. She pressed her hand hard against her chest, feeling her heart hammering against her ribs. She still didn't know what he knew. He hadn't said anything about the stream. But he had accepted her friend request. The uncertainty gnawed at her—a cold, twisting knot in her stomach that she couldn't untie.

Kaylee pushed herself off the wall. She turned to walk toward the kitchen for a glass of water to calm her nerves. Before she could take a step, the guest room door pulled open from the inside.

Greyson had taken off his jacket. He was wearing a fitted black t-shirt. He leaned against the doorframe and looked at her.

His tone was incredibly casual. "I just moved in and I'm starving. Do you have any recommendations for late-night food around here?"

Kaylee suddenly remembered the DoorDash order she had placed. The tacos had to be close.

She needed to act friendly to cover up her massive guilt. "I actually ordered a lot of food," she offered. "You can have half."

Greyson's eyes lit up. He flashed a bright, genuine-looking smile. He followed her straight into the living room without hesitation.

They sat down on the living room sofa. Kaylee kept a throw pillow between them to maintain a safe physical distance.

The silence was suffocating. Kaylee blurted out a question to break it. "So, what kind of games do you usually play?"

Greyson pulled his phone out of his pocket. He looked at the screen casually. "I play a little League of Legends sometimes."

Hearing the name of the game made Kaylee's scalp prickle. A horrifying realization hit her. Right before she panic-quit her stream, to make her lie look real, she had sent a friend request to Killer's account.

She frantically patted the sofa cushions, searching for her phone. She needed to cancel the request before he saw it.

She grabbed her phone and unlocked it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Greyson's screen light up. He had the official game companion app open.

His long thumb scrolled down the screen. He was looking at his notification list.

Kaylee's chest tightened. She rapidly tapped the game app on her own phone, trying to log into her Bambi account.

The apartment Wi-Fi lagged. A loading circle spun endlessly on her screen. Cold sweat broke out on her forehead.

Right then, Greyson let out a soft chuckle. The sound was loud in the quiet living room.

Kaylee's hand jerked. She almost dropped her phone. She turned her head stiffly to look at him.

Greyson tilted his phone screen slightly toward her. "There's this really funny streamer who just sent me a friend request."

Kaylee felt the blood drain from her face. Her stomach dropped. "Oh? Who is it?" she asked, her voice cracking.

Greyson looked right into her eyes. He said the name slowly. "Bambi."

Kaylee's throat went completely dry. She let out a hollow laugh. "That sounds like a fake account."

Greyson raised an eyebrow. His thumb hovered right over the screen. "I don't know. I feel like it's fate."

Kaylee watched in pure horror as his fingertip tapped the green accept button.

In that exact same second, the phone gripped tightly in Kaylee's hand let out a violent, loud vibration.

The system notification sound echoed in the living room: Killer has accepted your friend request.

Kaylee shoved her phone face-down against her thigh like it was burning her. She pressed her hand over it to hide the screen light.

Greyson turned his head. His eyes were wide and completely innocent. "Why did your phone just go off?"

Kaylee stuttered over her words. "Spam call. Just a telemarketer." She shoved the phone deep into the crack between the sofa cushions.

The doorbell rang. It was the loudest, most beautiful sound Kaylee had ever heard.

She shot up from the sofa like a bullet. She sprinted toward the front door to grab the food, leaving Greyson sitting there, watching her run away as a smirk formed on his lips.

Kaylee grabbed the heavy brown paper bag from the delivery driver. She walked back into the dining area and set the DoorDash bag down on the wooden table. She let out a long breath she didn't know she was holding.

Greyson stood up from the sofa. He walked straight to the kitchen sink and washed his hands thoroughly with soap.

He shook the water off his hands. He turned to Kaylee, looking slightly embarrassed. "I actually don't know how to put a duvet cover on. Could you help me?"

Kaylee blinked. Seeing this ruthless gaming god look so helpless over a blanket felt entirely wrong.

But she was the landlord now. She wiped her hands on her jeans and walked past him into the guest room.

A pile of brand new, pure white bedding sat in the middle of the mattress. Greyson had just pulled it out of his suitcase.

Kaylee grabbed two corners of the duvet cover. She pointed at the heavy insert. "You grab those two ends."

They stood on opposite sides of the large bed. They lifted the heavy fabric, trying to shake the insert down into the cover.

Greyson, clearly unaccustomed to domestic chores, fumbled with the slick fabric. As he tried to adjust his grip, his gaze momentarily flicked upward, locking onto her face. In that split second of distraction, his massive hands misjudged the tension. He pulled way too hard, yanking the entire mass of fabric toward his side of the bed.

Kaylee wasn't ready for the force. The toe of her sock caught on the edge of the rug. She lost her balance and pitched forward.

She fell hard onto the soft mattress, a startled gasp escaping her lips.

Greyson moved instantly. He stepped forward and wrapped his arm firmly around her waist to stop her from rolling off the edge.

Through the thin cotton of her shirt, Kaylee felt the intense, burning heat of his palm pressing against her skin.

She snapped her head up. Her face was inches from his. She looked straight into his deep blue eyes, which were wide with concern.

The distance between them was less than four inches. She could feel the warmth of his breath mixing with hers.

Greyson's Adam's apple bobbed. His voice was a low, raspy whisper. "Did you hurt yourself?"

The raw gravel in his tone sent a shockwave straight to Kaylee's brain. Her mind flooded with highly inappropriate thoughts.

Her face burned like fire. She scrambled backward off the bed like she had been electrocuted. Her back slammed into the closet door.

"I'm fine!" she stammered. She turned and practically sprinted out of the room, running back to the dining table.

Greyson stood by the bed. He watched her run away, a dark, satisfied gleam flashing in his eyes.

A few minutes later, Greyson walked out of the room. He pulled out a chair and sat down at the dining table.

Kaylee had already ripped open the boxes. She pushed half of the massive burrito and a pile of spicy wings toward him.

Greyson picked up the burrito and took a huge bite. His eyes widened like a kid tasting sugar for the first time.

He chewed happily. "You have great taste in food," he mumbled with a full mouth.

Kaylee watched him eat. He looked so unguarded, so pure. A massive wave of guilt crashed over her.

She started mentally screaming at herself for the dirty thoughts she just had in the bedroom.

He was just an innocent guy hiding from crazy fans. He couldn't even make a bed. And she was standing there wanting to jump him. She felt like a monster.

To hide her panic and guilt, Kaylee grabbed a chicken wing dripping in dark red, extra-spicy sauce and shoved it into her mouth.

The brutal heat of the sauce exploded on her tongue. Her eyes instantly welled up with tears as the spice burned down her throat.