HOLIDAY HEARTS: A Love Game Gone Wrong

as dinner. The food was great, sure, but it came with t

rrowed in that "concerned" way that somehow managed to feel more judgmental than caring

Ugh. No,

who didn't judge me when I ate an entire pizza by myself. What I didn't have, though, was a boyfriend. Not for lack of trying, but... it was complicated. And by complicated, I mean t

y dinners, Christmas Eve parties, and New Year's Eve drinks,

you bringing

singl

eetie. He's out

ad en

r failed online date, I got a wild idea. I logged into the gaming forum I frequented for

Must be funny, decent at video games, and

the holidays alone in my cozy apartment, binge-watching Christmas movies while eating way too much

it

s from someone called Ken_Gamer420. I s

nus points if you like strategy games, and I can still get y

some random guy trolling, something about his confid

nd time, debating. Then,

going to be a long weekend of pretendin

r. Let's meet up befo

rse than the alternative, right? And hey, if he turned out to be

lan w

t he looked like, and I was suddenly regretting my rash decision. Was I really about to meet a guy I kne

ped out of a video game. He wore a leather jacket and jeans, a look that screamed "I'm too cool for this." He was tall, with messy br

ed around and

idened. "Lauren, right? I'm Ken. Yo

tunned by his directnes

o be nervous, I'm a pro

ou're sure you can handle thi

. "You got this, babe. Just follow my lead, and

any other choice. "Okay," I said, the words escaping my

ld be the most harmless fake relationship of my life began. Little did I kn