Chapter 3: Garlic Butter and Twitch Secrets

Honestly, I didn’t have much faith in Ryan’s cooking—until I saw the steaming bowl of garlic butter noodles on the table. The noodles were slick and rich, the garlic so strong I could practically taste it in the air. I felt warm and weirdly safe, like maybe this summer wouldn’t be so bad.

“You actually know how to cook.” I sat down, awkward and a little embarrassed, but surprised. I didn’t expect to feel so…taken care of.

He snorted a laugh. “Eat. I’m gonna go grind some ranked.” He waved the spatula like a mic drop, swaggering off toward the stairs.

I ate the noodles he’d made, watching as he strode upstairs. The butter and garlic clung to the noodles, and for a second, I felt like I was in one of those cozy home-cooking commercials.

This past semester, I’d only been able to watch him on Twitch. Half my saved clips are just him ranting about random stuff. It’s kind of comforting, in a weird way.

Other female fans could shamelessly call him ‘husband.’ Sometimes I’d see it in chat, bold and blushing pink.

But I would blush just typing those words in chat. My hands would hover over the keyboard, then backspace every time. I think I’m hopeless.

He was streaming upstairs, while I sat downstairs eating noodles and secretly watching his stream. My phone propped up against a mug, volume low so he wouldn’t hear.

He’d just gone live again, and fans in the chat were asking what he’d been doing.

He wasn’t as cold and aloof as usual. Instead, he raised his eyebrows and smiled: “Had to feed my buddy’s silly cat.”

He deliberately lowered his voice, so I couldn’t hear it from downstairs. Like he was letting the chat in on some inside joke.

The chat was full of curiosity about how cute the little cat was, saying he seemed in a good mood after feeding it. Everyone’s imagination ran wild—cat memes, emoji spam, the whole deal.

He looked down and started a game, smiling with a hint of mischief. “It is pretty cute.”

His voice came from my phone, making my heart race. I pressed a hand to my chest, feeling my pulse skip.

I stared at my phone, heart pounding. Was he talking about me? Did he just call me cute in front of thousands of people?