chance meeting,
love lasting.
on a seemingly normal night, a famous creator raids a smaller streamer and sets off a chain of events that lead him to his dream girl.
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"You get five minutes, Lani." Ronnie closed the back door, leaving me alone outside the diner as the sun set.
I scrambled to answer the second call, clicking the button after the third ring. "Hey, I'm so sorry. I'm at work and it took some effort to get Ronnie to cover my tables."
"Oh, sorry for interrupting."
"Clay, no, it's okay. What's wrong?"
"I just—I needed someone to talk to. I've been dealing with some shit lately and I don't know . . . I wanted to talk to you."
"Well, I'm here. What's going on?"
"A lot of it is personal," he mumbled, then laughed airily at himself. "You know what? It's nothing. Sorry to bother you."
"Clay, please talk to me. You make me come to you when I need help."
"No, I don't want to complain or whine about my life. It's stupid."
"It's not, I promise. Please?"
He let out a shaky breath. "I've been feeling super burnt out lately. I love what I do and I wouldn't trade it for anything, but it's been one thing after another. The past few months have been such a rollercoaster. I'm missing important events in my family's lives to record or edit. I have an entire merch collection to monitor, mods and plugins to build for videos, details to work out for a new house . . ."
I fought the swirl of emotions building within me, replacing them with a safe bet: understanding.
"You're overwhelmed and that's okay. You have a lot on your plate right now." I bit my lip, choosing my next words carefully. It pained me to hear him so upset when all I wanted to do was take it away. "Maybe you should take some time for yourself? Relax, enjoy life a little, then come back and rock everything you need to do."
"You think I will?" he whispered.
I smiled, holding the phone closer. "Yeah! I know you can do it."
"Thank you, Lani. That means a lot coming from you."
"Well, I'd do just about anything to help you." I took a deep breath. "I actually wanted to tell you—"
"Nalani, time's up." Ronnie's voice came from behind me, the back door creaking as it swung open.
"Seriously, Ronnie?" I hissed, covering my phone with my palm.
"Yes! It's a damn madhouse and I need you in there doing the job I pay you to do!" He slammed the door shut, angrier than I'd seen him in months.
"You can go. I promise I'll be fine," Clay said, muffled by my hand.
