I just couldn't keep my eyes open at that moment. I was driving myself home after a hectic day at the office. An usual day in my busy life.
Being a game developer was taking a toll on my sleeping habits.
I remembered my mom's voice through the phone nagging me to go to sleep early but I stayed awake all night busy catching Pokémon.
You can ask me why would any sane person do that. I was just staying awake to analyze the competetor's work. I was doing my job. Sure, let me live in delusion for some more time.
And look at where it got me now. I felt like I was on a different planet and I could see the Pokémon dancing in front of me. On the road. Only I couldn't seem to catch them.
Normally I was not the one to drive irresponsibly during such tough times. Yes, I know.
But my so-called bestie Rose ditched me for going on a date with her new boyfriend. I didn't have any other options. It was late and I couldn't get any Uber.
No points for guessing that I don't have other friends as I confessed about my nightly routine of escaping to the virtual world. You might think that my weekend routine would look different. Well, think again.
What about someone other than a friend? You might wonder. I have been on dates but I haven't had a serious boyfriend in my whole life. I concentrated on my studies till college so that I wouldn't lose my scholarship.
Do you expect me to suddenly become some kind of relationship expert when I came out of college? Old habits die hard. No, I am not talking about the movie. It was an awesome movie though. See, this is how my mind works.
I wasn't interested in going to parties to find someone drunk enough to listen to my work talk. And then it would not be the same on the next day when sobriety hits.
Rose was forcing me to go on blind dates but I was not the one to make good first impressions. Don't think I am exaggerating. You will see that in action soon.
It doesn't mean I had low self esteem. I wasn't exactly un-likeable. I just wanted to acknowledge that I was not an easy person to date.
You might need more details than this if you were to fill the hospital form for me in the future. Or God forbid, post my bail. Wait, I am getting ahead of myself.
I am Alex and I am working as a developer in a gaming start-up called Dez. I am definitely not a drama queen as you suspect. I am a normal guy with a little bit of sleep deprivation problem.
That might exactly sound like something a crazy person pretending to be normal would say. If I were you, I would be skeptical too. But stay with me.
Logical part of my brain was asking me to stop the car but that part was effectively silenced by the sleep demon inside me.
I could almost hear my mom saying, "Alex, I told you it's all because of that stupid job. Take a vacation and come stay with us for a while".
When I was arguing with my mom in my imagination, a car sped past me to the front and then slowed down a bit. I noticed it a bit late and hit the brakes just on time.
I finally came back to my senses and realized I almost hit another car as I wasn't paying attention.
I parked safely on the side of the road and got down to check if I have caused any damage and came face to face with the most handsome guy I have ever seen in my life.
He had blue eyes. I think. Or was it green? Well, he had eyes. Pretty eyes.
Ok, seriously? I needed to get some quality sleep. Who would describe a guy's eyes they just met as pretty? Probably me, in my heightened state of sleep deprivation.
I could see his face thanks to the car light and he had all the features you could read in a book about a hot bad guy. Maybe not bad but definitely hot. Brown hair. Tall. Muscular. Attractive. You get the gist.
I couldn't believe myself. Why was I wondering about the color of his eyes when I almost caused an accident?
I needed to apologize and I should probably pay for any damages. God. I hoped I didn't make a dent on his shiny car. It looked expensive.
He looked somewhat calm too. My immediate thought was "Wow! Nothing happened. I can't believe my luck today". I never thought I would mean it sarcastically until he opened his mouth.
A/N: Visualizer for this chapter :)
Do you love playing games and coffee? Are you secretly an Alex? You can let us know! ;)
Also, if you have come this far, my special thanks in the form of a quote dedicated to you. Yes, YOU!
Ok, it might be a bribe to get you to continue reading :)