“Good night,” she manages to squeak out as she walks away.

As her petite frame disappears into her building, I continue trying to convince myself she hasn’t gotten under my skin with her artless charm.

I don’t feel anything for this girl.

This woman.

This weird little goddess.

This is nothing but a simple business arrangement.

Keep telling yourself that, Jacobs.

Chapter Six

Elizabeth

“I know xXGodsGift69Xx is an obnoxious prick, but the trade deal’s actually pretty sweet. He seems a bit desperate after getting sanctioned by The Federation for trading with Hellofaplace during the embargo. It’s a gamble, since no one wants to touch him with a ten-foot pole, but I think I’ll do it. What do you think?” I ask Jackie in our private video chat window while I check on the status of my small but mighty country in the background.

I’m hoping for some decent advice on the nation-building game we both play. We’re each the proud owners of first-world nations in Rule Them All, an online game where players create and run their own country. I’ve been playing since it first came out seven years ago. Players interact with other countries, forming alliances and making trade agreements. Or, they can invade and conquer. Whatever floats their boat.

The game is how we met. Being a woman gaming online can sometimes make you a target for juvenile perverts, so I try to keep a low profile. Not so much in Jackie’s case. Her player name is DominaTrix and she usually does just that, dominate. Her country is named WomansWorld. Subtlety has never been Jackie’s strong suit.

My player name, Lizbit31415, and country name, Uforia, are both gender neutral. At least, so I thought. Jackie had a hunch I was a woman. What did Jackie do? She asked me for a picture of my tits, so I blocked her account. Turns out it was a fake account she uses to troll other gamers. She messaged me from her real account, claiming she knew I had to be a chick after I blocked her. A dude would have done a Google image search and posted the first pair of tits he could find before asking for some in return. Apparently, only dudes send titty pics.

Gotta love Jackie-logic.

It’s hard to build up a country to first-world status. It takes an excruciating amount of time, skill and a bit of luck. I spend about ten hours a week playing. Then there’s forums to read and my league membership responsibilities. It’s more than just a hobby. Outside of school, this game is my whole life. One of the few things I’m good at. Jackie and I are two of only a handful of women who’ve managed it. I’m not going to say we’re famous or anything. More in-game notorious, Jackie much more than me.

Jackie’s kind of evil, in the game at least. She loves to say, “It’s a man’s world, but I run the bitch.” It’s fair to say I idolize her. But today she’s getting on my last nerve.