Lust in Ecstasy: Love, Lies and Revenge
Chapter 53: Meet The Team.

Chapter 53: Meet The Team.

Eric watched me, curiosity etched across his face, his brows furrowing slightly.

"You already know about Esther, right?" I finally said.

"Yeah," he replied, reaching for a bottle of water and taking a sip.

I exhaled, running a hand through my hair. "Well... I kinda fucked Abby too."

Eric damn near choked on his water.

Before he could recover, I hit him with another.

"And Abby caught me and Faith kissing like half an hour ago."

Eric coughed again, setting the bottle down and wiping his mouth. He stared at me like I’d just told him I was moving to Mars.

"You—" He stopped, shook his head, then let out a low laugh. "Bro, what the actual fuck?"

I shrugged, leaning back against the couch. "Yeah, that about sums it up."

Eric ran a hand over his face, still processing. "So let me get this straight. You fucked Esther. You fucked Abby, the youngest sister right? And now, you were making out with Faith... and got caught by Abby?"

"Yeah... Pretty much."

He let out a whistle. "Damn bro. You work fast."

I rolled my eyes. "That’s not the point, Man."

"Okay, okay." He held up his hands, smirking. "So... what’s the problem then? Is Abby mad? Did Faith freak out?" He paused. "Or are you just realizing you might actually have feelings for one of them?"

I shot him a look. "Seriously Eric, It’s a really bad situation."

He chuckled, stretching out on the couch. "Alright, man, serious talk—how do you wanna handle this? ’Cause right now, it looks like you’re about to star in your own personal soap opera."

"One more thing..." I exhaled, rubbing my temples. "I caught Joyce cheating on my uncle—with his friend."

Eric sat up straighter, his smirk fading. "Wait—what?"

I nodded, running a hand through my hair. "Yeah. Saw it with my own eyes."

Eric let out a low whistle. "Damn. That’s messy."

"Tell me about it." I exhaled. "And now, on top of everything else, I have that to deal with."

Eric rubbed his chin, thinking. "So... what’s your plan? You gonna tell your uncle?"

I hesitated, running a hand through my hair. "I wasn’t planning to, but now... I don’t know. If Abby decides to run her mouth about me and Faith, it’s gonna stir up a mess. And if that happens, I might have no choice but to drop the truth about Joyce."

Eric let out a low whistle. "Damn. That’s a whole lot of chaos waiting to happen."

"Yeah," I muttered. "And I’m right in the middle of it."

"You’re sitting on a ticking time bomb," Eric finished.

I sighed, leaning forward, elbows on my knees. "Exactly."

He studied me for a moment before shaking his head. "Man, you really do have a talent for getting caught up in the most ridiculous situations."

"Not helping, Eric."

He smirked. "Wasn’t trying to. But look, if you’re asking me, I’d say focus on your own mess first. Figure out where you stand with Faith, Abby and Esther before you even think about getting involved in Joyce’s drama."

I nodded slowly. "Yeah... maybe you’re right."

Eric grinned, leaning back. "Of course I am. Now, about Faith—are we talking serious feelings, or is this just another fun little complication?"

"Wait, you’re not gonna insult me for misplaced priorities?" I asked, genuinely confused.

Eric stood up, stretching before chuckling. "Dude, I don’t think you realize this yet, but you’re an adult now. What you do with your life? That’s on you." He smirked. "Girl problems? Meh, not the worst thing to have."

I rolled my eyes, but he wasn’t done.

"That being said," he continued, leveling me with a look, "you need to get your shit together. You can’t let this mess derail your plans for the future."

I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck. Tsk, he was right. He was almost always right. Annoying as hell.

After a moment of silence, I exhaled. "Alright, wise guy... what do you think I should do?"

"Honestly, I don’t know..." Eric said with a shrug. "Just let things play out on their own. But I don’t think you’ll be around much longer when it all turns to chaos, though."

I frowned, his words sitting uneasily with me. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

Eric didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he reached into a bag beside him and pulled out a sleek, gray-plated laptop.

"I called you earlier because I had something to show you, remember?" he said, placing the laptop on the table.

"Yeah... yeah, I remember," I said, feeling a little guilty. "Sorry, I was gonna ask about that."

He waved it off, opening the laptop. "Trust me, after you see this, all that other shit? It won’t even matter."

Eric’s fingers flew across the keyboard as he pulled up several documents, images, and what looked like a chat log. I leaned in, my curiosity now outweighing the mess I had left behind at home.

"So, you know how you’ve been going on and on about your game idea?" Eric started, glancing at me.

"Yeah?" I said slowly.

"Well," he smirked, turning the screen toward me, "I found a team."

I blinked, then leaned closer, scanning the information. A group of developers, designers, and even a writer—each with a solid portfolio—were listed on the screen.

"Wait... what?" I looked at him, stunned. "Are you serious?"

"Dead serious," he said, stretching back in his chair. "These guys? They’ve worked on some indie games that blew up. Nothing too crazy, but enough to prove they know what they’re doing. I reached out, pitched your idea—anonymously, of course—and they’re interested."

"You pitched my idea?" I asked, not sure whether to be impressed or pissed.

"Relax," he chuckled. "I didn’t give them everything, just enough to hook them. They loved the concept—an open-world survival game with a unique AI-driven ecosystem? That’s gold right now."

I stared at the screen, my heart pounding. This was actually happening. The game I had dreamed about for so long—something I always assumed would be a someday thing—was suddenly within reach.

"They want to meet," Eric continued. "Video call, nothing serious. Just to get a feel for you, see if you’re as passionate as I made you sound."

I exhaled sharply, running a hand through my hair. "Damn, Eric..."

He grinned. "I know, I’m a genius. But real talk, are you ready for this? Because if you say yes, there’s no half-assing it. You either commit, or you let this go."

I looked back at the screen, at the names of the people who could help turn my dream into reality.

This was it.

A real chance.

I took a deep breath and nodded. "Set it up."