Page 91 of Shadow

Olivia was staring with her jaw slack. Ripley turned around to see a familiar man and woman entering the room.

“Wow, I think we killed the room, Riss,” the man said.

Gage stood up and went to shake hands with the couple.

“Lance, Marissa, I didn’t know you two were coming.”

Marissa hugged Gage and smiled. “Peter invited us when he found out we were in town.”

She waved at the rest of the group. “Sorry to interrupt. Keep going.”

Olivia didn’t say anything, just kept staring. But not at Lance. Her gaze was solely focused on Marissa Sullivan-Moss.

Ripley cleared his throat. “The game, Liv? You were telling Edith what she found in the pouch.”

Olivia blinked and shook her head. “Right, sorry. The pouch contains a... uh. It contains another shard of the missing cube.”

“Cylinder,” Alley corrected.

Ripley smirked. Something about Lance and Marissa was making her nervous. He suspected his girl had a bit of a crush on Marissa. Not that he blamed her.

It took a few turns, but Olivia eventually got her rhythm back, and the game went forward without a hitch.

When they reached a stopping point, she bolted from the room and Ripley let her go.

“You did fantastic, Ripley,” Alley said.

“What about me? Did I do good?” Gage asked.

Alley turned and patted him on the head. “Yes, Gage. You did good. Would you like a sticker?”

“Nah. Just let me motorboat your boobs sometime.” Gage grinned and sauntered off to talk to Lance and Marissa before Alley could respond.

“Is Olivia all right? She seemed a little nervous when Lance and Marissa came in.”

Ripley nodded. “Yeah, I don’t think she was expecting to see them here. I’m sure you know who they are.”

Alley nodded. “Oh yeah. I knew of them even before I joined Solitaire. They’re quite the power couple.”

“I think I’m going to go check on her. I’ve never known her to be nervous around people before.”

He slipped out of the Library and went in search of his girl. He found her in the quiet room. One other couple was in there snuggling on the couch, so he crooked his finger at her.

When she stepped into the hall, she gave him a shy smile. “Hey, sorry I ran out like that.”

“Everything OK?”

She nodded. “I’m fine. The game and Lance and Marissa coming in just drained me a little.”

He laced his fingers through hers, and they walked down the hall toward the main dungeon together. “What about Lance and Marissa coming drained you?”

“Shocked me is more like it. They’re a huge deal at a lot of the conventions I go to. I’ve never met Marissa, but I’ve always wanted to. She’s done some crazy cool things in tech for women. And I may or may not have a little crush on her. I didn’t know they were kinky. I should have figured it out when all of you knew who they were the other night at dinner.”

Ripley laughed. “You’re nervous. That’s adorable.”

She shoved at his shoulder. “Don’t make fun.”

Sobering, he stopped them in the middle of the dungeon and cupped her face. “I would never make fun. I’m sorry you’re nervous. It’s not something I’m used to from you.”

---