Page 17 of Confessions of a Virgin on a Dating App
“Uh, okay.” I glanced around awkwardly. The storage room was incredibly cluttered, but also perfectly organized, with labels on every pile of boxes. In the corner was a minifridge and a table with two chairs, the makeshift staff breakroom. “So, what does the message say?”
“Forget the message,” Devin replied coolly, and I gave him a funny look. He pointed out the door, back toward the gaming tables. “Is that guy bothering you?”
I had been grateful for Devin before, but now I felt indebted to him. There was no message in Demonic. He made it up so he could pull me away from the table and ensure I was okay.
It gave me the sudden urge to hug him, but I quickly brushed the feeling away.
“Yes,” I admitted in an exasperated tone. “I met him on my dating app. We met up, but I wasn’t interested in a second date. And… he didn’t take it well.”
“Oh boy.” Devin ran a hand through his choppy, dyed black hair. He looked frustrated and…angry? “I’ll be right back.”
“Devin, wai—”
He was already gone. I was frozen in place, hands balled into worried fists as I fretted over the awkward situation I’d caused.Maybe this is just a coincidence. Even if Anthony is being creepy, I don’t have the right to make him leav—
A sudden shout made me jolt. Someone was yelling, and it wasn’t Devin.
I bolted out of the storage room to see Anthony, red-faced and pissed, yelling obscenities at Devin as the whole table looked on in horror. Cassidy and Aaron were panicked, and the preteen boys looked like they were about to flee the table. But Devin stood unwavering, arms crossed in front of his sweatshirt and his mouth pressed in a thin line.
He wasn’t having it.
“What’re you gonna do, emo boy?” Anthony taunted. Devin still didn’t budge, his facial expression hard as a mask. “Go blab to the owner?”
“Iamthe owner,” Devin growled. “Now get out ofmy shop.”
Thankfully, Anthony relented and stormed toward the front door. But as he did, he caught a glimpse of me standing in the back room, wide-eyed and pale as a ghost.
“Bitch,” he hissed before throwing the door open, disappearing into the parking lot.
As soon as he left, my composure melted into a puddle and I fell to my knees. My heart was galloping madly in my chest, I was covered in cold sweat despite the shop being seventy degrees, and no amount of tensing my limbs would stop the uncontrollable shaking.
Is this… a panic attack?
“Avery.” Devin rushed toward me, closing the storage room door so no one would see my reaction. I staggered to my feet, doing my best to hide my frenzied nerves. I would not break down in the middle of Critical Games.
Iespeciallywould not break down in front of Devin.
My breath hitched in my chest as I forced myself not to cry. Devin led me to the break area, plopping my shaky self down in a plastic chair. His hand lingered on my shoulder for a moment, and the feeling calmed me enough for my limbs to stop trembling.
“Stay here as long as you need.”
Devin’s voice was gentle, a tone I’d never heard from him. He was always a snarky, dry-humored, endlessly teasing pain in the ass. I’d never seen him like this before.
I nodded, worried that any amount of talking would cause me to immediately burst into tears.
“Here.” Devin turned toward the mini-fridge. “Let me get you a water.”
I heard light thumping noises as he rustled around the fridge, and he eventually pressed a cold miniature water bottle into my hands. The condensation on the outside cooled my sweaty palms—another small gesture that pulled me out of my panic attack and back to reality.
“Come join us when you’re ready.” Devin walked toward the door. “Or if you need to head home, no worries.”
He left, leaving me alone in the breakroom, surrounded by silence and my own deafening thoughts. I took a few sips of the water bottle, surprised at how thirsty I was. Outside, I could hear Devin’s muffled voice and a few laughs as their game resumed.
I placed the water bottle between my thighs. As sickening as the event was, I couldn’t let Anthony get to me. I would spend some time in the breakroom, letting myself calm down, but I wouldn’t leave. I would walk back out there and finish ourCreatures & Cryptssession; creepy online dates be damned.
Besides,I thought as I tossed my empty water bottle in the trash.This session has been pretty fun.
Once I regained enough composure to go back to my seat, my party had already accepted a quest to find a missing halfling, entered a creepy cave dungeon, and picked off a whole horde of goblins and kobolds.
