Page 38 of Confessions of a Virgin on a Dating App
I rolled a d20. A nasty grin crept across Andy’s face when he saw the 11, but it quickly turned to agony when I announced that the roll was actually a 21. He slapped his palms against his face, stumbling backward while a frustrated growl crept out of his mouth.
Cassidy and Aaron cheered. Devin’s sly grin stretched all the way across his face.
I had won the first round.
Chapter 12
My heart was still hammering in my chest as the rest of the tables finished up and Devin recorded the wins on his computer. Me, Cassidy, and Aaron watched as one last table went into overtime. At the sixty-minute mark, Devin had lightning start striking the field in random spaces, forcing the last two cowardly players out of their hiding spots. But one of them was a druid, and he was able to castThorn Growthto slow down his opponent, a dwarf fighter.
Now surrounded by dangerous thorns that slowed down his movement, the fighter was at the mercy of the lightning strikes. He struggled through the thorny field, painfully eating the damage with every step, until a well-placed lightning bolt dealt the finishing blow.
Another wave of cheers roared through the shop. Across the table, I saw Devin eye me as he clapped. He still had that mischievous grin on his face, and it set my reluctant heart aflutter.
I gulped, hoping to slow my racing heartbeat, telling myself it was just from the adrenaline rush of winning and not because of how Devin’s smile made my stomach flip. But as the applause slowed and the eliminated players slowly trickled out the door, I noticed that Cassidy hadn’t been clapping. Instead, her eyes were locked on her phone, and her lips were pressed in a thin line.
“Something wrong?” I asked.
Cassidy let out a heaving sigh of frustration. “It’s the newbie that’s working tonight. One of the boarding dogs got out, and she can’t find him. Joel is on vacation, so it looks like I’m gonna have to head down there and help.”
I frowned. Cassidy was the lead veterinary technician at her animal hospital. It paid well and she enjoyed her work, but it also meant that difficult situations usually fell on her shoulders. This wasn’t the first time she’d been texted late at night by an employee begging for help.
“I hope the dog is okay,” I remarked as she packed up her belongings.
Cassidy shrugged. “I doubt he went far. The hospital doesn’t border a main road, but it’s gonna suck looking for him in the dark. And there’s another problem.”
“What?”
“We drove here together. I uh, may need to borrow your car.”
My face fell. “Crap. You’re right. Depending on how long the final round lasts, I may end up being here pretty late.”
“That’s okay, I can drive back over and pick you u—”
“It’s okay,” Aaron stepped in, having overheard our conversation. “I can drive you, Cass.”
Cassidy’s eyebrows shot up. “You sure? The hospital is thirty minutes away.”
“It’s no big deal.” Aaron shrugged, his hands shoved deep in his pockets. “I was going to head home soon anyway. I’ll drop you back off at the townhouse once we’re done.”
My heart lifted as I tried to hide the knowing smirk on my face.Nice move, Aaron. He could play hero by helping Cassidy find the missing dog and have some time alone with her to chat on the drive down there.
As they packed up their things and left, I silently wished them the best of luck. I knew Aaron had bottled up his feelings for a long time, and it was clear Cassidy liked him too.
I just didn’t understand why she was so hesitant to admit it.
“Cass and Aaron leave?” Devin appeared behind me, a clipboard in his hands and a pencil tucked behind his ear.
“Yeah. Cass had a work emergency.”
“And Aaron is driving her?” He raised a dark eyebrow. “Interesting move.”
“Oh shut up,” I sneered, though I was grinning too. “They’ll figure it out.”
“They’d better.” Devin smirked as he strode over to theWargaveltables. He clapped his hands together, preparing to make an announcement.
“Alright everyone, we have our winners from round one! Josh, Robbie, Cameron, and Avery, please come set up at the top right table.”
Devin pointed, and the four of us settled around the table, laying out our character sheets and deciding our miniatures’ starting positions. My strategy from before wouldn’t work this time. There were only four of us, meaning that I couldn’t hide away and wait for my opponents to pick each other off. Cameron even scoffed at me choosing to start in the abandoned ruins, where there was plenty of cover.
