Page 64 of Confessions of a Virgin on a Dating App
It was perfect. Which meant Cassidy immediately commented on it once I walked out the door.
“Aw, dressing up for your boyfriend?”
I glanced down, smoothing out the bottom of my dress. “Well, I figured I wouldn’t go to dinner with him in jeans and a t-shirt.”
Cassidy’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. “Oh, I forgot! Your date is right after the shop closes. Well, I hope you two have fun.”
“We will.”
“Let me know if you need any… privacy in the townhouse afterward.”
“Cass! It’s just dinner. I’m not ready for that yet.”
A smug smile made her eyes narrow. “You certainly were when you were drugged.”
“Oh my god,” I scoffed as I grabbed my purse off its hanger. “You’re as impossible as he is. Now let’s go.”
My heart was giddy with happiness by the time Cassidy and I made it through the doors of Critical Games.
The shop was packed forCreatures & Cryptsday, with the six tables occupied by full parties and strewn with books, character sheets, dice, and miniatures. Several patrons hovered around the front counter, picking up last-minute supplies. And at the register, typing away at his computer as he rang up a teenager buying dice, was my current favorite person in the world.
He only looked at me for a moment, but it was enough time for me to see the adoring sparkle in his eyes. My gaze was focused on the black ring around his pointer finger as he fiddled with the credit card reader. He wore a long-sleeved black t-shirt with a heavy metal band logo, one whose font was too scratchy for me to read. I also noticed that both sleeves were rolled up, revealing his colorful tattoo-clad forearms.
I wondered if he’d been feeling less self-conscious about his scars lately. Or maybe it was because it was nearly a hundred degrees outside and air conditioning was expensive. Either way, it made me happy to see him feeling so confident. In all the years I’d known him, it had never occurred to me how handsome he was.
I sighed, eager for his attention but not wanting to look like a needy puppy. So I scurried away to Sam’s table, where the heavyset, heavily bearded CM greeted me with an enthusiasticsmile.
“Good afternoon, Avery. Cassidy.” He adjusted his CM screen. Sam was older, likely in his fifties, and had a deep voice and a warm, fatherly personality. He was a regular at Critical Games and beloved by everyone, much like Devin. I knew the two of them were close, with Devin occasionally attending board game nights at Sam’s huge house out in the suburbs.
Cassidy and I settled down at the table, engaging in friendly conversation about the past week’s events while we waited for everyone else to arrive. Ten minutes later, I noticed Devin make his way to his table, where six preteen boys squabbled in their seats.
“Alright, it looks like everyone’s here!” he announced. “For the newbies: we run four-hour sessions here, so we’ll be wrapping up around 4:30. Feel free to begin!”
A warm pulse flickered in my chest. I swore Devin’s gaze had locked on me several times during his announcement.
I loved our current homebrew session, one set in the dinosaur-occupied land of Atali, but that afternoon I struggled to keep my focus. It was especially bad whenever we entered combat and I had to wait for my turn. That was when my eyes began to drift over to Devin’s table.
Critical Games was a very family-friendly place, but it could be hard to find a Crypt Master willing to work with a group full of preteen boys. Most of the CMs wanted to hang out with their own friends, and when the kids acted up it could feel a lot like an unpaid babysitting job.
But Devin was a natural. His over-the-top playstyle managed to keep the squirrely kids engaged, and he had the patience to rapidly quell arguments or tell the freckly redhead in the far corner to put his phone away for the third time. It had been particularly bad a few months earlier, when Devin had to separate a physical fight between two of the boys who were known for not getting along.
But tonight, all was well. The kids erupted in giggles when Devin started up his ridiculous Scottish barkeep accent, and they were all squabbling to be the first one to pull a quest off the job board. While the rest of the CMs were comfortably perched in their chairs, Devin was standing up, moving his arms in wild motions when the kids entered a battle. I wondered if he preferred to be standing since he was on his feet all day managing the shop.
I watched as he pulled a large, bright green dragon miniature from behind his CM screen, plopping it dramatically in the middle of the gaming map. The kids erupted in shouts and laughter, and Devin cackled like the maniacal Crypt Master that he always was.
I was smiling so much my face hurt.
I couldn’t believe it took me five years to realize how much I adored that man.
“Uh, Avery?”
My head snapped back toward my own table. Sam was staring expectantly at me.
“Your turn.”
“Oh, I, uh…”Shit.I had no idea what had happened the past few combat turns, and didn’t know which enemy would be best to hit.
“You make it so obvious,” Cassidy whispered under her breath, a stupid taunting grin on her face.
