Chapter One #2
We rolled dice to determine who would go first, with the decision going his way. But I didn’t mind. It meant I’d get a look at how he deployed and could counter.
I took a sip of my now very cold coffee, lined up my dice and my tape measure, and waited for him to begin.
And if, in those opening moments, my eyes lingered on his forearms and the way his fingers grasped his models… well, that was between me and me alone.
As predicted, I didn’t make it through to the second day, but I was the closest I’d ever come to qualifying, finishing a meagre ten points outside the top placings.
I was pleased with that while also cursing myself because if I’d taken out a couple more of Jonathan’s haunted riders, I’d have made the cut.
He’d been the best opponent I’d faced all day, with our match coming down to the tiniest margin and the last possible moves.
Jonathan had taken the win, leaving me utterly stunned and breathless at his level of skill, as he’d deftly pulled the rug out from under me and taken out half of one unit, in a move I hadn’t even seen coming until he’d played it through.
If he didn’t win the tournament, I’d find a hat and eat it.
Now I was just sitting in the bar of the Premier Inn closest to the leisure centre, waiting for a table for dinner, and sipping a pint of Pepsi Max while my eyes wandered around the bar, seeing if there was anyone I knew.
There were a lot of groups gathered around various tables, some just drinking and chatting, some playing board or card games, and a couple even examining various minis and mocking up little skirmishes.
A gnawing feeling of loneliness dug under my ribs and lodged itself in my chest, and I rubbed a spot on my side as if I could make it go away.
I’d never had a lot of friends. I’d never needed anyone except Darcy and Milo, who I’d grown up with in Heather Bay.
But in the past few years the three of us had drifted apart and loneliness had snuck up on me, leaving me feeling like an outsider in my own life.
There were a few people I knew in the Sword & Flame community, but nobody I’d call a close friend. We were barely more than acquaintances.
If I had more confidence, I’d have walked over to one of the other groups and introduced myself. But I didn’t want to intrude or make anyone feel uncomfortable.
So, I was just going to sit here with my drink until there was a table free in the dining area, eat my dinner, and go back to my room.
“Mind if I sit here?” The questioner’s voice was familiar and I glanced up to see Jonathan standing in front of my table, with a leather bag over his shoulder and a glass in one hand. It looked like he was drinking Pepsi too. “Sorry, everywhere else is full.”
“It’s fine,” I said, pointing at the other low, padded chair around my table. “Take a seat.”
“Thanks.”
There was a moment of silence where I wondered if I should say something or leave him be. Then I decided to throw caution to the wind, because at least if everything went completely arse over elbow I’d never have to see him again. “I saw you qualified for tomorrow, congratulations.”
“Thank you,” he said, a small smile on his lips. The same beautiful smile I’d gotten a glimpse of that morning. “I think you were my most challenging matchup of the day. Your cavalry certainly pack a punch.”
“Thanks. It’s a combination of years of practice and crying over my dice in the hope they’ll take pity on me.”
Jonathan let out the tiniest laugh and somehow it made me want to try harder.
I barely knew the man and already I was desperate to make him smile and laugh.
Fuck, I really did need to get out more.
“I’ve still not convinced my dice to take pity on me.
But I keep buying more so maybe the fear of replacement keeps them in line. ”
“Do you play a lot of RPGs then?” A lot of the people I knew who were big dice collectors were also huge fans of roleplay games like Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and Starfinder.
I liked dice, but didn’t think there was any point in buying many since we only used standard six-sided die in Sword & Flame.
“Not really, I just like dice.”
I nodded as I sipped my drink. “I’ve always resisted buying them, but I’ve seen some amazing sets over the years.”
“There are some beautiful ones. I saw some custom ones recently with preserved flowers from someone’s wedding bouquet in.”
“Damn!”
“Yes, stunning but expensive. Although I can’t complain given that I spend a lot of my money on tiny plastic figures.”
“Hey, some of them are metal,” I said with a grin and Jonathan chuckled, his own smile widening and his soft, grey eyes lighting up.
“That’s true,” he said. “And that’s completely different.”
“Exactly! And everyone knows buying and painting minis are two completely different hobbies.”
“It’s the excuse I use every time I look at my hobby room and tell myself it’s too full,” he said with a sigh. “One day I know I’ll have to clear some stuff out but until then, I’m just going to keep lying to myself.”
“It’s the best way to do it.” Someone shouted my name and I realised it was a member of staff, indicating my table was ready.
I glanced at Jonathan and tried to ignore the way my stomach squirmed.
My dating life was just as empty as the rest of my existence, but if I was taking chances tonight then I might as well take more than one.
“Hey, I don’t know if you have any plans for the rest of the evening, but if you don’t, do you want to grab dinner with me? It looks like my table is ready.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, and for the first time I wondered if he felt like me—lonely and awkward and unsure what to do with himself. “I don’t want to—”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t have asked otherwise.” I stood up and picked up my glass, waiting for him to follow me, ignoring the thundering of my heart in my chest.