Chapter 4
I t all came crashing down the next morning, when reality finally slapped the butterflies away.
No matter how well things went with Tristan, I would eventually have to tell him.
I tossed the sheets off my legs and pulled down my underwear, cursing my vagina for being such an uncooperative pain in the ass. I realized that I was getting a bit too hairy down there. It normally wasn’t an issue since no guy had seen my genitalia in five years, but last night’s successful date left me feeling the urge to shave.
I didn’t have an electric razor, so a manual one would have to do. Twenty minutes later, it was patchy and uneven, but significantly less bushy than before.
Now feeling more confident, I rifled through my underwear drawer until I came across my illicit secret: a small bullet vibrator. It wasn’t even an inch wide, and only a few inches long, but it was the only one I could muster up the courage to buy .
I still remembered that day, walking into Sweet Romance trembling like I was headed to my own execution. Because that was exactly what my parents would to do me if they ever found out I was buying a sex toy .
It had taken a lot of self-reassuring to get that far, telling myself that this was strictly a medical device and not something that would get me sent to the gates of hell. I hadn’t been with a man in years, and I needed to start somewhere .
But a year later, I’d made little progress. I could stick it in maybe half an inch before the burning started up and I ripped the little device out in pain. Even the vibrating feature didn’t help, although it did feel nice on my vulva.
But today, I was determined. I would push through the pain and get this stupid vibrator in my vagina, no matter what it took.
As I laid in bed with my legs awkwardly spread open, the familiar burning sensation caused me to hold back a scream. But I fought against the pain, even with my thighs clenched like iron and sweat pooling on my temples.
Eventually, my leg muscles gave out from being so tense, and I stopped. Even with the most determination I’d had in years, the vibrator hadn’t even made it in an inch.
I took a few deep, heaving breaths, ready to try again. But as soon as I slid the device back in, a knock as my door sent my limbs into a frightened spasm.
“Hey Avery, you in there?”
It was Cassidy. I scrambled toward my dresser, hurriedly shoving mounds of underwear on top of the incriminating sex toy before slamming the drawer shut.
“Uh… I’m not dressed.”
I cringed, squeezing my eyes shut. I was both embarrassed and in pain, my vagina burning from my futile masturbation attempt .
“Well, I’m headed to Critical Games for Creatures he was an easygoing, balanced Crypt Master who ran equal parts roleplaying and combat. Devin usually ran the children’s group, which meant he had a very… different playstyle. He made all his characters talk in funny accents, threw weird puzzles into every dungeon, and spent far too much time plotting out elaborate roleplay sessions at his fictional town’s pub.
I debated staying home and spending my afternoon playing video games. But I’d already told Cassidy that I’d go, and Devin was currently holding my lifestealer deck hostage. Plus, I had to admit, Devin was a good CM. He was great at making the kids laugh, and his table was always the loudest and most enthusiastic one in the shop.
That was when I decided to check my second message. And while Devin’s text had surprised me, this one made my blood run cold.
Hi Avery. How’s it going? I haven’t heard from you since Thursday. Did you want to meet up again soon?
It was from Anthony. I hadn’t contacted him since our lackluster date a few days ago.
I gulped. I didn’t want to ghost him – I had been on the receiving end of that cruel practice and knew how awful it felt. I just needed to let him down gently.
Hi Anthony. Thanks for reaching out! I had a nice time, but I don’t think we’re compatible relationship-wise. I wish you the best of luck though!
I re-read my message twice before hitting send, carefully plotting my words like a work email to a client. Friendly and professional, but firm.
The little “typing” bubble appeared immediately next to my message and stayed there a suspiciously long time. I exited out of my messages and browsed social media for a while, cringing when I saw a very long message pop up in my notifications.
Are you sure? I’m sorry, I know I was kind of awkward. To be honest, I don’t date much and I was really nervous. But I felt we had a lot in common, and I’d really love to get to know you better. Would you like to get dinner with me at—
I threw my phone on my bed, clasping my fists to my skull and trying not to scream.
I knew that online dating was hard, especially on guys. I got nervous on dates too. But I wasn’t interested in him, and nothing irritated me more than men who couldn’t take no for an answer. Because as tough as online dating could be, it only worked when there was mutual attraction. I never understood pushiness; why waste emotions on someone that wasn’t interested?
I decided to retract my former promise to not ghost the guy, as his begging didn’t deserve the dignity of a reply. Despite my earlier reservations about Creatures & Crypts , I was now relieved that I had somewhere to be for the afternoon. This guy’s message had sent chills down my spine, and I didn’t really want to be alone.
I walked away and stepped into the shower, leaving Anthony’s whiny message untouched on my bed.
Critical Games was surprisingly empty for a Sunday afternoon.
Cassidy and I arrived fifteen minutes before the start time, surprised to find most of the tables unoccupied. The only people in the store were Aaron, two preteen boys I didn’t recognize, and of course, Devin, who was standing behind the counter.
Aaron immediately rushed over to us, excitedly babbling on about how much fun this was going to be. And, as was usual when Cass and I were together, I was invisible. Aaron’s focus was strictly on my adorable curly-haired best friend. I did my best to hide my smug, knowing smile as the pair approached one of the gaming tables and sat down, still lost in conversation.
Devin didn’t even try to hide his. He looked like the Cheshire Cat as I spun around and approached the front counter.
“You think he’s ever going to grow a pair and ask her out? ”
“ Devin ,” I hissed, throwing a pretend swat his way. He laughed, his snake-bite piercings gleaming a deep onyx black color under the fluorescent lights.
“Anyway, where’s my C&C deck?”
“What, you mean this deck?” Devin fetched my sun-and-moon deck box off a high shelf behind the counter, clasping it in his upright fingers like a prized jewel.
“Yes. Give it to me.”
“You playing at my table today?”
I huffed. “ Yes . Now gimme.”
Devin made an elaborate show of presenting the deck box to me, that stupid cocky grin still plastered on his pale face. I proceeded to unceremoniously snatch it out of his hands and scurry off toward the gaming table.
Weirdo.
But once I was settled in my seat, I couldn’t help but glimpse back at him out of the corner of my eye. His black sweatshirt, one containing a band logo I didn’t recognize, slid up his torso as he placed C&C TCG booster boxes onto the top shelf behind the counter. It exposed about an inch of his lower stomach, revealing the bottom of another of his tattoos. One that I had never seen before.
My face seared red as I quickly turned away.
“So where is everyone?” I asked, pulling Cassidy and Aaron away from their starry-eyed conversation.
“There’s another C&C TCG event going on downtown,” Aaron explained, running a hand through his lime-green hair. “At the convention center. I bet it’s attracted all the game shop nerds like a magnet.”
I sighed. As much as I wanted to go to one of those events, they were incredibly expensive, nearly rivaling Disney ticket prices. Cassidy and I weren’t quite ramen-noodle-level poor, but the rising cost of living in Orlando had taken a big bite out of our paychecks for the past year.
“Indeed, the event is going on all weekend,” Devin’s voice crept up behind us as he sat down at the head of the table.
“Speaking of which, why doesn’t Critical Games attend?” Cassidy asked.
Devin shrugged. “I don’t have the staff to man both the shop and the event. And if I went myself, I’d lose too much money closing the shop for the weekend.”
Ah, that makes sense. I had always wondered what it was like to maintain a game shop. Devin had one or two employees that managed the shop on Mondays and Tuesdays when he was off, but other than that he was the sole staff member at Critical Games. I wondered how long it had been since he had a weekend to himself.
“Alright, ladies and gentlemen.” Devin gestured around the table as he adjusted his Crypt Master screen. Normally, multiple tables were playing on Sunday afternoon, but today there was only one. There were five of us players—me, Aaron, Cassidy, and the two boys, who introduced themselves as Liam and Cole.
“Okay, does everyone have their characters? Remember, at this point, you should be level eight.”
Eight!? It really had been a while since I played.
I reached into my backpack and pulled out a folder with my character sheet. I stared at my handwritten notes from several months ago and sighed. My character, an Infernal sorcerer named Sorcha, was a measly level three.
I sighed. Which was louder than I had anticipated, because everyone’s heads swiveled towards me.
“Sorry, don’t mind me,” I muttered, embarrassed. “I’ll level up while you guys start.”
“That’s okay,” Devin replied. “I’ll start everyone off with some roleplay at the pub.”
“Thanks. ”
I gripped a borrowed pencil in my hand, my eyes flipping back and forth between my character sheet and my Player’s Guide as I updated my stats and spells. But while I worked, my ears kept tabs on Devin’s roleplaying session, especially the two boys. They were preteens, both about twelve years old, and each had the same wiry builds with mops of sandy brown hair. I wondered if they were twins.
Devin ran a roleplaying session at the Drunken Donkey , the in-game tavern that Aaron had stupidly named while he was intoxicated. But the name made Liam and Cole giggle, and they burst into full-on hyena laughing once Devin started roleplaying at the barkeep in a ridiculous Scottish accent.
I couldn’t help but laugh myself. He sounded like a drunken Shrek.
Within ten minutes, I was all leveled up and ready to enter the bar scene. My Infernal, a demon-like character with horns and a tail, was all charm and sass. I couldn’t wait for her to mess with Devin’s dopey, dwarven barkeep.
“Well ‘ello ‘ere, ‘lil lassie,” Devin turned the accent up to eleven, and my face was turning bright red from trying not to laugh. I usually hated how his antics prevented my character from keeping her composure, but today I needed the humor.
Between Devin’s accent and my stupidly red face, the whole table was cracking up. We were all so preoccupied that we barely noticed the doorbell chime as someone stepped into the shop.
But as soon as I saw the visitor, all the laughter drained from my face.
Is that… Anthony?