7. Micah #2
Dad smiled approvingly anyway. “People connect with you up there.”
That phrase again, connect. It was like church was branding, like God needed audience engagement metrics. I bit back the response threatening to climb out of my throat and reached for mashed potatoes instead. Smile. Nod. Make it through dinner. The Nottingham survival strategy.
Conversation flowed around me while I stayed mostly quiet.
Daniel talked about leadership development programs at Ascension.
Dad discussed expansion plans for another campus location two towns over.
Mom asked thoughtful questions while subtly refilling drinks and smoothing tensions before they could fully form.
Meanwhile, Caleb disappeared twice during dinner and came back increasingly jittery each time.
Nobody said anything. The machine stayed polished.
My chest tightened slowly beneath the noise of it all.
Because the thing was—I did love them. Even Dad, underneath all my resentment.
That’s what made it hard. If they were monsters, leaving would’ve been easy. Instead, they were complicated people tangled inside a system that rewarded performance over honesty, until eventually nobody seemed fully real anymore. Except maybe me. And I wasn’t even sure about that some days.
“So,” Caleb said suddenly, grinning across the table at me, “Daniel says you showed up to church dressed like a priest this morning.”
I closed my eyes briefly. My older brother started laughing again.
“Oh, you should’ve seen him.”
Dad frowned slightly. “Why exactly were you dressed like a priest?”
“Halloween party.”
“And why did you still have the costume this morning?”
I took a long sip of water.
Across the table Caleb smirked knowingly. “Oh, somebody got laid.”
“Caleb,” Mom snapped automatically.
“What? I’m just saying he looked spiritually fulfilled.”
I stared at my plate while heat crept up my neck despite myself.
Daniel leaned forward slowly. “Wait.”
I pointed my fork at him. “I need you to stop talking immediately.”
Unfortunately, that only made Caleb burst into delighted laughter.
“Oh my god, you did hook up with someone.”
“Who is it?” Daniel demanded.
“None of your business,” I said immediately.
Dad blinked. “That is enough. We have business to take care of. Micah, I expect to see you on the stage next week. Our stage. Not whatever dive you were in last night.”
And that was that. I didn’t ever agree to being in the church band, but somehow it felt inevitable when I was with them. I shoveled another bite of mashed potatoes into my mouth. At least the food was good.
The second I escaped my parents’ house I could breathe again. It was like I’d spent the last two hours holding tension in my shoulders without realizing it.
I drove home, took the fastest shower known to mankind, changed into comfy joggers and an old NASA hoodie, then headed across town to Nate’s place carrying a backpack full of dice and unresolved emotional problems. A perfect Sunday evening, honestly.
Nate and his husband Jordan lived in a small blue house near downtown with two rescue dogs and nerdy wall art that made the whole place feel warm.
The second Nate opened the door he pointed at me dramatically. “Finally!”
“I’m barely even late.”
“It feels late. The wizard needs you.”
I stepped inside while one of the dogs launched itself against my legs for attention.
“Traitor,” Nate told the dog. “You love him more than me.”
“She recognizes superior intelligence.”
“You play barbarian characters.”
“Exactly.”
That earned me a middle finger as we headed toward the dining room already covered in maps, snacks, dice trays, and miniatures from our ongoing D&D campaign.
This was where I relaxed. Not church. Not family dinners. Here, with my actual people.
Nate flopped into his chair while I started unpacking my stuff, both of us launching into an argument about whether his bard should’ve survived last session’s dragon encounter.
“He made terrible tactical decisions,” I said.
“He made artistic decisions,” Nate defended.
“He tried seducing a dragon.”
“And for one beautiful moment, it almost worked.”
A laugh escaped me, real and unforced in a way it rarely felt back at my parents’ house. Upstairs footsteps sounded a second later before Jordan wandered down, already halfway into his coat for work. He leaned over Nate’s chair, kissing him softly before glancing toward me.
“Oh good,” Jordan said dryly. “The nerd convention started early.”
“We’re discussing strategy,” Nate said.
“You’re discussing fictional dragon seduction mechanics,” ‘I corrected.
“Important distinction.”
Jordan snorted and kissed Nate one more time. “Have fun with your little fantasy football for theater kids.”
Then he pointed at me. “And you.”
I blinked. “Me?”
“You look suspiciously happy.”
Jordan’s eyes narrowed instantly. Oh no. “Wait,” he said slowly. “Oh my god.”
“I don’t like your tone already.”
Jordan gasped dramatically. “Did hot derby girl happen?”
I considered lying. Unfortunately, my stupid face apparently gave me away.
Jordan sat down in the chair across from me. “OH MY GOD.”
“Keep your voice down.”
“You slept with Robbin’ Banks?!”
“Technically, yes.”
The room exploded. By the time the rest of the group arrived ten minutes later, Nate had already apparently informed everyone that I was “romantically compromised.”
“You finally shot your shot?” Maya demanded while dropping into her chair.
“Against all odds,” Nate added.
Eli looked genuinely stunned. “I honestly thought she might kill you someday.”
“She still might.”
“That’s chemistry,” Maya said wisely.
I buried my face briefly in my hands while everyone laughed.
The thing was... I didn’t even want to talk about Robin in the usual hookup-story way.
It already felt weirdly personal. I felt important.
Which was deeply alarming considering we’d known each other for a single evening, I was getting ahead of myself.
Still, my brain kept replaying things anyway. From the way she’d smiled at me this morning, to the way she’d curled against me half asleep. The fact that she’d agreed to dinner tomorrow still made me giddy… in a manly way of course.
Tomorrow. My chest tightened pleasantly just thinking about it.
“You’re doing the face again,” Nate said.
“What face?”
“The one where you look like a golden retriever that accidentally found love.”
“I do not.”
“Umm… yeah you do.”
Maya stared at me with a watchful gaze. “Okay, actual question. Is this a hookup hookup or are we entering emotional territory?”
I stared at my character sheet way too long before answering. “I don’t know yet.”
Which shut everyone up for exactly half a second. Then came the advice, the terrible, and absolutely unusable, advice.
“Bring flowers,” Maya said.
“No flowers. Derby girls hate flowers,” Nate said.
“That feels sexist somehow,” Maya said.
“Pretend to be emotionally unavailable. Women love that,” Eli offered.
“Eli, your marriage is hanging by a thread,” Jordan offered from the doorway.
“That was harsh!” Nate said.
Eli shrugged, “Valid though. Don’t take advice from me.”
Nate pointed at me seriously. “Just be normal.”
“I am normal.”
The entire table stared at me silently.
“I hate you guys,” I admitted, even as a smile curved my mouth.
Dice started rolling after that, conversation shifting toward dragons, spell slots and increasingly chaotic campaign decisions. Which was good, I was ready to get the attention off me and back onto the game.
But honestly?
Part of my brain stayed somewhere else the entire night.
Counting down until dinner tomorrow when I got to see Robin again.