He dropped his hand quickly and went to the passenger side to get in. I stood there a minute and just watched him get in the car. I was so screwed.
Time for Dungeons and Dragons!
8
Mason
I rode the high of the successful signing all the way to Lee’s parents’ house. I’d instantly liked his brothers. I thought Sonny and Hicks were as nervous and excited as I was! Lee had said they were twenty-one, but man, they looked about sixteen.
After I’d gotten through my first few fans, I realized that each one of these people was just like Jeri, someone who my stories had affected, had touched in some way. When I started thinking of them like that, as individuals who each had their own story to tell instead of a nameless, faceless crowd, it got so much easier to interact.
Plus, I'd seen Lee subtly managing the crowd in the store, doing his best to keep the numbers small so I wouldn’t panic.
My thoughts turned to Jeri’s boyfriend, Tobi. He’d been helping me move a couple of cases of my graphic novels out to Lee’s car. Lee came over to us and awkwardly thrust a chilled bottle of water at me.
“Drink this,” he ordered. My surprise must have been apparent because he added a follow up, “Um, please.”
“Uh, okay…?” I said, a little confused.
He blushed, stammering something at me about getting dehydrated and almost ran back inside.
Tobi and I looked at each other for a moment and the boy burst out laughing.
“OMG, did you see his face? Mr. Devereaux likes you!” Tobi teased.
“He does not!” I exclaimed, staring dumbly at the bottle of water in my hand, which was starting to drip with condensation.
“Mason and Lee sittin’ in a tree…” Tobi sang.
“No way. He’s just, um… health conscious,” I added lamely.
“Uh huh, riiiight…” Tobi drawled. “I’ve never seen him act like that before. I know! I bet he wants to be your Higher Power!” the boy snarked.
I narrowed my eyes at the teen and proceeded to dump half the contents of the water bottle over his head.
The ensuing water fight soon included the whole team, but we managed to keep it out of the bookstore, much to the twins’ relief.
By the time Sonny turned the Open sign to Closed, it was dark outside. I glanced at my phone, not quite believing how late it was. I saw I'd missed a number of texts from Lizzie.
LIZZIE: Hey bug! How’s it going?
LIZZIE: …Bug?
LIZZIE:…MASON!
ME: Sheesh, Liz! You realize caps don’t actually make your text any louder, right?
LIZZIE: Well, it got your attention, so I guess it worked!
LIZZIE: How did the signing go?
ME: Great! We’re just wrapping up now.
LIZZIE: What? Awful late, isn’t it? Or am I screwing up the time zone?
ME: Nah, I wanted to stay until I saw everyone to make up for not making it here yesterday.
LIZZIE: Wait. You chose to stay. And interacted with people? Who are you, and what have you done with Mason?
ME: Ha. Ha. Very funny.
LIZZIE: Seriously though…Now that we’ve popped your signing cherry, does that mean you’re ready to do more of these on your own?
ME: Maybe. Possibly? I don’t know yet. We’ll see.
LIZZIE: Go Bug! So…Any cute, corn-fed Ohio cowboys?
ME: I don’t think they have cowboys in Ohio, Liz.
LIZZIE: Sure, they do! Amish ones. Their uniforms are black and white. And they lose soccer games all the time.
ME: …I think you are seriously mixing your metaphors, Pixie Chick.
LIZZIE: DON’T CALL ME PIXIE! You know I hate that nickname!
ME: Well, you should have grown a few more inches. Then you wouldn’t be the size of one.
We continued text squabbling for a while as I packed up the rest of my gear. Lizzie really was the closest thing I’d ever had to a sister. Hicks and Sonny came over to the table as I packed. My steamer trunk was much lighter now, compared to when I’d arrived.
“Mason…” Hicks started. Or was it Sonny? I didn’t know how to tell them apart Even after hours at the store. It was the twin who had his hair pulled back into the perfect ponytail.
“We just wanted to say thank you,” said the other twin. “You really turned this event into something special.”
I saw Lee standing behind his brothers, leaning against the wall. He was watching me intently, and his gaze made my cheeks grow hot. Not embarrassment, exactly, but… it made my heart race and my mouth dry. He was so gorgeous standing there, his arms crossed over his chest, his muscles rippling as he moved.
He had worked all day without complaint, fielding questions and problems like a pro. I’d been listening for his voice over the din of the crowd and had watched in appreciation as he’d managed the number of people in the store at any one time. He’d settled down a few rowdy fans in line by just glaring them into submission. It had been the funniest thing I’d seen in a long time.
“…Mason?” one of the twins said, hesitantly.
I realized I’d been staring at their brother, so I returned my smile back to the twins.
“Sorry, long day. It was my pleasure, seriously,” I said, reaching out to shake their hands. “This is the first one of these that I’ve done, and you guys have made it really special for me, too.”
“You were the one who took the time to talk to each of the fans,” Hicks said. “We heard about the mess-up with your transportation and hotel.” The one twin, Sonny I thought, glanced at the other, and I could have sworn the other glared back. “And we know you didn’t have to stay all day. It really meant a lot to all of the fans that you did. Not many big names would have.”
I smiled and blushed even harder, never having heard myself called a “big name” before, but fortunately Lee saved me from further embarrassment by coming over and shouldering my backpack, then grabbing one of the boxes at my feet.
“Time to transform and roll out, guys,” he said to his brothers.
“We’ll see you at Moms’ later!” They said in unison. Okay, that was creepy. They must have thought so, too, because then they turned and looked at each other and burst out laughing.
The twins said their goodbyes, individually this time, and Lee and I loaded up the rest of my gear. The temperature outside was falling sharply. Seasons in Ohio were so different from Seattle. I mean, we had gray, bright gray, and dark gray, and that was about it. The vibrant green of the yards we’d driven past, not to mention the greenery in the park, had been slightly overwhelming. Beautiful, but overwhelming.
I knew I had at least a couple more events this week. An art lecture at one of the local colleges, a meet and greet at a community center, and a couple more store visits after the convention, but nothing for a couple of days. I'd planned on just hanging out in the hotel and playing on my laptop, maybe getting some work done, but obviously the hotel was no longer an option.
I looked over at Lee where he sat behind the wheel. The streetlights moved across his face in flashes as we drove down Market Street and headed back downtown.
“That… that was really great,” I said, watching him. A smile teased at the corner of his lips, then flashed at me as he glanced over and caught my eye.
“It was, wasn’t it? It’s been a long time since I've had that much fun,” he said.
“I couldn’t have done it without you,” I said, my voice low.
He glanced over at me, his eyes taking on a warm heat as they caught mine. “You’d have figured it out, Mason. I just helped you… jump-start it,” he said.
“Are you saying you jumped me?” I asked, wagging my eyebrows at him salaciously.
Lee laughed and turned his head. I thought he muttered something under his breath, but wasn’t sure exactly what. It sounded suspiciously like, “I wish…”
We drove for a while in companionable silence until his phone pinged, indicating a timer had gone off. A reminder showed
up on the sound system display. “Ass Kicking by Mom”. I laughed when I read it.
“Figurative, or literal?” I asked
“A little of both,” he said. “It’s D&D Family Night at the Devereaux Dungeon,” he said.
I swallowed hard against the lump in my throat as I struggled to voice my excuse. I'd originally planned on claiming fatigue and asking if we could just go home after the signing. I wasn’t exactly the most social of people on my best days and after the panic attack the night before, I was afraid to push my limits. I thought I’d spoken to more people in this one day than I had the entire last year.
But something about Lee’s posture made me pause before turning down the invitation. He spoke with an air of forced casualness – like a kid asking his crush to the prom.
“You still game?”
He kept his eyes glued tightly to the road now and his voice was almost shy as he spoke. It was such a delightfully different side to this usually-confident man.
“Of course, I’m game!” I exclaimed. “I wouldn’t miss meeting the rest of your family for the world.” As we continued the drive, I found, oddly enough, it was true. I really was looking forward to meeting the rest of his quirky family.
A few hours later, as the last of the blood drained from my lifeless body, I came to regret that snap decision.
9
Lee
I knew Mason had no idea what he was getting himself into when he agreed to meet the family, but I also knew I wouldn’t have it any other way. They were pretty damn amazing. Despite my problems connecting with them after Mack’s death, I never doubted that my family loved me.
As I reminded Mason of the game, I grinned like an awkward teenager. I’d never really brought anyone other than Mack home to meet the family, so it made this doubly awkward. I hadn’t dated in high school, like, not at all. While I’d always known I’d been attracted to guys, I'd planned on making a career of the military and with “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” still in force, I knew I’d have to accept that I wouldn’t be able to have a public relationship for many years, if ever.
Not that I had a relationship with Mason. I mean, not that it was a relationship at all. Fuck. I was babbling, even in my head.
Mason saved me from dying of embarrassment and second guessing myself further by quickly agreeing to play.
We soon pulled up in front of my childhood home. It was a large, seven-bedroom farmhouse that had been built somewhere around the turn of the last century. Its brick and stone exterior had been added sometime after that. My parents had inherited it from Mama D’s family. I'd lived here my whole life, until heading off to boot camp and this was where all the Devereaux kids called home, even when they finally started moving into their own places.
We parked in the gravel driveway and I got out, going around to Mason’s side. I opened the door for him, catching him lost in thought, a small worry line forming between his eyebrows.
“Hey,” I said, laying my hand on his shoulder. He jumped a bit at the touch but turned those beautiful blue eyes up to me. “This is it. Don’t worry, they don’t really bite anyone. Not anymore.”
Mason smiled that hesitant smile and started to get out of the truck when his brain seemed to catch up to what I'd said.
“Wait, what? Anymore?” he called after me as I laughed and walked up the stairs to the wooden porch that wrapped around the house. “…Lee?”
He stumbled out of the Jeep and followed me. I could hear the sounds of laughter and yelling in the house. Good. Things must be normal.
I held the door open for Mason as he walked up.
“Come on in,” I said, “Welcome to the Devereaux Dungeon!”
Okay, maybe I was enjoying this a bit too much. My family really was crazy at the best of times. Mason seemed so introverted, I wasn’t entirely sure how he was going to handle our raucous crew. I settled my misgivings by planning to keep an extra close eye on him and help him if he got in too deep.
We walked into the house through the entryway that led into our large living room. The floors were wood, lovingly waxed until they shone. I’d spent many a long Saturday buffing those floors after getting caught in some kind of mischief.
Despite the warmth of the day, the night was already getting chilly and a fire was crackling in the hearth. The dining room table had been dragged to the center of the room, and I couldn’t help but smile at the clusters of my family that dotted the first floor.
I could see Mama D and Mama K in the kitchen working on something for dinner. Kaine and Bishop were bickering as they set the table up. They were laying out the battle mat, setting out dice bags and towers and passing out copies of the D&D Players’ manuals. We were all planning on being here tonight except my sister, Weaver, who was in the Air Force. She was posted down at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. She’d been home on leave the previous week, so I didn’t expect to see her tonight.
“Hey guys!” I yelled over the bickering. “This is Mason.”
The room instantly went quiet, all eyes on us. Mason looked like he was about to puke, his face white as he stood in the doorway frozen under their gazes.
“Uh… Hi…” he squeaked, eyes wide as he took in the chaos.
“Mason, huh?” I saw Mama K walk over to him, wiping her hands on a kitchen towel. She looked him up and down, her eyes piercing. “So, you’re the comic book expert, right?” she asked, her voice still carrying a bit of a Spanish accent, even after all these years in Ohio.
Mama K was short, only about five feet two, and had a very petite frame. Her size had caused many opponents to underestimate her both on and off the mats. She was wearing an old Iron Man t-shirt, which showed the muscles in her arms to her advantage. She was tiny, but she was also fucking fast on the mats. I hated to spar with her when she was teaching self-defense classes, because I always ended up in the role of “threatening man who gets thrown on his ass” as the object lesson. Yep, with my parents, you learned real fast that size didn’t matter.
“Graphic novel,” Mason answered her almost automatically, “ …but, yeah.” He looked kind of terrified. Maybe I shouldn’t have teased him about the biting…
Mama K looked up at him and smiled that devious smile she had when she was up to something. She had long, dark curly hair, and her coloring reflected her Mexican heritage.
“Maybe you could answer a question for me then,” she paused.
I heard Mama D call out from the kitchen.
“Kyra, don’t you drag that boy into this!”
Mom glared back over her shoulder at her partner.
“Hush, D! I’m just asking him for his expert opinion. I’m allowed to ask questions, right?” she said, turning the full force of her innocent smile on him.
“Um,” Mason looked around, eyes scared. “…Yes?” His voice ended on an up note, like he wasn’t sure if that was the right answer.
“Good boy!” Mama K said, linking her arms through Mason’s and smiling, walking him into the living room. “So, who do you think would win if a villain made them fight: Iron Man or Captain America?”
I heard Mama D sigh and saw her shake her head, her braided blonde hair swaying back and forth as my mother tried to drag yet another unsuspecting bystander into their longstanding feud over which of the Marvel badasses would win in a fight.
“Um, neither?” Mason ventured, carefully extricating his arm from my mother’s and setting his backpack down next to the door. “I mean, think about it. As smart as Tony Stark is, he still has tons of flaws - alcohol addiction, women, etc. But his abilities with tech are almost magical.”
Mason’s eyes started shining as he began talking faster, obviously on a subject he felt comfortable with.
“Captain America, while all he has is the shield, can strategize way better than Tony can. So he can make use of all kinds of tools if needed to battle Tony, plus he’s got lots of friends,” he continued, “but the thing is, they wouldn’t ever really fight each other…” he paused and held his finge
r up to stop Kaine as he tried to disagree. “…not for long, at any rate. They are both really smart guys. If anyone tried to get them to fight each other, they’d probably figure it out pretty quickly, and then work together to turn the tables on the villain who caused it in the first place.”
The room when silent, and I saw Mama D smile as Mama K stood there, dumbstruck. She walked into the living room and smiled, her hand outstretched to shake Mason’s.
“I’m Diana. Welcome to the Devereaux Den. I think you’ll do just fine.”
10
Mason
I groaned and let my head fall until it landed on the wooden top of the dining room table.
“So, what did you roll?” Mama D asked solicitously, her voice carefully neutral as she peered over the top of her laptop at me. If I rolled anything except a one, we had the villain in the bag.
“…One.” I said, glaring at the offending dice.
“Woot! I did it again!” Mama D jumped up and started a little victory dance around the table. “I killed the party! I killed the party!” she sang, swiveling her hips to the music only she could hear as she celebrated.
Mama K was half asleep on the couch, having been one of the first casualties of the night. The rest of us were seated around the table in various stages of exhaustion. Kaine was typing away at his laptop, rolling up a new character, while Bishop was scribbling away in a notebook. The boys ignored her and just sighed as they listened to their mom’s victory dance as she destroyed yet another unsuspecting adventuring party. Apparently, this was a fairly regular occurrence.
“No fair, Mom,” Lee said, glancing over her shoulder and pointing at the laptop screen open in front of her. “That was way too many creatures to be attacking such a low-level party.”
Mason's Run Page 13
