She flushed with pleasure, squirming around in her seat, definitely thinking about something other than brownies with that expression on his face. He didn’t seem mad. Maybe they would make it through this conversation after all. “We were roommates.” She ducked her head.
“Oh, yeah?”
“For three and a half years.”
His eyes widened. “Wow. So you’re close?”
“No. Not anymore. We were friends as freshmen. Total mistake on my part. We’re pretty different, if you hadn’t noticed.”
“I definitely noticed.” He raised the brownie to get a better look at it. “She never made me brownies, that’s for sure.”
“I knew I needed to move out after the first year, but I never got it together. Or found another roommate. My best friend, Anka, lives with her boyfriend, so she wasn’t an option. I knew Ash and I would grow even farther apart now that she’s graduated and I’m not. So I decided it was time to finally bite the bullet and move out.”
“Wow, so… I mean, I dated Ashley for almost three years too. Sort of. We weren’t exclusive. But it was the same time you lived there. So we were in the same apartment how often and we didn’t even know it?”
Penny winced. Oh she’d known it; he was the oblivious one. She had wanted to tell him in some other way, something sweet, over pillow talk, a moment that would make her seem less stalkery. But not coming clean right now would be even worse. “Actually, I kind of knew…” She ducked her head again. She was probably red as a beet now.
He cocked his head, smiling. “Wait, what?”
She nodded. “She used to post photos of you on Facebook, and I used to see you asleep on the couch. Why were you always on the couch instead of in her room?”
He waved it off, that dark expression drifting over his face again. “Long and terrible story. How did we not meet, then?”
“Oh, I always hid in my room. Some of her guys freaked me out. And if you can believe it, I used to be even more shy.”
He smiled. “I can believe it. I used to be too.”
A silence settled, and she relaxed a little more. There. She was off the hook and didn’t even sound like a stalker. Hallelujah! Although she had somehow avoided the real kicker of admitting how she’d admired him from afar all that time.
“Well, I’m glad Uncle Bob and D&D finally brought us together.” He took a sip of coffee. “You really should play next time, you know. You want to make a character this weekend?”
Warmth flushed through her, and she couldn’t help herself. She darted over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. He slid the chair back and pulled her down into his lap, locking his lips with hers as she squeaked in surprise. His tongue swirled against hers, his taste exquisite, all chocolate and coffee and memories of the night before.
No. This was a distraction. She hadn’t really come entirely clean, and when would she get the courage to if not now? She should explain it all. Leave nothing more to worry about.
Their lips parted, leaving her breathless. He nuzzled her neck, nipped at her shoulder. “We could make you a character right now, if that’s how you feel about it.”
His hair was soft against her cheek and smelled like her shampoo. “Nick, you should know, uh…”
“Yes? You’ve secretly already got a character made and waiting in the wings?” His breath was hot on her neck, his voice rich with laughter, and she smothered a giggle of her own. He pulled away and cocked his head to the side, smiling. “Because that would be hot.”
“You should know I kinda had a crush on you even back then.” She winced and braced herself for his reaction, biting her lip.
“What!” His eyebrows shut up. The hand that circled her waist held her tight as iron against him.
She was blushing furiously now. “Am I red as an apple?”
“No. You’re much prettier than an apple. It’s more like a strawberry.”
She swatted at him.
“And here I thought I was the one who liked you first.”
Her eyes widened. “You did? When? I thought maybe…” She glanced away.
“You thought that this hadn’t occurred to me before last night?”
“Yeah,” she admitted.
“Oh, no, no, no.” He laughed. “I told you. Only idiots go out in snowstorms like that. And people with incentives.”
“You came to see me?”
“You hadn’t gathered that by now?”
Well, now that he put it that way. “I… had no idea. I mean, it occurred to me, but I didn’t believe it. Wait, wait, how long, then?”
“Basically right away. Well, as far as I knew. I noticed you the first time I came to visit Bob at the center. But I couldn’t get up the nerve to talk to you.”
“You mean, I couldn’t get up the nerve to talk to you.”
“No, really. I couldn’t either.”
“I find it hard to believe anyone who dated Ashley could be shy,” she said. He glanced away, eyes dark and brow furrowed. “Shit. Sorry. I mean… I just always assume I’m the only socially awkward one.”
“You’re not.” He pressed a quick kiss to her mouth. “It’s adorable when you do it, though.”
She blushed. “No, it’s not.”
“To me it is. You’re right, though. I was more shy before I dated Ash. But I’m still pretty quiet.”
“You pulled it together all right. Once I tripped and nearly killed you.”
“May I remind you you’re the one who asked me back to your place.”
She grinned like a fool, tossing some hair over her shoulder. “I can’t believe I managed it. Temporary insanity.” Or lust.
He circled one hand around her neck and brought her close again, his mouth covering hers and exploring. The kiss was languid, slow, but he drove his tongue deeper, heat building. His body nudged against her as their tongues brushed, sending a thrill of delight through her. When they broke apart again, he was panting. “We should, uh, really finish our dessert. So we can move on to other, you know, things. Like movies we can ignore or character creation.”
Giggling like a third grader, she scampered back to her seat. “Oh, yes, of course. That’s exactly what I had in mind.” A few moments of silence passed as they both devoted themselves to their brownies.
“I knew this table looked familiar.”
“I’m… sorry I didn’t tell you. I didn’t know when would be the right time. But I thought I had a few weeks. I didn’t mean to see that text of hers or anything.”
“Well, it was a good thing you did. Now if only we can get her to leave us alone.”
By Friday night, much of the snow had cleared, and the city was moving freely again. Finally he could do things right, like picking her up a few minutes early, the whole enchilada.
In the end, the sushi surpassed expectations. And to his surprise, neither of them heard any more from Ashley. At least not that night. They finished off the night with more peanut butter brownies and coffee, and the night was still young.
When Penny retired to the bathroom for a moment, he went for his bag. The slate-gray carpet of Penny’s apartment was surprisingly soft as Nick spread out the player’s manual, character sheets, notebooks. She hadn’t exactly said she’d play with him, but she seemed determined not to impose. So he was going to have to show her she wasn’t.
“What’s all this?” she said as she rejoined him. Tonight she had a pale green sleeveless sweater over the usual white button-down, bringing to mind all manner of pistachio desserts and tasting her in particular.
He cleared his throat. “Want to make a character for next Wednesday?”
“You mean the night that I’m working while you’re playing?”
“The forecast is looking terrible. No one will be there. C’mon. Even if you don’t play tomorrow we could make a character for another night.”
She stretched out beside him, warm and smelling like a cinnamon roll. “Are you sure I won’t be in the way?”
“Definitely.”
/>
“All right, how does it work?”
“Well you have to pick a race and a class, to start.”
“A race? What kind of game is this?”
“Like dwarf or elf. Like Lord of the Rings races. Not real-life ones.”
“Oh, okay. Let me see.” Penny started paging through the book. “How many are there?”
“Nine races, twelve classes.”
“How the heck do you pick?”
“Well, it’s a role-playing game. What kind of role do you feel like playing? Here, let’s look at classes first.” He flipped a few pages forward. “Some of them are more about running around smashing things, some of them are about magic. Some love nature, or stealing and sneaking, or even performing.”
“Like singing songs?”
“Yes. Traveling-minstrel style.”
“Huh.”
“You don’t seem to be the loudest trumpet in the band, so I’m guessing not that one. Unless, you know, you want to pretend to be an extrovert for an hour.”
She snorted. “Yeah, that sounds exhausting. What do the others play?”
“Good question. Bob is a fighter. I think he’s trying to relive his army days—except in a fictional fantasy world I made up for him. Dorothea is a cleric because I think she liked the idea of healing people. Eddie is a warlock. Probably something about the whole serving dark gods thing.”
Penny burst out laughing.
“His character, not him.”
“Is there a difference?”
“Well, yes and no. I mean, obviously you make choices as your character. You get to explore a side of your personality you might not normally get to in real life. But you also can try out acting in ways you normally wouldn’t. See if you like it. Experience some other facet of life.”
“What do you like to play?”
“Paladin. I sort of dig the whole white-knight thing.” Even if maybe he should really be playing a dark knight instead.
“That figures. I should have known. What’s this one? Ranger? That lady looks fun.”
“Okay, let’s do it. She’s an elf. Want to stick with that?”
“Well, I mean, I don’t identify as a dwarf. Let’s try it. Oh—before I forget. My mom has this work get-together next week. Thursday, I think? Her boss is throwing a shindig since it’s the tenth anniversary of their firm.”
“Wow. And… ?”
“I think he’s just throwing to keep them all from going insane during tax season.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah, tax accountants regularly work sixty hours plus during tax season.” She shuddered. “I’m not looking forward to it.”
“Couldn’t you do some other kind of accounting? Although… you don’t much seem to look forward to any of it.”
She shrugged. “We’ll see. Anyway, family and friends are invited. Probably so the workers can, you know, actually see their families for some time during these three months.”
He snorted and inched closer to her, rubbing her shoulder.
“So you want to come with me?”
He raised an eyebrow. “And meet your mom?”
“Yes. And keep me from losing my mind with boredom. Or being mauled by older, frisky accountants.”
“Does that really happen?”
“No. Not at all, really. But I thought it might appeal to your white-knight side.”
“It does.”
“So you’ll come?”
“I wouldn’t miss it.” He eased his arm around her and squeezed her close for a moment. “Now, about this ranger of yours…”
Penny’s mom’s office was one of the grayest places Nick had ever seen. Even the walls wore pinstripes, and the air smelled faintly of cheap, burnt coffee and a vanilla candle the receptionist had set out in a half-hearted attempt to make the area—or her area, at least—feel homey. The lobby also featured a few shamrocks and leprechauns taped to the walls that were the only break in the black-and-white scene. Nick couldn’t have been a photographer without having some appreciation for the beauty of black and white, but this was far from the best use of the colors.
A large conference room had been cleared of chairs, its table pushed far to one side, and men and women in suits or high-heeled ensembles milled around, smiling pleasantly, if woodenly. Most of them were coworkers who were probably sick of each other, after all, so it wasn’t like Nick was expecting a mosh pit. Beyond a table topped with several bottles of wine, a veggie tray and a cheese platter were the social hubs of the room.
He’d worn one of his wedding getups, khakis and a blue-green button-down, complete with trimmed beard and Nikon around his neck in case it came in handy, but he still wasn’t sure if he’d dressed up enough. Now he could see where Penny got her standards. These people knew business formal.
He and Penny had barely acquired glasses of wine, he a cabernet and she a Riesling, before a well-tailored blond woman was hovering expectantly behind them. Just behind her, a brown-haired version of Penny in a gray dress lurked with a baby on her hip.
“Oh, hey, Mom. Hey, Cass.” Penny greeted them both with a hug. “Mom, this is Nick. My boyfriend Nick. And Nick, my mom and my sister, Cassandra.”
Nick smiled at her hasty addition of “my boyfriend” as he shook her mother’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Collins. Cassandra.”
“Ms. Collins these days, and yes, it’s nice to meet you too.” Her smile was warm, though her eyes were a bit tired.
“And I just go by Cass. Or Cassie. And this is Lyle Jr.,” said Penny’s sister, with a quick switch of the glass to her baby hand to shake. That had to take some skill.
“How are you two enjoying yourselves?” asked Ms. Collins, pouring herself more wine.
“This is a lovely get together,” Nick said quickly.
Penny stepped closer, and he slipped his arm around her shoulder and hoped that wasn’t overreaching. “We just got here. Everything is very nice. Everyone seems quite tired, though.”
“Yep. I bet only half of us will go back to work after this much wine.” Penny’s mom winked. Nick tried not to let his eyes bug out, as it was well after seven in the evening. “Is that a camera, young man?”
“Yes,” Penny hurried to answer. “Nick is a professional photographer.”
“Oh, really?” Cass raised an eyebrow. “A photographer of what?”
“Mostly weddings at this point,” he said, “but I’m exploring other avenues too.”
“Slow time of year then?” said Ms. Collins. “Not like around here.”
He nodded. “Has to be slow sometime, I guess. But I do have a client next weekend. Some people like snowy weddings—”
“Can I have your attention please?” A balding man in a black suit stood up on a crate, raising a glass.
“You’ll have to excuse me.” Penny’s mom rushed to refill her glass before the toast.
Penny leaned closer, whispering, “That’s my mom’s boss. Andrew. He owns the firm. The other partner’s kind of retired.” Nick tried not to stiffen as Cass eyed them, a not-so-friendly glint in her eyes.
“Thank you all for joining us tonight. I’m so honored to work with you all, to have you here for Leenik & Leonard’s tenth anniversary. I always knew we’d make it this far, but I’m proud to see the day has come. Thank you all for coming, and enjoy the wine.” He raised his glass.
Nick set down his own, quick as he could, and started snapping. Only after he’d captured a few dozen shots around the room did he retrieve it and clink glasses with Penny. Both she and her sister were staring at him quizzically. He shrugged. “You never know. He might like to have them.” He took a swig of wine.
“Maybe if he ever stops working,” Penny whispered, grinning.
A few minutes later, Ms. Collins waved Penny and Cass over.
“Want to come? I think I’ll get out the cupcakes we brought soon.”
He looked down at his nearly empty glass. “I think I’ll get a refill. Then I’ll join you?”
“Oka
y.”
“Want anything?”
“No, I’m good.”
Nick made his way toward the side table where more than a case of wine—or three—had been uncorked and sampled. As he studied the different labels, trying to pick one—if only he knew more about wine—he noticed a woman next to him in casual dress, but the colors were wild. He smelled another creative.
“Looking for something special?” said the woman. She had fiery green eyes, curly red hair, and crow’s feet that spoke of many years of laughter.
“Just trying to make sense of the madness.” He smiled, picking up another bottle.
“Aren’t we all? That one’s a good bet. With a mild merlot, you can’t really go wrong.”
“Thanks,” he said, pouring some and then offering the bottle to her.
“Don’t mind if I do. So what do you do here? One of the accountants?”
“My girlfriend’s mother works here.”
“Didn’t think you fit in. I’m in the same boat. My husband’s a CPA.” She pointed toward a bunch of folks gathered around Andrew Leenik and clapped him on the back. “So what do you do, then?”
“Photographer.” He held up the camera for a moment.
“That how you make sense of the madness, huh?” She smiled as she took a mysterious sip of the wine. Her nails were plain and short, but an emerald glittered on her finger.
“Yes, as a matter of fact.” He took his own sip. That was pretty much why the therapist had suggested it, so many years ago. “And you?”
“What do I do?”
“How do you make sense of the madness?”
“I’m lucky enough that for me, those are the same thing. I’m a writer.”
“Wow. What do you write?” Nick kept an eye out for Penny as they talked, but he didn’t miss Cass watching him, that same, suspicious glint in her eye. They’d barely met—what did she have to be suspicious of?
“I write mostly fantasy, some thrillers. Teen fiction all.”
“Sounds great. You are very lucky.”
“That’s what I tell myself. But I’m making the jump to indie publishing, but I can’t find a cover I can stand. Actually, I’m looking for photographers. Do you know anyone that does fantasy photography?”
Bad Game: A Geeky New Adult Romance (Leveling Up In Love Book 2) Page 9
