Maybe it was her, but he seemed at a loss for words, too. “Um, have you played 3.5?” he asked.
“No. Whatever we were playing in high school.”
“Oooh, AD&D, baby,” Rusty teased from her other side.
Axel dipped into a messenger bag next to him and pulled out a small compartmented plastic storage box. “Here, you can use a set of my dice.” He plucked out a set of translucent dark purple ones with white numbers on them, a full set of seven polyhedral dice.
“Thanks.”
“And do you have a preference what you play?”
“Not really.”
“How about barbarian? Non-spellcaster. Less to keep track of.”
“Sure.”
He handed her a character sheet that vaguely resembled what she remembered using, but had more stats on it. It had also been computer-generated.
Somehow, that didn’t surprise her. Axel had always been practically OCD when he was doing a stint in the DM chair.
They got her caught up to what had happened thus far, and it turned out Axel worked her character into the party at the same inn where Rusty’s respawned and renamed character rejoined the merry band of murderhobos.
Although, technically, since they hadn’t murdered anyoneyet, they were still just hobos of the nonmurdery kind.
Based on the back-and-forth teasing, she suspected the murders would soon commence.
Her nerves ratcheted tighter as they played. She desperately didn’t want to make an idiot out of herself in front of Axel, and he was being extremely patient as he and Rusty helped her out. Combat had changed somewhat. She knew there was no way she’d remember everything tonight and made a mental note to herself to jump on Amazon and order a set of rule books so she could get up to speed on the basics.
Despite her nerves, she was having a blast and enjoyed catching up with everyone. In some ways, she could see the gulf that had separated her from all of them.
In other ways, it felt like they hadn’t spent a day apart.
The other interesting thing she noticed was how Axel’s smile still managed to set butterflies loose in her stomach.
* * * *
At least Rusty wasn’t busting Axel’s freaking balls so hard tonight and was sticking with the program. Skye seemed to be enjoying herself.
Yeah, okay, so he stacked a couple of rolls behind his screen in her favor.
So sue me.
That’s what DM screens were for. Hereallywanted her to enjoy her first night back.
Because I want her to keep coming back.
Shit.
So she was divorced from a stupid cheating asshole—Axel’s good luck.
Maybe.
If he could find the balls to ask her out. Just dinner. Friends.
No pressure.
Hell, if there was pressure, at this rate he thought he might choke on his own damn tongue.
