Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 3

particularly fond of the intimacy of old-school tabletop role-playing ...]
    ~ JoAnne

    genre: contemporary
    tags: geeks/nerds; humorous; interracial; role-play gaming; pseudo-kidnapping; tea-bagging; terrifying gnomes
    word count: 13,316
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    Author’s Note
    Role-Playing Games (RPGs) are about storytelling so during the game scenes I left out the dice rolling and experience/hit point tracking, etc. to keep it more of a smooth story.
    ****

     
    DIRTY PLAY
    by Kyle Adams
    The first time he showed up was for our Tuesday night game. We played every Tuesday and Thursday at Games You Play . Not the most creative name but it was the largest game store in Syracuse. They had the best selection of books, character pieces, and pretty much every game and expansion pack available. If they didn't have something, they could order it. The store had an open floor plan: the products were in the front and eight gaming tables were set up in the back.
    I was sitting in my usual spot at one of the tables, facing the front of the store so I could watch people as they came and went. I should add emphasis to the word 'could' because I never paid attention to anything but the game. That's why I was surprised when I heard a deep voice call out, "Hey, Jayne, sorry I'm a little late." I stopped setting my game stuff up and looked up to see who was talking to Jayne. The guy was gorgeous. He was probably about six-feet, and I could tell his body was solid under his form-fitting leather jacket. His shaved head revealed his smooth, chocolaty skin. I just gawked at him, wondering if he would taste as good as he looked.
    "You're fine, sweetie. We haven't even gotten set up yet." Jayne smiled at him, "Everyone this is Zack. He'll be joining us. Zack, that's Brett, he's our thief," Jayne said while pointing to Brett, who was sitting beside me. Moving on to me, "The pale, scrawny guy is Whitney, and he is our warrior."
    Hearing my full first name helped me stop staring and shift my gaze to glare at Jayne. "Please call me Whit. Whitney is my mother." Jayne completely ignored me as she moved onto the next introduction.
    "And that is Randy. He plays a mage. You can sit next to him." She gestured towards the empty chair across from me.
    Jayne was the Game Master so she always took charge, sitting at the end of the table where she had enough room for all of her stuff. She had her Master's screen up blocking everyone at the table from seeing what books or charts she had out. She got very into the game and liked all the traps, quests, or attacks to be completely unexpected. She was the best Game Master I'd ever played with. She always planned ahead and kept all the players on their toes. Judging by how confused Brett and Randy looked, I guessed I wasn't the only one wondering why Zack was here.
    Randy and Brett both said, "Nice to meet you," but I was feeling more shy than usual and pretended to study my character sheet while I quietly mumbled, "Hi." Besides, I already told him to call me Whit, even if I was looking at Jayne while I said it.
    I couldn't concentrate on my character. I'd already planned out my next three level-ups but it didn't hurt to go over them again and make sure they were the most strategically beneficial. All I could think about was how the hunk across from me made my cock hard.
    "It's nice to meet you guys as well. Thanks for letting me join while you're in the middle of a game." Zack's deep voice was sexier than anything I could imagine. I felt like he had whispered dirty things in my ear. I was so distracted by the way his voice made my skin tingle that it took me a second to process what he actually said. He was going to join the game and be here every week? How was I ever going to concentrate on the game?
    "We should be thanking you for joining, Zack. This is going to make the game so much more fun," Jayne said excitedly. I had no idea what she was talking about; the game was already awesome with just the four of us. "Now that there are four players you can split up and go on multiple missions simultaneously. This will really help me strengthen my Game Master skills. I'm practicing for next year's national RPGM championship, as you all know."
    "What's a RPGM?" Zack asked. I fought the urge to introduce my palm to my face at the realization the tall, dark hottie was a total newb.
    "Role Play Game Master." Brett spoke slowly and over-enunciated every word.
    "I'm not stupid, man, just new and don't know