Seven Dates

Chapter Fourteen

I have no idea what to expect from my next date. All Brent mentioned was that I needed to drive to the Walker Shopping Plaza and look for a green van parked outside a store. I wonder if it will be hard to spot but as soon as I pull into the parking lot I see the van.

It's parked in front of a very small shop building called "Deathsticks" and even though I've lived in the area for years I can honestly admit that I've never really noticed the shop's existence before. There aren't many cars parked outside it besides the van.

The instant I step inside the store the three people in the front area of the building go silent.

There is a large bearded man standing behind the counter who doesn't greet me or even smile. Two more people are just kind of hanging out around the building. One is lounging on a sofa and another is standing in a corner, flipping through a comic book.

"Um, I'm here to meet Riley," I announce to no one in particular. The guy on the couch mutters something that sounds like, "back room," so I head that direction.

Sure enough, I find a group of about six people huddled around a table in the back room. I try to peer between them. It looks like there's some sort of fake three dimensional landscape and several figurines of people and monsters on the table. I assume they're playing some sort of game.

"Uh, hi. Is Riley here?" I ask dumbly.

I feel so out of place. Everyone looks up from the table and stares me down. I notice that everyone in the building is male. A chubby boy at the right side of the table smiles and waves at me. He's probably a year or two younger than I am.

"Are you Ashlynn? We're just finishing up here and then we can go to the movie," he says, smiling.

"Please sit down. I promise it won't take long," he assures me. I do as he suggests and I seat myself in a nearby chair.

I catch only snippets of what's going on in the tabletop game but it seems like all of these people standing around it are going on some kind of imaginary adventure together. Riley is apparently some sort of skeleton raising warlock and it sounds like everyone is trying to fight against a horde of orcs for some reason.

I don't totally understand it but the game finishes up quickly and Riley approaches me with another smile. He holds out his hand to help me up and kisses it gently. I flush, embarrassed that he's making a gesture like that in front of all of these people, and we exit the building together. All eyes are on us until the moment we step out of the front door.