Golden Hour

Chapter 10

Emily returned with our second round of margaritas. The first one hadn't made me drunk, of course. But it gave me a sweet buzz. One that made me question why the hell I'd avoided Neil in the first place.

"Hey, guess whaa-aat?" said Emily in an excited sing-song. "Neil and his buddies invited us to play with them. I think it would be great fun. What do you say?"

My heart leaped into my throat. "Oh, gosh! I don't know. I've never role-played before."

"Who cares? We'll teach you."

"We don't have dice or a character or anything."

"They've got everything we need." Emily beamed, so excited I couldn't say no. "I've played with them for years, and they're super fun."

"Are you sure we're not crashing their party?"

"Absolutely positive." She tugged at my hand. "Come on, just give it a try."

"Alrighty then." I rose with a nervous chuckle. "Let's do this thing."

She draped her arm around my shoulders. "That's the spirit."

After sauntering over to the gaming table Emily proclaimed, "We're here, boys. Move over and get ready for some kick-ass fighting."

Neil and Teddy Bear scooted further down the bench to make room for us. The guys introduced themselves, but I quickly forgot their names due to being a bit tipsy.

Emily sat beside Teddy Bear, the dungeon master in charge of narrating the game, while I sat beside Neil.

"I'm glad you decided to join us," whispered Neil. "Sorry I was awkward earlier."

His deep murmur prompted a flurry of tingles along my skin. "Don't worry. So was I. Bonus points for being clumsy too."

"You're here now."

Neil gave me the same look as when we were in the restaurant observing the golden hour. When I caught his gaze, it dipped slightly before resting once again on my face.

For a moment I forgot to breathe.

"Earth to Vee!" Emily waved some character sheets. "Dwarven fighter or Halfling rogue?"

"Dwarven fighter," I said with enthusiasm. "Are you okay with that, Em?"

"Heck yeah, you are a dwarf."

The guys laughed good-naturedly before I turned to Neil and admitted, "Yeah, I am."

"And I am basically an elf," he said with a broad smile that touched his eyes.

"Does that mean we have to hate each other in-game?"

"Play what feels natural to you."

What feels natural...oh, that's dangerous.

The DM cleared his throat. "After a bit of convincing at the local tavern, dwarf fighter Kathra and halfling rogue Bree decide to join the party."

Everyone cheered and clinked their glasses together. 

In-game we made our way from the halfling village to an abandoned caldera, where we battled our way toward a massive cave. It led to the underground palace of the Lich King of Hellendar.

In there we got our asses handed to us by a flood of skeleton minions, wraith lords, and gelatinous cubes.

As the dwarven fighter, I was the tank who soaked up all the damage and slashed her way through enemies while Neil's elven character pinged arrows from a distance. Emily and the other rogue used their stealthy sneak attacks to take out many of the King's guards who had swarmed us while the wizard cast fireballs and other magic spells from afar.