Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 88447 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88447 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
It hadn’t been an easy death.
She sucked in a sharp breath. “Crap, do you know the family?”
I could barely force the word out as I grunted, “Yeah.”
“Oh…” Her small hand rested on my shoulder as she gave it a gentle rub. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have… I’m sorry.”
Vali made a low whine as he leaned up and licked my chin. The familiar sensation of a dog’s caring had my throat growing tight as I fought off a wave of memories. I’d fucking loved my dogs like the children I’d never had a chance to have, and I missed the hell out of them. Long, gentle fingers began to rub my back as Vali cuddled close, and the sensations allowed me to get a grip on myself.
I never lost control, yet here I was, slipping again and again in front of a stranger.
I stroked the dog’s big head then let out a thick breath. “You said you were dropping off a sculpture. Are you an artist?”
She started to remove her hand from my back, but I reached over and held her arm in place, silently asking her not to move. “Yes. I do sculptures of mostly dragons and mythical creatures.”
“No shit. Dragons?”
“Yep. I’d show you a picture, but… You know, my phone is dead. Most of my dragons are original, but I do commission pieces as well. Last week, I finished up a five-foot tall dragon for a local pediatric orthodontist’s waiting room. It is super awesome, an exact replica of the blue dragon from an old 80s D&D manual.” She quickly added, “D&D stands for Dungeons and Dragons. Sorry, I forget not everyone is as big of a nerd as I am.”
Growing up, I’d been a big time Dungeons and Dragons player with my cousins, and I may have been a bit overly excited as I said, “I don’t think that makes you a nerd at all. In fact, I think that’s pretty awesome.”
I swore I could practically feel her glow with happiness. “Thanks. That’s not usually the reaction I get when I tell people about my work.”
“Yeah, well, don’t tell anyone, but I was a huge tabletop games fan when I was younger. Every summer, I’d stay at my grandparent’s farm for a month in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan with three of my cousins. There wasn’t much to do up there, but they did have a big collection of my uncle’s table games stuff from the 80s. We had some pretty epic campaigns. I think I still have my WarCraft miniatures that we painted when I was fourteen.”
“Oh my God,” she said in an awed whisper. “You are kind of a nerd.”
“That information is top secret. You’re one of only a handful of people on this Earth that know I’m a closet dork.”
Her laughter made me grin. “Closet dork. I like that. Hopefully someday you’ll be brave enough to let your dork flag fly.”
I did a slow blink, processing her words. I’d never thought about it that way. In the past, I’d always kept my love of all things fantasy and roleplay a secret. I mean, sure anyone who’d been over to my house knew I was a fan of fantasy novels. My stocked library would attest to that, but it wasn’t like I was going to Comic-Cons, though I had been tempted.
Wanting to turn the conversation away from me, I asked, “I take it you’re comfortable with your dorkiness?”
“Absolutely.” She giggled. “Maybe I can convince you to come over to the dorkside.”
“Oh no, Star Wars puns.”
More giggles, and she shifted so her weight leaned into me. Vali must have laid down at her side, because she suddenly pressed even closer. Her scent reached me, my craving for strawberry shortcake growing stronger by the second. I shifted slightly so she had room to breathe as she fussed at Vali for squishing her.
“Do you still play?” she asked as she settled her shoulder against mine.
“D&D? Sadly, no. My cousins and I… Well, I don’t really have time for it now.” I resisted telling her that I rarely spoke to my extended family anymore. Not all of them approved of my path of vengeance. “What about you? Do you play?”
“No, I do MMOs, not tabletop.”
“MMO? What’s that?”
Her voice was delicate as she asked, “How old are you?”
My head jerked back, and I stared into the darkness of where I thought her face would be. “I’m not old.”
“Ohhh, now you’ve got me curious. How old? Come on, don’t be shy. Tell me.”
Honest to god, she was a siren, her enchanting voice reaching right through my defenses.
Once again, I told her the truth. “Twenty-eight.”
“Oh, that’s not so old.”
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-two, but I’m a mature twenty-two.”
“Wouldn’t calling yourself mature actually make you immature?”
Her elbow bumped into my side. “Shut up.”
“Real mature.”
It had been what felt like forever since I’d been so relaxed with anyone, man or woman. As a member of the Cordova Cartel, I suspected anyone and everyone around me. My only friends were other members of the Cartel, and they weren’t exactly the kind of men that would sit around playing videogames.