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I bite my lip, unsure whether I’m supposed to be pulling his attention back toward me or letting them talk. After a moment I slide my arm out from his and turn away from them. I don’t want to distract from a real conversation since that’s the whole point of this deal. Although this fake dating is so convoluted that it’s hard to keep it straight.

Luckily Hoshiko walks in at that moment, glancing around nervously, and I hurry over to her. “You made it!”

To our left, a group of middle-aged guys erupt in raucous laughter over their board game and she jumps. “What are you getting me into?” she whispers.

“We’re going to have so much fun together!” I beckon her to the table. Lucas sits up straighter and John and Anthony look more awake as well.

“Hi,” she says with a little wave.

“I’m so glad you could come,” Lucas says, practically vibrating with excitement, and introduces her to everyone else. Sophia barely looks over, she’s so busy talking about books with Nathan.

“So…how does all this work?” Hoshiko asks, looking at me for help.

I hesitate and then shake my head. “Lucas is the expert. He’ll help you make a character.”

She sits down and he scoots his chair closer to her.

“I do know what class you should be,” I add. “A bard!”

“Sure.” She turns to Lucas. “I want to be the same thing as Riley.”

“Yay! Maybe we can sing duets!”

“Is that a thing in D&D?” she asks. “Why haven’t we been playing this?”

“Um, no, that’s not a usual thing. But…I mean—”

“Now we have two bards?” John interrupts. “This is getting ridiculous. Why are we adding to our party so much when they’re not contributing?”

“Dude, shut up,” Anthony says, and grins at Hoshiko and me. “This is way better than before.”

John rolls his eyes and shrugs.

I realize I’ve been ignoring Nathan, so I turn around. He looks perfectly happy chatting with Sophia. This is such a weird line to be walking. Am I supposed to break into their conversation and start flirting? But the whole point is to help him talk to her. What if he wants me to stay away so they can talk longer?

Hoshiko quickly builds her character with Lucas’s help and then we jump back into the quest. We’ve trekked to the eastern shore to find the sword for Nathan’s paladin, but now we’ve learned it’s guarded by a troll. Unsurprisingly, that leads to another battle.

“What can I do? Don’t bards just sing and tell stories?” Hoshiko asks Lucas.

“You could use your inspire ability to buff me,” Anthony says, and scoots his chair closer to her. I guess he’s turning his flirting on her since I’m too caught up with Nathan to reciprocate. I wait for Lucas’s reaction.

Hoshiko frowns. “Buffyou?”

“Anthony, cool it,” Lucas says, and glares at Anthony.

There it is. Lucas is clearly into Hoshiko.

“He means your ability will strengthen his attack,” I explain to her. “This is officially my favorite part of the game. Just watch.” I turn to Lucas. “I’m using my inspire ability to buff Sol.”

“And what will you be singing for us this time?” Lucas asks.

“I’m in the mood for a classic.” I turn to Nathan. “Sound good?”

Rather than glare or slink under the table like our first game together, Nathan nods. “I’m prepared to be duly inspired.”

I give him a playful smile and then launch into “People Will Say We’re in Love” fromOklahoma!A few guys on the other side of the room chuckle—they’re getting used to my singing—and Nathan rubs a hand over his mouth to cover his laughter. I’ve been waiting for my chance to sing this one.

I can’t believe I’m allowed to break out into song and actually have it be useful to the campaign. And Nathan’s reaction is night and day from before. Of course, that might be because his character is stronger after I use my amazing singing abilities to inspire him. Or maybe he’s only pretending to enjoy it for Sophia’s benefit. Either way, I’ll take whatI can get. I beckon Hoshiko to join me and she takes over Curly’s part, the two of us trying out a little harmony as we finish the chorus.