Page 47 of Structure of Love

First, these people took their hobbies seriously. A campaign map hung on the wall, with writing and sticky notes on it, which told a story in and of itself. Second, there was a bar full of booze and snacks, and something cheesy and delicious sat on the table already.

Third, and most important, I was immediately welcomed by his friends despite the fact I’d gotten here ahead of Gage. Riggs, a small-boned man with a quiet air about him, welcomed me with a smile, made sure to introduce me to everyone, and let me know where the bathroom and stuff was. Having heard so many stories, it was nice to finally put a face to the name. And damn, Gage’s friends were all good looking; like, this was ridiculous. Did he do a screening or something? Wait, Asher and Zar he’d known since diapers, so I knew that wasn’t the case for two of them.

My nerves settled by time I made it around the room. They were evidently curious about me too, but no one started a Spanish Inquisition. I was happy to just vibe here and get to know people as the night wore on.

Cohen ushered me into a chair with a casual, “Gage normally sits here, so take the chair next to him.”

The gesture to not leave me guessing was incredibly kind, and I appreciated it beyond words.

Riggs made gimme hands. “Character sheet.”

“Oh, sure. Gage helped me fill it out. It’s been a minute since I’ve even played.”

“Absolutely fine,” he assured me. “We’ve got people coming in and out all the time, it’s fine. Real life sucks and interferes with fun things.”

“I couldn’t have put that better.”

Riggs scanned over the two pages and grunted. “You’ve got everything here. You’re playing Barbarian, eh?”

“I’m really good at hitting things. Not so good at keeping people alive.”

“Fortunately, Cohen’s our Cleric and is good at the role.” Riggs handed the papers back. “Got dice? Miniature?”

“Gage let me borrow two sets and a mini.”

“Okay, then you should be set. It’s a one-shot, so no need to worry about things like catching up with our story. We’re a little lopsided tonight with people joining in just for fun, so I figured a one-shot was easier all around. We tend to default to a one-shot about once a month, because of various shenanigans, and I usually have one prepped in case things fall through.”

“Oh! Good to know.”

A couple of people milled about, one of whom was Cohen’s son. Asher’s brother had joined for the night but was currently grabbing snacks or drinks. I got up and snagged a drink and some of the queso because, well, queso. Back in my seat, I decided to ask questions, since we were still waiting on Gage and Zar. Not that I’d met Zar yet.

“So, Riggs, you met Gage how? He said it was because of the game.”

“That’s correct.” His eyes brightened. “I put together a group while we were all in college. We played for a few years, then I opened it up because a friend of a friend wanted to play too—that was Cohen. Interestingly, the friend flaked almost immediately, but Cohen stuck with us.”

“I finally had something of a social life through your group,” Cohen said, his grin lingering. “Hell yeah, I stuck with you. Besides, even then, you were all good kids.”

“Stop talking like you’re old enough to be our father. You’re very much not,” Asher sassed him before dropping into the chair opposite of mine. “Anyway, half the group met through that campaign.”

“But not you and Gage, right? He said you grew up next door to each other.”

“Right, we did. Zar is also a friend since childhood.”

The front door opened and a rather tall man with dark curly hair and russet skin entered. He wore a casual T-shirt and jeans, but I didn’t need to guess who this was. Asher immediately popped up and gave him a kiss hello, and that told me this must be Zar.

So this was the cop friend who had decided he wasn’t straight because he was falling for his childhood friend, eh? I mean, Asher was cute as hell. I’d have done the same in his shoes.

Zar snagged a beer on his way to the table, then cottoned on that I was sitting between Riggs and Cohen. He offered a hand over the table. “Zar.”

“Logan. Nice to meet you.”

“Ah, Gage’s Logan. Very nice to meet you.”

I liked how he said that. It put a spark of joy right in me. “Thanks for dealing with Cooper the other night. Gage was torn up about canceling our date, and you took a lot of stress off him.”

Zar seemed surprised I was thanking him. I couldn’t imagine why I wouldn’t. I was happy and relieved he’d helped Gage through that pickle.

“I owed him a favor anyway, but you’re welcome.”