Chapter 14

“Hi, Shane!” Tori and Elyse both chimed as they came in through the front door. They both had their knapsacks, and Elyse was carrying a 24-pack of Corona while Tori was carrying a bottle of rum.

“This is to say thank you for putting up with us,” Tori said with a dazzling smile as she handed me the bottle. Her teeth were a perfect white, her smile a perfect mix of playful and sweet, and she was wearing a crop top over a pair of plain grey sweatpants with slip-on sandals on her feet. Her dark hair was pulled back into a messy bun with sunglasses perched above her forehead, and she looked all for all the world like the gorgeous college coed she was.

“Thank you,” I said, accepting the bottle. It wasn’t exactly top-shelf stuff, but it wasn’t in a plastic container either. “You ladies didn’t need to do that.”

“Yes, we did,” Elyse said as she came in. Despite her thin form, she was sporting a nice little set of lean arm muscles as she carried the case of beer. Her hair was down, mostly hiding the undercut, and she was wearing a thick-shouldered tank top and a pair of jean shorts that looked like they’d been crafted out of what had once been a pair of tight jeans, the ends of the legs left with a rough fringe. “You’re putting up with us on a Wednesday afternoon when you could be doing anything else. Like work. Or socialising with more interesting people.”

“OK, hand that over,” I said, setting the bottle of rum down on the little table where I set my keys when I came in the door and taking the box from her. “And to be clear - there are very few other things I’d rather be doing than running a game for you ladies. I love running a good game, and the way last week went I think we’re going to tell a really cool story and that you ladies are wonderful.”

“Awe,” Elyse said with a grin, turning to Tori. “He likes us, he really likes us!”

Tori snorted and chuckled, rolling her eyes at her roommate’s antics. “Thanks, Shane,” she said.

“Come on, I’ll show you ladies where your booze will live,” I said. “Then you can go get changed. Rhia is already back there.” I led them into the garage and loaded the case into the beer fridge there, only to turn around and notice that Elyse was looking at my car and Tori was looking at my bike that was hanging up on its wall hook.

“You cycle?” Tori asked, blushing a little when she noticed I’d caught her minorly snooping.

“A couple of times a week - I should probably get out more than I do,” I said. “I’ve never been a runner, but healthy body, healthy mind.”

“I used to when I was in high school,” Tori said with a smile. “I biked all over my home town since I couldn’t get a car. I don’t trust leaving a bike outside our apartment building, and we don’t have enough space for me to store a bike in our place.”

“I said we could make room,” Elyse said, a little exasperation in her voice, then looking at you. “Two years running now, the weather gets better and she’s mooning all over people with bikes and I tell her we can make it work and she says, ‘No, no, it’s fine.’”

“Shut up,” Tori scoffed a little, rolling her eyes even as she smiled.

“What about you, Elyse?” I asked. “You looked like you were ready to lick the bumper of my jeep.”

“Maybe I was,” Elyse laughed. “This is a 2018 Wrangler, right?”

I raised my eyebrows. “How could you tell?”

“That was the year they introduced the 4th gen of the model,” Elyse said, turning and running her hand along the ridge of the hood. “All the new bells and whistles, same Jeep fun. Did you buy it new?”

“Used,” I said, shaking my head. “A couple of years ago, but I’ve always liked Jeeps.”