Chapter 3

I surveyed the table in my game room, double-checking that I’d remembered everything. I had my custom-printed map of my homebrew world of Firth hanging up on the wall like always. My DM screen, my notes, my dice - with extra sets ready in case someone didn’t bring their own. I had the fresh, partially completed character sheets ready to go. With new players, it was always better to give them a few choices like basic class and names and to get into the game quickly. I had three copies of the Player’s Handbook out and ready for referencing (or browsing for inspiration). Drinks were prepped on the side table - non-alcoholic since at least half of them were still 20. Bowls were ready for whatever snacks they brought.

With nothing left to do, I nodded to myself, proud of my work.

“Nothing better than Game Day,” I said, looking over at my cat where he was lounging on his shelf perch near the window. “Right, Jasper?”

Jasper meowed at me and blinked.

“Good point,” I said, the old game of pretending to talk to him so I wasn’t talking to myself kicking in. I headed back out of my game room to my office, sitting down to check my emails. No time to spin up some work, but enough to fire off a couple of emails. I was trying to decide how best to phrase ‘Pay my rate or get fucked’ to a client who had come to me through word of mouth when the doorbell rang.

Leaving my office and work behind, I headed to the front door and could hear female voices on the other side. I immediately hoped that Rhia wasn’t making things awkward for me and showing up after her friends, but I put on my winningest smile and opened the door.

Oh thank God, I thought.

“Hey, ladies,” I said, swinging the door open wide and gesturing inside. “Come on in!”

“Hey, Shane,” Rhia set, leading the way with a big grin and stepping right up to me to pull me into a tight hug. Her dark chestnut hair was down and loose, looking silky smooth, and she’d done her makeup lightly. I was a little shocked by her outfit though - the pink skirt was fine, but the polka dot red and white top looked like it was a size too small for her. Especially in the bust. It showed off a strip of her stomach above the waist of her skirt and between the sheer amount of cleavage she was showing and the thin shoulder straps I was pretty damn sure there wasn’t a bra under it.

“Hey, Rhia,” I said, hugging her back one-armed, deciding to just try and accept the fact that she was a college coed and this was probably normal for her.

“Shane,” she said, stepping aside but keeping her arm around my waist from her hug, “This is Tori, and this is Elyse.”

“Nice to meet you, Shane,” Tori said, leading the way in. Rhia had mentioned that ‘everyone has a thing for Tori’ and I could see why - she was stunning in the sort of open way that I’d only ever really seen in true actresses. Tori was clearly of Indian or Pakistani descent, her warm skin tone and dark hair distinctive when combined with her delicate features. She’d worn a green summer dress that showed off almost as much cleavage as Rhia’s top, and while she wasn’t quite as well-endowed she certainly wasn’t lacking anything in that department.

“You too,” I said, accepting her hand and shaking it.

“Hi!” Elyse said, following her in. If Rhia and Tori were both typical in their ‘Theatre Girl’ attractiveness, Elyse leaned into the other side of things - she was the slightly grunge, slightly hippy, dirty-hot tomboy artist type. That was a pretty specific ‘type,’ really, but I immediately knew that Elyse was someone who liked working on the Crew in some capacity or another and wasn’t really interested in being on stage or in front of the camera. She was blonde, her hair long but with an undercut that gave her an alternative vibe, further supported by a copper septum piercing that helped highlight her cheekbones and smile. She may not have been ‘actress’ pretty but she gave big ‘girl who does motocross because she can actually race’ vibes and that had a sort of attractiveness all its own. She’d arrived wearing a simple grey crop top that sat fairly high on her, making it clear she was the smallest in the bust department by far between the three of them, and a pair of jean shorts that sat loosely on her hips.