Chapter 62

Elyse had to run before Mel did, realising she needed to head back to her place with Tori before she could go to work, and once the co-ed was gone, Mel and I awkwardly sidestepped talking about everything that had come up. We probably both needed a bit of space to think about it.

Because it was awkward, sure. And a little uncomfortable. And funny.

But it was also a change.

One of the biggest rules of The Game had always been that the sex was part of The Game, not just us fucking each other. We didn’t hook up outside of the game. That was the rule that I was sure had kept our group together for so long without imploding, especially as the couples solidified. Jealousy wasn’t a factor at (or in the general vicinity of) the game table. Boundaries had been set and followed naturally - even when the couples started for more kids after weddings had circled through the group. Condoms were used if one of the ladies was off birth control, no complaints. No one wanted to cause drama.

And the stuff with the girls of the new game had at least been on game night. It hadn’t always been part of the game, but it was associated.

Elyse and I having sex - wonderful, energetic, youthful sex that left me feeling a decade younger but also worried about the implications - outside of even the boundaries of Game Night was different. It didn’t follow the rules and boundaries of The Game. And Mel and I both knew it, even if she focused her teasing on what was in front of us.

Once we’d chatted about the Theatre Troupe gossip and gone over the options for that fall’s production since she was on deck to direct again, she had the final say over the Script options, and we pivoted to some general D&D talk. Her character Meliana didn’t have as strong a connection to the ongoing campaign story this time, having been set up as more of a mercenary, and the entire group knew they were coming up on a big climactic battle with the Dark Lord soon, so she was feeling a little unfulfilled. We talked about some options, going over her backstory a bit as she pointed out some suggestions for things I could hook into if there was time. In return, I offered a couple of suggestions - the party was at level seventeen, so even if they levelled one more time before they fought the Dark Lord they still had progression they could accomplish ... if they survived.

We called it after we both finished our second cups of coffee because I really did need to get to work, even if that work was in my home office, and she gave me a kiss on the side of the head as she hugged me before leaving.

Unfortunately, my day slowly soured even with the great morning I’d had and the ongoing flirty texting from all of the girls.

A couple of clients were dragging their feet on paying me for my work. Another one came back around wanting dramatic changes to the project I’d been working on way too late in the process to be making those sorts of changes - I’d have to scrap at least half of what I’d done for them and had approved so far, and that meant upping the quote and making sure they signed off on that.

Tori texted around lunch time that she felt grossed out by one of the older men at her work making her feel uncomfortable. He hadn’t crossed a line yet that would make anything reportable, but she was feeling discouraged as hell - and I couldn’t do anything about it to help her. I also had the echoing in my mind of ‘older guy’ bouncing around in my skull a bit - I was an older guy. The situations were different, but the age gap was still there, and the line between creepy and attractive was thin and severe. It wouldn’t have taken much for me to be more on the Creep side of it if I’d instigated things more myself, and I still had that feeling that I was doing something kind of wrong.

The fact that Elyse, Rhia and even Tori all sent me pictures of them flashing their tits at exactly 1 PM - giving away that they’d planned it - didn’t help my worries. Or pick up my mood for longer than about ten minutes since I got a frustrating call from the client who wanted the rework.