“You did not,” he argues, but he’s smiling. “Anyway, I could take you now. I’ve changed a lot since we played last.”
Yes, you have,I think, and allow myself a quick glance of appreciation. “Actually, I’ve been thinking about that.”
“About how good I am at board games? I like to reflect on that too.”
“No,” I say, rolling my eyes. “About how you’re different now than you used to be.”
He stills. “For better or worse? Actually, never mind. I don’t want to know.”
“That answer depends on when you ask me,” I tease. We leave the board game aisle behind and move into Warhammer. “But you seem, I don’t know, more self-confident. And popular. Every time I see you in band, you’re laughing with someone or making a ridiculous bet—”
“My bets are not ridiculous—”
“Or people are hovering around you. You didn’t used to be like that. You were a nerd like me.”
He gently grasps my upper arm. I stop walking and turn to look at him. “You say that like being a nerd is a bad thing. Do you know how excited I am for our game Sunday? Or how many notes I’ve taken on my phone about Axolotl and his hobbies? By the way, he has an artisan background and likes to spend his free time forging intricately designed weaponsand little metal sculptures. One of my favorite things about being back is getting to be a nerd with you again.”
My breath hitches. I missed this—him—more than it’s safe to say.
Max clears his throat. “We should probably find the D&D section, yeah?”
D&D merchandise fills the entire right-side wall of the store. It’s both impressive and intimidating to see how much they have. There are rule books, spellbook cards, battle mats, and even themed greeting cards. I skim the seemingly endless rows of painted and unpainted miniature figurines. You could play for fifty years and not even get close to playing each possible character type.
“I don’t have a ton of money, but I want to make sure we get miniatures for Felix, Li, and Nova too,” I say. “And maybe some terrain?”
“Look, a dragonborn fighter!” Max says and holds up a miniature.
I scrutinize it. “Is that how you pictured him, though? I didn’t think he had red scales.”
“Yeah, true…”
I find elf druid minis for Li and Felix, but they also don’t look the way I’d imagined their characters.
“What do you think?” I ask and show Max. “Will the others be disappointed if these don’t match their characterdescriptions? Li already knows every detail about how Ellywich looks.”
“We can’t afford to have custom characters made for everyone. But, if you’re worried, we could get unpaintedminiatures. That is, if you think we’d be up for painting them? It would be time-consuming.”
That sounds like another excuse to hang out together, and I’m not going to fight it. “We could have a nachos and painting party some afternoon. Then surprise everyone with their minis at the game?”
He nods. “Sounds like a perfect idea.”
We decide we’ll each buy two—I’ll buy the ones for Li and Felix and he’ll get the others. We take our time picking out the four characters, and Max grabs a ton of different paints. It’s expensive, but he insists on paying for those.
The man at the register earlier has been replaced with a girl my age. Her blond hair is piled on the top of her head in a messy bun, and she’s wearing a bright orange shirt covered in strawberries along with dangling Pop-Tart earrings.
“Hi, did you find everything okay?” she asks Max as he hands her the items.
“I think we found too much stuff, actually.”
He pays, then leans toward me and puts a hand on my lower back. “I’ll be right back,” he whispers. He’s gone in an instant, but it’s like he’s sent an electric jolt through me. He walks to the other end of the counter where lots of open boxes sit in rows.
I push my items toward the employee. “We could’ve easily spent a few hundred dollars here if we had the extra money.”
“My friends and I have the same problem. It’s a constant struggle even with my discount.”
“Sounds like a workplace hazard. I love your earrings, by the way.”
She smiles softly and touches one. “Thanks. They were a gift from my boyfriend.”
