I glance over at Max, wondering what he’s doing, and see he’s now chatting with another guy. Max is holding some card packs, but I can’t tell what kind. The girl hands me a small shopping bag.
“Hey, do you know what cards they’re looking at?”
She squints. “Those are Yu-Gi-Oh! cards.”
I laugh and shake my head. I walk to Max’s side, and she comes around the counter to follow me.
“Have you been holding out on me?” I ask him. “Do you still secretly play Yu-Gi-Oh!?”
He winces. “I mean, maybe. Kinda. And I make extra money selling cards online.” He holds up his bag of paints and minis as if to explain how he was able to afford them.
The guy next to him adjusts his black glasses. “You can make good money doing that. I keep thinking I should tryit.”
“With your abundant spare time?” the blond girl asks in a teasing voice. “Remember, stage crew is going to be no joke this year.”
“Especially with you as director.” He leans over and kisses her on the temple before turning to us. “You know, if you’re interested, we run a weekly tournament and you’re welcome to join. I’m Nathan, by the way. I probably should’ve started with that.”
“Riley,” the girl says with a little wave.
Max glances longingly at the cards. “We’re from out of town, so it’d be hard to get over here every week. We just came for D&D figurines because I’d heard good things.”
“I’ll be sure to let my dad know,” Riley says. “What characters are you playing in your game?”
We tell them, and Nathan and Riley nod their heads approvingly.
“Very cool,” Riley says to me. “DMing seems so intimidating.”
“You’re not wrong. It’s been a bit of a struggle.”
Max nudges me with his shoulder. “Don’t listen to her, she’s doing awesome.”
Riley opens her mouth to say something else, but just then the door opens. Two more teenagers walk in, hand in hand, and I’m suddenly really sad that we don’t have a place like this in our town. It would be cool to have a store where we could hang out rather than being in my dining room.
“Hoshiko!” Riley exclaims and waves. She looks back to us. “Sorry, we should go. Our senior class trip to NYC is coming up and there’s so much to plan. But good luck with your game!”
“She means there are so many Broadway shows to squeeze in,” Nathan says and takes her hand.
She grins. “Same thing.”
He chuckles. “You’re always welcome at our tournaments or if you want to play D&D here. There’s plenty of space.”
With that, they wave goodbye and head for the back. Nathan lifts Riley’s hand to his lips as they walk to their friends, and the sight makes my chest ache. It’s surprisingly heartwarming to see a couple my age look so happy. I’ve barely dated myself, other than a few dates for school dances and an occasional movie, and Nova’s sworn off dating altogetheruntil she gets to college. Is there a version of reality where Max and I could ever act like that? I sneak a glance at him. I’m probably getting way ahead of myself.
“They were cool,” Max says as we walk back to his car.
“Totally. I’m glad you suggested we come. Otherwise, I never would’ve learned you’re still a huge Yu-Gi-Oh! nerd.”
He groans.
“I just can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”
“And now you know why I didn’t.”
We get into his car and head back toward home.
“Now Ireallycan’t wait for D&D this Sunday,” Max says. “I loved fighting off those harpies before. Are there going to be more?”
“I can’t tell you. That would compromise my integrity as a Dungeon Master.” I try for a playful tone, but it falls flat.
