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ArcticAvenue

Randomly Pawing At Keys
Joined
Jul 16, 2013
Posts
1,650
Brunch.

Brunch is a thing now.

Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, but this is what Brunch has become.

Denise groaned, “Ohhh, Emma Stone was absolutely gorgeous in La La Land. GOR-geous. That yellow dress was absolutely perfect on her.”

Saline shook her head, “not like that blue one she wore. Blue goes way wrong with her eyes.”

“No no, I like her in blue too,” Denise replied. “It was that peach disaster.”

Sandra waved a posh hand and moaned out agreement, “dreadful, absolutely dreadful for that skin tone.”

“See that?” Todd chipped in leaning out of the dress talk, “Osweiler got traded to the Browns. He can pretty much retire now without raising a finger.”

“What did the Texans get for that,” Kyle asked.

“Draft picks. Nothing but Draft Picks.”

“I don’t know why they put her in peach,” Saline slipped in.

“Probably because she has red hair. But her skin tone was way wrong for that.”

Kyle asked, “no other big moves yet in Free Agency?”

Sandra, who pronounces it like s-ON-drey, just to be that much more posh chimed in. “Everyone has red hair these days. That’s all the Hollywood people want to see.”

“Patriots seem to be moving around. Sent their Tight End to the Packers.”

“Like Amy Adams. She seems to be in everything.”

“They lost Peppers though.” Kyle mentioned. “They had a shit defense to begin with.”

“But her red is like, bottle red. I hate that red on her.”

“Like that what’s her name. What’s her name.”

“Who do you mean.”

“Kyle hun,” Saline asked, “who was that one girl in that movie with the aliens.”

“Gonna have to narrow down which alien movie,” he replied.

“The one with Matt Damon?” Denise asked.

Salina added, “Yeah that one, but not the one that he grows poop potatoes, the one with Matthew McConaughey.”

Todd blurted in a dull voice, “MURPH.”

“With the aliens?” Kyle asked.

Sandra waved her hand and reached for her wine glass, “now that was a dreadful film. Everyone wearing such drab clothing. So depressing.”

“MURPH!”

“What was the name of it?” Salina asked again.

Arthur, who basically stayed silent for more of the conversation finally spoke up, “Do you mean Interstellar?” They were sitting in a cafe, and while the guys tried to pay attention to the thinly dressed waitresses, the girls chattered loud enough that he couldn’t focus on much else.

His girlfriend Denise put a hand on his knee, “yes dear, but what was her name?”

“MURPH!” Todd said louded.

Kyle joined in, “MURPH!”

“Was that her name?”

“That was her character.”

“MURPH!”

“I don’t know, I stopped watching it when it got all wierd.”

“None of it made sense. They fly in their space ship and crash into a space ball then it’s years later.”

“That black star thing was pretty, though.”

“I didn’t see any Aliens though.”

“MURPH!”

“But what was the point of doing all that if they all get old and die?”

“Will someone please explain to be the whole bookcase thing. Like what was he doing on the other side of it and why didn’t he just stick his hand through.”

Arthur spoke up again, “It’s a tessaract. Actually, the geometry is a tessaract. You see we live in four dimensions, length, width, height, and time. The tessaract in the movie was to show that time could be reachable at any space, rather than in the constant flow forward. That gave him the ability to communicate throughout all time of his own existence. Realizing that he was the one sending himself his own messages from earlier in the movie, it was up to him to send those signals to Murph. Allowing the film to be a complete circle onto itself. Showing this was a film not about space but time.”

All of the other five stared at him. They probably didn’t understood what he said, but they weren’t short of ridicule.

Kyle and Todd both looked at each other and chimed in unison, “MURPH!” That brought them all into laughter.

In general they were all good people to hang with. Todd was cool even if Sandra was a bit of a bitch. Kyle only started dating Salina a few months ago, but seemed to be fitting in with the gang pretty well. For the most part they all get along. Arthur just kind of gets bored with the conversations from time to time.

As some of that conversation dwindled down, Denise leaned over and whispered in Arthur’s ear. “Please don’t talk like that when we get home sweety. It’s so hard to be sexy when you say stuff that is confusing. And you know how I like an afternoon delight.” She was three glasses of mimosa in, and getting frisky. That’s not a bad thing to have usually, because what guy doesn’t want a fit blonde riding their hardon. Not that Arthur was rough on the eyes. His short cut brown hair, bluish eyes, and easy smile meant he was never really all that lonely growing up. Sometimes it just gets … well … boring.

And there is nothing worse than boredom.
 
Lila wondered, not for the first time whether she liked her job or hated it as her head was slumped on the side of her keyboard. On the one hand, she got to work from home and read and game all day, programming was probably the easiest job in the world that gave the best payout, and the only time she ever had to talk in front of people was when she was explaining to the team what the program did and how it worked. On the other hand, she hated programming. If she didn't have to work with others and if she didn't have to do presentations and lectures, she would be researching in the lab. Instead, she was stuck doing mind-numbing programming for a boss who took all the credit from her hard work.

Not that that was anything new. Humans were disgusting.

Chloe, her Alaskan malamute barked beside her as if agreeing with her thoughts. Lila smiled and got down on the floor hugging her dog.

"You're always the best," she said in her fur, "but sometimes I wish I wouldn't be alone forever. I mean, sure, my game and book buddies are just that. And they don't like going out most of the time either. Not that I'd invite them."

Chloe barked walking off making Lila sigh. "Oh come on, Chlo, I don't want to go out."

Undeterred, her dog returned, leash in her mouth and dropped it in front of Lila. Lila pouted. "Fine. But only because I love you."

She stood and put a large jacket over her loose shirt and exchanged her lounge pants for a a shapeless skirt that went just below her knees. Putting on a pair of flats, she grinned at her dog wryly. "You'd think I'd know what I really want to do with my life. I mean, there must be something better for a PhD in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence, but I'm stuck here."

Chloe growled.

"Oh, don't blame me," Lila put the leash on the dog. "I tried. Almost died in every single one of my defenses. Let me tell you, whoever invented inhalers seriously need to have some kind of life saver award or something."

As soon as the leash was on her, Chloe tugged on the leash dragging Lila to the door. "Okay, okay." She adjusted her glasses and went out of her apartment.

Just as she stepped out, her old neighbor, Mrs. Meredith gave her daily exasperated sigh. "Lila~"

Lila shrugged, but Chloe headed straight for the old woman who usually had treats in her pocket. And seeing as she did, there was no evading the usual conversation. "Like I said, Mrs. Meredith, it's what I'm comfortable with. No one cares, anyway."

"How could anyone care if they can't even see you through all that hair and clothing and glasses?" She smiled at Chloe as the dog ate out of her hand, rubbing her furry head with her other hand.

"Let's not go back to my high school story now, shall we?"

"Oh, you shouldn't have let those bullies deter you!" She put her hands on her hips. "Why, if I were there I would keep on dressing nice."

"And you did."

"Of course!"

"And you were athletic."

"With practice."

"Well, then practice is out for me. There's a reason why I have this just taking Chloe out." She held up her inhaler and shoved it back in her purse.

"Eat healthier."

"Believe me, Mrs. Meredith. I'm the healthiest eater among my friends."

"Who eat nothing but chips, pizza and Mountain Dew."

"Bye, Mrs. Meredith," Lila gave a little wave and started walking away, Chloe quick to catch up.

Mrs. Meredith rolled her eyes but waved back at them nonetheless.

Soon, their walk picked up the pace until they were both slightly jogging. Quicker than her owner, Chloe began tugging at the leash as she went a little faster.

"Oh, come on Chlo!" Lila tried to catch up, but the leash always ended up getting taut then limp. taut then limp as Lila tried to keep up with the pace her dog was setting. That was the problem with having an active dog. They need so much more exercise than Lila did.

Soon, they were at the dog park and panting, Lila removed the leash and sat on the grass sweating. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea for a sweater, but one layer of clothing wasn't exactly comfortable when people are everywhere. She opened her purse and frowned. She forgot the frisbee.

Lila hung her head and Chloe nuzzled her. Her mouth quirked in a small smile. "Okay, okay, I'll look for a stick. Just let me catch my breath." Five deep breaths later, she was walking around looking for a stick. She found a small, short one. Chloe could easily break it, but it would have to do for now. Besides, the more important problem was how bad a throwing arm she had. That's why she liked the frisbee better. But beggars can't be choosers.

Lila threw the stick as far as she could. It was probably just short of 30 meters, but Chloe was happy enough to return back with it.

Getting Chloe was probably the best decision she ever made. Sure, she still felt lonely at times, but at least, her fluffy dog was there to make her feel so much better.

But only for a while.

Lila wiped the sad sigh off her face as Chloe came back. She had Chloe.

And the danged dog snapped the twig in half, just like that. She sighed. "Let's get you a real toy, girl," She rubbed the dog's head and pulled her along the streets looking for the nearest pet shop. Knowing that she had the wrong purse, she rummaged through it looking for every bit of spare change.

As she went though her things, she hit a pole spilling her stuff out in the street including the change she didn't grip onto well enough, her inhaler, the latest fantasy book from Brent Weeks, a few pens, a box of candies, a notebook and several sheets of paper of the different rpg characters she played, among them the infamous D&D.

She mewled in pain as she adjusted her glasses and rubbed her arm, picking up the things lying on the ground. She sighed as a few people didn't care and stepped on some of the paper, and--crack! She flinched as she saw a running kid obliterate one of her pens. She let out a huff of air as Chloe looked at her wagging her tail.

"Some help you are," she muttered, only to be answered with a defeated whimper, tail no longer wagging.

Well, it could be worse. Someone might pick her things up and laugh at her. Or even worse than that, steal her stuff only to find it in the trash later. Sans the change, of course.
 
Spring sniffed at the air as the group wandered their way down the sidewalk. Maybe not as much wandered, as stumbled. Mimosas, wine, and whiskey-laden coffee can challenge a diet of light dishes on expensive plates.

“Where are we heading next?” Salina asked to no one in particular.

Todd called back, “Red Lion’s got my vote.”

“We went there three weeks ago,” Sandra complained.

Kyle had to ask on that, “Is there a time limit on such things? We have a shelf life before returning somewhere?”

“Only if it is trendy,” Sandra replied.

Effectively finished with the ‘brunch’ part of Brunch; now came the portion of the day when the gang played with the notion of day-drinking at trendy gastros or going their own separate ways. Day-drinking came with the upside of making things a bit more interesting for a Sunday afternoon. It wasn’t like club drinking, where you pound something-something-bomb after something-something-bomb; it was more trying concoctions loaded with vegetables and meat all with the title “bloody” attached to it. Plus, he got to hang with the guys then, and at least enjoy a little of whatever is on the bar TVs - not that he is a huge sports fan, but it can be something more than the usual.

Going their separate ways had it’s upside too. Denise usually was the one that planted that seed; and that usually meant she wanted to head back to the condo. Yep, day-drinking had its upside, but day-sex does too.

The way they were paired up in their stumbling suggested the later was more likely. Todd and Sandra leading the way trying to create the appearance of stability. Kyle and Salina following being a bit handsy behind them, as newer couples get when a little tipsy. Denise and Arthur following up, arm and arm, and in step. She in her sundress, white leather coat, brand-named sunglasses, and heels leaving her taller than Arthur. He in black pants, white silk shirt, and brown blazer that matched his brown leather shoes. While the other two couples were chatting, Denise and Arthur weren’t. It was just their stoic style, Sandra would sometimes observe. Really, they just didn’t have much to talk about. Arthur worked in a financial firm, tied to his father’s corporation, where he spent most of his days in meetings and reviewing data on strategic investments in long term growth; which even to Arthur sounds boring. Denise managed a gallery, which was odd because she has no interest in art. So the only thing either had to talk about what what was in both their lives, which what was there to discuss.

“Second vote for Red Lion,” Todd called again.

Salina piped in, “What is that place with really good poutine? I could really go for something salty.”

“The Compass,” Kyle replied.

“YEAH,” Salina stated, “Let’s go there. What’cha think Denise?”

The crew circled on their alpha to answer. Usually if she made a call the others listened.

But in this case, they didn’t get a chance. Directly in front of them was an explosion of stuff flying about a girl with a dog in tow. She looked almost like she went head first into a pole, but it seemed immediately the purse she carried took the greater damage. Papers and books flew about like candy from a parade float. Before she had proper time to collect anything, folks were bustling about to maneuver around or over the mess.

What happened next immediately ate at Arthur. It was a cluster of activities, all seemingly happening at once. First, some kid swerved his bike a little to the side and went right over a pen making it pop audibly. Todd took a quick step to the side, and avoided the mess but made direct steps to carry on. Sandra just stepped right on top of a couple of papers. Kyle seemed to point at a book or something, and Salina chuckled at first before they both kind of whispered something to each other. Maybe individually, these actions weren’t so bad, but the whole mess of it felt wrong.

Arthur sped up slightly, releasing the grip on Denise, reached for a few of the papers on the ground and tried to collect them. A couple of them started sliding away in the wind, and he had to shift to try to grab them.

Denise seemed to find the tip of the iceburg, “Come on,” she called to him.

“I’ll catch up,” he replied without looking back. “Compass, right?”

Whether she liked it or not, he made the call on where they would go next - but he really didn’t care. Right now he felt obligated to do something to help out the girl, just as his friends seemed intent on the opposite.

Finally grabbing the last of the sheets, he tried to sort them and make his way back to girl. “Are you alright there?” He hadn’t quite looked up at her, still trying to manage the paper. “Nasty spill you had, and I guess they didn’t …”

Arthur stopped a little, feeling confused at what he saw on the paper. There were words on it that seemed a mess of english and something else. Presented like data, one could use to equate something. But then there were descriptions and lists, and even a crude drawing of some female warrior / fantasy creature. He quickly looked up at here, then back at the paper, then smiled looking back to her again. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t read your stuff here. It just looks like something I used to play with as a kid.” With a tip of the head, he added, “Can I ask what that is?”
 
From the floor, she could hear a few giggles. From her experience, those were usually directed at her. What's new? She knew she should be used to it--developed a thick skin--but she wasn't. She felt smaller, quickly grabbing her notebook just before another foot stepped onto it. Her book was now, streaked with dirt and folded in places, now hideous despite the plastic she covered it in. Nothing could save a book landing on its pages and that made her gut ache. She loved the book! She had been so meticulous to not even crease the spine, and now...

She sighed and stuffed everything in her bag. Again, it was her against the world, quite literally. The world was ready to trample on her and she had a very low dodge ability. She took the hits like a tank, but even tanks die in battle.

“Are you alright there?"


"Yeah..." She muttered. At least a fellow nerd--she stopped as she looked up at the voice surprised to see that the person was certainly not like her. Very, very quite the opposite of her.

"Nasty spill you had, and I guess they didn’t …”


He stared at her character sheet and she went pale. What will come next would be a series of ridicules, laughter, embarrassment and her wishing that the world would just send a freak earth quake and let a boulder flatten her to death. He even looked at her drawing! She was good and she was proud of her skill to draw amazing character designs, but he would find a way to make it seem ugly, unworthy and laughable. And worst of all, Chloe was sniffing the guy, curious. Her dog should be barking at him. Warning him to stay away. But Chloe was too much of a people-dog. She was like the party-going roommate that introduced you to all her friends.

She should have just gotten a doberman or a rottweiler.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t read your stuff here. It just looks like something I used to play with as a kid. Can I ask what that is?”

And there it was. The opening gambit to the avalanche of humiliation that would come. Lila could hear what he was going to say next echoing at the back of her mind. Yeah, I used to play it, but I was a kid. You're a grown adult and you still play this kid's junk. Grow up you fucking retarded nerd. And then a cacophony of laughter echoing as she walked away crying.

And damnit, Chloe! Stop nuzzling the new hooman!

If the world had any justice at all, humans with ugly hearts should look just as ugly on the outside, but no! The world had to be so unfair giving them perfect bodies and perfect faces. The world had to give them money, power, and friends in droves. They had to have everything and be lauded for stepping on people like her. And this guy...this guy was the perfect example of a perfect human that was about to lay waste on her.

Damn it! She was an adult! She shouldn't let people do these things to her anymore. She had a PhD in MIT for crying out loud. Top of her class. Honors and awards for her findings. Offered millions by Tesla to buy the rights to make one of her AI projects the staple for their self-driving cars. She was a genius...

But she was no Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg. Or Elon Musk for that matter. She was a nerd. Not a tech buff. A nerd who will curl up like a turtle waiting for the bullies to get tired of smacking her all over.

"Nothing. Thanks." She snatched the papers from his hands and stuffed them in her bag. She stood and pulled on Chloe's leash, but the dog tugged back. Lila glared at her, but she just sat on her haunches, tongue out breathing heavily as an expectant dog would, tail wagging behind her as she looked at the guy who helped her.

Couldn't her dog sense the danger around them? For once, couldn't Chloe act as a guard dog and not your friendly neighborhood doggie?
 
Arthur remained crouched on the street where he picked up the characters sheets, or whatever those things were with all the numbers, descriptions, and wicked pictures. Bent down, his black pants effortlessly stretched over his legs, he stood slightly confused by the sudden snatch of the papers from his hands. Feeling like he apparently came across something that weren’t meant for his eyes. Of course, his first thought was that maybe he accidently came across porn … which as a guy, the gravest fear would be to get caught with porn … but even his brief look at the documents suggested nothing of the kind. He couldn’t put a finger on it, but he was sure that some of those words seemed familar.

“Really?” he asked honestly. “I mean, I just saw something about Charisma and 17, and I just remembered some game like that.” He probably shouldn’t have pushed it, but there was something about the outright rejection she gave him that made him think he offended her in some way. “Sorry, I just thought the pictures were really neat looking.” He beamed a smile her way, tried to use his charm as an apology.

It wasn’t like he was trying to get something from her. Not like he would be some guy trying to pick her up or like that. She was cute. But cute in a way that she didn’t try to be cute. Denise tries to be cute, she tries to be pretty. Denise is cute and pretty and beautiful, and look good without makeup or expensive clothes; but if she found a way to spend an hour to make herself look 1% more gorgeous she would be all over it. This girl, with her dark hair, glasses, and button nose was cute just by being cute. Which makes going for an apology a little easier to justify.

Whether or not she took it at that, the dog was interested in the apology. In his crouched stance, it nearly leaped into his lap and started to sniff at his face.

“Hello buddy,” he stated as he reached to pet the fuzzy creature. A little bit of a scratch behind the ear, and he had a new friend. The pup started madly licking at his face bringing out natural laughter. “What’s your name boy, what’s your name?” he asked without really knowing the sex of the thing … and not really caring either at that moment. He could feel the leash get tugged a couple of times, but he didn’t care. “Oh, you are a good kisser, aren’t you. You don’t smell like dog food breath at all.”
 
Thanks to Chloe, she apparently was not going anywhere. If this...perfect human being just ignored her for a few more seconds, her dog would have lost interest and they would have been merrily looking for a new Frisbee...

Okay, so maybe not merrily, but they would have left. Instead, she was stuck here, looking like an ungrateful jerk just because humans are basically horrible creatures as per her experience. Now that she was faced with a paradox, and being forced to deal with it because of her dog, she was at a complete and utter loss. Was she supposed to be friendly? He was certainly trying to be. But maybe it was a prank--like what she went through for most of her life before her graduate degree when people cared more to annoy other people than to focus on their studies and research. All that bait to lure her just to make fun of her at the end.

Well, now that she was older, she was no wiser than she was before. If she didn't spring the trap, he would be relentless and she would appear like she was a horrible snob. If she did...well, what was the difference from the rest of her life? So what was another humiliation? Just one more, right? Just one more to get things over with and her life would go on as usual. Besides, not a lot of her friends could say that they had a conversation with some of the popular tropes like this guy. People like him don't talk to people like her. It was like the same poles of a magnet being forced together.

Besides, he was charming.

Like all of his ilk were. And there was no defense in her arsenal for that. In gaming terms, confronting him resulted in a -10 to all rolls involving wits, manipulation and perception...at least in White Wolf mechanics.

"Characters from D&D, Scion, and Exalted that I play. And some others that are done or in the works," she said, not knowing if the guy was even paying attention to her, but a question deserved an answer. And he did admire her work. True or not, he still said it and it made her feel...fluffy. Warm.

"And her name's Chloe," she added remembering what he said of her dog. Sure, her replies were late, but she was overthinking things as usual. Hard not to overthink when there were uncertain and sudden variables involved in a situation.

Chloe barked at him all friendly and went around him encircling him in her leash. She looked at him ready to go her eyes telling him to follow.

Lila looked at her dog and sighed. "Sorry, she's usually like this. Maybe, we should...um...get you out of that before you fall or something."
 
Arthur dumbly asked, ”What is Charisma?”
“Yeah, fuck you,” Billy chided. “You know damn well what that is.” The boy with the heavy black rimmed glasses pushed them up his nose as he spat back.
Kirk, sitting on Arthur’s side of the table looked confused. “No, really, what is it.”
“Just shut up and roll,” Bill replied. “We have to get this done before my mom gets home, or she will tear up all this shit again.”
Arthur grimaced and dropped the three six-siders. The three twelve year-olds were quickly trying to fill out character sheets in the dark of the basement. The numbers came up to total 7. “That’s not good, is it?”
“Well, just do exactly everything different than you do at school.”
Kirk spat, “what does that mean?”
Billy squinted, the recluse smaller boy seemed to always be on the front edge of cool games to play but was a complete jerk sometimes. Now he seemed to turn his irk against Arthur. “Charisma is like, being able to talk to people and everyone loves you. So instead of doing just that like you do at school, Art, just play your character like an asshole. Do you you think you can do that? Be an asshole?”
Arthur had all of two seconds to be utterly confused by his friend’s outburst when the door to the basement burst open and the looming figure of Billy’s mother stood over them. They all knew what this meant. No more character sheets. No adventures with elves and dwarves. No more fun. And it was the last time he got to hang out with Billy ever again.


When she mentioned ‘D&D’, Arthur had the flash of the memory of childhood. Games seemingly forbidden for unknown reasons, left to the depths of your imagination of what dangers that such things could have held. As he grew up, went to college, and became more experience in the world he learned that there really wasn’t anything taboo about such games, but still seemed outside of his world. While never really knowing, he assumed his lost friend was the result of an overprotective overreaction from an overly stupid parent. Still, to this day, that moment in that basement was the closest he came to the world since that time.

But he likely couldn’t hide his curiosity. Wrapped up in the tangle of the dog’s leash, his smile grew.

“You know, I wanted to say that? The D&D that is … but I didn’t to sound like I knew what I was talking about either. I hadn’t seen anything like that since I was a kid. Heck,my girlfriend calls me a dork because I wanted to buy an XBox to play Sky-Ram ... Ski-ran …. That Elder Scroll game.”

He bent down and tried to help her to untangle him, but it wasn’t going well. The excited pup was just too excited, and seemed to continue to weave around his legs.

“Where does something go to find those games, or play them for that matter. I’m always looking for a new hobby.”

Arthur shifted slightly, and that was it. The tangle won. He tripped, fell, and reached for anything to catch his fall. But the only thing his hand fell on was the girl … whether she was ready or not.
 
"Skyrim," Lila said, looking down at the messy tangle Chloe was creating as she looped up and under, around and around the new guy. It was strange how her dog was being too friendly and familiar with this guy. This guy who probably can't even tell the difference between an RPG and a TTRPG. A guy who's probably too attuned with the in crowd that he'd rather die than to be seen doing things her kind did. "Pity, your girlfriend dictates what you can and can't do," she said under her breath trying not to let him know that she was being a judging a-hole to him like everyone else was to her. She didn't want to be but, logic dictated that he must be up to something if he was trying to be all geeky. People like him just don't do those kinds of things. The ostracism would just be too shocking for them.

Having had enough of Chloe's antics, she decided to hold the dog's leash as she tried to untangle the mess with her other hand.

“Where does something go to find those games, or play them for that matter. I’m always looking for a new hobby.”

She looked up, from her bent-over position, surprised that he would actually ask. So surprised, in fact that a tug from her 95-pound dog allowed her to slip from Lila's grasp, catching her off balance. At the same time, the leash pulled taut against the guy's feet as he shifted, sweeping him from his feet. Girl met boy in a collision and, as mass and momentum went, the heavier and the larger force won. Lila's hand tried to grab onto something as her other reached out behind her to cushion her fall. She landed to the ground with a grace of a fish out of water, her forearm scraping the sidewalk, burning even under the protection of her sweater, the wind getting knocked out of her as she landed on the pavement.

The next thing she knew she was facing the bright blue sky and the sound of Chloe whimpering beside her, her wet nose nudging her ear. Lila groaned and found herself sandwiched between cement and man. Her arm was on fire and her back and butt felt bruised, but she froze on a more pressing problem: The guy she was talking to was on top of her, face cushioned on her breasts and one of his hands on her thigh, high up...too high up. A hair's breadth more and he would be touching somewhere too intimate.

And he was heavy. All his weight on her. She wanted to get mad, but she couldn't This was partly her fault. If she just had a better handle on Chloe. And though she felt like her personal space had been completely crushed, it intrigued her that she only felt mildly violated. Was it because it was an honest accident or because he was cute or...

Wait! It was not time to analyze the situation! She realized that her other hand was clutched on his shirt, bunched above his stomach--and they were perfectly firm! What woman didn't want to feel a perfectly sculpted male?--and released it with a little reluctance. She wiggled and tried to push him off, but he was too heavy, and his other hand, apparently was trapped under her. Perhaps that was why she didn't feel as hurt as she should have been.

"Um...hey guy?" What was his name? She didn't even know. One thing was sure, she was grateful for this man who kept her from injury.

Chloe barked, glad that her human was alive and his hand twitched higher. She yelped and started pushing him away with more earnest. "Get up!"

Lost in translation, the dog barked happily, glad that her human was alive and energetic. Her panting and her tongue lolling punctuated the excitement.
 
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There are moments that linger for days, even if they are fleeting at best. There are moments that feel instantaneous, but scream for forever to continue. It would be easier to go poetic about such things and not completely recognize that Arthur was practically dry humping a girl on a city street.

No sooner did he start to lose balance but he found himself falling on top of this stranger. This would have been embarrassing enough, but it was how they landed that just made it that much moreso. He literally fell on top of her; she lying on her back, he lying above. Their hips sprawled against each other, his face planted between her breasts, and if removed from their clothing & the very public location there would be little doubt what deed they would be involved in if someone came across them.

The truth is, something like this in the moment he didn’t notice the awkwardness of the situation; not immediately that is. All he knew is she fell, and he fell on top of her. His only concern was if she had been hurt, if he had been hurt. That is, until he felt her hand on his abs. The touch, innocent enough seemed to feel like sparks through his lungs. Then she started to shift and wiggle under him, the effect grinding their crotches together, and that natural heat that rests in their loins seemed to pulse up through his blood.

Maybe it was just being a guy, but this woman went from having curious hobbies to becoming a sexual object. It wasn’t just that he had a face full of boob. Her breasts were firm, warm, and welcoming. It wasn’t that her hips lay open, but the way he lay between them seemed to feel like their bodies fit together like life’s puzzle pieces coming together. Where his hand lay on her thigh, where her hand lay on his torso, it just felt like a greater connection came from their physical being.

Then again, she was a complete stranger.

And this was completely wrong.

Catching his mind, finally waking from that moment, he planted a hand on the pavement next to her and pushed himself up to his knees. At first, he was too distracted to speak cohesively. “Umm … sorry … I just fell,” he moaned.

He looked behind him, found that his legs somehow were released from Chloe’s leash, and he better get to his feet quickly or that happy puppy was going to loop around their madness again. Once on his feet, he offered a hand to help her up. “Sorry … Are … are you alright? Are you hurt?”

The moment, however long that moment lasted, was passed. He still felt her warmth against his hips, against his face, against his stomach. Maybe he felt it as a memory, but it lingered - even before the regret of causing the accident began.
 
Einstein said that time was relative, and the worse the experience, the longer the time. Now that the guy had gotten up, panic had faded into something worse, but more familiar: embarrassment and awkwardness. And, as always, those two emotions lengthened time as effectively as pain did, dragging out moments to minutes, and seconds to hours. And, in quite the opposite fashion, her movements were rushed and her mind went a thousand miles a second. All she felt to the very core of her was the need to run. Escape. Break away from the lengthening time.

Her hand shot up as she stood taking his hand as her other replaced the strap off her bag on her shoulder. As soon as she got up, she realized she was holding his hand and quickly took it back and dusted herself off. She knew by the heat in her face that she was red in the face and as her mind tried to shut down memories of what happened, she averted her eyes, looking at anything but him.

But in all the rush, Lila remembered one thing: words diffused awkwardness. So she spoke. She spoke to end the horrible situation she was in.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said. "A little scratch, but that's normal. It always happens. I won't die from a little scratch." She laughed a little awkward laugh trying to find the words to end the scenario. But she couldn't find the words. So she floundered. Groped in the dark, trying to find those few words that could allow her to leave or make him leave...

"Oh! Yeah, um...the game thing, right?" She rummaged for a pen and paper not thinking, just acting as Chloe, for once just sat between them, expectant. "We usually play once a week. Whole day, just playing. Well, for RPG that is. Board games are on a different day. But yeah, not that, right. Um, so..." she scribbled on the piece of paper. "Yeah. This is where we meet. We start at 10. Everyone brings something to eat. Marc provides all the Mountain Dew so drinks are fine. But we really don't eat those healthy stuff, so if you want you can bring your protein shake or something. I mean, it's chips and pizza usually. Sometimes Chinese takeouts. There's three other players there too. Marc's the GM--er...game master. And yeah, the game's not going to be D&D tomorrow. Jadepunk. Same story-telling principle, but different world and mechanics. We just ended the D&D campaign so, sorry about that. Uh, yeah, that's his house," she handed him the paper. "I'll tell him you'll be coming. Uh...frogger! I don't know your name. Sorry. Um, what is it? Oh, uh, I'm Lila, by the way."

Words tumbled over words and the breaks were getting more and more difficult to find, but the question about who they were was an effective emergency break. And...wait, did she just say frogger in front of him? Yep, she just made herself sound weirder. It's not like he would remember an old game reference. Maybe she should have just cursed, but it was just not natural for her. She wasn't a "curser." And it could turn him off.

Funny how she was worried about turning him off with curses, when she might have just made herself the laughing stock in his head with her clumsiness and her stuttering and that fall...when their bodies touched.

Her mind reeled back. He was on top of her, so sure, panic and pain were there. Embarrassment at being in such a position in public? Check. But there was one thing missing. She didn't--not once--felt like she was violated. For goodness sakes! His face was on her boobs! Maybe because he looked so handsome and respectable that she didn't feel violated. But, no. That didn't make sense at all. He was touching her. His body against her...

Okay, in retrospect, that felt more like an ecchi anime moment. Only thing was, she didn't feel like slapping him. And being honest with herself, she kind of liked how his hard abs felt against her hands. Sure, clothed, but she never touched abs before. And not a single one of her gamer friends had any abs. Sure she touched them when they joked saying, "Buddha bless me," while rubbing on Marc's pregnant-looking fat tummy so they could get good rolls on their dice, but that didn't feel nice. This? This felt really nice. And, okay, so she had to be mad at being touched on her thigh, right? But just as the thought occurred, she felt the shadow of his phantom hand on her again. And no, she wasn't mad either. She felt...well almost the same when she watched the occasional hentai anime.

Ugh! She was so pathetic! She couldn't even watch live porn. But still, 2D porn was still porn. And it was the closest she got to being intimate with a guy. But yeah, she was feeling a little arousal from the memory and that was not good when he was standing right in front of her. But so what if she was hideous to him. She can have her fantasies. Like, take it from where they were on the ground. Remember each sensation...his weight on her...

Nope. Later! Not now. Now, what she had to do was leave, get a Frisbee, play with Chloe for an hour, then she can lock herself up in her room with her memories and her fingers.

But, that wasn't right. He was.--hard as it was to admit--nice. She couldn't do that to a nice guy. That was like a mental violation or something. Like she didn't like guys undressing her in their minds. She stole a glace at him and reconsidered. Okay, maybe she wouldn't mind if he did, which was weird. Why wouldn't she mind? He was a guy like any other.

Puzzle for another day.

For now, she had to push the thought of him away and maybe pull out a video at home and get off on that. He didn't deserve to be thought of that way by some random creepy girl like her, because looking at the whole scenario, she was being a jerk to a nice guy who seemed genuinely interested.

Mental note: Don't be a jerk and don't mentally fuck the nice guy. You have a collection of hentai for that.

Ugh! She was pathetic.
 
How do you describe a girl like her.

Cute? He had thought ‘Cute’ before already didn’t he? Thought like that, like in comparison how Denise can be cute sometimes.

No, she was cute different than that.

Besides, cute sounds like something you would call a little kid. The still fresh memory of her body lying under his would make “cute” feel like an icy cold shower. At this point the heat in his blood feels too good to just say ‘cute’. This woman was too much woman for that. Even if not ‘woman’ like Denise is.

Before he a had a chance to voice relief that she wasn’t hurt, she started in speaking. Gone was that quick statement person who he first tried to help. Now her words came in full, like a river flowing non-stop. She stumbled and she jumped around. From board games to Dew to chinese takeout. She seemed to barely take a breath in there somewhere. All he could do was watch, as a wide smile grew on his face.

Yeah, cute. Cute is fitting. But a cute that didn’t let that heat in his blood cool yet either.

Lila.

Her name was Lila.

Cute Lila. Cute. But woman cute. Sexy, that’s the word. Sexy cute Lila.

He took the piece of paper from her. Confidently, he pulled the pen from her hand and tore off a chunk of the paper. “I’ll be there, but just in case, here is my number.” He added his name and offered the paper back and a causal hand to shake in greeting. “And it’s Arthur. Or Art. I prefer Arthur though.” With a smirk and a shrug, “but Frogger works too.”

Just then his pocket buzzed, and he slipped it out enough to see a call from Denise. He tried to hide his disappointment with that same smile but surely was failing. “The troops are wondering what happened to me, so I better get going. But you can expect me to be there at … Marc’s is it? I’ll try to do my best to not embarrass you, by, well you know … dry humping you on a public sidewalk again.” He began to head towards where his friends waited and called back, “I’m glad we ran into each Lila, you too Chloe.” He gave a wink and was off.

….

As planned, the crew were sitting at a six top at Compass, which Denise looking fairly distracted. As he arrived he had his fake smile to go along with his calm demeanor.

“Get that street girl cleaned up,” Saline sneared.

“Now, don’t be mean,” Arthur tried to laugh off.

Sandra, leaning back with a martini glass full of some green drink wafted her hand around. “She was a complete mess. We were just agreeing that her outfit was atrocious. What was she going for, faux hipster? I describe her as fashion ignorant.”

“I describe her as a nerd, and nerd is ‘in’ for girls,” Todd laughed.

Kyle nodded, “I’d describe her as hittable, because I’d hit that.”

That got a huff from Sandra, before they started laughing and chatter about something.

Denise though. She remained quiet, taking her time to listen to all the discussions, but when she looked to Arthur the gaze stayed slightly longer, lingered, and troubled on him. Arthur new nearly all the descriptions for Denise - and in this moment it is controlled. Arthur let whatever was on her mind linger as well. Maybe they would talk about it later, maybe not. He knew better to bring it up at all. She knew better to bring it up here.

Besides, it wasn’t like he was hitting on another girl just now. Sure Lila is sexy cute, but he’s with Denise. They are practically a full thing, so it’s not like he going to be chasing after some new girl that just happened to fall underneath him.

He was still with Denise.

Even if she was sexy.

Even if the thought of Lila couldn’t slip itself away from him.

Even after Brunch and drinks ended. Even after he took Denise home. Even after he lay her down on the bed, laid her back against the mattress, moved himself ontop of her, placed her hands on his sides, on his stomach, placed her as if she was laid out on a sidewalk, as if she was in a time of need, and he was the only one there when the rest left them behind. Even when he closed his eyes and remembered the feel of Lila, the smell of Lila, the touch of Lila. Even after all of that.

Even after all that.

He was still with Denise.

Because, how can you describe a girl like her.
 
Lila looked after him as he walked off, a small smile curling the edges of her lips as she watched each confident stride he took. The way he carried himself and the way he dressed and talked screamed that he was a god among men. Those few who had it all and was never in need of anything like distractions of the gaming kind. A man who could have anything he wanted and do anything he wanted in reality and not rely on books and fantasy and sci-fi just to fill the void.

And yet, he was interested. It was a paradox. Like how he should not exist in the present when he killed himself in the past...and yet he still existed.

And...yes, there was a little stolen glance of his ass.

Chloe barked at her as if scolding her, shaking her out of her thoughts. She sighed looking down at her.

"I know, I know," she tugged on her leash as they walked the other way toward the pet shop. "No bad thoughts of the man. And yes, we're looking for a Frisbee for you."

Chloe happily followed as they went into the shop and made their way back to the dog park. With the Frisbee, she threw further, giving her more time doing nothing but think as it usually did, but this time, her thoughts were different. Gone were the thoughts of programming and the little projects she kept on putting off from posting in Kickstarter. Instead, her mind wandered back to Arthur and his manly air. The way his clothes fitted his body and stretched as he moved.

And the definitive tone of his voice. She wouldn't mind listening to it. Besides, it would make for a good storytelling voice, especially if he played some kind of warrior. Or perhaps a lord. But whatever he would play in the game, it would be up to Marc to pull up one of his non-playable characters (NPC) for him to play, at least one-off.

And Chloe liked him. Her dog rarely willingly got to know others. They usually got to know her first before she got friendly. That just proved his magnetic personality--heck, he even pulled her to him. But then again, that was a given. She always easily gravitated toward the kinds of men who were too out of her league. Not that anything happened except for the for the one time they made her the butt of the joke. A few dates and a horrible shaming moment later and it was over. It was a hard lesson to learn: she was not a woman a man would like to have as his partner. And forget lifelong--she couldn't even make it to an honest fling or one-night stand.

All too soon, she felt hungry and it was time to go home. A quick chat with Mrs. Meredith and a few minutes of finishing touches to the bug fix on an old program, and she was whipping up something in the kitchen. Today, she felt like eating sweet potato casserole and fried chicken, and as always, she cooked and ate what she wanted, still not seeing the point of a "diet," which she felt likely came from the word "die."

But even as she cooked and she ate, her mind was too fixated on Arthur...and the way he felt on top of her. Right in front of her, on the table, was Arthur's number. Part of her wanted to call him...then what? Be a desperate idiot? And why didn't she give her number back? Not that he seemed interested anyway. She sighed as she ate and watched Chloe munch happily without a care in the world.

"I guess I'm really just lonely, huh, girl? You're so lucky all you need is one human. Well, I need one human too, but, you know..."

Chloe whined and cocked her head to the side in response before licking the dot of dog food that got stuck on the tip of her nose.

Lila grinned and pat her on the head before doing the dishes, then went to her stack of hentai collections. But for some reason, none of them appealed to her at the moment. Looking at them made her feel...more like a loser. Not like Arthur who might be banging his girlfriend--or some random girl he picked up if he didn't have a girl--on a good night like this. Or maybe thoughts of being alone just killed her mood. Or maybe she waited too long?

The important thing was, her libido was gone, even as the feel and the sight of him lingered. She sighed and brushed the thoughts of him off her mind. Pining after someone like him was bad business. And if she didn't learn from that, then she deserved the pain that came later.

In any case, there wasn't going to be any playtime tonight. Instead, she took a bath and went straight to bed with Chloe at her side, hugging the big ball of fur as she dreamed of Arthur.

---

Game day, and Marc sat at one of the sides of the square gaming table staring at Lila. Beside him, Gelo adjusted his circular glasses on his nose. Both vied for the first place for being the most rotund, but Gelo, being on the shorter side won that battle. Derek sat right across Gelo beside her and he was as thin as they were fat. Lanky and willowy, he always seemed to be sleepy, but he was one of the most brilliant engineers in the world, whose genius was being used by his boss. On their cup holders were varying sugary drinks, some pizza on a nearby table and some chips.

"So, you're telling me that a 'cool guy'," Marc did the air quotes with his fingers, "is gaming with us honestly. That this isn't some prank they want to pull on us?"

"He was really honest and interested," Lila said.

"Well, we can always take him in and let him ruin our day," Gelo sneered.

"Or, we can lock him in the attic, like what they did to us growing up," Derek grinned.

"Hey! That's not fair!" Lila shot at them.

"You're right. Let's lock him in the dog cage instead. Still bigger than a locker since Bugle was big even for a Golden Retriever," Marc said.

Everyone laughed, but Lila stood her ground frowning at them. "Come on, guys! Stop being such dicks!"

"Because we are!" Gelo said making the guys laugh even more.

"Okay, assholes," Lila corrected. "Like that better? Anyway, he really is nice. And, come on. We've always been picked on. You know how it feels. And do you seriously want bad rep on the real gaming community? You'll never know if he might really like it."

"And hide the fact he likes it from the world so they don't laugh at him too? Fine," Marc huffed. "But he makes fun of us once and he's out."

"Like we don't make fun of one another." Lila crossed her arms under her chest.

"We're friends. That's different," Derek said. "But yeah, I don't want him wisecracking at us either."

Lila opened her mouth to speak, but the doorbell cut her off. She sighed. "Behave," she said as she walked over to the door.
 
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Nervous.

Nervous is a thing now.

Arthur checked the address on the note one more time, then looked at the building. Good news was, it seemed to be built on a normal flat - so even if this Marc guy was living with his parents he wouldn’t be so cliche to live out of the basement. Still, it looked like it had an attic, which is about the same thing.

‘Damnit, Art,’ he swore to himself. ‘That’s the kind of bullshit that gets you kicked out of these things. Lila was cool, so why can’t whoever these people are be cool too. Surely they aren’t a bunch of nerdy, rotund, engineers or something like that; just normal folks … who pretend to be fantasy creatures and make up stories with dice.’

He took a long slow breath and tried to calm himself. This didn’t sound like him.

Actually it sounded like Denise. Sounded exactly like Denise when he told her he was thinking about joining a role play group for fun. She wasn’t exactly open to the idea. So he didn’t exactly tell her that he wasn’t actually thinking of joining a group, he was actually going to join one that day. She had a work event, setting up for some gallery show that night, something he would probably need to make an appearance at later on, but with her out of the house he could just slip out and go.

So there he stood, outside of the house for the mysterious ‘Marc’. He thought to go casual, kahki short, button down blue shirt untucked, and loafters. The kind he would wear when they head out to the cape. That would be casual for these guys, wouldn’t it? He had his trusty computer bag slung over his shoulder with notepads and pens and pencils not sure completely what he would need. Oh, and his snacks.

Ringing the doorbell, he stood there and really started to feel it … he was nervous. Not real bad, he just wasn’t used to it. Nervous wasn’t his thing before. He rarely ever was nervous. Why was he nervous.

The door opened up and some of his fear subsided. Lila answered. A face he recognized. That of course helped with the nerves. Helped a lot actually.

Because nervous wasn’t a thing anymore.

That smile grew on his face that gleamed the relief of finding the right house and going to spend the day with the right people doing something he was more than a little curious about. “Well hello there, sunshine,” he greeted with the slight edge of sarcasm. “You mentioned there maybe Chinese, so I thought along those lines for snacks. I got up early today and rolled some sushi & steamed some dumplings.” The clear bag had clear plastic containers with an array of well prepared finger food. “I hope it goes with what the rest of you brought.”

From behind her a voice called out, “Is that him?”

Arthur pressed by Lila and moved towards the gameroom. There sat three guys, all staring suspiciously at him. He stepped quickly towards the guys with his hand outstretched, “Nice to meet you, Arthur.”

None of them made a move to shake his hand back.

The one that seemed to be central one, a rotund fellow with a more stoic express. “Arthur, as in Arthur C. Clarke.”

“Ummmm, no?” Arthur first responded.

That one spoke again quickly, “as in the author. Probably never heard of him.”

“No no … I have … he was … like … Science-y.”

The other bigger fella scoffed, “sciency.”

Back spinning he replied, “I mean, no, I know of him, I just haven’t read much of him. Didn’t he do that Martian Cronicals thing?”

One of them rolled their eyes. Or maybe all of them.

Feeling the pressure of the moment he spoke quickly, “But I was named for a literary person …”

“King Arthur, I bet,” one of them spat.

“Arthur Conan Doyle,” came another in rapid fire.

“Arthur Miller.”

“Arthur Weasley, Ronald's father.”

“The crappy PBS cartoon Arthur.”

Finally he spoke up and interrupted them all, “Arthur Dent.”

There was a pause as the all looked at him, slightly stunned and trying to process it.

The one that sat in the center looked unconvinced. “And, you’re towel?”

Arthur cracked a smile, that confident casual smile that usually came much easier than this. “I know exactly where it is. “ He pulled open the side pouch of his shoulder bag and retrieved a small shammy no bigger than a washcloth with a very large smiling planet like figure with a tongue sticking out. Emblazen across the bottom were the words in big bold letters ‘Don’t Panic. Usually when he mentions his name was tied to the classic novel Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galazy, someone will mention 42 or something about dolphins. The towel he picked up years ago and carries with him just for a grand moment like this.

The main one in the middle nodded and pursed his lips. “Impressed.”

Arthur felt a bit of the tension drop in the room. “My dad was kind of a fan. Most people don’t even know what I'm talking about when I mention the book. But at least my name is common, unlike my sister, Trillian.”

The smaller guy sitting off the side seemed to perk up, “You have a sister named Trillian?” After a moment he studdard, “is … is she … cute?”

Arthur looked over his shoulder at Lila, happy now that some kind of acceptance is happening, however loose that it is. With a smirk he nodded towards the smaller guy, “can I trust him with my sister?”
 
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When Lila opened the door, she was expecting a normal, casual 'hi, come on in,' before sitting on a table and introducing him to everyone. Instead, she stood there a little stunned. He actually came, which shouldn't really surprise her since he said he would, but it did. He really did come--and he looked even more impressive now that her brain wasn't panicking. How could anyone wear normal clothes and still look cool? Maybe it was the fit, because she looked like a drab in lounge pants and a big sweatshirt. Or maybe because he wasn't wearing glasses?

She wanted to say something, but all her brain was coming up with was Damn, son. You're hot! and there was no way she was saying that!

“Is that him?”


"Y-yeah! Come in," She stepped aside and let Arthur through.

She followed him after closing the door behind her and saw none of them taking his hand as he introduced himself. She was about to open her mouth and berate them, but things chugged along, and slowly things were beginning to escalate. And one thing she was never good at was dousing the flames of a possible fight. Wracking her head to cool things down was a sudden stop as if everyone was suddenly doused with cold water.

Arthur Dent? He was named after Arthur Dent? He didn't look like him. Not even in the books. And he certainly dressed with more flair, but she was grinning from ear to ear by how cool his dad was for naming him after Arthur Dent.

And with that came instant rapport with her friends. And a big relief for her.

They like him now. And that was good. It was all she could do not to jump up and down for joy.

"Can I trust him with my sister?"


Lila laughed. But her laugh didn't have a sound, like it always did when she found something truly funny. "No."

"What do you mean no?" Gelo protested.

Lila glared at him. "You touched my ass once."

"You slapped me for it, so lesson learned."

Derek laughed. "Yeah, right. You can trust Marc with your sister, definitely. His girlfriend would flay him if he tried anything, so she's safe. And I still don't know why the hell you enjoy that kind of stuff with her."

"Hey! BDSM is a lifestyle that's not for everyone." Marc snorted. "Anyway, Arthur, take a seat and if you have any food with you, the rule is, it must be on the table and is free for all."

"I still don't know why you like the feeling of your balls being crushed." Derek shuddered for emphasis.

"Say one more thing about my sex life and rocks fall on your character."

Gelo looked at the food Arthur put on the table and whistled. "Dude! You got us set for the whole day! Thanks, man."

"Alright, guys, we're forgetting one thing," Lila interjected. "So you all know Arthur. Arthur, this is Gelo," she pointed to the shortest of the three. "He's very tactile so if he touches you with greasy pizza hands, especially since you sit beside him, that's normal. So let's hope that isn't a $900 shirt. This is Derek," she cocked her head toward her seatmate. "He's a brony, so if you're suddenly riding a unicorn instead of a horse as Marc told you that your character has, it's on him. And lastly, Marc. Be a douche and ruin the game for everyone, rocks fall, your character dies. There should be one more person in the group, but Billy's been sent to the Pacific for a sea expedition, so he wouldn't be back for a few more months."

"Alright! Let's start." Marc rubbed his hands and took out eight fudge dice as everyone else took out their character sheets and their own set of dice, tossing over four red dice to Arthur and a character sheet already filled out.

"So, since Lila said you're a beginner, let me lay the ground rules. And there's just two: If you're no longer having fun, say so. Every game should be fun for everyone. The other one is, no metagaming. That means, if you know something that your character doesn't, you don't use that knowledge to help him. If you're not sure, or if you want to set up something about your character that the others shouldn't know about, hand me a note." He pulled out the core rules book of Jadepunk from his bag and showed it to him. "We're playing Jadepunk. It's not D&D, but it's basically the same. You have a character and you interact with other characters and the environment.

"Jadepunk is steampunk without steam married with Chinese wuxia action. You use Jade to power everything in the city called, Kausao. The short of it is, you're all rebels trying to upend the upper class who keeps the riches and the power to themselves and considers everyone else who's poor to be toys for their amusement. Since we don't know how long you'll be playing with us or even if you'll like it, you'll be playing one of my NPCs. His name is Keiji Akai and his family controls the largest jade mine, and secretly a supporter of the rebels. You have actually given them a base of operations that's hidden from the rest of the nobles. So, characters, introduce yourselves."

"I'm Roland Cher," Gelo said first. "I'm a tailor by profession. I make fabulous clothes and I can't abide by anyone who doesn't wear anything fabulous! By the way, mock my creations and you will know the true Iron Fist."

"I'm Rajin Naser and I was raised in the slums," Derek said. "I and my brother were thrown into a twisted game by the rich bastards a-la Battle Royale and I was the only survivor. So you could bet your boots I'm gonna bring them down. He was my only family and they took him away from me. Made me kill him with my own hands. They will feel the wrath of the streets as we pour down our gutters down their throats!"

"And I," Lila said, "am Shuang Kuai Li. Was previously a tutor for one of the ruling Tuyang families, until I saw something secret about them that I shouldn't have. They took out my eyes, left me for dead and was only brought back by a kindly couple who were rebels and practiced the Iga school of fighting. They died in one of the missions. I carry on the fight without my sight. For without sight, there can be clarity. Also, I do a Daredevil so I can still see with my senses, which people don't know about and I just have fun with."

"Just to add, we're doing fate system..." Marc said and continued to talk about basic rules of the game and the system. Soon, they were playing with a bunch of silliness and weird modifications added in just for fun to things like, Arthur's character's tribal servants suddenly wearing dresses because Gelo's character thought their clothes looked horrible, along with serious maneuvering and situations, and lots of combat.

The group was animated and lively, creating both good and bad situations for themselves. They encouraged Arthur to get out of his shell, cheering him on when he did something awesome and helped him when he struggled with something.

Soon, it was night and the food and drinks were mostly out. Time seemed to have stopped until Derek's phone rang. His boss.

"So, it's eight, I guess," Marc said as Derek went off to the side talking to his boss. "That guy never fails to make Derek write reports at this hour. Geez! Anyway, tomorrow's work day so, I guess that's the wrap. So," he turned to Arthur, "If you liked our session and would like to continue being part of the group, you can create your own character." He handed him a blank character sheet. "Lila can help you with chargen."

"Why me?"

"Because you have too much time in your hands locked up in your little home office. We, on the other hand, go to real offices and have to clock in and out. Besides, you brought him here."

"Fine..." she said trying not to sound excited that she'd meet him more often. There was just something about him that made her want to be with him. Moreso now that she saw how he really was a part of her world when they were gaming.

They packed up and helped Marc with a little cleanup before saying their goodbyes and leaving.

"So," Lila said when they were out on the streets. "Had fun?"
 
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For the hundredth time, Arthur looked down at his phone as he quickly searched something. After three tries he finally fell onto a spelling of Tuyang that seemed to be accurate enough to get what he was looking for. Turns out the messenger was from ‘China in no particular era’. Sliding his lip between his teeth he offered up, “I don’t know if this is an issue where I have to roll whether or not I trust him or not.”

Marc smirked, “you don’t have to roll, just go with how your character would go.”

Arthur gave a nod, “I don’t trust him. Or … erm … Keiji Akai doesn’t trust them. So let’s not take the gifts whatever they are.”

“Damn,” Marc said with a bit of an evil snicker. “Then I guess nothing happens to you … this time.”

Derek gave a bit of a fist pump. Just as he did, his phone rang. As he turned his attention away from his phone he noticed the mood in the room change. Slowly, steadily, the realization for all in the room came that the night was over. Arthur did what he could to help clean up, which was probably more than expected. He was surprisingly (or maybe not as surprising) more apt at cleaning than the rest of the guys, and in no time trash, dishes, and leftovers were up and away.

With time, they were on the street, heading out together. Almost as if they came here together. He and Lila, in stride on the way to the metro station.

”So, Had fun?”

“Yeah,” he responded. “I mean, yeah, like that was a lot of fun.” He shrugged as his hands slid into his pockets as he walked. “I spent most of the day worried I was going to screw something up, and the other half trying to figure out what the heck you guys were talking about; but that was fun in a way I didn’t expect to be. I hope I did alright, didn’t ruin things too much.”

Walking along, he looked upwards to the night sky, the bits of stars showing through the blackness and wash of city lights. “You know when we were in that grand hall. With all those people there to challenge our intentions? The way that Marc described it, with all that detail and all that imagery. Then Gelo pushed his vision of those people standing in front of him and his thoughts, and then you came along to challenge them in return. I mean … listen to me … We were there. It wasn’t a story, I could really see it all, like we were really there.” He gave a light laugh. “That made all of it worth it.”

Text from Denise: Bring white wine, Didn’t order enough Her gallery showing. Yeah, he was supposed to make an appearance wasn’t he. Arthur did a little math in his head. Find a wine store, get a good bottle, and get to the gallery. Will be itching closer to nine or nine-thirty. Early enough, maybe not; he’d have to catch a ride to get there quicker.. But that means heading off now, rather than walking with Lila. To end this grand day, to go back to the rest of his life, and let this story filled dream world become a distant memory until the next invite comes along. There’s no need to follow it up tonight, no need to do any cool down or debrief. Just end the night now. But that is the right thing to do. Apologize to Lila, grab a rideshare, and head to the gallery right away. Yep, that is the right thing to do. She’d be okay with it. She’d understand of course.

Another text came in from Denise: You are coming,right?

He put his phone back in his pocket.

He smiled over to Lila. “Now that I have all these questions, you feel like grabbing a drink somewhere and filling me in on all the things I need to do better? Least you can do now that you hooked me on Jadepunk.”
 
"Ruin things?" Lila laughed, hugging her portfolio in front of her chest.. "You did pretty awesome. A little shy at some things, yeah, but that's expected. It is your first time, after all. A little bit more time and you'll be as animated as the rest of us. Besides, even if you made horrible decisions, that would be so much more fun because we have to dig everyone out of the crap we're in and we'll joke about it out of game anyway. Think of it as more comedy material and inside jokes for friends."

Cute. That was what Arthur was getting more and more to be the more Lila spent time with him. From god to cute. And that was actually an improvement--a good change. When he was a god, she didn't even know how to talk to him. Like a mortal awestruck by a celestial being descended from the heavens with infinite superiority. But now that he was becoming cute, he had become more relatable. More fun. More like her and her friends. And it was those kinds of people that she could really speak with and spend time with.

And, really, what loser girl wouldn't want to have the attention of someone like him? It was stupid not to like walking with him and talking with him...actually doing something together.

“You know when we were in that grand hall. With all those people there to challenge our intentions? The way that Marc described it, with all that detail and all that imagery. Then Gelo pushed his vision of those people standing in front of him and his thoughts, and then you came along to challenge them in return. I mean … listen to me … We were there. It wasn’t a story, I could really see it all, like we were really there.” He gave a light laugh. “That made all of it worth it.”


Lila laughed with him. "And when that pompous jerk of an oligarch came at us with fifty men and we all thought we were all going to have to fight our way out of that? The way you suddenly announced that you actually had a way out with the jade-mecha thing you scavenged? That moment. That was when you really became an RPG player. Screaming and getting all into character and stuff. And then Gelo clapped you so hard on the back you became sheepish. So cute!" She paused. Frogger! Did she just call him cute? "I mean, the situation was cute, you know." She bit her lower lip and smiled at him.

A notification tone came and silence settled between them as Arthur checked his phone. He looked like he had a problem to solve the way his brows knit and his face was completely wiped of the smile he had. That moment. That image. It reminded her that although they played together, they were still in different worlds. For all she knew he could be a senior manager at some top firm with hundreds of people at his command, flying high over the rest of humanity, and she was that lowly mook employee who does whatever people tell her to do.

He'd leave her little corner of the world soon.

“Now that I have all these questions, you feel like grabbing a drink somewhere and filling me in on all the things I need to do better? Least you can do now that you hooked me on Jadepunk.”


Lila brightened. Her eyes shone and her lips curled into a silly grin when he invited her. It wasn't a date invitation, but he wanted to spend more time with her despite what seemed to be business matters he had to attend to. And that meant a lot. Not a lot of people invited her to hang out. But it wasn't like she had a lot of friends to begin with, and those few friends weren't the type to ask anyone out either.

"Sure, lead the way," she said.

They made their way to a little quaint coffee shop nearby and with Arthur's drink and Lila's marshmallow-topped milk chocolate on the corner table where they sat, Lila brought out the book for basic character creation and another book for materials creation. "I'll explain a lot of things to you later, but I think we have to be more grounded on some things first, if that's okay with you? And then we could probably get to improving how you play."

She took a moment to notice the setting. If there weren't RPG books on the table, it could have been a date. Well, she could always imagine it was. Frogger! She really was having feelings for him. That was bad. Horrible. She was going to regret this later. She always did. The wise things to do was stop. Stop before he ripped her heart out--not because he was at fault, but because she was stupid to let herself believe things that weren't real. Treating life like a lifelong RPG game. Pretending all the time about things that weren't true as if they were real. She should stop wishing and just get to the matter, help him improve his game and schedule chargen meetups.

"Um, before we start though, I want to know more about you. I mean, I have to know more about you to help you make the right character that you'll be comfortable playing, which is the first rule if you want to have a better experience playing this. We'll do character generation, or chargen once we establish a few things about you. And when we have more time. I mean, it might take as long as Derek, who needs at least a week to make his character."

Of course, she also meant she wanted to know him better because she was curious about him and that was the best excuse she could come up with. And besides, Derek was a nutcase OC perfectionist about character creation. No one really takes that long to create a character. Hell, she could whip one up in an hour or less.

And she was suggesting that they meet for a week for this? She needed to find more excuses to make it longer.

Why didn't she have any self-control?
 
Arthur had been getting into the more East African blends of espresso, so the fact this place had a nice Rwanda southern province bean was a nice surprise. Not as nutty as it was hinting of chocolates and spices, something that was not muted too much by a dash of almond milk and steamed water to not overpower the cup.

Probably the hot chocolate was good here too. Though Lila’s choice made him feel a little pretentious. But at this point … probably everything he did around her felt pretentious.

"Um, before we start though, I want to know more about you. I mean, I have to know more about you to help you make the right character that you'll be comfortable playing, which is the first rule if you want to have a better experience playing this. We'll do character generation, or chargen once we establish a few things about you. And when we have more time. I mean, it might take as long as Derek, who needs at least a week to make his character."

“So, you are telling me that I can’t just be a man of mystery, he who lurkins in the shadows only to come along, crash into you & Chloe, just so I can steal your jade when you aren't looking?” He gave a smirk trying to get her to smile, or laugh, or … maybe just like him. He took a sip of his coffee, and remembered that something like this is likely going to keep him up for a long time. That memory almost directly coming in the voice of Denise, who would be saying exactly that to him.

“Not much to really say that I think will make for a good character. This is about the most interesting thing I’ve done in months. Usually I just go out to clubs or sitting at some restaurant or going to some event. Something like that. Nothing adventurous like chasing dragons or monsters across a forest.” He took a longer sip from the coffee. “Heck,I’m a financial analyst. Unless you have a character that just sits around, look at reports in order to give a good recommendation for a future investment that you will eventually ignore, then there isn’t much cross over.”

Denise’s ringtone sprung again from his pocket. But he made no move for it except to silence it through the cloth of his pants.

Acting as though there was no distraction in his pocket, he just continued, “Surely you have a far more interesting tale to tell. What do you do? Other than Jadepunk that is. Or gaming. Like, what do you do?”

He hadn’t noticed, but he had leaned forward in his chair, laying his arm across the table. A subtle movement,one that felt like he wanted to hear what interests him. A slight invasion of her space. A move to not scare her off, but to be closer to her. He didn’t do it intentionally, it just seemed natural.
 
“So, you are telling me that I can’t just be a man of mystery, he who lurkins in the shadows only to come along, crash into you & Chloe, just so I can steal your jade when you aren't looking?”

There was a small smirk the curled on his lips when he said those words. He was so sophisticated and Lila didn't want to look like an idiot in front of him. She wanted to guffaw and she could feel the loud, boisterous laughter bubbling from her stomach, but she held it in, resulting in a very unladylike snort of laughter. Which was, in retrospect, more embarrassing than a guffaw. But it was out and all she could do was blush and stutter to cover it up.

"O-of course not! I just...um...want to know more about you. I mean--I..." she cleared her throat trying to stop herself from digging a deeper hole. "You know..."

She listened to the story of his life. A snippet, sure, but it nailed the truth in. He was in much, much different league than she was. Living the cool life with pretty much the license and the ability to do anything he wanted. And yet, he was here with her in a hole-in-the-wall rustic cafe talking to her. A guy like him talking to a girl like her, made all the more dream-like with the fact that he was handsome. Sure, she listened to him, but the more she stared at his face, the more attractive he looked and she couldn't tear her eyes off him.

“Surely you have a far more interesting tale to tell. What do you do? Other than Jadepunk that is. Or gaming. Like, what do you do?”

"Who? Me? Oh, I'm a programmer." Lila leaned forward, unwittingly mirroring the object of her attraction, biting her lower lip in thoughtfulness wondering how much she should reveal without sounding like a total dork. Maybe add a little something he could relate to. Yeah, right. "The company I work for works for big banks like yours to make sure IT related stuff are taken care of. A lot of my work are security- and online banking development systems-related. But, I don't really go to the companies. I just work at home. Briefing usually happens in the office and I just go back to deliver stuff for them."

She let out a small laughter. "I always wished I could apply in Silicon Valley, but, well...I'm not that great. I mean, I couldn't even get my own projects off the ground. So, anyway, the only adventure I've ever been in are in games. And ComiCon. I've never even been out of the country. But that's more because I'm a little scared going out alone. You must've gone to really cool places like the Bahamas or Maldives, right? So that's way more adventure than I have! And you probably have more exciting stories than me. I mean, this is mostly my life. Stay at home or go to InTech on weekdays, sometimes, boardgame sessions at night. Tabletop RPG on weekends, and go to special events like ComiCon."
 
The phone rang again, again with Denise’s ringtone, again feeling like it was judging him from his pocket. But again he ignored it. Arthur typically let his phone ring while out to dinner or in a conversation, he was good about that actually unlike so many others. That’s the justification he was giving himself at the moment, that it made no sense to interrupt this nice chat with a new friend. Not to mention it was a fun conversation. He’d never met a programmer that was Silicon Valley worthy, and he had to ask her about working from home because that sounded awesome. Plus, got to keep her laughing, that little snort she does was downright cute. So he started where he could.

“ComiCon, eh? Do you dress up for that? Like in a costume for some cool random character that only a few people would get?” With a little more mischievous smile he added, “please say you do, because I am already picturing you in one of those cute superhero outfits that shows off way too much cleavage. Not that I ever trolled pictures of girls from that cosplay, but I SOOOOO troll pictures of girls from that cosplay. I’d go myself but I think I would be staring at everyone all the time until they run me out for being creepy.”

He felt a little embarrassed by the confession, so he took a long sip of his coffee as if to hide behind the cup. “Not that we go anywhere either though. Sometimes a weekend at the beach, but that’s barely an hour drive without traffic. I’ve only left the country to Mexico on Spring Break, but that’s so Americanized that it doesn’t count. Denise wants to go to Italy, so we are saving up for that …”

Arthur kind of dropped off. He hadn’t mentioned his girlfriend the whole night, let alone in any other conversation they have had. Now it just seemed awkward to drop her name out there like it was something already covered. After he breathed through that moment, he asked, “So, Bahamas and Maldives, that’s where you would go if you could?”

Then his phone rang again, not with Denise’s ringtone, but with Todd’s. This time he pulled it out to look at it. This time he thought he better take it. He gave a sheepish look to Lila, “hold that thought,” he said.

Todd was quick: “Dude, where are you, Denise called me and wants to know if we were out together. You chasing something on the side.”

“No,” Arthur replied, “just having coffee with a friend. I’ll let Denise know.”

“What kind of friend,” he came back with.

“It’s nothing, Todd. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” Arthur hung up before there was anything else going on.

With the phone out, he quickly ignored the ten or so messages from Denise, and quickly typed, “having coffee with a friend, talk to you tonight”.

No sooner was it sent and the phone started vibrating of a response and probably another call; but the device was back into his pocket. Out of sight, out of mind.

Forcing a smile he tried to ignore it. “Now, where were we? Somewhere tropic?”
 
Lila breathed out a sigh of relief when he mentioned cosplay and blushed at the thought of showing cleavage. But this was a realm she knew. A realm she was so well versed with, so even if the costume thing was embarrassing, she didn't mind. Besides, she knew that most of those who weren't truly geeks attending the Con were just people who ogled at those who wore skimpy costumes. Both men and women.

"Well, I'm not that confident with my body, as you can see." She spread out her arms emphasizing the loose-fitting clothing. "But yeah, I do cosplay, but mostly well-clothed characters. I usually cosplay Quistis from Final Fantasy 8. I don't even have to pretend I wear glasses." She giggled. "And I guess I do a pretty good job at it, so that's my default unless something comes up. Last year the guys told me to do Harley Quinn, but I knew most everyone was going to dress up as her so I just dropped it. Besides, I really don't like her as a character, anyway, so it wasn't a big loss. That was supposed to be the most daring cosplay I ever did...which never happened. But you should go with us next month. We have Billy's ticket available since his time in the ocean had been extended. Just tell me if you want to go."

She grinned as he talked about going to beaches and stuff. And then suddenly a girl's name. Denise. Shit. Of course he had a girlfriend. And they're planning on a trip to Italy. Which meant she was a steady girlfriend. The way he said it, it was impossible for this Denise to be just his sister.

Lila was about to open her mouth and confirm if Denise was his girl when he shifted into a different topic. It was like he didn't want to talk about her. But why...? She opened her mouth still the topic on her mind after her shifted to her desire to go to the Bahamas and Maldives when he answered a call.

Finally answered a call.

“No, just having coffee with a friend. I’ll let Denise know.”

Lila blinked. Was he supposed to meet with her? That meant he was ditching his girl for her. Maybe they had a spat and he was just using her as an escape. Or maybe he was trying to make Denise jealous and Lila was the perfect person for someone to be jealous to, and at the same time, not be threatened by.

“It’s nothing, Todd. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”


She watched as he typed a quick message on his phone and got back to her smiling. “Now, where were we? Somewhere tropic?”

"Yeah. Maldives..." She took a deep breath. She had to settle things because right now, she was feeling like a man-stealer or a gullible idiot. She just hoped she was wrong. "You never been to either? You should try going with your girlfriend, Denise there. I hear it's really awesome, especially the underwater rooms that let you see all the fish swimming and stuff and no one else around to ruin your day." She smiled at him, trying to have her heart stop hammering as it started to beat painfully, trying to focus on how wonderful the island nation was.

She knew this was going to go badly and yet, she kept her hopes up. It wasn't everyday that she met a perfect guy who understood her. She knew he was too good to be true, and yet, she still hoped. Wished. Only to have her hopes shattered all over again.
 
“... with your girlfriend, Denise …”

And there it was floating between them.

He had been on the receiving end of the subtle ”boyfriend” reference drop to know when the air changes. Now, the air had changed. It shouldn’t have mattered. It really didn’t matter. It’s not like they were on a date, or acting as though they were. But with it now floating between them, the air had changed.

Arthur just decided to pull the bandaid off.

“Yeah, Denise,” he started, his eyes gazing down at the slowly emptying coffee cup. “I hadn’t mentioned her had I. She works across town at an art studio. Typically, I go to the showings they have. I guess I was supposed to be there tonight. So … “ smirking a little to try to make light of the situation “... I’m probably in trouble for this.” He lifted the cup and took a quick swig to finish it off. Following the swallow he put the cup down. “I really should get going and face that music.”

Bit he stopped himself and took a breath before pulling it back. “Don’t get me wrong, that gallery thing would have been boring as hell. This was so much more fun.” The lifting his hands to suggest the coffee house and their table “This … THIS was so much more fun. Thank you for today.”

He got up and stopped himself one more, “and text me this week about Con to get details. I want to know what to wear to it, if you have any ideas. Especially if you got something put together of your own. Cause I think it would be easier for me to dress up if I knew you were going as something cool too.”

....

Whatever wrath he was going to get wasn’t going to come that night. Arthur pretty much went straight home and bed. Denise, likely out with the girls bitching about her boyfriend, wasn’t home yet and didn’t come to bed until deep in the night.

Arthur tried to sleep through it, tried to get good rest; but that was going to be unlikely. The day he had was too stimulating, and the girl he spent the day with too interesting. He regretted ending it on an awkward moment. He regretted ending it at all. Laying the bed he shared with another woman, his mind spun back to the nerdy girl with the glasses, dark hair, and infectious smile. Sure he may get the wrath in the morning, but he still had this day to hold onto a until then.
 
The confirmation that Denise was his girl put the nail on the coffin. Of course, a man too good to be true wasn't true...unless he was another woman's man. It twisted her gut, but she kept the smile up. It was her fault. She was the one who set herself up for this failure. Warning bells rang off in every direction and still, she held on to hope. But hope was often all it ever was. It was nothing more than an illusion to keep one going until the inevitable end happened.

His words cut ever deeper as she realized that again, she was just entertainment for a bored man. This time, she wasn't a bet or a laugh trip. She was an escape from his real world. And it hurt so much more because he had been a part of it. Because her friends liked him. Because she would always see him and always remember the feeling of being used.

She was too stunned to cry. Too hurt to breathe. By the time he left, she was having difficulty breathing. Quickly, she rummaged her bag as her breathing became quicker and shallower. Her hands shook as she took her inhaler, held her breath and let it out with a sob. Tears ran down her cheeks, shaking her head, trying as hard as she could hold back her tears unsuccessfully.

Even when she got home, tears fell. She knew. She knew and she remained hard-headed. With Chloe at her neighbor's and not wanting the old lady to worry herself over her, she resolved to climb to her bed crying as she held on tightly to her pillow.

As she cried over it, she realized that she was the only one who really set herself up for failure. Not once did he really show that he was interested in her. He was interested in her world. In the things that were taboo to his people--she was the only one to go beyond such a friendly acquaintance to a possibility in a romantic relationship. It wasn't his fault. He really didn't show an interest in her. He found Chloe cute, not her. He went to Marc's because of the game, not because of her. He asked her to go to the cafe with him because he wanted to know more about the game. Not. Her. Any conversation they had about their personal lives was because she opened it.

She screamed in her pillow hating herself. Hating how much of a loser she was. She cried and cried until her eyes were dry, her breathing stilled and her consciousness faded transforming into horrible dreams of faces of all the people in her life who bullied and made fun of her. In front was Arthur. He wasn't laughing like the others, but he was shaking his head in pity, disappearing into the cloud of faces as the whole world continued to see her for the loser she was.

---

A few days passed and Lila shuttered herself in her room drowning herself in work, not daring to think about Arthur. But because she was brilliant at what she did, her work was over too quickly and there was nothing more her boss could give her to do until he got back with feedback and other improvements and additions the client wanted. Without work, she focused on her side project. She knew it would never see the light of day, but to see her masterpiece completed would be satisfying.

Especially for herself.

She went for this project because she had no one to talk to. So far she had gotten her program to respond like another human being...if that human didn't have any empathy, sympathy and emotions. Another tricky part was getting it to understand subtle nuances like sarcasm and humor. That and the cultural biases of humans. But so far it was the most advanced AI there was. No other technology was as close to mimicking human interaction like she did.

And now, if she could only program it to respond like a caring lover, maybe she wouldn't delude herself that there was a man out there somewhere who was waiting for her...
 
Donner, the guy from the thirty-second floor, leaned back in his chair and tapped his chin with the pen that likely cost him a couple hundred dollars. “The quarterly earnings from Q216 don’t show the upside on the market you are suggesting.”

“The earnings were adjusted due to one-time costs related to human services,” Romanowski replied. Romanowski only arrived at the first a year before Arthur, but alright is a couple rungs up from him. That just means, he does all the talking, if Arthur’s numbers get challenged.

“What one-time costs,” Donner asked.

“Training, it was a corrective action based on a recall..”

Donner scoffed. “That’s stupid, they should just hire workers that know how to do it right.”

Matik spoke up, his voice sharp through his Armenian accent, “One-Time cost. Then quarterly gains since. Don’t waste our time Donner.”

“Are you not concerned that this quarterly data doesn’t match market trends, Matik?” Donner kicked back.

“I would,” the older european man replied, “if we were here to discuss market trends. They ask for loan for office furniture.”

Arthur, tried to focus on the conversation, but focus wasn’t really his thing this week. He kept his laptop open on the premise he was taking notes & comparing data points for the presentation. It was really his presentation, he wrote up the contract, prepared the supporting data, drafted the response, and even built the slidedeck. But it’s not his position to present it to the board. It was his position to sit in the two hour meeting, that will last every minute of that two hours, and accept whatever is the result -- which nine times out of ten is exactly what he proposes, and something these people would have decided in five minutes if they didn’t want to have a pissing contest.

“Infrastructural investments are critical to the environment of sociological ambitions,” Morganson spoke up in a low drone. He was usually the worst in these, because he tried to make the analysis based on emotions. And he didn’t know how to shut up.

Arthur looked down at his phone. News article on the price of oil … skip. Text from Denise … skip. He’s being attacked on Clash of Clans … skip.

“Where does the sector stand on internal investments,” Donner asked.

Arthur pulled up a browser, it was open to a page he opened the night before. CosPlay costumes. He had a few pages open on it, actually, covering different intentions as he drank his wine. The first were ideas that he could just buy for himself off the shelf. Steampunk mostly, since that seemed to be the safest. Not that he knew that stuff that well, just seemed like it was a generic enough subject to not get himself into trouble with anyone who did know about that stuff. He hung there on the page for moment, then … texted Lila.

Hey, I am thinking Steampunk. Seems all I need is a bit of leather and goggles.

He hadn’t heard from her since the coffee shop. Though about calling or texting her before now, but never really had the reason. It had been a few days, and while the silence bugged him, it wasn’t all that surprising, not how things ended at least. Still, a little fun texts to each other probably will make whatever awkwardness go away.

He flipped to another page he was looking at the night before. He smirked. Seems as though he wanted to impress. The outfits were a little more revealing … well, more masculine really.

He texted her again, this time with a link. ”How about this, I may need to work on my spray tan first. ((PHOTO))

The other pages were even more revealing. But … they were also for female costumes. That’s when he started to remember what he was searching for on his phone as the wine bottle neared empty. A few flips and there they were. Sexy photos of cosplayers. Sexy! Cosplayers.

With a laugh he sent another text to her. ”When I was drunk last night, I think I was goggling Nerd Boobs.”

“Great,” Romanowski declared as he stood up, “Lunch gentlemen?”

The room all of a sudden was a mad rush. Whatever the decision was made, Arthur completely missed it. But the thing was over anyway. Arthur grabbed his stuff and started heading for the door. Sure, he was flipping through costumed softporn during the meeting, but at least this day wouldn’t be written off as a completely boring.
 
The living room was silent save for the clicking of the keys as Lila typed, and the breathing of Chloe who lounged beside her belly up. It was broken as her phone sounded off the "stage clear" sounds from Final Fantasy. She quickly finished a coding line and rolled her seat to where he phone was on another desk.

Arthur.

She bit her lips. No. She wasn't ready yet. Rolling back to her desk, she continued typing until another message alert sounded off from her phone. Lila ignored it, but Chloe got up and barked at her.

"No, girl. Not now."

A few more moments of silence, then another message alert. Lila continued to ignore it but this time, Chloe went up to the adjacent desk and started pawing at her phone. Lila yelped and ran to pull her dog as she began to grab it with her mouth. Lila swiped her phone off the desk stilling the dog who looked happy and self-satisfied.

"Fine." Lila rolled her eyes and opened the messages. As she read and opened the link, her face grew hotter and went in a shade of red. He was confident to pull off that with that kind of body? Damn perfect man! But again, she had to remind herself that he wasn't flirting with her. He just wanted ideas about cosplay as a beginner. And telling her that he was into...nerd boobs?

"Plenty of those at the con," Lila said to herself slumping in her seat. Now she knew what he wanted to look at. Men! "Just don't get sucked in by his charm, girl. He's just gorgeous and he knows it."

Sighing, she typed her reply.

If you really want to make a statement that's not too difficult to pull off, go with Final Fantasy.
You can look up either Snow or Galdioulus. They both have shirtless versions so you can wear or remove your top anytime. Snow doesn't have a weapon, but Derek's amazing at making steel work so you can get Gladiolus' sword with his help. He'll be glad to have his work exposed.


She pursed her lips imagining him cosplaying them and shut her eyes and pressed send. She opened one eye and saw that her message was sent and she sighed.

I can help you with the costume. I know someplace great to get them.

Again, she paused. Was she pushing herself to him again. No. They were friends. Yes, friends. It just so happened that the attraction went one way. The past few days she had time to think about it and came to the conclusion that perfect guys like him and doofuses like her don't go beyond the friendzone. And for all the pain she caused herself, she would be supportive of his relationship with his girlfriend.

After all, she'd be no match for the hot girl he was with anyway. She never saw Denise, but a guy like him pretty much ensures that he was with a hot Victoria's Secret model of sorts.

Taking a deep breath, she pressed send and shot a glare at Chloe. "Proud of yourself?"

Chloe barked happily in response.

"I know...I need to do this if I have to bounce back...And be tougher. We can be friends. And we can be friends without him knowing how much every cliched description of how the body reacts applies to me when I'm with him."

I'm sure you'll see all the nerd boobs you want in real life when we get to the con. ;) Your loyal robot C3PO will be with you to assist you in locating them ;) she grinned a little when she sent it masking the pain with a bit of humor. Not like he'd have any idea about her own boobs anyway. But what if she didn't dress as C3PO? What if she finally did Harley Quinn? But then again, that wasn't in "fashion" anymore.

She stopped surprised at herself. Why was she even thinking about showing him her boobs? What was the point? So she can take him away from his girl? Ugh! That was a horrible thought. She couldn't do that! Well, it was likely she wouldn't even compare, but more to the point, she wouldn't like it if another woman was seducing her man.

Yeah, right. Like she'd ever have her own man!
 
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They were all settling down to the lunches of some crazy mix of high end beef and hard to get salad greens that made the more health conscious suits feel they can pick at, all the while there were boisterous bragging about golf scores, new cars, and business deals - with the golf scores being the closest to the truth. This was the den of thieves where scratching each other’s backs was as commonplace as the platinum credit cards. Arthur never really felt comfortable here, but found a way to fit in enough to justify the free lunch. Today though, all he wanted to do was to read the texts that were coming in on his buzzing phone. Once the lunch martini orders were, he pulled the phone out and couldn’t help to notice a smile growing on his lips.

He was about to reply to the comment on her offer to help when the C3PO message arrived.

Arthur wasn’t going to let that go.

you are going as a sexy droid? Is that a thing?

I guess I can see that, I think, lots of tight gold colored stuff

He almost laughed at himself he did a quick google to steal a quote, found what he wanted, then added

Sir, the possibility of successfully navigating into my panties is approximately 3,720 to 1

“... Is that your’s Art?” came a voice from the other end of the table that pulled his eyes from the phone.

“Hmmm?” He only replied.

“We were just talking about the an art show or something,” Romanowski stated. “I was just saying Denise works at a gallery, doesn’t she?”

Arthur was about as focused on the phone as he was on the question. But he sputtered, “Yeah … she’s at the Simmons. Events coordinator mostly.”

“That’s good to know,” one of the older ones started to say. “My wife is always looking for a ....”

Whatever the old man was saying was lost to the phone in his hands, as he banged out.

But if you think Final Fantasy, I guess so, will need to look it over

guessing you would be the right expert on nerd abs

I’m in for costume shopping. Time? Place?

“Arthur?” the old man asked.

Realizing they kept talking while he typed, he blushed a little. “Sorry - just dealing with an issue, sorry.” He set the phone down onto the table face down as an act of contrition. “If you would like, I could arrange a time for you and your wife to meet with her to see what her gallery can do.”

The white hair seemed to warm to that that. “Great. I’ll have my assistant send you her phone number. Maybe we can arrange a meeting over dinner.”

For some reason, that made eyebrows raise. Whoever this guy was seemed to mean he was influential, and even though he was distracted and distant - the guy offered something to him that the others wanted.

And all that Arthur wanted was to see that phone buzz with a response.
 
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