Misdirected Love

At least one of the players at the table is using their character to work through identity issues, and if you don't know who it is, it's you.

– Apocryphal Queer D&D Proverb

Orange sunlight pressed through the cracks of the blinds, giving a hint of the morning outside as Shane awoke. As the sleep faded from his mind, he noticed he was hard and ready to start his weekend with a morning quickie. He rolled over, bringing his lips to the ear of the pale, red-headed woman sharing his bed, Mia, his girlfriend for the last year or so.

“Good morning, beautiful. Did you sleep well?” he asked.

“Hmm, oh, yeah, pretty good,” She said, rolling over to stare into his blue eyes and give him a light, chaste kiss.

“That’s good. You should have lots of energy then. Do you want to help me work some of that out before breakfast?” He said, rolling his hips further so his cock pressed into her hip.

“Sorry, Shane, not feeling it this morning. I could give you a quick jerk if you need relief?” She said, trying to walk the line between expressing what she was feeling and giving him what she knew he wanted.

“Nah, it’s fine. I’m glad you told me how you were feeling. I’m proud of you.” He said, giving her another light kiss. “I’m going to jump in the shower real quick before I start making breakfast, let you lounge a bit and think about what you want for breakfast.”

Mia watched his boxer-clad butt disappear into the bathroom. ‘Ugh, why did he have to be so damn nice?’ She thought.

A bit later, Shane reappeared with a towel wrapped around his waist as a few drops of water slid from his short blonde hair. “Good morning, madam. The chef would like to inquire as to what the Lady would like for breakfast?” he said with a bow.

Mia put on a mock frown and threw a pillow at him, hitting him square in the side of the ribs. He was always such a smart ass in the morning.

“Really? I’ll take an omelet if you’ve got any mushrooms handy.”

“But of course, madam,” He said with a smile as he opened his dresser.

“I have a second pillow, don’t push me.”

“Shower’s free, I’ll see you in a bit.” He said, sliding a leg into a pair of jeans.

Mia pulled herself from the warmth of the bed and headed for the bathroom. When she re-emerged after her shower, Shane was gone, but she could hear music coming from the kitchen. Mia dug around in her overnight bag, pulled out a plain cream colored bra and matching panties, and a floral sundress.

She got to the kitchen door just in time to see Shane fold shut a perfectly cooked omelet. He looked at her, looked down at the timer running on his phone next to the stove. “I think I’ve pretty much mastered the timing on that. I’m glad you like eggs.” He said, sliding her breakfast onto a plate.

“Show off.” She said, taking the plate from him. Leaning against the door frame, she began to eat.

“You know there’s a perfectly good table just around the corner, right?” He asked, cracking another set of eggs into a bowl.

“The conversation is not so good there, though.” She said, before depositing a forkful of egg in her mouth.

“Oh gods, she expects me to talk and cook. Mia darling, baby, my good friend. I am not nearly that talented. If I talk to you, how am I supposed to cook for myself?” He said, dicing up a bit of ham.

“You seem to be managing just fine,” she said, chasing her words with more eggs.

They continued to banter through the rest of breakfast, and never actually made it to the table to eat. As they wrapped up, Mia asked, “You want me to take care of the kitchen while you get D&D stuff set up?”

“Yeah, that’d be great, thanks,” Shane said, walking toward the hall closet.

From the closet, he retrieved two large green felt mats, a box of little plastic trees, a box of plastic bushes and rocks, and a box of plastic orcs. He carried his haul to the dining room table, setting the boxes on the floor next to the table, then laid the felt across the top of the table.

Shane pulled a pile of books out from under the end table in the corner of the room and set them on the table. He flipped open the notebook on top, reviewing his notes from the last time his friends were over.

With his mind refreshed, Shane began placing the trees and bushes on the felt laid out on the table. When he was satisfied with his work, he returned to his notes again and began placing plastic orcs in groupings at the edge of the table. Before finally laying a tea towel across them, concealing what lay ahead for his friends.

About an hour later, Shane’s twin sister Lexie pushed open the front door to the apartment like she owned the place. “Hey folks!” She called, making her way towards the dining room. Mia pulled her into a hug as soon as she entered the room, as had been their weekly ritual for the last few months.

“How was your week? Ready to crush some orc raiders?” Mia asked, releasing Lexie from their embrace.

“Pretty good week overall, I survived, work didn’t break my spirit. As to the orcs, I think I’m more a fan of robbing them blind. Crushing is more Hrogar and Gawain’s thing, let the guys have their fun, it makes a good distraction.” Lexie said, sliding into the seat just to the left of the head of the table. Mia settled in at the seat opposite her.

“Shane, you need to call Mom about scheduling dinner this month,” Lexie said.

“I did call her, I left a voicemail, I said everything sounds good,” Shane replied, peering over the cardboard screen at the head of the table.

“You know how Mom is. Voicemails don’t count.”

“I know, I know. I was hoping she’d actually listen to it this time. Fine, I’ll call her after we wrap up today.”

Soon, Jacob, Shane’s roommate from college, and Mannie, whose boyfriend worked with Lexie, rounded out their table. After the table talk died down, Shane started the game session, recapping their character’s adventures last week, tracking the band of orc raiders who pillaged across the countryside from Bridgeton to Lockwood. The group narrated their skulking through the woods with Lexie’s rogue Yvonne scouting head.

“Alright, Lex, can I get perception and stealth from you?” Shane asked.

Lexie tossed a couple of dice on the table. “Twenty-eight stealth, and twelve perception.” Shane wondered why he kept going through the motions of making her roll to sneak.

“Good enough. You spot a group of orcs patrolling about a hundred feet away.” Shane said, reaching under the tea towel and beginning to place plastic figures on the table. Yvonne snuck back to the group, and the players planned their approach.

Yvonne flanked wide to the left. Jacob’s barbarian Hrogar and Mannie’s paladin Gawain charged directly at the orcs, with Mia’s bard Calliope bringing up the rear. It was a well-coordinated slaughter. The guys kept their opponents busy and distracted, Mia kept the guys alive, and Lexie rained arrows of pain down from afar.

Regrouping, they pressed on to find their real prize, the camp where the raiders kept their ill-gotten treasures. Lexie eyed the little plastic tents and figures on the table before her. Where would Shane put the good stuff? Mannie and Mia discussed strategy and which direction would make for the best approach.

“Hey, Shane, can I roll survival or something to find the weakest point in that barricade?” Jacob asked.

“Sure, survival would work for that.”

Jacob tossed a die on the table, as the other players looked up, realizing something was about to happen. “Fourteen.”

“You’ve got a pretty good feeling about that spot there,” Shane said, pointing to a section of miniature fencing on the table.

“Ok. Hrogar charges and rages just before making impact.”

“Roll for damage with rage. Everybody else roll initiative.”

“Oh, come on, Jacob, we almost have a plan.” Mannie objected.

“Then we'll be almost fine. You and Mia are smart, you’ll figure it out.” Jacob said.

Mia embraced the spirit of thinking on your feet quickly. She looked across the table at Lexie, sticking her hand out. “Yvonne, take my hand, and we’re going on a treasure raid.”

“What about keeping the guys alive?”

“Mannie is still full up for the day. They’ll be fine.”

“Every turn I’m healing, I’m not dropping orcs,” Mannie objected.

“If things go sideways, just yell, we’ll come running, probably,” Lexie said with a mischievous grin that did not inspire confidence, while reaching out and grabbing Mia’s extended hand. “Yvonne grabs Calliope’s hand.”

Shane chuckled, appreciating their commitment to acting out Mia’s mad scheme.

“I cast invisibility on us,” Mia said.

Gawain charged in after Hrogar, between platemail and rage, they were the opposite of subtle. The women skirted around the edge and made their way into camp from the side. As the battle raged, they peeked under the edges of tents until they found the horde, and ducked into the tent holding it.

“Yvonne checks for traps,” Lexie announced on her turn, tossing a die on the table. “Six, plus… shit, eight?”

“It’s a tent, a tent built by orcs. There aren’t many opportunities for them to hide traps in here.” Shane reassured his sister.

When it came to Mia’s turn, she said she was going to start shoving everything she could get her hands on into her bag.

“As you’re shoving gold coins in your bag, you hear a click. I’m going to need Dex saves from both of you.”

“Ha, how’s that greed working out now?” Jacob asked.

“I’ll let you know in a moment,” Mia said.

The rogue and bard players both tossed a die on the table.

“Seventeen,” Lexie said.

“Nine,” Mia said with a grimace.

“Yvonne evades, and Calliope takes a face full of acid,” Shane said, pointing to his sister and girlfriend respectively.

“Uh, could I pull Calliope out of the way, and we’d each take half?” Lexie asked.

“Give me athletics if you want to try.”

“How about acrobatics?” Lexie countered.

“I’ll let you have it if you’ve got a fancy description.”

Lexie tossed a die. “Fourteen. Yvonne dips into a light crouch and launches her body into Calliope, knocking her to the ground.”

“That’ll do. Seven damage to each of you.” Shane said.

“‘My hero,’ Calliope says, leaning up to kiss Yvonne,” Mia said.

“‘Oh no, I know where those dirty bard lips have been,’ Yvonne replies, pulling back,” Lexie said.

“Ah, come on, you can’t fault a bard for trying. I’ve got a stereotype to uphold.”

“I don’t fault you, I just know the stereotype too. Calliope can have all the men, women, and others she wants when we get back to town.”

They packed the rest of the gold and other treasures up without incident. Emerging from the tent just in time to help Jacob and Mannie mop up the last of the defenders.

“Nice of you to join us, ladies,” Jacob said.

“You’re both still alive, you wanted us to think on our feet, so we did. Don’t complain, you got what you wanted. Maybe next time you’ll stick with the group.” Lexie said.

“It’s getting late, we should probably wrap it here for the week,” Shane said. “Thanks, folks, for another fun day.”

Mannie and Jacob said their goodbyes and were the first to slip out. Lexie was next delivering a parting: “Don’t forget to call Mom!”

Shane pulled Mia in for a kiss, and followed up with “I’ll call you later in the week to figure out plans for next Friday, ok?”

“Sounds great, I’ll see you then,” she said, heading to Shane’s bedroom to pack up her laundry.

Shane looked at the terrain and minis on the table, thought about calling his mother, and decided he'd better get it over with before it was too late.

“Hey, Mom,” he said into his phone. “Yeah, they just left. No, Mia’s still here. She’s packing up her clothes. No, I’m not planning to ask her to move in any time soon. We can talk about it when she’s ready.”

“Yeah, Thursday works fine, I said that in my voicemail. Yeah, six p.m. I said that in my voicemail, too. Yes, of course Mia is coming, I… yeah, you’re getting the idea. Yep, love you too, see you Thursday.”

That could have been worse, Shane thought as he began packing up the array of minis on the table.

—

Mia shifted uncomfortably in the waiting room chair. She hated these chairs. They were easily the worst part of her week. They were uncomfortable. She was tense. She was on display. She didn’t judge the other patients, but anyone who looked at her here in this room would know exactly why she was here. Ok, they wouldn’t know exactly what her damage was, but they’d know she was broken in some way. She could just make a point of showing up late to her appointments and spend less time in the waiting room. But that would be rude, and that might be the greater crime.

And then her sentence ended, the door on the opposite wall opened, and the familiar face of Dr. Murphy emerged. “Mia,” he said with his usual quiet calm. She crossed the room and followed him to his office. She nestled wordlessly into the corner of his couch as he took a seat in his chair. Silence hung in the air for a moment.

“So, have you had a chance to think about what it is that hinders your self-confidence most?” Dr. Murphy asked.

Another moment of silence.

“It’s me, obviously. Or I guess doing things for myself? Or feeling like doing things for myself is worth doing. I told you I play D&D with my boyfriend and some other friends on the weekend, right? When we’re at the table, in the game, I can just do things. I’m not doing them for myself. I’m doing them for the team, or this fictional person I made up. I don’t have to worry about people thinking I’m selfish or weird.”

Mia stared at the ceiling for a moment, hoping Dr. Murphy understood what she was trying to say, before looking back at him and continuing.

“Like this last week, we were planning how to approach an enemy camp. One of the guys got bored and charged in half-cocked. We had to come up with a new plan on the fly, and I did. It wasn’t even a problem. I told one of the other players she was going to help me with a crazy idea. And she just did. I didn’t stop to worry what she’d think of the plan, what she’d think of me because of the plan.”

Mia felt silly talking about a game she played with friends during therapy. This was supposed to be a serious conversation about her shortcomings as a person. But it was too late to stop talking about it, stopping now would be more awkward.

“I can just express myself the way I want to. The character archetype I’m playing is… known for being a bit raunchy, a lover in every port kind of deal. After a tense moment, my character went in for a kiss with the other gal’s character. Got shut down. But I didn’t panic. It wasn’t a condemnation of me as a person. It was just a thing that happened to this fictional person I happened to be in charge of at the moment. I just need to figure out how to do that for, you know, actual Mia.”

“Hmm. I think you mentioned that you play with your boyfriend and a couple of other guys, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Has your fictional character ever tried to kiss them or otherwise get intimate with them?”

“Well, Shane runs the game, so he’s got all the background characters. Calliope, my character, has definitely got the rounds in with them, leaning into the stereotype about her archetype. But the other guy players? No, that’d be weird.”

“But intimacy between the women’s characters isn’t weird?”

“No, why would it be weird?”

“That doesn’t seem like a double standard to you?”

“Yeah, it is, but the guys might think I’m actually flirting with them. Lexie is a woman, so she knows I wouldn’t actually be flirting with her, so it’s harmless,” Mia rationalized. “Anyway, you’re making a big thing out of nothing. It’s just a game.”

Dr. Murphy let it drop. They spent the rest of the session talking about and practicing things Mia could do to improve self-awareness in the moment. Then, using that self-awareness to push back on the idea that the things she wanted didn’t matter because she was the one who wanted them.

—

Thursday evening, Shane parked his car at the curb just in front of Lexie’s car. Mia and Shane climbed out of the car and walked to the front door hand in hand. They entered with Shane giving a hearty, “Good evening.”

Shane headed to the living room, followed by Mia. In the living room, they found Ed, Shane and Lexie’s father, and Lexie deeply focused on their game of Mario Kart.

“Who started it this time?” Shane asked.

“Your sister, of course. Can’t talk, have to remind her I’ve been doing this longer than she’s been alive,” Ed said.

“Good luck, Dad,” Shane said as he and Mia continued to the kitchen.

“Hi, Maddie. Thank you for cooking dinner for us tonight. Those two take their games very seriously, don’t they?” Mia said, entering the kitchen to find Shane pouring himself a drink as his mother, Madeleine, flitted between multiple mostly cooked dishes, adding finishing touches.

“Yeah, it’s been their thing for as long as Lexie could sit still to watch him play games. It’s nice to see you, too, Mia.” Madeleine said, continuing her final preparations.

“Anything I can do to help?” Mia asked.

“Yeah, pour yourself a drink, and remember you’re a guest.”

Mia grumbled internally but admitted she’d been outplayed as she fished a bottle of Gin and a bottle of Vermouth out of the liquor cabinet.

Dinner conversation was pleasant enough and covered all the important topics. Everyone was still happily employed. Ed was continuing his campaign of threatening to retire, but it had dragged on long enough now that no one took it seriously. Shane and Mia were still happily together, but not living together. Lexie was still single. No one was sick. No one was going on vacation. Madeleine dispensed the latest gossip about the neighbors. Lexie had won their race. It was a good night.

“Alright, everybody give me your plates,” Lexie announced. “I was busy showing Dad how to race before dinner and couldn’t help, so I’m cleaning up now. Mom, don’t you dare go in that kitchen.”

“If Maddie’s exiled from the kitchen, she can’t tell me not to help. I’ll get the silverware and glassware, Lexie.” Mia followed up.

“Ugh, Mia! You’re still a guest, don’t worry yourself.” Madeleine objected.

“Mom, let her have this ok? Baby steps.” Shane said.

“Alright,” Madeleine relented with a grumble, heading for the living room. As Shane followed her, he wondered if Mia was helping because she felt guilty for not contributing earlier or if she was looking for an excuse to spend more time with Lexie.

After the table was cleared, Mia asked, “So can I get my hug now that you’re free of the siren call of the Mario Kart?”

“I suppose,” Lexie said in mock exasperation. Wrapping her arms around her friend, she added, “Thanks for helping me clean up.”

“Thanks for not telling me I’m a guest and should act like one.”

“Not everything Mom tried to instill in me stuck. Can you start packing up the leftovers?”

Soon, all the easy tasks were done. Leftovers were stowed, the dishwasher was full and running. That left pots and pans. “You can wash, I’ll dry?” Mia asked, turning the tap to fill the sink.

“Works for me, now unhand my sink, kitchen wench.” Lexie giggled.

Lexie let the first pot soak for a moment, pouring herself a glass of wine, then set to scrubbing. Cleaned to her satisfaction, she tossed the first pot in the rinse, splashing a bit of water, sending Mia hopping backwards to avoid getting wet.

“We’re supposed to be cleaning messes, not making them, ya’know?” Mia said.

“A little water won’t kill you,” Lexie said with a grin, pulling the pot out of the sink and letting it drain back into the rinse water before handing it to Mia. As Mia began drying the pot with her towel, Lexie flicked her fingers towards Mia, sending a light spray of water droplets on her.

“Ugh! Lexie, grow up!” Mia grumbled.

“What? We’re only allowed to have fun one day a week, and only when holding dice?” Lexie asked.

“No,” Mia said, finishing drying the first pot as Lexie turned back to the sink to start work on the second. Mia pulled the towel back a bit and then brought her wrist forward, whipping the towel out, hitting Lexie square in the butt cheek.

“I deserved that,” Lexie giggled.

After rinsing the second pot, she handed it to Mia with another shower of droplets.

“You just want me to whip your butt again with the towel, don’t you?” Mia asked.

“Yes, mistress,” Lexie said, seductively.

“Too far, Lexie, too far.” Mia giggled. She couldn’t believe her friend was able to joke about flirting with her. What would people think if she had been serious?

They wrapped up the remaining pots and pans without further escalation.

“We should probably go rescue poor Shane from my parents,” Lexie said.

When they arrived in the living room, Lexie announced, “Sorry to interrupt your evening, but Mia needs her chauffeur to take her home.”

Goodbyes and hugs were exchanged before Mia and the twins retired to their respective homes.

—

Friday afternoon, Mia sat in her office staring at the spreadsheet in front of her. Something was off with this reconciliation. The numbers didn’t line up. Her phone buzzed, breaking her deep focus. It was a text message from Shane:

“Free to talk dinner? Call if you can.”

Mia was happy to have an excuse to do something else. She picked her phone up and dialed.

“Hey Shane, what’s the plan this week?”

“The plan this week is whatever you want it to be.”

“Oh no, that’s not how this works. You’re the man in this relationship. You plan our date.”

“I did, and my plan is whatever you want to do that makes you happy. I want you to have input on the things we do. What you want in this relationship matters too.”

“You’re serious about this, aren’t you?” Mia said nervously. She knew Shane really did want to hear what she thought, but that was only part of the problem. What if her idea wasn’t a good one? Mia exhaled and focused her mind. Whatever she said was a good idea because Shane wanted it.

“Alright,” Mia continued, “you know what we haven’t done in a long time? We haven’t gone to The Crow, sat at the bar, and eaten cheap, happy hour, absolutely garbage appetizers.”

“Oooh, yeah, it’s been a while since I was that cheap. Garbage it is. 5:30 pickup?”

He sounded happy with her suggestion. Mia relaxed a bit. She’d spoken her mind, and the world hadn’t immediately ended.

“See you then, trash panda.”

Later that evening, Shane pulled his car into the postage stamp that passed for The Crow’s parking lot and, against all odds, got a spot to park. Most of the patrons would be exiled to the three-hour public parking lot across the street.

The Crow looked like a Bavarian chalet dropped into a random block of suburban neighborhood. Perched at the peak of the roof arch was a large stuffed crow, with a crowbar in its mouth. Inside the front door was a short hallway, bar to the left, restaurant to the right. Shane and Mia opted for the left path tonight.

They sat down at the bar, and the bartender on shift came over to get their first round orders. The woman working the bar tonight wore a white undershirt with a deep, wide ‘U’ neck that showed off what outside of a bar would probably be an inappropriate amount of cleavage, flanked with an unbuttoned black vest.

She leaned in low, intentionally putting her chest front and center when she asked Shane what he was drinking tonight. He ordered the House IPA. She turned to Mia with much less production, and Mia ordered a martini. From the corner of his eye, Shane could still see Mia’s gaze fixed firmly on the bartender’s chest.

Shane decided tonight presented a good opportunity to test a theory that had been cooking in his head for the last few weeks. When the bartender came back, she delivered his beer much closer to his side of the bar than was necessary, lowering her chest much lower than necessary.

Shane glanced at Mia. She seemed enthralled. Shane made eye contact with the bartender, then mouthed “Not me, her,” and flicked a finger in Mia’s direction. Hoping he was subtle enough, Mia didn’t notice, but it remained clear what he was trying to communicate. She seemed to catch his meaning. Coming back with Mia’s martini, she stood directly in front of Mia and leaned well forward when dropping off her drink.

God, she was gorgeous, Mia thought. The smooth porcelain skin of her upper breast was dotted with just a few freckles. The way the fringe of her shirt drew attention to her breasts. The way her wavy auburn hair bounced ever so slightly when she walked. Then she was gone, off to the other patrons. The spell was broken, and Mia was left to wonder why she was so captivated by this woman. She’d never been like this before.

“So, is this what you had in mind for dinner?” Shane asked.

“Yeah. Start with the jalapeno poppers?” Mia said. The location and food were what she expected. The woman working the bar was not at all what she expected.

“Anything for the lady.”

“Don’t push it, mister.”

Over the next couple hours, the bartender made multiple deliveries of drinks and food. Every time she passed, Mia found something new to marvel at about her. The way her green eyes caught the light at just the right angle sometimes. Her beautifully painted nails with pink and blue butterflies on a purple background. The little mole she had just above her collarbone that drew the eye in. The red of her lips, Mia wondered how they tasted. But always her breasts drew Mia in. What would they feel like in her hands? In her mouth? And then she was gone again, and Mia wondered what had gotten into her.

Shane watched Mia intently as the night went on. Each time the bartender passed, and Mia’s gaze followed her, he became more sure of his conclusion. Shane was sure Mia was bisexual. ‘Good for her. It’s June, so I guess happy first Pride, I hope you figure it out soon,’ he thought. When the bill came, Shane tipped fifty percent and considered it fair compensation for her unwitting role in his little experiment.

From the bar, they headed back to Shane's apartment to watch TV for the rest of their evening. They settled in on the couch, Shane sat with his feet kicked up on the coffee table, and Mia sprawled out along the length of the couch with her feet on Shane’s lap.

As the sun was finally going down, Shane ran his fingertips down Mia’s bare leg from her ankle to knee. He stroked her leg the other direction, asking:

“Mmmm, you’re beautiful. How about we retire to bed early and enjoy each other’s bodies a bit?”

Mia groaned. “I appreciate the offer, but I am way too full of fried cheese to feel anything close to sexy or appealing. Check back tomorrow morning?”

“If this is your evil plan to avoid having to give input on future date nights, it’s not working. I still value your input, even if it results in a cheese coma,” Shane joked.

“Ugggghhhh,” Mia groaned, exaggerating how much the ball of fried cheese in her stomach was impacting her. “How about now?”

“Good attempt, I still care about you.”

In the morning, Mia was still not feeling up for sex. Shane didn’t push the issue, but did stop to reflect on the fact that they had not been intimate in the last month. Shane hoped that this wasn’t a sign of Mia’s depression returning. Other than the lack of sex, she seemed happier than she’d ever been for as long as Shane had known her.

—

Shane had just finished unpacking the terrain and minis when Lexie came blustering into his dining room, “Mia! I want my weekly hug!”

“She’s in the bathroom. I’m sure she’ll tackle you in just a moment.”

“Another week in paradise?”

“More or less. You?”

“More or— ooof, hi Mia.” Lexie was cut off as a pair of arms wrapped her ribs from behind, and squeezed tight.

Mia felt her breasts press into Lexie’s back. She liked the way it felt. This wasn’t the first time she’d hugged Lexie like this, but it was the first time she remembered how it felt. With her nose pressed into her friend’s hair, she noticed the faint floral scent of her conditioner.

Shane tried to remember the last time Mia had that much enthusiasm for him. Mia released Lexi and slid into her spot on the right side of the table with a big grin. Jacob and Mannie arrived soon, and Shane launched into his recap of their adventures last week.

The party started the session waking up the day after their last battle. They assembled themselves and took inventory of their haul. Yvonne lowballed a bit on the number of gems they found. Calliope didn’t call her out on it. They divided their gold and goods, then started trekking back to town.

The first leg of their journey was uneventful. Overnight, their first night, they were attacked by, Shane tossed a handful of dice, shadow fae possessed wolves. The group quickly surmised what sort of session they were going to have. It was a balance to walk between not unnecessarily padding things out and not papering over the scale of the challenges their adventurers would face. The fight was touch-and-go. Shane made a few intentional tactical blunders to tilt the balance, but no one called him on it.

After the fight, Mia said, “Calliope makes her way over to Gawain. ‘Oh, brave sir knight, these woods are oh so scary. Can I bed down with you so you can protect me from the things that lurk in the night?’”

“Uh, I don’t see how sleeping right next to Gawain is any safer than sleeping in your own bedroll ten feet away on the other side of the fire,” Mannie said with a shrug.

“‘I’ll keep you nice and safe,’ Hrogar offers with a wiggle of his eyebrows,” Jacob interjected.

“Uh, you know what, never mind. Calliope just crawls into her bedroll and goes to sleep.” Mia said.

Shane found the exchange rather interesting. He guessed Mia was doing her own bit of testing theories. Lexie offered a sympathetic smile across the table.

A few random encounters later, none as rough as the first, and the social compact had been satisfied. They could feel good the party made it back to town without Shane giving them a free pass. And they’d filled an afternoon’s worth of time.

—

Mia was back in those damn chairs, again, watching the second hand on the clock slowly crawl its way around the clock face. She was glad that no one ever made eye contact, but the threat that it might happen someday still mortified her. Then, Dr. Murphy ushered her back to his office.

And their weekly ritual began. Mia settled into her corner of the couch, Dr Murphy took his place opposite her. The silence that was supposed to give her the first chance to speak came.

“Well, how was your week? Did you get a chance to practice any of the techniques from last session?” Dr. Murphy asked.

Mia paused, collecting her thoughts, performing her part of their dance.

“My week was… interesting. Friday, Shane put me on the spot to pick where we went for dinner. I got there. It took a bit of coaxing to convince me he really did want my input. Then he heard it. Then we did it.”

“How did it feel knowing he really did want to hear your opinion?”

“Terrifying, what if I got it wrong?”

“Opinions can’t be wrong, Mia.”

Mia slumped her shoulders and sighed. “But acting on certain opinions can lead to bad outcomes.”

“Well, what was the outcome here of acting on your opinion?”

Mia exhaled. She remembered the bartender, her auburn hair, the green of her eyes, her lips, her freckles, the curve of her breasts. Complicated, the outcome of acting on her opinion was very complicated.

“Uh… complicated. The food was the exact right amount of bad, it was cheap, talking to Shane is always nice. That was all good. But, there were other things… you’re going to ask what the other things were, aren’t you?”

Mia sighed, she had worked with Dr Murphy long enough to know that he would ask the follow-up questions she didn’t want to answer. It would be easier to just say it all now.

“The bartender was really attractive, distractingly attractive. Since you’re going to ask, I might as well come clean. The bartender that night was a woman.”

“Other than her being a woman, what else felt different about your feelings that night?”

“Yeah, well, other than the big thing… huh, actually, I did feel more confident, we had the dinner I wanted, and it was enjoyable. Shane dragged me kicking and screaming, metaphorically, but it was what I wanted, and it was good. And her… other than being a woman, I felt like she was paying attention to me, and I was important. She’s a bartender, that’s her job, but more than that, she paid more attention to me than Shane. I wanted her to pay attention to me, and she did, and I liked it.”

“So what about her being a woman? How do you feel about that?”

“I don’t know, it seems like a weird detail. Culturally, it’s a big deal ‘cause people get weird about stuff, but she could have been left-handed too for all I know. It’s probably nothing,” Mia said.

Images of Lexie floated through her mind, the feeling of hugging her last weekend, the smell of her hair. It probably wasn’t nothing.

“Think about it more, see what else you can notice next week.”

Mia’s mind raced. Did she just get a prescription to check out more women? I’m not a creep, it’s medically necessary. Lexie would definitely believe that. What a day.

The rest of the session was spent talking about more small wins in Mia’s life, and how she could recognize and celebrate them.

—

Shane heard a sharp knock on the front door. “Mia! Pizza’s here!” He said, heading to the front door. Shane thanked the driver, tipped him cash, and took the pizza back to the living room, where Mia was waiting with plates.

Tossing a couple slices on her plate, Mia said, “An entirely different kind of comforting garbage from last week. Don’t even have to put on proper clothes. I can just bum about in sweats. I’m liking this greatest hits of comfort dates thing we’re doing.”

There were no women here to distract her tonight, which made things easier, too. Why were thoughts like that at the edge of her mind now? She looked at Shane as he idly flipped channels between bites. He really was Lexie’s twin, same blonde hair, same blue eyes, their ears were the same shape, even the way he moved reminded her of Lexie. How had she never noticed those things before?

Shane’s mind drifted as he flipped through the channel listings. Mia always greeted Lexie with a hug. It was like a law of nature, an unshakeable fact. She smiled when she saw him, but it lacked the physicality she showed Lexie. He remembered the last family dinner. She was so eager to spend time with Lexie. His eyes registered something that brought him back to reality.

“Oh! Speaking of comfortable garbage, how do you feel about Fast And Furious tonight?” Shane asked.

“Yeah, that fits the vibe.”

As Shane ate, his mind continued to replay Mia’s interactions with Lexie. He was pretty sure his girlfriend had a crush on his sister. That was going to be awkward when one or both of them figured it out. He tried to look for a silver lining, maybe that would be the thing that would help Mia sort out her feelings.

Memories of his own relationship with Mia played in Shane’s mind. They had fun together, they joked, they had time set aside for each other during the week. Those were all things Shane had with all of the people he played D&D with. They slept in the same bed one night a week, but the more Shane thought about it, the more they felt like close friends that slept together.

In this case, slept together was quite literal. They slept in the same bed. They cuddled most nights, but it had been weeks since their intimacy had progressed past that. When their relationship started, she had been the one to pursue him. Shane felt the spark between them had disappeared.

Once they finished their pizza, Mia kicked her feet up on Shane’s lap as they watched the movie. “Hey, Mia, you want me to rub your feet while they’re here?”

“If you wa— Yes, please.” She said.

Shane was proud of her directness as he set to work pressing his thumbs into the muscles of her feet, working out the tension and knots. He was glad he had encouraged her to find a therapist. He knew that therapy was helping her. She was happier now than when they met.

As happy as he was for his friend, he had hoped the romance of their relationship would come back as Mia’s depression waned. In a way, it had. It just seemed to be directed towards Lexie now instead.

Shane worried that his relationship with Mia was on its last legs. But maybe the end had already come, and he was just now noticing. Lexie certainly wasn’t to blame for being the friend Mia seemed to have feelings for now. Neither was Mia, they had drifted apart months ago.

As much as the situation hurt Shane, he still cared about his friend and wanted her to be happy. He knew Lexie had experimented a bit with another girl when they were in high school. She hadn’t shown any interest in women since then, as far as Shane knew. It seemed a bit far fetched, but maybe she was still interested in women, and Mia had a chance.

Shane shook his head a bit as his hands continued to massage Mia’s feet. The whole thing seemed absurd. He couldn’t just break up with her and try to set her up with his maybe bi sister. But something had to change. It was too late to start a serious talk tonight, and he wasn’t even sure what he’d say. Next week, they could talk about their relationship over dinner.

Mia’s mind relaxed, matching the relaxation in her feet. Maybe her earlier worries about women were unwarranted. Shane was a wonderful guy who cared about her enough to rub her feet for no other reason than he could. She knew she loved him. That was beyond doubt. But was it? Of course, she loved him. But was it romantic love? Mia’s mind lurched. It had to be. She loved him, and they were dating. That’s how it works. She just couldn’t banish the doubt, though.

“How’s that? Better?” Shane asked, releasing her foot.

“Yeah, better,” Mia said weakly, giving voice to the lack of conviction in her mind.

“I can keep going if you want.”

“No, my feet are good, thanks,” Mia said, pushing the mask in her mind back in place.

As the credits on the movie rolled, Shane slipped out from under Mia’s feet, picked up the pizza box, saying, “Alright, I think I’m going to call it a night here.”

“Me too, I’ll see you in bed in a bit,” Mia said, heading for the bathroom. Staring at herself in the mirror, Mia resolved she was going to banish her weird thoughts about women in the only reasonable way she could: she was going to fuck Shane until her mind was empty, then just not let those thoughts back in. She brushed her teeth, then slid her sweat pants and panties off, leaving them in the bathroom before crawling into bed in front of Shane.

Mia rolled over, throwing her leg across Shane’s stomach, leaning up, she kissed him, running her tongue along his lips, willing them to open. His mouth opened as he began kissing her back.

She slid her arm down to the waistband of his boxers and began to slide her hand into his boxers. Shane realized what was happening, he pulled back from their kiss and grabbed her wrist.

“Sorry, Mia. I’m not feeling it tonight.”

If their relationship was over, and she was no longer attracted to him, as Shane worried, it wouldn’t be fair to let her continue.

“You sure?” She asked quietly.

“Yeah, some other time, ok?” Shane said, in a way reminiscent of what she had told him the last few weeks.

“Yeah, some other time, see you in the morning.” Had her thoughts about women made him stop loving her? He couldn’t know, he must just be tired.

—

Prep this morning was easy for Shane. There wasn’t anything to get out. The party was in town. They shouldn’t be fighting anyone. Images of Hrogar flashed in Shane’s mind. He’d just have to think on his feet if Jacob got twitchy.

“Feeling better this morning?” Mia asked, taking her seat at the table.

“Yeah, I’m looking forward to what y’all are going to find today.”

“Spoilers! So, since you’re feeling better, do you want me to stay over tonight too?” Mia said while thinking, ‘he still loves me, he’s a guy with needs, he’ll let me stay, and then I can be free of these foolish ideas about women.’

“Sorry, Mia, I need to call it an early night tonight. I’ve got to drive up to Portland first thing in the morning to help my cousin repaint his house,” Shane said, glad that he already had plans for the rest of the weekend. He needed more time to think, and they needed to talk before he would feel comfortable sleeping with her again. He hoped he was wrong about where their relationship was going.

Mia was defeated. He was right, there wasn’t anything reasonable she could say to change his mind. Sure, she could take the direct route and say she was horny and wanted him, but she slipped into old habits. She knew her wants were unreasonable and not worth wanting, much less saying.

Then Mia heard the front door open, and felt a bit of joy find its way to her heart again. She was up and in the hallway in no time. She was ready to embrace… Mannie? Mia deflated and returned to her chair.

Lexie walked into the dining room, Mia didn’t notice. “Hey Mia, you doing ok?” Mia did notice her voice. She scrambled out of her chair and into Lexie’s arms.

“Yeah, I’m good,” Mia said, and she was now. “Just a bit distracted.”

Jacob arrived, and Shane began his opening monologue.

“Last session, the party divided up the spoils from the defeated orcs and traveled back to Lockwood. As you approach town, you notice an eerie quiet hanging over everything. The usual packs of rambunctious children are absent, an unusual number of the homes are dark and have no fire lit…”

Shane continued to narrate the sad state of the town. The party made their way to their favorite tavern, which was emptier and more subdued than usual.

With access to the local gossip mill, they learned that a few nights ago, a strange fog had rolled into town. Short figures with pointed hats were seen lurking in the fog. When the fog receded in the morning, all the children under ten years old had disappeared, and many livestock had been butchered. This wasn’t an isolated incident. There were rumors of towns all along the King’s Road encountering similar fogs.

The party concluded something magical was afoot and decided to pay the local hedge wizard a visit to see what he knew. From him, they learned that it sounded like Fae magic, and the fog might be a hint they should see if there are any druids about that might know more.

As the party was preparing to set off for the next step of their investigation, Lexie piped up, “Hey Shane, while we’re here, I'll pull the wizard aside and ask if he has a magical tent in his stockpile of trinkets. Roughing it is rough, and I’ve got money to burn. I’m hoping for something like a tiny hut, but trading size and protection for better climate control and more comfortable sleeping conditions. Maybe unlimited hotel mints if I really want to push my luck.”

“The mints are definitely too much, but it’s a nice detail,” Shane said, tossing a couple dice behind his screen. “He can do that, he’s got a tent with room for two medium creatures. Adjustable magic LED style lighting, silent heat and air conditioning, and permanently clean pillow top mattress flooring throughout. It rolls down to the size and weight of a standard bed roll. Six hundred gold.”

The dice were just for show. Shane had completely made it up on the spot, but the choice of specifying room for two he had made very intentionally. He was interested to see how that would play out. He had a strong suspicion who the second person in Lexie’s tent would be.

As interested as he was, Shane was also conflicted, his relationship with Mia wasn’t over, he still needed to talk to her. There was still a chance that they could talk things out and get back what they had. But peering over the screen, he could see Mia smiling dotingly at Lexie. It had been a while since she looked at him like that.

“Four fifty and a bag of beans,” Lexie countered.

“Five hundred and the bag of beans,” Shane said.

“Pleasure doing business with you.”

The party continued to follow the trail of bread crumbs Shane was leaving for them. As the day neared its end, they had a pretty good idea there was a swamp hag stalking the King’s Road, collecting children for some nefarious haggy ritual. Her lair was in the coastal swamps somewhere west of the King’s Road.

Gawain was convinced that this was a mission they must undertake for the good of the people. Hrogar concluded hags were susceptible to crushing, and that was a good enough reason for him to try. Calliope figured they could get a nice reputation boost, maybe pick up a few owed favors. Yvonne was reticent, but Calliope went with her old standby: there would very likely be magical stuff to steal; she was in.

It was late for the players, and the party had a good idea of how to progress. Shane said that this was a good place to call it for the week. The crew made their usual goodbyes and filtered out.

—

Mia hated the chairs slightly less than usual today. She had other things on her mind to distract her from where she was. It was right there. She just hadn’t said the words to herself, much less out loud.

Dr. Murphy appeared at the door, rescuing her from the ideas stalking her in her mind. As she walked toward his office, she realized this wasn’t a rescue. She was going to be thrown into a colosseum to battle the ideas in her mind, where Dr. Murphy could observe the battle.

It was time to begin their weekly ritual, but Mia wasn’t going to play her role this week. She sat in her corner of the couch, eyes fixed on Dr. Murphy. His legs began to flex as he lowered himself to sit.

“I find women attractive.” Mia felt a wave of relief wash over her. She had said the words. She had named the thing that stalked her mind.

Dr. Murphy settled into his chair, slightly caught off guard by the change to their usual rhythm.

“I see, and you would like to talk about that today?”

“It’s going to come up, it’s the thing I can’t escape right now. I do feel a bit better now that I’ve said it out loud in front of someone.”

“Does this change how you feel about Shane?”

“No? I don’t think so. Maybe?”

Mia sighed and shifted uncomfortably on the couch before continuing.

“I don’t feel the same about Shane as I do about women. He doesn’t excite me. I like him, I value the relationship we have, I don’t want that to change. But give me a beautiful, no, damn near any, woman and I can easily envision us kissing, falling in bed, and doing things I think you can extrapolate.”

Mia had thought the hardest part would be admitting she was attracted to women. That was easy compared to sorting out how she felt about Shane.

“I feel differently about him than I do most guys. Most guys are crass, crude, dumb, gay, or otherwise something to be avoided. I dated men in the past because that’s how it works: women date men. Shane is some weird third thing. He’s not wonderful, he’s not terrible, he’s my friend, and I don’t want to lose that. To say nothing of the fact, it would be pretty dang inconvenient for my social life.”

“Hmm, would you like to continue to be Shane’s romantic partner?”

“Eh, for now? I’m not sure how else to keep moving forward without hurting the people I care about. I do care about him. If we never had sex again, I’d be ok with that. That’s not really fair to him, I suppose. Ugh. I’m going to have to be brave and talk to him, aren’t I?”

“From what you’ve told me about him, he seems to be a sensitive, caring guy who values and cares about you. From your description of him, he sounds like the sort of person who could have a mature discussion about feelings. Does that seem accurate to you?”

“Yeah. Alright, I’ll talk to him. Ugh. I really don’t want to hurt him, or ruin my friendship with him or Lexie.”

“Have you considered talking to Lexie about your worries about your relationship with Shane? It sounds like you’re pretty close to her, and she presumably knows her brother better than most.”

Cold fear shot through every inch of Mia. Of all the things she could possibly do, that absolutely was not on the list. She’d rather talk to Jacob, even knowing that it’d be a terrible idea.

“I… no. I would really rather not.”

“Why not?”

That’s a good question. Why not? Fear gripped Mia again. The world was only cold darkness. She groped in the darkness. Why was talking to Lexie a bad idea? They were twins. She was just the soon-to-be ex-girlfriend. Clearly, Lexie would take his side. Mia felt the fear release her back to the light of Dr. Murphy’s office.

“They’re twins, I’m just the soon-to-be ex-girlfriend, Lexie would take his side. I don’t want to lose either of them, much less both.”

“Why does there have to be sides? You focus on the worst-case scenario, but what happens if things go well?”

“You mean like ‘Hey Shane, how are you doing? … That’s good, hey, by the way, I’m gay, and I’m dumping you … Ah, thanks buddy, I knew you’d be reasonable and understanding?’”

“I think that’s a bit dramatic and sarcastic, but yes. Let’s walk through this. Do you think Shane cares about you?”

“Yes, absolutely. Much to my ire, he wants me to be a better, happier person.”

“Do you think Shane would stop caring about you if you ended the romantic portion of your relationship?”

“I mean, I don’t think so, but hurting people tends to make them lash out.”

“Have you seen Shane lash out when hurt?”

“No,” Mia said, frowning.

“Do you think it would be safe to end your romantic relationship without mentioning your feelings about who you’re attracted to?”

“Yeah, he’d have questions if I just walked cold turkey, but he wouldn’t hurt me. He’d probably even want to keep being my friend.”

“Do you have any idea how he feels about LGBTQ people in general?”

“He’s one hundred percent chill with Mannie being gay. I’ve got no concerns there.”

“Do you have any other fears about talking to Shane?”

“Ugh, I can’t believe I pay you to do this to me. Thanks for helping me, even if I’m annoyed about it.”

“We can talk about how your talk with Shane went next week.”

“Yeah, see you then.”

—

It was Friday, again. Mia watched the time tick towards lunch. Her window of opportunity to talk to Shane was coming up. She didn’t want to do this, but knew it was inevitable and necessary. She picked up her phone and texted Shane: “Call me when you get a moment to talk about dinner plans, please.”

She couldn’t believe she was doing this. She was initiating a conversation about something that mattered to her. She was going to dictate dinner. Then she was going to break up with Shane. Well, that last part was kind of terrible, but she was proud of the stuff leading up to it.

A moment later, her phone was ringing.

“Hey Shane, have you already got dinner plans?”

“Nothing I can’t change, if you’ve got something else in mind.”

“How about Riverview Pasta?”

“Oooh yeah, we haven’t been there since last summer, have we? Five thirty pick up like usual?”

“No, I’ll meet you there at six.”

“Sounds good, I’ll see you this evening.”

That evening, Mia paused outside the restaurant before entering to compose herself. She was confident he would take things well enough. But after she said the words, it would be real, and there would be no going back.

The server at the check-in stand led her to a booth where Shane was already waiting. She slid into the bench opposite him.

“You look stressed, Mia, rough day at work?” Shane asked.

“Uh, yeah, something like that.” She said, hoping she was convincing enough. She wasn’t, but Shane played along anyway.

“Should we start with drinks then? Appetizers? Both?” Shane asked, trying to steer them back to safer topics.

“Both. I think tonight calls for both.”

They chatted about their weeks, the menu, nothing of consequence until their drinks arrived. Mia downed her martini in two gulps. Shane pretended not to notice.

“Shane… I… we…” Mia faltered, not making eye contact. Shane reached across the table and held her hand.

“It’s ok, Mia.”

“It’s really not ok,” Mia said, looking into Shane’s eyes. “We, we should see other people. It’s not you, it’s really not you. You’re the best boyfriend I’ve ever had. The,” Mia sighed, knowing she was going to have to say the hard part before she lost her nerve, “best boyfriend I’m ever going to have. I think, no, I know, I’m a lesbian.”

The words hung in the air. Mia’s heart raced as she waited to see how Shane would react.

“Oh. I had picked up on the attracted to women part, but hoped you still liked guys too,” Shane said, trying to present a warm, supportive face. Inwardly, he winced. He had prepared for the possibility their relationship was over, but it was still shocking to have his fears confirmed.

“You knew? How? For how long?” Mia asked confusedly. She had only just figured it out herself earlier this week. How could he have known before she did?

“I noticed the way you look at women when we’re out and about. You favor Lexi when we play D&D. I wasn’t one hundred percent sure until last time we were at The Crow. The way you lit up when the bartender flirted with you, she was just fishing for tips, but I still enjoyed how happy it made you.”

“I only favor Lexi because she’s the sensible one. Mannie and Jacob are both boneheads in their own ways. Ugh. Why didn’t you say anything?”

Shane doubted her explanation of why she favored Lexie, but now didn’t seem like the time to bring that up.

“What was I supposed to say? ‘Hey, Mia, I think you might be bisexual, what do you think?’ Then what?”

“I don’t know,” Mia said, feeling frustrated. He had a point, but it still annoyed her that he knew she was attracted to women longer than she had, and hadn’t said anything to nudge her along. “You could have called me out when you caught me looking at a woman. ‘She’s pretty good looking, isn’t she?’ With one of those guy nods.”

Shane chuckled at her reaction. It made his thoughts about trying to set her up with Lexie seem almost reasonable.

“Sorry, I didn’t say something sooner. I would have if I’d known what to say, y’know? But, uh, I don’t think commenting on the appearance of other women to my girlfriend would have been a good idea.”

“Ugh, why are you being so sensible about this? Where’s the anger? The denial? The pleading for me to be wrong and take you back,” Mia said, tears welling in her eyes.

“Don’t misunderstand me, I still care about you. I still want us to be friends. I’m happy for you to understand yourself better. But we’ve been drifting apart for a while. I wanted to talk to you this week about the state of our relationship, not to break up, but to try to get us back to how things used to be. But you’re not attracted to guys, I’m a guy. Being a jerk about it isn’t going to make this easier for either of us,” Shane said, stroking her hand, as silence settled over the table.

The awkward silence was broken by a delivery of Mozzarella sticks. Mia looked at the food, then Shane.

“What do we do now?” Mia asked.

“Do you mean now now? Or going forward?” Shane asked in reply.

“Both?” Mia offered weakly.

“Well, I think right now, we eat. Then we order dinner. Then we eat some more. Then we go back to our respective homes, sleep, get up tomorrow, and hang out with our friends.”

“Just like that? Just like we didn’t just break up?”

“I mean, I did say we’d both go back to our own homes. You can crash in my guest room if you want. Or we can cancel D&D. But we’re still friends, right? I don’t see why we should stop doing friend things.”

Mia sighed, glad that they were still friends, but raw with the pain of breaking up with her friend.

“Thanks for being my friend. I’ll sleep at home tonight. Then I’ll drive over to your place for D&D tomorrow. I’m going to miss not having to deal with parking.”

“I could come pick you up.”

“No. That’s not who we are anymore,” Mia said, wiping the tears from her eyes.

“You doing ok?”

“I’m getting there.”

“Give it time. I’ve spent the last two weeks working through my feelings about our relationship changing. If there’s anything I can do for you, let me know, ok?”

“Thanks, same to you, too.”

At the end of the night, they both stood, took a step towards each other, arms ready to hug each other. Then stopped, dropped their arms, and walked toward the front of the restaurant.

“I guess that’s not who we are anymore?” Shane asked.

“Not tonight. But I guess if you insist on being friends, it’s a goal to work towards.”

“It’s a good goal. Drive safe, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, you too.”

—

Shane looked up from his morning preparations to see Lexie standing in the doorway to his dining room, looking around the room. She said nothing, then did her best to sneak down the hallway towards the bathroom. Shane sighed. “She’s not in there, Lexie, she’s not here yet this morning.”

Lexie ran back to the dining room, worried, wanting to know what happened to Mia, “What do you mean she’s not here yet? It’s Saturday morning, which comes after Friday night. Is she hurt? Sick? What’s going on?”

Shane resigned himself. Being evasive was only going to worry Lexie. She’d find out soon enough. “We broke up last night. She, I assume, slept at her apartment. She said she’d be here today, despite last night. I’m pretty sure she meant it.”

“What the hell!? You broke up with her? Why?” She wanted their breakup not to be his fault, but he was way too calm for her to have broken up with him.

“It’s complicated. Technically, she broke up with me. As for why, not my place to say, but don’t ask in front of Jacob and Mannie.”

What did he mean, not his place to say? What had he done? Lexie’s worry turned to frustration and anger.

“You don’t seem very broken up about the whole breaking-up thing,” Lexie said sharply.

“Yeah, that's the complicated bit. I had a pretty good idea it was coming, and got all my crying out last week.”

Shane knew his vagueness didn’t look good. But to explain more would out Mia. He was all but certain she’d tell Lexie, but it was her revelation to tell, not his.

“You knew this was coming?”

“I keep telling you it’s complicated.”

“Argh!” Lexie threw her hands up in exasperation and marched gumpily to the living room, hoping that the reason for their breakup wasn’t her brother, despite how things looked. She didn’t want to have to take her friend’s side if there was drama. That would make seeing him at family dinners rather uncomfortable in a way Lexie didn’t want to have to deal with.

She pulled out her phone to text Mia: “You doing ok? Are you going to make it today?”

Soon she got a short reply, “I’m not ok, on my way.”

Lexie glared at Shane from the doorway. “Tell me there’s not another woman.”

Technically, you are the other woman, Shane thought, mortified she could even consider it.

“Lex, I swear to you there’s not another woman in my life.”

“I believe you,” Lexie said with resigned unhappiness, settling into her seat. It seemed like she’d have to talk to Mia if she wanted any answers.

Mannie and Jacob arrived before Mia. Both were confused that Mia wasn’t already there. Shane assured them she was just running a bit late and would be here. Time stretched on awkwardly without conversation for a few minutes, until there was a knock at the front door. Shane glanced at Lexie, she nodded, and rushed to the front door.

She opened the door to see Mia. She looked pretty rough, with dark circles under her eyes, eyes clearly red from crying, her usual light, colorful style replaced with baggy jeans and a grey hoodie.

Lexie pulled her into a tight hug. “You look like crap. Are you sure you want to be here?”

Mia felt the warmth and comfort of her friend’s arms envelop her. She and Shane were no longer together, she could just tell Lexie how she felt. But she couldn’t, she didn’t know how Lexie felt, and couldn’t risk making things very awkward.

“Not really, but I told Shane I’d be here. The normalcy is probably good for me. Ugh, why does he always want what’s good for me?”

“You want to talk afterwards?”

“I don’t want to, but I’ll take you up on the offer anyway.”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

Lexie didn’t want to push her too far, but did want to know what happened between Mia and Shane. Shane’s cryptic answers and the difference in their reactions worried Lexie. She trusted him, but couldn’t shake the fear he’d done something to hurt Mia.

“I want to talk to you. Just not about this mess, but you’re the best somebody I know to talk to about Shane… no, not about Shane, about me. Enough stalling, the sooner we hunt fae, the sooner I can cry on your shoulder more,” Mia said, pulling back from their hug.

The uncertainty in Mia’s answer only worried Lexie more, but it sounded like she’d have to wait until after the game for answers.

Taking their seats at the table, Shane began his weekly recap, but with less vigor than usual. The party continued to follow bread crumbs, fought a few shadow sprites, and rescued a cow. The pieces were all there as preplanned by Shane, but the day didn’t capture the usual magic. Shane’s descriptions were bland. Mia didn’t bother with descriptions or anything beyond mechanics. Lexie tried to carry the group, but it wasn’t her usual role. She wasn’t well practiced. She didn’t have the existing story touchstones to make it feel alive. Mannie could tell the vibe was off, but didn’t know what to do about it. Jacob was a bit disappointed but didn’t say anything specifically blameful.

They wrapped up mid-afternoon, much earlier than usual. Progress was made. Next week, they’d try to recapture the magic with clearer minds. Jacob and Mannie slipped out without their usual goodbyes.

Shane, Mia, and Lexie stood awkwardly waiting for someone to say something, to give them permission to leave, to tell them they had to stay and talk, some clear sign of what was going to happen next.

Lexie’s need to know what happened between her friends pushed her to speak first, “Mia, do you still want to talk? Maybe get coffee?”

“Yeah, that sounds good. North Starbucks or South?”

Shane was glad Lexie was here for Mia. He ducked out of the room to give them space to talk.

“Green Dream, I think we’re going to want the good stuff.”

“Ooof, parking is going to be a mess, you sure?”

“I can drive us both if you want? The public lot by the theater is usually pretty ok, you just have to walk a bit.”

“Thanks, let’s drop my car off at my apartment first.”

Half an hour later, they were walking through downtown to the Green Dream Coffee shop. Lexie pushed open the door, and a blast of warm, humid air greeted them as they stepped inside. Green vines entwined the concrete pillars holding the ceiling up, racks of plants lined the walls, cute little trays of succulents sat in the center of every table and booth. The Green Dream lived up to its name. It was as much a greenhouse as it was a coffee shop.

Soon Mia and Lexie slid into a booth with two vegan mochas in mugs nearly as big as their heads.

“So, what happened?” Lexie asked, wanting to finally get some answers about what had happened between her friends.

“A lot.” Mia sighed, took a long drink of her mocha, and thought about how much she wanted to tell Lexie. “I’m assuming he told you I broke up with him?”

“Yeah, he didn’t say why, said I’d have to ask you.”

“Oh, of course he did. God, I want to be so mad at him, but I can’t. He just keeps being so thoughtful. This would be so much easier if he was a jerk and I could just hate him about it. Alright… I broke up with him, ‘cause I’m a lesbian, and he’s well, you know, a guy.”

Lexie was relieved to finally know what this was about. No cheating or drama, Mia was just gay. She was a bit surprised by this, but not completely, she never had been very good at figuring out who other women were attracted to.

“Not bi?”

“Not bi. I never really liked dating guys. I just did because that’s what women do. They date men, what else was I supposed to do? Be gay? Surely I’d have known if I was a lesbian, right? That’d be the sort of thing I could feel really good and guilty about, really hate myself over. So I dated guys. Then I met the D&D crew and found a new group of fun people to hang out with. Mannie was unavailable. Jacob was Jacob. You were a woman. So, Shane, it was.”

Saying it that way made Mia pause for a second. Did she just find Lexie attractive because she was the only woman in the group? She looked at her friend, no, it was more than that. It was those blue eyes, the way she smiled. The moments of silly fun they had together.

“Then he had the gall to love me, encourage me, and want better things for me. He talked me into going to therapy, and then I got better. I wanted things for myself, I started to think about who I was, not just who people expected me to be.

“The things I’d long repressed started to float to the surface. I started noticing women, noticing the way they make me feel. I didn’t understand why it was happening at first. It kind of freaked me out. I was straight, this isn’t the sort of thing a straight woman should be thinking. It came up in therapy. Dr. Murphy kept nudging me to think about why I was feeling these things, what they meant about me, and my relationship with Shane. Last week, it all came bursting out. I, uh…” Mia stopped short.

She wanted to say ‘realized I loved you more than Shane’ but stopped herself. She’d already nearly ruined one friendship this week. She wasn’t going to get lucky a second time.

“... realized guys don’t really do it for me like women do. Shane’s pretty good as far as guys go, but not who I want to be with.”

“Wow. That sounds rough. I’m sorry you had to repress that part of you for so long. But I’m glad to hear you found out who you really are, and are getting to live that life now.” Lexie said.

“Ah, come on! Not you too! Why do all of my friends have to be so understanding? I should have talked to Jacob, at least he’d do me the courtesy of being crass and trying to hit on me.” Mia lamented.

Hmm, flirting with Mia? Lexie thought she had already gotten past the hard part, figuring out Mia would be receptive. It had been quite a while since she’d kissed another woman, she did miss that.

No, that’s silly, Lexie told herself. Mia liked women, in the general sense, not her specifically. She had enough turmoil in her life right now, and her ex’s sister hitting on her would just be weird. Lexie didn’t want to impose more weirdness on either of them.

“You’re upset with us because we care about you and are being kind?” Lexie asked.

“Yes! Now I’ve got to go tell Dr. Murphy, my darn friends are kind to me and care about me when they should be doing better things with their time. Then he’s going to tell me I deserve your kindness, I’m going to pout about it. It’s a lot of work having friends that respect me.”

“I’m glad you’re still Mia. Even if you’re not sleeping with my brother anymore. Wow, that was a hell of a sentence to say aloud.”

“I’m glad you’re still Lexie. Even if I’m not sleeping with your brother anymore.” Mia said, doing her best to keep her delivery flat. It lasted a few seconds before they both burst out laughing.

They finished their coffees and bussed their table.

“Feeling better?” Lexie asked as they left.

“Unfortunately. You’re almost as bad as he is.” Mia complained.

—

Mia wasn’t sure if the chairs were better or worse this week. She was too listless to sit still. She had so many conflicting thoughts flying around in her head. “Mia,” Dr. Murphy’s voice was much closer than usual this week. She looked up, he was standing right in front of her.

“Oh, hi. Lead the way?” she said, getting up from the waiting room chair, following Dr. Murphy to his office.

Mia took her place in the corner of the couch, Dr Murphy took his place opposite her. Then silence.

“You seem distracted this week.” Dr. Murphy said.

“You don’t know the half of it. I guess that’s why I’m here to tell you about it. A lot happened last week. Shane and I broke up. I told Shane I was a lesbian. I told Lexie I was a lesbian. I didn’t tell Lexie I was in love with her.”

“What do you want to talk about first?”

“None of it? All of it? Let's just take things in order, I suppose. I took the initiative and called Shane to tell him I had made dinner plans for the week. That’s good, other than the reason why I did it. Yay, growth, right?”

Mia sighed. It would be easier to be proud of something that didn’t hurt so much.

“At dinner, I told Shane we should break up and that I was a lesbian. He knew I was attracted to women, apparently, before I did. He hadn’t said anything because he thought I was bi and didn’t know what to say. I want to be mad at him for not fighting me to stay together, but he just kept on being Shane. He was supportive and happy for me. It would have been easier if he was a jerk… ugh…” Mia collapsed into the couch.

“You did a good job expressing your wants and needs, setting up dinner, and then delivering the news to Shane. Do you want to talk more about your feelings about him?”

“No, let’s talk about Lexie now… I didn’t spend Friday night at Shane’s like I usually do, so I was late to D&D. Lexie was waiting for me at the door. We talked a bit, I told her I had broken up with Shane. It didn’t faze her at all; she was just concerned about me. Those two are going to be the death of me. I look forward to the day I believe I’m worth caring about as much as they do. D&D was… stilted. Everybody was distracted by the elephant in the room.

“After that, Lexie and I went out for coffee, I told her I was a lesbian, and I gave her the almost full rundown of things. She was supportive. The only detail I left out was that I was in love with her, and had been… for longer than I’d dated Shane.

“That’s why I was so freaked out at the idea of talking to her about my feelings last week. I don’t want to freak her out and really ruin things. I got lucky with Shane being so chill about me not loving him. I wouldn’t get that lucky twice, telling Lexie she’s the one I really loved.”

“You always focus—”

“On the negative outcomes. What if things go well? I know, I know. Give me a few weeks to let things settle. I’m willing to give you the benefit of the doubt here. Worst case, she says no, and we just keep being friends. Just give me some time to breathe. I’ll do my best not to stress about her in the meantime.”

“Not how I would have phrased it, but that shows growth. You’re willing to admit good things are possible, and the worst case isn’t that bad. A bit of time for everyone to settle seems wise, and you’re willing to relax during that process.”

They spent the remainder of the session practicing breathing exercises and other ways to center and destress.

—

Mia inspected her phone. It was Friday, noon was approaching, and her phone would buzz. That’s how her life had been for the last year. But now things were different. She knew things were going to change. She wanted them to change. Now she needed to accept that and—Buzzzz. That wasn’t supposed to happen. Mia looked at the message. It was from Shane:

“How do you feel about getting wings and melting our faces off tonight?”

“We broke up. That kind of cancels our standing date night, sorry.”

“Ok. Mia, my ex, who happens to be my friend still, would you like to get wings with me because it’s fun, and I don’t have any other friends who think chemical burns are fun?”

“I can’t believe you. Alright. It’s not a date. I’ll meet you there at six.”

“Of course it’s not a date. You’re a lesbian, you don’t date guys. I was paying attention.”

“I could cancel.”

“And miss out on blistering your lips?”

“Don’t push me, mister.”

Shane found Mia sitting at a high top near the back of the main dining room. “So have you thought about what sort of hell we’re going to inflict on ourselves tonight?” He said with a big grin.

Mia glared at him. “We break up, and you start making fun of me, huh?” Her face softened. She couldn’t hold the delivery.

“Yes and no, but also no. I would have said the same thing if we were still sleeping together. I do like it when you make decisions for yourself, and I think a bit of joking encourages that. I didn’t mean to really hurt you with my—”

Mia’s smile widened. She had managed to tease Shane. She had the confidence to try, and it worked. He had been a good influence and friend, even if they didn’t work out romantically.

“Oh shut up. I’m a big girl now, and it’s largely your fault. I did look at the menu a bit, I hadn’t settled on anything entree-like. But I am feeling like we could split a pair of the seven alarm wings if you’re really committed to the whole bonding through shared suffering thing.”

“I like you more than the woman I used to date. Therapy’s been good to you.”

“Earlier, you said you would have said the same thing if we were still sleeping together. Is that how you see it? We’re still the same, just minus the physical intimacy bits?”

“Yeah, if you want us to be different, I can change, but I like the good bits of what we had. We should keep those.”

“You’re not going to be weird about me seeing other women?” Including your sister? Mia didn’t say that last bit aloud.

“No. Why would I be? We broke up, remember? Go find the woman of your dreams. I want to meet the woman who makes your heart race.” Shane had a pretty good idea who that was.

“You are the worst, you almost make me regret not being attracted to guys,” Mia said warmly with a smile.

“Enough banter, we need to choose our last meal before we face our fiery death,” Shane said, picking up the menu.

—

Mia looked at the door to Shane’s apartment, raising her hand to knock on the door, but stopped. No one else knocked. They just let themselves in like they had every right to Shane’s living space. Mia pushed the door open and walked to the dining room.

She saw Shane sitting at the head of the table, shuffling through notes, with the familiar plastic forest arrayed in front of him. Between Shane and Lexie’s chairs was a large tea towel draped over the little plastic horrors they would face this week. This seemed normal. She liked normal. She slid into her seat to Shane’s right.

“I don’t know what to do with myself right now. Usually, this is the part where I’d be cleaning the kitchen, or something. Waiting for Lexie to demand her hug. Now I have to talk to you or something to fill the time. I don’t know, Shane, this whole just being friends thing might not work out.”

“I could go smear some jelly on a plate if that would make you feel better, maybe dip some forks in the compost bin.”

“I think I'll survive.”

They bantered for a few more minutes until they were interrupted by the sound of the front door opening. Mia got up, poked her head out the doorway, and then dashed into Lexie’s arms.

Lexie wondered if Mia’s enthusiasm to hug her had anything to do with attraction, and again dismissed it as wishful thinking. Who didn’t want to be desired by attractive people? They were just friends, friends hugged.

“You seem to be doing much better this week,” Lexie said, wrapping her arms around her friend.

“For now, Shane’s got the big tea towel out this week.”

“We’ve survived the big towel before. We’ll be fine.”

A few minutes later, everyone was assembled, and Shane started his recap. His retelling of their previous week added some much-needed flavor to their adventures. They had left off tracking a satyr that worked as the hag’s right hand. The party had discovered that he was going to be in a specific clearing in front of a large tree under the next full moon. This gave them two days to prepare.

Yvonne scouted the clearing and surrounding areas to determine where best to lay their ambush from, what the likely approaches were, what dangers they should avoid, and what dangers they could use to their advantage.

Calliope and Hrogar fashioned wooden traps. She provided the brains and engineering knowledge. He provided the brawn and the big axe for chopping.

Gawain spent his time mixing holy water, iron filings, and other alchemical ingredients to load their traps with.

The first day came to a close, and the party set up their camp.

“Oh my, that’s a fancy new tent you’ve got there, Yvonne. I don’t suppose it has room for two?” Mia asked, as Calliope.

“I like to stretch out when I sleep. It’ll be nice to get a proper night’s rest away from town. You should see if Karthain has another when we get back to town.” Lexie responded in Yvonne’s stead.

“It does look much more comfortable than sleeping in the dirt. I wouldn’t take up that much room.” Mia said, staring into Lexie’s eyes, pouting slightly. Lexie’s heart fluttered. She’d never stared into those deep green eyes before, not like this anyway. She wondered if this was all just for the game, if Mia was just testing out her new confidence and sexuality, or if there was more to it.

“Not fair! You can’t just make eyes at a woman and expect her to give you what you want.”

‘I mean, you could in this case, but that’s not the point,’ Lexie thought, happy that she managed to keep the inside thoughts in her head. That would have been way too forward and embarrassing to say out loud.

“Sure, I can, I’m a bard,” Mia said with a grin.

“I could make her roll for it.” Shane offered.

“You know that wouldn’t help, she’d roll a forty or something impossible, and then be in Yvonne’s pants before any of us knew what was happening. Yvonne sighed, ‘Fine, you can share the tent, just stop pouting at me.’”

“Yay!”

On the second night, as the sun set, the party lay in wait in a gully. An hour after sunset, they saw the first torch approach, held aloft in the dirty, calloused hands of a red cap. Yvonne knocked an arrow and was preparing to let fly when they saw the second torch. She held her shot, released the tension in her arm, and ducked back down with the group. Over the next few minutes, more torches appeared in ones and twos. They danced in the moonlight, and then a pair of horns rose from the ground. The satyr knew how to make an entrance.

Shane was laying the narration on thick this week, making up for last week's poor showing, and his friends were enthralled, loving every minute of it. They continued to watch the situation unfold until they were sure Shane didn’t have any more surprises. Arrows and glass vials flew from the shadows as combat began. Surprise passed, and combat proper began. When the satyr’s turn came, Shane narrated his continuation of the ritual unfazed by the chaos around him.

The party knew something was up. The feeling set in that this was an ambush, but they perhaps misunderstood which side of it they were on.

Gawain charged for the satyr with Yvone in his wake. Their blows struck true, but the satyr continued to ignore them. Hrogar cut through the red caps like a hot knife through butter. His success did not fill the party with confidence. That was too easy, they felt themselves stepping deeper into the trap Shane had laid. Then the reveal, the satyr plunged his dagger into his own heart, animating the giant tree towering at the edge of the clearing.

Shane reached under the table, retrieving a treant. He cleared the satyr mini from the table, replacing it with the treant. The real battle began.

Two hours later, the party had spent their resources for the day and were exhausted. The players were delighted with the reversal and their well-earned victory. In the wake of battle, they recovered messages from the hag to her lieutenant, guiding them forward deeper into her conspiracies next week.

—

Mia considered that maybe the chairs weren’t so bad. They were still uncomfortable to sit in. But the emotional discomfort wasn’t so bad. Everyone here was trying to improve their lives. They all knew the other patients were doing the same. Maybe this was more a place of camaraderie than judgment. Mia heard the hallway door slide open, and Dr. Murphy appeared in the doorway. She strode across the room and through the door with a smile.

Mia sat on the couch, threw one knee over the other, then wrapped her hands around her knee.

“I think I’m starting to understand what Shane felt when we broke up. I was so mad at him for not being upset. But now I’m much less upset than I expected. We’re still mostly the same. We went out on our usual Friday pre-gameday date, but it wasn’t a date. It was just two friends having dinner. The conversation was mostly the same, other than a bit of awkwardness about how I wasn’t expecting things to feel so the same. The big thing was we didn’t sleep together, and I don’t really miss that part.”

As she spoke, Mia was surprised how confident she was. Talking about breaking up with Shane seemed like the sort of thing that should have bothered her, but her words just flowed one into the next.

“I feel like I should miss it more, but I don’t. Shane was always a gentleman about it and made sure I got off, too. I think the thing I miss most is the idea that I should be missing something bigger.”

As she thought about how little she missed sex with Shane, her mind drifted to Lexie. She couldn’t miss something she’d never had, but she felt a longing at the edge of her mind. She very much hoped somehow she would end up in bed with her beautiful friend.

“I hadn’t expected being single to feel like this. I expected loss and loneliness. Instead, it’s mostly freedom. I’m free from the pressure of acting like Shane’s girlfriend. He never pressured me, nobody ever specifically did, but everybody did generally, ya’ know? I don’t have to feel bad about checking women out now. I don’t have to cling to him when we’re in public together. There’s no expectation I defer to him.

“That one’s actually a bit frightening. I have to be my own person now. I was James and Elise’s Daughter for twenty-two years. Then, a couple of years as Miss Responsible Bank Teller. Then Shane’s Girlfriend. And now I’m just Mia, and I’m not really clear on who Mia is. I like D&D, I love Lexie, and I like Shane, despite his quest to make me a better person. Oh, and spicy food too. More of Shane’s bad influence, bastard.”

“You’re certainly opening up more than you did when you were with him.”

“Yeah, but that one's not about him, that’s about me. We split because I’m more open about how I am, even to myself. Not the other way around.”

“Do you think your future relationships could lead you back to old habits?”

“Probably? Maybe? It depends, we’ll see how many stereotypes about lesbians get in my head before then, and how many ideas about how relationships in general are supposed to work I can shake off before then.”

“Do you think that’s something we should work on, before you try to find a new partner?”

“Yeah, probably,” Mia said, pouting like a child being told to eat their vegetables.

They spent the rest of the session talking about common ideas people have about relationships, their pros, their cons, and exercises Mia could run through to help remind herself she didn’t have to take on any expectations she didn’t want.

—

Mia and Shane sat on Shane’s couch with their feet kicked up on his coffee table, eating homemade Mac and Cheese.

“So it’s been two weeks, are you feeling better?” Shane asked.

“You don't have to say ‘I told you so.’” Mia said, between bites.

“I never said I told you so.” Shane objected.

“Right, you only asked a leading question we both know the answer to, to which the obvious follow-up would be I told you so.”

The conversation was relaxed, warm, and friendly. It felt more like two friends discussing the end of Mia’s relationship with some other guy than their own breakup.

“Well, I’m going to treat that as a very sassy yes then.”

“You told me so. I wasn’t good at dating guys. Dating women is going to be a whole new trip. Maybe? It can’t be as simple as dating apps, but not the same ones, and bars, but again not the same ones. Right?

“Don’t look at me, we met on Reddit of all places, and I wasn’t really looking, so I don’t know. I’ve never done the whole bar and dating apps thing, so I don’t know. Huh, damn, well I guess we’ll have to learn together then.”

“Are you ready to find someone new?” Mia asked.

“I wouldn’t object if the perfect woman fell into my lap, but I’m a bit intimidated by the process.”

“Yeah, me too,” Mia said. Shane mused how he could make that happen. He’d have to talk to Lexie to see if she was still attracted to women, as he suspected.

“You want to cancel next week in favor of bar hopping?”

“Heck no, you’re not getting rid of me that easily. How about this, we go out separately on Thursday, then get takeout and compare notes on Friday?”

“You sure you’re going to be ok by yourself?”

“I’ll be fine. So where are you going?”

“I don’t know… uh, well, not the Crow, I like it there, but not exactly the place for meeting new people. I guess I’ll go to the Peacock. I probably won’t embarrass myself too badly dancing, or if I do, maybe I’ll find somebody who won’t care how bad a dancer I am. How about you?”

“I uh, hold on,” Mia said, setting her bowl down on the table and pulling out her phone. A bit of googling later, Mia looked up “I guess I’m going to Bombay near the university.”

“Ah, the siren call of younger women,” Shane teased.

“Oh shut up. We’re not that old. We could be grad students. Besides, what other gay bars do you know of in town?”

“Uh, well, none, actually…”

“See, you’ve got it easier,” Mia said, grabbing her bowl off the table.

—

Shane was up early the next morning. He was eager to start getting set up for the day. He had big plans and was looking forward to putting them in motion. His plans hinged on Jacob being unlucky, but the odds were heavily tilted in Shane’s favor. He had a ninety-four percent chance under ideal circumstances, a little under eighty-four percent in the most likely case, and the worst case dipped just below sixty percent.

Shane placed a large cottage in the center of the table and held a smaller two-inch circle of mushrooms off to the side, beginning his collection of monsters for the week. Soon, a small army of red caps joined them. Shane kept the hag herself behind the screen. She was too tall to hide with the minions. The party knew that’s what was in store this week, but Shane still liked the extra bit of theatrics.

The players arrived in their traditional order: Mia, Lexie, Mannie, with Jacob bringing up the rear. Shane began his recap of the last week before launching into this week’s narration.

“... With that survival check, Hrogar is able to find the path deeper into the heart of the swamp. As you follow the trail, you can see the trees part about one hundred feet in front of you. There’s a cottage,” Shane gestured over the screen at the table in front of him, “with a wisp of smoke rising from the chimney.”

“This seems like it, right?” Mannie asked.

“I mean, he’s got the table all set for us, so that’s a safe assumption,” Lexie said.

“He has done worse to misdirect us in the past,” Mia reminded the group. Shane’s lips curled into a cat-like grin behind the screen.

“Shane, I assume venturing off the path would be… a problem?” Lexie asked.

“The murky water is difficult terrain and obscures whatever is under it,” Shane said, offering a technically correct answer, but leaving Lexie to draw her own conclusions about it being a problem or not. Lexie frowned, concluding that it would, in fact, be a problem.

“I could try to sneak down the path and get a better look. What do you guys think?” Lexie asked the group.

“It’s that, or we charge straight down the path and hope for the best. Jacob, don’t.” Mannie said.

“I vote we take the gamble on scouting. I could make Yvonne invisible if we’re feeling extra paranoid, and we probably should be.” Indeed, you should be Shane thought watching the group plan their approach.

“On the other hand, if we’re feeling paranoid, we might want to hold those spells in reserve for the actual fighting part. Do we have an invisibility potion by chance?” A shuffling of papers later, and the players concluded they did, in fact, have an invisibility potion.

“Do we want to use it now?” Lexie asked.

“Yeah, we don’t want to be that meme of the dead adventurer with all the potions,” Jacob said.

“Prost!” Lexie said, flicking her thumb like she was opening a bottle cap.

“Make your roll,” Shane said. He watched as Lexie picked up two dice from her pile, before adding, “Could you do me a favor here, and use two different colors?” Lexie gave him a suspicious look, putting a die down, and grabbing another from her pile. Lexie tossed her dice on the table.

“Twenty-five,” she said. Shane looked at the red die on the table, nineteen, he thought to himself, still good enough.

“You make your way down the path, the trees stop about ten feet short of a waist-high stone wall with a wooden gate set into it. The grass inside the wall looks much healthier, greener, and more vibrant than the surrounding swamp. Anything specific you’re looking for or at?” Shane narrated.

“Yvonne is going to press herself to the outside of the gate, avoiding the handle or anything else that looks like it could move, and look around the yard to see if anything stands out.”

“Perception, please.”

Lexie picked up the red die from the table and gave it a toss. “Natural twenty, for a total of twenty-five,” She said, grinning widely. Good, good, get those out of the way early, Shane thought, as he pulled the circle of plastic mushrooms out from under the tea towel and set them in front of the cottage and ten feet to the right of the path.

“You see a circle of mushrooms that gives off a soft blue glow in front of the house and to the right of the path. You can see the grass between the path and the mushrooms is slightly trampled. Inside the house, you catch the occasional bit of movement behind the windows, which looks to be a medium humanoid.”

“Yvonne pulls back and reports to the group what she just saw,” Lexie said.

“It’s open, defensible. Almost like someone designed it to be difficult to approach.” Mannie said, looking at Shane as he said the last bit. Shane peeked over his screen, letting Mannie see his cat-like grin.

Lexie sat up and held her finger out, counting out the distance from the gate to the cottage. “Fifty feet, I could cover that in one round, but everybody else is going to get caught with their pants down trying to cross that.”

“Crazy thought, but why don’t we just knock on the door and say ‘hi?’” Mia asked. “If we can cover that distance outside of combat time, that favors us. This place is designed to thwart an ambush from the outside. Rather than overcome its strength, let’s just ignore that and do something else. Yvonne’s got what, another 40 minutes or so of invisibility? Send her over the fence, walk the perimeter inside, tell us it’s as open as it looks. Should still leave us plenty of time for the three of us to be chatty. Yvonne can hang back, bow at the ready, and start us in style if things get messy.” Mia was greeted with nods all around.

“Guess that’s what we’re doing then,” Lexie said.

“Alright, stealth to get to the fence, another to get over, perception, and then one more stealth to get back out,” Shane said, laying out the process of executing their plan.

Lexie picked up and tossed her dice again. “Twenty-three”. Shane nodded.

The second toss “Thirty”. Shane looked at the red die. That’s a one. Shane nodded.

Lexie picked up just the blue die this time, tossing it with a bit of backspin. “Fourteen.”

“Nothing in the yard stands out to you as you make your way around the edge. Behind the house, you see there’s a back door, but there’s no path or clear landmark that the door would lead to. And last stealth to get back out.”

Lexie picked up her dice, gave them a light shake before dropping them. “Twenty-four.” Shane nodded.

“I don’t think that backdoor is going to be a problem.” Mannie said, “I don’t think she’s going to cut and run in her own home. Any minions that come out that way are still going to have to come around the house, delaying them, and not providing that much cover.”

“Let’s take a stroll,” Mia said. Nods all around again. “Calliope leads the group up to the front door and knocks on it.”

“The door swings open to reveal a matronly woman, she looks to be in her fifties, with grey, curled hair that stops just below her ear. She’s wearing a simple canvas apron over her shirt and trousers. She has a belt around her waist that has garlic and other herbs hanging off of it. Oh, hello, dears, she greets you. I don’t get many visitors out this way. What can I help you with, fine travelers? Would you like to come in for a spot of tea? I have fresh ginger snaps, too, she says with a warm smile. Can I get a perception from anyone who wants to make one?”

A staccato of dice were tossed on the table. Shane really only cared what Mia said, but showmanship required him to make it a general request.

“Ten,” Jacob reported.

“Also ten,” Lexie said.

“Six,” Mia said, frowning. Shane’s trap was beginning to close. That took the worst-case scenario off the table.

“Fifteen,” Mannie said.

“Gawain notices the old woman fiddling with something on her belt. The other characters were too busy taking in the sights and smells emanating from the house. The old woman locks eyes with Hrogar, saying ‘Actually, Honey, I don’t feel like entertaining guests today. Could you escort these interlopers outside the gate and make sure they don’t come back? Thanks.’

“Jacob, I’m going to need a charisma save from you, with disadvantage.”

Looks of concern swept across the table. Jacob picked a pair of dice and sent them clattering to the table. It was bad. Everyone expected it to be bad. “Two, minus one; dirty one.”

“Hrogar, your dear, wonderful grandmother, whom you love more than life itself, has just asked you to take the trash off her lawn. You don’t want to disappoint dear old Gran, do you? Jacob, Lexie, could I ask you two to swap seats? I’d like to be able to have a nice, pleasant chat with my new and dear grandson.”

Lexie and Jacob collected their dice, notes, and pencils, and then switched places.

Leaving Jacob sitting near the head of the table just to Shane’s left, and Lexie and Mia sitting next to each other. Alright, Mia, just be yourself, Shane thought. Shane leaned over to Jacob and whispered. “Pick up the most dangerous party member and carry them outside the fence, and set them down, please. Wouldn’t want to disappoint dear old Gran.”

Jacob looked around the table. “Hrogar walks over to Gawain and grapples him.” He picked up a die and tossed it on the table. “Seventeen.”

Shane looked at Mannie. “He’s serious, isn’t he?” Mannie asked.

“Yep, roll ‘em,” Shane answered.

“Fifteen. Up I go, I guess.” Mannie said.

“I carry him to the gate and give him a toss,” Jacob said.

“Hmm, hey Mannie, give me a Dex save, for fun here.”

Mannie tossed a die on the table. It landed skull side up. He sighed, resigning himself that something comically bad was about to happen. “Natural one.”

“Was not expecting that, alright,” Shane said, picking up some dice behind the screen and tossing them. “Two falling damage from a very bad landing.” Shane whispered to Jacob: “Go grab the next one for Gran, please.”

“Hrogar walks back, and, uh, I guess grapples Yvonne,” Jacob said, tossing a die. “Ten.”

Lexie picked up a die and tossed it. It landed with a two facing up. “Eleven.” She said, grinning.

Shane let them give Hrograr the run around for a bit, before leaning over and whispering, “You know, Honey, this would be easier if you just clobbered them with that big axe of yours. Then they wouldn’t climb back over the fence.”

Combat proper commenced, three on one, they wore Hrogar down quickly. In the second round of combat, Mia asked, “Hey, Jacob, how’s Hrogar doing?”

“You guys got me—” Jacob started.

“Ah, ah, ah. Don’t tell the interlopers anything. Gran wouldn’t like that. Let me take a look. He’s more than bloodied.” Shane interrupted.

Mia contemplated her options. She didn’t want to start dropping big spells just yet, but didn’t want to wear Hrogar down too much. They were going to need him later. “Screw it. I cast Sleep with a third-level slot on Hrogar. I’m going to need nine dee eights, so start passing ‘em this way.” Mia said.

The party took the collection up. Mia raised her giant ball of dice, shook them, releasing them on the table. Dice scattered everywhere. Mia started collecting and counting them.

One die had landed near Lexie’s hand, Mia’s hand brushed against Lexie’s hand when she went to retrieve it. Touching Lexie was nothing new for Mia. They hugged all the time. They’d held hands when walking before. But this time was different. The touch was light, soft. Mia felt excitement and warmth spreading through her hand. She looked at Lexie, she was looking at their hands too, then their eyes met. Mia thought she saw a flicker of light in Lexie’s eyes. She must have imagined it. There’s no way Lexie found this moment as exciting as she had.

Lexie felt a jolt spreading from her hand. It was silly. She and Mia hugged all the time. That was much more physical contact. This was just a random happenstance of flying dice. It didn’t mean anything. It wasn’t on purpose. She looked up and caught Mia’s eyes. She really hadn’t properly appreciated those emerald eyes before. She really needed to get over herself. Yeah, she found out her friend is gay, but Mia still had self-control and standards. She wasn’t just going to randomly fall in love with the first woman she saw after coming out.

“Forty-seven,” Mia announced after collecting all the dice.

“And with that, Hrogar is out like a baby. Combat comes to a close.” Shane said.

“We’ve got one minute, now what?” Mia said.

“Gawain, sit on him. Yvonne holds a knife to his throat. I guess we wait and see what happens when he wakes up.” Lexie said.

“I’ll sit on him, I guess,” Mannie said.

Shane leaned over and whispered something to Jacob. Then looked up to the group asking, “Anything else before your minute passes?”

Three heads shook no.

“Alright, Hrogar wakes up.”

“Ugh, what happened? Where’s Gran? Why are you sitting on me, Gawain?” Jacob said.

“You going to fight us, big guy?” Lexie asked.

“No? Why would I do that?” Jacob asked.

“I guess he’s back to normal, that’s good. Should we patch him up and then go see about a hag?” Mia asked.

“You want me to start dumping healing into him, or should we make him chug some potions?” Mannie asked.

“I vote potions, we’ve got the downtime, save the magic for combat,” Lexie said.

Mia and Jacob agreed. Everybody passed him a potion before they pushed into the house to confront the hag. She didn’t pull any more big dirty tricks. They wore her down, and eventually she dropped.

They investigated the house, after a few rolls and a bit of chatting, determined the children they had come to rescue were being held in the mushroom circle outside the house. An hour later, they had collected a couple dozen children from beyond the mushrooms and needed to figure out how to get them back to town. But that was next week’s problem. They called it a wrap here.

“Hey Lexie, could you stick around for a bit?” Shane asked as the crew was packing up. “I have questions about some ghosts of the past.”

Lexie heard the door close behind Mia.

“This is about Mia, isn’t it?”

“Not directly. Changing the nature of our relationship has left me feeling reflective. I've been thinking about past relationships. Was there someone I should have put more effort into, someone I should have left sooner? Do you have anything like that? Do you still think about, what was her name, that girl you kissed when we were in high school?” Shane asked, hoping his explanation sounded plausible enough Lexie wouldn’t discern his real motive here.

“I haven’t thought about Charlotte in years. The problem with women is you never know who’s gay or bi. It really just adds a whole extra complication. Guys are easier to date, most of them are straight. So who’s been haunting you?” Good, Shane thought, that was the answer he wanted to hear.

“Sarah. We just moved apart after high school and then never spoke again. Could we have made distance work? Would it have been worth it? We were both pretty awkward back then. I know I’ve grown as a person. I assume she has as well. I don’t know. I guess what I’m looking for here is you to say you were there too, and would have done the same thing in my shoes, so I shouldn’t feel guilty about it.”

“You did the best you could. I liked her. You made a cute couple, but that was a long time ago. If the world was different, it would be different. Who knows what other ways your life would have changed? We probably wouldn’t be having this conversation right now.”

“Thanks. I’ll see you next week.”

“Don’t get too lost in your own head. Good DMs are hard to find.”

—

Mia made her way into the waiting room at the clinic, but this week was different. The sterile silence was punctuated by quiet sobs. Mia looked around. The usual folks were all here, all in their usual places, all not acknowledging the world around them. But there was a guy she didn’t recognize, he was out of place, and crying. Mia took a breath, looked at her usual chair, and walked right past it. She sat one chair down from the crying guy. He looked to be a few years older than her. Looking across the gap between them, she asked, “You seem to be having a bad time. Would you like some company?”

“Yeah, thanks.” He said. Mia moved to the chair next to him.

“Whatever it is, you’re brave to be here. You’ll get through this.”

They sat in silence for a few more minutes. The door swung open, a doctor Mia didn’t recognize called out, “James.” James got up, took a few steps towards the door, stopped, looked over his shoulder, and said, “Thank you for caring. It’s been a long time since someone’s done that for me.”

A few minutes later, Dr. Murphy appeared, and Mia followed him to his office.

“You weren’t in your usual chair today,” Dr. Murphy said.

“Yeah, there was a guy, another patient, he was having a bad time, looked like he needed a friend. So I sat with him. It seemed to have helped.”

“That was kind of you. What’s on your mind this week?”

“Lexie,” Mia said without meaning to. “Huh, yeah, I guess she literally has been on my mind a lot this week. I don’t know if I’m ready to talk to her yet. I want you to be right, and against all odds, she’s going to tell me, ‘Oh yeah, I’ve secretly been gay this whole time too.’ But that’s not how real life works. She was dating Andrew last year, and I’ve heard tales of a few exes before that.”

“Have you ever talked to her directly about how she identifies?”

“No. That’s not exactly normal friend conversation.”

“It is for some people. In communities where queer people make up a plurality of folks, gender and orientation are a part of getting to know people as much as names are. It can be a normal friend conversation for some people.”

“So, I’m gay and not very good at it? Sounds about right.” Mia said deflating.

“No. You’re new to the culture, talk to people, engage with writings by queer authors. It can help you feel more at ease with yourself and help you find community for yourself. Check with the university. They have support groups and community events you may find helpful.”

“Last time we talked about what if Lexie says no. But what if she says yes? Is Shane going to be weird about that? Hey, you dumped me for my sister, that’s weird as heck. What if I’m weird about it? Like we’re together, and I just can’t stop worrying about what Shane thinks of me, or I keep comparing her to Shane, or I’m just the dog that caught the car and don’t know what to do with myself at all?”

“Those all sound like things you can worry about in the future, if they happen. Take things one step at a time. Are you ready to talk to her right now? If not, keep on not stressing and getting yourself in a place where you feel ready to talk to her.”

“I don’t think I’m ready yet.”

“Alright, what can you do to not worry?”

“Distractions are good, I guess. I told Shane that both of us should get on with seeing other people. So I need to go out to a bar and talk to women this week. I guess. I really just wanted to give him permission to move on, and ended up putting myself on the spot too.”

“That would be a good place to meet people in general, too, and learn about queer culture.”

“I guess I have a second person to report back to about my trip to Bombay about now, alright.”

—

Shane pushed the door to his apartment open, balancing the box of Chinese takeout on his knee. As soon as the door started to swing open, he brought his hand back to the box and only stumbled a bit. He hooked his foot behind the door and kicked it shut before heading for the dining room. “Mia! Dinner!”

He set the box down on the table, and they began unpacking. Rice, more rice, fried rice, Kung Pao, and Barbecued Pork. They plated their meals family style from the spread before them.

“Alright, so tell me about going to Bombay?” Shane said.

“It was alright, I guess. I felt out of place being solo. There were other people there solo, but I didn’t really connect with anybody. I was too busy feeling self-conscious about having never been in a bar looking for a date before.”

“I could go with you next time, if that would help.”

“Uh, Shane, it’s a gay bar. Like a bar with gay men in it, who expect the men in the bar to be gay,” Mia said, exasperated at his failure to grasp what was obvious to her.

“Yeah, and?” Shane asked with a calmness bordering on confusion.

“Uh, they might hit on you, expect you to flirt back,” Mia said, feeling her frustration grow.

“Ok? And? They might compliment me and buy me drinks.”

“They might put their hands on you.” It was clear to Mia that Shane had never been in a position to have a man violate his boundaries.

“I can handle a lack of consent, I know how to tell them no.”

“There’s really nothing you’d be uncomfortable with?”

“No? Also, how cute are these hypothetical handsy guys? ”

“I’m sorry. What!? I’m supposed to be the gay one here. Did we manage to royally mess up the whole dating thing, being gay in opposite directions?” Mia said, shocked by Shane’s question.

“I am secure enough in my identity as a straight guy, I’d let a cute twink blow me, ok?” Shane said, grinning.

“You are unbelievable.”

“So yeah, not afraid of gay bars, you want somebody to keep you company next time?”

“Sure!” Mia said, shaking her head with resignation. “So how was your trip to the Peacock?”

“It was pretty ok, I talked to a few people… women, specifically, in case you’re wondering. Danced with a few women. Got a couple names, no phone numbers. There were more lesbians than I was expecting, so maybe you’ll want to come with some time.”

“Well, this feels like a bust. I guess we’ll try again next week.”

“Give it time, you want to try setting up online profiles next Friday?”

“Sure, can’t be any worse.”

—

As usual, Mia was the first to arrive and took her seat to Shane’s right. Lexie was next and sat next to Mia again this week. Good, thought Shane. His plan to reshuffle seating seems to have stuck. Then Jacob and Mannie arrived, and Shane began his weekly recap.

The party managed to shuffle their little army of wards back to town with relative ease. Shane was definitely pulling punches, but everyone understood the social conventions. Messing with kids, even fictional ones, would be the greater crime. They were hailed as heroes, heaped with praise, welcomed into the home of just about everyone in town.

Jacob and Mannie opted for the traditional tavern they used as a home base between quests. It was simple, it was cheap, it was a known quantity.

“Hey, Callie, so you know how Lord Thule owes us a favor for rescuing his kid? What do you think about us cashing that in in exchange for spending our downtime in his guest house? I bet the beds and food are way nicer than the inn.” Lexie said, mostly to Mia, but to the table in general.

“Oh, that does sound good. You’re not planning to rob him, are you?” Mia asked.

“Nope, purely recreational downtime.”

“And you don’t consider petty theft a recreational activity?” Mia asked incredulously.

“Ok, fair, but no, just thinking about food and a nice bed.” And us in that bed, Lexie thought.

“And bathtubs?” Mia said, imagining Lexie naked, sliding into her lap in a large bathtub.

“Yeah, that too. Shane, can we go have a chat with the good Lord and see if we can swing this?”

“Sure, give me persuasion with advantage,” Shane said.

“Mia, you want to take point here?” Lexie asked.

Mia picked up a couple dice and tossed them on the table. “Twenty-five. Can we get a bottle of wine too?”

“You have the run of Lord Thule’s guest house, the services of his maid, and a bottle of wine,” Shane said.

“Lovely! I’ll have the maid draw us a bath and open the bottle of wine before we retire to bed. Any other details you think are important to cover, Lexie?” Mia asked.

“Nope, I like that plan,” Lexie said, smiling at Mia. It seemed by mutual agreement that there was something between Yvonne and Calliope. Lexie wondered if it was just something in the game. Mia hoped it wasn’t.

Two days later, the party reassembled at the inn. Gawain had received a missive from his holy order that mysterious lights had been seen in The Dark Lord’s Tomb. And thus the heroes were off to do battle with evil once again, next week.

—

Mia made her way to her usual seat in the clinic waiting room. She could see that James was back again this week. He seemed to be doing better than last week. Mia smiled as she sat in her chair. She used to hate this room, but now it was just a place she spent a few minutes every week. Even the chairs seemed a bit more comfortable, you just had to learn the secret of how to sit in them, butt slightly forward, and lean back. They were rather tolerable.

Soon Mia was out of one seat and into the next in Dr. Murphy’s office.

“You know how everybody rages about schools not teaching kids the practical skills they need to survive in the real world? They don’t teach you how to date people. How to find people, how to find the people you actually connect with. School and college provide some structure. You might get lucky and find somebody compatible at work. But in general, we’re just kind of thrown to the wolves, and it’s assumed we’ll figure it out in time to make more humans that we can throw to the wolves in twenty years.”

Mia hadn’t intended to go on a rant about the structural difficulties around finding a partner. But it annoyed her, and was relevant to where she was in life right now.

“I went to a gay bar last week. I didn’t find anybody, didn’t have any deep conversations. Shane and I are going to set up dating apps on our phones next week. This seems grim. I might have no choice but to get really brave really quick, and hope my conversation with Lexie goes well.”

“I… see. It’s rare to find love in just one night. Finding connections is a matter of putting yourself out and being persistent. It’s the same no matter who you’re dating, keep reminding yourself this isn’t that different, and you’ve succeeded before.”

“I appreciate the pep talk, but I got lucky before. David and I met in college because we had class together, Shane and I met through D&D. None of my co-workers are gay in the right direction, and single. I can’t really fall back on old experiences here. But point taken, if things don’t work out with Lexie, I’ll go the persistent route.”

“Are you sure you’re ready to talk to Lexie about how you feel?”

“Not at all, but the alternative is worse, so I’m picking the less bad option.”

“We can talk about this more next week after you’ve had a chance to talk to her.”

—

Shane paced around his apartment. Things with Mia had ended on good terms, they were still friends, much as they had been for the last two years, they just slept together one fewer night per week. He tried to convince himself there was nothing more he could or should have done to make things easier for both of them.

He liked Mia and Lexie, they were both his friends, and he was pretty sure they were developing feelings for each other. He didn’t want to regret not saying something to them, the way he was trying to avoid regretting not saying something to Mia before. Unless he was wrong about them. He knew he wasn’t, though. He knew Mia, and he damn well knew Lexie. He knew what he had seen. What he had already nudged.

Shane called Mia: “How’s this for Friday plans? I'll pick you up at 6. Then we go to The Crow for burgers?”

“It’s Wednesday evening, too early to be thinking about dinner. You’re up to something.” Mia said crisply, accusingly, but not unkindly.

“Nope, just had a hankering for burgers,” Shane said quickly, hoping a simple, vague explanation wouldn’t raise further suspicions.

“This is your Hail Mary to avoid the dating apps, isn’t it? You’re hoping the hot bartender lady is working.” Mia changed the tack of her accusation, but still wasn’t convinced there wasn’t more to Shane’s plan.

“What? No. She was clearly more into you than me,” Shane said defensively.

Mia changed tack again.

“You’re going to try to set me up with her then?”

“No. I just want a damn blue cheese burger.”

“Uh, huh. Pick up at 6 then.” Mia was still suspicious when she hung up, but hadn’t narrowed down what she should be suspicious of.

Half done, Shane thought as he sent a text to Lexie: “Mia is going to meet a woman on Friday instead of our usual pregame dinner. You want to go to The Crow with me to grab some burgers?”

“Ohhh, good for her. I’ll have to pump her for gossip on Saturday. Is this the sort of thing where you’re paying for dinner?”

“No. I’m not taking my sister on a date. Weirdo.”

“Rude. Alright, what time?”

“6:30”

“See you there.”

—

Shane pulled out of The Crow’s parking lot, which was full. He’d been hoping for a miracle, but didn’t get one. A bit of careful maneuvering across three lanes of traffic, and he pulled into the public parking lot across the street. Shane and Mia made their way across the street and into the restaurant. Shane led them to the right to the restaurant side, they grabbed a table near the middle of the room.

“Look, see we’re in the restaurant, not the bar. No Hot Bartender Lady, no funny business.” Shane said, taking a seat facing the entrance.

“Huh, I guess you really did have a craving for beef and moldy cheese. We’ll wrap up here, then head back to your place to embarrass ourselves on the internet and hope that ends in women talking to us?” Mia said, scanning the menu.

“It sounds so grim when you put it that way.”

“I’ve never done online dating before. I’ve just heard horror stories about it. Maybe it’ll be better not dating guys. You’re screwed, though. Good luck standing out from the horde enough to get someone to talk to you.”

“Thanks for your optimism,” Shane said sarcastically.

“What are friends for?” Mia gave an obviously overly sweet smile.

“Not this.”

They ordered a first round of drinks and a basket of Cajun fries. Their drinks and fries arrived, and hot on their heels was a very suspicious Lexie.

“You told me Mia bailed on you to meet a woman,” Lexie said, approaching the table.

“No, I said, ahem, and I quote ‘Mia is going to meet a woman on Friday instead of our usual pregame dinner’” Shane said, reading from his phone. “And now you’re here.” Shane dropped a ten-dollar bill on the table, picked up his beer, winked, and walked to the bar.

“You are unbelievable!” Mia yelled after Shane as he disappeared down the hall out of the restaurant before turning her attention back to her friend standing next to the table.

“Uh, hey there Lexie, uh… I guess… would you like to sit down?” Sudden shyness gripped Mia.

Lexie slid into the chair opposite Mia. “Haunted by ghosts of past my ass, clever lying bastard. We’re going to kill him, right? They’re not going to find the body.”

Lexie was annoyed that Shane had set them up like this. But she knew he wasn’t a jerk, there was a reason… Mia had been flirting with her, she hadn’t imagined it because it was flattering.

“Definitely. You think he’d know better than to set you up with somebody you couldn’t possibly be attracted to.”

What was Shane doing, Mia wondered. Surely he knew his sister better than anyone else, so he would know that she was… No, no, she wasn’t. Understanding dawned just as Lexie spoke.

“Actually, I’m bi. Shane and I just talked about it last week. He said he was just thinking about past relationships. He was fishing to make sure I was still into women. He damn well knew what he was doing.”

“Oh… well, that changes things, I mean, well, maybe, not really. Sure, you like women in general, but… not…” Mia trailed off, looking away from Lexie. Even if Shane knew she was bi, and if he’d picked up on me trying to flirt with Lexie, there was still no reason to think she liked me? Mia thought.

“You like me, in more than a friendly way, don’t you?” Lexie asked.

Mia turned to look at her. “Yeah, I think I’ve had a crush on you for a while, definitely longer than I’ve known I was gay or what I was feeling for you. But it’s kind of complicated. I was still with Shane then, and I don’t know how much of my feelings for you were mixed up in my feelings for him and the other way around, too.”

“Well, I don’t know if I’ve got a crush on you, but I’ve definitely thought about you since I found out you were gay. I think you’re beautiful. I love the color of your eyes, that cute little nose of yours, the way you smile. I like the person you’ve become over the last few months. I like spending time with you. I’d be willing to give this a go.”

Mia couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Was this really happening? Lexie had just admitted she had thought about her. The whole setup felt surreal, like a dream. Yeah, Shane setting her up on a blind date with his sister isn’t the sort of thing that couldn’t possibly happen in real life.

“I’d like that,” Mia said quietly, worried the dream could end at any moment. When she didn’t wake up alone in her own bed, continued with more confidence, “Last week, when you suggested that Calliope and Yvonne spend time getting pampered together, was that actually about us?”

“Let me ask you this: when you suggested they bathe together, was that actually about us?” Lexie countered. She knew what the answer was. She just wanted to hear Mia say it.

“One hundred percent. I’m glad you picked up on that,” Mia answered quickly, blushing. She had noticed, that was the goal, but it actually worked.

“Hmm, I think a bathtub might be a bit ambitious for a first date, and I don’t think either of us have access to a large enough tub. However, the day spa on Ninth does couples massages, that seems like the sort of pampering one would get in a lord’s castle, doesn’t it?” Lexie said, in a sultry voice, Mia hadn’t heard since the night with the dishes. This time it was different, it wasn’t a joke, she meant it. Mia’s brain skipped a beat. She meant it!

“It does. Lexie, are you asking me out on a date?” Mia said coyly, playing along.

“Psh, don’t be ridiculous.” Lexie laughed, “I’m asking Calliope out on a date.”

“Well, she’s not around, guess I’ll have to go in her place.” Mia continued to play innocent, as she drank in the beauty of the blond woman sitting across the table from her.

“I guess you will. How does Monday work for you?”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Mia said excitedly, all pretense of making herself look like anything but a love-struck fool falling away.

The waitress came by to ask if they were ready to order, but both had to confess they hadn’t even looked at the menu yet.

“We should probably look at the menu before we get too lost in conversation again. But after we order food, what do you want to talk about for the rest of dinner? Deep meaningful stuff? Light friend stuff? Different ways we could destroy Shane?” Lexie asked.

“I don’t know if I’m prepared for deep, meaningful stuff tonight. I hadn’t really thought about it. I was planning to tell you how I felt after D&D this week, but I didn’t have a plan past that. Ugh, dang it, my therapist is going to be so damn smug about this next time, and the worst part is it’s going to be polite, professional smug.”

“Oh? What would they be smug about?”

“We’ve spent the last two weeks with him trying to convince me this conversation would go fine, and me being stressed about it. And then it went more than fine.”

“Sorry I stressed you out, but I’m excited to see where this goes.”

“Ugh, that sounds like the sort of thing Shane would tell me,” Mia said, annoyed that she hadn’t escaped the love and positivity of the Foster twins. She realized she probably should have seen that coming.

Lexie winced inwardly. She knew what Mia meant. She knew there was no malice. But she and Shane had been compared so many times in their lives, she was over it. Especially from Mia, she didn’t want their relationship to be a continuation of Shane and Mia’s relationship. She wanted Mia to want her for her.

“Hey, uh, Mia. If we’re going to do this, please don’t compare me to Shane. I don’t want to be Shane’s sister, Shane two point oh, or Shane with boobs in your mind, ok?”

“That’s fair. I’ve wanted to get to know you without any Shane-shaped baggage. I shouldn’t be bringing any in. I’m glad you care about me, thanks.” Lexie was relieved to know that Mia understood.

They continued to make light conversation through dinner. Laughing, joking, carrying on like their relationship hadn’t fundamentally changed earlier in the evening. Mia paid for dinner and was getting ready to leave when she remembered she had gotten a ride from Shane. “Hey, Lexie, could you drive me home. I got a ride here with Shane, he kind of up and bailed on us.”

“Not a problem, Mia. Shall we?” Lexie said, holding out her hand for Mia to take. Mia slid her hand into Lexie’s. Lexie was surprised, her friend’s hand felt the same as it ever did, but there was new meaning behind it. She was unsure what their future would look like. She hoped they weren’t making a big mistake. They intertwined their fingers as they walked out.

“Probably weird, but do you remember when our hands touched last game?” Mia asked.

“Oh, I remember all right. I remember thinking that I was being egocentric, that just because you were gay didn’t mean you were attracted to me specifically.” Lexie chuckled at herself.

“I remember it too. I liked it. I like the feeling of your hand in mine.”

“I guess we’re going to be doing this more now,” Lexie said as they got to her car. “You know what, we got so wrapped up in things, I haven’t gotten my Mia hug yet today.”

They wrapped their arms around each other and drew each other in deeper than usual. Mia leaned in, bringing her lips to her new lover’s for a kiss. Their lips lingered for a moment before Lexie broke their kiss.

“Was that ok? I should have asked first,” Mia asked, releasing their hug and taking a step back.

“Too far, Mia, too far,” Lexie giggled.

“Sorry, Mistress,” Mia said, laughing too, before adding, “Was that really too far?”

“I hope not, but let’s just ease into being more than friends. I want us to have a chance to really fall in love.”

“Me, too,” Mia said, as they climbed into Lexie’s car and drove off into the night.

—

Mia pushed open the door to Shane’s apartment, headed to the dining room, and found him circling the table, making adjustments to a large grey plastic castle sitting in the middle of the table.

“Oh, well, that’s new. So which came first, the castle or the plan to send us delving?” Mia asked.

“The castle. I saw an ad online, and was convinced I couldn’t pass it up. You’re talking to me, so I’m guessing you didn’t have a terrible night last night.”

“Oh, we’re going to kill you, it’s just going to be a date when we do,” Mia said, sitting down with a smile.

“Some sacrifices are worth it. You want to tell me what you two did after I went to the bar?”

“Nope. You went to the bar, eh? So it really was a long play to see the Hot Bartender Lady again,” Mia teased.

Shane felt the blood and embarrassment rising in his cheeks. “Uh, Mia, I need you to believe me when I say that I had no ulterior motives and wasn’t expecting to run into Jess again.”

“Jess, eh? That would be Hot Bartender Lady?”

“Uh, yeah. She was working, we talked about that night when she was flirting with you. Turns out she was very into both of us. I got her phone number, we’ve been chatting, we’re getting dinner on Wednesday.”

“Oh, you can tell me all about it on Friday.”

“Tell you all about what?” Lexie asked from the doorway.

“Your brother’s got a hot date,” Mia said. Shane sank behind the DM screen, trying to hide his embarrassment.

“Oh, nice. Did you tell him about what happened after he left?” Lexie said, making her way around the table.

“No, I thought it would be more fun to leave him in suspense,” Mia said, rising and pulling Lexie into her arms. Mia kissed Lexie lightly on the cheek before releasing her from their hug.

“Oh, you like doing that, don’t you?” Lexie asked, blushing.

“Yeah, I do,” Mia said, smiling.

Lexie watched the way Mia’s body moved as she slid into the chair next to her. The T-Shirt Mia was wearing today was well fitted and did little to hide the shape of her breasts from Lexie’s gaze. Lexie was surprised how quickly her feelings for Mia were changing. She had to remind herself, don’t rush this, rushing leads to crashing and burning. And Lexie really didn’t want that to happen with this relationship.

“I’m still here,” Shane said quietly, trying to hide behind the screen. “I guess you two should get it all now, before Jacob is here to stare.” He added, with confidence returning to his voice and sitting up enough to see over the screen.

Things settled back to relative normalcy, Shane, Mia, and Lexie joked and chatted until Jacob and Mannie arrived.

Shane recapped their previous week’s adventures, glossing over the details of Yvonne and Calliope’s romantic weekend. The party made their way north west along the King’s Road for a few days of easy travel before turning north east and setting off into the woods. As they moved through the woods, Shane’s descriptions became increasingly grim, fetid puddles, animal skeletons left to the elements. Zombie animals harried them at night.

Under the table, Mia slipped her right foot out of her shoe and ran her toe along Lexie’s shin. This earned her a brief look of surprise. Lexie was beginning to see the depth of Mia’s feelings for her. They were friends, Lexie found her attractive, but Lexie didn’t think she felt the burning lust Mia seemed to feel.

Mia wasn’t sure if anyone else noticed. She kept rubbing Lexie’s leg for most of the afternoon. She liked the simple physical contact and the fact the guys had no idea what was going on.

Then a castle familiar to the players came into view of the party, rising above the forest. The back half of the session was spent by the players circling the castle, trying to decide on the best way in, and the safest place to make camp outside. Plans were made, camp was set for the night, and next week, they would see how well they could pull off their plans.

Mannie and Jacob left none the wiser that anything was different this week. Mia and Lexie walked to Lexie’s car hand in hand. Mia pulled Lexie into a hug. “I’m looking forward to seeing you on Monday. Drive safe, ok?”

“Yeah, you too,” Lexie said, climbing into the driver's seat of her car. Mia stepped back and watched Lexie drive away. She smiled to herself as she got in her car. She’d never felt that way about seeing Shane leave, definitely gay.

—

Mia pulled open the glass door of the day spa and stepped into the lobby. She looked around the lobby and found Lexie reclining on one of the daybeds that served as the waiting area. Mia was used to seeing Lexie at D&D. She usually dressed for comfort, leggings and a T-shirt, maybe a sweater.

Today, though Mia saw something else entirely, Lexie’s smooth bare legs lay crossed at the ankles, wrapped in a black pencil skirt with a short slit that landed just above her knee. Mia’s eyes traveled upwards past Lexie’s slightly bent waist, to the cream colored camisole that covered her stomach and breasts. Mia had snuck glances at her friend’s breasts before. She knew they were slightly larger than her own, but hadn’t truly appreciated them before. Lexie’s shoulders were covered with a black crochet cardigan.

Their eyes met, and Mia stared into the stormy blue eyes set in the face of the most beautiful woman she had ever met.

Lexie slid one leg off the couch, pivoted her weight onto it, and strode toward her date in one fluid motion.

“Hey there, you, it’s good to see you,” Lexie said, wrapping her arms around Mia.

“You’re… gorgeous,” Mia whispered in awe.

“You’re beautiful too. I like your dress." Lexie said, admiring Mia’s orange sundress. The neck was cut in a deep, thin ‘V’ that provided a good view of the edge of Mia’s pale, freckled breasts underneath. It clung to Mia’s hips and butt in a wonderful way that Lexie very much appreciated.

“You ready?” Lexie asked.

“I’m kind of nervous, but I think I’ll survive.”

“Me too, a bit. It’s been a while since I’ve had a first date.” Lexie said, and never with a woman, and definitely not a woman she was good friends with. She walked over to the front desk.

“Hi, my friend is here now, we’re ready to head back if they’re ready for us,” Lexie said. She wasn’t sure if ‘friend’ was the right word to describe her relationship with Mia.

“Wonderful, the massage suite is ready. Ladies, if you'll follow me.” The front desk attendant said, stepping out from behind the desk and walking towards the back of the salon.

“So, what’s the occasion?” She asked as they crossed the hair salon portion of the spa.

“Our first date,” Mia said proudly.

“Oh… we don’t get many first dates for massages. They tend to be rather intimate.”

“We’ve known each other for a while. It’s just the dating part that’s new,” Lexie said. She had to concede that that’s what they were doing. This was a date, she had asked Mia on a date. They were dating.

“Well, good luck on the new relationship,” The staff woman said, leading them up a small staircase. They ascended the stairs and stopped at a small landing with an open door in front of them.

“This whole floor is the couple’s massage suite. You’ll want to remove any clothing that impedes access to your back or legs. You can keep your bras on. The masseuses know how to work around them. There is a basket of fresh towels between the beds. When you’re ready, lie face down with a towel across your hips. The masseuses will be up in a few minutes once you're changed. Please enjoy your stay.” She said before departing back down the stairs.

“So, I guess we’re doing this, huh?” Lexie asked, stepping through the doorway.

“Yeah, you doing ok?” Mia asked, following her, closing the door behind them.

“I think so, a bit nervous. I don’t know if I can measure up to your fantasies about me. I really want us to work out, but I don’t think I love you the way you love me, yet. I don’t want to hurt either of us if I never get there.”

“You gave me a chance, that’s more than I could have hoped for. We’ll be fine.”

Lexie wished she had her friend’s confidence in their relationship as she shrugged off her cardigan. Mia watched her arms slide out of the sleeves with silent reverence. Then Lexie pulled her camisole over her head, revealing the white lace bra she was wearing underneath. The lace cradled her breasts, but did little for her modesty. Lexie noticed Mia staring.

“Like what you see? Could you come over here and help me with this zipper?” She asked, turning around so the zipper of her skirt was facing Mia.

“I very much like what I see. May I kiss you?” Mia said, stepping close to Lexie’s back, and sliding the zipper of her skirt down. With the zipper released, the skirt fell away, revealing a matching pair of white lace panties.

“If you’re quick, we don’t know how much time we have.” Mia kissed the side of Lexie’s neck, working her way up just below the ear. Lexie felt the warmth of her girlfriend's lips spread through her body, and it felt spectacular. She tilted her head slightly to give Mia better access to her neck. She wanted to feel those lips caress her body more.

Mia continued to plant a series of kisses along Lexie’s jaw, reveling in the feeling of her girlfriend’s skin on her lips, until she reached her lips. Lexie turned to face Mia as their lips met. Lexie opened her mouth, inviting Mia’s tongue in. Mia slid her hands down Lexie’s back, lightly dragging her fingers as she went, sending shivers through her lover’s body until her hands came to rest cradling Lexie’s butt.

All the ways Mia touched Lexie left her wanting more. Lexie pulled back. “Can I take your dress off?”

“Please do,” Mia said. Lexie reached down to grab the hem of her dress. Lexie slowly pulled the dress upward, watching it slide up Mia’s legs, then stomach, over her breasts, and then over her head. Her lover’s body was beautiful. She was definitely in lust with her friend. Lexie’s eyes drifted back down to the cream colored bra covering Mia’s breasts. She longed to know how they felt in her hands.

“May I touch you?” Lexie asked.

“Yes—”

They were interrupted by a knock at the door.

“Just a minute!” Lexie yelled as they scrambled to the beds, lying down, and pulling towels into position. “Ok, we’re ready now!”

The door opened, the masseuses entered, introduced themselves, and set to work. Mia looked over at Lexie and reached her hand out towards her. Lexie reached back, took Mia’s hand, and entwined their fingers. As the masseuse worked her hands over Mia’s back, she imagined they was Lexie’s hands running over her body instead.

A few minutes later, the masseuses asked if they could undo their client’s bra straps. Both women agreed. Lexie felt so much more exposed with her bra undone. She was still just as covered as she had been, but it still felt different.

Mia turned and looked at Lexie’s bare back. Her body was beautiful, glistening with the massage oil. Mia looked forward to the next time she could see her like that.

The masseuses reclasped their bras, and it was time to roll over. They had to look straight up as their shoulders and necks were massaged. Mia closed her eyes, imagined how Lexie looked at that moment, and relaxed into bliss.

The last portion of the massage focused on their legs. Lexie turned to watch Mia. She was so serene; of all the women that could have a crush on her, Lexie was glad it was Mia.

Then it was time to come back to real life. The masseuses told them to drink lots of water, avoid alcohol for the next day or so, and then slipped out the door, closing it behind them.

“I feel wonderful, how about you?” Lexie asked.

“Definitely wonderful, the beautiful, mostly naked woman is just the cherry on top,” Mia said.

Lexie blushed. She wasn’t used to hearing Mia talk about her like that.

“We should probably get dressed and clear out. I’m not sure when they’re going to want this room next,” Lexie said, climbing off the table and collecting her clothes.

They were mostly dressed again when Lexie asked, “You want to help with my zipper again?”

“Maybe. Can I grab your butt again while I’m in the area?”

“I think that’s fair.”

Mia stepped behind Lexie, pulled the zipper of her skirt up, and then ran her hands back down Lexie’s backside. Giving a squeeze with both hands when her finger tips reach the bottom curve of Lexie’s butt.

“Oh, that feels nice,” Lexie said. It had been a while since anyone had touched her like that.

“I thought that was my line,” Mia said, thinking about how much she enjoyed the feeling of Lexie’s firm butt yielding slightly to her fingers.

They laughed as they made their way back to the lobby.

“Feeling relaxed?” The counter attendant asked as Lexie handed over her credit card.

“Very.” Both women said.

“Good, we look forward to seeing you again in the future.” The counter attendant said, handing Lexie’s card back.

“Do you want to grab dinner?” Lexie asked as they started to leave.

“Ohhh, you want to spend more time with me, huh?” Mia teased.

“Nah, just hungry and being polite,” Lexie said playfully.

“Alright, well, I’d like to spend more time with you. Did you have somewhere in mind?”

“Hipster tacos?”

“Good call.”

A few minutes later, they grabbed a table on the restaurant's upper deck, with a scenic view of the mall parking lot. But they weren’t here for the view.

“So we’re supposed to avoid alcohol, hmm, what’s the Aqua Fresca special today?” Lexie asked.

Mia shuffled the printed list of daily specials out of her menu. “Looks like peach mint. That’s a good one.”

“Yeah.”

The waitress came by a few moments later, and they put in their orders.

“You think you’re up for serious relationship talk time?” Lexie asked.

“I could give you the smitten answer of ‘for you anything,’ but I think we’re good enough friends that we can handle the tough questions.”

“Mia, what are you looking for in a relationship? Not the easy stuff, everybody’s looking for fun, friendship, and that other thing that starts with ‘F’. What are you expecting me to bring to the table that you’re not getting from the other people in your life?”

Lexie hoped knowing what Mia was looking for would quell her fears about their relationship burning hot and fast, to a tragic end.

“Wow, you weren’t kidding about serious business. Give me a moment to think.” Mia said. “Alright, I think I’m looking for someone who believes in me, believes the things I want are important, makes me believe the things I want are important. I want someone I can trust to care about me unconditionally, someone I never have to worry if their love is contingent on me doing what they want or being the person they think I should be.”

Lexie reached across the table, holding Mia’s hand and giving it a light squeeze. “That’s a solid answer. I think I’d like to try to be that person for you.” Lexie was relieved that her friend felt more than just a simple crush on the first woman she fell for.

“So what about you? What are you looking for? What can I bring to the table to make your life better?” Mia asked.

“Hey, don’t turn my questions back on me. My turn to think.” Lexie said. She had been so busy worrying that there was depth to Mia’s love, she hadn’t considered her own feelings.

Their drinks arrived while she was deep in thought. “Eh, I don’t think I can live up to your answer. Just be a good person, and love me, I guess?”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it, sorry if I stressed you out.”

Lexie knew her answer was a cop out, but Mia didn’t press her. Lexie knew she wanted a partner who wanted her to be better and wouldn’t let her get away with crap like that.

“Ugh. Actually, that, that right there. I want someone who will call me on my crap. Some one that encourages me to be my best. Someone who won’t compare me to other people, and won’t let me compare myself to others. I said ‘fun’ was too boring an answer, but I want someone to do interesting things with. Someone willing to try new things. Like, who does a couple’s massage for a first date? First dates are supposed to be simple, conservative affairs. Do I like this person? Do I want to invest more time in them? I want someone who surprises me.”

“Ok, challenge accepted,” Mia said with confidence and a squeeze of Lexie’s hand.

Tacos arrived, and with them lighter conversation. As the night drew to a close, Lexie said, “Next time it’ll be your turn to figure out where we go, and what we do. Surprise me.”

“Oh? There’s going to be a next time?” Mia asked coyly.

“Yeah, you’re my friend. I had a good time today. We seem to be headed in a good direction. I want to see where we go.” And your body is gorgeous, and I want to take you home and touch every part of you. Lexie kept the horny thoughts to herself. She wanted love that lasted, not a quick fling.

“I’ll let you know once I’ve cooked up a suitable surprise then.”

They parted for the night with a hug and kiss.

—

Lexie’s phone buzzed with a text from Mia:

“How do you feel about lamb for dinner? This isn’t our date for the week, just an idea I had.”

“Fancy. I can do fancy.”

“Pick you up at six, casual attire.”

“Sounds good.”

Lexie slid into the passenger seat of Mia’s car wearing jeans and a spaghetti strap top. “I like your idea of casual,” Mia said, pulling away from the curb.

“Thanks, I like you noticing. So where are we headed?”

“I used to date this guy. He fancied himself a bit of a chef. He was very excited about fresh lamb, and we’re going to see what he’s done with it.”

“Of course, it’s Friday. I should have known. You didn’t tell him you were bringing me, did you?” Lexie said with a sigh, shaking her head.

“Nope,” Mia said smugly.

“So that’s how we’re going to be? Just start showing up places as a couple, see what people say?” Lexie asked with a playful laugh.

“They’ll figure it out. Shane already knows.”

“Also, not our date for the week, but you want to meet my parents on Monday?”

“I don’t know. Are we a meet-the-parents couple yet?”

“I don’t know either. I hope we figure it out before Monday.”

“Hmm, you should bring extra clothes with you on Sunday then,” Mia said conspiratorially.

Lexie wasn’t sure if she was ready to stay overnight with Mia. She felt like she had started the escalation, suggesting Mia come to the monthly family dinner.

“Are we there yet as a couple? It’s been six days and one date.”

“Asks the woman planning to introduce me to her parents.”

“I guess I am rushing us too in a different way.”

Soon, Mia pushed the door to Shane’s apartment open. “Hey, chef, I brought my girlfriend, hope you cooked enough for three.”

“Girlfriend, huh?” Lexie said. She hadn’t considered that that’s what they were now.

“Well, if we’re meeting the parents on Monday, we should probably be girlfriends on Friday.”

“Hmm, yes, my girlfriend makes a reasonable argument.”

They continued to the kitchen, Mia stopped leaning against her favorite bit of door frame. Lexie continued on to collect a place setting for herself.

“Sure, sure, just make yourselves at home. It’s nice to see you both. Dinner is in the oven and should be ready in,” Shane said, glancing down at the oven timer in front of him, “about ten minutes. I made shepherd’s pie, everything in it came from the farm stand down by Kiger.”

“We’re family, and you know it,” Mia said. Lexie kissed Mia gently on the lips as she passed by to the dining room. “See, my girlfriend is a fan.” The more she said it, the more comfortable she felt with the idea.

Shane smiled, thinking they really did make a much better couple than he and Mia ever did. The little casual acts of intimacy between them were something he’d never had with Mia. It was hard to believe it had only been a week.

“You are. Glad to have you, even if you’re rude guests because of it.”

“Rude? I’m a saint, I’m putting out my own place setting.” Lexie said, returning from the dining room. “And now I’m going to get my girlfriend something to drink.” Shane rolled his eyes as Lexie walked over to his liquor cabinet.

“Shane, this is a red wine sort of meal, isn’t it? How much are you going to judge me if I opt for something other than wine?” Mia asked.

“It is. But don’t worry, I can’t judge you any more than I already am,” Shane joked.

“Thanks. Hey, babe, could you make me a martini?”

Lexie unexpectedly smiled. Mia had called her “babe,” that was new. She liked the endearing feeling it conveyed. Mia was slowly making her way to Lexie’s heart.

“Yeah. I’m going to need to practice making those, aren’t I?” Lexie said.

“I mean, you don’t have to practice, but yeah, you probably are going to end up making more than you have before.”

Soon, drinks and food were assembled, and the trio settled into the dining room.

“Oh, damn, this is good. Well done, chef,” Lexie said as they began eating.

“Glad you like it. Just give me a heads up next time you want to invite yourself over for dinner so I can cook enough food.” Shane said.

“Hey, don’t give her credit for my good ideas. I invited her to crash at my ex-boyfriend’s dinner.” Mia said, waving a chunk of ground lamb on her fork at Shane.

“I don’t know. I didn’t think my ex-girlfriend was the sort to be making unilateral decisions without consulting anybody.”

“Yeah, she probably wasn’t. But Lexie’s girlfriend definitely is.” Mia said. “Speaking of which, babe, do you think we should bring Jess with us next week?”

“Oh, yeah, I’d like to meet her,” Lexie said, nodding.

“Well, lucky for me, she works Friday nights. So that limits your ability to cause mischief.” Shane said.

“We should figure out if she works Saturdays, she could join D&D,” Lexie suggested.

“Oh, that is a good idea,” Mia concurred.

“First of all, I’m right here, so it’s not like you’re being sneaky. Jess and I have only been on one date. It went well, we seem to be into each other. But I’m not sure if we want to tempt the sacred balance of D&D. We’ve got a good thing going, we’ve got a consistent schedule with consistent attendance. I don’t want to upset the balance there. Even if Jess and I are together for a good long while, adding a person to a group can really throw off the vibe. Let her and me get settled first before we add more complications.”

“We’ve only been on one date, and it went well, and we seem to be into each other, right, babe?” Mia said with an impish grin.

“Mia, be nice to your poor ex-boyfriend. He cooked us a nice dinner,” Lexie playfully chided.

“I’ve been demoted from your brother to Mia’s ex?” Shane asked.

“She’s a terrible influence,” Lexie said, grinning wildly at Mia, “I’d still like to meet Jess. Maybe bring her with you to dinner on Monday?” Lexie asked.

“I don’t think we’re a meet-the-parents couple yet. Also, we should probably limit the shock on Mom and Dad, only one new partner per month.”

“I’m not new. They’ve met me. They like me.” Mia objected.

“You’re not concerned about showing up with a girlfriend?” Shane asked

“Nah, I’m more concerned about showing up with Mia. And I’m expecting that to be a lot of fun. If they hadn’t noticed I’m bi, that’s kind of on them. I’m not planning on saying anything about it. Just hey, this is my girlfriend.” Lexie said.

“Well, I’m glad my family is all back on the East Coast. I haven’t kept in contact with them very well. A few calls for birthdays, holiday cards. With how little we talk, that should give me plenty of time to figure out how to tell them,” Mia said.

Dinner wrapped up. Lexie got her required Mia hug on the way out to Mia’s car, and a kiss when she was dropped off at her apartment.

—

The next day, Lexie and Mia arrived at Shane’s together. Then Mannie, and finally Jacob.

Shane gave his recap speech before the party pressed their planned attack on the castle. Things went mostly to plan. A few minor complications, not the least of which was the most terrifying foe in all of D&D: a plain unlocked door. The party dispatched a few quick minions before finding themselves in the main throne room of the castle.

“Flanking the sides of the room are a line of armored skeletons with great swords, one stationed between each column leading up to the dais with the throne. Upon the throne room sits an elegant, ashen-pale man. ‘Welcome to my court, you have dealt well with the uncivilized rabble outside, but in here we follow the rules of decorum, isn't that right?’ He says with a haughty air, as the assembled army of skeletons chitters, rattling their jaws in affirmation.” Shane narrated.

“‘We don’t negotiate with monstrosities, ’ Gawain declares as he charges the nearest skeleton,” Mannie said.

Combat ensued. The party began tearing through the skeletons. They were designed to be more of a distraction than a threat. A few rounds in, Yvonne was surrounded by skeletons and isolated from the rest of the group. The vampire capitalized on the opportunity to get the dangerous adventurer by herself and put her out of commission with a few well-placed bites before moving on to Hrogar.

The party redoubled their efforts to clear the skeletons and swing the battle back in their favor. When Yvonne’s turn rolled around, she failed to stave off death and slid a bit closer to her final fate. Another round, and they put down four skeletons this time. The attrition game was starting to tilt in their favor. Then it was Yvonne’s turn again, success, death approached no closer. They continued to wear the skeletons down. Two more dropped this round, but they still didn’t have a clear path to Yvonne. Then Lexie rolled a one, and Calliope took her last breath.

Mia frowned. Her girlfriend wasn’t getting turned into a blood-sucking monster, not on her watch. She studied the map before them and formulated a plan. When Mia’s next turn came around, she said. “Alright, I run over to Gawain, grab him, tell him to cover me, and then teleport us both right on top of Yvonne.”

“Dim Door?” Shane asked.

“Yep,” Mia confirmed.

“You willing, Mannie?”

“Uh… yeah, I guess so,” Mannie said, caught a bit off guard by their sudden change in situation.

“I’ll toss Gawain an inspiration as thanks. Kneel down, and call that the end of my turn,” Mia said.

Hrogar kept the vampire occupied. Gawain continued wearing on the skeletons, dropping one more. Then it was Mia’s turn again.

“I dig a diamond out of my bag, jam it straight into Yvonne’s chest, and cast Raise Dead,” Mia said.

“Yvonne gasps to life with one hit point, and one hell of a headache.” Shane narrated.

“Good, I shove a potion into her hands.” Mia said, “and then lean down to kiss her, and tell her ‘You’re not allowed to die as long as you’re my girlfriend, got it?’” Lexie smiled. She was really starting to like hearing Mia call her her girlfriend.

Time passed, Lexie downed the potion that she was given, and started stabbing ankles. Then came Mia’s turn. She looked at Mannie, “You want to unleash some holy vengeance there, cowboy?”

“What’d you have in mind?”

“You’ve still got your big smite, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. I burn my last fourth-level spell, casting greater invisibility on Gawain, and hand Yvonne another potion.”

Mannie got the message. He calmly weaved through the battlefield unimpeded to the vampire and swung his mace. The dice clattered on the table: a seven, and a twenty. Eyes all around the table lit up.

“Critical, guess I’ll drop that third-level smite now. Thanks, Mia.” Mannie said, the collection was taken up, dice were passed, then dropped, and counted. When all had settled, Mannie reported the final total as seventy-eight.

Shane looked at his notes, looked at the group, leaned forward, and scooped the little plastic vampire off the battlefield. “How do you want to do this?”

Smiles bloomed around the tables, as everyone looked to Mannie in anticipation. There was a brief pause as he composed his exposition.

“Gawain smashes his mace directly into the vampire’s chest. The spikes sink in, cracking his aging sternum, then a flash of golden light explodes from the head of the mace. The explosion rips through his body, sending chunks of burning vampire raining backwards as he crumples.”

The remaining skeletons were merely a formality, especially with an invisible paladin making the rounds.

“So… you two, huh? Poor Shane, that’s got to be awkward.” Jacob said, looking across the table as combat was winding down.

Mia and Lexie glanced at each other. “No. Just Yvonne and Calliope, don’t make it weird.” Lexie said defensively. Mia reached under the table and squeezed Lexie’s thigh. Their eyes met again.

“Actually, us too. But seriously, don’t make it weird. You weren’t weird about Shane and me being together.” Mia added.

“For the record, not that it matters, but I’m totally cool with them. I’m glad to see my friends happy.” Shane added.

“Geeze, sorry. Uh, yeah, good for you, I guess.” Jacob said.

“Congrats, ladies, welcome to brunch club,” Mannie said, really leaning into the lisp and stereotype, before breaking character and laughing. “But seriously, I’m happy for you, and glad it didn’t cause any drama for the group.”

The party retreated back beyond the walls and made camp for the night. In the morning, Shane narrated that Gawain was still feeling evil vibes coming from within the castle, but that was something to deal with next week.

The group packed up and went their separate ways. Mia reminded Lexie she’d be seeing her again at six tomorrow evening and to dress for adventure.

—

A bit after six the next day, Mia drove them down the highway north out of town.

“So where are we going?” Lexie asked as they passed the last traffic light on the way out of town.

“You said you liked surprises, so it’s a surprise.”

“Will you tell me if I guess right?”

“Sure, but you’re not going to guess right.”

Lexie took that as a challenge. As much as she enjoyed not knowing, she wanted to not give Mia the satisfaction of taunting her. This was the sort of fun Lexie was looking for from her partner.

“Ok, you said dress for adventure. Are we hiking somewhere?”

“Technically yes, but it’s only going to be a couple hundred feet tops, that’s not really the main thing.”

“But it’s outside?”

“That is what our attire would suggest.”

Mia understood the game she had started. She was doing her best to give the most accurate but unhelpful answers she could. She didn’t want to make it too easy on Lexie, where was the fun in that?

“And there’s going to be food?”

“It’s a date, I should hope so.”

“You planned this. That seems like the sort of thing you should know.”

“Oh, I know, I’m just not telling,” Mia said, turning the car left, taking a country road further up into the hills.

Lexie watched the trees roll by. “So, short walk, outside, with food. That sounds like a picnic.”

Lexie had figured out what they were doing, but Mia wasn’t ready to let the game lapse. They still had a bit of driving ahead of them.

“Yep. But now the tricky part, where are we going?”

“I have no idea, somewhere in the hills.”

A few minutes later, Mia turned the car left again, this time onto a gravel road pitching even higher into the hills.

“Is this university land? State land? Or BLM land?” Lexie asked.

“I think the road is university owned,” Mia said.

Lexie noticed her specific phrasing. She mentioned the road, but not the forest just past the gravel. She had one more idea to try to trick Mia into telling her more.

“That’s interestingly specific. What about our destination?”

“Guess, or wait and see.”

“Guess I’ll be surprised.”

“Guess you will,” Mia said with smug satisfaction. Lexie wasn’t sure what she liked more, the game or how adorable Mia was being about winning.

A few minutes later, they pulled into a small gravel parking lot.

“So where are we?” Asked Lexie.

Mia pointed to a wooden sign next to a trail leading uphill toward a clearing. “Read the sign.”

“My surprise is how infuriatingly adorable you can be when you want to be,” Lexie said, climbing out of the car. Mia smiled as she threw the strap of her lunch-sized cooler over her shoulder and then pulled a picnic basket and blanket out of the trunk of her car.

“Pioneer cemetery, huh? What sort of person takes a date to a cemetery?” Lexie said from the base of the path.

“The same sort that goes to a couples massage as a first date. Come on, you’re going to love the view.” Mia replied.

They hiked the short distance to the crest of the hill, and the whole valley was laid out before them. Trees flowed down into town, and even from this distance, some landmarks were clearly identifiable, the courthouse and university clock tower being the easiest to spot. The river cut through the valley to their left, lined on both sides with farm land.

“Wow, that is quite the view. Not what I would expect from a cemetery at all,” Lexie said in awe.

Mia unpacked plates, sandwiches, fresh fruit, and potato salad. They sat shoulder to shoulder, eating, chatting, and taking in the view. While the view of the valley was nice, Lexie found her eyes drawn to the woman sitting next to her.

“Did you save room for dessert?” Mia asked.

“There’s more?”

“Yep,” Mia said, nodding at the unopened cooler bag sitting next to the picnic basket.

Lexie leaned over, pulled the bag by its strap to them, and unzipped it. Inside was a pint of Rocky Road ice cream and two spoons.

“Ooooh. How are you so perfect?” Lexie said, handing Mia a spoon and pulling the lid off the ice cream.

“Lots of practice faking it, and therapy,” Mia said, dipping her spoon in the ice cream and offering it to Lexie.

“You fake it well,” Lexie said, holding out her spoon for Mia.

Lexie watched Mia’s tongue glide across the bottom of the spoon as her lips enveloped the ice cream. A pleasant warmth spread through Lexie as she imagined those lips drawing her own lips in the same way.

They fed each other ice cream until they ran out.

“I think I would very much like to make out with you right now,” Lexie said, licking a bit of chocolate off her lip. Watching her girlfriend’s tongue slide over skin sent a pleasant shudder through Mia.

“Ohh, good choice, I think I would like that too, but probably not in a cemetery, that seems uncouth. How about we pack up and head back to my apartment?”

“Hmmm. Is this the sort of going back to my girlfriend’s apartment that’s going to end in sex?” Lexie asked, letting the desire she had kept in check so far drip into her voice.

“It certainly could be. It’s a surprise we’ll find out together.” Mia blushed. She wanted Lexie, they’d talked about sleeping together. But Lexie was suggesting sleeping together, now.

“You’re just full of surprises today,” Lexie said, giving her a light kiss on the cheek.

A little under an hour later, and they were pulling into the parking lot of Mia’s apartment complex.

Mia pushed open the door to her apartment. “Alright, let me give you the grand tour. The dining room table is to the left, that bit over there that looks like the kitchen is the kitchen. Couch and television to the right. Bathroom over there, and bedroom back left. And that concludes our tour.”

Mia guided them to the middle of the couch and sat down, followed by Lexie. “So I think we left off at the part where we were going to make out?” Mia asked.

“I think we did. How much touching are you expecting? Keep it to the shoulders and upper back? Anything over the clothes is fair game?” Lexie asked.

“I like that second one,” Mia said, leaning towards Lexie.

“I—” Lexie’s words were muffled by Mia’s lips. Mia slowly pulled Lexie’s lower lip into her mouth and sucked on it gently. She released Lexie’s lip and pushed her tongue into Lexie’s waiting mouth, where their tongues entwined. Lexie slid her hands up Mia’s shoulders to cradle the back of her head, holding her in place as they kissed. Mia slid her arms around Lexie’s shoulders, holding her in a tight embrace.

As they continued to kiss, they could feel the warmth building in their bodies, and soft moans began escaping both women. Lexie could feel her desire building again. She wanted more, she wanted to feel Mia’s body. She wanted to taste Mia’s body.

Lexie released her hands from the back of Mia’s head and leaned her body into Mia, pushing her down on the couch. Mia twisted her body so she landed on her back with Lexie between her legs.

Looking down as they continued to kiss, Lexie brought her hands to Mia’s breasts, kneading them through her shirt. Mia arched her back, pressing her breasts further into Lexie’s hands as her nipples hardened. Mia pulled back from their kiss and tilted her head back, letting the feeling in her breasts fill her.

“We’re not stopping, are we?” Lexie asked.

“Please don’t stop.” Mia shook her head and let out a light moan.

Lexie brought her mouth down to place a series of kisses along Mia’s now exposed throat. Mia raked her hands down Lexie’s back, bringing her hands to rest on her butt. She began squeezing Lexie’s firm butt in her hands, alternating between squeezing with her left and right hands.

Lexie gasped as her breathing quickened, pulling away from Mia’s neck. When she looked back down, Mia was leaning up with her lips held slightly open expectantly. Lexie was all too happy to meet those soft, wonderful lips again with her own. Mia gently nibbled on Lexie’s upper lip as they resumed their dance of lips and tongues.

Their kissing and fondling stretched on for five, ten, fifteen more minutes. Then Mia pulled back with a gasp. “How about we roll over?”

“As long as there's more making out afterwards, I’m down to be the one that’s down,” Lexie said with a grin. They shuffled their bodies so Mia was now straddling Lexie, who had maintained her hold on Mia’s breasts as they repositioned.

“Now, you seem to be a fan of my breasts. How about I take this shirt off?” Mia asked.

“An enticing offer, perhaps we could discuss it in your bed?” Lexie countered. Her desire had consumed all thoughts of taking things slowly. She wanted to see Mia write under her in pleasure.

“Not yet,” Mia said, leaning down to kiss Lexie’s forehead. She wanted to make Lexie wait, let her desire build. She loved knowing Lexie wanted more from her.

Lexie released her hold on Mia’s breasts. Mia reached down and pulled her shirt over her head, revealing the sheer black bra she was wearing underneath. Mia tossed her shirt aside and then wrapped her arms around Lexie’s shoulders, pulling her forward slightly, bringing her kissable bits into closer range of Mia’s lips.

Lexie could see Mia’s nipples straining against the sheer lace as she brought her hands back to Mia’s breasts, running her fingers over Mia’s hard nubs.

Mia let out a breathy moan as her body quivered from the attention Lexie was giving her nipples. Mia leaned forward and nibbled on Lexie’s earlobe for a moment before kissing her way down Lexie’s neck to her shoulder until she was blocked by the neck of Lexie’s shirt. Mia kissed her way back to Lexie’s throat, where she happily stayed, trying to kiss every inch of Lexie’s neck.

Mia’s breasts felt wonderful in Lexie’s hands. The way Mia kissed her neck was driving her wild, too. She could feel the warmth and wetness between her legs. “Mia, bed, please.” Lexie whimpered needily.

Mia was surprised by how much of an effect she was having on her. She could hear the need in her request. She made the beautiful woman under her wild with lust. She made her want her. “Follow me, babe.” She said, climbing out from between her lover’s legs and off the couch. Mia offered her hand to Lexi, pulling her from the couch into a long, deep kiss before they departed for bed.

As they passed through the bedroom door, Lexie unbuttoned her jeans and slid them down her legs, revealing a pair of white cotton panties with an obvious dark spot spreading in the middle. She stepped out of her jeans as she hurried past Mia to the bed. Lexie lay down on her back, with her thighs spread apart. “Please touch me, Mia.”

Mia lay down next to her on her side, she wrapped one leg over Lexie’s leg. She kissed Mia on the cheek. “I didn’t realize I was making you so wet,” She said seductively, then added uncertainly, “I’ve never done this before with another woman.”

“Me neither. Just touch me like you like to touch yourself?” Lexie said, needing Mia to touch her right now.

“Uh… I’ve never done that before either.” Mia said, blushing.

“We can learn together,” Lexie said. “I don’t want to pressure you, but could we take your pants off, too? The denim on bare skin isn’t really doing it for me.”

“Oh? Yeah, fair.” Mia said, rolling away from Lexie, starting to unbutton her pants.

“Oh, may I?” Lexie asked.

Mia stopped. “Sure.” Lexie rolled on her side as she unbuttoned Mia’s pants. She gave them one gentle tug, Mia lifted her hips, then Lexie pulled them down, trailing her fingers along Mia’s legs as she pulled her pants down.

“Oh wow, I didn’t think letting someone else take off my pants could be so hot,” Mia said, rolling back onto her side, hooking her leg into Lexie’s leg, as Lexie lay back down.

“Better?” Mia asked.

“Yeah, thanks. May I have your hand now?” Lexie asked. Mia answered by sliding her hand into Lexie’s palm. Lexie turned her hand so her palm was on the back of Mia’s hand. Lexie guided Mia’s hand to her stomach just above the waistband of her panties. She lifted the waistband of her panties with her free hand and guided both of their hands over her tuft of hair to her wet slit.

“These are the outer lips,” Lexie said, guiding Mia’s index finger along her outermost sensitive regions. “They’re somewhat sensitive, but mostly serve to protect the more sensitive areas further in.” No one else had ever touched her like this before.

“Hey, Lexie, do you think we could take your panties off? It’s getting a bit cramped in here.”

“I was planning on keeping those on tonight, but I also wasn’t planning to have both of our hands in there at the same time. How about we just push them to the side and see if that works better?” Lexi said, withdrawing their hands.

“Ok. Also, touching you like this is so hot. I didn’t know what tonight was going to be like, but this is way sexier than anything I had imagined,” Mia said enthusiastically.

“You didn’t watch any porn or do any other research?”

“No, I just sort of fell in love with a girl, and didn’t think about it.”

“You’re adorable. Shall we get back to studying my anatomy?” Lexie said, pulling her panties to the side, exposing her glistening slit.

Mia brought their hands back down to Lexie’s exposed lips. “Right, so outer lips, somewhat sensitive, but not the real prize.” She said, tracing her index finger along the edge of Mia’s pussy.

Lexie shuddered lightly under Mia’s touch before guiding Mia’s hand to part her lips. “The inner lips: softer, wetter, and more sensitive.” She guided Mia’s hand around the inner rim of her opening. Lexie could feel her wetness flowing over Mia’s fingers onto her own. “The natural lubrication is wonderful in many ways. You’ll want that later when you press deeper into me. It also tastes wonderful. Would you like to taste me?”

“Not tonight, please,” Mia said uncertainly.

“No pressure, if we need to slow down, we can.”

“No, I want to pleasure you,” Mia said confidently.

“Can I lick your fingers?” Lexie asked.

“That sounds hot, yes, please,” Mia said. Lexie brought their hands up to her mouth and wrapped her lips around Mia’s index finger, drawing it deep into her mouth, sucking her own juices and flavor off it.

“Oh wow! That was indeed hot.” Mia squealed.

Lexie brought their hands back down to her pussy. “Get your finger nice and wet again, please.” Mia ran her finger around Lexie’s inner lips, collecting Lexie’s juices on her finger. “Now push in as deeply as you can go, knuckles down, finger tip up.” Lexie moaned as she felt Mia enter her for the first time.

“Penetration is nice, lots of nerves in there. It’s the background against which the real magic happens. There’s a sensitive spot on the top wall you’ll want to learn to find eventually, but we’ll save that for a later lesson. Can you put a second finger in me, please?”

Mia pulled her finger out of Lexie, traced her middle finger around her inner lips, then thrust both into Lexie. “Mmmm, yes, just like that.” Lexie moaned. “Again, please.”

Mia pulled her hand back and pushed into Lexie again. She felt Lexie shift her hips a bit, pushing against her fingers. “Should I do that again?” Mia asked.

“If you want, or I can finish the tour,” Lexie said breathily.

“Give me a moment,” Mia said, pulling her fingers back, then thrusting into Lexie again. She was very much enjoying watching the way Lexie was writhing under her touch. Mia’s fingers fell into a slow, gentle rhythm, stroking the inner walls of Mia’s pussy.

Less than a minute later, Lexie moaned, “Faster… please”. Mia increased her pace and felt Lexie’s hips buck trying to match her new pace.

“That’s good, time for, ooooh, the last bit.” Lexie managed between moans. Mia withdrew her fingers. “Ok, now you’ll want to get your thumb wet too.” Mia had this part down, running her thumb between Lexie’s inner lips until it was dripping with her juices.

“Push your fingers back in, and I’ll show you what to do with your thumb,” Lexie said, as Mia did what she had asked. Lexie brought her hand back down and guided Mia’s thumb to her clit.

“Ok, that’s the clitoris, it’s the big prize for pleasuring a woman. Rub your thumb o— ahhhh, yeah just like that.” Lexie moaned as Mia began rubbing her thumb over Lexie’s clit. Soon, Mia had all of the basics put together, thrusting her fingers as her thumb worked Lexie’s clit.

Lexie rode the waves of pleasure from Mia’s fingers. Her hips moved of their own accord. She could feel her muscles tensing. Then the coiled spring inside her exploded. “Ahhhhh…. Fuck! Mia!” she screamed in pleasure as her body shook. Lexie took a few deep breaths, trying to catch her breath.

“Thank you, that was wonderful,” Lexie said, gazing lovingly into Mia’s eyes.

“That was both fun and really got me horny. Uh, Lexie, could you touch me now?” Mia said, her voice bouncing between excitement and embarrassment.

“It would be my pleasure. Let me get this shirt off, then come sit between my legs.” Lexie said as she scooted towards the headboard. She pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it on the pile of discarded clothes. Then she grabbed a pillow, set it behind her as a back rest, then patted the bed between her legs.

Mia sat down at the indicated spot. “Like this?” she asked.

“Scoot forward a bit more, and lean back on me more,” Lexie said. Mia repositioned herself. “That seems good, ready?”

“Yes, please. Also, I love the way your skin feels on mine.”

Lexie kissed Mia’s neck as she slid her hand into the front of her panties. She felt her hand glide across a much smaller, better-maintained patch of hair than her own. She felt Mia’s wetness on her panties on the back of her hand as she slipped her finger between her lips. Mia was really wet. Lexie smiled between kisses. Mia must have really enjoyed fingering her.

Once her finger was lubricated, she pushed into Mia. She felt Mia quake as her finger slid in, good. Lexie pulled her finger back, thrust in again, she could probably get a second finger in Mia. But first, she brought her mouth up to Mia’s ear and whispered, “Can I taste you?” She felt Mia shudder and moan.

“Yes, please,” Mia said, turning to watch Lexie slide her finger into her mouth and taste her girlfriend for the first time. “That is so hot, I’m going to have to do that next time.”

Lexie smiled with satisfaction as she returned her hand to Mia’s pussy. “Do you want to taste yourself?”

“Oh! Yes, please!” Mia said, wiggling with excitement. Lexie pushed her finger into Mia, and felt her pussy walls clench down on her finger with pleasure. Lexie pulled her finger up to Mia’s face. Mia leaned forward and sucked her own juices off Lexie’s finger.

“Oh, wow, that tastes amazing. Lexie, can you please touch me, like right now?” Mia said. Lexie placed a single kiss just below her ear. This time, she pushed two fingers into Mia and ran them along the front of her opening, searching for her G-Spot. Lexie found her target and gave it a gentle tap.

“Ahhh, fuck.” Mia moaned.

Lexie kissed her neck again and began to thrust in earnest. Each time her fingers found their target, Mia moaned a new profanity. Lexie brought her thumb to Mia’s clit as she had shown Mia how to do. Then brought her free hand around to fondle Mia’s nipples.

Soon, Mia was an incoherent stream of profanity riding Lexie’s hand. Then she got quiet and exploded into a singular loud “Oh! God! Fuck me, Lex!” before collapsing in Lexie’s lap.

Lexie pulled her hand from Mia’s panties, licked her fingers clean, then wrapped her arms around her girlfriend’s stomach, snuggling her tight.

“Oh wow, that’s never happened before, not like that. I, uh… oh wow.” Mia said, trying to catch her breath, as little aftershocks continued to ripple through her body.

“You’re very vocal, and it’s cute. Also, I think you maybe, might be a bit gay.” Lexie said.

“Definitely gay, I didn’t have any doubts when we were making out on the couch, I’ve got negative doubts now,” Mia said.

“Should we get ready to sleep?”

“That seems sensible.”

“Bathroom is out the door and to the right? And could I borrow a shirt to sleep in?”

“Yes, and yes.”

Lexie kissed Mia’s neck one more time and then slid out from behind her and headed for the bathroom. As she was crossing Mia’s bedroom, she reached back and unhooked her bra, throwing it on the pile of her discarded clothes.

A few minutes later, Lexie came padding back into the bedroom. Mia looked up from the T-Shirt she was holding to see her girlfriend walking toward her wearing only panties. “Fuck that’s hot… I got you a shirt, but you don’t have to put it on if you don’t want to.”

“I’ll accept the compliment and the shirt. Sorry, but I’m planning to wear the shirt, I want to keep my shoulders warm.” Lexie said, slipping the shirt over her head before sliding into bed. “It’s been a while since I slept with anyone. I didn’t realize how much I missed this. Good night, Mia.”

“Good night, Lexie,” Mia said as she drifted off to sleep.

As Lexie fell asleep, she reflected on her relationship with Mia. Their dates had been fun so far, she hoped they could keep the magic going. Sex with Mia was amazing. In the throes of passion, she had forgotten all of her worries and was consumed with desire for her girlfriend. They had talked about what they wanted in the relationship. It was more thought than some of the guys she’d dated had put into their relationships.

Mia woke up the next morning with Lexie using her arm as a pillow and their legs intertwined. She’d woken up in bed next to someone before, but never touching someone, much less with their bodies pressed together. She tried to slip out of bed without waking Lexie up, but Lexie began to stir when she lost her Mia-shaped pillow.

“I like waking up next to you. We should do this again, like a lot,” Mia said, sitting up.

“Agreed,” Lexie said, blinking the sleep from her eyes. “Ah, damn it. We’re going to have to plan better next time. I left my extra clothes in your car, and I left my car at home. Could you shower first, and then go rescue my clothes from your car? I’ll see about getting breakfast started.”

“You’re out of practice with the whole sleeping with your girlfriend thing, aren’t you?” Mia joked.

“Technically, you’re my first girlfriend. Now go get in the shower, I have to get to work this morning.” Lexie said, trying to shove Mia out of her bed.

“Alright, Alright, geeze,” Mia said, starting for the door. “Don’t worry too much about breakfast. If you look in the kitchen, you’ll find oatmeal, more oatmeal, and a stack of Starbucks receipts that have nothing to do with my usual breakfast habits.”

They sat at Mia’s dining room table, enjoying watching each other eat, the way their lips moved, the beauty of their partners’ eyes, when Lexie’s phone buzzed, ending the moment. Lexie looked down at her phone. “Ok, that’s my Uber, and since I still won’t have a car this afternoon, I’ll need you to pick me up from work, ok? I’ll text you the address later.”

Lexie stood up, as did Mia, they met at the end of the table for a goodbye kiss, and then Lexie was gone.

Lexie wasn’t sure she was going to be able to get any work done today with thoughts of Mia running through her mind.

—

The sun was low on the horizon, nearing the rim of the small valley, Lexie’s parents’ home was nestled in. Mia parked the car next to the curb just beyond the mailbox. At the front door, Lexie turned to Mia, “You doing ok? Ready for this?”

“I’m doing great, I’m looking forward to seeing the look on Maddie’s face,” Mia said, glowing with happiness.

“Please be nice to my mother,” Lexie said, giving her girlfriend a disapproving look.

“I would never do anything to upset her. Doesn’t mean I won’t enjoy circumstances beyond my control.”

“This new Mia is trouble. Unfortunately, I seem to like trouble.” Lexie said, shaking her head, pushing the door open.

“Hey, Dad! Hey, Mom!” Lexie said, heading for the living room, followed by Mia.

“Lexie, it’s good to see… you, and you too, Mia,” Ed said, rising from the couch.

“I assume Mom is cooking?”

“Yeah.”

“Back in a moment,” Lexie said, ducking into the kitchen.

“We, uh, missed you last month. There was a lot of talk about you. Sorry, things didn’t work out with you and Shane.” Ed said, trying to fill the awkward silence.

“Uh, well, there’s no hard feelings between Shane and me. He’s still a good friend… things are just different between us now.” Mia said, engulfed in the same sea of awkwardness.

“It’s not that we're not happy to have you as a guest, but…” Ed continued, but was saved from further awkwardness by Lexie and Maddie coming in from the kitchen. Maddie looked at Mia, unsure why her son’s ex-girlfriend was here, as she came to rest standing next to Ed. Lexie continued across the room to Mia, reached down, and held her hand.

“Mom, Dad. I’d like to introduce you to my girlfriend, Mia Cunningham. Mia, these are my parents, Ed, and Madeleine, most people call her Maddie.” Lexie said with a proud smile.

Mia felt the awkwardness fade away. She was family again.

“Hi! It’s very nice to meet you.” Mia said, stepping towards Maddie to hug her.

Maddie released Mia from their hug, looked at Ed, then back at the young women. “Does Shane know about this?”

“Yeah, he actually set us up on a blind date. Have we forgiven him yet?” Lexie said.

“Maybe, but we don’t have to tell him that yet,” Mia said, laughing.

“Oh, that’s good. Lexie, I wouldn’t want anything to come between you and your brother. You’ve always been so close, and it makes me happy to see my children have a good, positive relationship.” Maddie said, still more off balance than she usually was.

“So… uhm… what… no. So, how did you two end up together? We, well, I kind of assumed since Mia had been dating Shane, that she dated guys, and… not, uh, women,” Ed fumbled the words out.

Mia felt almost as awkward as Ed had sounded. She didn’t really want to admit having a crush on Lexie while she and Shane had been together.

“So remember how Shane encouraged me to start seeing a therapist a few months back? Well, it worked. I got happier and more confident. I’ve been more able to express what I want, and it as it turns out, what I want is to fall in love with a fun, caring, beautiful woman. Shane and I broke up, cause he’s only two out of those three things.”

Mia paused for a moment, thinking how to word the next bit so it was both truthful while minimizing the time she spent pining for Lexie before she and Shane had broken up.

“And Lexie is all three. We kind of started flirting through D&D. I guess Shane must have noticed, then invited us both to dinner the same night, and left us alone to talk it out.”

“Oh, uh, I see,” Ed said, turning his head towards Lexie. “Uh… honey… is… I mean… before… have you…”

Lexie cut him off, sparing further awkwardness. “It’s been about a decade, Dad. There was a girl in high school. We didn’t get to the point where we were dating, but I knew I liked women too.”

“Oh. Well, if you’re happy, we’re happy, right, Maddie?” Ed said.

“It’s lovely to have you back, Mia, you’re a wonderful young woman. It makes me happy knowing you make one of my children happy, even if it wasn’t the one I was expecting. I need to get back to the kitchen and finish up dinner.” Maddie said, giving Ed’s hand a light squeeze before returning to the kitchen.

Lexie and Mia sat next to each other on the couch, Ed sat in a chair nearby. “So how long have you two been together?” He asked, much more composed now that the initial shock had worn off.

“Two weeks,” Lexie answered.

“Hey, Mom! Hey, Dad! Hey, Lexie!” Shane yelled from the doorway as he strode into the house. Shane entered the living room and surveyed the situation.

“Everybody’s being rather normal, I’m guessing you talked to Mom and Dad already?” He asked.

“Yeah, we’re good. You missed Dad being speechless, though. It was a sight to behold.”

“It’s a bit of a shock to find out not only that your daughter is dating a woman, but the woman she’s dating is her brother’s ex. I think I’m allowed a bit of a reaction.” Ed said

“You seem to have recovered now, Dad. Ladies, Red wine and a martini?” Shane asked as he resumed walking to the kitchen.

“Yes, please,” both the women on the couch said in unison.

The conversation during dinner was surprisingly normal given Mia’s unexpected return. No changes in employment, despite Ed’s ongoing campaign of threatening to retire. Lexie and Mia were now happily together, and it was probably too early to think about living together. Which is not to say that both weren’t thinking about it. They were just choosing not to admit that to each other, much less in front of Lexie’s family. Everyone continued to be healthy. Maddie was still the family gossip. And Shane was now single, well, except he wasn’t.

“Shane, have you thought about whether you’re ready to find someone new?” Maddie asked, casually expecting Shane to give a perfunctory ‘No’.

“I’m actually kind of seeing someone. It’s early, Mom. I’ll bring her around once I’m more sure she’s going to stick around.” Shane said.

“Oh, don’t be silly, I’m sure she’s a lovely woman, we’d be glad to have her over for dinner.” Maddie chided her son.

“Next month, ok?”

“Lexie dear, have you met this new woman Shane’s seeing?” Maddie asked.

“Nope,” Lexie reported honestly. While Mia did her best to keep a straight face, hoping to avoid any questions.

With the unexpected diversion from normal dinner conversation dealt with, the night returned to its normal, mundane routine and formalities.

—

Mia was back in the waiting room, she felt out of place again. But out of place in a different way this time, she was happy and confident. She felt like she was intruding on a sacred place that belonged to people who needed help with their problems. She was now an interloper in the place she once disliked. Dr. Murphy appeared in the doorway, Mia’s feeling of being out of place faded as the memories of all the positive news she had to report came to the forefront.

Mia took her place on the couch, kicked her feet up, and hardly waited for Dr. Murphy to get the door closed before launching into her opening monologue for the week.

“I think it’s time to scale back to every other week, but I’m glad I postponed that decision last week. Now I get to tell you about all the great stuff that happened this week.

“So, Lexie and I seem to be falling into this pattern where we’re trading off who’s planning date night. Last week was my week. She said she wanted to be surprised and do something interesting that most people wouldn’t do. So I had my goal, plan an awesome date, and then I did. I wanted something, did some stuff, and then boom, success. It’s wild.

“I put together a picnic, so far so boring, but then we ate it at the cemetery up in Dunn, with a cool view of the valley and town. She loved it. Then we spent the night together, and that was amazing too. So yeah. I’m riding high on living my best life. If you’ve got questions, ask ‘em. Otherwise, I think I’m going to head out and see you again in two weeks, hopefully with more to brag about.”

Dr. Murphy was stunned. He could hardly believe this was the same Mia he had first met four months ago. They went through a few cursory and administrative questions to document the decision to scale back their meetings. But at twenty minutes out of their normal hour, Mia stood up, thanked Dr. Murphy for putting her head back on straight, well, actually gay, and then headed home.

—

Lexie pulled her car into the parking lot of Cafe Saigon. It was a bit further out than their usual Friday pregame fare, but it was also the best Pho south of Portland. On the balance, an extra twenty minutes of driving each way was worth it. Lexie and Mia found Shane in a booth just inside the door.

“Hey there, stranger. You really need to talk your girlfriend into shuffling around her work schedule to spend time with us.” Mia said, sliding into the booth.

“Mia, Lexie. It’s nice to see you too.” Shane said as Lexie sat next to her girlfriend.

“You love us, and I’m not wrong here. We’re fun and want to meet her.” Mia said.

“Hey now, be nice to your ex, ok? We don’t want him riled up and extra murderous tomorrow.” Lexie said.

“What have I done? I have unleashed the curse of happy Mia on the world. So where’d you two go on your date last week?” Shane asked, trying to bring some structure to the conversation.

“She took me to the pioneer cemetery,” Lexie said.

“Ah, yes, a perfectly normal place to take a date. And do I want to ask what you did there?” Shane asked.

“See, babe, I told you that’d be the reaction from people that don’t get it,” Mia said.

“Never doubted you. We had a picnic and enjoyed the view.” Lexie said.

“Then we went back to my— you know what, never mind the part after the cemetery,” Mia added before stopping herself. Shane shook his head. He was glad to see Mia happy. He was also glad that he wasn’t dating happy turbo Mia, but Lexie seemed to like her this way. Who was he to judge?

“How are you feeling about the kimchi tonight?” Mia asked.

“I mean, that’s the reason you come here, right? Seems silly to make the trip and then not get the good stuff.” Shane said.

“Hey, darling, if you eat ridiculously spicy things tonight, I’m not going to want to kiss you later. Sorry to ruin your fun.” Lexie warned. It felt right to Lexie to call Mia darling, she was dear to her and drawing a bit closer to Lexie’s heart with every day.

“Good warning. I can handle delayed gratification. Lexie kisses are way better than kimchi, even really good kimchi.” Mia said.

“I’m glad you two are happy together. Mia, you’re like a whole different person.” Shane said.

After dinner, Lexie slid into the driver’s seat of her car, asking. “So, where are we going tonight? Your place or mine?”

“Oh, so confident. I could just go home and sleep by myself tonight, you know.” Mia said.

“Really, Miss I-like-waking-up-next-to-you?” Lexie taunted.

“I could. The question wasn’t if I wanted to.” Mia pouted.

“Question stands, yours or mine?”

“Let’s stop by my apartment so I can pick up clothes for tomorrow, and then go to your place.”

“Works for me.”

A brief stop and a few minutes later, Lexie was pulling into the parking lot of her apartment complex. When they got in the door, Lexie gave Mia the tour of her apartment, which was similar to the tour Mia had given. Except Lexie had a hallway, with a second bedroom and bathroom, and in-unit laundry.

“Ooooh, look at you miss fancy pants living it up with the second bedroom and in-unit laundry.” Mia teased.

“I’m also on the far side of the highway from literally everything,” Lexie pointed out.

“That’s not true, there’s a Seven Eleven and a pot shop just down the street.”

“Truly the pinnacle of civilization,” Lexie said, rolling her eyes. “So what do you want to do tonight?”

“You,” Mia said with a mischievous smile.

“You’re so good at looking innocent around other people, and then I get you alone and—” Lexie’s words were once again cut off by Mia’s lips on hers. Mia ran her tongue along Lexie’s lips, parting them, sliding her tongue into Lexie’s mouth. Lexie accepted her fate and wrapped her arms around Mia’s back, pulling her in close, pressing their breasts together.

Mia broke their kiss, asking, “Can we skip the couch tonight?”

“Oh my someone is in a hurry tonight.”

“Yeah, I want to find out what you taste like.”

“Slow and—” Mia pressed her mouth into Lexie’s again, pulling Lexie’s upper lip into her mouth and running her tongue along the inside edge of Lexie’s lip. Lexie moaned as Mia’s hands found her butt and began to knead.

Lexie pulled from Mia’s lips, kissed her chin, and began to work her way up Mia’s throat, mixing kisses and gentle nips as she roamed. Mia moaned lightly every time Lexie’s teeth touched her neck.

“You can take my shirt off if we go to bed,” Mia whispered. Lexie shivered. The words and the whispering both excited her. Lexie kissed her way back up Mia’s neck, finishing at her lips. Lexie released Mia from their tight embrace, grabbed her hand, and led her quickly to bed.

Mia sat on the edge of the bed and pulled the hem of her shirt up to just below her breasts, and then stopped to give it a little shake. Lexie stood transfixed, watching and waiting. Mia dropped her shirt back down. “Come kiss me more, baby,” She cooed from the bed.

“You tease,” Lexie said, tackling Mia to the bed, planting wet, sloppy kisses all along Mia’s jaw line. Mia wrapped her arms around Lexie’s shoulders as she rolled over to straddle Lexie. Mia started to slowly pull the hem of her shirt up again.

“Is this what you want?” Mia asked.

“Yes,” Lexie pleaded.

“What’s the magic word?” Mia asked, holding her arms still.

“Please?”

“So polite. Now remind me who’s rushing now?” Mia asked, resuming inching her shirt up.

“I am,” Lexie admitted.

Mia pulled her shirt the rest of the way off and tossed it on the floor. “I told you the bed was more fun.”

“May I touch you now?” Lexie asked.

“You could… or you could wait for me to take my bra off,” Mia said, moving her hands back to the clasp behind her back. Mia waited to see what Lexie would do.

“Please take your bra off?” Lexie asked. Mia unhooked her bra, leaned forward, letting it fall, and then tossed it on the floor too.

“Have fun, babe,” Mia said playfully.

Lexie leaned forward, wrapped one arm around Mia’s shoulders, pulling her forward, kissing from Mia’s collarbone down to her breast. At the same time, bringing her free hand up to massage Mia’s other breast. Mia moaned, enjoying Lexie’s worship of her breasts.

Lexie gently nibbled on the swollen nipple in her mouth. “Ah! Fuck!” Mia screamed.

“Sorry, darling, won’t do that again,” Lexie said, pulling back from Mia’s breast.

“No, please do it again. That felt amazing.” Mia said, guiding Lexie’s head back to her breast.

Lexie resumed suckling on Mia’s breasts, mixing in a light bite every now and then. Mia swore with pleasure when Lexie’s teeth pressed into her nipples, and Lexie was growing to love that reaction. Mia’s breath became heavy as her chest heaved with pleasure.

Mia released her hand from the back of Lexie’s head and begged, “Please, kiss me again.”

Lexie sat up, bringing her mouth to Mia’s mouth as her hands continued to massage Mia’s breasts. Mia felt the cotton of her lover’s shirt on her skin. Wanting to feel the warmth of Lexie’s skin directly on her own, Mia reached down and began tugging the hem of Lexie’s shirt. Lexie brought her arms down to her sides, holding her shirt in place, and pulled back from their kiss.

“Ah, ah. What’s the magic word?” She asked with a wicked smile.

“Please,” Mia panted. Then Lexie raised her arms, and Mia pulled Lexie’s shirt up over her head, exposing her plain cream colored bra.

“Aw, nothing fancy?” Mia pouted.

“I wasn’t expecting to end up in bed with you tonight. If you take it off, you won’t have to think about it.”

Mia’s hands were quickly behind her lover’s back, unhooking her bra and discarding it. Lexie leaned forward pressing their bare breasts together as their lips intertwined again. The warmth of their bodies pressed together was everything Mia hoped for. She stroked her finger along the muscles of Lexie’s back as they leaned sideways, lying on the bed. Their lips continued their passionate dance.

Mia slid her body down Lexie’s body, dragging her nipples across her lover's stomach until her head was level with her lover’s breasts. The light tickle of skin on her breasts buzzed with electric pleasures as Mia moved.

“Mmm, these look delicious,” she said, before beginning to suck on one of Lexie’s nipples. Lexi moaned from the pleasure radiating from her chest.

While her mouth worked her lover’s breasts, Mia’s hand found her butt, and she began to squeeze through the denim of her jeans. They enjoyed the bliss of the moment as it stretched on. Lexie’s breathing became shallow from the mouth on her breasts. Mia was enthralled with the marvelous ass she was fondling.

“Ohhh, darling… I am so, wet… please, taste me… fuck me… ohh,” Lexie moaned.

Mia didn’t need to be asked twice. She released that marvelous firm ass she loved, for now, and unbuttoned Lexie’s pants and slid them down her legs. Mia stroked her slit through her white cotton panties, pushing the wet cotton slightly into her lover's folds.

“Hmm, should I remove these too?” She asked, staring up at Lexie from her waist.

“Please,” Lexie said quietly, her breathing shallow and rapid.

“You did say the magic word.” Mia began pulling Lexie’s damp panties down her legs. Mia could feel the anticipation building as Lexie’s panties slid past her feet. She had been looking forward to this moment all week.

Lexie rolled her naked body onto her back and spread her thighs wide, welcoming her lover’s fingers. Mia looked up to see Lexie’s glistening sex waiting before her. She ran her index finger around the outer edge of Lexie’s lips, enjoying the small quakes of her body and the hitches of her breath.

Mia dipped the tip of her finger into Lexie’s wet slit and dragged her finger the length of her lover's opening. Mia could feel every little twitch and wiggle of pleasure created by her finger. She pushed her finger to Lexie’s wet pussy, and tapped lightly on the spot she remembered her lover enjoyed being touched. Lexie’s hips rocked off the bed, and she moaned with pleasure as Mia withdrew her drenched finger.

“Do you want the first taste, or can I have it?” Mia whispered. Lexie moaned again, hearing Mia whisper dirty things made her brain short-circuit in the best way.

“You, can… have… it,” Lexie panted, “please, hurry.”

“I’m going to take…” Mia said, slowly, raising her finger to her lips and sucking Lexie’s juices off it. Mia was in love with the taste in her mouth. Her own juices last week had given her a preview of what making love to a woman could be. But now her plans were completely thrown out the window. She needed more, and she needed it now.

Mia brought her head down to her lover’s soaking pussy and plunged her tongue into her like a woman possessed. The taste of Lexie drove her wild. She ran her tongue over every bit of her lover’s pussy, taking in as much of her wetness as she could.

Lexie was not expecting to feel the warmth and roughness of her lover’s tongue within her pussy. Her hips bucked forward of their own accord, driving Mia’s tongue deeper into her. She could feel the pleasure building in every bit of her body, some even escaping her lips as moans and wails. No one had ever used their tongue to pleasure her before.

Mia’s hunger was somewhat sated, enough that she could focus on pleasuring her lover. She began taking long, deliberate licks deep into Lexie’s slit. Feeling Lexie’s hips rise to meet her tongue, and savoring the sounds of her moans. Mia fell into a rhythm, repeating what got the best reaction.

“My… clit… please,” Lexie moaned. The need for release had reached its boiling point.

Mia licked up from Lexie’s slit and let her tongue roll over Lexie’s clit as it passed. The moan that elicited from Lexie made Mia even wetter and more driven. She was going to push her lover over the edge. She wanted it almost as much as Lexie did. She ran her tongue over Lexie’s clit a few more times, enjoying the way it felt on her tongue, and encouraged by the increasingly loud and frantic moans that echoed from her girlfriend when she did.

Lexie’s legs began to tremble as her pleasure built, and then she reached her peak. Her muscles stiffened as her thighs came together, holding Mia’s head in place. Mia enjoyed the feeling of Lexie’s thighs on her cheeks, the softness of Lexie’s thighs, the satisfaction of knowing why they were pressing together with her head between them.

“Oh! Fuck Mia! That’s good!” Lexie screamed before her body began to release.

Mia felt the warm embrace of Lexie’s thighs fall away. She released her lover’s clit and took one more long lick of her slit, taking in as much of the flavor as she could. She shimmed up to eye level with Lexie.

“Do you want to taste yourself now?” She asked with a satisfied grin.

“Yes, please,” Lexie panted.

Mia leaned in, bringing their lips together. Lexie opened her mouth, inviting Mia’s tongue and her own flavor into her mouth. They held their kiss for a moment before collapsing on the bed beside each other.

“Babe, you taste amazing. We’d have been in trouble if I’d known that last week.” Mia babbled happily, wrapping an arm around her lover’s body. Her fingers began idly tracing little circles around Lexie’s nipple.

“Oh yeah, big trouble, I’ve never had anyone do that for me before,” Lexie said, her breathing returning to normal. “Two questions: Do you want to take those pants off? And, tongue, fingers, or vibrator?”

“Oh,” Mia felt an embarrassed smile creep across her face, “I got a bit carried away, didn’t I? I had forgotten about those.” She unbuttoned her jeans and slid them down her legs, and kicked them to the floor. “And let’s see, tongue, please,” Mia cooed excitedly.

“Should we take these off, too?” Lexie asked, tugging Mia’s panties down ever so slightly.

“I don’t know, then we’d be naked in bed together, and I couldn’t truthfully say I’ve never been naked in bed with another woman.” Mia grinned, proud of her absurd excuse.

“You are a menace in need of a distraction.” Lexie climbed to her knees and pulled Mia’s panties down her legs. “Whoops, guess you’re naked in bed with your girlfriend now.” Lexie crawled backwards and parted Mia’s knees.

“Oh darn, I guess I’ll have to admit to— Fuck that feels good!” Lexie’s tongue dipped into Mia for the first time. Lexie was getting used to Mia swearing with pleasure and set to work making her swear enough to make a sailor blush.

Lexie ran her hand up Mia’s stomach to cup a breast in her hand, massaging it. She slid her thumb and a finger around Mia’s nipple, pinching it. “Damn!” She dragged her tongue slowly over Mia’s clit. “Ssssssshhhhiiiitttt!” She nibbled on Mia’s inner lip. “Oh Hell!” She pinched Mia’s nipple again. “Fuck me!”

Lexie thought that was an excellent idea. She licked the length of Mia’s slit, flicking over her clit as she passed. “Bloody Hell!” She wrapped her lips around her lover’s clit, and began to gently suck. “Oh, God!” She slipped two fingers into Mia and tapped the top of her slit in the spot she knew she liked. “Tongue asshole!” Lexie considered licking her lover’s tight little rosebud, but she had enough firsts for one night already.

Mia bucked and melted into a stream of happy little profanities. Lexie settled in, enjoying listening to her adorable girlfriend swear like that. She could feel Mia begin to tremble. “I need to fucking cum!” Lexie was happy to oblige. She lightly pinched Mia’s clit between her teeth. Mia went silent for a second, then screamed, “Holy! Fucking shit!” Lexie gave another tap with her fingers, but the spell was broken. Mia just gasped for air.

Lexie crawled up between Mia’s legs and held her sticky fingers in front of Mia’s mouth. Mia sucked the offered fingers clean.

“Was that as good as it sounded?” Lexie asked, kissing her lover on the cheek.

“Oh yeah,” Mia said, still trying to catch her breath.

“You need a breather, or are you done for the night?”

“Let’s just cuddle now.”

“Of course. Would you believe I’ve never done that before?” Lexie said proudly, thinking of what a complete mess she had reduced Mia to.

“Yeah, but you thought about it before. Would you believe two months ago, I would have been mortified at the idea of going down on a woman?”

“Two months? Three weeks ago, you hadn’t even thought about it,” Lexie teased.

“Ok, fine. I’m just in turbo lesbian mode, making up for lost time.” Mia said, both women laughed at how silly the idea of ‘turbo lesbian mode’ was.

“You’re adorable. I’m glad we figured out we’re both into women, and each other.”

“Lexie, I love you.”

“I know you do. I’m not in turbo lesbian mode. It’s going to take me more than two weeks to go from friends to professing my undying love. I like us, the direction we’re headed. I’m happy to keep following this path and see where it goes. I think I’ll get there in time, I think I’d enjoy it, but I’m not there yet, ok?”

“As long as we’re having fun together and hot sex, I’m happy to wait.”

“Keep being sweet like that, and you’ll get me eventually, maybe even soon. Time for sleep?”

“Yeah, I’ll see you in the morning when I wake up wrapped around your body.” Mia cooed happily, closing her eyes.

Lexie smiled as she turned off the lamp next to her bed. She was falling for her friend faster than she wanted to admit. She enjoyed the confident, mischievous woman Mia had become since coming out.

—

Shane was putting the finishing touches on the trees arranged around the castle this week, when Lexie and Mia walked into his living room hand in hand.

“I see you’ve resumed the weekly ritual of sleeping with your partner before D&D, Mia,” Shane teased.

“I could tell you all about it, in detail, if you wanted,” Mia offered with a grin.

“No, I don’t need to hear about my sister’s sex life.”

“Don’t tease him too much, you don’t have girlfriend privileges anymore. A grumpy DM is a murderous DM.” Lexie reminded Mia, before kissing her on the cheek and settling into her seat.

Jacob and Mannie arrived shortly, and Shane launched into his weekly recap and opening monologue. Shane reminded the group they heroically slew a vampire last week, but Gawain still thought there were deeper evils lurking within The Dark Lord’s Tomb.

The early part of the session was spent navigating puzzles and trap rooms, exploring the catacombs under the castle. Shane did throw in a couple of quick combat encounters to keep Jacob from rioting and causing real chaos. The party realized that the castle and catacombs they had explored so far were not actually the titular tomb, but just late additions built on top of it.

As they finally entered the tomb proper, Shane confirmed to Gawain that this was the source of the deeper evil he had been feeling. They entered the main chamber of the tomb and came face to face with a Lich. A very one-sided combat encounter followed. Shane had to work to balance conveying to the party how thoroughly outmatched they were here, without incurring any fatalities to an intentionally unfair fight for narrative purposes. Shane managed to herd the broken adventurers back out of the tomb.

The party agreed that more research on Liches and how to fight them was needed before making a second attempt. Shane smiled with satisfaction as he narrated the wilderness leg of their journey to the first monastery they planned to visit. The back half of the session was presented montage style, with the group bouncing between social encounters and skill challenges.

By the end of the night, they had a pretty good plan for what materials they would need to collect next week.

—

Mia and Lexie found themselves driving north out of town on the highway again. This time, Lexie was driving.

“I suppose it’s not going to do me any good to ask where we’re headed?” Mia asked.

“Nope, you reap what you sow. You’re welcome to guess,” Lexie said smugly.

“I’m guessing we’re not going to the dump, I already did the weird location with a good view date.”

“Yeah, I have no idea how good the view is, but I know exactly how bad the smell is.”

They did, in fact, drive past the dump, at highway speeds and with favorable winds, the smell only lasted a few seconds.

Mia threw out a few more theories of what they weren’t doing as they drove north. A few minutes later, Lexie turned east deeper into the valley on the coastal highway.

“I guess we’re not headed to the coast,” Mia said with a laugh.

“Psh, you knew that as soon as we turned north.” Lexie rolled her eyes.

“Look, I’m out of good guesses, so you’re going to have to endure the bad ones. Or, you could just tell me where we’re going?” Mia said mischievously.

“We’re going to do this every week, aren’t we?”

“No, of course not, I expect you’ll break in under a month,” Mia said with a sly grin.

“Oh no, I have to endure my girlfriend being an adorable dork. However, how will I survive?” Lexie laid the sarcasm on comically thick.

“Hmm, bold strategy. Guess you’ll have to wait until next week to find out if compliments work on me.”

A few minutes later, Lexie took the first exit off the highway into Salem and wove through surface streets. She pulled into the parking lot of a strip mall.

“Oh, we’re going somewhere fancy.” Mia teased.

“Somewhere surprising, a different sort of adventure.”

Lexie parked the car near a storefront with a large light-up sign reading “Indoor Air Sports.”

“Come on, darling. We’re flying today.” Lexie slid her hand into Mia’s and led her inside.

They got checked in, got suited up in their webbed nylon body suits, watched the insurance-mandated safety video. Then stepped into the wind chamber.

The first few minutes of their flight were spent learning how to keep level and avoid crashing into each other and the walls. Mia took to the air like the mischievous pixie she was becoming, leaning up to gain altitude, and down to trade altitude for speed. She was soon zipping around the room, using the walls to turn.

Lexie was a bit less adept in her movements, but with a bit more practice, could mostly get where she wanted with a bit more concentration and a bit less speed.

Mia tried to suggest they try dancing together, but her words were lost in the wind. She then executed a series of bounces off the walls, mixed with a few ascents and dives, until she slid backwards into the wall level with and facing Lexie. She pushed off the wall and glided just left of her girlfriend, grabbing her hand as she passed, pulling them both into a spin.

Lexie grinned wildly at Mia as they spun around their new common center of gravity. With a bit more maneuvering, they brought their other hands together. Lexie tried to tell Mia how much fun she was having watching her fly about, but again her words were lost to the wind.

For most of the remainder of their hour, they flitted about like leaves on the wind, occasionally chasing each other, they went for a few more spins. Many laughs were lost to the wind.

As their time was wrapping up, Lexie lined up to grab Mia’s hand and send them for one last spin. As they brought their second hands together, Lexie continued to pull them in tighter, bring them face to face, and into a kiss. They released as the wind started to slow and gravity reasserted itself.

“Ok, wow! That was like amazing! I don’t think I’ve ever had that much fun doing something. We were flying! Like, I didn’t even know that was a thing people could do!” Mia was an overflowing bundle of excitement and joy as they changed back into their normal clothes. Lexie smiled at Mia’s exuberance as they drove back south.

Back at Lexie’s apartment, they snuggled on the couch, watched TV, and chatted for the rest of the evening. As they nestled into bed for the night, Mia asked, “Babe, would you mind if I slept here tomorrow night too?”

“I wouldn’t mind, but you do know it’s Monday, and we’re both working.”

“I know. What about Tuesday, too?”

Lexie was starting to see a pattern here. “If I say yes, will you ask about Wednesday?”

“Say yes, and find out.” Mia kissed her cheek.

“I’ll bite, you can stay Tuesday, too.”

“And Wednesday?”

Lexie shook her head and smiled. “Sure, all week.”

“Oh wow, babe, that’s a great idea, I’d love to spend every night with you. What about the week after?”

“You want to move in, don’t you?”

“I’ve been doing my research, three dates seems the right amount to wait to ask before moving in if you’re speed running being a lesbian, right? Also, my lease renews in two weeks, and I haven’t filed the renewal yet, so the timing would be super convenient.” Mia tried to put on her most cute and innocent smile.

“When do you need an answer by?”

“Monday at the latest, but if you say yes before Friday, we can have an extra weekend to move stuff.”

“I’ll think about it. I can’t believe the things I let you get away with because you’re so damn adorable.”

Lexie felt that moving in together after three weeks was definitely way too fast for normal people. But she was more comfortable considering the idea than she expected to be. She had a week to decide, a week to see how it felt having Mia around all the time.

By Wednesday, Lexie was growing accustomed to Mia’s constant presence. Every morning, she appreciated waking up next to her a bit more. The random bits of conversation they had in passing in the mornings, someone to share dinner with.

That night, they ate pasta with their feet kicked up on the coffee table in the living room.

“Hey, darling,” Lexie said while they ate. “If I’m going to go along with your rushing ahead with our relationship, I want to make sure we’re rushing in the same direction.”

“Oh, that sounds serious,” Mia said quietly, worried where the conversation might be going.

“It kind of is. Where do you want us to be next year?” Lexie said seriously. Mia’s concern deepened. She knew what she wanted out of their relationship. She was pretty sure it was what Lexie wanted too.

“Madly in love, living together, and still doing fun stuff together as often as possible. I don’t think we can manage fifty-two weeks of indoor sky diving. But I’d like us to still be doing something weird once a month, we might have to resort to repeats, but we’ll probably find stuff we both really enjoy in that time.”

Lexie didn’t think Mia would have stopped being the fun-loving co-conspirator she was growing to love having around. But hearing her say out loud she wanted the same things helped Lexie feel better about wanting to move in with her so soon.

“That sounds about Mia. I think I’d like to do that with you. Maybe throw you out of an actual airplane if you cause too much trouble.”

“I’ll definitely cause too much trouble,” Mia smirked mischievously, feeling confident they were in agreement.

“I know you will,” Lexie said, gazing lovingly back at that adorable smirk, “You think this is it? Am I the one you want to spend the rest of your life with? Please don’t think I’m proposing, it’s way too early for that, even at turbo lesbian speeds.”

“Yeah, I’m kind of deeply in love with you, can’t even think of anyone else I’d like to spend the rest of my life with. I don’t need a ring to know you’re my favorite person.”

Oh. That last bit hit Lexie right in the heart. Mia was her favorite person, too, wasn’t she?

“Just keep being sweet like that, and you’ll wear me down. How about kids?”

“Yes, please! We should probably wait a couple years, get married first, buy a house. Practice being responsible adults for a while. Probably more than one kid, siblings are pretty great.”

Of course, Mia was enthusiastic, Lexie mused, as she imagined her chasing their children about with the same enthusiasm. She also appreciated Mia had thought about the things they would need to do before having children.

“I can get behind that. Last question, how do you feel about moving in with me?”

“Oh! Does that mean I passed? I’d very much like to move in with you. So, what are you doing tomorrow evening?” Mia asked, almost bouncing off the couch with excitement.

“Yeah, darling, you did. I think we’re on the same page for where we want to be over the next few years. I like having you around. I like the extra bits of time we get to spend together. And tomorrow? I think I’m going to be a stereotype and rent us a U-Haul truck.”

“You should put your plate down,” Mia said, setting her plate on the table.

“Oh? Why is that?” Lexie asked, playing coy.

“Because you don’t want to get pasta sauce all over your top when I tackle you.”

“You’re a menace.” Lexie put her plate on the table and turned to look at Mia. Just as she launched herself at Lexie, wrapping her arms around Lexie’s shoulders as their lips met. They made out passionately on the couch for a few moments before Mia began sliding her hands up Lexie’s stomach under her shirt.

Lexie broke their kiss. “How about we finish dinner before you get too handsy.” Mia slid her hands out of her lover’s shirt.

“As long as you save room to eat dessert.” Then Mia whispered, “It’s me, I’m dessert.”

“Yes, yes, you’re as delicious and adorable as you are impatient.”

They finished eating, put their dishes away, then retired to bed to eat their desserts before cuddling up to sleep.

In the morning, Mia texted Shane to let him know she had a surprise planned for dinner tomorrow, and he should be ready for a five-thirty pickup.

—

Friday evening, Mia pulled their rented truck into the parking lot in front of Shane’s apartment. She stopped in the middle of the aisle, not bothering with a parking spot. Mia hopped out of the driver’s seat and skipped up to Shane’s door, knocked loudly, and waited for Shane.

“Hey buddy! You see that truck there?” Mia turned and pointed back at the truck. “We’re going to fill it with as much stuff as possible, then drop it off at my new place, and then I’m going to bribe you with all the hot wings you can eat, my treat.” Mia was all smiles and happiness as she delivered her plan.

“Seriously?”

“Please, there will be wings, and chemical burns.”

“Alright, let’s go.” Shane pulled the door shut behind him, locking it as they started walking back to the truck. “So where are you moving to?”

“Just across town, nothing major.”

“Somewhere specific?”

“You’ll see when we get there.”

Shane had his suspicions about what Mia’s evasiveness meant about her new housing situation. This was further confirmed when he found Lexie waiting in the truck.

“How on earth did she talk you into this?” Shane asked, closing the door to the truck.

“She can be persuasive when she wants something. It’s hard to say no when she’s being cute and slightly obnoxious. And she’s fun to have around, keeps me on my toes, keeps life exciting.”

“We’ve got a lot of the same goals in life, and I’m excited to start working on them together,” Mia said, pulling the truck out of the parking lot.

“You know Mom is going to lose her shit when she hears about this? Do you know how many times she harped on me to ask Mia to move in?” Shane asked.

“Eh, can’t be any worse than when I reintroduced her as my girlfriend.” Lexie shrugged.

Shane shook his head. He could scarcely believe Mia was the same person as the reserved, quiet, unassertive woman he had dated. She had always been goofy and funny, but it needed to be coaxed out in small doses with people she felt comfortable with. Now it seemed to him she was just intense by default.

They loaded Mia’s couch, bed, and desk into the truck, padded out some of the space between items with boxes of clothes. The bed and couch got stashed in a storage unit. The remainder was unloaded at Mia and Lexie’s new to Mia apartment. The crew called it a night after one load because they still needed to eat the dinner promised to Shane in exchange for his help.

—

The next morning, Shane texted Mannie and Jacob, letting them know he had been roped into helping Mia move, but D&D was tentatively not cancelled. The format this week was going to be a bit unique, if they pressed ahead.

The crew met up at Shane’s apartment the next morning, before shuffling vehicles and driving to Mia’s apartment. Jacob and Mannie were given the task of packing up the kitchen and living room. Mia and Lexie handled the bedroom and bathroom. Shane floated between the two groups, narrating an in game montage of events while picking up boxes to take out to the truck.

Gawain and Hrogar led the party to a monastery Gawain had visited before, which was known for having an extensive library. Yvonne and Calliope pored over research in the library. Shane loaded the first set of packed boxes into the back of the truck with Jacob’s help.

Yvonne and Calliope took the party on a trip to begin collecting the materials they had learned about to neutralize a lich. The guys went to visit the shrine of St MacGuffin to collect protective blessings. Everyone jeered at Shane for being too on the nose with his naming. He defended himself, pointing out that he was distracted by moving boxes.

By mid-afternoon, they had filled the truck, emptied the apartment, and felt that they had hand-waved enough to feel justified in taking another attempt at the tomb next week during D&D. The truck was unloaded by the twilight for the usual end of D&D day.

Lexie ordered pizza for everyone while Shane and Mia returned the rented truck. The group chatted over dinner, enjoying spending time together and having the opportunity to talk about things other than D&D.

—

The date that Mia had planned for this week once again started off with a drive out of town. However, this week their first leg was east over the river towards the interstate.

“Ohh, this is surprising, we’re not driving north? Keeping me on my toes here.” Lexie said from the passenger seat.

“You said you like surprises, I’ve got to keep doing surprising things to keep you on your toes.”

“I’m guessing we’re also not going to the coast, unless this is all an elaborate fake out, which would be rather surprising.”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“I certainly would. So where are we going?”

“It wouldn’t be a surprise if I just up and told you, would it? Still not going to do it. You’re welcome to guess.”

After a bit of driving, they came to the interstate and turned north.

“Ah ha, you were playing the long game, we’re back to our usual driving north for dates thing.” Lexie teased.

“Not my fault, all the interesting places to go are north up the valley from us.”

“Uh, hmm,” Lexie purred, “so, my sweet, wonderful, sexy, adorable, smart, interesting, Mia, where are we going?”

“North, I thought we established that. But solid effort, tell me more things you like about me, and maybe I’ll spill my secrets.” Mia grinned at the shower of compliments.

“You’re a fun person to spend time with, you’re enthusiastic about everything we do, even the silly stuff. You put thought into where we went last time you planned a date. I’m confident this trip will be just as thoughtful. I like the way you complain about people helping you. I can see the love buried under your grousing. I’ve been around you long enough to know you feign indignation as a sign of love. I —”

Mia interrupted, “Hey, I didn’t want you to actually say nice, thoughtful things about me. This was supposed to be light hearted and fun. I didn’t want to have to seriously consider telling you where we’re going.”

“Yes, I know you love me, you’ve told me already. One last compliment, I really do like your confidence and your ability to communicate your needs now.”

“Thanks, it’s taken a fair bit of effort to practice caring about what I want. But I can’t deny it’s brought good things into my life, like you. Also, the place we’re going is visible from the freeway. You earned your hint.” Mia said sweetly before turning her lip up in an exaggerated pout at the end.

Over the next hour, Lexie offered a few more guesses, but wasn’t able to get any more information out of Mia until they pulled off the freeway. Passing by a cottage-sized faux stone castle as Mia turned onto the surface streets, Lexie asked, “Are we going to the Family Fun Center?”

“Bingo! Give the lady a prize!” Mia said excitedly.

“Aren’t we a bit old for that?”

“First of all, you’re never too old for mini-golf, and secondly, they’ve got other things for people to do.”

“What are we here to do then?”

“Guess, or wait.”

“Guess I’ll wait and see.”

“That’s the spirit,” Mia said, pulling into a parking space.

Mia led them to the front counter and requested two go-kart rentals. A short stack of waivers and a safety video later, and they were setting into their karts.

“Alright, speed racer, show me how it’s done. Just know if I win, I’m definitely telling your dad I beat you at racing next time I see him,” Mia said.

“Oh, you’re toast. I can beat the old man, and I can take you too,” Lexie said, feeling the competitive spirit take hold of her.

Their first race was relatively relaxed as they both got a feel for the layout of the track and how the karts handled. Lexie won by about a length, but both women agreed the first race didn’t count.

For their second set of laps, they both drove faster and took the corners more aggressively. Lexie won again, but her lead was less commanding.

In their third set, Mia took an early lead, coming off the line quickly and shifting between gears more cleanly. She managed to carry that early lead into a better line throughout the race and won their third set.

Lexie had the better start for their final race, but Mia managed to pull ahead a few times when the corners favored her. Ultimately, Lexie had the lead going into the final stretch.

As their karts came to a rest, Lexie unbuckled her harness and jumped out of the cart with a fist pump. “Woooo, still the reigning champ!”

Mia wrapped her arms around Lexie’s waist, bringing their heads as close together as the helmets would allow. “Ok, champ, let's see if you can continue that streak on the mini golf course.”

“You’re on!” Lexie said, dragging them towards the locker room to get out of their racing gear.

—

Mia scanned the waiting room as she entered. Despite her week away, it was mostly the same as usual. There was a new woman she hadn’t seen before. She had the same stoic mask as most of the patients. When Mia saw James, he turned his head a bit and made eye contact.

She walked over to the seat she had sat in when she first met James. “Is this seat taken?”

“Oh, uh, no, go for it.”

“I’m down to every other week. I might be graduating soon.”

“Ah, thanks for letting me know. I was a bit worried when I didn’t see you last week.”

“Thanks for caring.”

James smiled. Mia had only spoken to him twice, but she had the impression that she was seeing something rare to be treasured.

The door back to the offices opened, James’ name was called, and he disappeared back to his appointment. Dr. Murphy summoned Mia shortly after.

Mia reclined on the couch and waited for Dr. Murphy to settle.

“So, how are you doing today, Doc?” Mia asked.

Dr. Murphy chuckled. “I’m usually the one who asks the opening question. I’m doing well enough, glad I have air conditioning at home. You seem to be happier and more relaxed than I’ve seen you. How do you feel about that?”

“Good, really good. Things just keep getting better in my life. Being with Lexie is far more fun than I had imagined it would be. We both take the relationship just the right amount of serious, we’re honest with each other, and we have fun as often as we can.

“We’re living together now. We finished moving my stuff on Sunday. And yes, I know what you’re going to say here, ‘Do you think you’re moving too quickly, with your relationship?’ We’ve got a system worked out, I push I to rush ahead, Lexie keeps me in check. We move at her pace. Things seem to have worked well so far.”

“Hmm, it’s good that you’re aware of how your roles in your relationship work. How have you done with expressing your wants and needs?”

“I think I’m doing pretty good there. I asked Lexie if I could move in with her. I was a bit coy about it, but that was more because it was fun than because I was feeling unsure of myself. If I was feeling unsure, I probably would have been more direct and less fun. I like fun now, and not expressing myself isn’t fun.”

Silence hung in the office for a moment.

“See you in two weeks, Doc,” Mia said, standing up and starting to walk to the door. “I probably won’t be married next time I see you. Probably.”

Dr. Murphy shook his head and chuckled as he watched the door close.

—

Shane heard his phone buzz, pulled it out of his pocket to find a text from Mia:

“Hey buddy! Got another surprise for you, promise this one isn’t a moving truck. 5:30 pick up. <3”

Shane considered texting Lexie to see if he could get an explanation from her, but figured she either didn’t know or, if she knew, would agree with Mia that it was more fun to keep him in the dark.

A few hours later, Shane climbed into the back seat of Mia’s car.

“Hey, Lexie, Mia, where are we headed?”

“Dinner,” Mia answered from the driver’s seat.

“I knew…” Shane started before exhaling loudly, giving up, “So, how’s the new roommate, Lexie? Is she driving you crazy yet?”

“I was crazy to let her move in after three dates. I haven’t gotten any crazier. So I guess not. I am very much enjoying having her around all the time. I’ve got Mia on demand, I don’t think I’ll ever be bored again.”

“Awwww, babe, that’s so sweet. I love how supportive of me you’ve been since we started dating.”

Soon they were parked and making their way into The Crow’s bar. Jess was behind the bar as expected and perked up when she saw Shane and the ladies arrive.

“Evening folks. So, House IPA for Mr. Handsome, Martini for Mia, and I’m guessing you’re Lexie? What’s your drink of choice?”

Shane and Mia nodded. Lexie told Jess she wanted a glass of the house red wine.

Jess returned a moment later with their drinks and made a conspicuous show of leaning too far forward when serving Shane. Jess repeated her display of cleavage when delivering Mia’s drink. Mia made an equally pronounced show of eyeing Lexie’s breasts instead of looking at Jess.

“I like yours better, babe.” Lexie chuckled and shook her head.

“Oh, damn, she must really love you,” Jess said, delivering Lexie’s wine.

“Yeah, I think she does,” Lexie said, “has Shane warned you our parents want to meet you?”

“He did, they sound like lovely people. It’ll be nice to get a chance to talk to you and Mia when I’m not on the clock. Speaking of which, I need to go check on the other patrons, back in a bit.” Jess said before disappearing to the far end of the bar.

“I think ‘warned’ is a bit strong of a word there, Lexie, family dinner isn’t that much of an ordeal,” Shane said.

“Maybe not for you, but think about it from my perspective. If Mom likes her, and then you break up, she’s going to expect me to swoop in and keep Jess in the family. I don’t think Mia is a fan of sharing,” Lexie joked.

“She’s right, I don’t share,” Mia said with a defiant nod.

“Mia, you’re a terrible influence on my poor, innocent sister,” Shane said.

“Oh, don’t I know it.” Mia grinned proudly.

A while later, Jess checked in to see if anybody needed any food or another drink.

“Do you work Saturdays? Did Shane tell you about D&D?” Mia asked.

“I don’t usually work Saturdays. Shane did mention it. He also mentioned being worried about destabilizing your game. I might drop in and observe sometime, but don’t expect people to risk disrupting things to accommodate me.”

Jess continued to check in and get brief bits of conversation while she worked, and the rest of the group ate. At the end of their meal, Lexie and Mia took Mia’s car home and left Shane and Jess together at the bar.

—

Lexie could smell bacon as she pushed open the door to Shane’s apartment. Usually by the time she arrived, breakfast was a thing of the dim past, and Shane was deep in the process of setting up the table for their adventure.

“Morning, Shane!” She called as she and Mia made their way down the hall to the dining room. As she came through the door, she saw Shane at one end of the table poring over notes as usual. At the other saw Jess with her bare legs sticking out of an oversized shirt and her feet kicked up on the table, casually eating the bacon she smelled from the door.

“Hey Jess, good to see you again,” Mia said, sliding into her chair at the other end of the table. “Shane told you about Jacob, right?”

“He did, I’m not worried. I’ve dealt with worse professionally. Also, this shirt is really comfy, so I have no intention of changing.”

Lexie took her chair, putting her at eye level with Jess’ calves. “Darling, your legs are nicer.”

Jess finished her breakfast and dropped her plate off before coming back to the table to wait for the group to assemble. Mannie arrived without much fanfare, giving a nod to everyone at the table before falling into the pre-game table talk.

Jacob stopped in the doorway and stared at Jess for a few seconds before making his way to the table.

“Hi, I’m Jacob. I don’t think we’ve met. Mmm, it’s very nice to meet you.” He was too focused on Jess and didn’t see Mia roll her eyes or the knowing smile spreading across Shane’s face.

“It is very nice to meet you, Jacob. I’m Jessica, Shane’s new girlfriend.” She leaned toward Jacob, her voice was husky and sultry, nakedly seductive.

Jacob gave a very confused look to Shane, saw his approving smile, and then looked back to Jess’ smoldering desire. In Jacob’s mind this wasn’t how things were supposed to work. Men pursued and dominated women, not the other way around, and Shane definitely shouldn’t approve. She had the upper hand here, and Jacob was afraid of what that meant. He swallowed hard and sank back into his chair, making himself as small as possible.

“Good, glad we understand each other, little boy,” Jess said with a wink.

“Right, so last week was a bit strange,” Shane said, starting his narration for the week. He recapped their collection of the relics of St MacGuffin, to groans from the players. Shane then turned to describing the scene before them as they made their way back to the main hall of The Dark Lord’s Tomb, gesturing at the gray plastic dungeon arrayed before them on the table.

The main room of the dungeon was a long hallway lined with pillars, with twisting side hallways and rooms coming off to the side. Within the maze of side rooms were a set of four rooms with conspicuous-looking stone obelisks.

“So, four amulets, four obelisks, seems pretty straightforward to me,” Mannie said, “Thoughts on how we want to approach this?”

“We’re somewhat blind here. We know the general shape of the tomb from what’s on the table, but there’s a lot of detail missing, like what’s in those rooms. We don’t have any more invisibility potions, so if I want to go skulking, we’ll need to spend real spells, or hope I don’t get unlucky and smushed,” Lexie said.

“I kind of like you not flattened,” Mia said, “so how about we don’t do that? I could make an arcane eye to go do the scouting for us. Higher level spell slot, but much safer.”

Unable to come up with a better alternative, they did just that. Mia’s invisible flying eye made it to all four of their destinations in the hour it existed. The front two rooms obviously had monsters in them, skeletons to the right, zombies to the left. The back right room swirled with wisps of magical darkness. The back left room seemed perfectly safe. The party concluded it was obviously the most dangerous.

“I guess that means the question is, do we do dangerous first or last?” Mannie asked. The consensus was to start with the dangerous rooms, get them out of the way early, figure out if they needed to split this into multiple attempts early on.

Gawain and Hrogar led the charge into the zombie room. During Mia’s first combat turn, she looked Shane right in the eye and said with an over-the-top southern drawl, “Eldrich Blast,” tossing a pair of dice on the table. Shane sighed, hoping the novelty would wear off soon, but worried that being Mia, it never would. Both blasts found their targets. Lexie took up her traditional fire support role, staying safely away from the front lines, putting precisely placed arrows in their foe.

When the first zombie to drop got back up, the table talk picked up, trying to figure out if they wanted to burn time and risk their health, or just take the quick and easy route and throw limited spells at the problem. They opted for the magic route, with Gawain wrapping the party in a mantle of holy magic. They resumed dropping zombies, and this time they stayed down.

With the room cleared, they placed the first of their MacGuffins.

They approached the safe looking, suspicious room, stopping well short of the door. Yvonne slowly prowled forward, checking for traps. Twenty minutes and several dice rolls later, the party concluded the perfectly safe looking room was in fact perfectly safe. Shane was very proud of how effectively they managed to amp themselves up over nothing. The group offered their begrudging compliments for tricking them into doing Shane’s job for him.

They placed the second MacGuffin.

The shadowed room was, in fact, trapped and infested with living shadows. Gawain and Hrogar fell into escort roles, fighting their way trigger to trigger, allowing Yvonne and Calliope to disarm the traps, allowing them to advance. With the last trap disarmed, they made a mad dash for the obelisk.

They placed their next MacGuffin and then promptly ran back to safety.

They took a short breather while Calliope strummed out a soothing tune on her lute before pressing on to the skeleton room.

The skeleton room was the most straightforward. The gimmick was there were just a lot of skeletons. The skeleton’s lack of flesh offered them a degree of resistance to Yvonne’s arrows, stealing her thunder as the most deadly combatant. Calliope, on the other hand, was reveling in being effective in combat without spending limited resources for the first time all campaign. She was dropping bolts of magical energy on her foes, two at a time. The guys maintained their traditional role as the bulwark between the squishies and the baddies.

They placed their final MacGuffin and heard a deep rumbling coming from somewhere below them.

The party found a new staircase leading down from the main hall. Shane called for a brief intermission as he rebuilt the plastic dungeon to reflect the next floor down.

The party descended to the next level, entering a two story open chamber on the upper level. The lich was waiting for them on the lower level, standing between a stone altar and a large, blue translucent crystal that seemed to have an unconscious woman suspended in it. Throughout both levels were a small legion of random zombie and skeleton animals, from raccoons to a bear.

The party charged ahead, ready to have their revenge against the lich. In its weakened state, it was still a difficult battle, but wasn’t completely one sided like their previous encounter. The party had judiciously managed their limited resources to this point. Knowing this was the final battle, they didn’t hold back any. Calliope and Gawain burned a spell every round, Hrogar raged with abandon. Yvonne chucked vials of holy water like a kid with water balloons.

“With that final strike of Hrogar’s ax, the lich crumbles,” Shane narrated, “The crystal at the center of the room begins to vibrate and hum. Picking up intensity, it shatters, dropping a gasping woman to the floor. Jess, would you like to describe the woman on the floor before the party?”

Jess perked up from the aloof posture she had been in for the last few hours, sitting up straight. “Before you, you see an elven woman in flowing brown robes, covered with more pockets than seem reasonable. A large leather belt around her waist supports a large holster carrying a leather bound tome. She looks up at you, breathing heavily, and asks ‘Is it really dead?’”

The players sat in stunned silence by this revelation.

“Right, it’s getting late. I think we’ll call it there for the week,” Shane said.

“What? Are you serious? Jess, are you joining us next week?” Mia asked.

“Yeah, that’s the plan. I promise not to abuse my DM’s girlfriend's privileges too badly,” Jess replied.

“Darling, it would be fun to stay and chat with folks, but we have places we need to be tonight, ok?” Lexie said. They both understood that places meant their bed.

They made quick goodbyes before hustling out to Lexie’s car.

—

“You’re going to like what I’ve got planned this week,” Lexie said, pulling onto the street from the apartment parking lot.

“Oh? Does it involve driving north and safety waivers?”

“Neither of those things this week.”

“Oh, good, a third week in a row of that seems like falling in a rut. So are we going to Eugene then?”

“Nope. You’re the one who took us go-karting. You could have planned something else that didn’t involve a safety waiver.”

“You didn’t complain at the time.”

“Still not complaining, just reminding you I’m not the one doubling up on safety waivers.”

They continued bantering through town, then caught the highway west out of town.

“Hmm, so either we’re going to the coast, or you’re really committed to taking the long way to mess with me,” Mia noted.

“Darling, I’d never lie to you, not even about where we’re going on a date. That’s just not in the spirit of having fun guessing.”

“So, we’re going to the coast then.”

“Yep.”

“I guess the next thing to guess is which way we’re going to turn when we get to Highway 101?”

“Or you could jump straight to where you think we’re going to go.”

“I don’t do straight anymore, and it’s kind of all your fault.”

“Ugh, you continue to be an adorable menace.” Lexie smiled. She really did enjoy Mia’s bad jokes. It was part of the charm of the new and improved Mia.

A bit over an hour later, Lexie crested the final rise before the ocean. They could see the light at the junction with Highway 101 about a mile away.

“Last chance to get your guess in on which direction we’re going at the light,” Lexie announced.

“Still no idea, I’ll guess south, there’s more stuff down that way.”

Lexie brought the car to a stop at the red light of the intersection. A moment later, the light turned green, and she continued driving west, skipping over the north-south highway entirely.

“Where are we going?” Mia asked, surprised that they hadn’t turned on to 101.

Lexie smiled. She had been waiting for this moment for nearly an hour.

“You’re free to guess.”

The road sloped down towards the sand, bringing them below the historic tsunami line. After a few blocks, they turned north and drove past an array of small restaurants and shops before arriving at a hotel overlooking the beach from a small bluff.

“You’re taking me to a hotel for our date, huh? If you wanted to just jump straight into bed, we could have done that at home and saved the drive,” Mia teased.

“Not like this, we couldn’t, you’ll see.”

While they were checking in, Lexie picked up a bottle of red wine from the hotel gift shop. Their room was in a small annex detached from the main hotel, with only one other room, giving them an extra bit of privacy.

Lexie pushed open the door to their room and gestured for Mia to go in first. “After you, darling.”

The first thing Mia noticed upon entering was the large bathroom at the front of their suite. She couldn’t see the interior because the lights were off, but she could see how long the hallway was before the room opened up.

Past the bathroom, she saw a gas fireplace with a large, shaggy, soft, inviting-looking white rug in front of it, and a couch on the opposite wall. The entire far end of the room was floor-to-ceiling glass opening on a balcony overlooking the bluffs and ocean below.

“Oh wow, yeah, we don’t have a fireplace, or a view like this at home,” Mia said in awe.

“Darling, you haven’t even seen the best part.” Mia turned to see Lexie pulling open a set of sliding double doors opening up to the bathroom, revealing a large claw-foot bathtub that could easily accommodate both of them.

“This is wonderful, you have no idea how long I’ve been thinking about this.” Mia ran her hand excitedly along the edge of the bathtub.

“I don’t know about that. I’d guess you’ve been thinking about this for about six weeks or so,” Lexi said, wrapping her arms around Mia’s waist, kissing the back of her neck.

“Ok, maybe you did know.” Mia ran her hands down Lexie’s arms, letting out a soft sigh as Lexie kissed her neck again.

“You get the bathtub ready. I’ll be back in a moment.”

Lexie released her girlfriend’s waist and walked to the desk where she had left the bottle of wine.

Mia started filling the bathtub and focused her attention on getting the water temperature just right. When she looked up again, she saw Lexie standing just outside the bathroom, with two glasses of wine. Mia’s eyes swept over her lover’s mostly naked form, drinking in the soft curves of her lover’s breasts wrapped in a dark red lace bra. Lexie’s soft, smooth stomach dipped into a matching set of red panties. Mia could feel the warmth growing in her body.

She pushed the stopper in place, and the bathtub began to fill with water. She walked over to Lexie, took a glass of wine in one hand, and ran the other up Lexie’s stomach, between her breasts, up her neck, then behind her head to pull them into a kiss.

“God, you are so beautiful,” Mia said, as Lexie leaned in for another kiss.

“You too, I am so lucky you found me, and found yourself. Did you see the bath salts next to the sink?”

“Ummm, I did not. Could you go grab them?” Lexie answered with a kiss on Mia’s jaw below the ear before walking over to grab the bath salts. Mia playfully slapped her butt as she passed.

“Ohhh, yes, Mistress, that felt good,” Lexie said, recalling the time Mia had smacked her butt with a towel.

“You like that, huh? Guess we’ll have to do that more then.”

Mia took another sip of wine, watching Lexie’s long, sexy legs stride away from her, and then back. Lexie leaned forward over the bathtub as she poured the bath salts into the water. Mia smacked her other buttcheek. Lexie moaned again, savoring the feeling of Mia’s hand on her butt.

Lexie had never let a guy smack her butt, but the feeling of Mia’s hand on her ass was electric, the warmth of her skin, the sting that reminded her of the warmth that accompanied it.

“Oh, you really do like that, don’t you?” Mia asked.

“Yeah, it feels good. I wasn’t expecting to like it. I was just going with the joke. I like learning about myself by spending time with you.”

They drew together for another kiss. Lexie brought her hands up to cup Mia’s breasts.

“Hey, darling,” Lexie said, massaging her lover’s breasts through her shirt and bra, “I think you’re a bit overdressed. You want some help with that?”

“Yes, please.” Mia took another sip of wine before setting her glass down on the counter next to the sink.

Lexie slid in behind Mia and pressed her hips against her lover’s butt, kissed her neck, and then looked up into her eyes in the mirror. Lexie grabbed the bottom hem of Mia’s shirt and began to slowly pull it up her body, revealing her stomach and then breasts, before quickly pulling it over her head and tossing it aside.

In the mirror, Lexie saw Mia’s nipples hardening under her sheer black bra.

“Ohh, that’s my favorite bra.” Lexie kissed Mia’s neck as her hands found her breasts and began rubbing her nipples through the thin fabric.

“I know,” Mia moaned, “I wore it just for you.”

Lexie continued to place long, sucking kisses on Mia’s neck and shoulders. Mia let out a few more moans as her hands went to work pushing her leggings down her legs. She got them pushed far enough down her legs that she was able to wriggle free.

Lexie stopped her barrage of kisses and brought her hands around to rest on the clasp of Mia’s bra.

“May I?”

“Oh god, yes, panties too.”

Lexie released Mia’s bra and let it tumble forward from her lover’s chest. She kissed her way down Mia’s spine until her face was level with her butt. Lexie gave Mia’s butt a playful smack.

“Umm, nope, not my thing, babe.”

“Good to know.” Lexie leaned in to kiss Mia's butt where her hand had landed a few seconds before.

“Shit!” Mia moaned.

Lexie kissed her other cheek and was greeted with another breathy expletive.

“Hmm, that does seem to be your thing, though,” Lexie said, pulling Mia’s panties down her legs.

Lexie ran her hands up the back of Mia’s legs, over her butt, to her lower back, and pushed her forward slightly. Mia got the message, leaned forward, resting her hands on the countertop, spread her legs, and presented her wet pussy to Lexie.

Lexie stroked two fingers down her lover’s wet slit before pushing them into her. She continued to pump her fingers in and out of Mia’s pussy, as she placed a series of kisses and light bites across Mia’s butt. Each nip made Mia swear with pleasure. Lexie worked her way back to Mia’s center with more kisses and bites.

Lexie paused the motion of her fingers and waited. Mia looked back over her shoulder.

“Hey, babe, what’s— Oh! God! Holy Fucking Shit!”

Lexie ran her tongue over the little puckered rose bud of Mia’s ass. Lexie smiled with satisfaction, having found a new way to make Mia swear. Lexie dipped her thumb into Mia’s wetness before resuming thrusting into her with her fingers, this time her thumb found her clit, too. Lexie began to lick back and forth across the sensitive opening of Mia’s ass.

Mia spent the next few minutes moaning and stuttering “fuck” over and over again, as the pleasure built in her body. Her legs began to tremble, unable to support her body. Lexie slid her free hand down from Mia’s back to her butt to support her weight.

Then Mia went quiet as the orgasm overtook her. “Oh god! Lex!”

Lexie kissed her way back up Mia’s spine, pulling her into a standing position, leaning against Lexie’s body. Lexie’s hands cradled and massaged Mia’s breasts as Lexie whispered in her ear.

“I like learning new things about you, too.”

Mia caught her breath, finished off her glass of wine, and turned in Lexie’s arms to kiss her on the lips. As she turned, she noticed that the water was still on in the bathtub, and it had long since filled to the overflow drain.

“Someone should turn the water off and get you out of your clothes, too.”

Mia stepped from Lexie’s arms and turned the water off. Testing the warmth with a finger, it was exactly what she hoped for, warm enough to keep them warm, even the portion of their bodies above water, but not so warm as to be uncomfortable. She turned back towards Lexie.

“Hmm, yes, someone should get me out of my clothes.”

Mia stepped forward, bringing her lips to Lexie’s, as her hands wrapped around her back, unhooking her bra. Mia slid down until she was kneeling at Lexie’s waist. She slid her hands into the waistband of Lexie’s panties and slid them down and free of her lover's legs.

Mia pushed Lexie’s legs slightly apart as she brought her mouth forward to Lexie’s moist pussy. Her tongue was just pushing into Lexie’s wonderful flavor when a hand tapped on her shoulder.

“Later, babe, if we get distracted, the water will get cold.”

Lexie stepped back and then climbed into the bathtub. The temperature of the water was perfect as she submerged her body in the water. She leaned back against the edge of the tub and looked at Mia with a grin.

“Care to join me, darling?”

“Absolutely.”

Mia climbed into the tub and settled with her back to Lexie’s chest between her legs. The warmth of the water, the warmth of her lover’s body, and the light aroma of the bath salts were everything she had hoped for.

“Well, Callie, I think Lord Thule has been good to us,” Lexie said playfully, sliding one hand between Mia’s legs and the other to her breast. Lexie gently stroked her lover’s body.

“Mmmm, yeah, Yvonne, I love the way you touch me, let’s stay like this forever.”

“Just for the weekend, there’s always new adventures for us.”

“May we never run out of adventures,” Mia said, “how about a challenge? Do you think you can finger me and wash my hair at the same time?”

“Sorry, my lady, I don’t think I’m that talented, but I’d love to wash your hair for you.”

Lexie was pleasantly surprised to find that the rack of hotel toiletries was just within arm's reach of the bathtub. She collected the shampoo and conditioner. Working a good lather in her hands, she worked on massaging it deep into Mia’s scalp. Mia melted into her lover with pleasure from the feeling of her lover’s hands on her head.

Mia slid forward, allowing her head to dip under the surface of the water. She shook her head while submerged in the water before scooting back to press her body into Lexie’s once more.

Lexie worked the conditioner into every bit of Mia’s hair, occasionally pausing to kiss her neck.

“Babe, I think I’m spoiled now. Could you shower with me every time and wash my hair?”

“Every time might be a bit much, but I’m always open to an invitation.”

“I’ll just invite you every time, then, problem solved.”

Mia slid forward, lowering her head towards the water. She reached back and slid her hand around the back of Lexie’s head, drawing her down into a kiss before fully submerging her head. Under the water, she rolled so she emerged from the water leaning back against the far end of the tub.

“Your turn, come over here, beautiful.”

Lexie twisted in the tub, stirring up the water before landing between Mia’s legs.

“You were more graceful,” Lexie said, turning to kiss Mia.

“Hey, none of that you. You don’t have to compare yourself to others. You did great. Now lean forward so I can get this shampoo in your hair.”

Lexie leaned forward as Mia began to rub the shampoo in her hair and massage her scalp. A rinse, condition, and another rinse later, Mia asked. “Are you ready to go lounge by the fireplace?”

“I’m happy to go where you are, darling.”

“Up you go, babe,” Mia said, trying to swat her butt, but being hampered by the resistance of the water.

Lexie climbed out of the bathtub and held out her hand to pull Mia up after her. Once they were out of the bathtub, Lexie pulled a towel off the rack and handed it to Mia. As Lexie reached for a second towel for herself, she felt Mia begin running the towel over her arm.

“That towel was for you, darling,” Lexie objected, as Mia continued to work the towel down her arm.

“You can dry me off when I’m done with you. In the meantime, relax while I get every bit of wetness off your body,” Mia said, bringing the towel to her lover’s breasts and beginning to massage them through the towel. Lexie moaned as the terrycloth dragged across her nipples.

Mia continued to work the towel around Lexie’s body, drying her other arm before moving on to her back. Mia pressed her breasts into Lexie’s as she dried her back. Mia felt a rivulet run down her chest and drip onto Lexie.

“Whoops, how careless.” Mia leaned down to lick the water from her lover’s breast. She flicked her tongue across Lexie’s nipple, “Missed a spot.” She rubbed the towel down Lexie’s back, and licked her other nipple, “and another.” Lexie sighed with each lick and felt the warmth and wetness building between her legs.

“Hey, babe, could you hand me that hand towel?” Mia requested. Lexie arched an eyebrow before handing Mia the requested towel. She set the towel on the tiled floor before kneeling on it.

“Oh, are you planning to be down there a while?” Lexie asked.

“You’re very wet below the waist. This could take a while,” Mia said, running the towel down Lexie’s left leg, as she licked droplets from the right. Mia switched legs and worked her way back up to eye level with Lexie’s pussy.

Lexie stroked her thumb through Mia’s slit, eliciting a sigh of pleasure.

“Hmm, as I suspected, very wet.” Mia lifted one of Lexie’s legs over her shoulder as she plunged her tongue into her lover with a long, deep lick. Lexie closed her eyes and leaned her head back as she let the pleasure from her lover’s tongue roll through her body. She moaned as she felt and heard a thunderous crash of pleasure and pain radiate from her butt as Mia’s hand made contact with her butt.

Lexie leaned forward, planting her hands on Mia’s shoulders, steadying herself, as she felt and heard another palm land on her other butt cheek.

Mia grabbed Lexie’s hip to steady her as she continued to draw her tongue from deep in Lexie’s pussy, trying to draw as much of Lexie’s taste into her mouth as possible. Mia felt her clit ache with stiffness as she savored the taste of her lover. Her free hand found its way to her clit, as she began tracing small circles around her nub with her finger.

Mia moaned into Lexie’s pussy, before bringing her tongue up to begin circling Lexie’s clit as her finger was circling her own.

“Darling… I… oh, god… more, please,” Lexie pleaded.

Mia released Lexie’s hip, drew her hand back a few inches, and smacked her lover's butt cheek, and held on to steady her.

“Oh! Fuck yes!” Lexie screamed.

Lexie could feel the orgasm building in her. Mia’s lips wrapped around her clit and sucked on the tip of her hard nub. The sound of her lover’s cry of pleasure drove Mia onward towards her own orgasm.

“Mia! I love you!” Lexie wailed as her orgasm exploded through her body.

That was enough to push Mia over the edge as well. Her cry of pleasure was muffled by Lexie’s pussy pressed between her lips.

Mia resumed her deep licks into her lover’s pussy, trying to draw out as much of her favorite flavor as she could.

Lexie tried to catch her breath in the wake of her orgasm. She wanted to tell Mia that was enough, but could feel the beginnings of another explosion of pleasure building.

“My clit, please,” Lexie whined with need.

Mia drew one last lick in before repositioning to flick her tongue across Lexie’s clit. Lexie shuddered and leaned more of her weight on Mia’s shoulders. A second flick of Mia’s tongue tipped Lexie over the edge, sending a second orgasm rolling through her body.

“No more, darling,” Lexie panted.

Mia slid Lexie’s leg off her shoulder and helped steady Lexie for a moment as she recovered.

“Get up here, you adorable menace, and let me dry you off,” Lexie said, retrieving the towel she had intended to grab earlier. With much less production and lust, Lexie dried Mia off.

“Shall we go drink wine and watch the fire for a bit?” Lexie asked.

“Oooh, yeah, I like that plan.”

Lexie filled two wine glasses and settled in on the couch, while Mia turned off the bathroom light, leaving the fire as the only source of light.

Mia settled in next to Lexie and leaned her head on her girlfriend’s shoulder. They sat in silence, watching the fire for a few minutes, before Mia broke the silence.

“Earlier, when you said you loved me, did you mean it? Or was it just something you said, well, screamed, because I had my tongue between your legs?”

Lexie considered the question. It was something she had said in a moment of passion. The more she thought about it, the more she knew she did love Mia. The last month since Mia came out had been a whirlwind, but she enjoyed it and the woman at the heart of the storm. Mia had become more than just her good friend. Lexie loved the things they did together and wanted to spend as much of her life with Mia as she could.

“Yeah, I meant it. I love you, Mia. You’re my lover, my partner in adventure, my favorite person. I wouldn’t give you up for anything in the world.”

“You’re my favorite, too.”

They finished their wine, snuggling, watching the fire in silence.

“My turn to see if I can make you scream your love for me,” Lexie said, planting a series of sucking kisses along Mia’s neck. As Mia’s breath began to quicken, Lexie brought her mouth down to her partner’s breast, suckling, licking, and nipping her nipple before continuing kissing lower down her partner’s body.

Settling between her partner’s legs, Lexie made love to her favorite person for the first of many more times that night. A few hours later, they retired to bed satisfied and looking forward to spending the rest of their lives together.

—

Thanks to Redgarters for beta-reading this, giving me advantage on my performance check.