The Gossamer Gate Read Free Page B

thought of being “one of the girls” was foreign to her.
    I have everything – an amazing house, a business I love, lots of friends. What is wrong with me? When the hell am I going to give up the ghost of this hopeless crush? Even her own inner monologue annoyed her, and she just pressed her hands to her face, muttering, “Oh my gods.”
    “ Alright, are you ready to die?” Sean asked as he took his place at the head of the table.
    “I swear, if you farted again …” one of the players said.
    “Well, when we last left our heroes, they were fighting a lich, so if you’d like him to cast Stinking Cloud, I can make it happen.”
    Khiara laughed along with everyone else, even as she realized this was becoming a problem for her. Her crush on Sean was as old as their friendship – nine years, now. She had to either admit her feelings to Sean or stop spending so much time with him. Otherwise, she might girl up their gaming in a very embarrassing way.
    And, really, there was no point in talking to him about her feelings. He know how she felt. It was something they had discussed in high school. And college. And after college.
    “I would hate to ruin our friendship with sex,” he said each time. “You’re more than a good body to me.”
    She hated herself for wanting him to say once – just once – “Hey, nice rack, Khiara.”
    Between last night’s dream and now this, I am a hot mess, she told herself. What the hell happened in the last twenty-four hours that my emotions decided it was a good time to implode?
    D espite Khiara’s wayward thoughts, she managed to focus on the game. Sean was running an adventure that allowed for more variety than usual, and everyone was having fun with the custom races they had created. After several slices of pizza and many rolls of the dice, Khiara mostly managed to put her thoughts about Sean in the background. There was no need, she decided, to let his brown eyes, his tousled brown hair, or his voice distract her.
    However, she did notice the little things. Between shouts of, “I draw my sword!” and “Nat twenty on my bluff check,” she could not help but notice he was the only guy in the room who did not let the burps and farts fly freely. Had he always been more reserved about his bodily functions than everyone else? Despite what he always said to her about seeing her as a friend and respecting her intelligence, was he also conscious of the fact that she was a girl? She wondered, not for the first time, if there was a way to get him to acknowledge this to her.
    I want to smack myself , Khiara thought, letting her head droop onto the table. I need to stop mooning over Sean like a teenager. We’re twenty-five years old. This is ridiculous. Maybe I should take Matt up on that date after all. Or someone – anyone – to put a stop to this.
    The night was interminable and by the time the group dispersed at eleven o'clock, Khiara could not wait to go home. As she picked up her belongings, Sean approached her. “Did you walk here?” he asked while she gathered her dice and put them in their small pouch.
    “Of course I did. It was too nice outside not to. Besides, it would be a waste of gas to drive, even in the winter.” She finished packing her books and dice in her bag , and smiled up at him. He wasn’t much taller than her – maybe only five foot eight – so their gazes were almost level. “Well, I’ll see you next week. I’m having fun with this campaign. You’ve done some great stuff with it. I like playing a race I created myself.”
    “Why don’t I walk you home?” This wasn’t an offer Sean usually made, and Khiara dropped her gaze to the table bench.
    Why don’t you not, because I might develop some serious word vomit if you do , she thought. “I don’t think so…” she finally answered.
    “Why not? Is there something wrong with me walking with you?” Sean pressed his thumb against an indent in the table and continued. “Khiara, have you noticed