Jo leaned over to Felix once more, close enough for him to smell her strawberry-scented conditioner. This time, she used her own voice, not Veena’s. “I guess your mouth’s not bad either.”
“Damn you,” he whispered back, all breathy and soft while another kind of fire raged inside him. Jo chuckled in the back of her throat, which only managed to fan the flames. Felix refocused on the game, willing his body to calm down. At this rate, he would have to go back to the hotel room over lunch to let off some steam. Maybe Jo would come with him. Fuck. He had to cut off that train of thought before it made things worse.
Jo had mercy on him for the remainder of the game, thank God. It was a tough battle to take out the spell-slinging cultists, and Felix needed to concentrate and strategize with his party. They focused their attacks while Hulvin the cleric kept them healed up enough to just barely win the fight. That feeling of satisfaction returned as Felix and the other players exchanged smiles and high fives. Jo grinned at him, clearly pleased to see him enjoying himself.
“Congratulations, adventurers,” Woody said after narrating their triumphant return to the village, “on a job well done. Thank you all for joining me. This was a blast, and I hope you had as much fun as I did.”
Echoing back their thanks, Felix and Jo began to pack up. She breezily asked where they should grab lunch. As if she hadn’t just worked him into a frenzy.
He opened his mouth to make a half-serious joke about their hotel room when it dawned on him what day it was. “Actually, I should call Tito,” he said. “It’s the first Sunday in almost a year I’m not there to visit him.”
“Of course,” Jo replied tenderly. “I can pick up food for us.”
They headed out into the pleasant warmth of the noontime sun, and he found a quiet, shady spot to make his call. Jo stole a quick kiss, and he watched the sway of her hips as she walked away.
“Hijo,” said Tito when he answered the phone. “Aren’t you too busy with your friend for me?”
“I’m never too busy for you, Tito,” Felix replied. “How are you feeling today?”
“I’m always good, you know that. I wish I had waffles in front of me, but such is life.”
“How about I buy you extra waffles next week?”
Tito clicked his tongue. “That does me no good today, does it?”
He then told Felix about the book he was reading—another noir thriller—and the latest gossip about two of his neighbors who were having a fling. Felix told Tito about the con in broad strokes, about meeting Jo’s friends, and finally about Jo herself.
“I thought you’d want to know,” he said, “that Jo and I decided to start dating.”
“Felix, me alegro!” Tito cried. In Spanish, he continued, “I’m so happy you came to your senses. Are you happy too? Does she bring you joy?”
All of a sudden, Felix’s heart felt too big for his chest. “Sí, Tito. She brings me joy.” Even when—especially when—she was being a goddamn tease.
“Bravo,” Tito said. “That is all that matters.”
As much fun as Jo was having teasing Felix, it had a side effect that, honestly, she should have anticipated. She was getting just as turned on as he seemed to be. The entire time she was buying burritos (carnitas for herself, vegetarian for Felix), her body was reminding her of the feel of Felix’s hand on her back, his fingertips on her thigh, his lips against hers. She could barely keep her hands to herself while they ate lunch on the grass.
Really, she had no one to blame but herself.
That afternoon, Jo had a game to GM, and Felix was attending panel presentations about SWOP and starting a public MnM program. She slipped her hand into his back pocket as they walked toward the gaming hall in the blessedly cool air-conditioning.
His hand moved under her backpack to the base of her spine. “Damn your lack of pockets.”
“Don’t blame me,” she said. “Blame the fashion industry for not understanding that women deserve pockets.”
“You’re wearing leggings.”
“And who says leggings shouldn’t have pockets?”
“The fashion industry?”
“Exactly.” With that, she squeezed his ass. His tight, supple, perfect ass.
He nearly choked on his own breath. “God, Jo,” he murmured.
When they reached the hall, Jo pulled away and blew him a kiss. “I’ll see you back here around five?”
“Uh huh,” he grunted, and Jo didn’t think she was imagining the fire in his eyes. It was almost too easy.
The afternoon flew by. Her table was a high-level game that had a lot of moving parts and difficult monsters, and her players were skilled enough to keep her on her toes. Thoughts of Felix faded to the back of her mind as she worked to challenge her players and improvise around their harebrained schemes. Not until hours later, when the Kraken was defeated and rewards were distributed, did she have a second to breathe.
And all those thoughts came rushing back.
And Jo was done waiting.
A quick glance at her phone told her that Felix’s last panel had fifteen minutes left, so she made the most of her time. First, she stopped by the sign-up sheets on the wall to cross her name off the evening session, then she parked herself on the floor in an out-of-the-way spot in the hallway. As she scarfed down her last granola bar, she texted her friends before she went off the grid for the rest of the night.
Jo
Checking in! How’s everyone’s Sunday?
Heather
I regret everything.
I should not have cosplayed two days in a row
