The primary thought in Jo’s mind was holy shit. Twenty-three people showed up at the Ashville Public Library on a Tuesday night to play Monsters and Mythology. Twenty-fucking-three. Nearly three times the number they’d hoped for. They had so many people that they overflowed to a second meeting room, and Leni had to be recruited to GM her first-ever game.
“Put me in, coach,” she said when Jo approached her with the idea. Jo handed over a copy of the same adventure Felix had practiced with them a few days earlier. Jo crossed her fingers that combat wouldn’t be too much of a shitshow. She had faith in Leni to at least make the game fun, regardless of how loose she was with the rules.
Seated at Leni’s table were Vanessa and her dad, a late-fifties white man with a beer belly and a bushy, gray beard. Vanessa had mentioned that he might tag along, since he’d been a fan of MnM since the eighties. He was one of the few middle-aged people in attendance. Everyone else—aside from one set of parents with their two children—looked to be college age or a little older. Exactly what Warren wanted.
By the time the first dice began to roll, over half of the cupcakes were gone, the “Free Dice” raffle bowl was stuffed with slips of paper, and Felix’s smile was bright enough to put the sun to shame. Jo wished she could stay and watch him GM, but she had volunteered to take charge of the overflow room so neither he nor Leni had to be alone. Among her eight players was the pink-haired young woman who’d been at Stan’s the same night Jo and Felix were, when Jo had guerilla marketed the launch to a table of twenty-somethings. None of the other people from that table had come, but, hey—one out of four wasn’t bad.
Jo did her damnedest to show her players a good time. She used all her goofiest character voices, leapt to her feet during combat to keep the energy up, and encouraged people to speak in character and describe their actions. She had people laughing and trying out character voices of their own, cheering for one another and yelling in frustration when dice rolls didn’t go their way. When she brought the game to an end, all eight players applauded so loudly Jo was sure they could be heard upstairs.
Jo brought them back to the main room for the raffle just as Felix was wrapping up his adventure. Leni descended on them, armed with a smile and a big, pink box. Jo snagged a cupcake and took the opportunity to glance around. Vanessa and her dad were cracking up over some shared joke. Tito sat in a far corner, smiling broadly at Felix from behind his thick, black mustache. Warren was in another corner, hands behind his back, observing. Jo gave him a quick smile when she caught his eye, and he nodded in acknowledgment. She watched his eyes dart over her group, as if counting. He must not have realized there was an overflow room. A wave of smug satisfaction washed over Jo. She hid her smile behind her cupcake.
Felix switched gears the moment his game was done. He grabbed the raffle bowl and thanked everyone for coming as he stirred up the papers inside. Leni quickly replaced the cupcake box in her arms with a basket full of dice sets. They’d planned for three winners, but with so many people, and plenty of dice to go around, they bumped it up to five. The woman from Stan’s was one of the winners, and Jo cheered as she chose a set of pink dice to match her hair.
“Let’s hear it once more for our winners,” Felix said, leading the group in a final round of applause. “We hope to see you all at Monsters and Mythology night next week. Every Tuesday, all summer long, we’ll be here.”
“The library’s open until nine if you’d like to browse!” Leni called, bouncing on her toes. “MnM books are in the sci-fi and fantasy section.”
“And take cupcakes on the way out,” added Jo. “Please don’t make me take these home.”
As the din of conversation rose, Jo noticed Warren pull Felix aside. Leni stood near the door, offering cupcakes as people slowly filtered out. Jo decided to check on Tito.
“What did you think, Tito?” she asked. “I hope you weren’t bored just watching.”
“Solete, I’m so proud of my Felix,” he replied, his eyes shining. “It feels good to see him happy again. Thank you for bringing me.”
Jo’s heart melted. “I’m so glad it went well. Did everyone in here have a good time?”
“The best time. Including me.” Tito took Jo’s hand and kissed her knuckles.
“Stealing my girl, old man?” Felix said. He sauntered over to them with his hands in his pockets and a winning smile on his face. Jo looked him up and down, enjoying the way his slacks tightened over his thighs with every step. The sight of his approach would probably never cease to make her shiver. She leaned back against the wall so she didn’t lose control and pounce on him.
Before she or Tito could respond, though, Vanessa’s dad stood up from his table. He and Vanessa were the last two attendees left in the room.
“Excuse me, sir?” he asked, glancing at Felix’s name tag. “Are you in charge?”
“I am,” Felix said, instantly switching back to his professional demeanor. He extended his hand to the man. “Felix Navarro. What can I help you with, sir? Did you enjoy the event this evening?”
“Greg Pearce.” He shook Felix’s hand. “My daughter, Vanessa.”
Felix nodded at Vanessa, who waved from behind her dad’s back. Jo slipped away to help Leni clean up, both of them doing a terrible job of pretending not to eavesdrop.
“I had a great time. We both did,” Greg continued. “I was wondering if you need more volunteers to GM. I’ve been playing MnM off and on for decades. I used to organize SWOP events at a game store in Wichita, but they shuttered about a year ago. I know a bunch of the people who played there. I bet they’d make the drive a couple times a month for the chance to play and GM again.”
“That sounds incredible,” Felix said. Jo could hear the barely restrained elation in his voice. She and Leni shared a smile. “To be frank, the turnout tonight was higher than anticipated, so more volunteers are sorely needed. I’d love to set up a time to connect. Would you mind emailing me about this? Let’s head upstairs, and I can give you my card.”
“Be glad to. Thanks for bringing MnM to Ashville.”
While Felix was upstairs, Leni and Jo packed up, reset the tables and chairs, and escorted Tito to the elevator. He peppered them with questions about dragons and dice, trying to get a better grasp on what the heck he’d just witnessed. Leni was only too happy to oblige. When the elevator dinged on the ground floor, she took his arm and walked him over to the fantasy section, book recommendations falling from her lips one after another.
Jo trailed after them, but switched directions when Felix came around the corner from the reading room. She watched him walking toward her again, giving him another, less subtle once-over.
Felix’s eyes sparkled, but he kept his voice polite. “The library is closing in five minutes, miss. May I help you find something?”
“No, thank you,” Jo said softly, gazing up at him. “I have everything I need right here.”
A slow smile spread across Felix’s face. His eyes crinkled in the corners. “You know tonight never would’ve happened without you, right?”
Jo scoffed lightly and looked down at her hands. “I don’t—”
“Stop.” Felix touched her chin with the tip of his finger and tilted her head up. His dark brown eyes smoldered. Jo had never had someone smolder at her before, but seriously, there was no other word for it. “Don’t do that. If you hadn’t walked into my life six weeks ago, none of this would have happened. You did this, Jo. All of it.”
Jo opened her mouth to say something. What to say, she didn’t know. She wanted to remind him that she didn’t do this alone. He and Leni had done more than their share of the work. But, God, the look in his eyes halted all of the words on her tongue. She could tell Felix didn’t want to hear any of that. Another time, maybe. Right now, he seemed to want Jo to accept his words. To feel appreciated and acknowledged and seen.
“Th—”
A quiet laugh around the corner broke the moment. Felix took a large step back, turning toward the people exiting the reading room and wishing them a good night. Jo pressed her lips together and veered toward the front desk, her heart pounding against her ribs. After the patrons were gone, he moved behind the desk to shut down the computers for the night.
“What did Warren talk to you about?” she asked.
Felix grinned. “He congratulated me, and by extension, Leni and you, for the wildly successful event. He wants to meet tomorrow to talk about the game night program for the rest of the summer.”
“What about it? Isn’t everything all set?”
“He didn’t say specifically. But he sounded excited, so I hope it can only be good news.”
“Fingers crossed.” Jo said, making the gesture with both hands. “I need to get home to Merry soon, but do you want to come over?”
He winced and gave her a remorseful look. “I’m sorry, cariño, I’m exhausted. I need to crash as soon as I drop Tito off. Where is he, anyway?”
