Sam rolled his eyes. “Only four?”
“I stopped counting after three, so I’m guessing there was at least one more.”
Chad burst into laughter. “Definitely more than four.”
“On the tour, I’ll get you cream of the crop.” Sam winked. “Me and you ain’t wanting for nothing for months. Gasoline gets primo groupies every night, show or not. They hang out around the arena, the hotel and everywhere in between.”
Phil grinned. “I heard.”
“You heard from the band.” Sam winked. “I see the chicks before anyone, and I get to choose who gets backstage. Most nights, I save a few for myself. I can share.”
That piqued Phil interest. “Oh really? Even Tommy doesn’t get a crack at some?”
“Nope, not even him.” Sam patted Phil on the back. “It’s gonna be a kick ass tour.”
Chad shook his head when Phil strode over to the bar and approached their waitress who had already turned him down, hardcore. He laughed when she rolled her eyes and scowled at him.
Phil shrugged and stepped up to the bar. “Four more Jägermeisters.” He turned around while he waited. “Hey, ladies.” He smiled at a table full of women. “Me and my friends would love you to join us. Drinks on me.”
“What’re you doing?” Chad jumped back when Phil moved their table toward another one.
With a look of confusion on his face, Phil said, “Hooking up with chicks, what else?”
“Oh, yeah. Stupid me.” Chad sat back down when the tables were almost connected. “Sorry. I forgot there’s nothing else but sex in this world.” He faked a smile when the five girls joined them. That blew his plan of relaxing.
A beautiful brunette set her eyes on Chad and moved his way. “You are too cute to be alone.” She pushed her way onto his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. “You look familiar. What’s your name?”
“Taken.” Chad lifted her off him and set her in a free chair. “Sorry. Those two are single.” He felt bad that it might be a lie.
While Phil and Sam drank several more rounds with the girls, Chad sat back and wondered about the tour. He had never been in the situation of dating while away.
If we don’t take this relationship far, does faithful make sense? Why be exclusive when nothing’s happening, right? He wasn’t sure. Well, maybe if I don’t feel a spark by then, I’ll break it off.
When he glanced up again, Phil shoved Sam slightly and they both fell off their chairs. He shook his head while the women laughed. It was obvious that they just wanted free drinks. Not one of them had responded well to an advance from Sam or Phil.
After one more drunken outburst, Chad sighed. “OK. Enough embarrassing yourselves.” He stood and grabbed both men by the arm. “Time to leave.”
“I’ll… I’ll drive,” Phil stuttered. “I—I’m good.”
Chad growled, “Fuck no you’re not!”
Since the bar was close to his place, they arrived only minutes later. He half dragged the two of them inside and dropped them on a spare bed.
As he walked back to his room, he thought about the night Crystal and Rosario had helped him, Chris and Giovanni when they were shitfaced. The night turned out quite different. That was not something he needed to think about again.
It was too late, though. His mind had drifted to Crystal. Thoughts of her might at least help him sleep. As was normal after an unusually frustrating or upsetting day, he stripped down and pulled out his laptop.
“You never let me down.”
With all that he needed beside him on the bed, he got comfortable and started his favorite video from more than a year prior.
Crystal was naked and on her back at the end of his bed. His legs appeared between hers. Then his erection came on the screen. He lifted her hips.
His hand gripped his shaft as he stared and listened.
“Want this, baby?”
“Give it to me!”
He gritted his teeth as his onscreen-self rammed into her hard. His groan was louder than expected. Unperturbed, he stroked himself slowly as he watched the action. Her cries of his name excited him.
The pace sped up, so his hand followed suit. As always, his real life pleasure increased as quickly as it did onscreen. In his head, he knew they had been at it for quite a while before they had turned the camera on. His body didn’t care.
“Chad! Oh God, Chad!”
Right on cue, his balls tightened then emptied. He fell back on the pillow, sated and exhausted. “I love you too, Crystal.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Chad was at the kitchen table the next night, finishing up updates that might fix an issue on a server. He glanced at the time nervously.
The monthly Dungeons and Dragons game was to start within thirty minutes. Vince, who also worked for Gasoline and Demonfire, usually showed early to set up.
He began the last remote restart and crossed his fingers. It usually took a while, so he walked around and cleaned up a bit. Things became cluttered when he worked at home sometimes.
After another peek at the screen, he went into the kitchen and took out snacks. They normally ordered real food after a while.
Hours earlier, Maggie had called. She had hoped he was free. It was quite odd that both of their dates had been on weekdays. He told her the truth. She hadn’t seemed interested, but said she might stop by.
A knock made him groan. “Be right there.”
“What’s wrong?” Vince asked when Chad had opened the door.
Chad sighed. “Still working.”
“That’s OK.” Vince walked in with all his supplies. “We’ll figure it out.” He set his laptop bag on a chair. “I can always move one of the end tables over here and set up on that. You can play between whatever you have to do.”
It sounded easier than it should. Chad shrugged. “Maybe.” He checked the progress again. “If this doesn’t work, I’ll have to go to the office, though.”
“If that happens, I’ll deal with things until you get back. Unless you want us to cancel.”
Chad sat at his computer and smiled. “It worked!” He checked a few things before he closed the laptop. “Seems it’s not an issue anymore.”
“OK then.” Vince sat and unzipped his bag. “I’ll set up here then.”
As Dungeon Master, Vince had to start them off where the last session had ended. The board was put in the middle for easy access. Then he checked his files for the last token positions.
In front of each chair, he set a stat sheet, so everyone could keep track of their character. He even had a set of community dice, in case someone needed them. It was important for him to be prepared.
“I got chips and pretzels.” Chad poured some into bowls. “We can order pizza later.”
“We’re here!” Phil walked into the house and welcomed the warmth. “Looks like it might snow out there.”
Sam stepped in behind Phil. “I’m staying over again if it starts. Phil’s a terrible bad weather driver.”
“Whatever.” Phil shed his coat and walked right to the kitchen. “I need a beer.”
Chad shook his head as he hung up the coats. Then he heard another car and opened the door. “Devon’s here, too.” Devon was Chad’s college friend and former roommate.
“I’m almost set up,” Vince assured Chad.
As soon as they had all settled at the table, there was another knock. “Hey!” Chad opened his front door and hugged Crystal. “You playing, too?”
Crystal shook her head. “I’ll just watch. I don’t get it.”
She knew Chad played, but had never actually paid attention until the small group started a monthly game. Her boyfriend was to fill in again for someone who had gone on tour with another band.
“You can use my laptop if you get bored.” Chad waved her and Giovanni inside.
Chad wondered if Crystal would get along with Maggie. That was important to him. If he stayed with her, they would have to interact quite often. Guess we’ll find out if she shows up.
Phil’s hand went up. “Come on. We been waiting for you.”
Chad rolled his eyes. “He’s only been here maybe ten minutes. Ignore him.” He led the way to the kitchen table where the game had already been set up. “Do you have dice?”
“Uh…” Giovanni had only played Dungeons and Dragons a few times. “I didn’t think of that.”
Vince looked up from his setup. “He’s not really a geek. I have extra.”
“The Dungeon Master speaks.” Devon grinned. “I thought he lost his tongue or something.” Vince was a quiet guy by nature.
Phil chuckled. “He’s just scared of you, big guy.”
“I am not.” Vince scowled. “I only talk when I need to.”
Sam leaned back in his chair. “Or when we’re on tour and somebody fucks up.” He wasn’t sure why he had agreed to play since he didn’t know anything about the game when they had started.
“That’s what the boss does.” Vince glared at Sam until he got the message.
Chad sat in his chair. “Today, he’s the boss, too.” He briefly glanced at Crystal who had settled on the couch. “Ready to get started?”
A few feet away, Crystal scrolled down the list of notifications on her phone. She half-heard the boys discuss where they left off the last time they played. Randomly, she chose posts to check out. None were too interesting.
“You enter the castle and find yourselves in a dark room.” Vince looked up at the group from his laptop.
Phil pointed at Giovanni. “You’re the dwarf, check for traps.”
“Quiet, elf!” Vince nodded at Chad. “Roll for it.”
Sam smirked. “Low roll checks out the room, high roll gets the spoils.”
“Not what the DM said,” Giovanni reminded him.
Crystal walked to the kitchen to get some water. Her eyes moved over the table when she had stood up. All they had out was junk food. She was not one to eat those types of things. However, she was hungry. That meant something in the middle.
“Whatcha makin’?” Chad had noticed her taking things out of the refrigerator. “I have pizza rolls in the freezer.”
She smiled at him. “I have something a bit better in mind.”
Chad turned back to the game. He had lost the last roll. His eyes went to Vince who was about to tell them what came next.
“Your spear missed, so you are impaled by the axe.” Vince didn’t like to kill characters. “Good thing you found that healing spell.” A nod told everyone that Chad agreed with him.
Devon pointed at Phil. “How about next we have Phil get impaled by a monster. I’m sure he’d like to be a monster bitch.”
“Funny.” Phil groaned. “With my luck, he’d have a studded dick.”
Giovanni gasped. “Uh, no thanks.” He backed his chair up a bit. “This game doesn’t go like that sometimes, does it?”
“No.” Vince hated when they all got silly about the game. He took it seriously. “No one is having butt sex with a monster while I’m Dungeon Master.”
Phil cracked up. “It sounds even funnier when you say it like that. How about if a talking dragon holds one of us hostage and then demands we all fuck Crystal before he’ll release the prisoner.”
“No!” Giovanni shouted.
“Wait. Wait. Wait.” Phil put up a hand. “The dragon strips her naked. One of his minions ties her up on a table, spread eagle. Getting my dick in there-”
Vince stood up. “Enough bullshit! This is not BDSM night.” Silence met him. “You wanna joke around, Phil, go ahead. But I don’t want you to mix your impossible fantasies with this game. Crystal is not some stripper or something. She’s a talented young lady who deserves your respect.”
Crystal hadn’t heard the whole conversation while she worked in the kitchen, but she was shocked by Vince’s outburst. “Thank you, Vince.”
He turned and nodded at her. “Someone has to be the adult.”
Chad glanced at her again. He noticed that she had cookie sheets out. “Smells like something’s burning. Whatcha making?”
“A surprise.” She smiled to herself. “Just play your game.”
Giovanni groaned when he rolled low again. He had started to comprehend the game a bit more. The book that was out helped him when he was lost. “So, this means I have to fight the dragon?”
“Yep!” Phil snickered. “Don’t let its tail near your ass.”
Chad wondered why they ever invited Phil to play something serious. “Ignore him.”
Still at the stove, Crystal pursed her lips. Phil hadn’t changed since high school. She doubted that he ever would.
The group became quiet, so she checked on them. They were all looking at a book. With a sneaky grin, she sprinkled shredded cheese over each of the sauce covered English muffin halves.
Less than ten minutes later, Chad’s mouth dropped. “You made us pizza muffins? That’s a nice surprise.” He grabbed one of each type and set them on the plate she had given him.
“Guess we don’t have to order pizza,” Sam mentioned as he also took two muffin halves.
“Thank you.” Vince smiled as he filled his plate. “This was nice of you.”
Crystal hadn’t expected such a grateful response. “You’re welcome.” When she had served them all, she pulled a folding chair close to Giovanni. “Having fun?”
“Yeah.” Giovanni tugged her toward him with an arm around her shoulders. “Guess there is some geek in me.”
Sam put up a finger. “How about we start a new world next time.” He was as serious as he could be. “Post-apocalyptic New York. Not zombie shit, just scavengers and the law to avoid. We could try to get to the top of the Empire State Building then toss the low roller off.” He couldn’t help but laugh.
Chad sighed. “I was with you ’til you got stupid.”
Even after Crystal had eaten, she sat with them for a while. She tried to follow the game, but it didn’t hold her interest. “I’m gonna check my phone again.”
She sat on the couch and went through her notifications again. Nothing interesting. Then a chat popped up. It was Paulie, her ex from her college days. They had reconnected that year and talked once in a while.
Across the room, Chad watched her. He was happy to have her there, but he still couldn’t help but want her. With Giovanni there, he was able to control his actions. His mind, not so much.
At that moment, she was naked in his head. Spread out on the couch, Crystal looked up at Chad. She crooked a finger at him, and he dove on top of her.
“Chad, your roll.”
Startled, Chad’s head snapped up. “Huh?”
“Your turn,” Vince reiterated.
Chad forced the thoughts away. “Oh, sorry.”
Giovanni glanced at the couch when Crystal giggled for the fourth time. “What’s so funny?”
She walked over to him and showed him Paulie’s message. “He’s crazy, right?”
“Yeah.” He shook his head. From what he could see, their conversation was innocent.
Crystal sat on the couch again and clicked on Paulie’s name. He rarely told her what he was up to. They normally talked about the past or trivial things.
One of his recent posts said that he was in New Jersey at the time. When she asked him about it, he explained that he had some trouble with his phone. She didn’t like that answer.
Chad was startled when Crystal grabbed his shoulder. “What’s up?”
“Have you heard from Paulie lately?” She asked softly.
He shook his head. “We haven’t talked in a long time. Why?”
“Something tells me he’s been here but didn’t come see us.” She knew it might be awkward, but she wanted to see how he was in person. “If you do talk to him, see if he did.”
CHAPTER NINE
Maggie drove toward Chad’s with the intention of distracting him. She still had not convinced him to sleep with her, and she was sure at that point Crystal had something to do with it.
He talked about Crystal
more than she had expected. What the hell does she have that I don’t?
Chad was nice to her, but not in a boyfriend sort of way, just friendly. That was not what she wanted. She wanted to be in his bed and never leave it.
Desperation and frustration urged her mind to come up with ideas a rational person should not have. One of those was to get rid of the competition. She didn’t want to kill Crystal, but get her out of the way.
First thing she needed to know is what apartment Crystal lived in. She knew the building was across the street from Chad’s house. That was much too close.
Maybe I can make her think the place is haunted so she’ll move. Or show her what would happen if she interferes in our relationship?
None of those ideas would be easy. They would likely work, though. Wait a minute! What if I lure her away and hide her in Philly somewhere until Chad is mine?
Her face fell when she realized how crazy that was. Am I cracking up? If I am, it’s from lack of sex. Chad needs to take care of me so I won’t hurt his precious Crystal.
By the time she had parked near Chad’s place, Maggie had calmed some. She wore a low-cut top and short skirt. It was meant to get Chad’s attention and maybe his friends as well. Maybe jealousy will work? With renewed hope, she walked to the front door.
“I’ll get it!” Crystal jumped up and opened the front door. “Uh… Maggie, right?”
Maggie grinned, although she was not happy to see Crystal. “Yes. Nice to see you again.” Maybe this can be the way to get her to trust me.
Crystal waved her in. “The boys are still playing. Not sure how they can do it.” She took Maggie’s jacket. “Chad, your girlfriend’s here.”
Girlfriend? Chad groaned. That was not how he thought of Maggie. “If you’re hungry, Crystal made pizza muffins. There’s a few left.”
“I’m OK.” Maggie walked his way and kissed his lips. She pressed her breasts to his cheek. “After this, can we go out or maybe for a walk?”
Chad shrugged. “Uh… If it’s not too late, sure.” He pulled his head back a bit, uncomfortable.
“Come sit and we’ll talk.” Crystal wanted to get to know Maggie, to make sure she would treat him right.
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