Page 29 of Dating and Dragons
“Because our group has rules.”
My pulse skitters. “You don’t keep your distance from Kashvi, or anyone else in the group.”
“I don’t need to with them.” He takes a slow breath, and his gaze drops to my mouth. “But I need to keep my distance from you.”
His words burn through my thoughts and scatter them like ashes in a campfire. It takes me a moment to reply. “But you’re here now.”
“Yeah.” He shrugs. “I’m sorry for the way I acted. I knowI shouldn’t be here, but it gets hard following the rules all the time. I wanted to see you. Alone.”
My breath catches in my throat. Prior experience tells me this can only end badly. The last time I went on a date with someone from my D&D group, it blew up in my face so terribly that I’m still picking up the pieces—and that group didn’t even have a rule against dating other players like this new one does. Nothing good can come from spending time alone with Logan…but that doesn’t stop me from wanting to crawl over these dusty floors and press my lips to his just to see how we’ll both react.
His face tilts slightly and a piece of hair falls in his eyes. Maybe I’m not the only one thinking that.
A crash reverberates below us, followed by a cry from Grandma. We both shake ourselves from the bubble we’ve been in and shoot to our feet.
“Grandma?”I yell as I rush to the ladder and climb down so fast I almost fall myself. “Are you okay?”
She doesn’t reply immediately. My body, already tense from that conversation with Logan, is now shaking. I race down the flight of stairs to the first floor, Logan at my heels, to find Grandma on her hands and knees in the kitchen.
I don’t see any blood and she’s clearly alert, but my stomach still spasms and I worry I might be sick. I force myself to breathe and gently put a hand on her shoulder. That’s when I see a plate smashed into shards on the floor.
“What happened?” Logan asks, and comes to her other side. We both take her by an elbow and help her sit in one of the chairs in the breakfast nook. She stands easily with our help, thank god.
“I tripped, but I’m fine,” she says quickly. “I didn’t hurt myself.”
“Do you know if you hit your head when you fell?” I crouch in front of her, looking for any signs that she’s seriously injured. I’m no medical expert, but she doesn’t seem dazed and she’s speaking, so that bodes well.
She shoos me away. “I’m not as fragile as that plate. I said I’m fine.” She shakes her head at the plate fragments. “What a shame. I bought that in Kyoto years ago. I was going to use it for the cake today.”
“Maybe we should drive you to urgent care just in case? Or I could call Dad?”
I glance up at Logan for validation, and he nods his agreement. But Grandma’s stern expression pierces me. “Don’t you dare. I don’t need anyone else fussing over me. What youcando is clean up that plate and then cut some slices of cake so we can eat.”
Logan’s eyebrows are furrowed in concern and possibly frustration, and I feel the exact same way. This is what my parents have been so concerned about—Grandma falling and then refusing to call for help. They’re going to freak when I tell them. It looks like we got lucky today, but fear of the future keeps my heart racing.
Logan’s hand on my shoulder pulls me from my thoughts. “I’ll get new plates and silverware,” he whispers.
His voice is more soothing than it should be. I hardly know Logan, really. But that doesn’t stop me from swooning over the fact that he’s concerned about Grandma and that he likes me enough that he can’t stay away from me any longer.Granted, I have no idea where that leaves us, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t grateful to have him here right now.
Grandma clears her throat, and my attention fixes back on her. “I told you I had a good feeling about him,” she whispers.
And if the mischievous sparkle in her eyes is any indication, she’s already perfectly fine.
Chapter Eleven
“All ready?” Mom asks Friday after school.
I nod, excited, and haul my overnight bag down the stairs. Kashvi invited me to spend the night at her house before the game Saturday. My parents didn’t want me driving directly there after school because then I’d have one of the cars all of Friday and Saturday, so I had to come back home to gather my stuff before heading over. I’m a little nervous since Kashvi and I haven’t spent a ton of time alone together, but I’m also thrilled to get to know her better.
Mom looks up from her place on the couch, where she’s snuggling with Dad. I’m surprised to see Andrew in the living room as well. He’s playing on his Switch, so it’s not exactly quality bonding time, but usually he doesn’t hang out in the common spaces.
“I’m so happy that both you and Andrew have made such a seamless transition into your new school.” Mom beams atus, and Dad looks up from his magazine to give me a quick smile.
“Seamless” might be a bold statement, but it’s getting better. Even though I don’t see the D&D group much at school, Kashvi and I have started texting more, and I’ve been added to the D&D group chat. We don’t text about anything important, but hearing the others complain about school and joke around makes me feel like we’re closer. It’s nice to have people to text again. And then there’s Logan, of course, but no one else knows about that…whateverthatis.
“Quinn, thanks again for helping Grandma with the attic,” Dad says. “I talked to her this morning and she’s still feeling okay after the fall.”
“I’m glad I was there when it happened.”