“You already gave me a place to stay for a week.”
“And now I’m buying you clothes. I’m an excellent boyfriend.”
“I’m an expensive girlfriend.”
“You’re worth it.”
Fiona made a sound that was definitely “aww” and handed us the bags. “Come back anytime. And Maya? Don’t be a stranger. Irun a book club on Thursday nights. We’re a mix of humans and monsters, very casual. You should come.”
“I’d like that,” I said, meaning it. “Thank you.”
As we left the shop, I noticed people noticing us. A group of women outside the coffee shop stopped talking to watch us pass. A harpy landing on a streetlamp did a double-take. Even the werewolf teenagers paused their conversation to stare.
“Does everyone in this town know everyone else’s business?” I muttered.
“Unfortunately, yes. It’s part of small-town living.” Geoff’s hand found the small of my back, a possessive gesture that probably wasn’t helping the gossip situation but felt too good to protest. “You get used to it.”
“Do you? Get used to it?”
“No,” he admitted. “But I’ve gotten better at ignoring it.”
We were passing the gaming store when someone called out. “Geoff! Man, is that you?”
A guy emerged from the shop, a Bigfoot, and I guessed his age was somewhere around early thirties. He had a rumpled look of someone who spent too much time indoors. He had a familiar energy that made me think “gamer” even before I saw the store’s logo on his shirts.
“Everest,” Geoff said, with warmth in his voice. “Good to see you. How's business?”
“Booming. A new expansion dropped last week, and I can’t keep it in stock.” Everest, the Bigfoot’s, eyes shifted to me with friendly curiosity. “Who’s this? I thought we knew everyone in town.”
“Everest, Maya. Maya, Everest. He owns Monster Realm Gaming.”
“Wait… Maya? GimmeAChallenge007?” Everest’s eyes widened. “No way. Geoff talks about you all the time.”
“You’re Tank? And he does?” I looked up at Geoff, who had the decency to look embarrassed.
“I am. You’re a legend in our gaming circles,” Everest continued enthusiastically. “The way you theory-crafted that build last year. Amazing. I’ve never seen anyone optimize like that. Half the competitive players in town are using variations of your strategy.”
“Oh. Wow. I didn’t realize anyone paid attention to my posts.”
“Are you kidding? You're famous. Well, as famous as you can be in a small-town gaming community.” Everest grinned. “How are things going now?”
“I’m okay. Crashed my car on the mountain on my way into town.”
“Sounds like fate played its hand again.” Everest glanced between us, clearly reading Geoff’s and my body language. “So you guys are…?”
“Together,” Geoff said. “We’re together.”
“Good for you, man. About time you found someone.” And the amazing thing was, Everest sounded genuine. No judgment, no concern, just happiness for his friend. “Did you tell Maya about game nights? If you didn’t, you should both come to game night this Friday. We meet at the store and usually get about fifteen people. Mix of monsters and humans. You’d fit right in, Maya. Everyone’s going to want to talk to you.”
“I’d love that,” I said, meaning it. Finally, someone who saw us as us. Not a too-fast relationship, or a Yeti making questionable choices. Just two gamers who’d found each other.
“Great! It’s BYOB and we usually order pizza around eight.” Everest headed back into his shop. “See you Friday!”
As we walked away, I felt lighter. “He was nice.”
“Everest, Tank, whatever, is good people. Everyone is welcome in his store. Geoff squeezed my hand. “See? Not everyone’s going to be weird about us.”
“One person out of an entire town isn’t great odds.”
