Author's Note: I apologize in advance to anyone who plays RuneWars. I don't, and it's probably pretty obvious in this update. Enjoy!
Of course Doctor Clark is the mystery guest. The man seems to have a penchant for interrupting at the worst times, a habit that, to put it mildly, is really starting to piss me off. I watch as Neal greets Art and Scott, shaking their hands jovially and clapping each on the back. He acts as if they've all been lifelong friends, when in reality his invite to tonight's game was extended just moments prior.
When Neal turns toward me his smile widens even more. For a man who's had nothing but disastrous encounters with me over the last few days, Doctor Clark seems very pleased to see me. That is, until his eyes finally travel to the person sitting next to me. I watch as Cosima and Neal size each other up. Cosima offers the man one of her cocky little waves and in return Neal gives a slight nod. To any outside observer the interaction would seem friendly enough, but make no mistake, this was the dance of two individuals preparing for battle.
Doctor Clark spends the next few moments letting his eyes bounce between Cosima and me. His expression is unreadable, but it's pretty clear that whatever he's thinking it involves me and a dreadlocked someone. Finally Neal settles his eyes on me, a bitter grin etching his face.
"I didn't know you were a RuneWars fan, Delphine," he says.
I know exactly what he's doing. He wants to call attention to the fact that my presence at this game is unusual, that I don't belong. He wants people to question why I, Delphine Cormier, a person who has never played a tabletop game in her life, would want to spend my Friday evening observing this one. It's no secret; I'm the odd man out, but the last thing I want is to draw attention to this fact.
"Scott invited me." My response is vague, but it's the truth.
"Yeah, I invited Delphine," Scott says, seemingly proud of that fact. But then he continues. "Cosi—"
"Cause I thought…," I interrupt. I know Scott means well, but any sentence containing the words "Delphine" and "Cosima" together cannot be uttered in front of Doctor Clark. I can feel everyone's eyes on me as I struggle to finish my thought. And as the seconds tick on, it becomes painfully obvious that there is, in fact, no conclusion to this sentence. I've all but given up hope when suddenly I feel a strong, but comforting hand my shoulder.
"She's gamemaster," Cosima says, staring daggers at Doctor Clark. She picks up the large rule book from the table and holds it out to me. "Now can we play? Or would you rather play twenty questions with Delphine instead?"
Doctor Clark smirks, but he's not done yet. He's on a mission to expose and the night is young. Again, I watch as his eyes bounce between Cosima and me. Finally he asks, "Gamemaster? She's never once played the game. She doesn't know the rules. How can she be GM?"
"Because she can read," Cosima says, plucking the book from my hands and shaking it in Neal's face.
I can tell the man is getting under her skin – hell, he's getting under mine – and one more question from him might send Cosima reeling over the edge.
"It'll be fine," I say, grabbing the book from Cosima, who's still wagging it in the air. For a brief moment our eyes connect and I give her the subtlest of smiles. "Let's play, shall we?"
Simply put, I'm a poor gamemaster. No matter how much reading I do or how much gameplay I observe, I'm no more knowledgeable about the game and its rules than I was when I first stepped in this conference room. I do my best to follow along, but with all the odd cards and colorful game pieces being tossed around I'm lucky if I even know whose turn it is.
The one bright spot in all this is Cosima. Watching her play fascinates me. She no longer sits next to me, instead opting to hover over the game. All her focus, all her attention is on the game.
"Your lame force guardian takes two damage," Cosima says, plunking down one of the cards from her pile. Then she reaches for another pile, overturning another card. "And boom. Hello, special!"
It must be good news, because Cosima's confident smirk is back in full force. Doctor Clark, on the other hand, glowers. And as if to add insult to injury, Cosima picks up one of his colored game pieces and tosses it at him. It bounces of his chest and lands with a small clank on the table.
As the night goes on the game turns even more heated between Cosima and Doctor Clark. Scott and Art play too, but nothing they do or say seems to impact Cosima or Neal's game strategy.
"I win the battle," Neal declares, after flipping over one of his cards. He moves one of his pieces across the board and flicks another at Cosima.
"Bullshit," she spits, placing her piece back on the game board. "Your worm can't use a special ability twice."
"Yes, it can!"
"No, it can't!"
Then, as if on cue, both turn to me – the gamemaster.
Well, merde. I pull the large rule book onto my lap and flip through it, hoping that, by some miracle, I'll land on the page I need. Cosima and Neal both wait for my ruling and after my fourth attempt of paging through the mammoth stack of papers someone yanks it from my grasp.
"Come on, GM, we don't have all night," Neal complains, mirroring my previous actions of flipping through the book's pages. Finally he stops on a page and points to some text. "See? You get the damage. I was right."
Cosima yanks the book from him and after speed-reading through the page she points to another passage of text. "Yes, but look. Your worm's abilities only work in battles he's in. So I get the damage, but you don't draw again. But it doesn't matter because…" Cosima flicks one of Neal's pieces from the board and moves a handful of pieces to another section of the board. "Your guardian is toast and I've got the city and dragon room and… Pillage!"
Cosima jumps around the room, high-fiving both Scott and Art. I take from her celebrations that she's won the game. That, and the fact that Doctor Clark looks downright pissed. I watch as he slams his remaining cards on the table, cursing under his breath.
Cleaning up the game proves to be just as tedious as the gameplay itself. Art insists the game pieces be separated by color, the cards shuffled in order, which makes clean-up about a half hour longer than it needs to be. Somewhere in the middle of all this Cosima grabs my wrist and we slip from the room, leaving the other three to determine if red pieces should go in the box first or green.
Cosima pulls me along the shelves of books in the library dragging me deeper and deeper into the stacks until I can no longer hear anything except the noises we make. I've never been in this part of the library. It's so secluded, so private – just me, Cosima and the smell of old books.
I let myself be pulled by Cosima until she finds a row she likes. Coincidentally the fluorescent light above this stack has burnt out, leaving it somewhat dimmed compared to the others. She pulls me in the row and pins me against the book shelf, placing her hands on either side of me. Before my brain can even register what's happening her lips are on mine. It's not sweet or tender like our past kisses, it's rough and demanding… exciting. I match her pace, furiously kissing her, using my hands to pull her closer.
"You know, you're quite the distraction, Delphine," she growls, leaning up to nip at my swollen lips. "All I've wanted to do tonight is kiss you."
"Cool," I say. My response makes me cringe and I bury my face in Cosima's shoulder to hide my reddening face. "I'm sorry. I'm nervous," I explain, "And when I'm nervous I talk like a teenager. Nervous habit, I guess."
"God, you're adorable," she whispers. She lets me stayed buried in her neck while one of her hands traces lazy circles up and down my back. After a half minute of silence she whispers, "Hey, Delphine, will you go steady with me?"
Her question makes my heart flutter. She's asking me out. Not only that, but she's asking me out like a teenager. Granted, no teen talks like that in this day and age, but the gesture is cute nonetheless.
"I—" I begin, but a shuffling noise nearby stops me dead in my tracks.
Cosima hears it too, because she's already backpedaling away from me. Not two seconds later Scott's face pops into focus.
"There you guys are," he says, joining us in the row of books. "What are you two doing all the way back here?"
"Delphine was just showing me a book," Cosima answers right on cue. "Weren't you, Delphine?"
"Ah, yes. Of course. I was showing Cosima…" I play along, quickly glancing at the row of books nearest me and pulling one from the self. "Gay, Straight, and the Reason Why: The Science of Sexual Orientation."
I can feel the blush creep up my neck as soon as I read the title aloud. Cosima giggles next to me and when I look at Scott his mouth is stuck in a perfect 'o' shape.
"I don't know, Delphine," Cosima says through giggles. "I'm not sure that book will be very helpful with my dissertation."
I'm mortified, but Scott has another agenda.
"Well, hey, did either of you see Doctor Clark while you were back here?" Scott asks, holding up a sport coat. "He bolted so fast from the room he forgot his coat."
"Wait, what?" I ask. My mind reels at this bit of information. "When did he leave?"
"Like five minutes after you guys snuck out." The answer makes the color drain from my face and when I look at Cosima I can tell she's thinking the same thing. "Yeah, we saw you leave," Scott says, wagging a finger at us. "Next time you two can clean up by yourself."
After our meeting with Scott, Cosima and I decide to take our conversation elsewhere, somewhere outside of the Dyad Institute. The news about Doctor Clark potentially spying on us, potentially catching us terrifies me. What if he overheard our conversation? What if he witnessed our intimate moment? I know he suspected as much, but I never intended to provide him with proof. This could be disastrous for both Cosima and me.
These thoughts plague my mind as I walk alongside Cosima. It's a warm night, not a soul in sight as we walk aimlessly down the sidewalk, no destination in mind. Cosima is quiet next to me, and I wonder if she too is wondering about the implications of Neal catching us. She's usually so blasé about these things. That's why her silence has got me so worried.
"It'll be okay," she finally says. It's the first words she's spoken since we got outside. I must look unconvinced, because a second later she's pulling my hand. "Here, come with me."
She drags me down the sidewalk until we're next to a little dive bar. My first thought is she's going to take me inside for a drink, but no. Instead she starts to wiggle her hips. The music from inside the bar is just barely audible out here on the sidewalk, but the dull thud is enough for Cosima to move to. I watch as her arms join in then, moving in fluid motions around her body, reaching up in the air and then sliding back down. I'm mesmerized by her movements. Suddenly she's reaching for me, pulling me close until our bodies meet in a slow dance. We sway back and forth, foreheads together until the dulled music is switched off completely. Not two seconds later the bar's neon sign above us flickers off, and we're swallowed in a dark shadow. Must be bar close.
Cosima begins to walk down the sidewalk again, but I grab her hand and pull her back to me. As soon as she's facing me I dive to her lips. Just like in the library, there is no tenderness, no slow lingering kisses. This is all want and need. Our tongues meet in a fiery display of passion and my hands search to touch any part of her, finally settling for the skin just above the waistband of her pants. She pushes me backwards until I'm up against the stone exterior of the dive bar. I'm pinned and she's attacking my neck, sucking at my pulse point and making me moan like crazy.
The sensations she's causing throughout my body makes my brain go haywire, but I'm still able to utter one complete sentence. The most important sentence.
"Take me home."
We reach my apartment building in record time and waste no time stumbling into the elevator. I can't stop the giggle that escapes as I watch Cosima punch the elevator's 'Close Door' button repeatedly. With each jab of the button the doors remain open, as if objecting to her abuse. And as if adding insult to injury, the doors stay open just long enough to let another patron into the small space before they close with a groan. I hear Cosima mumble a few curses under her breath before she joins me on the back wall. I imagine she had other plans for us on the ride up, but for now small touches would have to suffice.
When we finally reach my door I can feel myself tremble. My nerves are beginning to bubble up again, and I know that not too long from now I'll probably be talking like a teen again. I take a deep breath and lean back against the door to my apartment. Cosima places her hands on either side of the doorframe.
"Are you going to invite me in?" she asks, leaning up to place a quick kiss on my lips.
I mull the question over in my head, but it's my nerves that make the final decision.
"I'm not that kind of girl," I reply. I'm being all coy and cutesy, and I imagine if Cosima would've insisted just a little further my desire would've prevailed and we would have a different outcome. But no, Cosima respects my statement, though I can tell she's disappointed.
"You're one of the good girls, Delphine," she murmurs. "You don't put out on the first date."
"Date?" I scoff. "I'd hardly call this a first date."
"There was dancing," Cosima reminds me.
"And there was also RuneWars."
My statement makes her giggle and she puts her hands up in mock surrender.
"Okay, fair enough," she relents. "I'll take you out on a proper first date. I promise."
With that, we're left with no more words between us. I watch as Cosima's eyes bounce between my eyes and lips, but she doesn't move forward. I decide to close the gap instead, leaning down to capture her lips in one last kiss for the night. This time it's soft and sweet and I sigh into it. But then all too soon we're parting ways.
"Goodnight Delphine."
She moves toward the elevator, but not before I catch her by the elbow.
"To your earlier question… in the library," I say, looking into her eyes. "My answer is yes."