Gaming: D&d

My heart went out to Simran. How must it feel, to call off an engagement just a few months before the wedding? Her parents would be devastated, and she would have to bear the weight of their disappointed hopes. Parvani was getting lots of support from Nate, and me. Who - besides Par - was supporting Simran?

Maybe the last thing she needed was to hear from me. Besides - what could I possibly say?

Good choice - I never liked him anyway.

I tried to put myself in Simran's shoes, but I had absolutely no idea what she was going through.

So I bought a blank greeting card with a picture of a sun peeking through the clouds. It was important to me that there were no cheesy verses inside. I simply wrote 'Thinking of you', signed it, and mailed it.

How did I feel? Confused.

I was delighted that Simran wasn't going to marry Mr. Condescending. That meant that she was free, and so she could possibly marry me one day. Yes, I was currently dating a beautiful woman with whom I was very happy ... did I not mention that I was confused?

Two weeks later, Cherie called me to the phone, in her inimitable style: "Doofus! Telephone! It's for you!"

I picked up the receiver. "Hello?"

- "Ian? Hi - it's Simran."

- "Simran! Hey - how are you?"

She dodged the question neatly. "I'm fine. Listen, I wanted to thank you for the card. It was ... just what I needed. Thank you."

- "My pleasure, Sim." I said.

- "I really appreciated it."

I don't know why, but I said: "Hey - how about meeting me for lunch? You can talk - I'll just listen."

- "Thanks, Ian. I'm not sure if I'm in the mood for talking, though."

- "Okay. Then I'll talk, and

you

can listen." I said. "Or we can just eat."

Simran chuckled. "Alright." she said. "I give in. Mexican?"

- "Great idea." I said.

We met almost a month to the day after I had heard from Par that she had broken the engagement. Simran wasn't wearing any makeup, and she looked as if she had been through a fight. Not a boxing match - but maybe a yelling match.

It was perfectly normal for me to kiss her on the cheek when we came together. But I also gave her a warm hug - non-verbal support, you could call it.

- "You don't have to talk about it, if you'd prefer not to." I said.

- "No, it's okay." she said. "Every time I say it, or think about it, it just confirms to me one more time that I was right. You want to hear this, right?"

- "Of course. You already know whose side I'm on."

Simran nodded. "I really did appreciate your card, Ian. The only other person who hasn't questioned my decision has been my sister." She sighed.

"We had dinner - Arjun and I - with two of his professors. It was at his place, but I bought the food, and organized everything. I mean

everything.

His contribution was to shower, shave, and get himself dressed. When they arrived, I got a further preview of how he was going to treat me when we were married."

- "Bad?"

- "Like a possession. Or a useful assistant. 'Professor K. needs a refill, sweetheart.' Or 'Professor K. might want a little more dessert, Simran.'"

"And when I made

one

comment.

One.

He turned to me and said: 'We're talking macro economics, here, darling.' As in, don't interrupt - the men are talking."

"I called him on it, after they had left. He told me that they were potentially important to his career - that we had to roll out the red carpet for them. I asked him if that was all I was - a carpet. Or just important to his career. He didn't understand why I was making such a fuss."

- "Ouch."

- "You know, Ian," she said, "I always took it for granted that growing up in this country had been good for me. I got a first class education, in comfortable surroundings - and I was encouraged to believe that a woman could follow her dreams, and achieve great things."

"Arjun just didn't get it. 'You'll feel better after our first child.' - that's what he said to me. And that's when I realized that I'd been sleepwalking. How did I miss all of that?"

The first time I met Arjun, I had wished that I was older, better-looking, and smoother - more sophisticated, anyway. Me and my stupid wishes ...

- "He's an idiot, Simran." I said. "He had no idea how lucky he was. He's going to regret it some day - but

you

shouldn't."

Simran looked at me, and finally she smiled. "Thank you, Ian." she said.

***

I bought flowers for Diane. As I was climbing the stairs to her apartment. I remembered what she had said the first time I gave her a bouquet. Was I feeling guilty - subconsciously, at least? But I didn't have anything to feel guilty about, did I?

- "Ooh - flowers! What did you do?" she joked.

I couldn't help it: I blushed. Diane wisely let the matter drop.

Thinking about it gave me a headache. I had a crush on Simran long before I had even met Diane. Was it realistic to expect an attraction to simply vanish, now that I had a girlfriend? I wasn't going to act on it - I would never cheat on her. So why did I feel this way?

Diane was extremely busy at work. She was trying to impress her boss, of course, and she adopted a 'first to arrive, last to leave' strategy. I was afraid that we were going to slip back into the pattern of last spring, when I only saw her on weekends.

So I made every effort to meet her for lunch, whenever she could take a break, and when my schedule permitted. I also found events, like musical performances, or special screenings, that were happening only on weeknights. If it was a 'special' occasion, Diane would sometimes break her own rule and come out with me.

I also dropped by her office several times, and made myself pleasant to her boss, Theresa. You never knew - it might come in handy.

There was my own work to consider, too. Fourth year was fairly demanding. I had tons of reading to do. Mondays and Wednesdays, when I had Dr. Welsh's class, were highlights. And Thursday night had become our fairly regular D&D game. It was also guaranteed time with Nate and Parvani, and Coop.

Weekends were for taking Diane out - and for staying in, too. The sex we had was still excellent (at least, I thought so). But I wanted us to have a social life together, to meet with friends ... despite my own inclination to take her to bed at every opportunity.

I met her brother, Mike. Nice guy, but we had very little in common, other than sports. Her girlfriends, Gabby and Kelly, were lively, and talkative - Gabby, in particular, certainly lived up to her name - but they were disco girls.

They liked to dress up every weekend, pile on the warpaint, and go dancing at a club where the drinks were overpriced and the music was non-stop, too loud - and too disco. Afterwards, I got to drive them all home, if I had Dad's car. If Gabby was driving, she would drop me off at Diane's.

That's when it all seemed worth the wait - when Diane would take the heels off, and I gave her feet a little massage, which would lead to a massage a little higher up, and I would get my hands and lips on her lovely breasts, and then ...

We went out with my friends, too. Now, a disco was a total loss, for me. Diane, at least, seemed to enjoy the places we went with my friends - there was more variety, for one thing: pool halls and bowling alleys, cinemas and cafes, upscale bars and low taverns.

Besides, you could get something in all of those locations that was almost impossible to find in a disco: a conversation.

Diane was okay with Nate and Parvani, but the two girls never really warmed up to each other. It wasn't jealousy, or anything like that - at least, I don't think it was - they were just too different. Coop, on the other hand, was a big hit with Diane. He made her laugh. Plus he could talk about any subject she expressed an interest in.

Unfortunately, Diane wasn't even remotely interested in D&D. She listened patiently to my explanation - okay, explanation

s

- but she was just being polite. Diane usually only read non-fiction, or popular novels, from the bestsellers list.

She also saw D&D as 'just a game'. If I had been a golfer, or a bridge fanatic, she would have kissed my cheek and said 'Have a nice game'. So when I saw her on a Friday, she would often ask 'How was your game?', knowing that Thursday night was for D&D.

Yes, I was mildly disappointed, that she didn't join us, or that she couldn't see

why

it was so important to us. Nate's art, my story-telling, our

imaginations

were all fuelled by D&D.

Realistically, though, I knew that the number of women playing D&D was very limited. Diane wasn't much of a card player, either. But she was beautiful, bright, and a sexual dynamo. Best of all - she was with me.

***

"Please, Ian?" said Coop. "C'mon, man - you owe me!"

- "I

owe

you? How do you figure that?"

- "Okay - you don't. But I'm begging, man. I'll drive. I'll do anything."

- "I'll see what I can do." I said. He made me promise.

So I asked Diane if Coop could come with us the next time we went out with her girlfriends.

- "That's a great idea!" she said.

All of this happened because I had described her friends to him. Gabby was a slender brunette, with bright eyes and a brilliant smile. Kelly was a rosy-cheeked blonde. Personally, I thought she was quite dumb, and shallow - but she did have big, round tits.

Coop wanted to meet them. He wouldn't stop pleading with me to set him up. Finally, he got his wish. We went to one of the girls' favourite discos, where the strobe lights and the speakers were turned up to eleven. They also charged $1.50 for a bottle of beer - when I could I get a quart for 75 cents at the Bell tavern - and the Bell had better atmosphere!

We danced, and Coop did a lot of yelling into the girls' ears. Somehow, he kept them in stitches for the whole night.

Then he did me the favour of dropping Diane and me at her place.

I was still absolutely fascinated by my girlfriend. By the sound of her voice, the smoothness of her skin, and especially her shape.

If she was facing me - naked - Diane's breasts looked like a mismatched pair. One would look plump and full, like a ripe eggplant. (I know - weird - but I saw an eggplant in the grocery store, and ... well, it looked like ... you know) The other, though, would look like it was floppy, and squished against her chest. I think I've already mentioned that she would have failed the pencil test.

When she was on her hands and knees, Diane's breasts hung beneath her, like plump, juicy ...

Most amazingly, though, when she lay on her back, both breasts sat up firm and proud on her chest. And if she was sitting, or standing, in profile - the shape of her boobs was simply mind-boggling. I couldn't finish a sentence, or complete a thought.

Her nipples were in a league of their own.

Her ass was irresistible. All of this, with a slender body, a beautiful face, and glorious hair that spread out on the pillow when we made love, or hung like a curtain. One time, she wrapped it around my erection ...

But I was also obsessed with Diane's ... responses. If I went down on her, she would come within minutes. One time, she came when I hadn't even gone near her clit - I had been sucking on one nipple, while caressing her other breast with my hand, when she had an orgasm. She was as surprised as I was.

She claimed that her 'firecracker' orgasms were very quick, but shallow. So we tried to discover if the nature of her climax would change if we went slow - trying for the build-up to an explosion, instead of lighting a firecracker.

The Monday after our disco date, Coop was waiting for me outside my first class when it ended. He approached me slowly, without saying anything. Coop wrapped his arms around me, and hugged me tight.

- "I love you, man." he whispered.

For a moment, I wasn't sure what that meant. The last I had seen him was Friday night - or, actually, early Saturday morning ...

- "Wait!" I said. I pushed him back a foot, and held him by the shoulders. "Gabby? Or Kelly?"

Coop smiled.

- "Both." he said.

***

Coop wouldn't stop touching me, after that. He rubbed my arm, gave me impromptu hugs, and started kissing me on the cheek whenever we met.

- "You're good luck, Ian." he said. "I want some of that to rub off on me."

I asked him what had happened. He just grinned.

- "Both?" I said. I couldn't believe it. "Together?"

- "No - one after the other." he said. "But there's still time ..."

- "Holy shit!"

- "I know." said Coop. "Amazing. If one of them conceives, I'll ask her to name it Ian. Even if it's a girl. If both of them conceive, it could be Ian and Ianalso."

- "You're out of your mind." I pointed out.

- "Maybe." he said. "But my only wish is to follow in your footsteps. I've even signed up for the M.S. program." (Coop was a geology major)

- "Wait - what? When did this happen?"

- "You're a good influence, Ian - what can I say?"

I had applied for the Masters Program. It was partly Dr. Welsh's influence. Also, I was going to be 22 years old in December - and I didn't have fucking clue what I wanted to do.

Meanwhile, I was enjoying school, had a beautiful, passionate girlfriend, and the best friends I could have asked for.

What did I have to lose?

So I filled out the forms, and got reference letters from Dr. Welsh and two other Professors who thought highly of me. Welsh's letter was so wonderful, it brought tears to my eyes. Then I applied for every scholarship, bursary and grant that I could find out about.

And then I wrote the most kickass essay of my career for Welsh's class. He handed it back to me in person.

- "I have given three of these in my academic career. Congratulations, Ian." he said.

It was an A+.

***

Nate invited us over on a Monday night to play euchre. Parvani had just learned the game, and loved it. I was ahead of my reading, so I accepted eagerly. Diane begged off. She said that she had a heavy workload that day, which might have been true. But she didn't like cards all that much, so it might just have been a simple case of not wanting to play.

- "No problem." said Nate. "I'll call Coop."

It wasn't until I got there that I found out that Coop couldn't make it either.

- "Hope you don't mind," said Parvani, "but I asked my sister to fill in at the last minute."

- "Hello, Ian." said Simran. "Long time no see."

That wasn't a dig - just a statement of fact. I wasn't deliberately trying to avoid Simran. It just so happened that I hadn't been over to Parvani's very often in the last few months. She had hosted a D&D game, but her sister was out that night. And I didn't just 'drop in' on Parvani very much anymore, since she and Nate became a couple.

But I have to admit that it was easier for me when Simran was 'Out of sight, mostly out of mind'. There were too many things that reminded of her as it was: the music of Neil Young, driving past the hospital, women with long dark hair, words that began with the letters s-i-m ... even the word 'sympathy' could make me twitch.

She was wearing black slacks and a flannel shirt, and she looked incredible. Her full lips, that incredible nose, and her dark brown eyes ... I knew the saying about the bird in the hand. But when the bird in the bush looked like this ...

I wasn't going to cheat on Diane. Even if it was possible that Simran had any interest in me, nothing was going to happen. But she did put tremendous stress on my powers of resistance.

She was a very good euchre player. I shouldn't have been surprised. We lost the first game, because of a statistically improbable run of good luck by our opponents, culminating in a lone hand by Parvani.

But the card-luck began to even out in the second game, and Simran began to display her superior skills. She read discards like a pro, and twice prevented loners by saving the right card for the last trick. We didn't cheat; I wasn't watching her eyes, and there was no signalling of any kind. She was just that good.

- "It's too bad Coop couldn't make it." said Nate. "I think we would have done better if he was here."

That was an understatement: Coop was famous for going on virtually nothing. He claimed that it kept opponents off balance; in reality, it just about guaranteed two euchres per game, on average.

I made a mistake in the third game, which caused us to settle for a single point instead of getting all the tricks.

- "Sorry, Simran." I said. "I should have known that you were double suited."

- "No problem, partner."

We cleaned their clocks in the third game, and the fourth wasn't even close.

- "That was really impressive." I said.

- "Yes, we did quite well." said Simran.

- "No, I meant

your

play. I was just along for the ride, most of the time." I said.

- "You're a good player, Ian." she said. "It was a pleasure to have you as my partner."

I gave her a little bow. "The pleasure was all mine."

Damn it - why did I keep talking like Prince Valiant around Simran?

- "We have a long way to go, Par, before we're that good." said Nate.

- "It's fun to learn, though." she said. "That's how we'll get better, right?"

I couldn't help but compare the sisters. Both had that long black hair, and the dark brown eyes. Both were kind, and neither was the type to shirk responsibility. Parvani was more likely to smile, especially since she had the braces removed. Both sisters appeared to be well-endowed ... oh, why did I have to look there?

But Simran had the nose, and a certain ... gravitas. I don't know how else to describe it.

Fortunately for my sanity, the sisters went home together at a reasonable hour. That gave Nate and me a chance to sit and talk over a cup of tea.

- "Been drawing anything lately?" I asked.

He didn't say anything, but he went and got his sketchbook. He passed it to me, without a word. There was a leather bookmark in it, so I opened it to that page.

- "Holy shit, Nate." I whispered.

It was a pencil sketch, showing a long-haired, slender, elven-looking male. He wore no armour; his shirt was billowing in the wind. In his right hand, he bore a rapier, and he had a dagger sheathed on his belt as well. But his right hand was extended - and a jet of some kind was shooting from his fingertips.

"Magic missile?" I asked.

Nate just nodded.

- "That's so cool." I said. "A fighter, but a mage as well."

- "A duellist." said Nate. "Deadly in single combat, but he's no tank."

- "What's his name?"

- "Symenon."

I just shook my head. "Nate - this is

so

cool. You have to play this guy. You have to let me create a story for him."

- "You think so?"

- "I

know

so."

***

We wrapped up the campaign we had been playing at the end of November. All I had to do was show Parvani and Coop the drawing of Symenon. (Par had already seen it, of course - she was as excited as I was)

- "We have to play this guy." I said.

- "No shit." said Coop. "That's an amazing drawing, Nate."

- "And my sister is going to play with us." I added.

- "What?" said Nate and Parvani.

It was my Dad's idea, really.

- "Ian, when you're 46, your sister will be 42." he said.

Cherie had turned 18. When she was 11 or 12 years old, I had told her that she could come out with me when she was 18. It seemed like a safely long time - when you're 15, 22 years of age sounds incredibly old.

I kept my promise - and took her for a plate of nachos at the Mexican restaurant. Cherie was fascinated by the fact that Diane had worked there, but she was also delighted that I was finally 'taking her seriously'.

We talked about a dozen different things - including D&D - and I was surprised. My little sister knew a lot more about my hobby than I had ever suspected.

- "I'd play a hobbit." she said. "The only female hobbits that are even mentioned are Lobelia Sackville-Baggins - a bitch - and Rosie - a barmaid. What about a female hobbit adventurer?"