Role Play - Alison Hendricks Page 0,28

and he'd needed to go pick up his nephew. Now I felt like the world's biggest asshole for even being a little bit hurt over his sudden disappearance.

I didn't know how to express that, though, so I said, "My brother played the game the same way. He used to get so mad when I wanted to take creative liberties with something. I still can't play in the games he runs to this day." I grinned, then added, "Having two sessions here has helped a lot, though. I think David would fit in well with this group. They're good kids, and we don't have a tolerance here for judging anyone because of the way they choose to engage with the game."

"Does this group always run Fridays?"

I nodded. "From seven to nine. Sometimes a little longer if we're in the middle of something big, but I don't like to run things too long. It can be draining on everyone's energy."

"Seven to nine sounds perfect. Though shit... er, I mean shoot--"

I laughed as he corrected himself. "There's no moratorium on swearing here, it's fine."

"Glad to hear it, I never seem to be able to keep my damn mouth shut." When he grinned, a little dimple popped in his right cheek. I felt my knees buckle a little. "I don't want to just assume he can join, though. There's probably some waiting list, right? Is there a registration fee or something?"

"No fee," I said, waving him off. "Why don't we step into the next room and I can walk you through what we do here and how David can be a part of it. If you think he'll be okay out here for a few minutes?"

"He'll probably have an easier time with it than I will." His eyes left mine and flicked toward his nephew. "Hey David, I'm going to talk to Mr. ...?"

"Harris."

"To Mr. Harris for a few minutes. You good?"

"Yeah," was his only answer, and I noticed Angela seemed giddy over the prospect of him staying a bit longer.

"We'll just be a room away, and the walls here are paper thin so you'll hear if he needs you."

I led him to what everyone at Horizon just called The Quiet Room. While it was true the walls didn't do a good job of keeping out the noise, it was better than some other rooms. The walls had special sound-dampening insulation on them, the carpet was plush, and the room was filled with bean bag chairs and a very comfortable couch.

Which... wasn't at all conducive to having a professional meeting with someone you'd seen naked.

"Ah, sorry about this. I can go grab some chairs from the other room."

"I've had professional development meetings on a chaise lounge before," he said with a smirk. "It's fine."

I resisted the urge to ask him what he did for a living. It probably wasn't weird, but I didn't want him to get the impression I'd been thinking about him nonstop since our night together. Even if I had.

Sitting on the opposite end of the couch, I became acutely aware of every inch that existed between us. Right now, two cushions were the only thing keeping me safe from myself.

"I'm sure Elise made you aware, but this is an a la carte type program. Anyone can sign up for specific classes, workshops, and activities without needing to sign up for anything else. There's no overall registration, and you don't owe us anything. This is a service to the community."

"That's... really great to hear," he said, letting out a breath. "As much as I love the idea of this place, I'm not sure David would be interested in anything else."

"And that's perfectly fine. If creating optimized characters in D&D is his way of expressing himself, I'd like to encourage that. I have a few questions, though. And if I'm pushing any boundaries here, please let me know. I just want some idea so I can better accommodate him."

At the word "boundaries" he stiffened, but abruptly relaxed when I made it clear this was about David. Another wave of heat flashed through me. I ignored it.

"Yeah, of course."

"How long ago was he diagnosed?"

"Well, he was technically five when they first suspected it, but they diagnosed him with ADHD and put him on meds for that for a few years. He wasn't diagnosed as autistic until he was eight."

"What's his school situation like? Public? Private? Home? And how well does he interact with the other kids?"

"Public. He mostly keeps to himself. He has