Chapter 2-2
606 Words
They found an empty table for two—not a lot of people played one-on-one games at these events—and Aitor sat down to keep their place while Gabriel went to choose his game. He came back with a big box and started setting up a board and cards when Aitor went to pick his own game.
When Aitor returned, Gabriel looked at his hand and groaned. “Seriously? All the games you could have chosen and you had to pick that one?”
Aitor smiled, pleased he’d gotten a reaction out of the other man. “What do you have against Hive? I like it.”
“It’s like chess, but with insects. And I hate chess.”
As a kid, Aitor had been good at chess, and that translated to Hive; he’d yet to meet an opponent who would beat him twice. “Then you’ll just have to work harder to beat me at your game, won’t you?” He sat and looked at the board. “What is this, by the way? I’ve never seen it before.”
“You’re in for a treat, then. It’s The Witcher Adventure Game.”
His enthusiasm while explaining the rules proved contagious and Aitor soon found himself smiling. He’d really wanted to hate Gabriel after their first meeting in the parking lot, but found it impossible. He was also quite handsome in a rugged way Aitor could appreciate. He was older by a decade or so, and he didn’t look like he cared a lot about his appearance; his old shirt looked about a size too small, he wore frayed jeans, and his beard had seen better days. And even so, Aitor found himself being drawn to him, to his open smile and the light in his eyes that told him more than his words about how much he loved gaming.
Aitor had to make an effort to focus on the game and not on Gabriel, and he lost the first round spectacularly. They claimed that as a practice round, since Aitor had never played before, and got ready for another one as soon as he swapped his bard for the dwarf. Gabriel had played Geralt of Rivia and showed no intention of swapping.
The second game was longer, and more fun for Aitor than the first one had been, although he still lost, gracefully conceding his defeat.
“I would bow to you, but I’m afraid it would go to your head.”
Gabriel laughed. “You’re right, it probably would.”
“Do you want to play the last one? Maybe make things a bit more interesting?”
“What do you have in mind?”
“Swap characters with me. You’re comfortable with yours, you’ve played with him before, and I can tell he’s your favorite. I want to see what’s so great about him.”
“Okay, he’s all yours.”
They bickered while they played, taunting each other about their moves and the results of their battles, and Aitor felt right at home. The game was longer still, the last missions harder to fulfill, and in the end he won with a one-point advantage. He held his arms high in celebration, dancing in place a little, and didn’t miss how the other man’s eyes followed his movements. God, but it’d been a long time since anyone had looked at him like that.
He cleared his throat, Gabriel’s gaze coming back to his face. “Ready for me to kick your ass at Hive?”
“As I’ll ever be. I hate that game.”
“Come on, I’ll go easy on you, even give you tips, if you want.” Aitor felt himself blush when Gabriel’s eyebrows shot up nearly to his hairline. “Oh, take your mind out of the gutter please.”
“But I like it there. It’s fun.”
Aitor shook his head and put the last cards from their previous game into its box. “I’ll go give this one back, and you can amuse yourself by separating the black tiles from the white ones.”
“Yes, sir.”
Aitor flipped him off and picked up the box, Gabriel’s laugh following him on his way to return it to the organizers.
- Writer
