Page 82 of It's in the Contract
I cross my arms. “Fine. Dragonborn.”
“Ooooh.” Zeke nods and smiles. “I like it.”
We continue on, choosing things like my height, size, appearance, and something about being chaotic neutral? Neutral good? I don’t really get it, and I let Zeke take the lead. But I’m surprised to find that I’m actually having a good time.
“And what should we name your blue ancestry dragonborn paladin?” Zeke asks.
“Suzy?”
Zeke laughs. “Suzy is a great name for a dragonborn. But, hang on.” He types in the name of another website, a fantasy name generator. “This is where I come when I need help with character names.” He clicks on “dragon names” and suggestions pop up. “What about Cilbunth the Squealer?”
“Are you kidding me?” I move closer to the screen. “That’s one of the suggestions?” I glance through the remaining list. “How about Onara the Bold?”
“I love it.” Zeke adds the name to my character sheet, prints it, and then sets his computer facing the board. He starts up a virtual call on Roll20 and looks at me. “You ready to meet my brothers?”
I nod, feeling anything but.
The image to pop on says, “Dan the Man” at the bottom. He waves to Zeke through the screen. Zeke’s brother is sitting on his bed, though you can hardly see the blankets through all the scattered clothes and graphic novels. The wall behind him is made of plastered cement blocks. Dan’s hair is slightly shorter than Zeke’s and his nose a tad smaller, but I can easily spot the resemblance. They both look so much like Caroline.
“Dan! What’s up?” Zeke grins.
Dan smiles back and pushes coke-bottle glasses up his nose. “Zeke! How are you, buddy?”
Zeke turns to me. “This is my friend, Callie.”
I wave, feeling shy.
Dan leans closer to the camera, squinting. “She’s pretty, Zeke. I approve.”
I blush.
“Dan, she’s more than just pretty,” Zeke says. “She’s smart, friendly, super kind, and she bakes the best cookies in the world.”
My insides go all warm and gooey at Zeke’s words. “Well, probably not the best,” I say.
“She’s really modest, too.”
Dan is giving me a funny look, like I’m a math problem he can’t figure out.
“So . . . you’re in college, Dan?” I ask. “Where do you go?”
But then the screen divides in two and another brother shows up.
“Will! How are you?” Zeke asks.
Will is sitting on a workout bench. There’s a cable machine and bulky adjustable dumbbells in the background, and wow, that dude is ripped. His black fitted tank shows defined lines of biceps and pecs.
“You would get along really well with my mom,” I blurt, then feel like an idiot.
“You would!” Zeke saves me. “Her mom is a fitness instructor. She teaches classes, like, all the time.”
Will leans forward, and again, I see the family resemblance. Will wears a red sweat band around his forehead, and his black hair is close-cropped. He has a tiny diamond earring in his left ear.
Will smiles. “Nice to meet you, Callie. We’ve heard so much about you. Sorry I’m late, guys. I had to finish up my sets.” The camera moves when he picks up his phone. “Let me get back to my game room.”
Zeke turns to me. “Will has a private gym and gets paid big bucks to show off his muscles.”
Will rolls his eyes. “I do enter a lot of weight-lifting competitions, but I do not make ‘big bucks’.”
