Finding Love in a storm

In 2017 I was running late to our usual Friday night game. We were a few weeks into Storm King's Thunder and I knew the group was waiting for me. I, on the other hand, had been forced to go to a fancy awards dinner so, after some hurried meeting and greeting, I made my excuses and left. Jumping into my car and driving across london to the club, I took a moment to look down. I was wearing a navy blue ball gown, V cut almost to my belly button. Shit! I am the first to rant about equal opportunities and not being ogled at and here I am speeding across the capital with my two girls taped up to high heaven. Even I could see this might cause some issues!

I was half an hour late by the time I arrived at the club so didn't have a moment to think too hard on the matter. I managed to adjust the dress so it was not so revealing but couldn't really get away from the fact I was dressed up to the nines. Greeting Stig at the door he smiled at me, "Hey Jel, You look lovely." I smiled back, "Thanks. A work thing!" I rolled my eyes at the ridiculous situation.

I pulled my woolen coat around me tighter before entering the hall.  As I looked at all the usual suspects around the tables I wondered if might just have to sit in it all night. Despite my efforts to hide my modesty, I could see them all glancing at my unusual attire. I remember going quite red but my makeup was so layered on i'm sure it was not noticeable. 

My table looked different though. An extra body was sat in a usually empty chair. Before I could focus on this though, I became acutely aware that it was hot in the hall with the heaters on, so with a mental 'Oh fuck it!', off came the coat. I then introduced myself to the new face, He had sharp blue eyes and a stubbled face that framed a wide smile. "Hi i'm Marco" he said, "and I now feel very underdressed" flashing a cheeky grin. 

The game went well and we caught up quickly, battling through an early town and rescuing some villagers. I found myself laughing a little harder than usual and flirting with the new player. He was fun and interesting and had settled right in with the group. I remember thinking to myself 'I hope he stays'. 

I found myself week on week wanting to get to club a little early to eat and chat with Marco. It was an unwritten tradition in the club to eat a kebab on a Friday evening just before the games started and that's what we did each week. We bonded over the game and with us both having military background we found we shared the same sense of humour. We became firm friends quickly, choosing to spend time together outside of game. When our campaign reached its grand finale, the next set of games began and this time I was a GM. I invited Marco to play the game and, nervous that he might say no, I remember babbling about the game mechanics and giving plot points away. He was happy to join though, even asking for some help creating his character. Storm King's Thunder may have come to an end but the story of our friendship was only just beginning. 

So now we skip forward to today; March 2021.  We are still playing each Friday evening, albeit online for the past year for obvious reasons. Sometimes we split for a rotation to play separate games but soon return to be each other's partner in crime once again. Nothing much has changed since those days of giants and kebabs... except that we are now happily living together  and planning our wedding in 2022!

You can find love in the strangest of places, Mine was during a storm caused by giants. 

Jerrie x