Worth the Effort Ch. 02

"Tonight?"

"Maybe. They didn't say but the posts were from the last couple of days so I thought it might be."

"Thanks for letting me know." Morgan always worried on nights like this. The store frequently had threats on their Facebook page and although they usually came to nothing, Morgan worried anyway. She changed the subject. "How are you doing with the draft?"

"Pretty good. Cards aren't stellar, but I won a couple of matches."

"Nice. Ready for round two?" Morgan asked.

"You bet. Just needed to stretch my legs."

"Okay. We'll be posting the matchups soon."

"All right." Vincent nodded. "I'll grab a soda." He turned and walked back into the game room.

Morgan frowned as she turned back to the computer. Should they increase the security at the store? If they did, where did it stop? They already had security cameras set up by the front and rear doors, and a couple inside. She and Casey had debated fancier systems from time to time, but both felt it would be more show than security.

Besides, what had worked so far was their community. People looking out for each other, passing along information they found on website forums, Facebook posts, and Discord boards. She and Casey could look over their security, Morgan thought, but it was probably more effective to focus on communication.

With a sigh, she turned to the computer. She couldn't figure it out now.

x-x-x-x-x-x

Shane studied the store before going in. Their sign was lit up, the colors in red and blue on a white background. There were posters and decals on the window advertising games and comics, most of which he didn't recognize.

Peering around the window art, he saw people walking around, chatting, and looking at different displays. He spied Morgan's pink hair behind a counter.

He wasn't sure what to think. He liked Star Wars and Marvel as well as the next guy, but that was about as far as his geek credentials went. Was Morgan really into this stuff, he wondered? Or did she just own the store because it was a good business opportunity?

He opened the door and heard the chime, but there was enough noise in the store than no one looked over. The store was full of comics and cards and boxed games as well as what he guessed were accessories for the various games. To one side, he saw people in an adjoining room sitting at tables and chatting, most of them looking through piles of cards.

The vibe of the place was friendly enough, but he felt out of his element. I'm not here to play games, he reminded himself. I'm here to see Morgan.

He looked over and found her at the counter, engrossed in something on a computer, but she popped her head up when someone spoke to her, and her answer seemed to be given with enthusiasm. He waited until she was done before going up himself.

"Hi," he said.

"Hey." Morgan smiled. "You made it. Did you find us okay?"

"No problem." He looked around. "This is nice. How long have you been here?"

"Thanks. We've been here for a little over three years." She paused. "Wow, that's hard to believe when I say it out loud."

"Doing well?"

"Pretty well." She nodded. "I mean, it's tight, but we're doing okay. We have a pretty good customer base, and word of mouth has helped. We're working on advertising, and events and—" She laughed. "Sorry, I sound like I'm trying to convince an investor."

"Hey, Morgan! Hand over the matchups." A woman with Asian features walked over to the counter. "People are getting antsy. And who is this?"

"Here you go." Morgan handed the woman a piece of paper. "This is Shane Hunter. Shane, this is Casey Lu, my best friend and co-owner of the place."

"Nice to meet you." Shane held out his hand.

"So you're the mysterious Shane," Casey said as they shook hands. "I've heard about you."

"Should I be worried?"

"No, it was all good. You going to play?" Casey nodded towards the game room.

"No, thanks. I don't know anything about it."

"You should let Morgan teach you. She's really good."

"Yeah?" He glanced over at Morgan.

"I know my stuff but there are others here who'd kick my ass." Morgan shrugged. "If you wanted to learn, I'm sure you'd pick it up quick."

"Okay, I have to get back," said Casey. "Nice to meet you, Shane."

"You too," he called after her, then turned back to Morgan. "What exactly is going on here tonight?" he asked.

"We are having a booster draft for a set of Magic: The Gathering cards," she began, then laughed. "Don't worry, I won't tell you any more than that if you don't want me to."

"No, I'm sorry, it's not that." He shook his head. "I'm just tired, and I'm not familiar with that game."

"Magic: The Gathering is a card game, like I said. It's a fantasy thing, from the same company that makes Dungeons & Dragons."

Shane nodded, hoping the explanation didn't go much deeper, but at least he recognized something.

"I remember D&D," he said. "I played a couple of times in college. It didn't last too long. Not my thing, I guess."

"You could try it here sometime if you like," she said. "You might like it better with a more experienced DM."

Shane couldn't remember what a DM was, so he moved on. "So, what is a—draft, did you call it?"

"Yes. A booster draft. People pay a fee, then go through packs of cards and take turns choosing what they want, then we have three rounds of play. Winners get some special cards and whatnot."

"Ok. I'm with you so far. You play this game?"

"I do." She smiled. "It's a lot of fun, keeps your math skills sharp, and it's a strategy game. The artwork on some of the cards is really amazing, too. I prefer the green and blue cards, but they're all pretty cool."

"Green and blue?" Shane didn't mean to ask, but it slipped out.

"The cards are grouped by colors and each color has different characteristics and I think that's more than you really want to know." Morgan waved a hand and let it go, for which he was grateful. On the other hand, he felt a little bad, since this was her work and he could see she was enthused about it.

"It's just a lot of information, and my brain is fried from the week, so it's hard to process."

Morgan nodded. "I know how that is. And that dinner didn't make it any easier."

"No, no, it did not. Speaking of dinner, I was told there might be pizza?" He gave her a hopeful look.

"You're in luck. There are some slices in the game room. Come on. Josh, you good out here?" The man behind the counter with her nodded. Morgan, led Shane into the other room, where people sat in pairs at long tables.

"Boy, it feels so intense in here," he whispered as they each took a paper plate and then a slice of pizza. Shane took a Coke from the fridge she indicated, and sat with a sigh of relief. "This is terrific. Thanks."

"Sure." Morgan opened a bottle of water. "Have some more. We try to order plenty but there's a place two doors down, so we can always get more quickly."

Shane took a bite of his pizza and looked around. "I feel like I came in on a chess tournament. It's so quiet. I wouldn't think people would get so intense about a card game."

x-x-x-x-x-x

Morgan sipped her water before replying. Shane seemed like a nice guy, but she could tell he wasn't interested in anything that was going on. His earlier questions were gathering information, but not because he wanted to know; he'd just been getting his bearings. If he didn't like any of what was in the store, she doubted he'd be too interested in her. Pity, because the more she saw of him, the more she liked him.

Oh well. Sooner was better than later, as Casey had said.

"Like I said, it's a strategy game," she said, "and since people are getting new cards they may not be used to, it takes a little longer to figure things out."

"Makes sense."

"Do you like to play games?" she asked.

"Once in a while, I suppose," he said. "I haven't played anything in ages, come to think of it. I mean I played some board games growing up, and some card games at college and all. But nothing like this. How about you?"

Might as well lay it out, Morgan thought. "I've always been into science fiction and fantasy, and loved Magic when I found it. I even started a club in high school. It was for anyone who wanted to play, but I really wanted to find more girls to play with. I did a similar thing at college, which is how I met Casey. I guess the store was the natural next step."

"Cool." Shane drank his soda. "I know it must be a lot of work. My uncle runs his own business so I know what goes into working for yourself."

"It is a lot of work, but it's worth it," Morgan said. "It's important to me and Casey that people know they can come here and find other people who like the same things. I guess a safe space is cliché these days, but that's what we were going for."

"Looks like you're doing a good job," Shane said. "Is this a good crowd?"

"It is, actually." Morgan looked around and smiled. She knew nearly everyone at the tables by face if not name, and they were all good people.

"Hey, Morgan." Vincent came over from his game. "I'm out. Lost two in a row." He shook his head. "Not my night, I guess."

"Aw, sorry." Morgan patted his hand. "Vincent, this is Shane Hunter. Shane, this is Vincent Tremont, one of our best customers."

"Nice to meet you," Shane said as they shook hands.

"Have a seat," Morgan said, patting the empty chair next to her.

"Are you sure? I don't want to intrude." Vincent looked from Shane to Morgan.

"Do you mind?" She looked at Shane, who shook his head. "Come on, sit," said Morgan.

"Okay." Vincent sat, then took Morgan's arm and looked at one of her tattoos. "Hey, when did you get this one?"

"Um, about two weeks ago." Morgan thought for a moment. "Yeah, about that. Didn't realize you hadn't been here in that long."

"What is it?" Shane asked, leaning closer.

Morgan turned her left arm to show him a tattoo of eight yellow arrows all radiating out from a common center. "It's the symbol of chaos from one of my favorite fantasy series." She put her right arm next to it to show a single yellow arrow, pointing up, in the same spot. "This is the symbol for law."

"Okay." Shane stared, then shrugged. "Sorry. I guess I just don't get it."

"That's okay. It's for me, after all. I got them to remind myself you need balance. You need order sometimes, and chaos sometimes, but not too much of both."

"It's cool, Morgan," said Vincent. "Looks good."

"Thanks." She imagined Shane saw two strikes against her, the games and now her tattoos. Too bad.

"I'm thinking of getting another one," he said. "Maybe the Enterprise."

"What? That old thing?" Morgan asked with a wink.

"Please." Vincent scoffed. "Like there is another ship better than the Enterprise."

Morgan laughed. "I thought you wanted the Millennium Falcon."

"It's on the list. Just need to find someone I trust to do it. I wasn't crazy over the last place. They were okay but I don't want to go back."

Morgan nodded, understanding. She glanced over at Shane, who had pulled out his phone. She couldn't blame him, she thought. She and Vincent had gone off on a bit of a niche tangent.

"Sorry," she said to Shane. "I didn't mean to be rude."

"Me too," said Vincent, looking contrite.

"No worries," Shane said. "It was an interesting conversation to overhear." He put his phone away.

Morgan chuckled. "That's good of you to say but I think you're just being nice. And I appreciate it. If you don't mind, I need to go check with Josh in the other room. He's holding down the counter while we're in here."

He nodded. "Sure. I think I'll have another slice and then head home. I'm beat."

"Help yourself." Morgan smiled and made her way to the main room, hiding her disappointment.

"Hey, Morgan, before I forget, congratulations on the book." Vincent patted her arm as she walked by. "That's fantastic. I want you to sign my copy, of course."

"Thanks, Vincent." Morgan smiled.

x-x-x-x-x

Shane watched Morgan go, thinking it was a damn shame that a woman with such pretty eyes, a quirky smile and a nice figure wasn't his type. Not that he was entirely sure what his type was, but he didn't think his type had tattoos and discussed spaceships.

"Nice to meet you," said Vincent as he stood up. "Sorry to interrupt your date."

"No problem, and it really wasn't a date," said Shane. "I don't think. Anyway, nice to meet you too. Did I hear you right? Morgan wrote a book?"

"She did. It's a graphic novel, and it should be out in two or three months, I think. I read a little while she was writing it. I think it's great."

"That's impressive." Shane shook his head. "I don't have the patience to read a book sometimes, let alone write one."

"No kidding," said Vincent. "It's the artwork that gets me. I can't draw a stick figure to save my life, and she illustrated everything."

"That's amazing. I had no idea. Thanks for telling me."

Vincent nodded stood for a moment. Shane waited, curious.

"Listen, it's probably not my business," said Vincent, "but I just have to say that Morgan is really great. She's like our den mother or something. She and Casey worked hard for this place, and honestly, I don't know what I'd do without it. A lot of us don't. We know we can always come here; that counts for a lot."

"That's great," said Shane, a little taken aback by this unsolicited testimonial. "It's good everyone feels welcome."

"Yeah," Vincent agreed. "Morgan's good at that. But also—okay, this might sound weird but don't let the tattoos and card games give you the wrong impression."

"Okay."

Vincent shook his head. "I'm sorry, man. I'm butting in where I shouldn't. It's just that I care about Morgan and if you guys are dating, or whatever, I just want you to see past the geek stuff. It's part of her, but not all of her."

"I get it. Thanks. Morgan's lucky to have a friend like you."

Vincent shrugged. "I hope so. Anyway, take it easy. Maybe I'll see you around."

"Yep, take it easy." Shane nodded.

Shane pondered what Vincent had said. Was he pre-judging things with Morgan? He didn't mean to, and he did like her. However, he couldn't see that they had much in common beyond disapproval of her sister's behavior. Not something to build a relationship on.

Oh well, he thought as he went for another slice of pizza. Not everything works out. He sat down and was about halfway through when he heard shouting from the other room.

"Hey! Hey!" Morgan yelled from the next room. "Stop! Leave him alone!"

Casey was on her feet and out like a shot before Shane could stand up. He followed as quickly as he could.

In the store area, two men stood near a toppled display rack. Shane saw some boxes and comics strewn on the floor, and the young man behind the counter—Josh—was holding his head. Shane watched Morgan jump over the counter and go to confront them, with Vincent and Casey joining her.

"We don't need queers in comics," one guy sneered.

"Or selling them," his buddy added.

"So go buy them somewhere else," Morgan said, "and leave us alone. Get the fuck out. Casey, call the police."

"On it." Casey was dialing before Morgan finished.

Shane noticed Vincent had his phone out as well, recording the confrontation. A crowd had gathered by the game room door.

"You should close down before someone shuts you down," the first guy said. "Go take your fag comics somewhere else."

Shane watched as Morgan stepped up to the guy, not intimidated by him despite his size advantage. "Are you threatening me and my business?"

"Cops are coming," Casey spoke up.

"We're not scared of a couple of dykes and a faggot," said the second guy. "And it's not a threat, it's just advice."

Morgan scoffed. "What bad gangster movie did you watch? Advice, my ass. Last time: get the fuck out of my store."

Shane found himself both impressed by Morgan and fearful for her.

The man's face darkened. "Don't talk to me like that."

"I'll talk to you whatever fucking way I please," said Morgan, "because this is my place and I am not afraid of chickenshits like you."

"I am warning you, bitch—" The man started to raise a fist.

"Go ahead," she challenged. "When the cops get here, that will be two of us to file assault charges."

That deflated the two men, who exchanged glances. The one in front of Morgan lowered his fist but still looked furious.

Shane took advantage of the lull and walked over to stand next to Morgan. "That's enough. You should go."

The men glared and muttered, but turned and left.

"You okay?" he asked Morgan.

"Yeah. Yes. Thanks." She heaved a long sigh. "Christ. Bastards. God, I want to hit something. "

"I don't blame you. Does that happen—"

They all jumped at the sound of breaking glass. Shane ducked and pulled Morgan down with him.

Morgan's expression darkened and she jumped up and ran for the door. Shane was faster this time and managed to stop her by grabbing one arm, then Casey caught up and took the other.

"Don't, Morgan. You can't do anything and you might get hurt." Casey tightened her grip. "Stay here. We'll tell the cops."

"I got it on video," Vincent said, "all of it. Even the rock through the window."

"Okay, okay," Morgan said. She stood still but Shane could almost see the vibrations of anger coming off her. "You can let go, Casey. Seriously. Someone go see if Josh is all right."

x-x-x-x-x-x

Morgan took more deep breaths after Casey went to see about Josh. She felt shaky. She hadn't meant to confront the men like that, but she'd seen them hit Josh and then she'd seen red.

"Hey, are you okay?" Shane stood in front of her and put his hands on her shoulders. "You look a little green around the edges."

"Um." She looked up. "Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks. Just a little shaken up." Jesus, she wondered, why did stuff always go wrong when she was with Shane? There'd been the blow up with Brianna at the engagement party and then the dinner, and now this. He'd probably never talk to her again after this.

"I'm not surprised." Shane shifted to put one arm around her shoulder and nudged her forward. "Come on, you should sit down."

Morgan took a few steps and then stopped. "Wait. No, I'm okay. I need to clean this up." She surveyed everything on the floor, then looked up and saw Josh's black eye and felt sick to her stomach.

"No, you don't." Shane guided her to the game room. "Wait until the police have been here. I'll help."

"He's right." Casey came over and squeezed her hand. "Come on. I'm going to put the closed sign on the door. Then we wait for the cops. Then we lock up and go home for the night."

"Okay. Okay." Morgan nodded. "What, ah, we need to figure out what to do about the draft."

"We'll reschedule," said Casey, "or give people their money back if they want. It's not fucking important, Morgan." Her voice, edged with fear, cut through the fog in Morgan's head.

"Yeah. Good. Oh, shit, Casey." Morgan pulled her friend into a hug. "I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

"I'm all right." Casey squeezed her and stepped back. "I'm going into the other room. Come when you're ready."

Morgan nodded and looked at Shane. "Thank you. I'm sorry. I always seem to be fighting with someone when you're around."

He chuckled and the sound relaxed her. "I hope it's not me."

She managed a laugh. "No, no. I'm sure it's totally me." She rubbed her hands over her face. "You don't have to stay."

"Yes, I do. I'll need to give the police a statement, and then I'll take you home."

Morgan started to protest, then gave up. Going home with Shane sounded like the best idea, even if nothing was going to happen. "Thanks. I'd like that."

Somehow the rest of the night passed. The police came and everyone gave their statements. All of the customers who'd come for the draft agreed to reschedule. Several people volunteered to help clean up, and Shane helped cover the broken window. It was all a blur to Morgan; she functioned by focusing on one thing at a time, doing it, and then moving on to the next.