On Saturday night, Reagan walked into the bar feeling excited and guilty. She hadn’t gotten together with Gwen and Carly since the night at Carly’s house, and she’d missed being in the company of her best friends. But she felt she had no right to be there, not when she had such little time left with her father.

So, here she was in a bar that was already crowded even though it was only eight. Most tables and almost every stool at the bar had been claimed. A few couples moved together on the dance floor on the far side of the room, and Reagan knew it would be full in just a couple hours. Music pumped through the speakers and would only get louder as the night progressed. She looked around for her friends, finally spotting Carly waving from a high-top table along the far wall.

“Hey, guys,” Reagan said as she approached. She gave each of them a quick hug before taking her seat. Reagan found a beer in front of hers, raised the glass, and took a sip. “Thanks for this.”

“No problem,” Carly replied. “You get the next round.”

“You got it,” Reagan said with a smile.

“How’s your dad? I felt bad pestering you about coming out. I just thought you might need to relax and let loose for a second.”

“He’s doing okay. Happy to be home. And you don’t have to feel bad. You should thank my mom, though. She’s the one who really guilt-tripped me into coming out.”

“I should send her some flowers then.”

Reagan laughed. “I’m sure she’d get a kick out of that. Speaking of flowers…Get any more from your new guy, Carly?”

She sighed. “He is definitely not my new guy. And thankfully, no. After the second date, I politely told him there wouldn’t be a third and to save his money.”

“What was wrong with him? I thought he was nice,” Gwen said.

“He was. Very nice, in fact. But he’s a nerd.”

Reagan set down her beer and reached for Carly’s hand. “I hate to break it to you, sweetie, but you’re a nerd.”

Carly pulled her hand back and adjusted her glasses. “I know that. He’s Tolkien and I’m Trekkie. He’s MMORPG but I like FPS. I got the vibe he won’t stray from what he knows.”

Gwen folded her arms on the table. “Okay, I know first person shooter, but what’s the other one?”

“Massively multiplayer online role-playing game. Duh.”

“Ah, right, of course.” Gwen shrugged. “His loss. Should we be looking for someone tonight? Anyone catching your eye?”

Carly glanced around the bar, taking her time and assessing each person. “Nah. Not tonight. I’d rather focus on…Holy shit!”

“What?” Reagan and Gwen replied in unison.

Carly nodded her head over her shoulder. “That’s the Ogre.”

“The what?” Gwen asked.