Dungeon Daddy by Golden Angel

Chapter 2

Jax

“Hey, Jax!” The chorus of greetings as soon as he stepped into Michelle’s house made him grin. The ladies were around the table in their usual spots, eating from takeout containers. As it was the end of the day, most of them had changed into casual clothing, although Suzie was still wearing her same outfit from campus. Probably because they’d had to stay a bit late today. Jax hadn’t had time to run home and change, either, but he’d taken off his tie and jacket, so he was fairly comfortable.

Thankfully, they’d all been amenable to changing their plans to play on Friday rather than Thursday. It hadn’t occurred to him until after he’d asked, at their age, they might have something more fun to do on Friday nights, but Suzie had assured him they were happy to switch.

“Hello, ladies.” Joining them at the table, he shrugged his bag off his shoulder, so he could get set up with his screen, guidebook, and everything else he needed to run the session. With a sigh, he figured he might as well jump right into things. “So, I think we’re only a few sessions away from the end of this campaign, and I wanted to let you know I won’t be able to do any more after it’s done.”

“Oh, no.” Katherine was the one who spoke, but all of them sat up straighter with similar expressions of disappointment. “You’re such a good DM, though!”

“Thank you.” The compliment warmed him. “Unfortunately, it’s become too much of a time commitment, and I can tell it’s affecting things with my wife.” He didn’t see any point in being anything but honest and hoped they’d be sympathetic, which they all were.

“Oh, yeah, I get that,” Michelle said, nodding. “If my boyfriend was spending one night a week with a bunch of women I’d never met, I wouldn’t love it, either.”

“You don’t trust him?” Suzie asked, looking inquisitive. Jax had heard a little about each of their significant others during their time together and had the impression Suzie wasn’t a huge fan of Michelle’s boyfriend.

“I trust him, but that doesn’t mean I would love or even like it.” Michelle made a face. “You can trust someone and still not like a situation.”

Wasn’t that the truth? It was exactly why he’d hidden what was going on from Esther in the beginning. He had known she would trust him but wouldn’t like the situation. Well, he’d had his fun, and now he could tell she didn’t like the situation, anyway, but at least she thought he was working too much and didn’t have extra worries. Michelle’s words backed up his initial decision not to be totally truthful with his wife, which made him feel a little better. He didn’t tell the ladies he hadn’t been completely truthful with Esther, though. Their assumption that he had been made him a little uncomfortable.

“Well, I totally get it, and we really appreciate you continuing to DM for us when Laura decided Castles and Creatures wasn’t for her,” Katherine said earnestly.

“I had a lot of fun doing it.” He would miss it and the weekly—and sometimes bi-weekly—sessions with them. Not that he didn’t love playing with his own friends, but he’d enjoyed being in charge, shepherding newbies in the game, and hearing them talk about what was going on in their lives. Sure, sometimes, what they talked about made him feel old, but it was so different from what he and his friends talked about, but he enjoyed it.

“We should see how fast we can get through the rest of this campaign.” Suzie looked around at the others, clearly gauging their reactions. All of them nodded, warming Jax’s heart even more.

“You don’t have to do that.” It was an incredibly sweet offer, but he hadn’t meant to make them feel rushed.

“We don’t want to keep your wife waiting,” Suzie replied firmly. Unlike the others, she had actually met Esther, so perhaps she was feeling more guilt, but they were all taking her lead. She smiled at him. “Besides, I wouldn’t mind trying to run a campaign myself. This way, I can kick you out of your spot and get started faster.”

Jax chuckled. He knew Suzie would make a good DM. She was creative, quick-thinking, and good at taking charge. That last was particularly needed. As the ladies had gotten more comfortable with the roleplay and game mechanics, they’d become more unpredictable in their choices.

The guilt he’d felt about having to stop DMing for them melted away, knowing they’d be able to keep things up without him. Yes, he’d miss it, but he’d have the satisfaction of knowing he’d given them a successful introduction, and they would continue on without him.

* * *

Esther

Walking into Ulta, Esther was overwhelmed by the shiny displays and the staggering number of options. There were mirrors everywhere, reflecting her unhappiness—and her unsatisfactory appearance. She wanted to run away, which was probably why she’d never done this on her own.

Really, including her daughter was a stroke of genius. Jennifer was already bouncing on her toes, head swiveling this way and that, excitedly taking in all the options. In that respect, she and Jennifer were so totally opposite. Having to take lessons in makeup and fashion from her own daughter was a little humiliating, but Esther was trying to write it off as a good bonding experience.

“Ooh, I think this shade of lipstick would look great on you.” Jennifer snatched one from the stand near the entrance, picking up a little basket at the same time.

“You do?” Esther stared at it. It was pink and looked an awful lot like all the other pink colors next to it. Yeah, they were all different shades of pink, but would one shade really look that different from the one next to it? And how did Jennifer know which shade would look good?

Sometimes, Esther wondered if she had been born missing the makeup gene.

“Hello, ladies, can I help you?” A young man, probably in his early twenties, stepped up next to them, beaming. He had beautiful curly hair that waved attractively across his forehead and wore bright purple eyeliner. Esther was fairly certain he was wearing more makeup than just the eyeliner, but it was so subtly done, she couldn’t really tell. Foundation probably. She knew foundation was still a thing. He definitely had the makeup gene.

Or maybe it was a generational thing, and she was just old. That didn’t make her feel any better. Before she could respond, Jennifer jumped in.

“Yes, please! My mom needs everything.” Stressing the last word, Jennifer sounded excited instead of judgmental, which was the only thing that kept Esther from melting into the floor in shame.

“Ooooookay.” The young man looked at her but not into her eyes, looking over her face with intense scrutiny. Esther was sure he cataloged every line and spot. “I’m Braden. What kind of ‘everything’ are you looking for? A total makeover? Something for a specific event?”

This time, Esther finally got a word in edgewise.

“Total makeover.” Her voice wavered a bit, and Braden raised one carefully arched eyebrow at her. “I… well, I haven’t done a lot of makeup, ever, so something easy would be best.”

“Of course, you haven’t, honey. With your skin and eyes, you wouldn’t need to.” The compliment was given so effortlessly, Esther blinked in surprise. He might have been buttering her up, but the matter-of-fact way he’d made the statement didn’t make it seem he was. “Makeup isn’t always for covering things up. Sometimes, it’s about playing up the features we want people to notice first, and that’s what we’re going to do with you.” Gesturing at a chair next to one of the displays, he ushered her over as he spoke.

Something settled inside Esther. Braden didn’t seem to find her ignorance unusual or laughable, which made her feel so much better. Maybe she was too hard on herself.

The next half hour sped by. Braden helped her choose colors with Jennifer’s assistance and showed her how to apply everything. At the end, Esther stared into the mirror. She still looked like herself, mostly. Somehow, her eyes looked a little bigger, her cheekbones stood out more, and her skin looked a little smoother.

But she still looked like her.

“I thought it would be more… dramatic.” This was okay, though. So she didn’t get to have her Princess Diaries’ moment. She still liked the way she looked, and she looked a little more stylish.

“Ah, well, if you want more drama, we can give you more drama, hun.” Braden grinned, picking up the eyeshadow brush again. “Let’s start with your eyes.”

In less than five minutes, Esther was completely transformed and gaped at herself in the mirror.

“Wow.”

“Wow,” Jennifer echoed. “You look like a model, Mom!”

Braden had gone much darker with the eye shadow and lipstick for her dramatic look, using eyeliner to emphasize the shape of her eyes—which she got from her Korean mother—while also making them look even bigger. The dark eyeshadow was just enough to give her the ‘smoky eye’ she’d once tried in the past.

“Thanks, sweetie,” Esther said, turning her head back and forth to take in the eyes and the darker shade of lipstick that made her lips pop. “I’m not sure I’ll be able to repeat this, though.”

“That’s okay, I can help,” Jennifer sounded downright eager. It would be humbling to turn to her teenage daughter for more makeup help while trying to win back her daughter’s father, but what the heck. Why not? Jennifer had followed Braden’s tutorial closely and would likely do a much better job recreating the look than Esther.

“Okay. Thank you.”

Maybe after wearing makeup like this a few times, she would even get used to it. Not that she didn’t look like herself now, she did. Not like the self she was used to seeing in the mirror. More like if an evil alternate version of her had arrived and switched places with her and was now about to unleash havoc upon the world.

Her lips quirked into a rueful smile. Her taste in tv shows and books was coming through. Even her smile looked a little more evil.

Huh. Maybe this was why she hadn’t done much with makeup before. She hadn’t really thought about it, but the bad guys always seemed to wear more makeup, and Esther had always wanted to be a good girl. Well, hopefully, she would get used to it since this was what Jax seemed to want. It looked like the makeup Michelle was wearing in several of her Facebook pictures.

“Can we go get you some new clothes now?” Jennifer asked as Esther got to her feet. Her teenage daughter ran a critical eye up and down Esther’s outfit. Apparently, the plain blue t-shirt, which was one of her less childish tops, and mom jeans didn’t pass muster. Here she’d thought mom jeans were coming back in style.

“Yeah.” Might as well go all the way. The only thing she wouldn’t do was cut her hair. She loved her long hair, and so did Jax. Besides, she could make a big change just by wearing it down more often instead of up in a ponytail or bun. “A few new things.”

Jennifer squealed, clapping her hands, obviously enjoying herself.

“Can I get a few new things, too?”

Laughing, Esther shrugged, winking at Braden, who came to the register with them, carrying the basket full of makeup. He was chuckling quietly at their back and forth.

“Oh, we’ll see, I guess… if there’s any money left.”

“Mo-om.”

“I’m just saying, Jen, all this makeup you want me to buy looks expensive,” Esther teased.

“I’m going to pick out the ugliest outfit I can find for you.”

“Thanks for the heads up. Now I know not to try on anything you pick out.”

“Ugh, you’re the worst mom.” The complaint was said with such affection, Esther couldn’t take any offense. Still grinning, she reached out and wrapped her arm around her daughter’s shoulder, pulling her in for a hug.

“Okay, I’ll buy you the ugliest outfit I can find for you.”

“Mom!”