Hi everyone, baby DM here on mobile.

After a decade of wanting to DM, I finally started DMing last year. I've had my fair share of growth opportunities with my players (some great and others not so great), but I've tried to go about things positively. I've worked with various friends who DM to learn new skills, tools, and play styles.

I took a break from DMing back in September (2022) because one of my friends (Player A) was very out of line in during session. This incident really hurt my feelings and triggered some of the abusive trauma I've gone through in my life, so I've been working on healing from that in therapy.

Well... I decided I was ready to start DMing again. I reached out to my friend group asking if anyone was interested. Everyone but Player A's "boyfriend" (Player B) responded saying yes. Huzzah! I'm not a total failure as a baby DM. Or so I thought...

I created a new message group to schedule session zero, days later, and I exclude Player B because he never replied. This was the exchange as Player A realized he wasn't in the chat.

Player A: Umm I don't see Player B... might want to add him too

Me: When I reached out asking who was interested, he did not respond.

Player A: Lol Player B doesn't respond to most things. Also there was a lot going on you should message him.

I didn't appreciate this because I felt I had communicated and shouldn't have to force people to play in my game. I knew Player B had issues with the game because it was "too silly" (most of the story involves a cursed drunk horse) and didn't have enough combat in it. Player B would be on their phone playing games during most sessions and would typically have their character leave the party whenever they were doing story activities.

Player B is "dating" Player A, but also super close with two other players in the campaign, so I am pretty sure someone would have brought it up to him. Since I really don't want anyone to feel excluded, I decided to reach out to Player B later that evening after I got home. This is what I sent.

Me: Hey there! I wanted to touch base with you on the D&D game I was running. I sent out a message to organize my next session zero and Player A made a comment that you weren't included in the chat. I was under the impression you did not want to continue playing because you didn't respond when I asked who was interested. So I wanted to touch base with you.

It's been 2.5 days and still no reply. So I'm here, second guessing myself, and decided I'd ask for advice from unbiased DM's. I don't feel I should be forcing people to play my game, but I also feel I have a right to not include someone who fails to communicate.

Is it really unreasonable for me to have the impression that Player B does not want to play and to move forward under that assumption?

UPDATE Edit: Tonight was session zero and Player B did not show up. The players who did come (two had to cancel last minute due to family issues) asked who was coming. I mentioned that Player B had never responded. Player A didn't say anything when I made this remark, so I'm proceeding with them no longer being part of the game. Thank you to everyone who commented! I didn't get to reply to everything but I did take your feedback to heart!