Page 4 of Brutal Alpha Dragon

Thanking him with clapped hands, I wait until he’s left the floor to clean up my mess. Heading back to the main bar counter, I pass the tray of broken glass to Samantha.

“Rough night, huh?” she muses playfully.

Rolling my eyes at her misplaced jest, I lean my forearms on the counter. “Just another day in the life of Lily Turner.”

Samantha chuckles. “You really need to get laid. It will solve all your problems.”

Laughing dryly, I turn my face away. Samantha—who happens to be both my roommate and my colleague—has been pestering me to get a man.

The only problem is that I have no intention of finding one. My knight in shining armor exists solely in my head. An image I’d conjured up based on the romances I’ve read.

He has a face and a body but doesn’t have a name.

A nameless man who exists only as an escape. The brutal truth is that life is no fairytale. It consists of hardships and heartaches. Troubles and stresses that don’t allow for the perfect happy ending. Like the money woes I have to face, confining me to waiting tables at The Unicorn. While navigating college and all the adventures that come with it.

Scanning the tavern, I’m glad no one calls me to their table. It’s a moment for me to breathe, so I relax my shoulders and unwind until the heavy traffic of the night steals my peace.

I spot a tuft of dark hair from the corner of my eye. Much like the man of my dreams, the tips of jetted hair brush his nape. Not overly long, but long enough to run my fingers through.

Just as I had always imagined it.

Interest stirred, I twist toward the table where the lonesome stranger prepares to take a seat. When he turns, the wind is knocked right out of my chest. My heart skips when I realize he’s the spitting image of the man I made up in my head.

Had I manifested him out of the dreams I've been having lately? With his broody dark features and tanned olive skin…

Plump lips framed by a perfectly-trimmed beard… Dark hair, a perfect contrast to the smoothness of his skin… A sharp nose and alluringly mysterious eyes with blades for brows…God! He’s as perfect as any fairytale can be.

Gasping in surprise, I turn to the bar and quickly wave Samantha over.

“Yeah? What’s up?” she asks while she wipes a glass with a towel.

Gesturing over my shoulder with a nod, I try to remain composed. “See that man over there? Table three?”

Samantha peeks over my head and then frowns. “There’s no one at the table, Lils.”

Snapping my head toward that table, my eyes widen with shock. The table is empty now.

Batting my eyelids as I turn to Samantha, I shrug. “I could have sworn I saw him there…” I absentmindedly say aloud.

“Who?”

Looking up, I notice the confusion in her eyes. “No one,” I brush off with a nervous half-giggle. “Don’t worry about it.”

Samantha’s brows lift when she glances at the door. “The cavalry's here,” she announces, flinging the towel over her shoulder. “Better get back to work.”

Sighing discontentedly, I scan the tavern for any signs of the man. Relegating it to my overactive imagination, I get back to work.

***

The extra hours I pulled at The Unicorn left me drained when I returned to the dorm room. Flinging my exhausted frame on the single bed, I lie in a text to my sister.

She just wants to find out how I’m doing. And I don’t dare to be honest with her. I could tell her all the ways that I’m suffering. How quick meals have turned to rolls on my belly and my hips filling out a bit more. Or how the denim jeans we’d often exchange no longer slide over my fuller rear.

It’s not like I can afford to be healthier. Neither can I afford to be honest with my sister when my eyelids feel as heavy as ever. I hit “send” on the text, then reach for my Linguistics textbook.

The only thing on my mind is the assessment I have tomorrow morning. It’s why I refused to go clubbing with Samantha after work tonight. Truthfully, I decline any of her invites simply because I fixate on the man in my dreams. I won’t succumb to peer pressure.

Like tonight, as I drift to sleep, I feel a different kind of pressure.

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