Page 16 of In the Light of the Moon

Had I known that I would seehimtonight, I might not have come. My heart was nearly galloping with him beside me, despite the space I was trying to put in place. His bright green eyes were in stark contrast to his pale coloring, though it alsoseemed to let them shine brighter, even in the dim light from the dive bar. The bartender plucked his credit card from his grip, and when she asked, he turned back to her, “You can leave it open.”

I flicked my dense ponytail over my shoulder, and I begrudgingly admitted that his light appearance seemed to… suit him. Like he was something ethereal or otherworldly. Like an angel.

An angel?I thought incredulously at myself.Oh, fuck me, I cringed and lifted my glass for a sip.

My inner dialogue seemed to be showing entirely on my face because he was suddenly scowling down at me, some pink creeping up on his cheeks. “And whatever IPA you have on draft, please,” he grumbled over the bar. When he turned back to me, his white eyelashes narrowed, “You wouldn’t let me settle the debt between us before. I’d like to settle it.”

I nearly choked on the wine I was currently sipping. Settling the debt? “I told you that there was no debt between us. Can’t you just let it go?”

His eyes cut to behind me, and I turned my head to see Josie still engrossed in her task of making best friends with the man beside her. Just like most people she interacted with like this, he was being drawn in. Though she was friendly with everyone, I caught the lowering of her voice as she joked back and forth with him. The way she crossed her bare legs underneath her miniskirt.

I turned back around, and he seemed placated by my friend’s attention being elsewhere. “You helped me, and I never got to return the favor.”

My brows turned up at that, mind spooling back to the first time we’d met. How the dumpster behind him had almost masked the coppery tang of his blood. He never did explain what happened.

I snorted into my glass, “Buying me a glass of wine is repaying a debt? I didn’t even do anything.” Because he didn’t even let me call anyone! After he’d shuffled off into the night, I didn’t think we’d even see each other again. But he just kept. Popping. Up.

He clenched his jaw and accepted the frothing glass of beer the bartender wordlessly slid him. “You did. And I’ve been wanting to thank you.” He’d been staring hard somewhere above me, but now he dropped his gaze to take a sip of his drink.

We sat there for a moment. Me with no one to talk to, and him just—standing there. I raised my glass to take a gulp but surreptitiously ran my eyes over the rest of him. He was wearing a dark gray hoodie, and I absolutely didnotnotice the sturdiness and width of his shoulders underneath the fabric. No, of course not.

I almost spilled the rest of my wine when Josie leaned over, placing an unaware hand on my leg, “Hey, you guys wanna go get a booth?”

Before I could squeak a response, she grabbed my arm and started ushering us over to a corner that had just been vacated. I glanced behind me to see that he was… following? Was he interested in Josie? Is that why he was trailing behind us at her command?

When I slid in the old wooden seat, I expected Josie to sit beside me, but she sat across with that man she’d been chatting up settling beside her.

A solid body radiating heat and some cologne that had no right to smell that good sat beside me. I kept my eyes on my best friend, and when she sucked both her lips into her mouth, skin trembling from trying to suppress her laughter, I kicked her under the table. I’d confessed to her about my run-ins with Orion, and she’d quickly seen through my feigned nonchalance.In fact, she’d downright encouraged me to interact with him, arguing that he was probably just nervous around me.

Josie got a rein on herself and grinned over at us all, “So, this is Keith,” she gestured to the dopey looking guy beside her. He pushed back his dull brown hair and sat up a bit taller when he ran his gaze up and down my unwanted guest. “And your name is…?” As if she didn’t know it. I rolled my eyes as covertly as I could.

“Orion,” his voice was almost rough, and I had to hold myself still, given that I had the overwhelming urge to fidget.

“Oh, what an interesting name,” she said. Keith seemed to deflate a bit at Josie’s compliment as a beat of silence befell our little gathering.

Realizing that my friend was looking at me expectantly, I cleared my throat, “Sylvie.” Keith gave a shy nod and mumbled ‘nice to meet you’. Josie placed a hand on his shoulder, drawing him into her once again.

My eyes narrowed at her. What was the point of dragging me and Orion over here if she wasn’t going to talk to us? At this rate, she was going to beleavingwith the guy! I loved her, but I internally groaned. I had a sneaking suspicion about how this was going to go. Considering it had happened numerous times throughout our friendship.

Orion coughed briefly, probably to fill the silence on our side of the booth. I was wracking my brain for a snide remark, something to cut him and the awkward moment with, but he mumbled over his drink, “Um, you look nice. Pretty.”

My eyes about fell out of their sockets, and my head reared back in shock. A compliment was the last thing I thought I’d receive from the dry, brusque specter that had sidled next to me.

So, why did I feel my face heating again? “Uh, thank you? I mean,” I closed my eyes for a moment and shook my head to clear it, “you look nice, too.”

He looked down at himself and gave a self-deprecating snort, “Thanks.” Before I could stop myself, my face pinched in worry. Did he—did he not think he looked nice? Even though he had bad manners, I wasn’t really serious about the ghost thing.

Orion pursed his lips, eyeing me for a while as Josie and Keith laughed together like they’d known each other for years. The music of the bar changed to a more mellow rock song, the guitar’s lilting melody settling my shoulders just a bit. I took another pull from my glass, waiting for him to say something. But the two of us just sat there. When I snuck a glance over at him, I would catch his eyes darting away, as if he’d been trying to take me in just before.

He seemed… softer now. I threw back the rest of my drink and set the empty glass on the table. “H-how are you?” I kept my gaze steady on him. If we were sticking in this situation together, I wasn’t going to awkwardly sit beside him without speaking.

It was his turn to be surprised. He searched around us, as if the surroundings would give him an answer, “I’m… uh, I’m okay. Good, I mean. And you?” His cheeks started blooming with that dark pink color again, and I felt myself relax even more. He hadn’t thrown any rude remarks at me, which was a relief.

He was being sweet. Even though he’d barely said anything, his blush and posture made him seem almost bashful underneath the grumbles. I swallowed, but I couldn’t help the lifting of my lips just slightly. He pushed some of the curls away from his forehead, and my smile grew, “I’m fine. Thanks for the drink, by the way.”

“You’re welcome,” he said quickly before gesturing to my empty glass. “Can I get you another?”

“Uh, sure.” He nodded and took my empty glass before standing and sauntering fluidly over to the bar. I watched his ass shift back and forth underneath his jeans. I groaned to myself,It has no right being that perfect.

---