Page 50 of The Jorogumo

"Oh, there's one." I pointed at a bright sign in front of a simple door, welcoming us toThe Lair. "Fitting name."

Haruto gave an amused snort, then tilted his head at me. "Is that where you want to go?"

"Sure. It looks nice."

Haruto pulled the door open, and music blasted out at us as a man asked for our IDs, at which point I panicked. Did Haruto even have an ID? We were about to be kicked out, weren't we?

Before I could say anything, Haruto smoothly held out an open wallet, his picture on the ID he showed the bouncer.

I blinked, then realized he was waiting for me to show mine, and quickly scrambled to get my wallet.

Once we were inside, I leaned over to hiss in Haruto's ear. "You could've told me you had an ID!"

Haruto winced, then gave me an apologetic smile. "Sorry. It didn't occur to me that you might get worried."

I blew out a breath but didn't push because he was right.

"Also," he leaned close, his lips brushing my ear as he spoke, "you can speak normally. I can hear you just fine."

Supernatural senses, right.

Waving toward the bar, I raised a brow at him. "How about a drink?"

Haruto nodded, then eyed the bench seats and tables on the other side of the room. Most of them were already full, with couples and groups of friends drinking and having a good time.

"Okay, I'll get us some drinks while you grab us a seat," I decided, and he nodded quickly. I watched him make his way across the room before heading closer to the bar.

The bartender was a tall man with short blond hair tipped with orange, bright green eyes, and two ring piercings on either edge of his lower lip. He gave me a nod when I came closer, and I ordered a whiskey on the rocks for myself and a sweet cocktail for Haruto.

Once I had our drinks, I made my way to the sitting area, smiling when I spotted Haruto sitting on a corner bench, his eyes flicking from place to place with equal parts curiosity and nerves. Ah, my sweet sweet introvert. He might drive me crazy in bed, but out here, he was clearly out of his depth. I probably shouldn't find it as cute as I did.

Haruto

I let out a relieved breath when Liam slid into the seat beside me with our drinks, leaning my shoulder against his.

Being in a place crowded with humans and not being able to see him had made me more nervous than I'd expected.

"Hey, you okay?" Liam's voice was soft and concerned as he turned to look at me, placing our drinks on the table.

"I'm fine. Just a lot more people than I'm used to," I said with a shrug, making him smile.

"I get it. If you want to leave at any point, just let me know, okay?"

I nodded, but as long as Liam was with me, the crowd all but disappeared in the background.

"Here. I got you a sweet, fruity cocktail. If you can't get drunk off it, most of the drinks donottaste good."

Chuckling, I picked up the colorful drink and took a careful sip, humming. Like he'd said, it was sweet with a citrusy undertone, and I quite liked it.

"Good?" he asked before taking a sip of his drink, and I nodded.

"What's yours?"

"Whiskey on the rocks."

I tilted my head, eyeing the ice cubes in the drink. "So the ice is the 'rocks?'"

Liam grinned, a soft smile curving his lips. "I can almost hear the quotes in your voice, you know. And yes, it's called on the rocks because of the ice."

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