Page 27 of Steve's Barmaid
“I trust you to keep me safe if any alien baddies show up,” she said, batting her eyelashes adorably at me.
I puffed out my chest. “It would be an honor to protect you from alien baddies.”
Billie just laughed and continued to pull me toward our destination. We reached the part of the path where the cobblestones turned into packed dirt, signifying the beginning of the forest and the end of Fýrifírar territory. It wasn’t long before the mushrooms started to pop up like jewels along the path. It was almost dark, so the glowing mushrooms provided most of the light.
Billie approached them, squatting down to look more closely.
“These are like something you’d find in a 1970s blacklight poster,” she said as she stroked a finger across the head of one of the mushrooms.
I squatted down next to her. “I’ll have to take your word for it because I don’t know what half of that means.”
The mushrooms really did look magical, glowing all colors the rainbow and bathing the path in a soft light. I set down the basket and the blanket and walked to inspect another, larger patch of mushrooms. They were all over the planet, but seeing them up close was very different. As I investigated, Billie busied herself by laying out the blanket and basket for us. Wanting to get at least to sit with her before night truly fell, I left the mushrooms and joined her.
“What did you pack for us?” I asked, sitting down across from her.
“A little bit of everything, but mainly gautr, because I know it’s your favorite,” she said, giving me a smile.
Oh no. Was I going to have to pretend to enjoy gautr? Why would she think I liked it? I must have done a terrible job hiding my horror because she started laughing.
“What’s so funny?” I asked.
“I think you and I might be the only ones in Fýrifírar that hate gautr. I noticed you always skip it at breakfast because I do, too!” She laughed.
Relieved, I started to laugh with her. I loved the way we laughed so easily together. Billie had an excellent sense of humor.
“It tastes like rotten fruit to me,” I said. “I don’t get it!”
“Rotten fruit is being generous. It smells like feet and has the texture of already chewed food.” She made a gagging face and kept laughing.
What she’d actually brought were two of my favorite things: the meat pies the kitchen made and the sweet pastries they sometimes had at breakfast.
“How did you know these were my favorite?” I asked, grabbing a meat pie.
“You haven’t been the only one paying attention,” she said, taking a meat pie for herself.
“Is it that obvious that I’ve been watching you?” I asked. I didn’t realize I’d been so obvious, but considering it landed me here on a picnic with Billie, I had no regrets.
“Only because I’ve been watching you right back.” She bit her lip, looking up, blushing. One of her curls had fallen into her face as she’d arranged the food. I reached out a hand to tuck it behind her ear, and to my surprise, she leaned into the touch, leaving my palm cradling her cheek.
“Are you super hungry, or could we put off eating for a bit?” she asked, tracing a finger across my knee.
I swallowed. I knew nothing about physical intimacy, but I was ready for whatever Billie wanted.
“I can wait on food, but you’ll have to lead the way.”
“Oh, I can do that,” She moved the basket of food that was between us and scooted closer to me until we were knee to knee, both sitting cross-legged.
She reached out and stroked a finger along my jaw.
“Do you know what kissing is?” she asked. “Piper said Agnarr didn’t.”
“I have seen Agnarr press his lips to Piper’s the way you did to my cheek this afternoon,” I said, growing hot all over at the feeling of her finger on my jaw.
“Would you like to try it? Are you okay with me being your first kiss?” She traced her finger down my neck, causing me to shiver.
Her voice was breathy in a way I hadn’t heard before. Did this mean she was aroused?
“I—I am okay with that,” I stuttered.
