Page 35 of Steve's Barmaid
“Um…” He was purposely not meeting my gaze.
Did I smellbad? I knew I hadn’t showered last night after our date, but I had showered right before. There was no way I smelled like stale sweat or a locker room.
“Well…” I prompted Berit as he just stared at me like an idiot.
“Not bad,” he clarified. “Definitely not bad. Just different.” Tyr nodded along with him.
“Well, could you refrain from smelling me in the future?” I asked. “It gives off major creeper vibes.”
“Major what?” Berit looked confused.
Ah, here was where their lack of knowledge of slang was sometimes annoying. “It just makes you seem like you don’t have good intentions, and it feels like you're invading my personal space,” I explained.
I was used to weird patrons who got way too close to me or, worse, touched me when they were trying to order. This gave me immediate flashbacks to a regular who liked grabbing my arm whenever he wanted another beer. I was not a fan. The two of them stared at me like idiots with their mouths open. They clearly needed time to process my boundaries.
“Why don’t we just get back to work?” I asked.
I was fine not getting to know them more if they were going to be weird. I wasn’t interested in friendship with two male orkin who would likely leave at the season’s end.
I could ignore them and focus on my work. We had the entire interior of the building to sand down. I could focus on work. Osif had claimed the actual bar top for himself. I saw him crouched over it, sanding meticulously, completely absorbed in his task. Steve, Joey, and Reykr were together, and I was surprised to see them working in complete silence. Usually, you had to stuff something in Joey’s mouth to get her to stop talking. I briefly considered joining them to break the silence but decided to let it be. Maybe they were just absorbed in their work. I shrugged and returned to the patch of the wall I was working on. Perhaps Joey was harboring something for daddy-vibes Reykr.
By lunchtime, my arm was numb from sanding, and I was starving, having not actually had breakfast. Luckily, one of Osif’s carpenters had grabbed lunch for all of us, and we sat out on the grass outside, enjoying the warm weather while we ate. I was still with Tyr, and Berit, and I sighed when Steve sat down with Reykr, Joey, and Osif. More uncomfortable small talk. At least they hadn’t tried to smell me again since this morning.
“What kind of alcohol will you carry in the bar?” Berit asked.
I was surprised but pleased at his further attempt to make conversation.
“Emla said mead is what is most common here and what she knows how to make. So, I’ll start with that before I expand. I am going to look at different flavorings, though. This afternoon, I’m going to try the berry patch Emla suggested. It’s just a bit outside of the tribe.” I took a sip of water
“Ooh, could we join you?” Tyr asked eagerly.
Fuckity fuck sticks. Dating someone in the same group of “friends” where we saw each other every day was already proving to be a challenge, and we’d only had one date. Thinking on my feet, I threw out another lie. “Ah, actually, I am going with Joey. She and I need some girl time. We haven’t gotten to hang outwith the two of us in a while because we’ve been so busy with the bar.” I tried to keep the hesitation out of my voice.
I groaned inwardly. I guessed I was telling Joey today.
Tyr and Berit accepted my explanation and went back to their lunch. Breathing a sigh of relief, my eyes strayed over to Steve to find him staring at me with barely concealed hunger on his face. I felt myself flush and gave him a look that I hoped conveyed,stop being so obvious. I went back to my food. I tried not to think about how difficult this was and instead focused on my berry-picking date. I wondered if we’d pick any berries.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
STEVE
The entire morning was torture. By the time I had gotten my cock to obey orders, everyone had started working on the walls. Billie was sharing a wall with Tyr and Berit. I was surprised to find myself curling my hands into fists. Tyr was talking to Billie, making me want to punch him in his stupid face. I shook myself. Is this what jealousy felt like? I didn’t want any of my tribemates talking to her. Or even standing near her.
I grumbled but joined Reykr and Joey on the opposite wall and got to work. Reykr was usually quiet, but Joey was also working silently and was not her usual talkative self. The entire morning, I had a weird, tense feeling. I wondered if I should try to make conversation, but decided to get down to the work at hand and not try to force anything.
It was hard to keep my mind off of Billie as I sanded down the walls, but I couldn’t risk having to run toadjustmyself. I thought about our home tribe and wondered if anyone missedus. This tribe seemed much more tightly-knit than mine, with everyone being friendly with everyone else. It was refreshing after coming from someplace more reserved. I wondered what it might be like to stay with them permanently. Reykr and the others wouldn’t want to remain here, but over the past few weeks, I found myself caring less and less about what they decided and wanted to decide for myself. Maybe Billie was having that impact on me. In our conversations, as we worked, it sounded like she had learned the hard way to do things that made her happy and not worry about what others thought. I felt like maybe I was getting there.
I was relieved when Osif called for a lunch break. The weird, silent tension between Reykr and Joey was uncomfortable, and I was tired of working alongside them. I was going to join Billie for lunch but was once again blocked by my own tribemates. I humphed as I sat down with Reykr and Joey, stuffing a meat pie into my mouth. At least the food here was good.
“Do you think we’ll finish today?” Joey asked eventually after we’d sat in awkward silence for several moments.
Reykr let out a laugh that caused him to choke on his meat pie, requiring me to give him several hearty pats on the back.
“So, I’ll take that as a no?” Joey sassed.
I was very surprised to see Reykr blush. “No, no, I’m sorry. I think this sanding business will be several more tedious days.”
“Ah, yeah, I was afraid of that.” Joey’s shoulders slumped.
