He waved her off and took another swig. “Nonsense! My Sunbeam is just a little shy, is all.” He caught sight of his ‘precious day bringer’ glaring at him from across the bar. She ducked her head back down to the innocent glass she was mauling and scrubbed harder. “Don’t worry, my love, I am a patient man!”
“Oh, just take your bottle and go!” She snapped. My eyes widened at the high pitch in her voice.
Oh, this is just delicious.The stoic barmaid and flirtatious orc. I’d read that romance novel any day. With any luck, I’d be able to find more monster romance books in the coming years. Now that more humans could interact with them, it was only a matter of time that my favorite authors graced me with saucy tales of their new source material.
“Whatever you say, man,” Cin said, “Anyway, this is my bestie, Brie. Brie, this is Balabash. He worked in the kitchens with me on the ship.”
Balabash turned in his seat to tower over- I mean, face me. My polite nod was met with another wide grin before a bear paw of a hand crashed down on my shoulder, nearly knocking me off my chair. “Good to meet you, Miss Brie! Any friend of Cin’s is a friend of mine!”
Before I could answer, my self-appointed friend spun me around on my stool to face Cin. The orc’s free hand crashed down on my other shoulder as my life flashed before my eyes. I never expected to meet my end by an overly enthusiastic orc greeting, but life was an unpredictable bitch.
“What do you mean by best friend, though?” Balabash asked, giving my shoulders a little shake. “I thought Felix was your best friend. You’re not two-timing my little brother, are you?”
Cinnamon rolled her eyes. “Don’t be so dramatic. Brie is my best friend and Felix is my best demon friend. Don’t worry, you’re on the list too,” she said, waving him off. “Friendship is a level, not a straight line.”
Balabash pulled me back and leaned in to whisper in my ear. The food and booze in my gut rolled in protest with each new movement. “Can you believe this? She’s cheating on us with each other.”
“I’m gonna puke if you don’t stop whipping me around, friend.”
“Yes, I think it’s about time you got your hands off her.” Jack’s voice and the jostled contents of my stomach were way too annoying to deal with at the same time.
Ignoring Jack, Balabash released my shoulders. “Sorry Brie, I forget humans are less sturdy than my kind.” His large hands gave a small pat to smooth out my ruffled blouse before he turned back to the bar. “Sunbeam, could you bring me another of whatever my new friend is having?”
I could feel the scowl on Jack’s face without even having to turn around. “That won’t be necessary,” he snapped. “I’ve brought Brie another drink.”
That hyena plan sounded better every time he opened his mouth.I wouldn’t call Jack particularly ugly. He may have even passed for handsome if he wasn’t so blindly annoying and easy to see through. The whole town knew of Jack’s ambitious nature and his inability to budget. It wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if creditors were knocking at his door once again.
Last I heard, his latest get-rich-quick scheme involved buying expensive fancy chickens that lay black eggs and trying to sell them on the market for twice the price of a normal egg. The only problem was that no one in Boohail cared about what color a fucking egg was. I could see the idea working if we lived near some posh city with easily amused rich people. But the closest thing we had to rich folk was Cin’s family, the Hotpeppers’. I practically grew up in Cin’s home and she and her family never once turned to me and said, ‘you know it would make this omelet better? If it was just straight black.’
He probably looked at me and saw a cash cow more than a wife. If my land wasn’t directly next to his, I doubt he’d ever give me the time of day. My neighbor was a pushy nuisance with his eye on expansion, and I’d have to be an idiot not to see it. We’ve lived our whole lives in Boohail and yet he never deemed me worthy to speak to until I bought my small plot of land off Cinnamon’s family. Then suddenly I was the apple of his eye. And I was getting very sick of it.
My face hardened, and I turned to look him dead in the eye. “Jack, I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times. I am not interested. I do not want your drink. Leave me alone.”
The smile never left his face as he pushed a fizzing pink drink into my hands. “Don’t be like that, sweetheart! Just try it. It’s a special cocktail I made just for you!”
Fighting back my anger, I grit my teeth and pushed the drink back into his hands. “I don’t want it.”
A small crack appeared in the man’s smile. “Just try it,” he said, pushing it back.
“No.”
“For me?”
“Extra no.”
His smile finally dropped to a sneer. “Don’t be so stubborn!” He pushed the drink back into my hands.
Unable to see through the haze of my anger, I snatched the cup back and finally snapped. “For the last damn time, I DON’T WANT YOUR DRINK.” With the force of every woman tired of broke men’s audacity, I yeeted the drink straight at Jack’s head. Unfortunately for me, that broke man could dodge.
I watched in horror as Jack ducked down, letting the fizzing pink drink fly straight over his head to crash into a mess of blonde hair. My unsuspecting victim flinched, rubbing the back of his head before whipping around with a glare.
Time seemed to slow at that moment. My breath caught, icy blue eyes rooted me to my chair. The man straightened, revealing a tall, muscled frame. His wavy blond hair framed high cheekbones and a face that could lead a woman to sin. I watched on, entranced, as his eyes widened. The blue sea receded against the black abyss of his pupils. His mouth dropped open as if he was seeing something unimaginable, like a boa constrictor getting up and walking away.
“Look, I’m sorry about that,” I mumbled. “I didn’t mean to hit you. Does your head hurt?” my hand skimmed the bar, trying to find a cloth to help wipe him off. But when I turned back around, the stranger was on me. A firm arm slid around my back, his free hand cupped my chin, tilting my face to his before capturing my lips in a kiss. His eager mouth muffled my small squeak. My knees grew weak when the stranger nipped my lower lip, taking the chance to deepen the kiss further when my lips parted in shock. I tried to signal my hands to push him off. But the treacherous heathens only rested on a broad chest.
A rush of cold hit me and I opened my eyes to see the bold stranger had been yanked back by Jack. He fisted the blond man’s collar before yelling obscenities in his ear. But the stranger barely took notice of him. He shook his head, as if trying to clear his thoughts, before shoving Jack to the side. In a flash, his hands were on me again. This time cupping my face to look me over, disbelief and wonder shining through his smiling face.
“Felix?” Cin’s voice was careful and measured. “You okay bud? You’re coming on a little strong to my friend there.”
