Hold my Reins (Monster Match season two)

Chapter 9

nine

L ynck arrived a few minutes early and sat at an empty table. He would’ve gone into wait, but he didn’t want Rox to be standing outside looking for him. As if the thought of the human summoned him, Rox walked around the corner wearing a pair of faded and ripped blue jeans, a black undershirt, and a red checked shirt over the top. His hair was loose, and his hands were shoved in his pockets. He glanced up and looked around, scanning the shop fronts.

Lynck stood, the movement catching Rox’s attention.

The intense look of concentration faded and was replaced with a smile as he walked over. “Hey.”

His hands were still in his pockets, and Lynck wasn’t sure if he should give him a hug or a nod. It was not appropriate to rub their cheeks together or nuzzle at his neck. They weren’t human-style greetings. “How’s the new job going?”

Rox nodded and gave a one-shouldered shrug. “Job-like.”

That could mean anything. “He didn’t hate you?”

He laughed. “No. Or at least not enough to tell me to fuck off. Is it closed?”

“Almost. Want to go in and order?”

Rox licked his lower lip, and Lynck wanted to lean in and kiss him. “I’m fine.”

No, he wasn’t. Rox had come to town for work and was staying in the cheap motel. Lynck guessed he didn’t have much money to spare.

“I’ll buy. Staff discount.”

He winced. “Really?—”

“You can check out the piano in the corner while I order.” Lynck put his hand on Rox’s lower back and ushered him inside. There were two older women sitting at one table. They had cake and coffee and a deck of cards laid out on their table. They came in for the last hour every Thursday. Otherwise, the cafe was empty.

Thursten had started the cleanup process based on the looks of things. His gaze flicked between Lynck and Rox.

Lynck tilted his head and gave him a look that hopefully conveyed, ‘Don’t say a thing’. Thursten didn’t know Lynck’s past and how well he made people disappear. The troll smiled. “What can I get you?”

“Same as always. A regular mocha,” Lynck said. He glanced at Rox, who was studying the menu on the wall behind Thursten.

“Is that the specialty?” Rox asked.

Thursten put his hand over his heart. “No, that is an abomination that he insists we keep making.”

Rox’s gaze settled on the troll, who was about the same height as Lynck. “Then what do you recommend?”

“For you, the midnight blend. Full of flavor and mystery, and perfect for staying up all night.” Thursten added a wink at the end.

Lynck rolled his eyes and flicked his ears, which only made Thursten’s smile bigger.

Rox glanced at them both as if realizing there was something going on. “Have you got something that won’t keep me up all night?” He leaned on the counter and tilted his head at Lynck. “That’s his job.”

Thursten roared with laughter. “I like him.”

That was all he was good for, right? Keeping a human up all night. He regretted offering to buy the coffees. He needed to delete the app and forget about humans. While there weren’t other kelpies for him to date, there were other monsters. But even monsters had heard one too many stories about kelpies. Lynck forced a smile.

“What about the afternoon delight? Rich berry notes with a hint of sweetness?”

Rox lifted his eyebrows. “It’s not actually called that?”

“It is,” Lynck confirmed. “There’s also lazy morning, sinful sighs, and Sunday brunch. Sunday brunch has vanilla notes, so you may not like it.”

“Okay, then…afternoon delight sounds great.”

“Good choice. They won’t be long.” Thursten turned away to make the drinks.

“There’s all kinds of stuff in here…” Rox pointed to a gramophone up in a corner.

“I think it’s meant to have a human antique feel.” There was also a lute, some pan pipes, and other bits around the room—all out of reach from curious fingers.

“Yeah, I can see that.” He looked at the piano in the corner that had several signs on top, reminding people no food or drinks at the piano and that children must be supervised, or they’d be served to the cook out the back. Which was a joke. Monsters weren’t allowed to eat humans.

“You can play it.”

He scuffed his shoe. “I don’t think I can. Mom played, and she taught me, but…”

Lynck leaned in and whispered in his ear. “Trust me, we have all heard worse than whatever you do.”

Last night Rox had seemed confident, now he acted as though he didn’t belong and was scared of doing the wrong thing. Lynck gave him a little nudge toward the piano.

Rox took one step toward the old upright. Then another. His shoulders eased as he crossed the floor and pulled out the stool. He sat and stared at the keys for several heartbeats, then lifted his hands and placed his fingers on the keys.

He closed his eyes but didn’t play anything.

“Is he okay?” Thursten whispered as he put the takeout cups on the counter.

“I’m not sure… He said he played. I thought it would be a good idea.” He was missing something because Rox hadn’t moved.

Rox let his hands drop, playing all ten notes at once. His eyes remained closed as he lowered his head. He sniffed and stood. “I can’t.”

Lynck picked up the cups, suspecting this get-together was over before it began. “Another time?”

Rox shrugged and accepted the cup. “Thank you. I’ll buy next time…once I get paid.”

So money was a problem, and not the only one Rox had. Lynck itched to ask what was going on, but he kept his mouth closed. If he asked too many questions, Rox would do the same, and that was dangerous ground he didn’t want to cross. He held the door, and they stepped out onto the street. “Do you want to check out the lake?”

Even though he was no longer smiling, Rox nodded. “Yeah. I’m sorry about back there.”

“You weren’t in the mood to play, I understand.” Music had to come from the heart.

They walked in silence, with Lynck leading the way to the lake.

“I haven’t played since Mom’s funeral. And when I sat there, that was the only song I remembered, and I don’t want to play it ever again.” He took a sip of the coffee. “I sold everything when I left…I regret selling her piano. But I couldn’t… Ah fuck, you don’t want to listen to my sad story.”

“I’m sorry you lost your mom.” But he didn’t understand why Rox had needed to sell everything. “Was your dad not around?”

“Nah, he’s a piece of shit. Left before I turned two, made himself a new family, and never paid a cent of child support. I found him when I was sixteen, a year after she had cancer the first time. I thought he might help me. I needed help…” He gave a hollow laugh. “She got better until it came back three years ago.”

Then she’d died, and Rox had sold everything. “Is that why you moved here? To start over?”

“Not really. I’ve been on the road for six months, doing odd jobs. I was running out of money, and I figured I should do the job I’m qualified for and stay in one place for a bit. It’s easy to run, but without a direction, I felt like I was going in circles. Same shit in a new town, hooking up with the same type of guys.”

“So that’s why you joined Monster Match?” Why was he still asking questions?

“I saw it on a coaster in the bar and was curious. I hadn’t planned on hooking up, and then we got talking, and one thing led to another…” He took a drink, his cheeks pink as if remembering. “What about you? Why the human world and the app and the coffee shop?”

There was only one reason, but he didn’t share it.

“I thought living here would be an adventure.” And it couldn’t have been any worse than his life in the monster realm. “I’d heard talk about how different the human world was, and I wanted to see for myself.” He’d needed to find out if the whispers that some magics didn’t work was true.

They were.

And Bothvar no longer had the power to compel him. If Bothvar came through the portal, Lynck wasn’t sure what would happen, but in the human world, Bothvar was a no one and he controlled nothing and Lynck doubted the humans would let him do whatever he wanted.

“The coffee shop was the easiest place to find work because they only hire monsters, but I eventually began teaching violin. I think the music is one of the reasons we matched,” Lynck said.

Rox nodded. “I’m glad we did. Um…I don’t usually make a habit of staying in touch with…um…”

“Past hook-ups?”

“Yeah. It can be weird, but I liked the chat beforehand.” He drew in a breath and concentrated on his coffee. “Anyway, I can find my way round the human apps. But this is all new. I don’t know much about monsters and less about kelpies. I hope that doesn’t sound too rude.”

“Not rude, honest. Which is better than assuming you know everything and getting it all wrong. I like the app, but some humans only want to say they fucked a monster. They don’t want more. It can be hard to tell.”

“I’m human, and it can be hard to tell what some men want. Sometimes, it’s just easier to not hope for more. That way, you can’t be disappointed.” Rox glanced at him. “Or maybe it’s just me.”

There were undercurrents that Lynck couldn’t decipher. That twisted and turned and made the water treacherous, even for a kelpie. “But low expectations mean never allowing yourself the chance to look for more.”

Never taking a chance.

Which didn’t explain why he was taking Rox to the lake. He should’ve ignored him and moved on, but Rox was stuck in his brain. In his dreams. He was not taking him to the lake to run in some kind of sham kelpie dating ritual.

He was being friendly, that’s all. Which didn’t explain why he’d woken up with a handful of notes to a new song rolling through his mind this morning.

“You must like the human world since you haven’t gone back.”

Lynck finished his mocha. He didn’t want to lie to Rox and have that thorn between them. “I do like it. It’s interesting. But I do miss my herd.”

“Is that your family?”

“Yes.” He stopped. “And this is the lake.” In the evening light, the surface rippled dark gray, with edges of sunlight catching on the peaks. “It winds through the forest for a bit, and in stormy weather, it can be deadly. I enjoy swimming in it, but unless you are a strong swimmer, I do not recommend going far from the shore.”

“Are there monsters in the water?”

“Aside from me?” Lynck grinned.

Rox’s eyes widened.

“Yes, there are others who use the lake. No, they won’t harm you. But there are currents and very large fish and eels. Do you want to walk along the shore?”

“Yeah. I’d like that. Maybe on the weekend, I’ll come down for a run. No swimming.” Rox tossed his cup into the trash can at the edge of the path that led to the beach.

Lynck stared at his back for a moment. Why was Rox, a human, talking about running on the beach? “What do you mean, run ?”

He dropped his cup in the trash and caught up in a couple of quick strides.

“Exercise. Running is free. So is swimming, but the weather is too cold, and you’ve kind of scared me.”

Lynck put his arm around Rox’s shoulder. “If you want to swim, I will protect you.”

And he’d have someone to swim with. Which was both exciting and disturbing as the only people he’d swam with since being taken from his herd ended up dead.

Rox leaned into him. “Can you tell me a little about your people so I’m not accidentally rude?”

“If it is accidental, it is forgivable.” He didn’t expect humans to know or understand anything about monsters. There were some monsters he didn’t know anything about. “I can tell you about my herd.”