Phoenix’s Fire (The Ruins Of Men #2)

Chapter 70

Seventy

Rymar

S eeing Ayla in the cafe made my blood run cold. She'd just seen all of that! Yet the moment she wrapped her arms around me, none of it felt important. I gave in, hugging her hard and not caring about anything else.

"That," I said into her shoulder, "is exactly what I needed."

"Are you okay?" she asked, pulling back to look at me.

I closed my eyes for a moment and pulled in a breath, composing myself. "Yeah," I decided. "Fuck him." Then I turned for the bar. "Ulris? Get me that bottle of..." I paused, debating my options. "I think cherry wine."

"Glass?" Ulris asked as he moved to grab that.

"Two," I told him, gesturing for Ayla to take a seat at the bar with me. "Ever had wine, Ayla?"

She shook her head in a nervous little jiggle. "Alcohol is a tool of the Devil."

"So you want some?" I asked next.

Her eyes scanned my face. "Okay."

Ulris slid me two glasses - not the wine type - and the entire bottle. Flipping the top open released the vacuum, proving this was a fresh bottle, so I poured a generous amount in one glass, then just enough to cover the bottom in the other.

"Taste it first," I told her. "Wine tends to be bitter. This is fruity stuff, so sweeter than some. Still, you might not like it."

Ayla lifted the glass and sniffed first, then took a careful sip. I watched as she thought about the taste, then tried a second time. Her third drink was almost normal-sized.

"It's different," she said.

I nodded. "Yep, but do you like it?" I paused to toss back a swallow of my own. "Because right now, I need something to take my mind off that asshole."

"Qavan?" she asked, proving she'd heard far too much .

I nodded. "Yeah. I honestly thought things were going to work out, but nope." A heavy sigh fell from my lips. "I am shit at love, Ayla."

"Me too." She tilted her glass again, swallowing the last of what I'd given her.

So I grabbed the bottle, tipping it her way in a silent offer. When she nodded, I added a bit more than I had last time before topping up my own glass. This might be sweet, but it was potent stuff.

"Careful," I told her. "If you drink too much of that or drink it too fast, you'll feel it."

"How?" She took a dainty sip.

Before I could answer, someone leaned against the bar on my other side. "You'll do stupid things, laugh too much, and might even have a good time," Saveah said, smiling when I looked over at her.

"And you're here too," I groaned.

"Yep," she said. "Was having dinner with my sister." She flicked a finger to where Ulris was putting a pair of meals into a cotton bag. "But it seems you need her more than I do, so I'm taking the food. Ayla, I'll leave yours with Zasen when I get my kids. Rymar, make sure she gets home safe, okay?"

"And don't get her drunk," I said, guessing where she was going next.

But Saveah just laughed. "I dunno. Could be fun." Then she leaned forward a little more and grinned at Ayla. "It's something everyone should try once, and I trust Rymar to be a gentleman - well, of the Dragon sort." Then she grabbed her bag. "Take care of him, Ayla?"

"Promise!" she said. "Thanks, Saveah."

Saveah just waved and headed for the door, so I lifted my glass and drained it. Reaching for the bottle, I looked over at Ayla. "Wanna?"

"Which part?"

"Get drunk with me," I clarified. "Because I'm thinking that drinking away the memory of tonight sounds like a great idea."

She nudged her glass toward me. "Zasen and Kanik never let me try any of it."

"Kanik's convinced you won't like beer. Most women don't." I added a few glugs to her glass.

"Why not?"

"No clue," I said. "Beer's bitter. Men like it, women don't, and that rule is not necessarily true for everyone. Lessa likes beer. Omden, Drozel's partner? He doesn't. So yeah. I guess it's not a rule. Wine, though? I like the sweet stuff. Cherry, strawberry, and even apple wine are good. I'm not a huge fan of the grape kind."

"I don't know what any of that means," Ayla said, but she was smiling at me. "So maybe I should learn?"

"Ulris!" I yelled. "I need more bottles!"

"If you get stupid drunk, I'm kicking you out," Ulris told me.

"Huh." I looked at Ayla, then back to Ulris. "Get me another cherry, a strawberry, and an apple. Maybe a little grape if we have it? A partial?"

"For?" Ulris asked suspiciously .

So I turned to Ayla. "Wanna see what the forest is like at night? I know the perfect place to sit, drink, and get over my shame."

"No shame, Rymar," Ulris assured me.

I just waved him away, never taking my eyes off Ayla. She glanced between the pair of us, then nodded.

"I think that if someone yelled at me like that, I'd be so embarrassed. I don't know how you looked so brave, Rymar. So if you want to go somewhere else, I'll go. I've seen the forest at night, though. Zasen takes me hunting all the time."

"Not like this," I promised. "Ulris, a bag?"

"Yeah, and those bottles are going to break."

"Then put something between them," I said. "We have some towels back there. Huh. Two, at least. The big ones we use for drying."

Ulris just shook his head. "If Zasen asks, I'm telling him where you're going."

"If Zasen asks," I said, "tell him Ayla's taking care of me." Then I pushed the bottle at her. "And we don't need glasses. I'll share with my friend."

"Just drink from the top?" she asked.

So I took it and demonstrated, swallowing a few gulps. "Just like that."

She grabbed the bottle and did the same. Her drink wasn't as big, but that was okay. I didn't really want her to get drunk. A little tipsy would be okay, just so she could understand the feeling. Mostly, I wanted to go somewhere else. Anywhere but here.

"Hey," I said, leaning closer to her. "What do you think about swimming?"

"Swimming?" She shook her head. "I don't know how."

"Wanna learn?"

"Um...." She shook her head, confused. "Is it dangerous?"

"No." I waved that away. "I know this pool that's shallow enough to stand in. It's between here and our place, pretty private, and..." I turned, glancing at all the people who kept looking my way before leaning in to laugh with their friends. "Just more private," I finished.

So Ayla hopped off her chair, grabbed the bottle, and moved beside me. "Maybe I can pay for the drinks?" she asked hopefully.

I just shook my head. "Nope. Right now, the only thing I want is a friend." I gave her the best smile I could manage. "And maybe someone to be a little stupid with me?"

"If you'll show me how?" she offered.

"Deal," I said, sliding off my chair just as Ulris returned with a bag and something in it that clanked softly. "Thank you," I said before digging inside it to pull out the first bottle I could reach: apple wine.

"Have fun, you two!" Ulris said.

So I gallantly offered Ayla my arm. She giggled beautifully and took it. That was what made it possible for me to walk my ass out of my own cafe with my head up. Qavan's words still rang in the back of my mind, and I knew everyone in here had heard. No one wanted to date me. I was desperate. They'd all heard it, and my ego had just taken one hell of a shit-kicking .

The moment we were outside, I opened my bottle and took a drink. Beside me, Ayla matched me, even if her gulp was smaller. The best part was that when I turned us towards the tree line, she didn't seem worried at all.

"That," I said as we walked, "was mortifying."

"It's worse if they punish you," she told me. "Then you're lying on the ground while they yell, and there's nothing you can do about it."

"Mm, but I'm big enough to hit back," I reminded her.

She flashed me a smile. "I am too now."

"Yeah, you are," I agreed. "And I think you get me."

She took another drink. "What am I getting?"

I sighed, lifted my bottle, then sighed again. "Having people think we're something they can use for their own entertainment, never giving a shit how we feel about it."

"Is that what he did?" she asked as we left the road and headed up a trail into the woods. "Saveah said it was new."

"It's always new," I grumbled, shifting so I was leading the way. Then I shook my head. "Sorry. Don't mind me." And I reached back to offer my hand.

"No, I do mind," she said, grabbing my palm so I could lead her. "We're friends, and sometimes you just need to let it out. So talk, Rymar. Don't make me ask questions that embarrass both of us."

I laughed, unable to stop myself. "I'm sulking."

"You deserve it."

So I drank again. "I actually liked him. That's what sucks. I liked this guy, and all he wanted was to get laid."

"Is that another phrase for sex?" she asked.

"Yep." I glanced back to see how she'd take that.

"But how?" She gave me the most innocent look. "I mean, the penis goes in the vagina. You don't have a vagina. Nor him." Then she sucked in a little breath. "Or are Dragons different?"

"No!" I said, struggling not to laugh. "Oh, Ayla. Fuck, you're adorable. Um, there are other places to stick things."

"Where?"

"Think about the holes you have down there."

"There's only three," she said. "Pee, poop, and babies."

"Well, men poop the same way. It's a hole."

Her mouth flopped open. "You have sexual relations where you defecate?"

"Yep," I said, picking the path to the left as the trail split. "Men have a gland in there that gets stimulated with the friction. It makes things feel very good."

"Women don't have glands."

I sputtered out a laugh. "Um, you have other parts."

"What?"

"Clitoris, or clit," I said. "Don't tell me you don't even know how to masturbate!"

The girl actually huffed. "I lived in a compound where there was always someone with me. Masturbation is sinful, Rymar." Then she took a very long drink. "And I don't know how."

"And I'm not drunk enough for that talk," I decided, but I staggered, proving that was a lie.

That was when we came out of the underbrush to reveal a beautiful and very secluded pool. Here, the creek branched off, trickling through a natural rock formation. It had been running here long enough to carve out a small pool about the size of our living room before running off on the other side. The water wasn't too deep, just over four feet, and the soft babble of the water was relaxing. Overhead, the bright moon meant I had a chance of actually seeing where I was going.

"This," I said, throwing my arms out, bottle still clasped in one hand, "is my favorite swimming hole."

Then I headed to the edge and set down the bag before peeling off my shirt. That got tossed away from the rocky edge, landing in the moss or grass that made up the bank. My shoes came next, but I had to set the bottle down to get those off. And while my hands were free, I opened my pants and pushed them to the ground.

Ayla gasped, spinning around. "Rymar!'

I laughed. "I'm going to swim, Phoenix. It'll be fun."

"You're naked!" she hissed.

"Okay, okay," I said, grabbing my bottle and hurrying over to the water. Carefully, I lowered myself in, then turned back to face her. "It's safe. I'm covered."

She turned back around, then gave me an exasperated look when she realized I'd only gotten into the water. "You're still naked."

"And you're not a prude anymore," I reminded her. But I paused. "Ayla. You can't swim in leather and a skirt. It's water. It's safe, and I will not let you drown. I also don't care how much or how little clothes you have on, because we are friends - but you should know leather doesn't do well if it gets wet." I tilted my head. "I promise I will not assume anything except that my friend is making my bad night a whole lot better."

"And it's okay?" she asked.

I wagged a finger at her. "Nope, you have to say what you mean, because 'okay' covers a lot."

She took a few steps closer. "It's allowed?"

"If and only if you allow it," I said. "You can sit on the edge if you want."

She made a face. "Maybe you can turn around?"

So I turned, putting my back to her. "The rocks at the edge can be slippery, so be careful."

"Okay," she replied, but I could hear her rustling.

A moment later, a boot hit the grass, then the other. There was a bit more fabric moving, and then the soft sound of her feet on the grass moved closer. When Ayla slipped into the water, it was almost silent - except for the little breath.

"It's not cold!" she said.

"Can I turn again?" I asked .

"Okay, but you can't see anything, right?"

I turned to face her. There in the moonlight, her hair shined in shades of silver and shadows. The water swirled moonlight around her, reflecting it back in her pale eyes. I could see her shoulders, much more muscular than they'd been so long ago, but that was all.

And I'd drunk just enough that the sight of her took my breath away.