Chapter 13
What happened with Lincoln didn't disrupt my dreams, but the events flashed through my mind the second I woke up the next morning.
I kept replaying everything in my head over and over, wondering if there was something that I could have done differently before he'd kissed me that could have given him the wrong idea.
Just because I couldn't conjure something didn't mean it didn't exist, but I couldn't pinpoint anything I'd done that would have garnered the impression he clearly carried.
His behavior really freaked me out. I'd thought Lincoln was a go with the flow type of guy, and that clearly couldn't be further from the truth.
True to form, I'd told Myers the truth after I'd had my morning coffee.
She was absolutely livid and wanted me to talk to someone at the RV park to have Lincoln removed for my safety, but I kept insisting that it was an isolated incident.
I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, that maybe it had been the alcohol that had steered his actions down the seedy alley he'd chosen to travel down the night he'd insisted we hookup again in that clearing.
I also didn't want to cause trouble among the group.
I liked these people, and they loved Lincoln.
I hesitated to give them a reason not to.
Luckily, I had work to distract me. My latest distractions were a trilogy of welcomed thoughts: work, writing, and Arze.
Writing was coming along well. I had plans to write more in my first day off from the haunts, especially as things for the festival were getting closer.
Jane was going to have a couple of us start coming in earlier than usual so that we could help prep for the festival on top of working the haunts in the evenings.
I was super excited to see everything come together.
Arze was a different story, obviously. After what occurred with Lincoln, I found myself really wanting to see him today.
Replacing thoughts of Lincoln's propositions with ideas of Arze's advances were helping soften the blow to my psyche.
I hadn't been paired with him during the work day, but just seeing him helped qualm my woes from the previous day and I was back to crushing on him full-time.
Work went by in a blur. I was paired with Chase and Khalice in the haunted house, once again donning my Freddy attire.
Once we were done with entertaining customers for the night, we met up at the entryways between the house and the maze, and the three of us stopped and resigned to waiting until the other three were walking toward us.
Abigail and Ripp gave us grins as they approached, and my heart quickened when I saw Arze.
Just setting my sights on him was enough to erase the unpleasantness with Lincoln, and I was eternally grateful.
Now I was equally plagued by thoughts of kissing every inch of his gorgeous purple skin.
“Man, it was busy tonight for a Sunday.” Chase commented, his delightful southern accent enabling a drawl to mince around his words.
“Tell me about it.” Abigail huffed. “Someone threw up in the maze after, like, an hour of being open.”
“It was quite troublesome.” Arze agreed.
“Why don't we grab some drinks?” Chase suggested, a heavy smirk slanting his lips. “We've all had a long night so let's blow off some steam. I know a bar a short walk from here that's Orb-run and open to all species.”
“Absolutely.” Khalice nodded, which shocked the hell out of me. Just last night she'd refused to come out and join us at the RV park. But I supposed she was a hell of a lot more comfortable with her co-workers here than the strangers occupying the majority of the park.
Images of last night returned to me, the feeling of Lincoln's grip on my hips making my mind stir and my stomach churn. I closed my eyes and wished I could banish last night from ever appearing in my mind's eye.
“I could use a drink.” I agreed, opening my eyes again and trying to blink away the bad memory.
Everyone agreed to go to the bar, Abigail suggesting that we extend the invite to Jane.
Once we sauntered up to the Victorian and invited her, she agreed on the spot, claiming that running the haunts lately had her stressed and she could use a shot or two.
Ripp bounced up and down with excitement the entire time we walked as a group to the bar, following Chase's directions.
After no less than ten minutes, we made our way into a bar by the name of Batwings.
Batwings was just as horror-inclined as the rest of Phoebe, all kinds of horror movie posters and associated memorabilia all over the walls.
The booths were draped in black spiderweb decor and the tables looked like a web was underneath the see-through pane of the table.
For a place called Batwings, it was very heavy on the spider decorations, but hey, I wasn’t complaining.
Even the barstools were a mix of black and grey mock marble.
The owner of the bar was a handsome petrylle with flowing black hair, which paired really well with his piercing blue eyes.
Batwings was fairly busy, filled with patrons already toeing the line of intoxication as we were escorted to a large enough table to accommodate the seven of us graciously.
A low hum of conversation was audible throughout the entire establishment, everyone having to elevate their voices in order to be heard consistently.
Chase ordered a round of tequila shots for the table, cheers and subtle nods of delight flung in his direction.
“To the best team we've had in years.” Chase said once the shots had arrived, holding up his shot glass.
We all held up our shot glasses and clinked them together in cheers. After knocking the bottom of my shot glass on the table, per tradition, I made sure to down the shot and grab a lime from the available plate in front of Khalice.
The liquor's burn made a soothing path down my throat, biting into the lime so that the juice could ease the blaze.
Directly across from me, Arze's smile came into view as he laughed at Ripp's reaction to slamming the shot.
He was flailing his neck back and forth like he was head-banging, making us all chuckle.
I sighed inwardly. The problem with my crush on Arze was the fact that I couldn't voice it or see it play out.
I had no way of knowing whether or not Arze was queer or if he even welcomed the notion of hooking up with humans.
It wasn't a super common thing for Orbs and humans to involve themselves romantically.
God forbid, sexually. It definitely happened, but it wasn't something you would see represented in the media anytime soon.
So that left me with my woeful whims of wishing, which at least my writing was getting the benefit from. I was nearing the halfway mark of having it complete, so if anything, I should be thanking Arze.
Except the way that I wanted to thank him wasn't appropriate. Least of all for co-workers.
“What was up with all the weirdos today?” Chase broke the silence, everyone recovered from their individual shots. He turned toward where Khalice and I sat side by side. “Remember that guy with the handlebar mustache?"
“Ugh.” Khalice groaned, making a face that told everyone she wished she didn't recollect the guy in question.
“I like a good mustache,” I offered with a chuckle. “But yeah, that constant sneezing?” I gave Jane a wicked but intended gaze. “We need to Lysol the fuck out of Arson Aisle.”
“Try the whole damn house.” Khalice nodded. “He did the same thing in every area.”
“Dude's a menace to society.” Chase concluded, shaking his head in a silent bless-his-heart sentiment.
Jane laughed along, with Ripp thinking the topic was the funniest thing he'd ever heard as he bounced up and down in his chair with guffaws. “I’ll get it germ free by the time you guys come in tomorrow.”
“I just want tomorrow to be a puke free day.” Abigail offered, sighing as she laid her head in her open palms, leaning on the table. “I’ve never seen half-processed chicken in someone's bile before.”
“And that's my appetite gone.” Chase feigned throwing up, setting down the menu he had been mulling over and sliding it toward Arze.
“She's right though.” He chimed in. “It was...disturbing to witness.” He fussed with the white collar of his green polo, smoothing it out perfectly from its previously ruffled state.
“I’m sorry you guys had to deal with that, but thank you for cleaning it up.”
Abigail gave Jane a positive tilt of her head, her eyes squinted to show how serious she was. “No one should have to see that if they weren't forced to already.”
Laughter played around us as Chase asked us what we wanted from the bar. We each put in an order for a cocktail or a beverage of our choosing and watched as he retreated from the table to put in our orders.
Jane cleared her throat, and her eyes focused on me intently. “So how are you liking it so far, Krueger? As our latest hire, I'm curious what you think.”
They all turned to look at me, the roars of a good time reverberating from a few tables across from us.
A group of work buddies were blowing off steam with a round of beers.
They were a mixture of Orbs and humans, just like us.
It made me smile to think that we could all come together for the common goal of a paycheck.
“I hope you've had a fun time,” Ripp said with his too-excited tone. “We haven't gotten to work together much, though.” His frown only latest a few seconds before he let the air have his chuckles again.
“I am having a fun time.” I admitted, meaning every word.
Working with everyone was awesome, and the environment was equally interesting and creatively fulfilling for me.
I had zero reason to complain. “It's so cool that the haunts operate year-round. Having a constant flow of Halloween related things to do should be mandatory in every town.”
“Hear, hear.” Jane laughed. “Phoebe is the only place I've ever heard of that embraces all things spooky to the fullest extent.”
“It's a safe haven for Orbs as well.” Khalice said evenly. “The townspeople's affliction for the grotesque helps those of us who appear more...abrasive…to be a little more accepted.”
I'd never thought about that aspect of it.
Phoebe was a haven for people like me who were obsessed with Halloween and horror, but it was also a safer place for Orbs to just truly be themselves.
Especially those like Khalice, Ripp, and Arze, that could look less human than some of their other Orb counterparts.
Our drinks arrived, with Chase helping to heave them across the bar with the waiter.
The bar started to get a little crowded, more and more people piling in as the music progressively got louder and louder.
It wasn't until we were all finished with our current round of drinks and had fresh ones in our hands that Khalice stood up from her chair.
“Alright, enough sitting and talking.” I was really appreciating that she was being so open and social with everyone. Maybe she really would join us at the park the next time they had a bonfire. “Let's hit the dance floor.”
And hit the dance floor we did. The bar was sizable enough to cater to those who wanted to drink in their booths or at their respective tables while also accommodating a dance floor in the center of the establishment.
“Okay, Krueger!” Chase guffawed as I started to dance, making my eyes dart toward him in alertness. “You've got some moves!”
My cheeks flooded with redness, embarrassed at simply being perceived as a good dancer. I wasn't horrible, I guess, but I wasn't skilled or even good by any means.
Khalice cheered on her agreement with Chase, as Ripp lifted her hand delicately in the air to spin her, making me smile.
Khalice had such a soft spot for Ripp. Even though he was the excited chihuahua of the group, he was also a really decent guy that cared deeply for everyone.
And it was nice to see Khalice regard him as such.
“He's right.” Arze mentioned, sliding next to me as a lazy smirk embedded itself among his lips, causing mine to curl in reaction.
Khalice and Ripp were completing obvious choreography while Chase and Abigail mimicked each other in a mockery of uncoordinated gyrating, Jane laughing at them as she swayed to and fro to the obnoxious brassy bass that ebbed around us.
Which left his attention squarely on me. “You're a decent dancer.”
If my cheeks weren't beet red before, they sure as fuck were now.
Being the sole person to hold his heed was invigorating, fueled by my crush on him, but it was also causing me massive waves of anxiety.
Without the buffer of other people, I had to work extra hard to not seem like a total dork that was obsessed with him.
Even though I was desperately infatuated.
Playing it off, I shrugged and thanked him with my lips in a tight line. But I could still feel his eyes roaming over me, assessing my body in a way that was really making my jeans tighter than they needed to be.
When I lifted my eyes, Arze was still staring, meeting my heavy lidded gaze and making me dizzy with desire.
We were dancing with less space between us now, somehow subconsciously drifting closer and closer to one another.
I could feel the heat rolling in waves off his body as his state continued to warm me up from the inside out, matching the deep inferno building within me.
Our eyes locked, our bodies slowly inching toward each other, my heart about the completely leap out of my chest, I tried to contain myself. There was an edge to the flint in Arze's eyes, one I was overly familiar with.
He looked like he wanted to kiss me.
Needing to quench my yearning’s thirst within me, I inched forward, knowing that only seconds separated me from being able to feel his lips on mine.
Except the contact never came. Arze's eyes flared with what seemed like surprise.
He recoiled, throwing himself backward so hard and so quickly that he bumped right into Jane.
She turned to face him, confusion on her face, but he wasn't staring at her.
His eyes were locked on mine again, and his earlier desire was replaced with a horror I didn't understand.
“Sorry,” he said, but whether it was to me or to Jane was unclear. “I-I have to go.”
Arze darted through the dancing crowd, leaving a wake of disgruntled and annoyed people. And I was at the top of that list, wondering if I had read the signs wrong and had just infinitely made things more awkward with the man I was infatuated with.