Chapter Two
Asher
“Dost my eyes deceive me, or has Asher Cunnington graced us with his presence?”
Well, it was fun while it lasted. All forty seconds of anonymity, ruined by the bartender. Smiling, I weaved through the tables toward the larger part of the bar, with the raised height and sturdier stools for the mostly minotaur clientele.
“What brought you here?” Ben wiped down the bar top in front of me before grabbing a quart glass and filling it with my preferred tap.
Well, what used to be my preferred tap, but considering it was almost completely poured, I didn’t say anything. “Surprised to see you still slinging drinks,” I said instead, sidestepping his question. “How’ve you been? Business good?”
“You know how it is, they can’t keep me out of the bar.”
I did, though from what I remembered, that was only a good thing some of the time.
“Business has been great,” he continued. “We were able to get that expansion done, finally got some proper seating for all the races that come by. Even added another bar upstairs to make it easier for the staff.”
“It looks great.” And it did. From the reviews online, the improvements had been well received, and the single ladies loved having a second bar to get away from Ben when he was feeling frisky.
Usually, that would kill a bar dead, but Ben had the best location.
It was, for the most part, was a great spot.
I would have been surprised if they didn’t see an increase in patrons once that upstairs bar was finished.
“Happy you did it, it’s been your dream for a while. ”
“Yeah, hard to remember what it used to look like at times.”
He slid the glass to me, huge in his hands and normal in mine. The quarts had been something he’d added when I was around more often, seeing how we struggled with the smaller ones. Looking around the bar now, it seemed to have worked out well.
“But seriously, what brought you back?” Ben’s voice lowered, not attracting any more attention from the other patrons. “It’s good to see you.”
I grimaced. “Part of my agreement with Crete,” I answered around a swig of beer. “I was invited back to participate, and I can’t really put it off anymore.”
Ben winced, knowing more about that history than I wanted to discuss. Maybe he would leave it be.
“Evelyn’s still around,” he said, dashing my hopes on the floor. “Shacked up with a son of a bitch, don’t know what she sees in him, but word says she’s been looking for an out for a while.”
I kept my eyes on my beer. This wasn’t a conversation I wanted to be part of.
“I’m sure if she knew you were here…”
I shook my head. “Don’t have any part of that.”
Ben scowled.
I drank.
The silence was oppressive.
“Now I know I don’t know what all went down between the two of you—”
“Which is why you should stay out of it.”
“—but she was devastated when she realized you’d left.”
It was hard to talk about this with Ben.
Even after it all ended, he was still trying to play the middle, get us together again, even when I knew it was a losing battle.
Leaving had been one of the best things I’d done for myself.
I didn’t want to stay if that meant watching the love of my life move on because of something I’d done years before.
But I wasn’t about to get into that. Evelyn made her choice clear, and I didn’t need anyone hounding her for it. Now, I was back in town for one last race to fulfill my contract, and then I could leave and never look back again.
“How’s Maggie?” I asked.
Ben’s eyes flicked to the door as it swung open, nodding at whoever walked in, then looked back at me. “She left,” he answered flatly. “A couple of years ago.”
I should have felt like shit, but Ben was too terrible of a partner to feel anything but relief for the woman.
“Set up a little life on the coast, and it seems the salt is doing well for her.”
When he didn’t continue, I asked, “Do you miss her?”
A young woman approached the bar, looking over the glasses and smiling when Ben looked her way. “Only sometimes,” he answered before approaching her and putting on that charm he was known for.
Some days, he was a really good man. Had a solid head on his shoulders, a good business mind, and great customer service. Other days, when he decided he’d worked hard enough and was owed the world, he reminded us all how much of a shithead he could really be.
Good to see some things never change.
I stayed at the bar, ordering food from the kitchen when one of the waitresses stopped by, and let Ben give me all the drinks he wanted to give me.
I was prepared to pay for all of them but doubted I would.
He was like that sometimes, especially when he was trying to get a young, pretty thing to sneak with him into the back office for a little afternoon treat.
It gave me time to talk to the other staff and, for the most part, kill time. I had a hotel room booked, but there was nothing waiting there for me but the silence of memories in a town I never wanted to remember.
That was the bad thing about doing all the dumb, fun stuff you wanted when you were young; the ghosts had the rest of your life to haunt you.
If only the ghosts haunting me didn’t smell like sunflowers.
I woke up the next morning feeling worse than I had going to bed. I hadn’t slept well, and it seemed like everyone around me was determined to have a better night because the noises lasted into the early morning before finally falling off a couple hours ago.
I would have complained, but it was my only night here. I packed up my things, and then it was time to check out. The annual Promnestride luncheon was today around noon, and then, when that was over, we could all check into our rooms at the facility.
It seemed the race had seen some updates in the years I’d been gone, too, considering they now housed us for the week leading up to the event.
The new policy must have happened after that scandal a handful of years ago, when one of the competitors claimed they’d been sabotaged.
The findings had been inconclusive—at least, that’s what they told the media—but the race had been postponed and the competitors secluded before the event.
Now, it seemed like it was normal. The bulls each with their own room and access to the gym and training facilities but kept away from the maze. And to add some flavor to the competition, the runner was also assigned a room to stay.
There had never been worry about fraternization in the games before, and most people thought it kept the game interesting.
Checkout was easy and late enough in the morning that if I meandered, I’d arrive at the luncheon just in time.
Last thing I wanted to do was kill time and end up in another conversation with a blast from the past. No, one thing I’d learned from yesterday was to keep my head low.
In and out with little interference from anyone would be the best way to go about this.
Because once I was done, I never had to come back.
The facilities were nice, a large modern building that curved around the maze. We wouldn’t have access to the maze, but they wanted to keep everyone close. I guess it was easier for security if they knew where we were before the event.
I walked in, hooves clicking against the concrete floors as I walked up to the reception desk. A female minotaur was standing behind it, her desk raised to accommodate the extra height. “Hello, sir, how can I help you?”
“I’m here for the luncheon,” I said, hiking the strap of my duffle further up my shoulder.
She looked at her computer, clicking a few moments and tapping a few keys. “Name and ID?”
I pulled my wallet from my pocket, sliding the card out and onto the counter. “Asher Cunnington.”
She took the ID, swiped it through some type of verification thing, and gave it back to me.
“Sounds good. If you want, you can leave your things with me behind the desk and we’ll make sure they’re taken to your room while you’re enjoying lunch.
We’re still waiting on everyone to show up, but there are people here already if you’d like to start mingling.
Just go down the hallway, and it’ll be the first door on the left. ”
I left my duffle with her, not concerned, considering all of my valuables were on my bull, and went down the hall. I was surprised I wasn’t the first one here; it was a little too early for most of the younger athletes to show up. Though things could have changed since I’d last done this.
It was easy to find, the door boasting a sign that said LUNCHEON ROOM 1. Opening it and letting myself in, I found the room mostly empty. A large circular table in the middle for us all to sit at, long buffet-style tables lining one side, and one other person in the room.
A human.
A female human with familiar black hair, sun-kissed skin, freckles dotting over her exposed shoulders and across her nose, and even though I was too far away to see, the clearest hazel eyes I’d ever seen. The smell of sunflowers hit me square in my muzzle.
Evelyn Tucker, the woman haunting my dreams, the one who broke my heart, broke my future, and left me bereft when she couldn’t forgive my past. The very past that brought me back here, forcing me to participate in the race once more.
What the fuck was she doing here?