22. Janie
Chapter 22
Janie
T he bar had set up multiple tables with a variety of chairs placed around them. A few people were already sitting down. Some people seemed normal. Others were different. I gazed at the bar as I tried to figure out what I wanted to drink and ordered a coke. As I sat on the stool with my legs perched on the rungs, out of the corner of my eye, I watched different beings walk in. A lot of them looked human. A blue-haired person with wings, a large green man, a being that looked inhumanely beautiful. I scrolled through my phone aimlessly when the door wasn’t opening. Should I take a picture and post on the socials? Do these magical folk show up in photos or disappear like vampires in mirrors? Is that even true? My fingers tapped the top of my phone as I considered what I should do.
Someone slipped beside me. “It’s my favorite human!” a voice said. I looked up and saw Urien. I smiled at him.
“He was right. You were coming!” I said.
Urien nodded and pointed to Meical. Meical turned slightly and winked my way. Somehow, my heart beat a little faster. Maybe he was wiggling his shadows into my heart. I turned away and faced Urien again. “That your man?” he asked.
“He’s not my man.”
“If he is your mate, he is your man.”
“You know humans don’t have mates, right? All of this is . . . crazy new to me.”
“You get used to this stuff after a while. Don’t worry about it. They wouldn’t let me play. Could you convince them to let me play?” he asked with a laugh. “You could toss your hair over your shoulder and pull down your top. Maybe ask them if I could slide in.”
I laughed as I shook my head. “No. I don’t have clout like that. And I’m not using my wiles to get you in. The thing with Meical, he’s expecting a magical marriage right out of the gate. But he has been creeping on me for months! I can’t help but be frazzled,” I exclaimed. I pointed to the tables. “There is a green man over there! I’m just . . . wow.”
Urien tilted his head closer to mine and whispered, “You realize a lot of these creatures are predators, right? They can hear your words. And he’s an orc. Pretty rare on earth, but there are a few hidden about. Most of the ones around here are a family unit. They keep the glamour-makers pretty busy.”
My face paled as I looked into my lap. “I don’t think I am ready for this type of life. I keep screwing up. Meical said that the witches make them.”
Urien laughed. “See? You’re already getting it. You’ll be fine, dear.”
I sighed and frowned as I played with my straw. “Am I treating him badly?”
He shrugged. “You’re human. Things are different. Your life is finite. You’ve never known anything different,” he said. Urien turned back toward Meical. “He looks like he is doing pretty good, though.”
I smiled. “You mean the cards? He’s confident that he’ll win.”
Urien grabbed my shoulder and pulled me closer for a side hug. “You’re his lucky charm! Of course, he will win.”
I laughed lightly. A woman wearing an apron breezed by; she paused and turned. She plastered a smile on her face as she leaned in close. Her name badge read, Mary . “Honey, you okay?”
I pulled back from her touch. “Excuse me?”
“I saw you came in with him. I just wanted to make sure you were fine,” she said. Cold tendrils snaked up my legs. I couldn’t help my body from reacting to them. I tried to push one down, but it went mist-like and my hand went through it. That was a first. One slithered further up my leg until it was curled up at the top of my thigh. Heat spread through my core and I blew a slow breath out.
“What do you mean by that?” I asked.
“It’s just that there are certain people that are a bit . . . dangerous. Just like Urien here is dangerous,” Mary replied. Urien snorted.
A tight but polite smile grew on my face. “I seem to be quite safe right now.”
“Honey, there are monsters in the dark. And . . .”
My smile faded. “Don’t call me honey,” I hissed.
Her smile faltered. “I know of a nice witch I can set you up with if you are just lonely.”
My eyes narrowed. “Look, you want me to find a nice man, don’t you? Have you considered I don’t want a man? Men hurt women. That monster over there hasn’t hurt me. He’s protected me,” I said.
Mary bit her cheek and turned around. Urien laughed. “ You are right. Sometimes it is the humans that are the monsters,” he said.
I sipped on my drink as I watched the poker games continue. One table seemed to have finished. A large man threw his cards and flipped the table. A couple of other men grabbed him and pulled him to the door as he was screaming. Other people were changing tables and cards were being redistributed. I turned back toward Urien.
Urien pointed. “Wolf. Looks like he lost.”
I blinked. “Like in werewolf?”
He laughed. “There are lots of new people for you to meet.”
“But none of them are like Meical?”
“It’s old myths, urban legends, granny tales. All that. I have known a few in my life. They aren’t like what the witches think.”
“He said that before.”
“The hunters and witches. Wiped most of ‘em out. Or they all went to shadow or underground.”
“What’s the server?” I pointed a thumb in her direction as she took a few beers to a table.
“Yeah, a witch,” he said.
“Are they good or bad?”
More laughter. “This isn’t Wizard of Oz , kid. People make their own choices. Good or bad. Gray and what not. I guess you’d call me gray. But that’s the thing. Life isn’t binary like that.”
The tendrils wrapping around my legs undulated higher up my thighs and legs. I sucked in a small breath as my pussy got wetter. He was right. I was thinking of him this morning. And I’m not sure if I wanted him to watch me while I gave myself an orgasm. There was something deep down inside me that wanted it. Wanted his tentacles probing inside my body like in those dreams. I turned to look at the tables. Meical faced me this time. His eyes darkened as he looked at my body. Did he know what I was thinking? He could feel emotions. Which meant . . . he knew my arousal. A tentacle squeezed me before I turned back around.
Urien snorted. “You do realize that predators also have a strong sense of smell, too? Everyone here can smell you,” Urien said.
My lips parted as my eyes widened. “What do you mean?”
He laughed. “Everyone in this room knows you are horny as fuck, my little human.”
I sighed and put my head in my hands. “This is so embarrassing. I can’t get him to stop it.”
“You’ll get used to it. It seems like your man wants to make sure everyone knows you want him, not them. Also he may be acting like a hormonal teen. Mates are like that sometimes.”
As I sipped my drink, I came to one thought: Did I really want him?