Chapter 22 #2
He leaned down to hover his mouth near my ear, which made the warmth from his body wrap around me like a cloak. “There aren’t many drinks fit for humans down here, so I’ll order for you. Okay?”
His close proximity had a flurry of nerves stealing my voice right from my throat, so I merely nodded.
The bartender who took our order served as a good distraction.
The middle-aged man was blue around his otherwise pale mouth.
He moved fluidly behind the counter, wiping up drinks or serving demons as they approached.
I quirked my brow, fascinated that Hell employed a ghost to work their bar.
I wondered what the man had done to land himself in such a position in his afterlife. Was it punishment or a privilege?
Just as the ghostly bartender slid our drinks over to us, a new burst of excitement sounded from behind where Xander and I were.
“Be right back,” Xander announced abruptly.
I turned in time to see him intercepting a large group of people.
Well, some were people. The four other members of Sinners Do It Better and a group of girls had arrived, though none of the guys came as demons; they were all wearing their human forms like a mask.
With a quick nod between Xander and the guys, the band members continued my way while Xander hung back to talk to the girls.
I couldn’t hear them from this distance, but as he spoke, the various female gazes glanced in my direction.
My face burned, and I quickly put my back to them to stare into the crystal clear liquid of my drink. Clearly Xander was talking about me. Was he giving them a warning about my personality?
See that girl? Yeah. She’s as cold as she looks, so just be careful around her. Don’t hold her attitude against me, ‘kay?
I frowned and tapped my finger nervously against my drinking glass.
“Long time, no see.”
At the sound of Perseus’s voice, I looked up. He stared down at me and searched my face the way he always did. His green eyes were slightly narrowed but lacked malice. Part of his long golden locks were tied back, and he wore a fitted gray shirt and jeans.
“Yup,” I responded, popping the end of the word. “I think the last time was a few months ago when we all filmed the season finale of Haunted Days and Nightmares.”
He nodded slowly. “Yeah. Right.”
Xander returned then, and the cluster of girls followed.
I was already on edge, but seeing the girls up close made me even more so.
They were gorgeous. Almost unbelievably so.
A brunette with an innocent, doe-like face, a petite dark-haired girl who looked like a goddess come to life, a curvy girl who looked like she could’ve been a moon princess in another life, and a blonde-and-pink haired girl who practically oozed sex and confidence.
They wore varying cute and trendy outfits, such as dresses or skirts tailored to their body types and appearances.
Meanwhile, I sat here with tear-stained cheeks, messy hair, and fucking pajamas.
I’d never wanted to crawl into a hole to die more than I did in that moment.
“Kendyll,” Xander began as he wrapped his arm between my back and the barstool. “You know the guys. Now meet the girls. Iyla—”
The brunette leaning into Zagan’s side smiled sweetly. “Nice to meet you.”
“—Harper—”
The one with glossy black hair offered me a friendly nod while Perseus toyed with her long hair. “Hi.”
“—Serenity—”
The curvy, curly-haired moon princess turned sheepish. Her cheeks pinkened, and she shifted nervously on her feet while waving her fingers at me with a whispered greeting that I couldn’t hear over the music. That made Dante smirk, and he dropped a kiss onto the top of her silver head.
“—and Addie.”
The sexy barbie doll beamed. “Hiya! Welcome to the besties club!”
I tried to smile, but I worried the expression came off more as a grimace. “I’m Kendyll.”
Eden reappeared then from wherever she’d gone to deal with a customer, and she bounced hard with her hands braced on the bar top. “Finally! You guys are here!”
Addie gasped and looked over Eden’s horns and golden demon eyes. “You look so good! I wish I had time to prep a demon costume, too!”
“Next time,” Iyla laughed while sharing a knowing grin with the other girls. Harper and Serenity fought to keep their expressions even.
“Okay,” Eden declared to the whole group with a clap of her hands. “Drinks then dancing! That is the plan for the evening!”
The members of Sinners Do It Better murmured to their respective girlfriends then ordered for the pair, much like how Xander had done for me. Meanwhile, Addie leaned over the counter to read the glowing drink menu while tapping a finger against her lips in thought.
“Blood of Men?” Addie read off. “That sounds like my kind of girl power drink.”
“You don’t want that one,” Zagan quickly objected with a nervous chuckle.
“Why not?” she asked, shooting him a confused pout.
“Um …” Zagan looked at the others as though silently asking for back up.
I grabbed Xander’s shirt and tugged him close to whisper, “That drink isn’t actually the blood of men, is it?”
Xander bit his lip to contain his mirth and whispered back, “It’s exactly that. The blood of very bad men that’s been turned into an alcoholic drink for demons to enjoy.”
With that knowledge, I wanted to aid Zagan in his effort to stop the poor girl from drinking something that would surely kill her, but before anyone could say anything else, the typically quiet drummer leaned against the counter right next to Addie.
Coldin’s eyes locked on her as he argued monotonously in his deep voice, “If she wants to order it, let her.”
She smiled at him, but there was some bite and sass in the crease of her eyes. “Why does that sound more like a challenge than encouragement from you?”
Addie notched her head high and waved the phantom bartender down.
I supposed it was a good thing he hadn’t died from a severed head or something equally hard to brush away as a “costume.” It would’ve been hard to explain why the bartender was missing such a vital part of his body to a human who had no knowledge of this world.
“Blood of Men, please!” Addie ordered.