Chapter 10
Caeo
I’ve been chugging through the last few days with barely a moment to breathe between class, studying, and heavy lifting for my mother.
It’s as if everyone decided it’s time to make my life as miserable as possible, except for Reid, who showed up at my door insisting we go to The Buttoned-Up Duck and “meet the girls.” I don’t want to meet any girls, and I’m not sure why he does, either.
But he promised to buy me a drink, which saves me from going through more of my long leaf, so here I am.
Warm candlelight spatters the green walls between columns of decorative lace stapled to them.
Mismatched buttons line each strip, randomly placed as they climb toward the ceiling and meet a decorative border of ducks marching around the room.
Meanwhile, whittled mallards sit at the center of every table and the corners of the bar, some painted, some left bare.
I have no idea what the owner was thinking.
Reid slams a tankard in front of me, then slides into the other side of our semicircular booth. A greenish liquid spills onto the table, and I eye it suspiciously. While The Duck offers an adventurous selection, we usually stick with ale.
“What’s this?” I ask.
“It’s new from Kestel. Made of something called a melon, I think.”
I take a sip and almost spit it out. “Shit, that’s sweet.” I cough. “Is there even any alcohol in there?”
“They said there was.” Reid takes a swig of his drink and relaxes against the wooden back of the booth.
I pull over his tankard. “Give me that.” Regular ale sloshes inside as it catches on the uneven planks of the tabletop. “Why do you get ale and I get this poison?”
Reid swipes it back. “Someone recommended it.”
I follow his gaze to a man eyeing him from across the crowded bar, who gives me a smile and wink when he notices my attention. It’s not particularly well-lit here, but he’s got a good-looking face, narrow eyes, and sandy-blond hair pulled back in a knot.
“If you want to get in his pants so bad, you should be the one drinking this swill.” I reach for Reid’s ale.
My hand jerks back at a blaze of heat, flames igniting at my fingertips.
“Dammit, Reid! That fucking hurt!” I shove my singed fingers into my mouth. I should’ve expected that; it’s not the first time he’s used that trick.
“What’s he doing now?” Alexis’s chipper voice says as she drops into the booth next to Reid.
“Torturing me so he can impress some guy with terrible taste in drinks,” I mutter, checking for burns. Just slightly pink.
“Oh?” She searches the room. “Which guy?”
Reid nods toward the bar.
Alexis’s eyes widen, her rings clinking as her fingers splay across the table. “No! I danced with him the last time I was here.”
“You came here without me?”
Someone taps my shoulder, and the rest of their conversation vanishes into nothing.
“You want to make some room?” Ellie asks, bringing her hand back to clutch it tightly with her other.
She’s wearing her hair in a thick braid today, twisted up behind her head. My fingers itch for the day I finally see it down and they can run through those chestnut locks.
‘The girls.’ Of course. Reid meant Ellie and Alexis.
“Yes. I mean, yeah.”
My heart’s already skipping as I scoot deeper into the booth. She sits next to me, her leg brushing against mine under the table, and smiles nervously. A warm tingle fills my chest—I adore watching her push through her vulnerability, revealing her inner strength.
“What happened to your fingers?”
The pain flares up as my attention shifts. “Reid burned them.”
“Reid.” Ellie glares at him.
“What? He tried to steal my drink.”
Ellie rolls her eyes, then turns back to me. “Let me see.”
I give her my hand, my fingertips throbbing with my pulse. With a gentle touch, frost crystallizes over her fingers, and a soothing cold chases away the burning heat.
“Let me know if it’s too much.”
“You’re committing a crime right now, you know.” My gaze moves from her frozen fingers to her eyes.
She leans in, lowering our hands from sight. “Then I suppose we’ll have to be discreet.”
There she is, peeking out of her shell.
Despite the chill against my fingers, my chest burns with the memory of the last time we were this close. I tilt my head closer to hers, breathing in her scent, and the ruckus of the busy tavern fades away.
Her light dims as her smile flickers. “I stood you up for dinner, didn’t I? I don’t know what happened—it completely slipped my mind. I meant to meet you.”
“Don’t worry about it. I forgot, too.”
Ellie’s eyes widen. “You did?”
Shit. I probably shouldn’t have admitted that so easily, but I’m not even sure how it happened. I must’ve gotten roped into helping Mother again. “I remember now. But I didn’t then. It’s alright, though—we’re both here.”
Her face relaxes, her smile returning. “We are.”
“And you’re good with kissing me today?”
The sweetest laugh puffs her cheeks. “You’ll have to find out.”
My head sinks closer until she’s only inches away, our eyes locked. Her lips slowly part, calling to me. I move to close the gap, breathing in her breath…
“I’m here, too,” Reid interrupts.
Ellie blushes, dropping my hand and retreating.
Really? What’d I do to deserve that? I shoot Reid a quick glare, then take Ellie’s hand back. “Ignore him.”
“Please don’t,” he says.
I give him the finger while keeping my eyes on Ellie. She bites her lip as if holding back a giggle, and the urge to bite that lip myself has me straining against my pants.
BANG.
Reid’s fist hits the table, rattling the tankards. We startle apart.
“Fuck no, this isn’t happening.” He pushes himself out of the booth.
Confused, I lean past Ellie to see where he’s going. Alexis has draped herself over the shoulders of the guy with shitty taste in drinks, laughing at something he said. Reid slides onto the stool next to them and waves down the bartender.
“He’s certainly popular,” Ellie notes.
“He has horrible taste.” I sit back in the booth, begrudgingly accepting that we’ve lost the moment. I push my tankard toward her. “Reid got me this at his recommendation.”
Ellie sniffs it, and her eyebrows shoot up. “Fruity.” She takes a cautious sip. “Wow. That is… I’ve never tasted anything like that.” She takes another. “It’s not terrible.”
“You’re kidding.” I grab it back and taste it again. “Nope, still bad.”
Ellie laughs as I grimace. “Then I’ll have this, and you can get yourself something else. Oh, and snacks!”
“Fine, but you better pace yourself. Or don’t. That could be fun.” I slide out the other side of the booth and give her hand a quick squeeze before weaving through the crowd toward the bar.
I press in beside Reid, claiming some space with my elbows.
Waving down the bartender, I order an ale when I finally get his attention.
It’s painfully loud over here; I could probably make out what Reid and Alexis are saying, but I’m not that interested.
One of them must have made a joke, because the guy they’re talking to tosses his head back, laughing.
This is gonna be a long night.
The bartender slides a drink toward me. I fish out some money to pay him, then take a swig before hunching over it.
A moment later, I get the uncomfortable feeling of someone’s gaze weighing on me. Reid and Alexis’s companion is staring at me, a curious look in his eyes.
“Another friend of theirs?” he asks, raising his voice over the noise of the tavern. His tongue flicks between his teeth as he smiles. “You can call me Emmrich.”
Reid bumps my arm with his elbow. “What are you doing here?” he hisses, leaning close.
Emmrich’s gaze stays fixed on me, despite Alexis attempting a conversation, her fingers trailing along his arm.
Wonderful. The last thing I need is to get dragged into some horribly unbalanced foursome. That’d just open me up to twice as many headaches.
I meet Reid’s eyes. “Just getting a drink. I might head home soon.”
“Did something happen? I thought I was doing you a favor.”
“What are you talking about?”
I jump as someone’s hand touches my shoulder.
“What’s taking so long?” Ellie leans in on my other side. “Where’s the food?”
“Shit.” Why do I keep forgetting things? I haven’t been hitting the leaf that hard. After mumbling an apology, I wave the bartender over again and order some honey chips.
“I’m going back before someone steals our booth.” Ellie squeezes my arm before slipping away.
The bartender pushes a bowl of honey chips toward me. I glance at Reid and Alexis, but they’re busy fawning all over Emmrich.
Who’s still watching me, but not in the same way others do. More… contemplative.
“Don’t worry, I got that.” He flashes a smile before digging through his pocket, then tosses a coin to the bartender.
Reid spins around, his jaw tight. “What are you doing?” He grabs the bowl of chips, forces it into my hands, and turns me away from the bar.
“Go back to Ellie.” He shoves me toward the booth where she sits, waiting for me.