Page 8 of Pretty Little Shadow
Maybe the cheer beer would help.
I used my shadows to pop the cap off one, and handed the other to Darius. Taking a long sip, I stared up at the sky and wondered if I really had it in me to proposition him.
The answer felt like a solidno.
"Since when do you bartend?" Darius asked me, leaning against the air conditioning unit the same way I was.
"Grayson made me learn a while back. I'm shitty at it."
"You got a lust beer back from an unqualified patron. That's pretty good."
"There's a huge warning label in front of the shelf. It's bright yellow, and I still missed it. I don't like people enough to be a bartender, anyway."
"I don't think all bartenders like people."
"It would be hard for anyone to dislike people as much as I do."
Darius made a noncommittal sound and took a sip of his own beer. "Why did you resurrect your bartending job tonight? We both know you don't work there regularly. Everyone was staring at you like you came back from the dead."
"They always stare at me like that." It was true.
"You just intimidate them. You're too fucking gorgeous and too fucking powerful not to."
"Stop trying to compliment me."
Darius chuckled. "You're avoiding my question."
"Did you pick which one of them you're going home with yet?"
"Nah, I'm changing my reputation. Haven't fucked anyone in a couple weeks."
"And?"
"My balls hurt."
I bit back a grin.
His answer surprised me, and relaxed me too. A lot.
I'd been way too worried about his sex life, and spent way too much energy wanting to track down and kill whoever he had been with.
Darius took another sip of his beer. "Your turn."
"I never offered to take turns."
"Come on. We're friends now. Friends share things."
"We're sharing this air-conditioner." I gestured to it with my beer bottle. "That's plenty."
"Nope."
"Fuck off."
Darius laughed. "I like you."
"That's just your aching balls talking."
He laughed again. Louder. "For the record, my blue balls like you even more than I do."
