Page 4 of Operation: Ogre

As Jaxon moved, I was drawn to the iridescent quality of his skin. Depending on the light and how he moved, he was either deep purple or blue. Ogres came in different colors, but all had this iridescent quality to their skin that made them seem quite magical. His white hair hung around his massive shoulders to his shoulder blades, and I kind of wished he’d let me play with it, but he never did, not seeing the point.

Like all ogres, he was huge, like over seven feet tall, making my mere six feet look puny. Jaxon had wide shoulders and a round gut that hung over his pants. His thighs were like tree trunks, and his feet were ginormous. And his hands… Fuck, he could probably squish a watermelon with ease (oooh, Fangstagram idea. Jaxon Bolder, Watermelon Crusher. Or was that too porn-like?).

His head was overly round—I could never find a hat to fit him, and believe me, I had tried—and his golden eyes were so deep set they seemed to disappear beneath his heavy brow. His large nose and wide mouth added to the hulking, almost terrifying presence that he was.

But all it took was one look into his eyes or at the shy expression almost always plastered to his face to melt any fear I might have possessed.

From an ogre's standpoint, Jaxon was decently attractive. I personally thought he was squishable and utterly adorable. I had cute aggression when I looked at him. Like, I seriously wanted to pinch his round cheeks or bite him. No idea why. It probably didn’t matter.

But Aaron Dodson… He was peak ogre hotness, and securing the nice goalie was going to be hard. However, fueled by fiction and caffeine, I’d do it.

I stepped up to the counter at Mummy Mocha, and none other than Seth, the ancient pharaoh brought to life—he was basically a more attractive zombie—and the owner of the Creepin U coffee house, greeted me. He was basically the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome. He was like everyone’s friend, or boyfriend depending on your persuasion, and I wasn’t mad at it.

“Chris,” he called with a smile. We weren’t what I would call close, but Seth was friendly with everyone. Like, everyone. I heard he was even friends with the lagoon monster, Blake, and that was impressive. “Come to get your desecration against coffee?”

“I have come to get my tasteful order,” I replied, and he shook his head, chuckling. “I will have your largest mummy mocha with three extra shots of espresso, three more pumps of chocolate, a pump of white chocolate, and as much whip cream as you can possibly fit on it. Question your sanity about the amount.”

“Aren’t you an athlete?” Seth asked as he charged my card.

“I eat healthy with everything else, workout every day, and stay hydrated, but no one is taking my coffee from me.” It was non-negotiable. Besides, I’d never go pro; I wasn’t good enough for that. I did enjoy playing soccer, though, and that was enough for me.

And thinking about my future honestly made me struggle to breathe. Like, an actual weight would settle on my chest and my brain would start to turn fuzzy, as if full of angry bees. My future was… Fuck, it was a mystery. I hadn’t even chosen a major. I had no idea what I wanted to do. I swallowed and forced all thoughts of the future out of my skull.

Seth just laughed, which helped draw me back to the present, then looked at Jaxon, who promptly shifted to move behind me, like I could hide his hulking form. He could and did talk to people, but the second I was there, he just let me do all the talking. Being introverted and painfully shy, not to mention isolated as a kid, made navigating Creepin U hard for Jaxon at times. I was his assigned extrovert, apparently, and I was more than happy with the arrangement. Who wouldn’t be?

“My man here wants a large linen mocha, blended, with pea milk,” I replied, taking Jaxon’s card from him to pay with practiced motions.

“You know it’s no longer a linen mocha if the pea milk turns it green?” Seth joked with his eyebrows lifted.

“Haha, very funny, but you know pea milk isn't green. Big guy here is environmentally conscious.”

“You an environmental major?” Seth asked, looking right at Jaxon, who nudged my back.

“Nope,” I answered for him. “Business.” I slapped the back of my hand against Jaxon’s chest. “He’s already created and owns a vegan protein powder company. His parents help him run it. If you ever want to make some protein-packed mixed coffee, hit me up. I’ll make sure to get you the friends’ discount.” I winked at him.

Ogres ate a lot, but they needed mostly protein, so most ate meat-heavy diets. Jaxon, as a vegan, had been struggling to get what he needed, so he’d made an all-natural, organic, cruelty-free protein powder. After college he planned to focus more on his business and hopefully grow it.

It needed a better name. Right now it was Ogre Protein. I’d seen an unfortunate meme circling about it being ground up babies. Not a good look.

“That’s awesome. I’ll keep it in mind,” Seth commented, handing me my drink, followed by Jaxon’s. “And you’re what? His liaison?"

“Something like that,” I replied.

We claimed a table in the corner, and I took a deep drink of my sugary concoction, groaning. This coffee was pure sin. Did anything get better than it? Jaxon flushed randomly, his round cheeks turning a lovely electric blue, and looked toward the windows next to the front door of the library, which made me frown. What was up with him?

I didn’t have long to think about it, because a harpy next to us caught my attention as she slowly ran her eyes over me and smiled at me with a soft tilt of her head. I returned her grin. I might have no actual experience, but I knew I went both ways, and she was super cute.

However, I was here to work. I flipped open my notebook. I’d jotted down everything I knew off-hand about Aaron, and it wasn’t too much. I liked the dude, but I didn’t really vibe with him. We’d hung out a few times, but I wouldn’t call us close friends. Also, he, like, never talked about himself. He always wanted to hear about what my home in California was like, or my hobbies, or anything related to me. Never about himself. He was a bit of an enigma, a nice one, but still… very mysterious.

Maybe he was a murderer? I shook my head. No. That was ridiculous. But was it?

“Okay. The welcome bonfire’s tonight,” I said, putting Aaron’s possible murderer status on the back burner. “We need a plan.”

Jaxon bobbed his head, his eyes wide. He was so fucking cute. The urge to squeeze him came over me, and I shoved it away. I would squish him later. I needed to focus. He was trusting me when I had no fucking clue what I was doing, though he didn’t know that. I had to use all my past experience of helping people as well as my fictional library of knowledge to get him and Aaron together.

They would be the perfect ogre couple.

I would die from their combined cuteness if it was the last thing I ever did.