The Fae Book 2: Burr and Daisy

Chapter 13: Someday Isn't Good Enough

I'd also asked the fae for an update on the boy I'd had them follow home and wasn't pleased with what they'd discovered. I was hoping the boy would come back tomorrow, wanting to sweep the sidewalk again, so I could talk to him some more.

When it was finally time to leave, I'd felt some relief. I'd never been happy sitting around thinking. I acted, which was why I felt more comfortable with actually crashing Daisy's date than thinking about what I could do to make it up to her.

I'd walked in and had seen the two of them immediately, and, not liking that Daisy was out with someone else, there was a quick flash of lightning outside, followed by a tremendous crash that startled everyone in the restaurant. Maybe my reaction was because this was the first time I'd ever had to worry about her being with someone else -- I knew from Harmony's rants when they were in high school that the guys were "too stupid" to see how wonderful Daisy was to ask her out. They'd apparently continued their stupidity, as I had, during the years following high school. Now, here in Hicksville, Arkansas, Daisy was bringing them out of the woodwork.

The hostess asked if she could help me, so I gave her a hundred dollar bill and told her to give me a minute with the people I was going to speak with and then tell me in front of them that my table wouldn't be ready for an hour. Thankfully, all of the tables surrounding Daisy and her date were full and they wouldn't question it.

"An é seo an aislingeach?" Is this the dreamy one? I'd asked them as I walked over to the table.

"Nach bhfuil chomh aislingeach." Not so dreamy, they told me. "Gread leat, Norm." Go away, Norm.

Interesting.

After I introduced myself to no-so-dreamy-Norm, the hostess came up, right on cue and told me the sad, but untrue, tale of my table. As I protested interrupting their date, I looked at Norm and compelled him to offer me a chair, which he did. He couldn't help himself.

My gift of compulsion was one I rarely utilized, and up until tonight, I had used it solely in the military when we were on a mission and had captured an enemy we'd needed to extract information from. My team thought I was a skilled interrogator, but I had just looked the prisoners in the eye and compelled them to answer my questions. A very useful skill in the military, and much quicker and less bloody than other methods of extracting the truth. It was a gift I didn't like to use in civilian life, but I figured since I was fighting for my True Queen, this counted as war.

After Daisy verbally poked at me a bit and I began my apologies, the fairies began their chattering. Very interesting chatter.

So I'd asked Norm if he'd ever messed up with a woman, and compelled the truth from him. Out it spewed from his mouth until, honest to god, I almost wanted him to shut up. For fuck's sake, he'd cheated on his wife with her sister, her cousin and her best friend and the idiot was wondering why his lame apology and a bouquet of flowers didn't cut it?

 I thought about my mother's words.

Words are so easy, Oberon. They really are. People toss them out as if they're the magical, end-all, be-all and really, they aren't. They're just words when it comes down to it and anyone can say words, say I'm sorry.

I could tell Daisy wanted to bolt she was so disgusted with Norm, but I turned the topic and we made it through dinner. I watched to make sure Daisy was eating enough, and then she drove home with Norm -- I'm sure to tell him there would be no future dates.

Go away, Norm.

I'd pulled up to her place after Norm drove off, and she'd been waiting for me. Which brought me to this moment, wondering how the fuck she thought my revealing myself as King of the Fae and her as my True Queen was a trick to get her naked.