Hooked [Complete]

23. Breaking Up Is Easy To Do

"We must advance your standards, my dear" he replied coolly, reaching back for the glass of wine, swirling and sniffing it critically. He looked at Finn, "This however, is unlikely to help that cause. Finn, call the vintner, have him send a shipment to the campground."

"THE vintner?" Finn asked, "As in...the corporate vintner...Mr. Bach? Are you sure he'll take my call?"

"Of course. The...team...has been notified of your promotion." He took a sip of the wine, and his perfect features stilled as if he was fighting disgust. "I cannot drink this, the proprietor must be a complete buffoon to serve the likes of this," he handed it to Lana, and waved at her dismissively.

"She's not a waitress. This is my friend, that I told you about...Alanna." Carrie snatched the glass from Lana with a mouthed sorry, and slid it toward the bartender. She looked at Mercury, wondering why his mood was so foul tonight. Navigating his mercurial disposition was turning out to be much more tiresome than keeping up with Cernunnos in bed had ever been. Mercury left her exhausted in a much less satisfying way.

"Can you bring a bottle of Sambuca, please?" she murmured to the bartender, mouthing him an apology, too. Tom shrugged; he'd already learned that Carrie's new friend tipped well, and that compensated for his personality in Tom's book.

Tom poured a round of the clear liquor and Carrie knocked hers back with a shiver. Personally, she couldn't stand the licorice flavored stuff, but Mercury liked it, and it was so strong that the quality hardly mattered.

"Lana, this is Maximus Mercury," Carrie sipped her second shot in order to keep the smile from her face at the modern name the Roman God had adopted. Maximus, ha. That was wishful thinking. "You can call him Max."

Mercury gave Carrie a slightly displeased look, like she had set him up to be rude or something, but he adjusted his manners accordingly to acknowledge her priestess. "I apologize, Alanna." He reached down for her hand and kissed it, smoothly ensconcing a glass of the Sambuca into her hand in the same move. Lana blinked, bewildered at Mercury's manner. Carrie couldn't help but notice that she looked to Finn for direction. She would forgive that, since Lana didn't actually know yet that Carrie was her goddess and not just her friend.

Finn moved to Lana, putting an arm at her back. "Actually, she goes by Lana. She's also the friend that I told you about."

Max raised his eyebrows, more disapproving than ever. He looked Lana up and down, his expression distasteful. Carrie had a strong desire to crack the bottle of Sambuca over his head for belittling her Priestess like that. Actually, Lana looked lovely tonight. She was still dressed in her standard black, edgy fair, but there were subtle differences. She had traded in her scuffed knee boots for shiny new high heeled ankle boots that accentuated the lovely shape of her legs, instead of making her look knock-kneed. The cropped grey cashmere sweater she wore beneath her zippered leather jacket was a big improvement over her ratty tank tops with catchy but peeling phrases.

Carrie smiled. The shoes and sweater were obviously gifts from Finn, and Lana likely didn't know how expensive they were, or she wouldn't have accepted them. She had already learned from their many nights running up bar tabs, Lana like to pay her own way, but her funds from her summer job were beginning to run low. She'd have to speak to Hearne about paying Lana, once she took on the true work of a priestess. Thousands of years ago, Hearne had kept Carrie in skins and meat as payment, but times being what they were...

"Ah," Mercury was saying to her priestess. "So this is the famous Lana that has taken hold of Finn's heart."

Lana's eyes widened, and Finn smirked at her, pulling her closer. "Well, she's taken hold of my di—watch it darlin'!" Finn moved the foot Lana tried to stomp just in time. "My disposition," he enunciated, giving her a mock glower. "Now, what did you think I was going to say, Lana?" he teased her.