CLOSER TO ME

Chapter 1

You gave a warm smile as you placed two pints of beer at a table full of mostly women.

"Praise the Gods." A honey blonde with intricately styled braids said as she leaned towards you.

She was obviously the most popular person at the table so you nodded politely. You then handed her the disposable pair of ballet slippers she had requested from the vending machine.

The vending machines at Club 52 were not your average vending machines. They were upscale and offered everything from phone chargers to high-end fragrances.

"Thank you so much Y/N. You're a lifesaver." She said as she took the packet from you and kicked off her Louboutins. "The price of fashion, huh?

You giggled as the woman began placing the slippers onto her feet. As she was doing so, she asked how long you had worked at the club. You calculated the time in your head a moment.

"It's been a little over two months."

"Oh, a newbie. So do you like it?" She asked before cutting you off before you could reply. "Lagertha, by the way." She added extending her free hand.

"Nice to meet you Lagertha." You said, shaking her hand firmly "To answer your question, it's not exactly a dream job but it pays the bills." You shyly played with your apron as you continued. "Besides, everyone's pretty friendly and my boss is amazing. Guess I can't really complain."

Lagertha sipped her beer and looked at you with a crooked smile. As she did so, a woman with very light blonde hair leaned over to hear what you two were discussing.

"Lagertha, let the poor girl do her job." The woman said jokingly.

"I will Torvi. I just wanted to hear what her dream job was." She tapped the side of her horn as she waited for you to respond.

No one had ever taken you seriously when you spoke about your dreams back home. Well, with the exception of "him", but that was story for another day. Uncertain for a moment, you decided to reveal what had been in your heart for as long as you could remember. After all, there were no friends and family nearby to ridicule you.

"I..." You almost choked on the words. "I've always wanted to be a famous artist. Oil painting and pencil sketching are my main mediums but I've taken up sculpting recently."

By sheer habit, you braced yourself for disapproval but to your surprise, Lagertha and Torvi both nodded as if they were impressed.

"So, you have a talent most people can only dream of. You should use it."Torvi said as she leaned her cheek against her hand.

"Yeah. One of these days." You said as you picked up some empty beer pitchers. "I'll be back with the rest of your order ladies."

You first dropped off the empty pitchers in catering and then went to the main bar. After getting two more pints of beer, you returned to the Blue Room and served a table of very drunk men who were arguing about some historical battle. Though you heard bits and pieces of their heated debate, you didn't really pay allot of attention. You were just ready to go home. Hopefully, it would be on time because the birthday party was nearing its peak despite the fact it was 3:12 am. Everywhere you looked, the private hall was buzzing.

"I sure hope they know we close at 4:00 am." You thought looking forward to curling up in your bed and binge-watching Hey Arnold.

The game room, karaoke rooms and dance floor had the most action. Even the silver bikini clad go-go dancers were still energetically entertaining people on the stages and poles. It was safe to say, Hvitserk's birthday party was a huge success by any definition of the word.