Merfolk Mating Rituals Are Confusing

CH 3

Chapter Updated: 12 - 27 - 21

Word count upped from 5.5k to 7.8k
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Now, it was Saturday again.

You had been ready to go to the bazaar a little early in hopes of seeing the handsome stranger. Embarrassingly enough, you had even laid out another dress - a silky thing similar to the one he had originally met you in as an attempt to look nice. It was a dark, sleek wine red colour compared to the loose but flattering black of your last one, with a modest neckline and a matching black, flower patterned sheer shawl. Admittedly, now that you had taken a mental step back, some part of you was a little embarrassed that you were so excited to see a man you had just met the previous night...

Then your boss called you.

Flustered and sounding a little more than stressed, she explained that the bazaar had more patronage than usual, along with more booths than expected. Since it was so oddly large tonight, the bar was raking in a lot more customers, and she would need some extra hands around the establishment. Since your boss was a friendly, boisterous woman - who usually didn't mind throwing in a little raise as long as you had a good attitude - you agreed without hesitation, changing out of your somewhat… coquettish bazaar outfit and into a somewhat more kittenish bar outfit.

Now dressed in a deep, V-lined shirt, as well as a pair of too tight jeans and some slightly worn black heeled boots, you slipped out the door.

Shoving open the employee only entrance door with your shoulder, you made a bee-line for the bar, passing Tiziano on the way. To assert your new dominance in the workspace, you roughly swatted at his rear, darting away from his retaliatory strike with a wink and snicker. “ Attento, moccioso !” He barked, and you flipped him the bird, ducking into the bathroom to check your makeup. Leaning in and tidying up the points of your wings, you tied on your apron, darting back out to start making drinks with little more than a flourish and a smile.

It was just around the busiest part of your shift - 10 PM -  when a taller person walked up to the bar while you were busy handing off a food ticket to Sales in the back. You barely spotted their sleek, suited back as they settled down at a table near the bar.  Tiziano, the only other person working the bar with you, swiftly maneuvered through the sea of people to take their order.

Tiziano is like a snake you muse, as you wipe down the ice bin. Lithe, graceful, and swift on his toes; slipping through the crowd and flashing venomous grins at those you got a little hands on with him.

Summoned by your thoughts, Tiziano reappears, order in hand. He starts to grab the glass and mixers, eyes flickering up and then narrowing. His lithe muscles coil loosely, hands shoving the item in his palms into your hands. It forces you to pause in your cleaning. The blond got a strange look on his face, shimmering amber eyes locking onto…. “Hey.” You glanced back at him, broken away from trying to follow his unwavering glare. Not taking his eyes off of whatever he’d seen, Tiziano passed the ticket off to you, nearly jumping the bar in his haste to get around it ( only thing that held him back was the innate fear of Miss. Ulna’s wrath being rained upon him if she found shoe marks on her pristine countertops. ).

You follow him with your eyes, cracking a wry smirk when you realize he’s going over to deal with a clearly plastered woman stretched across the bouncer’s - Tiziano’s fiance’s - chest. Squalo looks only mildly vexed, his hands clasped around her biceps to keep her at an arm's distance. Though his face is slowly twitching into a disgusted grimace, his shoulder roughly displacing her groping hands as they squeeze and flex across his chest. Squalo glances up with a sour grimace when the people around him begin to hoot and holler, though it quickly turns to genuine excitement and relief at his boyfriend coming to the rescue.