"Feeling the cold today, Ryleigh?" Dottie giggled as I stepped behind the bar.
I turned slightly red as I raised a hand to adjust the turtleneck. "The rest of my clothes were in the laundry, okay?"
Dottie laughed and walked away as I turned to face the front. There was amused look in her eyes, one reserved for cute little children who messed up. I returned her smile sheepishly as I tugged at the raised neck of my shirt self-consciously. My laundry was perfectly fine. My neck was not.
Lou's threats last night had left some vivid bruises against my skin. My voice was still a bit hoarse this morning, but I didn't seem to be having any difficulty breathing, or talking. I'd even forced myself to eat breakfast this morning to check.
There hadn't been anymore demons last night. It was those five randoms, and Lou... who had stayed his normal self through the night as I cradled my throat. He left shortly after those five did. No apologies, no guilt, nothing.
I probably shouldn't be surprised about how less my life meant to him, but I'd hoped we had formed enough of a rapport by now for him to not get angry at my actions. I admit I'd gone slightly overboard in defending myself, but he'd gone overboard in lying about what our relationship was. Starting with the fact that we apparently had one. I had a better tie to my regulars than I had with Lou.
The only good news from last night was that they all tipped well. And, they all left on time. I was worried I would end up there an hour or two longer depending on how many of them arrived. But that hadn't happened. They were all pretty quiet, kept to themselves and only left their tables to pick up their drinks, or pay the bill and leave. My bar was self-service after Dottie and Sasha left, and I'm not going to change it for them.
The sleeveless turtleneck I'd picked out to wear this morning was very form-fitting. I didn't normally mind that, but the way some of my more sleazy regulars and customers eyed me had me uncomfortable. Dottie and Sasha complimented me, followed by them ganging up on me as they noticed I'd lost weight. I had no choice but to quietly accept it. Whatever had been happening the past week was giving me even less of an appetite than I usually had. Sasha's cooking could only go so far in terms of calories considering how much later I'd been working lately.
It's not like I could tell them. Let's face it, explaining this would land me in the nut house and I'd rather not have to turn to what remains of my blood family for help. That's never going to happen.
Yet, I was grateful for them. They didn't know it, but they were the only semblance of normalcy left in my life. Being with them till they left usually helped me relax up until the clock struck half past eleven and the bane of my life walked in.
The bell dinged. In the most literal sense of 'talk of the devil and the devil walks in'- the devil walked in. I threw him a horrible glare, turning back to washing the glasses as he took his seat.
"Good evening, Ryleigh. Feeling chilly today?" That bastard. I want to punch the smirk off his face.
I tapped my neck. "I seem to have a bit of a hoarse throat after yesterday."
He shook his head slowly, as if he was worried about me. "You should bundle up more. Start wearing scarves." Right, like my health is on his mind.
I could feel the irritation rumble in my gut. "Sure thing, Lou." I gritted out. I tried my best not to slam a glass against the countertop.
One by one the normal regulars left, one by one my midnight regulars arrived. The view outside had darkened as usual. I didn't see them walk up to my door before they entered. All that announced their entrance was the bell each time the door opened.
New guys arrived everyday. New drinkers arrived everyday. Within a week, my bar was almost full. I only ever saw this during holidays and festivals. It had just been a week but I was already earned more in tips in those few hours than I would during the entire shift. It was nice, however the extra revenue in the register and the depleting inventory had started to worry me.
"Day off tomorrow, eh, Ryleigh?" Lou asked casually as I went about making a Bloody Mary.
"Yup." I replied curtly, pausing to use the shaker. "I could use it. Serving all these extra people is exhausting."
"Aww, don't say that, Ry-babe." One of the demons waiting at the bar snickered. "We'll miss you if you don't come tomorrow."
I gave him a dry look as I added a stalk of celery in the drink. "Right. I won't." He snickered as I gave him a sweet smile before I placed the Bloody Mary in front of him. "Enjoy your drink."
He laughed at that and winked at me. I stepped to the side and caught the eye of one of the demons who made the universal sign of the bill. A simply nod and I was on my way to the register instead of the sink.
A few minutes later, I walked back up to my place across Lou. I exhaled harshly as I let myself relax a bit. "I'm already tired."
"I can see that." Lou replied as he leaned forward. "I miss the days when it was just the two of us. You and me... and a drink."
I leaned forward as well, my chin in my palm. This game was normal between the two of us now. "Yes. The best thing about that up till now..."
"Is the... tension?" He smirked. "Attraction? The primal lust and desire I invoke in you?"
I had to stifle an eyeroll. "No. It's the fact that you and I both know nothing is going to happen." I smiled sweetly at him. "Because I. Don't. Sleep. With-"
"A customer." Lou completed as he licked his lips. "One day you'll break that rule."
"Sure, Lou." I pulled back and snickered to myself. "Keep your hopes up."
Lou laughed as well, but he didn't move awat. "You're just lucky I find you interesting enough for a human to let you decide."
"And I decided that I'd rather not sleep with a demon." My eyes went to the empty stools beside him, and then the full tables. "Why don't people sit with you? Are you an outcast or something?"
Lou slowly turned his head to side. He didn't seem bothered about it. He didn't even seem to have noticed it till now. "Maybe."
I recognized that tone. He didn't want to answer this. Not like that ever stopped me. "They scared of you, or something?"
"No. They aren't." He replied easily.
I looked up as the bell rang. A solitary customer this time. New. Pretty well dressed like the rest of the demons.
His eyes roamed the bar, settling on each table and each demon for a moment. He finally latched onto Lou's back, and his eyes narrowed slightly. I smiled as he finally looked at me. "Good evening. What can I get you?"
It was only as I said that did I realise that the bar was silent. Lou was still seated the same way, but the teasing smirk had vanished from his face. The other demons had tensed up in their seats, all eyes on the new person that had walked in. My eyes went to him once again. I looked over his form over as I tried to figure out what was going on.
Light brown hair, golden highlights coming out under the bar's ambient lighting. Pretty strong face structure, square jaw, sharp cheekbones and really pretty blue eyes. Almost icy blue. I hadn't noticed that. All the demons here had black coloured eyes.
He was dressed in formal shirt and a pair of light wash jeans. A dark blue button down shirt, sleeves rolled up to his elbows and heavy brown boots. Overall, a very good look for him. I admired the way his shirt fit him as he walked over to the bar.
"What can I get you?" I repeated, my voice lowered as I suddenly felt self-conscious. I glanced around at everyone's faces once more as I got off my stool.
He came to a stop by the bar, eyes on me. "You're human."
"Yes, I've been made aware of that several times." I was quiet for a few more moments as I stared up at him. He's tall... and not the chatty kind. This was awkward. "You can order something." I pointed at the array behind me. "Pick your poison."
He didn't reply again, instead turned his head to stare down at Lou. "What are you doing here?" His voice was low, almost interrogative. My gut turned. He might be bad news.
Lou waved his glass, not bothered enough to look at the newcomer. "Enjoying a quiet drink." He didn't sound bothered at all.
"And what are the others doing here?"
"Take a look around." He paused to take a sip. "We're all here for the same reason."
"And the human?"
"The bartender who works here. I made an... after-hours arrangement with her."
I scoffed and placed my arms across my chest. Is that what he calls it?
"Do you have a contract with this human?" The new guy didn't even glance at me.
"No. She has nothing special to offer me."
"She has a soul. And that's all you normally need, don't you?"
"Yes..." Lou sighed. "But I'm really here just to enjoy a drink."
"Did you hurt the human?"
"Yes, he did." I replied, irritated at being ignored. "And I have a name. It's Ryleigh. Either take a seat or order a damn drink, newbie. I'm not here all night."
His eyes flickered to the side. I felt an unwelcome shiver go down my back at being under those icy eyes. "Newbie..." He repeated, eyes on me for a few more moments before he finally sat down. There was only one Emory stools between him and Lou. But his blank stare was a bit more unsettling at face level. "Fine. I'll take a drink."
"What do you w-" I jumped as I was cut off by the loud sound of a table being slammed.
One of the demons was on their feet. Shoulders hunched as he stuffed his wallet in his back pocket. He looked up, anger visible on his face. His eyes had turned black, and his fangs were visible through his sneer.
I must have been more on edge than I thought. That had caught me off guard. My heart was racing now. "Are y-"
"Sorry about this, Ryleigh." His voice was throaty, eyes glued to the newcomer. "But I cannot sit in this place with that... that thing here."
My eyes flickered to the table. He'd left some cash beside his drink. "Uh... okay. Thanks for... Have a good eve..." My words trailed off as I heard mumbles.
A few more demons stood up as well. Their hands shuffled around their pants as they followed the first demon's lead. They were all on guard. Darkened eyes flickering left and right, teeth bared towards the bar as they headed for the door. Confused at their reaction, I watched dumbly as the demons all left. There were only five of them left in the bar after a minute. They were also in the same state as the ones who'd left- black eyes, visible fangs. But these ones held onto their drinks and their seats.
"What the fuck?" I whispered to myself as I stared at a now-empty bar. My head turned to look at the new guy. I'd assumed Lou was some kind of big-wig among demons, but this guy might be too.
"What are you?" I whispered to myself, my brows stitched themselves together as I tried not to lose my shit.
He didn't reply as he stared at my face. It seemed like he was looking right through me.
I didn't understand what had happened. My jaw struggled to stay in place so I could keep forming words. Turning my full attention to him, I continued with a bit more strength and anger. "Listen here, new guy. I have never... I mean, fucking never, had customers walk out on me before. I will serve anyone, and anything, as long as they're legal and want a drink. But in one night, within less than a minute of you being in the bar, half my customers have left." I cocked my head. "You mind explaining why? Because I'd rather not have someone detrimental to my tips sitting here."
Silence. Silence once again. His eyes hadn't wavered from whatever he was looking at so far.
"Answer me, for fuck's sake!" I snapped.
No reply. Yet again. He cocked his head slightly as I waited. And held it there to watch me before he finally replied. "Rather insolent for a human, isn't she?"
"You have no idea." Lou mumbled to himself before he glanced at me. "She's actually more trouble than she seems."
"Is that so? With your personality, I assumed you must have put her in her place a long time ago."
"It's not like I didn't try in the beginning."
"Interesting... So, your bartender is a fighter?"
"More like an annoying fly?" Lou snickered as he saw my expression sour. "Maybe even an annoying flea, like you."
"You're an equal pain in my side, demon." Blue eyes looked me over. "She's absolutely human, isn't she?"
"One hundred percent."
"And she's that annoying to you?"
Lou smirked slowly, finger circled the rim of the glass as he watched my tolerance crumble away. "One hundred percent."
That's it. "Alright. Shut it, you two." My irritation was showing. "Stop talking about me like I'm not here, while I'm right here. And, Lou—" he nodded as I said his name "—while we're feeling talkative, I'd like some answers from you." Turning to face him, I crossed my arms across my chest. "This dude won't talk to me. So, tell me who he is and why he drove away my customers."
Lou chuckled. He tilted his head back to finish the last of his drink. "Funny how you were so reluctant to serve them a week ago and now they're your customers."
"I take shit in my stride."
"I've noticed." He placed his glass down as I lifted the bottle of scotch to refill it. "He's an angel."
I raised an eyebrow. "Really? An angel?" My head moved to look him over. "Him?"
"Yes. You don't seem very surprised."
"I feel like it's going to hit lat-oh shit." I quickly took a step back as I realised I'd almost filled his glass to the brim.
Lou snickered. The golden liquid wobbled dangerously close to the edge as he raised it to his lips. "I'm not paying for that."
"I'm definitely charging for that." I retorted as I capped the bottle and moved to the side. Lou mumbled something under his breath as I moved to make another drink on the gesture of one of the demons still left in the bar.
An angel. There's an angel sitting in my bar. He didn't look like one, but then again, Lou didn't look like a demon at first either. I sighed to myself as I popped open a beer, and placed it on the counter. The demon that approached the counter hadn't let his guard down yet. Looking at those eyes again was making me uncomfortable. I'd never agreed to what Lou had said about 'hanging loose' in my bar, but this sure seemed like an extreme case. It's best to let them be.
I glanced between Lou and the new patron sitting at my bar. He met my eyes, and held them with no reaction or expression. I gave him a small smile as I spoke. "What's one more?"
*******************
AUTHOR'S NOTE
I'm finally getting the hang of this writing schedule. It's certainly easier on me then normal considering I still have my down days due to burn out.
Since this will be a shorter book compared to my other ones *cough* 90 chapters *cough* I think this should suffice. I should be done with a majority of the plot before or by New Year's anyway.
Also, Happy Thanksgiving to those of my readers who celebrate it! How was your day? Did you have fun with three family or was it awkward as shoot because of that one weird uncle? Do tell I'm all ears
What do you think about the new guy? Is he bad news?
Vote and comment!
Stay tuned!