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“She’s responsible and mature is all. She’s more mature than me, and—”
“Everyone’s more mature than you, Niles.”
Niles was stung. “Okay, Will, you’ve said your piece, and—”
“And now you get all sensitive like everyone else,” muttered Will. “Yeah, yeah. I just tell it like I see it, and I’m never going to stop doing that.”
“I get that about you and I respect you,” said Niles.
“If you fuck anything up—”
“I won’t.”
“Yeah, you better not.” Will hung up abruptly.
Niles sighed, hanging up the phone behind the counter.
The morning dragged on like that. Dahlia was at class. She worked mostly in the afternoons. Today, she had class until later and wouldn’t be in until after 3:00 p.m. People showed up at the shop.
One of them was Valdemar’s ex-wife, Hiljd. She was one of those female orcs who managed to look incredibly attractive while also being sort of intimidating. She was tall and green and tusked, but she oozed femininity and strength. He hadn’t seen her since Gorda’s and Mike’s wedding, when she’d ended up a sobbing mess over Valdemar bringing Astrid—his new girlfriend.
Apparently, Hiljd had been laboring under the certainty that even though she and Valdi were divorced—for two and a half years, mind you—and even though they’d had a spell done to block the connection between them in their mating bond, that they were going to get back together.
Niles had ended up sitting with her while she cried into drink after drink—which he’d fetched for her—and talked to him about all sorts of things. How she wanted a baby. How she hated that Valdi was a cliche who wanted some willowy young nymph thing. “How oldisshe?” she’d muttered, sneering and sobbing at the same time.
And then, Niles had volunteered to drive her home—because she couldn’t drive.
And then, he’d helped her get into her house.
Because she’d needed help.
And then…
He’d sort of had sex with her.
He’d venomed her.
She just… she needed it.
And, uh, he’d kind of… he didn’t have an excuse. If Valdemar ever found out, it would be bad. It was not cool. Valdi might not be with Hiljd anymore, but she was off limits to Niles and Niles knew that.
But.
Sometimes, he just did thesethings. And then after they were done, he regretted them, but it was too late at that point. Nobody else got it. No one else did shit like that to themselves. He was a walking disaster.
“I hear you’re in a thing with an elf,” Hiljd said, tapping her fingers on the top of the glass case.
“Seriously?” He blinked at her. “How didyouhear?”
“Well,” said Hiljd, “I was at the grocery last night, late, and I ran into Lucy—”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. Lucy couldn’t keep her fucking mouth shut if someone stuffed it full of—”
“Elf,” said Hiljd. “Because, of course, if a man of any species is going to make it official with a woman, he’s going to pick something delicate and lithe and small.” She glowered at him.
He furrowed his brow. “Uh… is this about me or Valdi?”
She shook her head, rolling her eyes.
