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He presses a kiss to my temple. “I’ll see you tomorrow?” Already he is grinning, his eyes bright, like he isn’t devastated to leave me.
Like his heart isn’t cracking the way mine is right now.
And I suppose, it’s not. He’s an elf with his little toy, and I am the foolish human that let myself get sucked into this.
“Of course!” My voice is not nearly as bright as I hoped.
If he notices, though, he doesn’t say anything. Instead, he moves toward the door, slipping out ahead of me. I know that he will go to the bar, and I’ll sneak out the back entrance to the alley so no one knows that we’ve been in here alone for this long.
I linger in the dressing room longer than normal, brushing through my long hair with my fingers to untangle some of the knots that Ris accidentally made when gripping my hair.
He says it’s the color of the sun and he likes that I wear it down. I think he just likes to grab onto it when we’re being intimate but he insists it’s because of how adorably it frames my heart-shaped face.
He’s not wrong. I look cute with my hair down and it makes my cheeks look fuller like a little doll. I take pride in my appearance, even if that sounds egotistical. I know my worth – which is the only reason I’m willing to be with someone like Ris, even though it’s a big secret.
Sucking in a deep breath, I decide it’s been long enough that I think I’m in the clear. I slip out from backstage, but instead of going home, I decide to head to the bar to get a quick drink myself. No crime in that, right?
Just before I sit down, though, an arm grabs me. My heart leaps in my throat as I’m spun around, but then I see a smiling face. Ahumanface.
“Hey girl.” Cyra grins as she squeezes me. “You look like you’ve been rode hard and put away wet,” she whispers, leaning in so no one around can hear us.
Cyra is a waitress at Le Lazurt so she gives me drinks for free when she can and keeps me on my toes with her…frankness.
My eyes widen and I push her away. “Cyra!” I whisper, tone sharp. “Don’t start.”
“So, who’s the lucky guy?” she asks, pushing me towards the corner of the club. Another act is starting soon and we hover in the corner together, Cyra pressing a free mogabii into my hands. When I raise an eyebrow, she waves away my concern. “Customer decided it was too sweet,” she explains with a roll of her eyes. “Now stop avoiding the subject! Who’s the guy?” She shimmies her shoulders a little, giggling and nearly making me break.
“He’s not here,” I tell her.
“Um, Iknow,” she prods. “Obviously. Or you wouldn’t be walking around out here. You’d be back there, legs spread wide.” Gods, Cyra is socheeky! My cheeks go pink from her teasing.
“Must you be so lewd?” I ask, taking a sip of the mogabii.
“Always,” Cyra nods and gives me a wink. “You know you love it. But I am not loving you withholding all the details! I’m not getting any action so please, let me live vicariously through you, Sienna!”
“Hush,” I tell her, almost choking on my drink as I try to keep from laughing at her theatrics and drawing attention to us. I guess being around people in the theater district can rub off on even the servants and wait-staff around here!
“Well, you ought to do something about your blouse then,” Cyra says, pointing at it. “The buttons are all crooked and the ties look a mess.”
“Oh, gods!” I sit the drink down on a nearby table and start fussing with it. “Do you think anyone saw?”
“Only me,” Cyra says with a smirk.
“Oh, thank the gods below that only the nosiest, woman who likes meddling in my life was the one to see me so disheveled,” I say, really laying on the sarcasm thick.
“What can I say, just lucky I guess,” Cyra teases. I’m glad she’s backed off on her questions for the moment, though. I’m not ready for anyone, including and especially Cyra, to know about my relationship with Ris. Even if I do trust her, I can’t risk it.
“Just...please keep this to yourself,” I ask, hoping that this won’t come back around to damage my relationship with Ris.
“I’m not like that. I respect privacy, unlike some people,” she assures me. “But I’ll get it out of you someday soon,” she adds. “At least you look like you had a good time.”
“Oh yeah, I definitely did,” I grin, my eyes darting over to Ris for a brief second. He’s at the bar, talking and laughing with one of the other musicians who played earlier in the evening.
“Anyway, I should go. It’s late and I don’t want to be caught out after dark around here.”
“Oh, good point,” Cyra says.
I finish my drink and hand her the empty glass before pulling on my shawl and heading out. Ris is still at the bar and we make the briefest of eye contact before I’m out the door and heading home.
