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"I'm not the one covered in sawdust and dirt," I teased, brushing at the mess on his chest.
"You're about to be," Khell rumbled, reaching for me.
I yelped and ran ahead of him to the stairs, huffing as his laughter echoed after me.
"We don't have time for you to make a mess of me," I called over my shoulder, heading for the bedroom.
"I have a guess why you're always so eager to go out," Khell said, following me up the stairs at a slower pace. "I think you don't want my friends to come here because you're afraid to paddle my ass."
I blushed. He was partly right. "We barely fit you in here. How are we going to fit…you know, a whole bunch of orcs and gargoyles and satyrs?"
Khell laughed and veered into the bathroom. We hadn't gotten the new wall up, but the much larger tub and waterfall showerhead were both installed. It was tempting to join Khell, but it also meant we'd probably be late to meeting everyone at the bar.
Khell's most recent commission was a massive bartop at a new trendy bar owned by his mothman friend, Elias, whom he'd met through MSA. I'd met a few of his other friends in the past couple months, but this was going to be a big group of them together for Elias's opening night.
I hung my purchases on the stair railing and then changed in the bedroom, debating briefly over a pair of jeans or a dress. Khell and I had nearly been caught fucking in public a couple of times now. Jeans might deter him from coaxing me into a dark alley corner, or they might just make it harder for me to redress in a hurry. And did I really want to deter him? I smirked to myself and chose the dress, pulling on a pair of thigh high socks.
It was better to be prepared when it came to going out with Khell. Two months later, and we still couldn't really keep our hands to ourselves. Which suited me just fine.
Elias's bar, Nightlight, was located in the heart of Wicker Park and perfectly suited to the overly glossy shop fronts and music venues. The entire space had a warm, golden quality, with high-polished wood and dim yellow bulbs in stylishly arranged clusters and vintage chandeliers. It matched the tall, brilliant man behind the bar with the yellow, brown, and black wings and the thick ruff of soft, golden fur peeking up from the open buttons of his white dress shirt.
I'd met Elias briefly before, and he'd mostly spoken over my head to Khell, ignoring me. Tonight, he waved cheerfully at our arrival, shining brightly under the carefully angled hazy spotlights. The room was full of all sorts of species, and I was one of only a handful of other humans. Khell guided me to the bar, and I was surprised to find Elias beaming at me.
"Sunny, I have an experiment I'd like you to try," he greeted me.
"You poison her, I'll tear your wings off," Khell warned, strangely friendly in tone considering the threat of the words.
Elias shrugged and turned to his amply cluttered shelves of dubiously labeled alcohol.
"Do you make most of what you sell?" I asked.
"Maybe half. I only bring in the best," Elias answered over his shoulder. He pulled down a glittering gem of a bottle, filled with a brilliant fuschia liquid up to the wax and cork seal.
"Natalie and Theo came," Khell said, pointing out my friends at the other end of the bar. "Oh, and they've met Rafe. Natalie will challenge him to a drinking competition."
"She'll lose. She's a lightweight, she just won't admit it," I said.
Elias poured me a small sample of whatever was in the bottle into a champagne glass and then slid it in my direction, crossing his arms on the bar top and watching me.
"What is it?" Khell asked, and this time it was his turn to be ignored by the pretty mothman.
Elias's antennae—like lovely, glittering gold ferns—twitched as I picked up the glass and took a sip. Bright, tart sweetness struck my tongue first, and the next sip went down easily before the heat of the alcohol hit my chest.
"Ooo, that's dangerous," I said, grinning.
"Lychee hibiscus," Elias offered. "Here, I'll make it a cocktail so it doesn't knock you flat before the end of the night."
I passed the glass back, and Elias added a soda water and a bit of ginger syrup.
"We'll call it the Sunny Day," Elias said with a wink in my direction. Khell growled and finally caught his friend's attention. "I haven't forgotten you. I picked this out specifically for you," Elias said, pulling up a bottle from under the counter.
American oak single malt. Khell was purring again in less than a minute, and then Elias was off to charm someone else without another word.
"Did he stop working for MSA too?" I asked Khell.
"He's a snob. He picks and chooses his clients," Khell said. "I think he just does the work for fun, but Astraeya says he's good. Come on, my cousins are here."
Several hours and many cocktails later, I'd been introduced to what I was sure was everyone in the bar. Khell was losing gracelessly to Natalie at a game of darts, and I found myself comfortably ensconced in a conversation about orcish customs with Khell's old co-worker, Eck'am, and his mate, Lenata.
