Page 2 of Let Me Win You

My world had been created through humans’ beliefs. If a large enough number of people believed in this duck nonsense, we risked this story becoming our reality. I winced. As much as I liked my ducks, I was not looking forward to them invading my house and our entire town.

Taking a swig of his beer, the man kept talking, barely containing his excitement, “An angel tells the girls not to step on a duck or they’ll be punished. One of them accidentally steps on a duck anyway, and a butt-ugly dude appears, chained to her arm for the rest of eternity as her punishment. The other girl is super careful and doesn’t step on any ducks for a year. Then one day… Poof! A hot guy is chained to her wrist?—”

His buddies snickered before he even reached the end of the joke, and the man was practically choking on laughter and beer as he finally delivered the punchline.

I pondered the joke. Was it supposed to be funny? Humor was a peculiar thing, just as unique to a person as their hair or eye color.

Sweeping the room with my gaze, I realized I was searching for a dark-haired woman. Madison had long, dark-brown hair, almost black.

I realized it wasn’t exactly Madison that I was the most envious of my brother about. More than anything, I wanted what she and Avar had between them. That said, this was the city where she lived. The club was just around the corner from the restaurant that she owned. Somehow, it all felt like a good point to start searching for that special human woman of my own.

As the music dipped with one song ending and before the other one began, a burst of laughter broke through. It was loud, musical, and filled with the happiness that I longed for.

I pivoted toward the sound as did almost everyone else in the place, all of us staring at a young woman at the table in a corner. Faced with the attention, her laughter tapered to a most adorable giggle. She threw her hand over her mouth, the humor now bouncing only in her eyes.

Before I even realized what I was doing, I headed toward her.

“Good evening, fair ladies,” I greeted the woman and her female companion who was sharing the table with her.

The object of my attention peered at me, her hazel-green eyes narrowing in suspicion. Then a new spark of humor burst in them as she lowered her hand from her face and gave me a cordial smile.

“Good evening to you, too, mighty knight,” she matched my tone. “What brings you to our neck of the woods this fine evening?”

She clearly was mocking me, but I couldn’t muster any offense in response, wishing to hear her laugh again, even if at my expense.

“I heard you laughing,” I replied sincerely.

She blinked, gentle blush spreading on her round cheeks.

“It was rather loud, wasn’t it?” She bit her lip.

“Nicole loves to laugh,” her companion, a blonde young woman with delicate facial features, stated. “It can’t be helped.”

“I like it.” I ran a hand over my hair and confessed, “I’d love to hear you laugh again.”

Humor shone brighter in her eyes. They weren’t dark like Madison’s, I noted. In fact, Nicole looked nothing like Madison. Her auburn-red hair was considerably lighter too. Her body was plumper with far more curves. It was hard to accurately gauge her height while she was sitting, but she seemed shorter than Madison too. None of it mattered, however. I said I wished to hear her laugh again, and I wholeheartedly meant it.

“Make me laugh then,” she challenged. “Say something funny.”

Her companion rested her chin in her hand, her elbow propped on the table. “Tell us a joke, stranger.”

“A joke?”

My mind drew blank. It was hard to muster words when they both stared at me expectantly. The stakes of making a good impression rose exponentially the longer I gazed into Nicole’s green-brown eyes with golden flecks.

“Yes.” She nodded. “Do you know any?”

After millennia of existence, all I could remember at that moment was one single joke. It floated on the surface of my mind like a fucking duck.

“Two women died and went to Purgatory…” It was a mistake. The joke was stupid. It’d ruin any chance I might’ve had with Nicole. But she expected me to speak, so I pulled a chair from the table and sat down to get closer and make myself heard over the music that started playing again. “Let me assure you, there aren’t that many ducks in Purgatory. Animal spirits travel freely between worlds, taking whatever shape they wish. But in this particular version of the afterlife, apparently, the ground is covered with ducks?—”

Nicole laughed, and I stopped, mesmerized by the sound and the sight of dimples gracing her cheeks.

“Shh.” Her companion tapped on Nicole’s hand. “Let him finish, Nic.”

“Go on.” Nicole graciously gestured for me to continue. She pressed her lips together, trying to contain her laughter, and I took it as a challenge, longing to set it free again.

“One woman accidentally steps on a duck, and she’s immediately chained to a man of a hideous appearance as a punishment. The other woman managed to avoid such a misfortune for a year. After which a handsome man appears, chained to her wrist. ‘Are you my reward for me being careful all this time?’ the woman asks him. He looks at her in bewilderment and replies, ‘I’ve just stepped on a duck.’”

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