Page 41 of Horn in My Side
After a quick shower, all three girls piled into Tracy’s car and drove down to Main Street.Jasmine told herself that she was also saving on bus fare, as she could walk home after.
“Here we are,” Leila announced as they entered through a door with the sign “Cedar Grove Grill” above.After telling the hostess they were only coming for drinks, she directed them toward the back.They made their way across the modern-looking dining room, past the sleek black tables and elegant lighting fixtures, to the bar where a small crowd had already gathered.
“Looks like we’re not the only ones who’ve heard about the half-off specials,” Tracy said.
“Or the hot bartender.”Leila nudged Jasmine with her elbow and pointed to the bar, where a tall figure held up a metal shaker in his hand.Though Jasmine couldn’t make out his face from here, from his gray skin, the large horns poking out of his forehead, and of course, the clawed, bat-like wings protruding from his back, he was definitely a gargoyle.
“Half the women in town seem to be here,” Tracy muttered.“We’ll never get close enough to grab a drink.”
“Maybe we can go somewhere else?”Jasmine suggested.
“Aww, c’mon, the line is moving.”Leila pointed at the crowd.“Why don’t you girls wait here?I’ll try to wiggle my way to the front.”She gave a dramatic shake of her long locks, sending shimmery dust flying all over.
“You don’t have to—”
But the pixie was already gone.
Tracy rolled her eyes.“Sorry about that.She can be like a dog with a bone when she wants something.”
“No worries, she seems really nice.”
“Yeah, Leila’s cool overall.Listen, would you mind waiting for her here?I need to go to the bathroom.”
“Sure, go ahead.”She waved her friend away, then took her phone out of her purse to do some work.First, she checked on the shop’s social media sites to make sure she didn’t miss any urgent direct messages.Then she opened the app for the security cameras inside the shop to check on the creatures.She was scrolling through the second-floor live camera feed when she heard a familiar voice.
“Jasmine?”
She looked up from her phone.“Mal?”Yup, sure enough, there he was, towering above her.“What are you doing here?”
“Dinner.Just finished.”He raked his claws through his mop of messy hair.“And you?”
“Er, I went to my spin class, then my friends wanted to get a drink.”
Mal’s purple eyes darted toward the bar—and the bartender—his lips thinning.“I see.”
Jasmine cringed inwardly.She couldn’t even deny that she was here to see the gorgeous gargoyle.What would he think of her?
Ancestor spirits, she prayed.Do you guys do time travel?I’d really like to go back to before I agreed to come here.
“I got the drinks!”Leila cried, raising her small hands, which miraculously held three martini glasses without spilling.“Oh my gods, Jasmine, that bartender really is as hot as they said.I’m so glad we came here.”
Actually, ancestor spirits, how about we start from scratch?Like, to before the Big Bang happened?That was probably the only way to erase this embarrassing moment from existence.
“Here.”The olives in the glass sloshed around as she handed a glass to Jasmine.“I—Oh, hello.”The pixie’s eyes widened tooccupy half her face as she gaped at Mal.“Jasmine, who’s your friend?”
“Leila, this is Mal,” she introduced.“Mal is my, uh, boss.”
“Is that so?I’m Leila.Nice to meet you, Mal.”She flashed him a bright smile.
“Same,” he replied.“I was about to go home, so—”
“Oh noooo!”Leila shoved the second drink at Jasmine then hooked her free hand around his forearm.“You can’t possibly be going.We just got here.I can get you another drink.Or you can have mine.”
“Er, I’m okay, thanks.”
Jasmine’s stomach twisted like a pretzel at the sight of Leila so close to Mal, her body pressed up against his side.This stupid crush was getting out of hand because she was now feeling so jealous of another woman flirting with Mal that she wanted to throw up.
“Hey, I’m back—hey there.”Tracy’s gaze flicked down to Mal and Leila’s linked arms.“I thought you said we were going to meet a hot gargoyle bartender?”
