Page 5 of Little Wing
“We’ll get there,” I said, trying to assure myself more than anyone else.
Benjamin shook my hand firmly and got up from his seat as well.
“You know I won’t stop looking. I’ll find something perfect for you guys.”
“Thanks, Benji,” Mateo uttered, setting a comforting hand on his shoulder.
Disappointment was expected, but twelve rounds of this? It was impossible not to feel at least a bit discouraged. We didn’t think that securing a loan and business license was going to be the easy part. Every day, people setup businesses and spaces were rented out. All we needed was at least a fraction of their luck, because that’s what it had to be, right?
Once we left, Mateo and I stood outside the office in silence. Defeat was a weight that sat like a boulder on our shoulders. I didn’t want to say it, but it felt nearly the same as when we watched our siblings slip from our grasp. It felt out of our control, and yet the pain crippled us. Here we were fighting and holding out hope for an opportunity to honor their memory and to help others in ways we failed before. Whatever we would need to do, I would be ready.
“I don’t really want to go home right now,” I stated, glancing at my watch. It was barely past midnight.
“I gotta go see Quinn,” Mateo sighed. He ran his hand through his sandy hair and turned to look at me. “I’ll need to let her know what happened and I honestly just don’t want to be home. Where are you gonna go?”
“Probably a bar.”
“Drowning your sorrows in booze and pussy?” Mateo’s lips tipped into a smirk. Though the same disappointment shrouded him, he never stopped trying to make light of any situation. And he was right—most nights I did walk into a bar for the comfort of crimson and a woman around my arm. It wasn’t anything serious and they certainly never expected much from me. Human women wanted the experience of sleeping with a vampire and they often offered themselves up as donors. I was simply happy to provide such a service.
Tonight, however, I felt fucked enough already by the assholes who were making it close to impossible to find a space for Little Wing.
As I watched Mateo walk away, I knew that I would have to figure something out in order to get Little Wing back on track. I’d have to find a way, because this was the one thing we couldn’t back down from, not when we were so damn close. Since Mateo went to go spend his evening with Quinn, I allowed myself to wander Fairhaven before my feet carried me to the closest bar I could find: The Royal Nomad. It was a human bar, but since all bars were required to carry some form of synthetic blood, I knew I could find a distraction. At this point, anything would do.
The Royal Nomad was just about what you’d expect from a human bar. Live music, a rowdy crowd, and a barkeep who didn’t keep her patrons waiting. It was the perfect setting for me to get lost in, to distance myself away from the disappointment from earlier that afternoon.
I walked up to the bar and ordered a bottle of crimson; it was the only liquor for vampires that gave me a solid buzz. And after today’s shitshow, I needed to feel… something. After slipping the woman in plaid a few bills, I grabbed the bottle and stepped to the end of the bar where I could watch the scene of the evening unfold.
Nearly an hour and two bottles of crimson later, I watched as the doors opened to allow a dark-haired woman in. She wasted no time in rushing straight to the bar where she sat and struck up a conversation with the bartender, like she was just one of the locals.
She looked human. No, wait—what the hell?
I lowered the lip of my bottle from my mouth and allowed my evening's focus to shift to the woman who ordered a glass of dark liquid before she got up to serpentine through the human crowd.
I didn’t think I was intoxicated, but the woman who appeared at The Royal Nomad looked to be wearing the features of a human while lacking the warmth that came with having a heart pumping red blood.
After my shift, I walked down a few blocks to The Royal Nomad where I knew Kait would still be working. It was primarily a human bar, but it always remained busy enough that my presence barely attracted any attention. It was one of the first places I began to frequent in Fairhaven instead of continuing to isolate myself inside my apartment after work.
It was how I met Kait, after all. She was the first person I officially met when I settled in Fairhaven. She had the kind of energy that would prevent strangers from taking advantage of her. But if you knew her personally, then you knew she’d set the world on fire if it meant her friends would be safe and happy. She was a beautiful woman with a strong build and hazelnut-colored hair cut into a short bob that framed her jaw.
After a few visits where I just sat at the bar and admired her making cocktails for all the other patrons, she looked right past my timidness and set a glass of O negative in front of me.
Without needing to explain, Kait understood me. She never questioned me or asked to hear stories that dug deep into my history. She never pried past what I offered to her freely. After that encounter, I made trips to the bar a part of my regular routine after my shifts at the bookstore. And one day when Reina decided to join me for a drink after work, our trio was finally formed. Everything from that moment felt complete. Despite the looming shadow that never truly left, I was happy. I had a job and friends—some of the things I never thought I’d have the luxury of holding dear to my heart.
After making my way through the crowd, I took a seat at the bar where Kait already acknowledged me with a smirk.
“You’re here a bit later than normal,” she pointed out. “Hot date or Reina keeping you busy?”
I slapped my bag on the counter and pulled out my wallet. “Hot date?” I scoffed and with graceful dexterity, slipped my card from my wallet and held it out for Kait to take. “You know a date is the last thing on my mind when Reina is so excited about this event. I’m sure it’ll keep me busy for a while.”
Dating was indeed the last thing on my mind. In a town like Fairhaven, I preferred to keep my head down on that front. If I craved attention—well, there were ways around that without attachments.
Sweeping the thought away, I rested my elbows on the bar top and smiled at my friend. “How about you? How are things on your end?”
Kait tucked a cloth into her back pocket and took the card from me to slip it into a small folder at the register. “Aside from a few more people signing up for open mic night, nothing really.” When she turned back around, already with a bottle of synthetic blood in hand, she tipped her chin at me. “Then of course there’s the slew of texts from our darling Reina.”
“She got you, too?” I smirked, keeping my lips tight. “Did she also send you the real estate listings or just her vision boards for what she had in mind for a future bookstore.”
“Themed cocktails,” Kait chuckled, “and the real estate listings, ofcourse.”
