Page 15 of Grumpy Pucking Orc
Ozar shifted in his chair, scowling at his teammates, then his lips turned upward as he glanced my way. “I didn’t expect to see you until Monday morning.”
Ugh. Did he think I was stalking him? There definitely was an intriguing attraction going on here between us, but I needed time to think that out. I wasn’t one to rush…well, rushanything. And being here probably gave him the impression I was.
“I’m glad to see you again,” he confessed. “Do you like hockey games? Do you often attend?”
“I like hockey, but the last professional game I remember going to was when I was a teenager,” I told him. “Baltimore hasn’t had an NHL team before the Tusks. There are some minor league teams around here, but I’ve never gone to any of their games. Did you play hockey back home…where you’re from? Or something like hockey?”
It was a stupid question given how badly they’d played—and skated—but I felt it was polite to ask.
He shook his head. “We had no ice-games. Our sports involve feats of strength, running, and hand-to-hand combat.”
“I’m sure you won many of those.” It wasn’t false flattery. He was huge and strong, and after watching him fight tonight, I couldn’t imagine him losing to anyone—even other orcs back in his homeland.
Ozar looked a little embarrassed. “I won some, but not what I would call many. At home I am a warrior, a ClanGuardian. I fight, but I also lead my…team? I think that is your word.”
I guessed it was, not knowing much about even human military terms. Which brought me to something I’d been dying to ask him since I’d talked to him in the parking lot.
“Your English is very good. Did you learn to speak it when you were young? Back home?” I was guilty of assuming the orcs lived a primitive existence, like green cavemen. For all I knew, they could have cities, schools, and libraries, as well as the equivalent of cell phones.
“Other than a few basic words and phrases, we all learned your language when we came here two months ago.” He grinned at my surprised expression, flashing a line of white teeth and those tusks. “There are many languages in my world. It’s good to know as many as possible, so we learn fast.”
“Are there humans living in your orc cities? Is that how you learned those basic words and phrases?” I asked, really curious about his life before coming here and playing hockey.
He shook his head. “Not for many of your centuries has there been a human living with an orc clan. But there are orcs who have human blood in their veins from an ancestor, and while the human language has mostly been lost, their descendants know some of the language that was passed down in their family. My friend Gax had a human grandmother and taught me what he knew of her language.”
“Humans have a lot of languages. Did you all only learn English or others? Did Gax’s grandmother speak English?” That initial awkward silence was broken, and now I was excited to know everything I could about orcs—and about this orc in particular.
“Gax’s grandmother spoke English, and that is what welearned when we arrived since our passageway to this world led us here.”
He had made a gesture with his arm as he spoke, and I couldn’t help but tease him. “You arrived from your world via a portal to The McHenry Tavern? Is the passageway in the basement? The walk-in fridge?”
Ozar frowned, consulting his phone. After a few long seconds of typing and reading, he chuckled, the sound low and warm. “We arrived in this country, but not in this particular business.”
“I still think your being able to speak English in two months is remarkable,” I told him. “I doubt I’d be able to do more than ask where the restroom was and maybe comment on the color of your clothing inyourlanguage after two months.”
He leaned over, his arm brushing my shoulder. “I think you would learn quickly. Gax’s grandmother did.”
I had so many questions.
“How did Gax’s grandfather meet his human grandmother?” I wondered. The elves and fae had a long history of kidnapping humans, but that wasn’t exactly a situation that led to romance. Unless Gax’s grandfather had rescued her from her kidnappers, that is.
Ozar squirmed. “I don’t know the exact circumstances of their meeting.”
“He kidnapped her?” My voice was flat. I didn’t care if I offended him or not.
The orc sighed, then nodded. “He did. I believe there were some difficult early times between them, but they ended up in love.”
Right. “Maybe you should Google ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ on your phone,” I snapped.
He stilled, his expression worried as he looked at me. “We no longer raid and plunder your world like we used to.”
I noticed he didn’t say anything about kidnapping women.
“And I vow to you on my honor and my clan that I willnevertake a female against her will.”
My eyes met his, and I was surprised by the intensity in those golden-brown irises. I believed him. I didn’t know what the other orcs intended, but I believed Ozar.
“Okay. Just so we’re clear, I carry pepper spray in my purse,” I informed him, thinking that might not be that much of a deterrent to an orc. Maybe I needed to find a reputable magic shop and invest in a protective amulet. Or just buy a gun.
