Lexie didn't want to stare daggers at every couple she saw, but she couldn't help it. It wasn't their fault she detested their happiness, just as much as it wasn't their fault the sky was blue. Nor was it their fault that she moved a week early across country to live with her long-distance boyfriend. Or that she had walked in on him fucking the friend he had told her not to worry about. But those had happened so the couples could deal with death glares from a stranger.
The worst part is she had a breakup plan for situations like this. With her friends back home, but it didn't work thousands of miles away. The group of them had come up with it. Call an emergency meeting. Grab shit food, alcohol and cry it out. Her personal preference was nachos and margaritas. But they were back home and she was stuck here with no place to stay, plan, or savings.
Hell, she barely knew anything at all about this city. Every time she had visited, they had gone to the spots and bars that asshole liked. No comfort places for her. Honestly the best plan she had was to get wasted and figure out a trip home. Any bar could do that. Fuck, the shittier the better. Shitty bars didn't have happy people she needed to glare at.
She had to dig her phone out her bag seeing as she had decided to wear a sexy short black skirt to surprise him. Which of course had no pockets. It was twelve, meaning somewhere would be serving. And plenty of time to get wasted too. She searched bars and flicked past all those with good ratings. Then past the ones with ok ratings. Dives flashed across her screen and one caught her eye. No reviews or comments, a complete enigma. Perfect.
It was close too. Which worked seeing as she was carrying her stuffed backpack. It was meant to get her through the week until the rest of her stuff arrived. Not exactly a light travel. She started walking, still staring daggers but happy she had a goal. Unfamiliar streets flew by as did. Sights and smells she didn't know. This city really was a whole new world, yet that didn't scare her. She was a survivor and she would survive this shit show. After a night of getting wasted of course.
She found the bar down a side street that reeked of piss and garbage. There was bags of trash so she could assume there was piss too. But she carried on. She wanted shit hole and this matched that dream. The door to the bar was wood, rough and unpainted. Its name on a wooden plague, faded with age to the point of being unreadable. A good reason why no one had ever reviewed this place, they couldn't find it.
She tried the door and it opened so she headed in. The inside certainly didn't match the outside. It was like a tavern you saw in fantasy shows. A long rough table down the center, booths on the walls, and a roaring fire in the middle of summer. But it made the room cozy and relaxing. Not her typical haunt, but it would do.
She wasn't surprised the place was empty this early, but even no staff was insight. That was her only concern. If she could get drunk. But as if summoned by her, a tall man came through the door behind the bar. Dressed in all black, long blue hair in a man bun, and tattooed painted arms. She was never one to be ashamed for her thoughts. And the thoughts she got when she saw him were pure sin. Apparently, her sex drive was still kicking.
He looked over at her with a disinterested look, as if she had ruined his day.
"A first timer and early, fun." He said in a bored voice. But he tapped the bar with a long black nail. "Come on then. Let's get you sorted."
"You're open then? It's dead in here." She responded as she walked over, taking a seat on a wooden stool that looked moments from collapsing.
"Most people like to drink later in the day unless their lives are shit. And please don't mistake me as a guy who wants to hear your sob stories."
"Well lucky for you I just want to get shit faced and not talk."
"First." He stated pulling out a big dry leather-bound book with an ornate pen. "Name and race? Don't need to be killing you."
"Race?! What the fuck? Don't tell me I walked into some white supremist bar because fuck that!"
She saw his eyes grow a fraction wider, something terrifying in his look. Then she heard the sound of door's locks echoing around the bar. Her body was frozen sitting still, only her eyes able to move. To look at him. He abandoned the book and casually leaned down on the bar to look right in her eyes.
"Human." It was said in such a dismissive tone it made her angry. But everything was making her mad today.
"Look into my eyes."
She didn't have a choice. They were a pretty shade of blue, like clear ice. But there was something more, something wrong. Then it was like information flashed into her mind. This was a dragon. A for real fucking dragon.
He must have seen it dawn on her as he gave her a razor tooth smile.
"All the monsters you humans tell stories about are real. And many different types are patrons here. Sometimes the universe laughs at us and let's a human wander in. But I will not have you screaming and making a scene at my bar. So can you handle this knowledge or do I need to throw you out?"
That was a lot to take in. Luckily, she knew her answer.
"Will your drinks fuck me up like human ones?"
"More so." He replied the smile growing warm. And then she could move again, as if nothing had happened. She stretched her arms, top rising to show a flat stomach. Whatever that was, it had her feeling a touch off. But she was recovering quickly.
"Then I don't care. My only plans are to drink until I pass out." She said. "Can you do that?"
"Yea I can." He grabbed a cup and set to work with various bottles. The drink went from clear to yellow to a rich blue. Happy with it he popped in a straw and slid it over to her.
"House special. The first one is free for first timers."
She took a sip and the first thing she got was a taste of sour candy, like a bolt of electricity. But then it became sweet and delicious.
"I know what I'm drinking today." She exclaimed before taking a big sip.
The bartender nodded and turned to walk away but stopped mid stride. He looked back over his shoulder at her.
"Oh, word of advice. Keep the fact you're human quiet when the others come in."
"Why? They going to get all scary like you did?"
"Opposite. It's believed sleeping with a human make you more fertile, better in bed. So, unless you want to get hit on all night, I'll keep it quiet."
She took another long sip. "Honestly, being fucked into oblivion. Monsters or not, sounds like the perfect escape right now."
"Why not do it for pay then?" The bartender fully turned around and leaned down in front of her, eye level again.
"Excuse me?" This guy was clearly an ass but this was low even for an ass.
"Right humans and their prudish nature. In our world that kind of works no different than any other. You go to a chef to get a nice meal, an escort when you want something sexual. Been considering hiring one to work out of here for a while. You're pretty enough I suppose."
"Ass." But Lexie leaned in, fascinated by this news. She had always thought sex work should be legal. To find a place it was fascinating.
