I break two full bottles of liquor, four glasses, burn myself on the espresso machine, and ruin someone’s expensive whiskey pour by topping it with ginger ale. The guy doesn’t even flinch—he just tips his head back and drinks it.
And the worst part?
I care.
I want to be good at this. I want to do it right without magic or manipulation.
But nothing works the way I want it to. There’s no quick fix. No charming smile that rewinds time. No handmaiden or servant to call to come clean up my mess. And I have never been so infuriated in my life.
I used to hate being underestimated. Now I hate that I might deserve it.
At the end of the night, I’m left woefully scrubbing the bar top, sticky from head to toe and feeling I'm an utter failure.
My stomach is cramping with hunger. I was too nervous to eat before my shift and too busy screwing up drinks to grab anything during. The emptiness makes every small failure feel catastrophic.
Talon walks up, the entire place shut down for closing and clean up.
“How was your first night?” he asks.
Irritation flares in me. I can’t tell if he’s being glib. My lack of food also might be contributing to my ire.
From his position at the door, Talon likely had a good view of my disaster zone but every time I looked over, he was either ushering new patrons in or checking IDs. Maybe he didn’t notice?
“I served exactly two drinks correctly. Two. Out of...okay, let’s not count how many.” I shut my eyes tight, rocked by thereality and resisting the urge to tally the exact numbers. “How was your night?” I ask, changing the subject.
He shrugs. “Nothing to it.” He pushes a small dish of bar nuts in front of me.
Great. So much for a distraction. I instantly pop some of the snacks in my mouth even as I glare at him.
“Hey, hot boy,” Snow calls from where she’s replacing the bottles of liquor I broke earlier. “Take her home so she can get some rest and a shower.”
A flash goes off in my face. Ariel has snapped yet another picture, with the benefit of extra light to capture the mess I am.
She grins at me from behind the camera. “You’ll love that I captured this memory one day.”
I doubt it.
I return to vigorously scrubbing the bar. “No, I need to help finish clean-up.”
Ariel and Snow approach me from either direction. Snow shakes her head. “Nah, we got this. Right, Ariel?”
“Totally, go rest,” Ariel says. “Tonight was...a lot.”
My shoulders drop as I stop cleaning.
“It’s okay if it takes you a couple weeks to get the hang of it,” Ariel reassures me.
“Or months,” Snow says, shooting a quick sideways glance at Ariel. “Months is okay too.” Then with a genuine grin, she gives me a side hug. “You’ll get it babe, hang in there.”
I return a weak smile. “Thanks guys.”
“And good job, big fella,” Snow says, shooting a double thumbs up to Talon. “Way to stand there all night and look menacing.”
“Ten out of ten,” Ariel nods. “Very scary.” They both give him a polite golf clap.
He narrows his eyes at them, clearly not sure what to say.
I throw on my cloak, hating the slide of it over my sticky arms despite trying to wipe them off in the bathroom earlier. Talon and I step out into the biting chill of the night, our breaths visible in the air.
