“I-I don’t drink.”
“They have smoothies and juice and tea blends that are amazing,” the smaller rhino said.
He was still a little taller than Soren, who felt like a child in their presence. He also felt safe in a way that he hadn’t since his family had been slaughtered.
“I’d love to join you,” Soren said. “Thank you for your kind offer. That’s the second act of kindness I’ve been the beneficiary of. I’m feeling like maybe I landed in the right place after all.”
“Oh, are you new to town, too, I haven’t been here all that long either,” the smaller rhino said, his cheeks pinking up a little. “And please excuse my manners. I’m Romy and this is my mate, Bash.”
“I’m Soren. It’s very nice to meet you both.”
As he walked with them to the bar, he thought about asking if they knew the man he’d met on the road, the one who’d smelled faintly of rhino, only he’d never even gotten the man’s name. Silly, stupid oxpecker couldn’t even manage to do that right. Seemed like it would take a bout of luck, or another unfortunate situation, for him to run into the man again.
“So, how’d you get to Cookietown,” Romy asked as they got comfortable at the bar.
“In my car,” Soren replied, hoping for sassy instead of sarcastic.
He hadn’t really interacted much with people outside of the ones he’d spent his whole life around. Making friends was goingto be a whole new experience, especially since he’d be doing it on his own.
Romy giggled while Bash just shook his head, the corners of his lips lifting a little, like he was trying hard not to laugh along with his partner.
“I mean, how’d you even find it?” Romy asked. “Everything here is so secluded. I’ve heard people say they got lost, even with a GPS.”
“It wasn’t easy,” Soren admitted. “I went the wrong way a few times and had to backtrack and try again, but I sort of had an idea of where it was supposed to be, because one of my brothers had passed through with a friend and they spent the afternoon here. He always wanted to come back, but he never got the chance to.”
Soren appreciated him not asking what happened, or maybe Romy just assumed it was associated with the violence that had rocked their community. That was the other reason he’d headed to Cookietown. He hadn’t even remembered his brother’s stories until he’d heard a reporter talking about Cookietown on the news. That’s when it had clicked, and he’d started planning his trip.
“Were you planning to stay, or were you just checking out the area?” Romy asked.
“I’m not sure yet. I need to find an apartment and a job, but the car I have is a rental, I don’t have a vehicle of my own, so wherever I work and live will have to be within walking distance of one another.”
“What if they were right upstairs?” Romy blurted out, before turning to look at Bash with a sheepish grin.
“Didn’t Nomad post an advertisement for help in the kitchen?” Romy asked. “And there is an apartment for rent upstairs now that Cosmo, Nomad and Harley have moved into their new house.”
It couldn’t be that easy, or that perfect, nothing ever was. Trusting the wrong people could get him exterminated, like his family. Soren still didn’t have a clue what kind of club this was, though he could kind of guess with how it smelled, except he didn’t like to jump to conclusions.
“I’ll have to look into it,” Soren said, hoping they would leave it at that.
“Someone is always in the office,” Romy persisted. “We can introduce you.”
“It’s okay. I’m not sure living over a club or a bar is the thing for me,” Soren said. “Loud noises kind of get to me, so I doubt it would be a good fit.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Thank you, though,” Soren rushed to say, not wanting to hurt his new friend’s feelings.
“You’re welcome.”
“I’m going to go exploring tomorrow,” Soren stated, hoping to change the subject. “Are there any sites I should check out?”
“If you like movies, there’s an outdoor theater with the hugest screen I’ve ever seen,” Romy suggested. “There are picnic tables to sit at if you want to eat while you watch, and the grass is super thick and comfy. I love to take a blanket and lie on it when we go.”
“Do they have movies every night?”
“Just about,” Romy said. “You just have to check to see what’s playing.”
“I can do that,” Soren replied. “It might be fun.”
