“Will do. Thanks again.”
I headed out of my boss’ office, thrilled that I was about to make more money, and I’d get to see some of the Orbs up close.
More importantly, I wasn’t getting fired.
“You’re gonna be working with Orbs now?”
Later that night, I was retelling my day to my roommatebefore he had to get ready to go to work. We were on the couch scarfing down some Chinese food in our apartment.
I nodded at his previous inquiry. “Yeah! I’m really excited. Plus I’m making more money, which is awesome.”
“That’s great, Bas!”
I smiled at Thayer. Thayer and I had been best friends for over ten years at this point. I’d first met him at a coffee shop that had been right around where’d I’d been staying at the time. We’d bonded over our mutual love of manga, coffee, and Taylor Swift, and he’d asked me if I wanted to grab coffee sometime. The rest was history. We’d been living together for almost as long and we’d been practically brothers ever since.
“Thanks, Thayer. I can’t wait.” I shoveled in a bite of my general tso’s chicken as Thayer got up from his seat.
“I need to start getting ready,” Thayer nodded. “I’m doing my cowboy routine tonight.”
I shook my head with a smile as he retreated to his bedroom. Thayer was an exotic dancer down at this mostly Orb club. Orbs from all over came to watch humans dance for them, and it paid really well and Thayer didn’t seem to mind the attention. He certainly had the body for it. And as long as his half of the rent always came through, I didn’t care what he did. I’d come by the club unannounced to watch him a few times. He was pretty good. He always had high concept themes and executed them well.
I started laughing when Thayer came out a few minutes later in a sparkly blue cowboy outfit, complete with fringe and star patches galore. He looked good, but he looked so out of place against the backdrop of our off-white living room interior.
“Hey, I look hot.” Thayer smoothed his hands over his chest and stomach to prove his point.
“You look great, it’s just a lot.” I chuckled.
“Well the Orbs are gonna love it. They always end up paying more for human history sort of stuff.” Thayer nodded, pickingup his lo mein and being careful not to get it all over his work outfit for the night. “Are you gonna chill out this weekend?”
“Oh, I have plans.” I said, reaching for my iPad on the end table next to the couch. “I just downloaded the second book of that gay demon romance series I was telling you about.”
Thayer guffawed with a smirk. “Oh, geez. Don’t tell me you’re just gonna lounge around reading all weekend. Again.”
I shook my head. “Notallweekend. I’ll probably do some gaming at some point. And catch up on some YouTube videos.”
Thayer always chastised me for staying in all weekend, but in all honestly, that’s how I preferred my weekends. I loved being able to do what I wanted when I wanted, surrounded by my favorite things at the apartment. I would go out on dates every once in a while and the occasional hookup every now and then, but for the most part, I preferred keeping to myself.
Unlike Thayer, who had a rolodex of women that he would entice over the weekends. Thayer was a major flirt, a good dancer, and a terrible boyfriend. So naturally, he was always busy with someone. I just didn’t have much interest in long term dating. I was open to it for sure, but I hadn’t met anyone that enamored me enough to want something more.
Taking his Chinese food with him, Thayer grabbed his keys by the door after pulling his boots on, causing me to roll my eyes. Of course he had custom cowboy boots to match.
“Just promise me you’ll do something fun with me soon. Like maybe we can go to Gossamer some night.” Gossamer was the hottest club in Piper, mainly because it was one of the few places people felt comfortable enough to congregate whether they were human or Orb. Most places weren’t segregated on purpose, but businesses had a way of letting one or the other know that they weren’t welcome. Gossamer wasn’t like that. It was for anyone and everyone.
“Okay, fine.” I waved him off, already turning my iPad on soI could get some reading in while I finished my food. “One weekend soon, we’ll go out to Gossamer.”
“Hell yeah,” Thayer said, shoving a forkful of noodles in his mouth before stabbing the fork in the rest of his food while he carried it out with him. “I’ll be back late. Enjoy your night, Bas.”
“Make those Orbs sweat, dude!”
He laughed as he closed the front door to the apartment. I refocused my attention to the book on my iPad, and I finished my food in perfect solitude in hopes that this weekend would be the perfect recharge before starting at the Orb wing come Monday morning.
Chapter 2
Learninghow things worked in the Orb wing was painfully easy. All I had to do was keep a chart of every Orb I tended to and then go to the blood coolers to retrieve their preferred blood type, bring it back to their room, and let them drink in total privacy. Honestly, it seemed like it was going to be easier than doing things in the human wing. It seemed more like being a server than the usual routine of drawing blood and logging donations.
After a twenty minute rundown of what I needed to do, Babs said I was good to go and to start calling people back. I took the first chart I could and scanned over to find the name. Kroven. No last name. Orbs usually didn't have one, at least from what I had learned from Babs through my rundown. I pushed through the double doors that connected this wing and the waiting area, and cleared my throat.
“Kroven.”
