“The Three Seashells,” he replied.
“That’s the other side of town!” She cried, “It’ll take you hours to walk back.”
“I’d rather see you safe, Princess.” The pet name slipped out before he had the chance to prevent it. An endearment that was spoken through the rush of alcohol.
Even if Brierley heard the faux pas, she gave no true indication. However, she drew up close to him and slipped herarm around his waist, knowing a lost argument when she saw one. Besides, Tori would have her hide if she didn’t accept.
“So, you and Alluin, huh?” She teased. “I never knew.”
“It would hardly have been a great announcement; my first girlfriend was actually a boyfriend, there was more of a stigma back then.” He said, “We both decided to keep it on the down low. Alluin wasn’t ready to come out yet, even though everyone already knew. I respected that wish.”
“And what about you?”
“Girls, boys, all the same to me,” Breht answered with a casual shrug,
“But you broke up.” Brierley pried, wanting to understand the measure of the complicated orc.
Breht nodded. “Yes, but if his reasons were what he just announced, he never complained about it before,” he joked at his own expense.
“What did he tell you?”
“He was more interested in girls, which, we all now know, is a lie in itself,” he gave a shrug. The air was bringing clarity to his head, and the wooziness brought on by the wine slowly dissipated.
She leaned up and whispered close to his ear, "Have you ever thought about staying?"
Breht stopped in his tracks, causing Brierley to halt next to him. He turned to face her, his expression softening. "Staying?"
"Here." She said it quietly, almost afraid of the answer. "I know you have a life in the city, but—"
"I think about it," he admitted, his voice low and sincere. "More than I probably should."
Brierley's breath caught. She hadn't expected such honesty. The vulnerability in his eyes made her heart skip, and she found herself reaching for his hand. His fingers intertwined with hers, warm and solid.
"Good," she whispered, and tugged gently on his arm to keep walking.
The orc went with her willingly. “I’m sorry that I spent most of this evening outside,” he said. “I’m assuming Gorim told you about Rosani?” He hadn’t meant for their light-hearted, fun to suddenly turn serious, but some things needed saying, apologising for. Ignoring Brierley was not a gentlemanly thing to have done, and he felt wretched for it.
“It’s okay,” Brierley said, her hand giving his waist a comforting squeeze.
Breht looked skywards. The colourful arrangement of stars in the complicated hues of the night sky caught his eye. “It’s not,” he answered. “I wanted to spend more time catching up with you this evening, but I had to put whatever she and I had been to bed, once and for all.”
She rested her head against his strong bicep, clinging to his forearm. “I’d have liked that too, but you needed to do what’s best for you first.”
As they crossed town, talk became more relaxed, and he tried his absolute best to keep Rosani’s name out of his mouth. Brierley was enthusiastic about everything they discussed, which helped. The faint dizziness of the red wine returned, and he revelled in its effects. Casual pleasantries turned to snickeringgossip as they discussed snippets of overheard conversation. They chatted at length about some of the people they had once known, taking simple delight in how some of them got their comeuppance after leaving school. About how some were fortunate to have escaped the country and flown halfway around the world on random adventures. For what it was worth, Brierley tried to pry information out of him in regard to what he’d done at her store. He remained a vigilant wall of silence on the matter.
Realising that she’d get nowhere, Brierley changed the subject. Instead choosing a topic that they spoke about for most of the way home: music and movies. She was surprised to discover that he’d mostly left his industrial hardcore days behind him. Now tending towards indie-electronic. Or the soft, easy-going voices of popular icons such as Ed Sheeran and Dermot Kennedy. It was a hard shift from the music they’d listened to as teenagers: White Zombie, Nine Inch Nails and other alternative, edgy music that he couldn’t stand to have in his ears now that he’d matured past that phase.
“I like the odd song, now and again,” Brierley admitted. “But, I got out of all that when I left my ex. Steve.”
“The one with the bike?” Breht asked.
“That’s the one.”
“What happened?” He asked, seeing as she had been so curious earlier about Alluin
“He cheated on me,” she replied flatly. She felt the muscles in his forearm clench.
“What a bastard,” Breht grumped.
