In Another Life

Chapter 5

Y/N POV

My boots meet the muddy ground as I step down from my horse. I pull one of my riding gloves off, stuffing it into my back pocket before grabbing hold of the reins of my horse. I bite the tip of my other glove, pulling it off with my teeth before I tie the reins to a nearby horse post.

"Y/N, are you coming?" Greg cups his hands around his mouth, yelling from the tavern entrance.

My eyes close as I give him a smile. "I'll be right in!" I yell back before turning to my horse, tucking the other glove into my back pocket with its pair. Turning back, I sigh as I make my way across the street to the noisy tavern.

Pushing the doors open, I take in my surroundings. A live band plays in the back corner of the bar. Three men sing out loud as they play old blues. Women dance with each other on the floor in front of the band, while men take to their poker games at nearby tables. I pass both, making my way over to the bar. Reaching out, I pull a stool out from underneath the bar top before taking a seat. Bringing the palm of my right hand up, I run over my eye with it as I hold two fingers up to signal to the bartender.

His eyes meet mine as I pull my palm away from my eye. He raises a single brow at me. "Whisky, please." He gives me a simple nod before turning back to finish polishing the glass he held in his hand. My eyes drop before I bring both of my palms up to rub my eyes.

"Fuck." I mutter under my breath in exhaustion. I was a good fuck. The side of my lip threatens to tug into a grin as I shake my head, dropping my hands as the bartender sets a glass down in front of me. I toss a few coins on the bar table before taking the glass and bringing it to my lips. The bartender takes the coins before turning his back on me.

I wonder if that's what he tells all the girls when he "allows himself some of the relief this world offers." I smirk, rolling my eyes as I take another drink. I was an idiot to think I was any different from any of the other girls that he had bent over his desk, hell even had in a barn. The night passes on, the empty glasses growing before me.

I was on my third, and it should have probably been my last, but I had no intention of heading back just yet. I was too busy wallowing in my own self-pity for the night. I was doing just fine here. I choke, embarrassed. I invited him back to my room! And he said no—no actually, he scoffed, shaking his head in annoyance before rejecting my offer.

My eyes close as I rub my browline with my thumb. An arm wraps around me as Greg falls into me, resting most of his weight on me as his chin finds my shoulder.

"Oh Y/NNNNNNN." I smirk, looking at him out of the corner of my eye as a drunk hiccup leaves his lips. "Y/N, Y/N. Y/N." His eyes flutter as he rests his head against my own. He was drunk, lost all of his money in a little under an hour at the poker table before spending the rest at the bar.

"Greg?" I lift the shoulder that his chin rested on to jolt him awake. His eyes shoot open before fluttering back closed again. He groans, mumbling through his lips.

"We are headed back to base. Half of us don't have a coin to spend and the others can barely walk straight. Are you coming?" His eyes remain closed as his weight grows heavier on my side. Another cadet comes up, taking his arm from where it hung around my neck before meeting my eyes.

"Want us to wait?" My lips close into a thin line, feeling the heat rise in my cheeks. I was drunk. I shake my head at him before responding. "Go along without me; I'm gonna finish my drink and watch the band a while longer before I head out. We have the day off tomorrow." I wave him off as I smirk at him. "I'll be alright." The cadet gives me a quick nod, not caring to bother further with me as he drags an unconscious Greg out from the bar.