NINE MONTHS EARLIER
Lorcan:
I thrum my fingers against the bar table, a raging migraine pounding in my head that rivals the band playing loudly a few feet away. Arlo and Dean scream-sing along to the song, dancing around the tables of patrons like drunken fools.
"Can I buy you a drink?" I hadn't noticed the smiley blonde who snuck her way up to me. She taps my clear glass with the tip of her manicured finger. "Straight vodka?" Her arched brows quirk up with her smirk, impressed and surprised.
"Water," I correct, taking a big gulp and finishing the glass.
She leans back against the bar, her elbows propped up and her back arched. Her softly curled blonde hair cascades over one shoulder. She's effortlessly seductive yet I cannot bring myself to care.
"What is a man like you doing alone in a bar, sober?" her rouged lips stay in a perfect, plump smile. "May I take a guess?"
I look her up and down, confused why such a put-together, kind lady wants the attention of a pirate.
She taps her chin in thought, then suddenly points at me while her brows shoot up high. "Abusive father, alcoholic, scared you away from drinking." She hums and looks around the room. "You come to taverns as some sort of exposure therapy- no, an act of defiance by refusing to drink while sitting at the bar."
I laugh at her, shaking my head.
"Come on, how close was I?" Her laugh is smooth and sweet, that of a kind old woman despite how young she is.
"Close," I nod, lightening up a bit. "I became a pirate, drank a lot to forget my fucked up past, didn't like who I was, so I stopped."
"Mmm," she hums in understanding. "And that fucked up past- you've come to terms with it?"
"No time," I reply. "Too busy."
She laughs out loud. "Doing what?"
"Developing a curse, almost murdering my best friend and the girl I love, and then becoming a captain."
She sits in the barstool beside me and places her cheek on her hand like a kid waiting to hear a bedtime story. Her bright blue eyes are bigger than the moon. "Busy lad. Did you get the girl?"
"I let her go."
She frowns. "No way." She scoffs and sits up straighter. "I do not like that ending."
"It's the only one I've got."
"And what about the curse? Did you get rid of it?" she points to my hand, where the skin is patchy and pink, my fingers curled inward. "Did it give you that?"
I hide my hand behind my back, turning away.
"Two waters, please!" the woman shouts at the bartender. He slides her two glasses and she passes one to me. "I wasn't trying to cause offense," she adds. "I'm always told I'm too curious for my own good." A beat passes before she sticks out her right hand. "My name is Ettie."
A lady wants to shake my hand? I'm bewildered by this woman, but I shake her hand anyways, giving her my good one. "Lorcan."
YOU ARE READING
Evocation
Adventure"I promised myself the next time I saw you, I was claiming you. Your mouth-" he gazes at my lips while biting his own. "-your body.." he squeezes at my hips. His hands trail up and he wraps his thick fingers in my hair, pulling softly. "Watching you...
