Expanded Horizons: Beyond the Blue

Greener Pastures: Chapter Two

 Karl shined the glass with an empty smile on his face. Two years to get his system down, but now, he could clean every glass in the bar in less than an hour on his own.

"Hey, Karl," Hernando said with a bump of Karls' elbow. "See them ladies there?"

"Yeah?"

"You wanna help a guy out?"

Karl looked over and eyeballed the group of young women like a scientist going over his chalkboard. He had to say, they were decent-looking enough, at least for a guy like Hernando. But Karl had standards, and they just didn't make the cut.

"Not jumping on any grenades for you," Karl said with a chuckle. "If you want one of THEM, you'll have to do it on your own."

"Bah, you're too stingy," Hernando said.

Karl hadn't seen a woman as beautiful as his first after his wife left him, but he hardly used her as the standard of beauty; that simply wouldn't be fair. But he learned the lessons he needed that night with regard to temporary companionship.

"Short, sweet, to the point, no extra nonsense," he repeated to himself as he often did.

He never learned the woman's name, what she did, or even exactly what type of human she was. While he had an idea, it didn't concern him. He avoided getting attached, felt good and distracted, and then went on with his life. Just as he had so many times after.

It got to the point, though, where his carelessness got him in hot water, though that hot water did get him hired at the bar. Some of his human coworkers had been neglecting their spouses, and those lonely ladies needed someone to listen to them, someone who could understand the pain of being unloved. Karl was more than happy to provide, but found out the hard way that confirming an identity can be important before taking action.

He lost his job at the record label by spending a night of passion with his boss's wife. And the file manager's wife. And a couple of the musicians' wives, though he suspected those ones and was happy to oblige. One of the music boys came at him with a knife, but Karl used a concealed spell scroll to take care of that easily enough.

When Hernando hired him at the best bar in town, the label tried to blacklist it, but made it more popular by trying to do so. And bad boy Karl Becker just sweetened the deal for rebellious socialites.

So, now, Karl just did simple work as a simple man, serving alcohol to any and all types, and suavely talking his way into any and all types of ladies who caught his eye. His reputation preceded him, though, so he didn't have to worry about the scorn of a woman who thought he loved her. He could deal with that, but it would be a waste of his valuable time.

As he set down his glass to pick up another, the door to the bar swung open much harder than necessary and a rowdy group of young men and women burst in, whooping and hollering about one thing or another. When Karl took one good look at them, he could tell from the tattoos and ragged look that they were a new band, probably fresh off signing themselves onto his old label.

Karl's empty smile faltered for a moment, but he recovered it quickly enough to respond as the group approached.

"Welcome to Hernando's," he said with the heaviest charm he could muster, flicking his eyes at each of the ladies. "What can I get you?"

"A round of your best for everyone!" the young man in front announced.

"Right away."

Karl turned around and acquired the glasses he needed and poured some mid-shelf vodka out for the youngsters who wouldn't know any better. He brought them over on a tray, about twenty shots for eight kids, and leaned on a shoulder as they all took a tiny glass.

"Cheers!" the boy announced. They all downed their shots, and Karl wasted no time.

"So," he greeted nonchalantly to the young lady next to the leader. "What's got a group like you in a forbidden zone like this?"

"Oh, we-"

"We do what we want!" the boy said, cutting her off. Karl noted the miffed look on her face. "We make the music, we have the power!"

"Indeed," Karl said. He turned his attention back to her. "What do you do?"

"I'm the lead female singer," the girl said with a smile.

"We grew up together," the boy said. "Started dating, doing duets. Now we got our own band!"

"Fascinating," Karl said, a malicious grin creeping onto his face. "What's it like, being the face of the band?"

"Oh, well, we all-"

"It's awesome!"

Karl and the girl looked at the boy, eyebrow cocked and looking rather peeved, respectively. She slapped the back of her hand against his shoulder as if to remind him yet again that he should best watch his ego.

"Come now, I think we all know where the audience is looking," Karl said with a sideways glance at the girl. She started to blush. "I mean, who wouldn't?"

The boy's face slowly started to fall with concern as Karl winked at his girlfriend, eliciting a slew of flirtatious giggles. He looked back and forth between them in shock as Karl waggled his eyebrows to drive her embarrassment up even further.

"Hey man, I don't know what-"

"I know that, just from our short interaction. You don't know much, do you?" Karl whipped out a little white card and pen, scribbled his building on it, and tucked it behind the girl's ear. "For when you need someone who does know."

The girl's face flushed red and she stammered out her affirmation as Karl walked away. It wasn't long before the arguing started, and as Karl continued to clean glasses, shouting erupted and people stormed out of the bar. His malicious grin fully broke out from behind his previously disciplined composure as he noted a job complete.

Hernando walked over with a curious look on his face.

"What the hell was that?" he asked. "She looked just like those girls you said you weren't interested in."

"There's more to a lady than just her looks," Karl replied.

"Like what?"

"Physical pleasure is one thing, but satisfaction... that's hard to come by."

Hernando shook his head and walked away, fully aware of what Karl had done yet again. Karl just kept working as he always did, knowing that when he finished and went home, there would likely be a young lady waiting for him at his residence, upset over her over-reactive musician boyfriend and in need of comfort. Another distraction for him to keep his mind off things.

And the next morning, she was gone, along with the deal the band once had and any business his old employer would have gotten off it.