25. Nico

25

NICO

M y first date with Throkhan was going well so far, even though I couldn’t stop thinking about my conversation with Cyrus at the beginning of it. I worried that I was too distracted throughout the date, but apparently I was good enough to get invited back to Throkhan’s place.

“Are you sure?” I asked him. “That’s a lot to commit to on the first date.”

Throkhan shrugged his massive shoulders. “Why not? Don’t you like having fun?”

I smiled. “Yeah, I do.”

It was tough to decline something as tempting as this, I took him up on his offer and got into his car with him, hoping his home was at least half as nice as Cryus’.

“You mentioned that you’re a logger, right?” I asked, settling into the passenger seat that was almost too big for me.

“That’s right.” Throkhan nodded.

“Cool. So, how long have you worked in the logging industry?”

“My whole adult life,” he answered as he pulled onto the dark highway, driving past rows of trees along the sides of the road. “My daddy worked in the industry when I was a wee lad, so I grew up learning the business.”

“How interesting.”

“I’m thinking about getting out of logging, though,” he continued, “but I’m not sure what else I would do.”

“Why, is it not profitable enough?”

“No, the trees still pay well, but I’ve been having to deal with some real nightmares over the last few years. Y’know the Librarian?”

“Yeah, of course. I signed up for the matchmaking service like you, remember?”

Throkhan grunted. “Their cousin, Sylvan Lockwood, is some sort of tree-lover, I think. He’s been protesting at all of my major sites for at least five years now. There’s something wrong with him, I’m telling you.”

“Sylvan? Isn’t he engaged to Irving Scott?”

“Who?”

“Oh, never mind. He’s just a professor who teaches at the local university. I know him through Cyrus P. Cartwright, another professor.”

Throkhan shook his head. “I’m not familiar with either of them.”

“I dated Cyrus for a little bit,” I explained. “He’s an orc, too. Nice guy, but a little too soft-hearted for me.” I chuckled and Throkhan followed it with a hearty laugh that shook the whole car.

His laugh faded and he grew worryingly serious. “I can’t stand people like that, especially my own kind. A professor, though – you’ve gotta expect that from one of them.”

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. “Yeah, I guess so. Hey, how far are we from your place?”

“Close, very close.” He turned onto a quiet, empty road and pointed. “See that house just over the hill?” I nodded. “That’s mine.”

“Ooh, it’s nice. Did you have it custom-built?”

He puffed out his chest. “I built it myself.

I raised my eyebrows. “Impressive. Well, I’m excited to see inside it – especially the bedroom.”

We pulled up to the house and got out. I waited on the porch while Throkhan unlocked the door and let me in, flicking on a light switch so we could see. Finally alone with my new orc, I realized how different he was to Cyrus, not just in personality, but also in looks.

His skin was closer to grayish brown than green, and his eyes were a dull shade of yellow. His face wasn’t too bad to look at, but he kept his hair pulled back into a loose ponytail that looked like it took him all of two seconds to style as opposed to Cryus’ neat waves. His teeth shined in the warm overhead lighting, much like Cyrus’, but his smile was more of a grimace, and his eyes held no twinkle the way Cyrus’ did whenever he looked at me. Granted, Cyrus had always seemed like the exception out of all my previous partners, but that was never clearer than now.

“What are we waiting for?” Throkhan asked. “Let’s get straight down to business.”

I nodded and smiled nervously. “Sounds good. Hey, do mind if I use your bathroom quickly?”

“Go ahead – first door on the left in the hall. I’ll be in the bedroom on the opposite side of the hall; you can meet me in there.”

“Thanks.” I followed Throkhan’s directions all the way into the bathroom and shut the door behind me, locking it.

I stepped up to the sink, turned the faucet on, and splashed cool water on my face. When I looked up at the reflection in the mirror, I hardly recognized myself. I had an orc waiting for me in his bedroom right now, and all I could think about was Cyrus, the very man I’d rejected.

Oh, Cyrus. I might not have loved him, but I liked him – a lot – and I was a fool for kicking him out of my life as unceremoniously as I did. He deserved better. We both deserved better. And it was all my fault.

I emerged from the bathroom dreading what I was about to tell Throkhan. The orc had been kind enough to invite me into his house with the expectation that we were going to have sex, and now I was leaving him high and dry with no good explanation.

“Uh, Throkhan?” I knocked gently on the bedroom door before pushing it open. “I – oh, God!”

Throkhan was spread out on his massive bed, legs open, cock resting against his lower belly. There was not a single piece of clothing on his gargantuan frame, and I almost felt like I should shield my eyes for his own privacy, if not my embarrassment.

“I – I’m really sorry,” I stammered, “but I think I’m going to have to leave.”

Throkhan didn’t move a muscle. “Why?” he asked.

“I’m not – well, I’m not, uh, feeling well,” I lied. “I think I need to go home and get some sleep.”

He patted the empty space on the bed next to him. “You can sleep here if you want.”

“Oh, no, I’ll be able to make it home just fine. Thank you, though. I’ll call you tomorrow once I’m feeling a little better and we can…” I didn’t want to tell him we could plan another date when I had no intention of seeing him again. “We can talk.”

Throkhan nodded, totally unbothered, cock and balls still out for the whole world to see. “Sounds good. I hope you feel better, Nico.”

My heart lurched. I was a horrible person for putting not one, but two orcs through the ringer because of my stupid little whims. “I’m sure I will. Thanks for the nice date, Throkhan.”

“Do you need a ride back home?”

I glanced at his nudity and back at the bedroom door. “No, I’ll walk. I don’t want to get you out of bed when you look so…comfortable.”

“It’s no trouble, really.” He made to get up, but I shook my head aggressively.

“Nah, it’s fine. I think the fresh air will do me some good anyway, and if I get too tired, I’ll just call a cab. Goodnight.”

Throkhan flopped back down onto the bed and waved. “‘Night.”

I left him to do whatever it was that he was planning on doing that he was alone and began the long, lonely walk back to my apartment. I’d hoped for some light from the moon and stars to guide me, but the sky was covered in clouds and the trees surrounding the road blocked out what little illumination the moon could have given me.

I walked for the better part of an hour before finally admitting to myself that I was lost, and not kind of lost, but lost-lost. I had no idea where I was, but the thick line of trees on either side of me and the rapidly deteriorating asphalt underneath my feet told me it was nowhere I’d ever been before.

I walked on against my better judgment, only for the paved road to end and a rough gravel road to begin. The gravel merged into a dirt path surrounded by tall, overbearing trees on either side of me. This was not good.

The only light in the darkness came from the woods. A faint glow emanated from some windows and what looked like fireflies dotted the edge of the roof. The fireflies didn’t move even after I stared at them for a few seconds, and I realized it was just a string of lights.

“It could be a serial killer,” I told myself. “They might be waiting for their next victim at this very moment.”

I knew that was just the exhaustion and anxiety talking, so I pushed forward, finding myself on the porch of a small log cabin in a matter of minutes. I lifted my hand to knock on the door, hoping whoever answered wasn’t too annoyed by a stranger on their doorstep.

“Well, here goes nothing.”

I took a deep breath and knocked. A moment later, the door opened and a tall man with glasses opened the door.

“Nico Ross? Cyrus’ boyfriend?” The tall man cocked his head. “What are you doing out here?”

“You must be Irving.” I sighed. “It…It’s a long story.”

“Well, come inside, and then you can tell Sylvan and me. It’s absolutely frigid tonight.”

I hugged my arms around me, shivering. “Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude.”

Irving shook his head. “It’s not an intrusion. Any friend of Cyrus is a friend of mine, and Sylvan is all too happy to host guests. In fact, your surprise visit will probably make his entire night. Now, come with me and Sylvan will make us all some tea.”

I smiled and nodded. Irving was too kind to someone who’d broken up with his friend, but I wasn’t about to go back into the woods and struggle to find my way home. It had been a long night, and I still needed to apologize to Cyrus for treating him the way I had.