Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

BILLIE

T he next morning, I was up with the sun, heading to the bar. I was very surprised to find Joey there. "What brings you here?" I asked suspiciously.

"You're going to trust the orkin from Snaerfírar to help you with the bar, but not me? No way." She crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Is Runa okay with you missing kitchen duty?" Runa had been fine with me leaving to work on the bar, but more people taking off would have a big impact on food prep times. Was I stealing Runa's staff? Ugh, I didn't want that at all.

"Agnarr and Piper are fine with it, and that's enough for me," she said.

"So we both have permission to work on the bar full time?" I asked, surprised.

"Yep. I talked to Piper about it last night. They think the bar will be great for the tribe, and working with the Snaerfírar will be excellent for tribal politics. You know, finally getting the tribes to talk to each other about trade, alliances, disaster relief, blah, blah, blah. Piper and Agnarr go nuts for that stuff. They see this as a huge step forward for the tribe. They have no hesitation."

"Wow. Well, okay then. Thank you." I pulled her into a hug. "I appreciate your willingness to help my dreams come true."

"Bitch, as if I would do any less," she whispered in my ear before releasing me. "When do you think the Snaerfírar will show up?"

"I don't know," I said, chewing my lip. "I didn't realize that he might want to do it full-time if he only plans to stay the season."

"Don't you mean them? There are four of them."

"Right, right." I blushed. I had clearly only been considering Steve.

"Speaking of him —what is going on there?" Joey waved her hand between us.

"With Steve?" I asked, confused.

"Duh, with Steve. Don't act like an idiot. He walked you home last night. Did he push you up against a wall?"

I blushed even further. How had Joey sussed out the tiny ember of a flame that was starting between Steve and me? It was so small that I wasn't even sure it was real. I was attracted to him, and I was pretty sure he was attracted to me, but that was it. I wasn't telling her anything.

"Nothing is going on with Steve. He needs a friend. And the dude has zero experience with women. I doubt he's ever seen boobs. He couldn't handle me."

"I dunno. I know your boobs are the size of dinner plates, but his hands looked pretty big from where I was sitting."

"Joey!" I hissed.

She shrugged. "I'm just saying. It looked like he was into you. And it could be pretty fun to date someone like Steve who had no expectations—he could learn a thing or two."

I squinted at her, unwilling to admit that there was merit to the idea as we gathered the supplies for the days work.

"What about you and Ottar, hmm?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Alas, I was mistaken. I caught him making out with Bo in the pantry yesterday." She gave a dramatic sigh.

"Oh, well, Bo is cute. Ottar's got solid taste."

"I know, right?!" she stomped her foot and huffed. "Ugh, if I didn't have a stupid crush on Ottar, I'd be happy for them. At least they're getting some. And you could be getting some, too." She raised her brows at me.

"You've seen me with Steve like once. There's nothing there."

"Hello? Did we not just talk about him walking you home? And… I heard you laughing outside your room on my way to mine." She sounded sheepish.

Okay, if anything were going to happen with Steve, I would have to keep it on complete lockdown. Joey was too nosy for her own good.

"Honest to God, woman. He's been here one day, and you are already spying on us?"

"I just happened to walk by at the right time," she said, feigning innocence.

"Yeah, yeah." I rolled my eyes. "Listen, maybe there is something about him. He's so open and honest. Vulnerable with me from the first minute. He doesn't have the tough macho facade. But I know I'll end up screwing it up, so I don't even want to bother."

"What do you mean by screwing it up?" she asked.

"I fall for a guy, and I want to sleep with him. We fuck, it's great, then I start sharing my feelings and he freaks out and leaves."

The look of sympathy Joey gave me was enough to show me she understood. I didn't want to be just a warm body. What I knew of Steve so far would have had me jumping into his bed in the past. He was kind and thoughtful. He listened to me when I was sharing about myself. And he was hot as hell. But his inexperience and my mess of past ‘relationships' might make for disaster. For now, I was going to be his friend. If something developed… later, it would develop later.

"Okay, so you aren't ruling Steve out as an option?" Joey asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"No. I am not ruling Steve out. He feels like an innocent little bean and I don't want to wreck him completely."

"He's a grown-ass man—er, orc. He can decide if he wants to be wrecked by you."

"Ha, ha. I will keep that in mind," I said as I started to stalk the bar, looking for places that needed work. "You're happy to help with this? It's a lot of physical labor."

"Oooh, of course!" Joey said.

"You know, there are four new orkin here. And that big one—Reykr? He was giving off definite daddy vibes." I raised my brows at her.

"Oh lord, I did notice him. He's huge!"

"Something you'd be into?" I asked suggestively.

"I mean, I'd love to, but I don't even know how that would work mechanically. I am barely five feet tall!"

"Piper doesn't seem to have any complaints. Maybe you can ask her if she had to work up to it?"At this, we descended into a fit of giggles.

We looked around the bar a bit more and decided it was time to ask the Snaerfírar to join us. There was a lot of heavy lifting—we needed to empty the bar completely. We headed to their rooms and knocked on one of the doors. No one answered for a moment, so we knocked again.

After what felt like an eternity, but was only a few minutes, the door opened. Steve stood in the doorway shirtless and barefoot, wearing nothing but pants that weren't fully laced up. Oh boy. I opened my mouth and closed it, not trusting myself to speak. I knew most orkin were muscular, but Jesus Christ. He was lean, with broad muscled shoulders, impressive pecs, and just the hint of a six-pack above the cut of his hip muscles that pointed directly toward a black happy trail. He was hunching a bit as if that would hide his naked chest or his bright green cheeks. I blinked and blinked again. Holy fuck, how was I going to be friends first with Steve? I could feel myself growing damp just at the sight of him shirtless.

"Hi!" Joey finally said.

"Hi," Steve responded, a little too brightly, as if he was trying to make up for being half-naked and barely awake.

Sensing I'd lost the ability to be coherent, Joey continued.

"The tribe has relieved Billie and me of our duties in the kitchen so we can work on the bar full time. We were hoping you all would be willing to join us?" Joey said brightly.

"Yeah, yes, of course!" Steve responded, dragging his fingers through his hair. He turned to look behind him, where Reykr was still asleep in bed.

My mouth finally decided to work, "Why don't you get some breakfast and meet us at the bar in about an hour?" I suggested.

"That sounds great," he said, but remained standing in the doorway.

I gave him an awkward smile. "I guess will see you in a bit?"

"Sure."

"Alright. Bye then!" I said it little too loudly as I pulled Joey away from the door and down toward the path.

We walked briskly for a few moments in silence before Joey asked, "So how long are you going to wait to fuck him?"

"Gahhh! This is what I'm talking about!" I waved my arms in the air. "I am terrible at friends first, fuck later. You saw him."

"Um, I think I saw you seeing him," she said. "You need a better poker face."

"Do you think he noticed how awkward I was?" I asked, concerned.

"No, he was just as awkward. But I think you are right about him being clueless about women. He was too busy being embarrassed that he was still asleep to notice that you were drooling."

"Oh fuck you, I was not drooling." I shoved Joey off the path.

"May as well have been," she teased, rejoining me.

"You're going to make keeping things friendly and professional impossible, aren't you?" I huffed, starting to walk faster than her.

"Maybe." She kept up with me easily, still enjoying pushing my buttons.

"You know, you're lucky I like you. Otherwise, I'd banish you back to the kitchens to pine over Ottar while he feels up Bo in the walk-in."

Joey was mock-offended. "Well, that would be just plain mean."

"Fine, fine. But seriously. Let me navigate Steve?" I asked plaintively. "Who knows, under all those muscles and vulnerability, he might be the same type of dude to completely ghost me."

"Alright, I will be on my best behavior, scout's honor," she said, linking her arm to mine.

We continued to the bar in silence. The image of Steve, shirtless and rumpled from sleep, was burned into my brain. Without warning, the image of me licking down his happy trail popped into my mind.

Fuck. Friends. We were going to be friends. I was determined to see what this could be before I started anything physical with him. If I really did want to find a mate here in my new life, jumping into bed with Steve wouldn't end well, considering his inexperience and my past.