Scroll 26: Steamy Brew
Jinneth blinked, slowly shaking off the deep sleep she had fallen into. She stretched her arms out beside her, searching for the comforting warmth that had sheltered her.
Her fingers only brushed against the cold sheet.
The emptiness in the mattress instantly transferred to her stomach, turning into an icy knot.
She pushed herself up onto her knees in the middle of the bed, her auburn hair a messy tangle and the blanket held against her bare chest. She fixed her gaze into the dimness of the room, feeling panic tighten around her throat.
The painful memory of Visius—the man who had abandoned her to her fate right after stealing her virginity—emerged like a ghost from the past.
«Did he leave? Are all men really the same?» she thought, feeling her eyes grow misty.
— Alaster...? — she called out in a soft thread of a voice, fear vibrating in every syllable.
From the dimness of the furthest corner, a pair of violet eyes lit up.
For Alaster, whose elven physiology adapted to the shadows with astonishing clarity, Jinneth was perfectly visible; in fact, the intense light pouring through the window was annoying to him, pushing him to take refuge in the dark corners.
Seeing the girl’s glassy eyes and detecting the helplessness in her posture, Joseph closed the worn-covered book he had been studying in silence and stood up.
To any inhabitant of Earth, seeing a pair of amethyst pupils glowing in the dark would evoke a terrifying creature of the night; but to Jinneth, that glow was a beacon. It was the sign that she was safe. The elf she had fallen in love with was still there, waiting for her.
— You... you didn't leave? — she whispered, letting out a trembling sigh.
Alaster emerged from the shadows, revealing his sculpted torso and wearing nothing but the dark trousers.
— Did you expect me to leave? How cruel, Jin! — the elf replied with a noticeably sarcastic tone, though his lips drew an amused line.
Relief flooded the baker's chest, dissipating her anxiety in a second.
Although she was still processing her boyfriend's impeccable, razor-sharp handling of sarcasm, she flashed a radiant smile and, without thinking, threw one of the silk pillows at him.
Alaster dodged it with an elegant tilt of his head, closing the distance between them until he stepped onto the mattress.
His hands slid onto Jinneth's waist, slowly drawing her toward him. The elf relished her comforting, fruity scent before leaning his head down to seal their lips in a slow, tender kiss, which she returned by wrapping her arms around his neck.
While savoring her lips, a thought crossed Joseph's analytical mind.
«Let's see... A few days ago, I was a hermit programmer. Now, this incredible girl prepares my meals, serves my tea, gives me spectacular warmth in bed, and technically...» He glanced sideways at the trousers he was wearing.
«These pants were a gift from her. No way! I'm a gigolo! I'm a kept man!»
A sudden mental short-circuit shook him, but he calmed down almost immediately upon remembering that he was paying for his stay, and for most of his meals—except for the ones Jinneth gave him, which he wasn't sure if he was paying for with his own money.
Moments later, after getting properly dressed, Alaster broke the routine.
Now with his linen shirt on—closed as best as it could be because it was missing almost all its buttons—and with his robe thrown over it, which barely helped hide his bare skin, he walked in his high boots to the door to open it. He stood there, waiting for Jinneth to step out.
The girl appeared wearing a dark blue skirt, a very feminine black-dyed leather bodice, and a linen shirt resembling a formal women's dress shirt, but with the sleeves rolled up.
Seeing that he wasn't moving forward, she stopped a few feet from the elf, looking at him.
Alaster extended his hand toward the exit.
— Ladies first — he said.
Jinneth first traded her smile for a confused expression, but then she blushed as she understood the gesture.
Joseph thought: «Wow... is being a gentleman not a thing around here? I think this was my greatest masculine skill back on Earth. If this is completely useless here, then I'm unarmed. All I have left as a weapon is dirty talk in bed, but I doubt a sweet girl like Jin would like that... Well, that's a topic for after all the other plans are sorted out. Anyway, I already have Jinneth, I don't need to think about whether being a gentleman works out or not».
Furthermore... Alaster saw the blushing girl's smiling face and held out his hand to her.
Jinneth took it, and he could feel her small hand sweating just a bit. He gently guided her toward the exit.
For Jinneth, finding herself out in the much more crowded hallway, that simple affectionate, masculine gesture made the blonde's pulse race.
«Calm down, he only opened the door for you! It's not like he bought you a carriage!» she told herself.
But her internal excuses and arguments were silenced by a strong hand holding hers, making her walk behind him, staring at his shoulders and his blue hair swaying slightly.
Joseph and the girl left the inn, heading toward a place Jinneth knew.
They arrived at a large hall. The tablecloths were gray with lace trim on the edges, and the clientele consisted mostly of girls, either alone or in groups, with the occasional young guy accompanied by one or several young women.
— This is a cafe that has been very trendy lately. It's called Yiyi's — Jinneth said as they walked through the large main entrance.
The open space smelled of coffee, tea, and fruity sweets. Many of the tables were occupied by girls, and Alaster spotted an empty one right by a large window with a massive glass pane that protected the interior from the dust that the carriages kicked up on the street.
— Come on — he said, pulling Jinneth along.
He pulled out a chair, and Jinneth, true to habit, just stared at him. Standing there beside the chair, Alaster took her by the shoulders and guided her to sit down.
He took two large steps and took a seat in the chair across from her. The clatter of the carriages outside gave the place a familiar atmosphere.
For the first time in a long while, Joseph felt a glimmer of normalcy. He was in a cafe, he could smell it, and the tables—though they weren't plastic like the cheap joints he used to visit back on Earth—had the unmistakable layout of a cafe: tables, girls, and very young guys working as servers.
One of the waitresses approached, greeting Jinneth as if she knew her.
— Stine, hi! — Jinneth greeted, calling her by her name.
The girl, visibly excited, gave a little hop in place, saying:
— I haven't seen you in almost a month, Jiny! — she said with a smile.
Jinneth looked at the elf, and Stine followed her gaze. There he was. The elf looked back and forth between the two.
To Alaster, they were just two friends meeting up; to Jinneth, this was a checkmark on her bucket list of things to do before she died.
«Perfect. The second Stine finds out about Al, everyone will know I'm dating an elf,» Jinneth thought.
Despite the friendly treatment, she still vividly remembered how they used to mock her when she was younger, calling her "flat."
«Hmph, hmph, hmph! Now that I have the sexiest boyfriend in the world, they're going to regret it and cry out loud,» Jinneth thought with a slightly wicked smile on her pretty face. «Or at least they'll feel envious, and that's more than enough,» the young blonde concluded.
Meanwhile, the young waitress locked her eyes onto the elf sitting beside her. She felt the impact of shock and couldn't help but widen her eyes and inhale sharply. She took a step back.
The sheer intimidation of the elf's profile and posture repelled her.
Despite the simple clothes, Stine, checking over her maid-like uniform, looked back at Jinneth, who was smiling radiantly, and said:
— Is... he... your boss?
Jinneth's smile widened, and she replied:
— No, Stine-y, he's... — She dragged out her words as she stretched her hands across the table to take Alaster's hand resting on it, saying in a sweet, slow voice —: We came because, oh gods! I need a coffee so badly! I am exhausted after so much effort, my legs hurt — Jinneth said, smiling in the elf's direction.
Alaster, who was distracted looking at a highly ornamented carriage out on the street, replied:
— You should have stayed in bed, I would have brought you whatever you wanted — his tone completely distracted.
That response was the absolute best thing Jinneth could have imagined at that moment.
When Jinneth turned to look at Stine, the girl's eyes looked ready to pop out of their sockets. Jinneth felt a profound pleasure at her "friend's" total bewilderment, savoring an eternal victory over Stine and claiming sweet revenge for the insult thrown years before her chest had even developed.
— So, yes — Jinneth continued —, I want coffee and something to eat... a meat empanada.
Alaster felt his moment had arrived; the moment to eat, because he was genuinely starving, and the hunger was starting to sour his mood.
— Hello — he said, politely greeting the girl serving them —. I'd prefer a double portion of grilled meat with a side of vegetables, and black coffee. No sugar, no honey.
The girl recovered as best as she could and, after looking at Jinneth with raised eyebrows, said:
— Coffee and a meat empanada for Jiny, and grilled meat with vegetables and a lone coffee for your... friend? — Stine said, still incredulous.
— Husband — Alaster said with a smile. «Saying "girlfriend" at my age... what am I, a fifteen-year-old?» he thought. The hunger was truly ruining his temper.
Stine, holding a primitive wooden slate with paper that she used to take notes with a rustic pencil, was thinking: «How on earth did this flat girl manage to snag a literal god? Did she give him some kind of love potion from a novel?!»
But on the outside, she only said:
— I'll be right back with your food — she smiled and walked away clumsily, casting glances back over her shoulder every three steps.
The food was satisfying. After finishing the culinary experience—which felt heavenly, almost orgasmic to Alaster—they stayed behind to digest for a few minutes.
— Jiny — Alaster said in a playful tone —, I didn't know you had a friend. In all this time, I've never seen you with one. How come?
Joseph was genuinely curious because he had never seen a single friend drop by the inn to greet Jinneth; there were only male and female customers whom she greeted occasionally, but never engaged in much conversation with.
Hearing this question, Jinneth thought: «I'm not crazy enough to let those girls near him yet! In war, there are no friends!» She clenched a fist tightly in front of her with a solemn look.
But out loud, she only said:
— Ahhh, it's just... I've been busy with things, so I suppose I've abandoned them a little bit. But now that I've made some money from the Wyvern, I think once my business prospers, I'll have more time.
«Wow,» Joseph thought, «it looks like she has her own plans. That's great. Not only is she cute, but the girls in this world are definitely driven. Girls who just want a husband to provide for them while they do nothing usually cause trouble, though as a boyfriend without a stable job, I probably shouldn't talk».
«I think it's time. Now that the blood has rushed back to my head, I should talk to her about that...» he thought before speaking.
— Jin... I want to tell you something else — the elf said with a mischievous smile, while thinking: «I really did stay hot. Staying celibate when you're single is easy, but now that Pandora's box has been opened...» Joseph felt hot, way too hot.
— Ohhhh... What is it, Al? — Jinneth asked, putting on the most innocent face she could muster.
But on the inside, she was a boiling pot of thoughts: «Nooooo...! This is the end of me! I knew I shouldn't have thrown myself at him like a desperate lunatic! Five minutes of pleasure and a lifetime of regret!» she panicked.
Alaster leaned across the table to get closer and whispered:
— Why don't we go somewhere nice, where your parents aren't around, and... go for round two? — he said softly.
— Ehhh?