Cupid's Contract

Secret Juggler and Rum Punch

Eve was still stumbling over her feelings, and her feet a little bit, if she were totally honest, when Veronica showed up.

 They had served multiple customers but the interaction between the three of them was little. Drew had taken charge of the money box, so every time someone played a game he did have to step forward, but Eve was incapable of saying anything interesting.

She'd mutter thank you, or she'd flash a tight smile, but it was all she could do to keep her hands from shaking or from sweating all over the money.

Why was he having such an effect on her?

Not even an hour ago she had decided that she would tell Cupid she was done. She had decided that what had changed was her. She didn't care about a soulmate and she wasn't going to be a slave forever either. If love came, it could do so when she was ready for it. She had no interest in forcing the matter any further, and she didn't think Cupid would really hassle her for that long. The berk didn't even reply to texts, she obviously wasn't high on his priority list.

She was just trying to think of something to say when Veronica arrived.

Accompanied by both Luke and Carlos.

And another glass of Rum Punch.

Eve was only happy to see one of these things.

"Is that for me?" she reached out, hand grasping like a baby reaching for their bottle.

Veronica handed it over, no questions asked, but Eve could see her raised eyebrows over the rim of the glass as Eve gulped away.

"Rough day, Eve?" Carlos looked unbelievably relaxed, sunglasses propped up on his forehead.

"I'm just so thirsty." She smiled, clutching the cup to her chest.

"Nice to see you again," Andrew piped up, much closer to her than he'd been since her mother had left and he had kind of sort of called her attractive.

He'd done that, hadn't he?

Or was she being mad again?

"Hey, mate," Carlos nodded, but turned back to Eve, effectively dismissing Andrew from the conversation. "You look nice, by the way," he took in her dress that she had quite liked until he made her feel like she was an object.

Was he leering at her from underneath those frames?

She was pretty sure she had boob sweat, but he seemed to be into it.

Luke was trying to chat with Andrew but the latter was almost as uninterested in Luke as Carlos was in him. He remained looming over Eve's shoulder, and she could smell a hint of woody cologne.

"Listen, we'll leave you to it," Veronica tried to usher the trio on their way, but Carlos wasn't moving.

"I'll see you at the blanket when you're done, yeah?"

Crikey, he was intense. Luckily his octopus arms couldn't reach her from the other side of the booth and instead he was content to rest his fists on the counter, his muscles flexing in a display of testosterone.

"Yeah, maybe. I need to sort this out first." She smiled, but she prayed something would happen to prevent her return. What were the odds of a fire breaking out?

As they moved off, Eve sipped at Veronica's drink again. She could feel a bit of wooziness seeping in again. Lack of food and a lot of heat were not a good combination with any of Roxy's drinks.

Speaking of, she hadn't seen her grandmother once today. Sure, she had liquid proof the woman was on the premises, but Roxanne could have dropped off the jug of Rum Punch and ran, for all Eve knew.

She was ruminating on her family's ability to cause trouble without even being present when Drew's voice popped up again. "Are you performing later?"

He was acting as if nothing had been confessed earlier, and it cemented Eve's notion that she had imagined it all.

"Me, no, no. I don't have any talents." She was shaking her head so hard that she lost her balance a bit. Punch Gravity was strong.

"No talents, surely not! Not a secret juggler?" He tucked the safe box back underneath the booth.

"I used to be pretty good at basketball. Now, all I have is 'The Woman's Touch'."

She was teasing but Drew's face soured.

"I'm sorry about that. He doesn't understand. I've tried, all of my life, but you'd be better off talking to a wall. He treats my mother the same. He thinks it's being a gentleman." His hand came out and, for the briefest of seconds, he rested a palm on her shoulder.

The straps on her dress meant that her skin was exposed, and Eve felt the warmth of his skin on hers. His thumb brushed across her skin and then, before she could react, his hand was back in his pocket.

She didn't know what to say. He had flummoxed her with his touch. Her skin was tingling and all she could say was "I'm sorry."

Drew's brows furrowed. "You're sorry?"

"I'm sorry you had to grow up with that. It must have been hard." She gave him a half smile, and her own hands twitched, wanting to reach out to comfort him too, and maybe feel his skin again. She wanted to iron the wrinkles from his forehead with fingers.

This Rum Punch was doing a number on her.

"No, it's fine. I mean, it was hard, but I had my mother. She's the one who raised me, really."

Eve could empathise. "That's not too bad then, is it? Women are much better than men, anyway." She desperately wanted to lighten the atmosphere. She didn't want to talk about her boss when he was ten feet away, as much as his behaviour annoyed her.

"I wholeheartedly agree," he smiled, and then there were more customers and they didn't really speak for the rest of the hour.

Which was for the best, really, because Eve's mind was spinning too hard trying to process all these new feelings and information.

********

Looks like Eve and Drew have more in common than they thought...

Who knew?!

Teeheee.