Black Hollow: Beating Around the Bush

by Sheri Lyn

  “The ones you’ve been all over town with, yeah I heard. It was also said that one of them has the hots for you and it’s mutual.” Johnny waved to one of the bartenders and held up two fingers and then gestured between the two of them.

  “It’s complicated, but they’re both hot in totally different ways. Shayde the one you’re referring to is in love with Choal though. Choal is oblivious to… well…. Life.” Bishop smiled at how true that really was. “Anyway, after I dropped them back at their place, I took the truck back to the shop, where Kian was waiting for me.”

  “I take it that’s not normal?”

  Bishop waited until the bartender dropped off their beers and headed back to the bar before replying. “No, but it was more what he said then that he was waiting, you know.”

  “And what did he say?”

  “He asked if the guys would be interested in joining the Rainbow Squad, made a joke about having membership cards and everything.”

  Johnny frowned, “That’s….”

  “Yup.” Bishop stared off to the side lost in thought for a moment, “This may sound petty, but I can’t help but say it. What’s so special about them, that they are invited to their group, and we aren’t? I don’t understand.”

  “I don’t know, man. I really don’t.” Johnny downed his beer and urged Bishop to do the same. “How about we get out of here and work out some of our frustrations. We can come back later for another beer if you want or we can stay in bed until we’re both exhausted.”

  Bishop slammed his beer, dropped some cash on the table, and climbed to his feet. “Lead the way to temptation, for I’m all yours.”

  Chapter Ten

  Choal

  Choal dropped onto the small couch with a sigh as he rubbed his stomach. “That was so good, but I’m so full.”

  “When do I get to start school?” Kohen asked eagerly. “Do you think I could earn an allowance? I need to get some things for school and….” Kohen trailed off as he kicked at the ground. “Nevermind.”

  Shayde cocked his head and studied the kid, before shooting Choal a look. “Where are you going?”

  “To my room,” Kohen called as he continued walking away with his shoulders slumped and a dejected lilt to his voice.

  Choal waited until he heard the bedroom close before speaking, “I know I’m new to a lot of this crap, and emotions and feelings aren’t my strong suit at all. But even I know something is seriously bothering him, I just don’t have a clue what it could be.”

  “He was talking about school so it must have something to do with that. We’ve got a few days before he starts, so we can figure it out I’m sure. After all, we’re both adults who’ve lived a really long time. It shouldn’t be that hard.”

  Choal rolled his eyes at the absurdity of that comment but refrained from replying. If Shayde was counting on him, they were in some seriously deep shit. “I know we just ate and I couldn’t eat anything else, but I was thinking I’d see if Kohen wanted to go walk around a bit and work some of this food off. Maybe later we could stop at that ice cream shop…” Choal smiled and widened his eyes in exaggerated excitement. “I’ve never had it before, and Kohen was telling me about it.”

  “Oh hell.” Shayde laughed, “It’s going to be like this with every new thing, isn’t it? I don’t have one kid to deal with, but a man child too. May the Gods help me.” Shayde winked then hollered down the hall, “Kohen let’s go explore the town, and later we can watch Choal as he has his first taste of brain freeze.”

  A whoop of ‘woo hoo’ carried down the hall, moments before the pounding of his feet, and an excited kid stood there with the biggest, happiest grin Choal had ever seen on anyone's face standing before them. “Let’s go. This is going to be so much fun.”

  Choal hesitated as he studied the two grinning fools, “What’s brain freeze? And why does that make you two laugh maniacally like that?”

  They shared a conspiratorial grin before shrugging at Choal, “You’ll see.” They chorused together.

  He knew he was the butt of their joke, but he couldn’t make himself be upset by it. They were enjoying it far too much for him to take exception. They made small talk as they headed down the driveway and paused as they all looked around. “How about we cut down the alley and head directly to Main Street. We can go from there.”

  Shayde and Kohen nodded eagerly as they all set out, laughing and taking in all the sights around them. “That’s the bakery.” Kohen pointed eagerly as they walked between it and the butcher shop. “It smells so good.”

  “Tastes that way too.” Shayde agreed.

  “I’m happy to hear you say that.” A female voice called out startling the group. “This is my shop, feel free to come in anytime for the smells.”

  Choal could feel his cheeks heat at her the knowledge she’d heard them talking. Thankfully it was all good things.

  “You must be the newest residents Bishop came in and grabbed breakfast for this morning. I’m Braelyn.”

  Shayde smiled and offered his hand, “This is Kohen, that’s Choal, and I’m Shayde. It’s nice to meet you. The food Bishop brought this morning was amazing, you’re one hell of a baker Braelyn.”

  “It’s nice meeting you all, and thank you for the compliment. I’m closing down for the day, but if you come by some time I’m open I’d be happy to give you a sampling of some of my other baked goods.” Braelyn closed her eyes and cringed, “That was so not supposed to come out like it sounded.” She cringed again, spun on her heel, and raced away. “Nice meeting you.”

  Shadye threw his head back in laughter as Choal studied him in confusion. “What’s so funny, why would she get so embarrassed about that? She should be proud of what she’s made.”

  “Choal do me a favor and never change. You’re perfect just the way you are.” Shayde slapped him on the back and walked off still chuckling.

  “I’m so confused,” Choal whispered to Kohen who stood beside him still.

  “Me too. He can be so weird.”

  Choal couldn’t deny that. Within seconds they’d caught up to Shayde at the mouth of the alley, where he stood peeking around the corner.

  “What are you doing?” Kohen asked as he stepped up beside him and looked out onto the street. “What’s going on? Are we hiding or something?”

  “No.” Shayde squeaked, cleared his throat, and tried again. “Nope, not hiding at all. Just noticing how many people are out right now, walking the street, sitting outside. It’s a bit daunting you know.”

  “It’s been a busy day. Why don’t we save this till tomorrow? Let’s go over to the store and pick up some snacks and food for the house. We’ll meet less people and give some others a chance to watch us. That way you won’t be so overwhelmed next time.”

  Choal gaped at the kid in astonished wonder, “How old are you again?”

  Kohen smirked and shrugged, “I’m always the new kid. I’m used to this, but you’re not. It’ll get easier I promise.”

  “Ah yeah, okay.” Choal agreed helplessly. “If you say so.”

  Shayde let out a heavy sigh, “We’ve got a major issue guys.”

  “What?” Kohen questioned as he glanced around as if looking for the source of the pained sound in Shayde’s voice. “What’s wrong now?”

  “Which one of you knows how to cook? Cause I don’t. We’re gonna starve to death, aren’t we?”

  Choal blanched as that realization slammed home. They were so totally fucked it wasn’t funny. Back home he’d never had to worry about food, if he was hungry he just went to the cafeteria or ordered it to be delivered to his room. It was one of the perks of living at the headquarters.

  “There’s restaurants, we can eat there. And there’s plenty of food you can put in the microwave or heat in the oven without having to know how to cook. But maybe we should see if we can find a bookstore or go online and order some cookbooks. Cause that stuff will get old kinda quick.” Kohen patiently explained as if he was the adult and Choal and Shayde
the kids. “Calm down, guys we’ve got this. I promise.”

  Chapter Eleven

  “Cookbook?” Shayde scoffed, “I’ve never heard of those before. Are you sure they’re real and you’re not playing us?”

  Kohen titled his head, squinted his eyes and pressed his lips together, “I can’t decide if you’re being real or giving me a hard time.”

  Shayde let out an exasperated sigh, “I’m serious. Why would I have any reason to know they would? When I visit this realm, it’s for work or pleasure. If I eat, it’s at a restaurant. I’ve never even been near a bookstore before.”

  Choal raised his head to catch everyone's attention, “I’ve never heard of or been to a bookstore. I didn’t know such a thing existed, but I beg of you both to go there now, right away.”

  Kohen giggled at Choal’s enthusiasm. “You like books?”

  “I don’t know, really. I’ve never really read, but I admit I’m interested in seeing if I do. What about you? Do you like to read?”

  “A little I guess. My teacher says if we don’t, it’s just because we haven’t found the right book yet though. I never used to read well, but I’m getting better. I was in the middle of a story, but I forgot the book a couple of homes back.” Kohen admitted as he looked away.

  Shayde crouched down until he was eye level with him, “Do you remember the name? Maybe the book store will have a copy and you can finish it. Or if they don’t maybe the school will have a library.”

  He’d never been much of a reader, until recently. He’d found himself here in the human world at a coffee shop and picked up a book sitting on an empty table out of curiosity. Now he was addicted, which made him question why he’d never actually gone into a bookstore. Oh yeah, the only money he owned was now an acceptable currency here.

  “Awesome idea Shayde.” Kohen jumped in excitement. “Now we just need to see if there is one here or not.”

  Shayde nodded as he stood up and glanced up and down the street. “Well, we need to decide how to do this. Go to the store and stock up on things we can handle and then find the book store later or tomorrow. Or we can venture out with all those people, make small talk, introductions and explain who we are as we search for the book store.”

  Choal immediately started to shake his head no, while Kohen’s eyes bugged and his mouth dropped open in a ‘O’.

  Shayde smirked, “Store and home it is then.”

  Kohen’s previous excitement was gone and replaced with shuffling feet, darting eyes and an expression of slight terror. “What do we say if they ask who I am and what we’re doing here?”

  Choal’s face scrunched up as he shrugged when Shayde glanced at him, leaving Shayde to figure out how to answer.

  “Well, we’ll just have to avoid people and when we can’t... We’ll engage them about themselves. Maybe they’ll be polite enough not to ask. When we get back home though, we’re going to have to figure some things out. We can’t hide forever,” He glanced between Shayde and Kohen and waited for their agreement. Once they’d both given it, he offered his hand to Kohen and moved to the edge of the alleyway. “Let’s get this over with.”

  Shayde took a deep breath, squeezed Koehn’s hand and stepped out onto the sidewalk, instantly he felt the eyes of the residents turn their way. Within seconds he knew they were all whispering about them. “Here goes nothing.” He muttered under his breath as they started to cross the street.

  “Don’t mind all of them, they’re nosy, but they’ll leave you well enough alone for the most part.”

  Shayde froze as he found himself face to face with whom he could only assume was Sebastian the Chief of Police.

  “Names Sebastian. Seraphine told me you guys had come to town.” He offered his hand and a wink to Kohen. “I was doing my rounds and saw you guys…. Standing….. in the alleyway. I was making my way over to make sure you were okay.”

  Kohen snorted a laugh as Shayde and Choal grimaced at the Chiefs' hesitation. Shayde narrowed his eyes at the kid in mock annoyance which only made him laugh harder. It made him pause as he noticed Kohen was holding Choals hand too. It almost felt domestic.

  “Anyway, if you need anything or if I can be of assistance. Don’t hesitate to ask. Black Hollow and the citizens can be a bit overwhelming, but they all mean well.”

  Shayde nodded, “Thank you. It’s been an adjustment for us as you can imagine. We’re heading to the store now to pick up some basics and then heading back to the house to settle in a bit more.”

  “Understood.” Sebastian agreed as he put his thumbs in his pockets, “We’re a bit much. No offense taken, I promise. I’ll see you around.”

  Shayde wasn’t sure what had just happened, but he knew one thing for sure. Sebastian had one of the nicest asses he’d ever seen on a man and that swagger.

  “You’re staring,” Choal muttered softly as he pulled Kohen and therefore Shayde across the street.

  Kohen giggled as Shayde felt his face burn in embarrassment. Not that he’d been caught ogling the sexy Chief, but that he’d done it in front of Choal and gotten caught by him. He thought he heard a bit of something in his voice or was that wishful thinking on his part?

  He froze as they entered Bear Necessities. Never in his life had he seen anything like it. No matter where he looked he saw food in some form or another. And what scared him the most, was that he didn’t know what ninety-eight percent of the store was, or what to do with it. They were so fucked. He finally pulled his attention away from the sight in front of him and turned to see what Choal thought of all this, and yup his suspicions were spot on.

  “We’re so totally fucked, aren’t we?” Choal whispered reverently.

  Shayde nodded, “with maple syrup and a cactus.”

  A snort of muffled laughter caught their attention as they shuffled to the side out of the doorway only to see Bishop standing behind them.

  “Bishop,” Kohen exclaimed in excitement. “What are you doing here?”

  “Hey.” Bishop eyed the two adults, “Everything … uh …. okay?”

  “Uh…. sorry, I didn’t realize anyone was behind us.” Shayde grimaced as he thought about what he’d just said. He was lucky, Kohen and Choal had no idea what it’d meant and were now occupied by Bishop. He on the other hand knew and wasn’t likely to forget.

  Chapter Twelve

  Bishop rubbed the back of his neck as he glanced up at Shayde in amusement, “Not a problem.” He trailed off as he studied the three of them. “What brings you guys over here?”

  “Food,” Choal answered absently as he studied the store again. “And a cookbook, maybe…”

  It didn’t take him but a second to connect the dots. He squatted down and leaned closer to Kohen, “They can’t cook can they?” He whispered conspiratorially. “And they’re scared shitless, aren’t they?”

  Kohen shook with laughter and nodded eagerly. “Yup, and they’ve never been to a book store either.”

  Bishop's face scrunched up in suppressed humor as he hung his head so the two men wouldn’t see him laughing at them.

  “But maybe they sell them here?” Choal questioned as he continued to survey the aisles, completely oblivious to the conversation going on around him.

  “So...if you guys aren’t tired of me I can help with dinner tonight and maybe show you how to do some simple things in the kitchen?”

  “We don’t want to take any more of your time. You spent all day with us, I’m sure you’ve got other things to be doing.” Shayde stammered and then cringed. “I didn’t mean that you’re not welcome, or that we’re tired of you. I just meant I don’t want to take you from something more important is all.”

  Bishop held up his hand in the universal stop motion, “My plans suddenly got canceled, it’s why I came in here in the first place.”

  “You saw us?” Kohen offered.

  “No,” Bishop stuck his tongue out at Kohen in a teasing manner, “I came in to grab some things I needed at home. I didn’t see you guys until I walked
behind you…” He darted a quick look to Shayde as he said that last part, hoping to see the other man blush again.

  “Come on, let’s see what we can find that’s easy to get you started. Kohen you’re gonna have to help me out and show me things you like and don’t, okay.” Bishop pulled a cart from the wall and smiled at the group. “Let’s get shopping. If you boys don’t give me any trouble I’ll even make us some dessert.”

  An hour and a half later and Bishop was done. He’d never volunteer to bring these two shopping again. It wasn’t worth the hassle, endless questions, and scrutiny of every can and box he even so much as glanced at.

  “So this is pasta?” Slayde shook the box and shuttered. “It sounds hard when it hits the box. This doesn’t look like the stuff I eat at restaurants at all.”

  “For fucks sake, like I already explained five times. It’ll get soft after you boil it. Then you add the sauce or cheeses or whatever it is you’re using it for. Noodles are pretty versatile and best of all, even you two can cook it without screwing it up.”

  “I wouldn’t count on that,” Kohen mumbled as he dragged his feet beside them. “Are we almost done, yet?”

  “Gods, I hope so.” Bishop stopped, threw his head back, spread his arms wide, and whined, “I’m being held hostage, somebody help me.” Sniggers and hushed laughter came from around the store. Bishop stood up straight and shrugged at the three of them gaping at him in shock. “Sorry, had to get that out of my system.”

  “Ah yeah sure.” Choal stared wide-eyed, before slowly turning around and placing the jar he’d been studying back in the cart. “So, what else did we need to get?”

  Bishop rolled his eyes, grabbed the cart, and moved to the next aisle. With luck, they’d get through these last two quickly, and may the gods help him if they asked any more ludicrous questions.

  “Hey Bishop,” Shayde called as he studied the contents of the cart and then glanced around. “Where’s the meat?”

  “At the Butcher’s shop,” Bishop replied slowly in case this was a joke.