by Eden Redd
One
The air filled with excited chatter as several more bodies joined at the bar. Music played and drinks were served with a wicked smirk. The Friday vibration had taken hold and everyone was preparing for their evening, drinks first and dancing later. A polished wood bar shined from medium light. Outside the large window, the sun slowly disappeared behind tall buildings and the comfort of night crept over the darkening city.
Jason sat at a wooden table, his backpack on a chair next to him and a leg curled around another chair. He kept his expression neutral as tables filled up around him, but shot a look to anyone who eyed the seats to the left and right of him at his small table. Senses were dialed to eleven as he tried to keep his heart from beating right out of his chest. Across the room, a bartender served drinks and engaged in small conversation, oblivious of the friend in the room.
The door to the bar opened once again. Jason once again turned his eyes, like he had done the last forty times, to the bar doors. This time, a small smile filled his cheeks. A woman stepped in; her hair was black and short, framing her face. Thick black rimmed glasses covered her eyes. She wore a short black dress that adhered to her hourglass figure. Behind the glasses, eyes searched the room and almost instantly fell upon the young man sitting by himself in the corner. With a loving grin, she crossed the bar floor to him.
Jason looked up into Rachel’s beautiful face and pulled his backpack from the chair. Rachel slid into the seat and leaned in. Despite the glasses, the glow of her blue eyes seemed to radiate in the young man’s presence. Jason couldn’t resist as he leaned over, pressing his lips to hers. The two lingered for a long moment, tongues dancing to a private rhythm before they uncoupled their connection.
Rachel kept her smile as she turned and eyed the bar, “He’s here tonight.”
Jason nodded, “I know.”
Rachel turned back to Jason, seeing the uncertain hint in his eyes, “Are you nervous?”
The young man gave a silent nod.
Rachel snuggled in closer, “We can do this another time. He doesn’t know we’re here.”
Jason eyed the rather normal looking bartender with a shaved head, “No, we have to do this. It wouldn’t be right if we just left.”
Jason turned his head to Rachel, “Are you nervous?”
Rachel smiled, “A little, but I’ve been here before to see him. I think I will start to really panic when we actually try to talk to him.”
“Then let’s do this together,” the young man smiled.
Rachel nodded.
Jason stood up and placed the backpack on the seat. Circling the table, Rachel was up and to his side. Fingers curled into each other as the two friends held hands and walked up to the bar together. The pulse between them grew frenetic with each step. A space opened at the bar and Jason made a beeline for it. When he was within a foot, two people stepped in filling the space. Panic reared its ugly head as hesitation took hold. Was that a sign they should stop, turn around and forget the whole thing?
Rachel looked to her friend as his eyes betrayed him. With a squeeze of her hand, she pulled Jason with her to another open spot at the bar. Jason could feel his confidence growing as the beauty in the black dress guided him along. When they reached the bar, eyes widened as the bartender turned his head and made his way to them. Two hearts thumped as the bartender smiled and stepped over.
“What can I get for you?” The bartender asked with a happy smile.
Jason and Rachel had rehearsed what they were going to say for a solid month, in and out of the game. Eyes drinking in the fit bartender, throats closed up and minds went blank. Jason and Rachel silently cursed themselves as everything they prepared for went completely out the window.
The bartender stared at the two mute patrons. Uncomfortable seconds ticked by but it was Jason who noticed the strange recognition in the bartender’s eyes. A thought, maybe even full awareness seemed to slide across his mind. Eyes cast downward as if doubt crawled in and nestled against primal instincts. Another few seconds ticked on and the bartender’s smile slowly faded.
“I can come back if you’re not ready,” The bartender said and began to turn away.
In stunned silence, the two friends watched as the bartender moved away from them to another patron signaling for a drink. Jason looked on, feeling foolish as their chance was slipping away. Fire burned deep and the young man’s energy shifted to determination. Jason liked this feeling. Faint memories rose up like ghosts, remembering how closed off and awkward he once was. It was such a long time ago, but the memories pushed at his newer self, his confident self of when he met his new best friends and lovers in the virtual world of Lewd Knights. He and Rachel had met in the real world several months ago. Lance was aware of their meet up in the game, but didn’t know when they would all three be together in the reality. They all cared for each other so much in game and Rachel and Jason knew another day couldn’t go by without seeing him and discovering what would happen next.
Leaning forward against the bar, the young man raised a finger to draw back the attention of the bartender, “We’re ready.”
The bartender turned his head and eyed Jason, the same feeling gliding over his eyes. Finishing a drink for another patron, the bartender stepped over with a renewed smile on his lips. Rachel stood, her shoulder touching Jason’s with wide eyes behind her glasses. Low music played around them and then the world seemed to quiet as the three looked at each other.
Jason took in a deep breath, “Can you make a drink called a Jayson Reed?”
“And can you also make a Blue Sonja?” Rachel blurted out as the rehearsals kicked in and red touched her cheeks.
Stark realization filled the bartender’s eyes like a cold waterfall. There he stood, staring at two people he never met in the real world but knew intimately in a virtual one. The silence between them was deafening. The music seemed to grow and the echo of conversations broke the spell.
“Do you have table? I can bring those drinks to you,” The bartender smiled.
Jason and Rachel smiled.
“We have one over there,” Jason pointed to the table with a back pack on a seat.
The bartender nodded, “I’ll be right there.”
The glow was intoxicating. Jason and Rachel watched as the bartender stepped away, ignoring several patrons and going through a door at the side of the bar. Rachel squeezed Jason’s hand and gently pulled. The two friends left the side of the bar and stepped over to their table. Sitting down, the two were speechless as they waited.
Moments passed until another bartender stepped out from the door and took over, taking drink orders. A short time later, the door opened again and the bartender stepped over with a tray, three glasses and a bottle of whiskey. He crossed the bar floor to the table, his free hand taking hold of a chair. In one smooth move, he sat down and slid the tray onto the table.
“I wish you guys warned me you were stopping by,” the bartender picked up the bottle of whiskey and began pouring into each glass.
“We thought surprising you would be a little more fun,” Sonja said as her fingers curled around the whiskey glass.
The bartender smiled and looked to Jason who sat silently, “Still adjusting?”
Jason smiled and nodded, “You know me too well.”
The bartender finished pouring into his glass and put the bottle down, “I assume we’re not going by our gamer names.” The bartender lifted up his drink, “Trevor Foster.”
The dark-haired beauty raised her glass, “Rachel Conner.”
Jason looked to Trevor and then to Rachel before lifting up his glass, “Jason Booth.”
The three friends nodded with smiles and put the edge of the glasses to their lips. With one quick motion, all three downed the whiskey and placed the glasses back on the table. Trevor picked up the bottle and poured again into each glass.
“I don’t know what to say other then I’m really fucking happy to see you both in person,” Trevor smiled as he finished
pouring the drinks.
“Rachel and I have been planning this for the last month. We thought it would be fun to sit down and finally meet,” Jason said in a low tone.
Trevor eyed them with a playful gleam, “I wondered a few times why you both had to sneak off during our adventures sometimes.”
“It’s hard to plan when you’re fighting monsters,” Rachel grinned and took a deep sip.
Trevor looked to Jason but the young man was silent as he took a big gulp of his drink. Jason noticed and put his glass down, fingers still holding on.
“I’m just taking it all in. I was never sure the day would come where we’d meet in reality.”
Trevor eyed him and kept his smile, “Is it everything you hoped it would be?”
Jason grinned, “It’s pretty cool.”
“How long do you have before you have to get back to work?” Rachel asked as warmth crawled up her neck.
“Whenever, my fellow bartender owes me several favors so I can stay as long as I want.”
Jason leaned forward, picking up his drink and resting his elbows on the table, “It’s good to see us…all together.”
“Here here,” Trevor lifted his glass and all three drank down the contents.
As soon as the glasses touched the table again, warmth rolled up from their stomachs, up their necks and into their cheeks. The room took on a comforting glow as the whiskey worked its magic. Tension bled away and the three friends could feel the warm fog push down tendrils of anxiety. It didn’t take long for tongues to loosen and simple conversation to blossom. Moments turned into an hour and the three began to laugh. Trevor’s face grew redder as he poured into each glass. Jason sat back with an amused expression painting his face and Rachel couldn’t stop giggling as she eyed the two handsome men to her right and left.
Jason watched as his vision turned hazy. He didn’t like to drink too much in reality but this was a special occasion. As the whiskey continued to cast its foggy spell, the three friends carried on, discussing their lives outside of the game. Trevor talked about stabilizing his shifts at the bar to dedicate more time to game play. Rachel talked about wanting to write a book on her passion for the fashion industry. Jason managed to fight through the hazy fog to talk about his promotion to supervisor at the coffee shop. It began to flow naturally between them as they gazed on one another with intermitted laughs here and there. Soon others in the bar looked over, smiling at the nearly vibrant connection between the three.
“We….we should talk about…the quest…” Jason managed through the whiskey induced cloud.
Trevor and Rachel turned their attention to their rosy cheeked friend.
“I knew you wouldn’t last too long before we got down to business,” Trevor grinned.
Rachel leaned forward, eyes on Jason, “What do you have in mind?”
Jason sat up, pushing away at the haziness, “I thought since we’re here, we could talk about reaching the end. We only have about a week in game before we reach the west coast of Lukken.”
Trevor took a sip before putting his glass down, “You think we’re going to run into something nasty?”
“Probably but it might be worse than that. We have been fighting our way west the whole time in game. The Middle Kingdoms are still being held by the trolls and last time I checked, we are the only players to make it out that far west,” Jason managed through the warm haze. “We have no support and we are reaching the end.”
Trevor smiled, “We have an army of concubines between the three of us. I’m sure we can take on whatever comes at us. I mean, you guys have been feeling it too, right? We’ve gained dozens of techniques and the enemies haven’t been as hard as we thought they would be.”
“It has been pretty easy. Worst thing we ran into were those Fire Worms of the Nok Desert,” Rachel chimed in and raised a shaky glass to her lips.
Jason tried to navigate his thoughts in a sea of whiskey, “I know but since the fall of the Kingdoms, most players have been fighting to liberate or control them. I keep checking rumors and all I find are that most players are stuck in the middle. Whatever we are moving toward is not going to be a piece of cake.”
“Jason, we can overcome it,” Trevor leaned over and clamped a hand on his shoulder.
The touch flared as Jason quickly noticed it was just like in the game. The sensation of his hand on him raised many wondrous memories. Despite spending so much time in the game, the player would visit Rachel from time to time or she would call and ask him to come over. Reality seemed to take a strange bend as their time in the virtual game and the real world started to blend together. Trevor’s hand on Jason’s shoulder spoke volumes between them and the young man seemed to lose track of his thoughts.
Rachel eyed them and licked her lips, “You both look hot together.”
Trevor and Jason looked to each other and laughed.
Trevor eyed the dark-haired beauty as he pulled his hand back, “You say that every time we drink.”
Rachel gave him a sloppy smile, “Well it’s true.”
Jason’s face turned red and continued talking, “I think we need to be ready for anything that may happen. This is the main quest and we have been on the road for so long, everything happening in the middle kingdoms will have a direct result on our actions.”
“Sounds like you want to go back to the Middle Kingdoms,” Trevor said with a serious tone.
Jason shook his head, “It’s too late for that. If we went back, we would be stuck in the war. I think….we need to find more allies and concubines before we reach the coast.”
Trevor and Rachel looked to each other before they leaned in toward their friend.
“Jason, we have been on this quest for Lady Slytha for over 12 months. We have fought everything from trolls to giant worms. We have only died a handful of times but managed to beat most of our enemies. I think we are strong enough to take anything on,” Trevor said with a small smile.
“I don’t think we’re going to find many concubines and allies just a week from the coast,” Rachel finished.
Jason looked to his friends with a serious expression, “We could go back to the human capital and try to recruit others. Maybe even put out the word that we are so close to the end. It might get out and some players will make the march west.”
“We kept our movements as secret as we could; now you want to tell everyone? We still have bounty hunters trailing us,” Rachel said as her face grew flush.
“Even if they do decide to march west, they’ll still be months away from reaching us. We can recall back to our keeps but we can’t take anyone to our save points unless they are a concubine or ally.”
Rachel reached across the table and took Jason’s hand into hers, “Lance….I mean…Trevor’s right. We could go back and refill our supplies and get our concubines ready but we can’t bring anyone else with us. We took this quest to discover what was on the west coast. Once we know, we can report it back to Lady Slytha and move on.”
Jason looked into her eyes, “Move on to what?”
The three friends were silent for long moment, eyes cast downwards.
“I heard they’re upgrading the guild system. We could form our own guild?” Trevor smiled.
Shadows covered Jason’s eyes. Strange knowledge pulled at his heart. Maybe it was the whiskey or maybe it was the fact they were all together in reality but Jason wanted nothing more than to spill his guts. They had been playing a game together for over a year but all the strange incidents over that year started to pile up. He thought back to Oksuna, his beautiful and mysterious pink haired troll. Memories rose up of Rujin and what he said back at the battle of the kingdoms. The weird feelings he had when he spent time with his concubines, how they seemed to become alive and more aware the longer he was with them.
The table was silent except for the music and laughing patrons around them. The three friends barely looked up. It was Jason who pushed away the mental gloom.
“I’m sorry. We’re supposed
to be celebrating and I’m getting caught up in the game. It can wait till we log on and we can figure it out as we go,” Jason smiled, the shadows on his face disappearing.
Trevor and Rachel looked up to their friend and pleasant smiles appeared.
“Let’s do another round,” Jason said as he took hold of the whiskey bottle and poured into each glass.
“That’s the confident knight we know and love,” Trevor smirked as he lifted up his glass.
“Till the end,” Rachel managed with pink cheeks.
“Till the end,” Jason and Trevor said in unison.
The three friends clinked their glasses before taking deep gulps.
***
Jason and Rachel held onto each other for dear life. Jason turned back to see Trevor moving behind the bar and serving drinks again. The bartender waved goodbye to them before getting back to work. Jason waved back, or at least he thought he did through the hazy mist of whiskey. The room began to spin but Jason held on as Rachel nearly draped herself on his shoulder. Arm around her waist, the young man stumbled out through the main bar doors and into the street.
A wavy hand up, he flagged down a cab. The entire street was moving under his feet but he kept his balance. If he was by himself, he would have fallen asleep on the street by now but bleary eyes looked to the beautiful face snuggled into his shoulder, hands holding onto him, never wanting to let go. He pulled it together because he could never forgive himself if anything happened to her.
A cab pulled up and honked the horn. Jason took hold of the door, opened it and guided the inebriated Rachel into the back seat. Rachel let out small moans as she crawled in, eyes half closed and arms shaky. Jason slid in behind her and barked out Rachel’s address. The cab driver looked into the rearview mirror, nodded and shifted into drive.
Jason leaned into the space between the plush seat and the door. Rachel crawled closer, her body collapsing onto him and snuggling her face into his chest. The young man looked down at her as her eyes closed and she pressed her hand to his chest. Turning his head, he looked out to the streaming lights of the late spring night. Rolling down the window a little, he hoped the air would help him keep a clear head. The night air was warm and inviting. Summer was just around the corner and the city was alive with people enjoying the seasonal break after the long winter.