[Spirit of Lust 2] Chapters 752 & 753. (Patreon)

Chapter 752: Commitment.

I think this would be considered a quickie even by normal standards, right?. It was only 20 minutes. We cleaned and fixed ourselves as best we could, but there was something else we had to take care of, too. A few drops of Diana’s juices and my cum had fallen on the floor.

“You’re going to do that thing again or should I get some paper towels?” Diana asked me.

I took a deep breath and slowly let it out. My tiredness was gone. In fact, I felt pretty good again. Frey had said many times before that sexual energy didn’t just come from simply having sex. Bad sex could very well produce little to no energy. Frey said that sexual energy came from feelings, from fulfilling desires, from excitement. What we did might have been a quickie, but it was arousing, thrilling, and it felt really damn good.

“Let me give it a try.”

I knelt down and put my hand over the stains. I focused, pictured the effects in my mind, felt energy flow inside me… then saw something like purple colored fog oozing out of my hand. Thin, but clearly visible. This fog fell over the stains, turning them into small particles of light that mixed into the purple fog as they dissipated. After leaving not a drop behind, the fog returned to me and the floor was cleaner than we’d found it.

I swallowed hard. “Did you see that?”

“The stains disappearing before my eyes? Yes. It’s still very weird,” she said with a chuckle.

“No, not that. The… purple fog?”

Diana raised an eyebrow. “Purple fog? No, I didn’t see it.

“...”

It was like what I’d seen with the alchemists, only theirs had been colorless, nearly gray.

“Should I be worried?” Diana asked.

“Ah, no. It’s just… I think I’m starting to see things that have always been there. I’m starting to… see magical energy, basically.” I stood up. “But yeah, no need to worry. I think this is a good thing. Actually, I’d like to try mixing drinks with magic again. I think it’ll turn out better this time.”

“Is that so? Well, I’d be happy to taste test again, just don’t try it here at work, okay?”

“I know. I’m not that dumb.”

Diana chuckled. “You’re not dumb at all.” She came closer, wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me deeply for a short moment, letting my lips go with a deep sigh. “Really, I never stood a chance, did I?”

“Hm?”

“I’ve been thinking a lot about you. About us. About our group.” She moved some locks of hair away from my eyes and behind my ear. “I can’t remember if I ever told you this, but I was going through some rough times before we met and… I sort of used you as a coping mechanism.”

“How so?” I asked her, rubbing her back.

“I was already… attracted to you from looks alone. Before you ever saw me for the first time, remember? Some nights, as I tried to fall asleep, I would… imagine what it would be like for us to be together. It made me look forward to the time where I could just lay in bed and… fantasize. It helped me sleep.” She sighed. “Then I met you for real, and you were just…”

“A disappointment?” I asked with a small smirk.

“...better than my imagination could ever think of,” she corrected. “Oliver… I love you. And if we went back in time and forgot we ever knew each other, I’d fall for you all over again.”

“This is a bit sudden…” I said, smiling sheepishly yet holding her closer.

“I told you, I’ve been thinking and I wanted to say it.”

“Well, you know I feel the same, right? The moment I saw you I was stunned and knew I wanted to be with you.”

“Pfff! That’s just because I broke two buttons of my shirt and was walking around with too much cleavage showing.”

“That… might have helped, yes,” I admitted.

Diana laughed, leaned closer and lovingly rubbed her nose with mine. “You’re amazing and don’t think for a moment that I’m not constantly telling myself how lucky I am to have met you. I know you and I know you sometimes think I’m too good for you, but it’s the other way around.”

“...” I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to tell her that, no, she was the one who was too good for me, but I didn’t want to sully her feelings by fighting them. Instead…

“Diana… Move in with us,” I asked her. “I want you close. Every day. I want to see you in the mornings with disheveled hair, I want to cook dinner for you, I want us to sit down with everyone to watch movies, I want to have showers with you, I want you with us, with me, as much as possible.”

“...” Diana pursed her lips and breathed deeply again before slowly letting it out. “Give me another week,” she said, closing her eyes and pressing her forehead against mine. “These past few days have been… weird. I want to be with you all, too, but… I need to be sure I’m not doing it on a whim.”

“It doesn’t have to be such a big commitment from the get go, does it? You can just stay with us most of the week, go back when you need to, bring red with you or leave him with us.”

“I suppose, but… I just told you. I love you. I’m not going to half-ass anything regarding you. If I’m going to live with you, I want it to be for real, not a situation I can just escape if it gets uncomfortable.”

“Being able to escape if it gets uncomfortable sounds like the smart choice,” I said, chuckling.

“Maybe, but that’s not how I like to do things. You always give me your best, so you deserve nothing but my best, too.”

“I love you,” I told her. “But I don’t want to pressure you.”

“I do this to myself, because you’re worth committing to.”

“Stop, you’re making me feel inadequate. I’m not all that.”

“Well, get used to it. I’ve decided you’re my everything now. Will that be a problem?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Um… no, ma’am,” I said with a grin.

“Good.” She smirked and kissed me again. “Now let’s get ready to open the bar. It’ll only be the two of us tonight, so we’re gonna have to work harder than usual.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“I know you will, so I’ll do my best, too.”

I still remember when Diana was full of doubts, full of worries, full of insecurities. Her words just now, however, her mental state while pouring her heart out… were steady, confident and full of care.

If that quickie wasn’t enough motivation to give it my all tonight, this certainly was. 

************

Chapter 753: A busy day at work.

I admit, I started getting fairly nervous as we got closer to the opening time. Without Dylan here, Diana and I would have to divide the work between us two instead of three on a buddy Friday night. No, that’s not quite right, either. Since Diana was the only one who could make cocktails, I’d have to cover for everything else, and yet I needed to keep myself from running and doing things in a hurry. Haste makes mistakes, and seeing the waiter running around all stressed out would ruin the atmosphere we’ve built in this place.

I took a deep breath. I was used to working in a busy shop with only two people. I had experience to draw upon. Saturdays at the coffee shop were worse. Here, we’d have a maximum of 20 people at a time. We can do this.

“Oliver,” Diana said. “Depending on the orders, I’d like you to make the simpler drinks. Think you can do it?”

My heart skipped a beat. “When you say simpler…”

“Things like screwdrivers and highballs. You’ve practiced, and so long as you use the jiggers to measure properly, you’ll be fine.”

“...” The thought of serving a customer a sub-par drink… terrified me. Honestly, I wasn’t particularly ashamed of the level I was at at mixing drinks, but the standard here was too high. I wasn’t there yet. A highball with too much water, a screwdriver that was too strong… My heart began to beat faster and my chest began to tighten. Even my hands began to feel numb.

“If it’s too much, don’t worry. I can handle it.”

I shook my head. “No. You already asked. I’ll do it. You’ll have your hands full, too.”

Diana grimaced, and I could tell she was regretting her request. Not that she didn’t trust me, because she did, even if I believed it was misplaced. She regretted putting this pressure on me, and after what we’d just talked about, I could understand it. But if Diana said she wanted to give me her best, how could I not reciprocate? Sure, this was work, but I’ve always known how much this type of work means to her.

It didn’t take two minutes after we opened the bar for customers to start coming in. We started the evening with two couples, both of which sat at different tables.

I went to take their orders. One negroni, two martinis and… one screwdriver.

“Starting immediately, huh?” I muttered to her with a wry smile.

“You’ll do great.”

I’m not so sure, but even if I doubt myself, I can’t let it slow me down. Diana got to work immediately and so did I. Again, a deep breath.

The screwdriver really is simple. Vodka and orange juice in a highball glass with ice. Ice first, stir it to chill the glass, drain the melted water, add 45ml of vodka and top with the orange juice I’d squeezed and bottled just a couple of hours ago.

Compared to Diana, I moved with less confidence around the bar. I knew where the vodka was, but the moment I had to get it my head went blank. Hell, even when I had it in my hand, I had to double and triple check that it was indeed vodka before I poured it. Diana had already finished two martinis by the time I finished one screwdriver.

The screwdriver and one of those martinis were for one table, so I got them on a tray and took them to the customers.

“Please, enjoy, and if you need anything else, just let me know,” I told the couple with a smile and a short bow.

Diana was already finishing the negroni when I went back, but another couple came in. They sat at the counter, however, right in front of Diana, so they ordered directly from her. I took the negroni and the martini to the other couple.

“Um, waiter,” the woman from the previous table called me, and I felt a chill run down my whole body.

“Yes, ma’am?” I asked, approaching.

“This screwdriver is a bit too sweet. Can you make it stronger?” she asked.

“Yes, of course. My apologies.”

I took the glass from her and took it back to the counter, every step heavy with shame. It was the first time since I started working here that a customer had returned a drink, and of course it had to be my first.

My lip quivered and I felt a knot in my throat, but I continued moving.

“Do I pour it back on a mixing glass and add more vodka?” I asked Diana as I moved to do exactly that.

“Yes, and add more ice,” she said without looking away from her own work.

I did that. Poured the screwdriver back in a mixing glass, added 15ml more of vodka and a bit more ice. I stirred gently with a bar spoon and poured it back into the highball glass. I took it back to the woman and this time waited for her to try it.

“How is it?” I asked politely.

“Mmm, yes, this is better. Thank you very much, young man,” she told me, smiling.

“It’s no problem. Again, I apologize for the inconvenience.”

The moment I turned around to return to the counter, I saw two more couples coming in and Diana was in the middle of making a more complex drink for one of the people sitting in front of her. In barely 15 minutes we already had ten people. This was par for the course for a Friday, but without Dylan to help…

I went to take the orders of the two new couples, but as I did, two more people came in. I almost let out a groan, but kept it inside. Diana’s face was immutable, but I could tell she was doing the math in her head and knew she’d be behind depending on what they ordered.

I needed to buy us time.

I went over to the new couple and greeted them with the usual smile.

“Good evening. Today things are a bit busier than usual, so there might be a slight delay in the drinks,” I said. “Would you like to order some snacks from the restaurant? I can bring them to you here.”

“Oh, we can do that?” the man asked, pleasantly surprised. “What’s there to eat?”

“The charcuterie board comes with cheese, ham and fruit, or you could also have a board of different cheese to try.”

“Oh, if we’re having cheese we could just have some wine,” the lady said, grinning. “I’d prefer that, since you have trouble… performing when you drink too much.”

The man grumbled, clearly embarrassed. “We’ll have the cheese board, please. And a bottle of wine. Merlot.”

“Of course, sir.”

I went back to the counter and whispered to Diana. “One negroni, one daiquiri, one highball and one whiskey on the rocks. I’ll make those two when I get back. I need to run to the kitchen.”

Before I could do that, though, one of the couples waiting for their drinks called for me, so I went there.

“Yes?”

“We heard we could order some snacks here?” the lady said. “Could we have a cheese board while we wait?”

“Yes, of course. It’ll only be a moment.”

“You seem in a good mood today, Diana,” the lady sitting across from Diana told her, smirking. “I don’t normally see you smiling. What’s the occasion?"

Diana chuckled. “No, it’s nothing.”

I rushed to the kitchen with quick but calm and careful steps. It’d be a long night…