Chapter 26: Chapter 26
Colter
Outside Burn’s, New York City
She was staring at him in disbelief, the same feeling he felt but the gloom and doom of the moment had passed and color had returned to his world once more. Vida was staring at Colter with a cutie but disappointed face. Her amber eyes showed concern and curiosity and Colter stared straight into them with his emerald ones.
It seems that she had left that kingly looking man and ran outside to catch him, he felt the joy well up in his body as he tried to regain his composure.
“She left him to talk to me!” his thoughts sang in his head but he tried to keep his face emotionless.
Mustering all his will to prevent his voice from shaking, Colter answered her question:
“Yes, Vida. I walked away because I realized you were busy” he focused on the word ‘busy’ lacing it with slight sulking and jealousy.
Catching on, Vida laughed playfully at Colter fumbling his words and sounding petty. The flower in his hand caught her eye and she took it from him with amazing speed.
“Hey!” Colter, a warrior prince from the kingdom of Howard, renowned for his battle skills and tactics was out-smarted by a human, reacted making a half-assed attempt to grab it back.
Vida kept it out of his reach by stepping back, giggling at the same time.
“Aww, is this for me?” she said in a cute voice that made his heart shiver, “I love tulips!”
The prince from another world scratched his head and sheepishly grinned at her, “Yes well, seeing as how that man brought you even more, why don’t you hand it over and I’ll just eat it in shame.”
His face was flushed red at this embarrassment, he was also wondering how he was unable to react to Vida taking a single flower from him.
Vida, noticing Colter’s building embarrassment at the situation laughed at him and gave him a slight shove.
“Thank you, Colter. That’s a sweet gesture from you!” She noticed Colter glancing over at Harry, who was also staring at them silently, “Oh, that’s Harry, he’s a friend of mine. So don’t get your tighty whiteys in a bunch, okay?”
“Tighty whiteys?” Colter uttered, not knowing what they meant.
Vida winked at him, and put the tulip above her ear to wear.
It that singular moment, the world’s purpose had returned to Colter. His thoughts raced with so many things, what kind of effect this human had on him. His brain, who was berating him earlier was now singing praises and songs in sheer joy.
“That man is just a friend!”
“She wore the flower I gave her!”
“She’s so beautiful!”
These are words echoing in his hand as Colter started to smile, his façade cracking.
Vida, noticing this smiled benignly at him and glanced at her watch.
“Alright, Colter. Could you wait for me? My work is about done. Don’t disappear or walk away from me, alright?!”
Colter nodded and gave her a wide smile, his joy was now obvious due to this small victory and as he watched Vida turn her back and return to Burn’s, he promised himself he would wait, even if it took eternities and the end of the world, he would wait for Vida to come out of this tavern that she worked in.
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Vida
Burn’s, New York City
“What the hell was that, Vida Vance?!” Tessa growled at her, visibly irritated at Vida for leaving Harry Fletcher hanging. “What is that damn flower on your head, have you gone cuckoo? Thought, I would also say that pink does look good on you girl!” It was still Tessa being Tessa. She would be angry in a moment and compliment people in another.
“Harry looked so hurt when you walked out on him, why did you do that, girl?!”
Vida sighed at rolled her eyes, “Didn’t I tell you before, Tessa. You should take him if you want him that badly. Don’t use me to live vicariously.”
“So you’re trying to tell me, you’re preferring a homeless, medieval cosplayer over New York’s hottest Bachelor?” Tessa commented snidely.
Vida frowned, hurt by the painful words her friend used to describe Colter, “He’s not a medieval cosplayer!”
“No response for the homeless one, huh?” Tessa quipped instantly.
“Look Tess” Vida told her seriously, closing in on her friend and staring her dead in the eye, the sheer closeness of their faces made Tessa swallow intensely as Vida continued staring into her eyes.
“Look honey, I don’t swing that way, okay?”
“What?! No! That’s not what I mean…” Vida said distracted by her friend’s antics during serious matters, “Get serious and listen to me!”
“Alright. I’m listening.”
“He’s the man I’ve been dreaming about. It’s actually him come to life. He’s the very personification of the figure in my dreams, the man who saved me from a rapist.”
Tessa blinked slowly, trying to comprehend what she was saying.
“We spoke when you took a phone call and left me alone with him, I felt this sense of familiarity with him.” She also wanted to say that Colter’s presence around her soothed her like a balm, it was as if she was safe if Colter there. She wanted to say that after seeing him personally that first time, she had more reams of him and that she was feeling things that she had never felt before.
“I can’t explain it okay? But I’ll do my best” Vida continued, burying all those thoughts for now, “I think we found each other for a reason. Because of the fact that dreams don’t become true to life, just like that!” she had snapped her fingers suddenly that Tessa flinched.
“I left Harry Fletcher that way because I noticed him outside and that he was walking away, I felt this irresistible feeling to walk up to him and prevent him from leaving. Because I want to know what or who he is. It’s like some kind of fucked up destiny or fate that he found his way to me!”
“Oh Vida…” Tessa whispered, “Did you take your medication today?”
Vida shook her head and they both giggled, Tessa sighed and rolled her eyes this time.
“Alright, so medieval cosplayer…“ Tessa started and saw Vida frown at her, “Okay, okay, so Prince Charming over there over Harry Fletcher? Sometimes I question your very sanity, but since you’re so certain right now…”
She immediately crossed her arms and backed away from Vida by leaning against a table, “All that shit aside, I want to meet him. Introduce us, okay? He’s goddamn gorgeous, I’ll give you that. Even better looking than Harry. But honey, you can’t go on with just a gut feeling and hazy visions and wet dreams…” the moment she said ‘wet dreams’ Vida blushed violently and struck Tessa in the shoulder who only grinned in triumph.
“We’ve been friends for so long and I noticed that you were so out of it all these days after seeing him. Were your thoughts filled with him all those times?”
Vida nodded weakly; Tessa sighed.
“Look honey, I love you and you know that, but aren’t you being a bit too trusting?” she had gestured her fingers as if she was squeezing something between her index finger and thumb, “Ever since that person found his way, unconscious too, at the steps of his bar, you’ve been different. I find it shocking that you’re acting this way over a guy, a guy! A GUY!” her voice raised a bit as she enunciated those words.
“You aren’t like this; you never have and I always thought I’ll die without seeing you having a lover. Hell, you seemed allergic to the word ‘love’ you’d be ultra bitchy and pissy about it.” She continued chuckling as Vida shot her a dark glance, “Alright. I’ll give in. But please, just for my mind to be at peace with all of this, introduce me to him. Don’t worry, I won’t steal him away.” Tessa said mischievously, wagging her eyebrows exaggeratedly at Vida who only rolled her eyes in response.
It was Five o’clock in the afternoon and their shift had ended, Vida and Tessa said goodbye to Peter who nodded and smiled as he waved at them. Slightly paranoid that Colter might have left, she stepped out quickly and saw him there, her heart skipped a few beats, waiting patiently.
Tessa grunted in a false irritated way and nudged her friend as if to say, “So, what now?”
“Hey Colter, come over.” Vida said in a gentle voice, calling out to the man who had waited for her. He complied and walked over to them, with a sheepish but embarrassed smile.
“Colter this is Tessa Rodriguez, my best friend.” She gestured at Tessa, who only gave him glares, Colter felt afraid of this woman’s stare, it was as if she can see more than she lets out.
“Tessa, please behave…” Vida chided her best friend who grinned at her comment, “This is Colter.”
According to the customs Colter learned recently, he offered out his left hand to Tessa, who raised her eyebrow and smirked at him before taking it in a strong grip.
“Nice to meet you, Colter. I must say, you have the hands of an artist.” Tessa told him, and Colter flushed red.
“Now that the niceties area out of the way” Tessa announced her tone shifting, “I need some answers, Mister.”
Colter felt panic as he realized that moments ago Tessa was playing around but now, she was serious.
“I do not wish to be overprotective of Vida here, but I’m all she’s got in this world, alright? So you won’t mind if I ask you a few questions?”
Colter nodded wordlessly and Vida just smiled chagrined at her friend’s current schemes.
“What are you up to, there are billions of people in this world yet you want her? What are your intentions with her?”
Colter scratched his head, “I have no evil intentions towards Vida, in fact, I only wanted to talk to her and learn about her.”
Tessa pursed her lips and rolled her eyes, to the annoyance of Vida who was standing beside her. She was clearly enjoying grilling Colter with questions.
“He’s being completely honest though” Tessa thought with admiration for this man.
“You know she’s a vulnerable person that’s too absorbed in fantasy stories, so are you taking advantage of her fetish for princes and dragons or whatever the hell she’s reading right now?”
Vida smacked her friend in the shoulder in embarrassment, “What the hell Tessa?”
Colter’s eyes flicked from Tessa to Vida, but in a calm voice he answered: “I will do no such thing. Taking advantage of a person is not my way of tackling life.”
“Great. I mean, duh, that’s a bare minimum you could do, so don’t feel too proud of that!” Tessa warned Colter, she turned to Vida this time, “Your turn, missy.”
Vida blanched at the sudden attention shifting towards her and Tessa just smiled at her teasingly.
“So this is the man you’ve had wet dreams about?”
Vida and Colter, as if in unison, turned a deep shade of red and Tessa was giggling now. It seems that the storm had passed and Tessa was now being playful.
“I mean, it must have been all those stories you read. Prince charming…” Colter flinched at the word ‘prince’ “Bedding you down and re-arranging your guts, huh?”
“Look, I just want you to be safe and happy, honey.” Tessa continued, stroking her friend’s hair, “If this is what you want, then let it be so.”
Vida didn’t respond to this, she stood there listening and blushing at Tessa’s words.
“Alright, Colter, you’re good in my book. So, before you two go out and have a fun evening, let me tell you something” Tessa told them, seemingly loaded with one last thing to tell the two.
Colter, who had answered her questions coolheadedly;
“Would you do the impossible and fly if I told you what would you do if Vida falls in love with you? Would you be able to catch her?”
Colter’s silence for a few seconds was the answer that Tessa had been looking for.