Dragon Lover | B X B X B X B

2

Florence

I wiped the sweat from my forehead and took a deep breath. Summer's weather was unforgiving today, with no cool breeze and a hellish heat. Why mom decided not to have it in the nice air-conditioned hotel? I didn't know. Instead we were to have it on the deck with the beautiful view of the beach. It would get cooler towards the end of the day with the nightly ocean breeze. Still, me and Josh couldn't help but complain.

He clearly didn't want to shut up about what happened earlier today. "You were totally wrong. They're super hot," he sighed, leaning on the table. I rolled my eyes. "The first one was a total daddy!" He cheered earning side glances from the rest of the staff. My eyes widened and I whipped my towel against his chest. "Don't hit me with your sweat towel!" He whined. "Then shut up and do your job!" I hissed. He frowned but continued his work, folding the napkins until they looked like a swan. I couldn't do origami to save my life.

Mom walked in with a frantic look on her face. She spotted us and hurried over. "Don't worry mom, we're almost done." I took a wild guess and I was correct. She eased up a little and smiled before pulling us both into a hug. "I couldn't have asked for better slaves," she hummed making us both snort. "Wow, thanks Ms. B," Josh grumbled, dropping the napkin he was holding. "You got yourself a man yet, Josh?" She asked earning a scoff.

"Please. The men around here are all boring!" I rolled my eyes. Dramatic as always. She turned to me, a question on her lips but she didn't ask. I looked down at my feet, a little bashful. The topic on my sexuality wasn't exactly something we've talked about before. I've dated a few girls, but I never enjoyed them. I suppose it was only to prove something to someone. It usually ended because I told them I didn't want to have sex, so I got dumped. I'm pretty sure she always questioned it. I couldn't blame her.

"Anyway, we're almost done with the last table." I continued. Josh nodded and helped me finish off. "The dinner starts at seven and ends at ten, so don't you two drink so much! I want all hands on deck for packing up!" She ordered before dashing away. We both groaned. "I love your mom, I do-"

"Gross." I joked. He gave me a death glare as I refrained from laughing. I might be nineteen but I still act like I'm twelve. He flipped me off then continued. "But I plan on getting drunk off my tits, and you should too!" He encouraged, setting down the last napkin while I placed the last plate. "I'm not gonna cover for you, Josh." I told him sternly, but I couldn't ignore the smile of my face. He shrugged. "I can hold my liquor just as good as you!" He scoffed.

"I cannot hold my liquor at all, Joshy."

"Shut up, Flo."

I snickered then walked back inside. I opened the glass sliding door and relished the cool air. The circular lobby gave had sliding doors on every story, facing the beach to let the breeze in but they were all shut to keep the cool air in. Families all rushed passed in their bathing suits to head for the beach and probably the bar. Other employees ran around, some were pushing luggage trolleys and others had food trays in hand.

I looked at my watch and mentally cheered. My shift was about to end, even if I was supposed to help out later tonight. "I'm hitting the beach soon. Wanna come?" I asked Josh who had just walked up next to me. He didn't seem too convinced. "There'll probably be hot single dads at the bar?" I coaxed. He pursed his lips together. "But I'm gonna get sand everywhere!" He whined. "Hot surfer dudes? Lickable abs?" I tried. He tsk'd, then shoved his towel and brushed his mocha hair to the side. "You had me at surfer dudes. I'm going to change. My uniform stinks!" He mumbled before heading off. I chuckled then went to drop off our towels and throw my bottle away. You could see our gross sweat through our shirts as they were white, with a red collar to match the theme of the hotel. As I went to clock off I noticed, out of the corner of my eye a bulky figure. I turned my head and noticed one of the men from earlier. Remus, I think. He was staring at one of the many paintings. Despite my own wishes the good employee within me couldn't help but walk over. "Hello, sir." I greeted. His head turned to my direction, looking down. To say I felt small was an understatement. I felt like an ant.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" His icy blue eyes landed on mine and I felt a shiver go down my spine. Was this a dragon thing? Was this how they greeted eachother? "Not at all." He stated. I nodded and went to leave when he spoke up again. "You have pretty eyes," I whipped around, taken aback by his comment. "Thank you?" I mumbled. I think he hadn't registered what he said because when he did his cheeks got even darker and he frowned. Just like that, he trudged off.

I was perplexed by what just happened but brushed it off. I didn't really think anything of my eyes but took the compliment anyway. Maybe it was a weird dragon custom. The next person I ran into wasn't one I was going to enjoy. "Florence." Neil acknowledged. I wanted to groan so badly. "Grandpa." I bit back. Speaking of eyes, they were the only thing we shared in common and I hated it. The rest of the features I got from my mom; tan skin, dark blonde hair and even my freckles.

Dad used to be in the High Order but died during an attack. I used to love my eyes because they were basically the only thing we shared. That also meant I shared them with this cruel man. He never liked mom and when I was born the hatred only got worse. "You stink. Perhaps a shower is in order?" He was holding a burger, crumbs falling everywhere ad he spoke. My jaw fell and my mouth opened in shock. This old hag.

"You might want to slow down. Dinners in a few hours. Don't want to bloat like a puffer fish infront of the cameras, right?" I replied smugly and walked away once I got his reaction: shock.

Two points: Florence, One point: Old Man.