Audrey opened the creaky door to the Stardrop Saloon with a tug, determined to eat a nice hot meal, maybe have a drink or two to ease her anxiety, and leave. Seemed like a simple enough plan, but in Audrey's reality, it was far from it. She had only been in the quaint confines of Pelican Town for a month, having left her fast-paced life in ZuZu City behind for a fresh start. The issue was, in the short month that she'd been in the valley, she had already slept with four of the young bachelors. When people asked her about why she left the city, whether it be polite conversation or obvious prying, Audrey always told them that it was because she grew tired of her corporate job and wanted to settle down in the countryside and try her hand at farming on her late grandfather's estate. This was only a half-truth. Sure, her corporate desk job was boring, but what happened after her 9 to 5 was the real problem.
Emily, the spunky blue-haired barkeep, greeted Audrey with a smile. "There's Pelican Town's newest, and may I add hottest, resident!" she beamed. "What can I get ya?"
Audrey smiled back at her, flattered by the compliment. Though she always tried to appear nonchalant and naturally pretty, Audrey put a lot of time into her appearance and was glad to see that someone noticed. "I'll have a glass of rosé, and one of Gus' famous pepperoni pizzas, please."
Emily slid the stemless wine glass filled with pale pink wine across the bar and quickly returned to the register to put in Audrey's food order. As she sipped on the wine, Audrey scanned the atmosphere of the bar around her. Her eyes wandered toward the game room, where she caught sight of the trio of friends that played pool every Friday night. They took turns making poor whacks at the cue ball and chuckling loudly over who knows what. Audrey was playing a dangerous game, as she had hooked up with all three of them. Her first Friday in town, the group of twenty-somethings invited her to play with them, and she took a different one home each Friday that followed. First was Sebastian, the tall and slender emo boy. He seemed quiet at first, but he was quite the smooth-talker and it wasn't long before he ended up in Audrey's bed. Fortunately for her, Sebastian was set to move out to the city in a couple of weeks to start a new job at a big tech company, so it was certain to be a one time thing. They had just seen each other in passing, Audrey moving into town as Seb was on his way out. Next was Sam. A spunky blond golden-retriever of a man. Not usually Audrey's type, but they were pretty wasted and just content to be next to a warm body that night. Audrey intended to stop there. Actually, she intended to never start in the first place. But some sick voice rang in the back of her mind. Might as well finish off all three. Her third week, she found herself fucking a purple-haired girl in the middle of a cemetery at two in the morning- Abigail. Abigail was the most likely of the trio for Audrey to have an actual relationship with. They got along well, often discussing exploring and the possibility of monster-hunting adventures in the local mines. Audrey wasn't one for commitment, so she slowly pushed Abigail out of her life after their steamy hookup among the dead.
Emily pushed through the double doors leading out of the kitchen and set a piping hot pizza on the bartop in front of Audrey, shaking her from her thoughts. "Your pizza, madam farmer," she chided.
Audrey scoffed at that. "Madam? Hardly. Farmer? Definitely not." The truth was, Audrey was terrible at farming. Her first harvest of parsnips came out of the dirt rather deformed and shriveled up. She was convinced that Pierre, the local shopkeep, just bought them out of sympathy.
Emily gave a sympathetic smile. "You'll get there eventually. It just takes time."
"Thanks, Emily. I don't remember these pizzas being so big. I don't think I can finish this by myself."
"I'll help ya out with it," a gruff voice called out from the corner of the bar.
Audrey's head snapped over to meet the gaze of a rather unkempt looking man. His dark hair, seemingly black at first but shifting to a dark purple in the light, stuck out every which way. An unruly mass of stubble covered his sharp, square jawline. He had deep set eyes, a stunning shade of forest green, though they were glazed over and slightly reddened. He was on the shorter and stockier side, but Audrey did always like a dad bod. Fuck, this guy was hot. Audrey shook her head as if to rid herself of her thoughts. No, you idiot. No more sex. This is what you came here to escape, remember? Just be friendly, play it cool.
She finally spoke up, "I don't believe we've met. I'm Audrey, I recently moved into Marigold Farm. Take as much of the pizza as you want, wouldn't want it to go to waste."
"Name's Shane," he mumbled, wasting no time and going for a slice. He was clearly drunk. Nay, he was obliterated. It was clear to Audrey that he was in no place to have a conversation with her, judging by the six empty pint glasses stacked in front of him on the surface of the bar. So, the pair ate in silence until Emily's voice rang out, signifying that it was last call.
The man slapped a few bills on the table and got up to leave, but his legs buckled beneath him and he gripped Audrey's shoulder to steady himself. "'M sorry," he slurred, still attempting to walk. Audrey had seen this guy in the saloon before, but she never made any attempts to speak to him, as he seemed like he would much prefer being alone. Still, she felt kinda bad for the guy. Sighing, she started, "here, let me walk you home," putting out an arm.
"I don't even know you. Why the fuck would I let you walk me home?" Shane spat, stumbling even further toward the door. It wasn't hard for Audrey to catch back up to him.
"Do you want to get eaten by a coyote or fall in the river? You don't have to talk to me ever again after this if you want. I just won't be able to sleep knowing I left you here like this."
Seemingly satisfied with Audrey's reasoning, Shane obliged, taking her arm as they stepped into the night.
"Where's your place?" Audrey asked Shane.
"Jeez, tryna take me home and fuck me or something?" he chortled.
Yes. Wait, no. Fuck. "Very funny. You're gonna end up sleeping on the ground if you don't tell me."
Shane mumbled something about the "Cindercrap forest" and how it's "near the cows."
He lives at the ranch? Audrey thought. She remembered Marnie, the bright and cheery owner of the local ranch, saying something about having a nephew, but she just couldn't imagine that angel of a woman being related to this slob of a man. She pushed her judgements aside and started down the dirt road toward Cindersap Forest.
Halfway through their little stroll, Shane stopped short and made his way to a nearby bush, where he doubled over and hurled his insides out. After a few good hacks, he came up with a burp, wiping his mouth. Audrey instinctually rubbed circles on his back, as it was what her girlfriends always did when she found herself in a similar situation. He coughed a few times before straightening his back to continue walking. It seemed to have sobered him up a bit, as he was starting to form slightly more coherent sentences.
"Why are you being so nice to me?" Shane questioned. The tone of his voice suggested that it was rare for him to be on the receiving end of any acts of kindness, and judging by his behavior at the bar, he wasn't typically on the giving end either.
"Can't someone be nice for the sake of being nice? Plus, now I have leverage. You owe me one after this."
"No one's nice just because when they're dealing with a total asshole."
"Hey, I have a genius idea," Audrey prodded. "Maybe try being less of an asshole. Revolutionary, I know. You ate over half my pizza and didn't even say thanks then basically told me to fuck off when I tried to walk you home."
"Sorry." That was all Shane could manage to squeak out, but Audrey was satisfied, as it was better than the silence she expected to be met with.
After a few more minutes of surprisingly comfortable silence, the two arrived at the door of the ranch. Shane fumbled with his keys, finally getting them into the lock after about 8 jabs into the hardwood door. He turned to face Audrey with tired eyes.
"Thanks, Aubrey."
"Seriously, man? It's Audrey. With a D."
"Sorry, Audrey with a D," he smiled suggestively.
Audrey had actually been trying to think about anything but "D" all night. Truthfully, if he hadn't been so drunk, she would have walked Shane back to her place instead and fucked him on the kitchen counter, having not washed her sheets since Alex was in her bed the week prior. She wanted to steal a kiss, to give herself the tiniest taste to get her through the night without a good fuck. Then, she remembered he had thrown up his intestines minutes before. That certainly would not make for a good kiss. She realized that she must have been fantasizing for far too long, as Shane was looking down at her, puzzled.
"Uh, goodnight?" Audrey said as if it was a question, not wanting to leave. She hated being alone. Even if they didn't sleep together, she preferred to be in the company of a man, as it boosted her cripplingly low self esteem to feel wanted.
"G'night," Shane replied curtly before slipping into the ranch and leaving Audrey alone on the porch.