Making use of the extra time.

We worked on the potion for about two hours, which was about as much as I could do before I started getting a bit lightheaded. Magical energy, a.k.a. sexual energy, is tied to my physical state. If I have a lot, I feel in great condition, but if I don’t have much, I start feeling weak. Using it for experimentation was practically using energy without recharging, so these sessions never went past the two hours. Technically, all of my other magic tricks also drain sexual energy, but since I normally have a surplus or a quick way to… recharge, it’s rarely an issue. Funnily enough, these sessions were more tiring than a trip to the gym.

I had lunch in the hotel, in the employee break room, and after having just decent cafeteria food at university for lunch these past couple of days, having this ridiculously good meal for free almost felt illegal. Better yet, I’d be able to have more at night, so I was looking forward to that.

There was still an hour to go before we officially started our shift, so in theory I could sit in the break room until Diana got here and start working then. But then again, we usually need more time to prep things before opening the bar and I was already here, so…

I went to the bar with my backpack and put on my work clothes in the employee restroom. Black dress pants and a white shirt that… um… looked fine, but…

…

My mom used to iron my clothes the day before I had to work. My shirt wasn’t exactly wrinkled, but it also wasn’t pristine like every other Friday.

…

Damn, I got all sad all of a sudden. It’s only been a few days, but I miss my mom. I suppose it’s true that you tend to take your family for granted until they aren’t there. Good thing I can still see her whenever I want and that she’s coming over to the house this Saturday, but one day…

…

Oh, fuck off, you downer thoughts! I decided to focus entirely on work to push those sad ideas away, and I’m glad it worked.

I put on an apron and began to work alone. I cleaned the tables, set up the chairs and stools and swept the floor, squeezed a lot of lemon and orange juice, prepared simple syrup, put empty glasses in the fridge, checked on the ice and was about to start on preparing some garnishes when Diana arrived, eyes wide as she looked around.

“Um… Dear? Why are you here early?” she asked me, a little confused as she walked in and eyed the clean tables.

“Classes finished early and I had some… other work to do here, so I’ve been here since around 2:00 pm,” I told her. “I finished that at 4:00 pm, so since I was already here… Should I not have started?”

“Dylan called me an hour ago,” she said, walking behind the counter and leaving her bag on the floor. “Something urgent came up and he won’t be able to make it today.”

My chest went cold. “Urgent?”

Diana sighed. “A family member is in the hospital. I still haven’t heard from him since then. I’m hoping everything turns out alright.” I nodded in agreement. “I told him not to worry, that you and I would take care of things today, but I was getting worried we’d lack prep time for a Friday night.”

“So… I did good?”

She smiled at me, pecked my lips and said, “let me check.”

She did a quick check and found everything I’d done so far in order. She finished the garnishes while I cleaned the counter, we checked the liquors and went to the storeroom to get more of the bottles that were either empty or nearly so. Basically, we finished our prep time with about 40 minutes to spare.

“This is good. Any chance we can convince Luke to let us open the bar at 7:00 pm instead from now on?” I asked. “We got a lot more done.”

“I’d love to, but customers start arriving for dinner at the restaurant by six and we need the bar available, even if our own customers come a little later.” Diana smiled at me and gestured towards one of the doors. “Come, we got everything done thanks to you. Let’s go to the break room until we have to open.”

“Are you sure? Maybe I could use this time to practice some more drink mixing,” I said.

Diana walked up to me, and leaned slightly down to my level. She kissed me softly on the lips, yet quickly slipped in her tongue. She put her hand behind my neck and kept me there as she made the kiss more and more intense, wrapping her tongue around mine, licking my lips and even my gums. She caught me off guard at first, but I quickly closed my eyes and matched her energy, putting my hands on her waist.

After a minute, she pulled away, eyes locked on mine. She licked her own lips and caressed my chin with her fingers. “Let’s go to the break room.”

I swallowed. “Yes, ma’am.”

I followed her like a good boy. That kiss was like a spark on dry grass. After having worked on the potion for about two hours, I was left a bit tired and… craving something sweet. We were at work, though, so it didn’t even cross my mind to make a move on Diana. She takes her job seriously, and so do I, for that matter. At most I was hoping we’d do it when we got home. But either she felt my need or REALLY liked the work I did, because…

We got into the break room and Diana placed a marker on my hand. “Set up the runes. Everyone’s busy right now, but better safe than sorry.

I nodded, turned around and wrote the runes for Silence and Stillness on the door. We had effectively locked the room and prevented any sound from escaping.

When I turned around, Diana’s shirt was down to her last button.

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