10- Nap time is non - negotiable ; everyone needs their beauty rest . " Uhm ... Can you repeat that ? " I ask , staring up at Torin . He shrugs . 100 % " You're hired . I needed another bartender anyway . Catcher can't work late nights half the time because he's looking after his kid . " He explains . I frown . " But I don't even know how to mix drinks . " I point out . Torin stares at me . " So ? You didn't know how to mix drinks tonight either and it worked out fine . Laura can teach you what you need to know later . " He decides , then he narrows his eyes at me slightly , making his usually scary expression flat out terrifying . " But fair warning , this job isn't going to magically make me trust you . If you think that you can guilt me into letting you leave by trying to do me a favour by covering for Laura tonight , you're wrong . " He warns . I roll my eyes . " I never thought that for a second . But you helped me out when I was attacked , so I figured I might as well help you out here . Also watching you behind the bar being ignored was physically painful for me . People are idiots . Besides , I can't leave . What else am I going to do ? " I point out , my smile dimming a little . Torin clears his throat and looks away . Hah , progress , he does feel bad about all of this . " One more thing . Don't stand in the way of someone trying to leave the bar ever again . Those two were harmless enough , but not everyone is . You could have gotten badly hurt . " He lectures me . Oddly enough , his lecture makes me smile again . " Aww , are you worried about me ? I'm sorry , I'll be more careful next time . I'll just yell at them and tell them that I'll send big scary you after them . I bet that'll make them . behave . " I joke . Torin blinks at me . " No one sends me anywhere . " He finally answers and I laugh . " Sure they don't . Why don't you sit back down and have a drink while I finish cleaning up ? " I suggest . He's halfway back to his seat when he realises what he's doing . He stops , turns on the spot and marches back to join me behind the bar where he starts helping with the cleanup . I try to hide my amusement , but I don't think I'm doing a very good job . He's acting like a little kid and is intentionally doing the exact opposite of what I told 1/4 29 23 D ل ||| O < Fri , Aug 29 Lesson 10- Nap time is non - negotiable ; everyone needs their beauty rest . 100 % 1 him to do . Well , at least he's helping with the cleaning . It's not super spacious back here so I squeeze past him to get to the little sink so I can wipe the bar down properly . I'm not great at pouring drinks and it is definitely a little sticky . I brush past Torin again to get back to the far side of the bar and this time he stops and watches as I'm cleaning , doing that weird blinking thing again . Seriously , it's like everything I do confuses him . Considering I'm the one dealing with all the crazy new supernatural drama , shouldn't I be the one who gets all confused ? " Is something wrong ? " I ask . Torin turns away from me and goes back to stacking the last few glasses . " No. It's just ... We're alone here . " He answers , his voice is quiet . I freeze up . Uh , what ? Is he like ... Hitting on me or something ? Because that is a super weird thing to point out . " Okay ... What about it ? " I ask defensively . He doesn't answer , just wanders away to lock up the front door . Yeah this is something we need to sort out . I clear my throat . " Are you trying to make a move on me or something ? Because you might be hot as hell , pun totally intended , but I barely know you . Plus you're keeping me trapped here ... Also if I agree to work for you then you would technically be my boss . So like , you seem nice and all , but no . Just no . Sorry ... " I trail off awkwardly . There's a loud clanking as Torin actually drops his keys on the floor . He stares at me and I've apparently finally broken his poker face because his expression is a weird mix of confused and horrified . Abandoning his keys , he takes a few steps closer , but stays on the far side of the bar . He's holding his hands up and walking slowly like he's trying not to spook me . " No , no ... You've totally misunderstood . I didn't mean ... Ah shit . " He looks so completely stumped . Like he can't quite get the words out . It's the complete opposite of the serious and reserved attitude he's demonstrated so far . I bet if all those customers saw him like this they wouldn't be nearly as scared of him . " All right , calm down . I didn't mean to freak you out . I was just ... You know what , never mind . Why don't you just tell me what you meant ? " I encourage . He sighs and sits down on the barstool across from me . " All I meant is that ... Most people avoid being alone with me . I don't think I've actually had a one on one conversation with anyone in years . You don't seem all that bothered by it . " He is staring at the counter . He mutters something else under his breath , I'm not totally sure he means for me to hear it . 29 ل 2/4 11:07 Fri , Aug 29 Lesson 10- Nap time is non - negotiable ; everyone needs their beauty rest . " Besides , I wouldn't try anything on a woman who is probably traumatised ... Not to mention exhausted . " He grumbles . 100 % " Well ... Thanks . And I told you already , I'm not scared of you . You literally saved my life . So I've decided to trust you , as long as you don't do anything too stupid I'm going to try to give you the benefit of the doubt . Admittedly accusing you of hitting on me probably wasn't the best way to demonstrate that ... Sorry . " I apologise . Torin shakes his head " No ... It's fine . " He answers shortly . He clears his throat and straightens up , then I watch as he plasters his usual poker face back on . Well , baby steps . We finish cleaning in an awkward silence . " So ... Uh ... Hey is there a reason everyone here paid in cash ? I don't think I've even used cash in forever . It's just weird to me that so many people are using it . " I point out . " A lot of supernatural beings are distrusting of that kind of thing . Mostly because a lot of them live longer than the age human , so they remember what it was like not having much technology . They didn't grow up with it . Apparently , change is hard . " He explains as he goes around turning out all the lights . Most of them appear to be candles or lanterns , but apparently there are a lot of strategically placed electric lights which has me grinning . Apparently the candles are mostly for the aesthetic and I love that . It's actually starting to get bright outside . No wonder I'm so tired , my head feels heavy and my wrist is kind of hurting now . The injured one , not the one with the weird magic binding spell thing . He leads me to what is basically a dirty old store room . " Sorry , I don't really have a spare room here ... I mean , it's a bar ... But there's an old recliner in here that might be alright ? We can sort it out better tomorrow . " He clears off junk from an old , but basically clean recliner . It's not great , but it should be comfortable enough to sleep on . Particularly since I am so damn tired . " It's fine . " I answer optimistically . I think I can see a blanket somewhere too . I get the feeling that Torin has used this recliner to crash here in the past . I settle into the recliner , already kind of half asleep . " You are ... Not what I expected . You seem almost happy to be here . A lot of awful things happened to you today . I don't understand why you aren't more upset . " Torin points out . I shrug . " That's not exactly right . It's more like I'm not especially UNhappy to be here . Besides , O 29 Ο ل Cy 3/4 III < 11:07 Fri , Aug 29 100 % Lesson 10- Nap time is non - negotiable ; everyone needs their beauty rest . some good things happened too . I'm alive for starters , and I met some interesting people , made a couple friends . Things could be worse . Also I'm just far too tired to worry about it r too all right now . I'll probably have a melt down later . So just be prepared for that I guess . " My words are said jokingly but I kind of mean it . I do feel okay now , but I don't think it's really all sunk in . But eventually this situation is going to start to actually feel real , and then we're going to have problems . ( 2 ) " Well ... I'm going home . I'll be back tomorrow . Don't try to leave . " Torin warns . I wave at him , too tired to even answer him properly . This has been the longest day .