Daniel raised a brow as he stared at him. “Umm? You’ve been stalking me even though I told you not to. I thought it was an explicit instruction,” he demanded.
He wished he didn’t have to have this conversation now, but he couldn’t shut it down. “I only wanted to make sure you were safe,” he said, and when his words failed him, he wrapped his hand around the glass of vodka and gulped it.
“I am not a child.”
“I know that. I was just worried, and I’m sorry. It was one time, and I never went back after seeing you were fine.”
Daniel poured himself the whisky and gulped the content at once. “I had a feeling you were watching me. But like you said, that feeling came only once, and it confirmed your words,” he said after a while of silence, setting his glass on the counter. “It’s in the past.”
Ivan exhaled in relief, happy that they would move on from it.
The bartender returned and filled his glass with vodka. He gulped it and asked for another immediately. “What are you doing here?” he asked.
Daniel circled his hand over the tip of his glass. “This used to be my old spot; I thought about checking in.” He replied, “The rate you’re going, you might get drunk,” he pointed out.
“You’re worried for me; that’s noble of you; do not worry. I am a man; last I checked, I won’t be in danger when drunk,” he chuckled.
“Being a man doesn’t make you less invincible to a predator, man or woman.” Daniel told him.
Ivan’s eyes narrowed. “It doesn’t?”
“Nope, besides, you’re good-looking; many will want to take advantage of that. It might be a good few minutes for them, but it will be a horrible experience to remember for you.”
Ivan’s cheeks heated at Daniel’s compliment. He was reaching his limit, and he was already feeling intoxicated. “I wouldn’t know if it’d be any good for them; I’ve never been with anyone.”
“Oh.” Daniel paused and pressed his lips together, becoming silent. “Have you ever been kissed?”
His cheeks burnt, but he shook his head. “No, I haven’t.”
“Oh, would you want to do that tonight?”
A part of him wanted to say no. He was still grieving the death of Xoe, whom he cared about, but he found himself nodding.
Daniel took the third shot of his vodka and turned to look around the bar. “What’s your preference?”
“A girl,” Ivan said, stating the obvious, and Daniel nodded, his eyes scanning the room.
“Blonde, brunette, red hair, or black?”
His question also made Ivan turn around to see different faces in the room. Looking at the faces, he realised, “I don’t really have a preference. If she’s pretty, that’s alright!”
“You need to know what you want so you don’t accept what you don’t like and regret it in the end.”
“Then it would be blonde-haired over there.” She looked pretty and outgoing, and she would make a better person to experience his first kiss with.
How the night went from him mourning and wanting to be alone to this still surprised him.
“You sure about that, right?”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
Give me a moment. Daniel tapped his knee and dropped from his stool. He made his way over to the blonde-haired lady seated in the left corner of the room and spoke to her. After a while, her eyes turned to Ivan, and he forgot to breathe until she broke her gaze and looked back at Daniel with a small smile on her face.
It had to be the vodka.
After the talk ended, Daniel returned to sit beside him. He couldn’t hold off his curiosity for long because he asked. “What did she say?”
“She has a boyfriend; they are going through some things, but they are still together.”
“Oh,” Ivan mumbled, gulping his fifth shot of vodka. “Perhaps I should go home.”
He set his glass down and dragged himself outside. Daniel followed him out and saw him already waving his hands around. He was about to portal himself home and avoid any more embarrassment.
Daniel walked up to him. “Are you leaving?”
“Yes!”
“After one try?”
“Isn’t one try enough?”
Daniel stepped towards him and said, “No, it isn’t, and it wasn’t even one try because all you did was point, and I did the rest of the work. If you’re truly committed to your goal, you’ve got to keep going even if doors close against you. You will get hurt many times, a few times, or none, depending on how lucky you are, but giving up is not an option. Never is-”
Ivan didn’t let him finish: “I don’t want to be like you, though. I don’t want to have my heart trampled upon and dashed to the wall every time I give it to someone.”
He didn’t know Daniel’s story well, but he knew he dated Zera briefly after being in love with her for years. That didn’t work out, and then we moved on to Nicole, which was like jumping from frying pan to fire. He had been burned by life two times already, and he didn’t want to follow the same path.
He didn’t mean to sound harsh, but that was how he sounded.
Daniel became quiet. “Ivan.”
“I’m sorry; I shouldn’t have said that,” he apologised. “You were just trying to help, and I became an asshole.”
“It’s fine, Ivan; there’s nothing wrong with what you said, but I have someone, and she’s everything I need. The oath of a hunter is never an easy one, and I now have someone who understands and accepts it. Now I only wish to return her love and affection.”
A smile came on Daniel’s face as he spoke, his tone genuine with each word.
“You might not find them tonight or tomorrow, but I believe you will meet them someday. Someone who would accept all of you and never leave. You have all the time in the world, young man. Once again, my condolences.”
This wasn’t what he looked forward to when he left home earlier, but this was what he needed to hear. He was grateful Daniel was here to say it, even though they weren’t really friends.
Daniel offered him his hand for a shake, but Ivan hugged him instead.
“Thank you,” Ivan said, still holding onto him.