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eruden-writes · 8 months

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Strictly Pleasure - Part 5 (Jek x Heidi)

orc x human age gap paranormal romance 5 of ?

Summary: An awkward fresh-out-of-a-relationship woman and an orc that owns a sex store enter an adult theater together. She, intent on pushing her own boundaries. He, just looking to give her some sense of safety. Well, that and he wouldn’t complain about having a bit of fun himself.

After they inevitably get interrupted, Jek deals with the problem while Heidi flees. Resigned, he believes he’ll never see her again.

Thus begins Jek and Heidi’s sporadic interactions until, eventually, they find themselves fumbling around each other daily at the very place it started: Strictly Pleasure.

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First | Previous | Masterlist

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Heidi couldn't believe this was happening. As if being intercepted in the kitchen by her manager - told that Malachai's babysitter had urgently called - wasn't jarring enough, Jek's date was causing A Problem. The chimerakin was not evoking any sympathy within Heidi, either. She recognized the sly look in their eyes, the delighted nastiness.

"Niana, that's a little much." Jek stood, reaching a hand out to his date as he aimed to de-escalate the situation. To his own ears, Heidi's voice had a resonance that sang of danger. "You don't even know what she's going through."

The manager at Heidi's side seemed to give a relieved smile to Jek, but it was short-lived. Niana half-turned to Jek, frowning in an almost petulant way at him as she waved her hand. "Oh, don't give me that! As a businessman, I'm sure you know the customer takes precedence to whatever trifling thing is happening in an employee's life."

By this point, the surrounding tables were becoming aware of the scene. The bubble of quiet conversation around them dwindled, filling the air around them with dead silence. Feeling other people's eyes on him, Jek's skin crawled with apprehension. He couldn't stop his derisive snort or the roll of his eyes as he replied, "Sweetheart, I run a sex shop."

Even though Jek's tone was laden with sarcasm, something about him calling his companion 'sweetheart' knifed through Heidi. It didn't help the cold fury icing her guts. Before she knew it, she raised a hand to Jek, waving him away while keeping her attention on the chimerakin. "No, no, time is valuable. I'll be right back."

Jek's attention jumped to Heidi, watching her sharply turn away. Again, his skin prickled, but this time it wasn't apprehension. It was preparation. Something was going to happen. He just knew it.

"See?" The oblivious Niana smiled broadly, flashing sharp teeth in Jek's direction, before she too retreated back to the table. Daintily, she sat down, taking a proud sip of her wine.

"Right." Jek couldn't keep the skepticism from his tone as he made his way back to his seat. All the while, he kept the manager and Heidi in his line of sight.

The manager's expression did not ease his own concerns. They appeared stricken and, even from the distance, Jek thought he could hear them hushedly trying to talk Heidi out of doing anything rash as they disappeared back into the kitchen. That feeling of danger hadn't abated in his bones, either.

Niana's continued chatter didn't help his heightened senses as others around them returned to their own conversations. She primped at her hair, smugly purring, "It's just a matter of knowing how to talk to people."

Jek was about to argue when the kitchen doors slammed open. His attention - along with the focus of others - snapped to the thrown open doors. Heidi stood there, smiling her own vicious smile as the kitchen doors swung shut on her anxious manager.

She marched to their table, carefully holding a rather delectable looking pie. In Jek's mind, he couldn't help but hear an imaginary ticking of a time bomb with every one of her steps.

"This pie is on me, out of my own paycheck. To thank you." Heidi's eyes narrowed as her smile took on a sharpness Niana should have been wary of. Even Jek noticed how her voice filled with intent that Niana seemingly did not pick up on. Patrons at other tables apparently caught on as well, since Jek could once more feel eyes on them.

The show wasn't over yet.

"Oh! What a sweet gesture," Niana twittered, waving a fluttering hand in a flattered manner. Jek's eyes slid from Heidi to his date, he couldn't believe she was missing all of the warning signs, the tension in the air around their waitress. He couldn't help leaning forward curiously, elbows braced on the table and one hand cradling in chin, fingers obscuring the amused quirk to his lips.

Perhaps Niana's ignorance was thanks to her gaze turning away from Heidi as she reached over to pat his arm. She cast a half-lidded look up at Jek, flirtatiously fluttering her eyelashes as her voice dipped huskily, "You know, Gujek, darling, this is famed cream pie that succubus say-"

Heidi had enough. Something was wrong at home with her son and this chimerakin was wasting her time while trying to put the moves on their own date. Fuck them.

Before the customer could finish their sentence, Heidi shoved the full pie into their face, giving a twist for good measure on contact. While the whole restaurant had been filled with quiet conversation before, it was now dead silent. Not a quiet that faded into existence, but one that slammed hard into existence. More eyes bounced to Heidi, to Jek and his date. A few amused smiles were hidden behind napkins or hands.

The cream plopped noisily off the chimerakin's face, landing messily into their lap. It was the only interruption to the silence.

Heidi leaned close, ignoring how the slow bleed of outrage contorted the patron's face. Somewhere, deep inside Heidi, she knew she should feel bad, be afraid. The concern could not slice through the exhaustion of working two jobs and stressing about her sick child back at home. Despite herself, her cheeks colored under anger and the attention of the whole restaurant.

Keeping her voice low, her gaze locked on those wide golden eyes, Heidi smiled through her words, "Thank you for helping me realize that my time is valuable. I'd rather spend it at my puking kid's bedside than waiting on your entitled ass."

Across the table, Jek hadn't moved. He stared at the two women, trying to fight down a cackle at the scene. Heidi, wearing a pleasant smile so viciously, eyes burning with rage, swathed in a dangerous aura that made her movement precise. Niana, covered in pie, golden eyes bugging and a snarl on her lips that made her sharp teeth flash in the light. It brought an old thrill through his body. He had to fight down the urge to flip the table as it meandered through his thoughts.

As Heidi straightened from her bent posture, she turned to Jek. She was still running on angry autopilot, her face a that polite mask. But she noticed the amusement in his eyes, the hidden smile on his lips. Her lips curled into a smile as something in her softened, her voice sweet as the pie currently dripping from his date's face, "Someone else will be serving you for the rest of the evening. Enjoy."

Then she turned sharply, heading straight for the back. Utter silence followed in her wake, the whole restaurant stunned. Things like that didn't happen here, Jek imagined. This wasn't some low-brow diner or - gasp - a fast food eatery. This was a five-star experience with refined, civilized people. Those sorts always had greater potential to be the worst, in his experience.

He thought Niana would prove him wrong, but she was no different. The challenge of her made him ignore the warning signs.

Wide-eyed with rage, Niana's gaze followed Heidi back until it swung toward Jek. With hands raised, fingers crooked like claws, she shrieked, "Do something about this!"

"Yeah, gotcha." Shoving away from the table and getting to his feet, Jek glanced at the waitstaff that had accumulated with the scene. They were all wide eyed, uncertain of what to do with Niana, the mess, and the now fleeing Heidi. Even the manager seemed speechless.

When he waved vaguely at them, a water nymph with a ponytail clambered closer. "Get me my food in a doggie bag and the check. Separate checks, please.

The nymph nodded, biting their bottom lip to keep from laughing, before heading to the register.

Incredulity colored Niana's voice as she cried from behind Jek, "What are you doing?!"

"The most bodacious thing tonight was that waitress justifiably pieing you in the face. Can't top that." Jek turned back to his failed date, shrugging his shoulders as if she hadn't been thoroughly mortified.

"What are you saying?" The curl of Niana's lip twitched as her pupils turned to slit. If she wasn't already covered in pie, she might look a little scary.

"I'm saying, you were out of pocket for what you said to her. You think your dining experience mattered more than her kid being sick." Jek leaned over Niana, who had remained seated. She tensed as he swiped a finger along her cheek, gathering up a good helping of cream on his digit. It was the only real physical touch they had genuinely had. "Honestly, I hit people for less than that. Be glad her retribution was sweet."

He popped his finger in his mouth, making a satisfied hum as he tasted the meringue. Spicy and sweet and tangy. What a pity the pie was covering a rancid woman. He might have actually liked licking it off a certain someone, slowly and languorously. Quickly, Jek pushed the thought away before it became more apparent.

"You asshole!" Niana's decibel climbed higher, making the water on the table ripple.

While other patrons winced at the scream, Jek just snorted. He'd heard worse, honestly. "Yeah, well, don't treat the waitstaff like shit."

"What do you care!?" She continued, half-standing before she realized it made pie plop from her dress in an undignified way. Almost at once, Niana returned to her seat, fuming as Jek turned away toward the assembled waitstaff.

"Hey, can one of you tell your colleague that I'll pay for that pie, too." He nodded to Niana as she scrubbed her dessert from her dress. A nameless waiter glanced at the chimerakin, lips pressed together tight to keep from grinning before they nodded.

By the time the nymph and other waiter returned, with both the receipt and packaged food, Niana had managed to ensnare the hapless manager into aiding with cleaning her dress. Jek ignored the howlings of rage and blubbering apologies as he took the ticket holder. Everything seemed to be there. His drink, the meal, the pie. He inclined his head to the nymph. "Tips go to the waitress, right?"

"Yes, xir." They nodded, their gaze flickering away from the scene of Niana and their manager.

"Cool, thanks." Jek nodded, finishing signing the receipt before retrieving a $100 bill from his wallet. As he handed the folded receipt and money over, he leaned closer to the nymph, peering over his glasses. He caught the waiter's name and pronouns before he let his voice drop low, "Make sure Miss Heidi gets all that tip for me, will ya, Miss Periphoia?"

"Yes, xir." The nymph nodded once more, like a bobblehead with eyes wide and a flush staining her cheeks.

A smile curled at Jek's lips as he relieved the waitress of his bag of food, turning to leave.

Once out in the parking lot, waiting for the valet to retrieve his vehicle, Jek caught sight of Heidi in her car. Expectedly, she was already too far for him to get her attention. Sitting at the exit of the parking lot, waiting to turn out into the street. Even from the distance, he thought he could see her face twisted from residual anger and stress.

As her car turned onto the street, he sighed to himself. There wasn't anything he could do. It wasn't like she invited him into her life at all. The best he could hope was that the generous tip he left actually got to her.

Well, maybe she'd return to Strictly Pleasure. To thank him for the tip, even if that's not why he left it.

With a snort, he shook his head at the very thought just as the valet pulled up with his car. If she did walk into his store after all that, she probably would've seen his little good deed as something with strings attached. That was the last thing he wanted.

No, he thought as he gave the valet their own gratuity and got into his car, he'd rather her never return than return assuming she owed him anything. It wasn't like he did much, anyway.

x x x

Jek could not say the next twenty-four hours were necessarily pleasant. His phone blew up with texts and calls from Niana, running the whole gamut of grief from anger to bargaining. She never reached acceptance. He had only spoken a little to her, to reassert he was no longer interested, before blocking her number and what few social media handles she had shared with him. Not that it seemed to sway the chimerkin from using other numbers, email addresses, or handles.

A little voice in him sighed in relief. She had been a problem thankfully sidestepped.

Now that his phone had finally quieted down, though, his shift at Strictly Pleasure beckoned. As he trudged through the door of his shop, carrying a tupperware filled with the generous meal Coriander Tiger had prepared for him, he jolted as Gnadi crooned loudly, "Hey boss, how'd the date go last night?"

"Poorly." Nudging his glasses up, Jek pinched the bridge of his nose. After all the rigamarole with Niana, he hadn't even prepared for Gnadi's onslaught of teasing and taunting. It was going to be a long night.

A stricken expression flashed over Gnadi's features as Jek made his way to the back to store his lunch. The faun followed after him, ears drooping in woe. "Shit, I'm sorry."

The overblown disappointment was just as bad as the ribbing, Jek thought. It made his skin itch uncomfortably. He didn't want pity. Besides, it wasn't as if he was sad. He was very, very relieved to not have to speak to Niana again. After her actions last night, he wasn't sure anything would salvage her picture in his head.

As he entered the breakroom and opened the door of the fridge, shoving the tupperware in, Jek added with a flippant tone, "Niana was awful to the waitstaff to the point a waitress pied her in the face."

"Wait, for real?" Gnadi's bummed expression melted into one of delirious glee.

Their excitement was far better than the gloom. Relieved at the change in atmosphere, Jek hummed an affirmative as he closed the fridge door. Letting a crooked grin tilting around his tusks, he decided to push Gnadi's buzz further. "It was Heidi."

The reveal didn't have the result Jek expected as confusion pulled over the faun's features. "Who?"

Shit, Jek forgot that Gnadi probably didn't remember her. They had barely interacted and it wasn't like she had her mouth on their private bits. At the same time, the realization sent a flash of embarrassment through him. He didn't want to focus on the reason why he remembered Heidi, while Gnadi had not. "Our waitress was Heidi - that nervous woman who wanted to go into the theater awhile back - and she pied Niana in the face."

Gnadi's eyes grew wide, a smile splitting across their lips. Their ears pricked up, twitching with delight. "For fucking real?"

"Yeah. It was actually pretty stellar," laughed Jek as he made his way back to the front. Early evening was always rather slow, thankfully. Customers didn't usually come streaming in until twilight or night. Something about entering an adult sex store seemed something to save for evening hours.

Like a dog, Gnadi followed at Jek's heels. "Did you get her number or anything?"

"No, she took off after the pie incident." More than once over the last day, Jek wondered if Heidi had returned to the restaurant. Did she ask what happened after she left? Would she get the tip he left for her? She knew where to go if she wanted to thank him.

Remembering that she left to tend to a sick child sent a flash of guilt through Jek. He shouldn't be hoping she'd come to his store, even if the thought pleased something inside him.

As if reading Jek's internal conflict, Gnadi chuckled, "Well, maybe you're fated to meet again."

Jek threw his head back with a loud laugh, trying to shake the stubborn hope in his chest. "Hah, doubt that! It was just a coincidence."

Gnadi remained quiet, watching Jek with an expression the orc found grating. A mix of knowing and amusement and skepticism. The faun hummed noncommittally and shrugged their shoulders, before easing into their own chair behind the counter.

Once more, Jek rolled his eyes as he too settled into his chair. Oh, to be young and full of romantic daydreams. Jek had learned long ago to not linger on such fancies. It often led to disappointment and dashed hop-

With a jangle of bells, Strictly Pleasure's front door opened. Jek straightened on his chair, a warm sensation flashing up his back. Immediate pictures of a particular woman danced in his head. Eagerness swelled a little in his chest before the group of regulars registered in his head.

When it dawned on him what he was doing, Jek cursed to himself and eased his straight spine into a slouch. Without looking at Gnadi, simply feeling the radiating smirk from the faun, Jek grumbled, "Shut up."

"Wasn't going to say a word," cooed the faun, amusement coloring their voice as they stood straighter and greeted their patrons.

While Gnadi handled the customer service, Jek tried to focus his attention on ordering new product for the shelves. Anything to keep him from jolting every time the door opened. He just hoped that this time it wouldn't take weeks for Heidi's presence to dissipate from his thoughts.

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