The Luna Choosing Game by Jane Above Story

It had been three days since Boss made his proposition: either I sleep with him or I get fired.

I needed one more day’s pay to cover Elva’s most recent bill. Once I had that, I could resign and hopefully find something else.

Boss trailed his eyes down the length of my body. Staring openly at my breasts, he licked his lips. “Don’t think I won’t, Piper. I’ll be waiting for you.”

In the restaurant, all of the female patrons talked excitedly about the selection. To cater to them, Boss turned all of the televisions on the walls to the royal consort ceremony broadcast.

“Which one do you think is the most handsome?” asked one patron to her friends.

They’d ordered a plate of loaded nachos to share. I carefully placed it in the center of their table.

Another girl spoke quickly. “Are you kidding? The others are cute, sure, but Nicholas is obviously the hottest.”

The other girls quickly agreed.

Startled, I hovered at their table. They were right, of course. Nicholas was the most objectively attractive, but to hear people talk about him so casually still surprised me.

For three days, I’d tried to reconcile in my mind that the Nicholas I had known was also the eldest prince of the kingdom. But I still couldn’t quite manage it.

Nicholas had always been proper. But a prince?

“Piper, is it?” one of the girls at the table asked me. I jumped, realizing I was still standing there. Yet before I could apologize, she asked me, “Which one do you think is the most handsome?”

“Nicholas,” came my automatic answer. “Excuse me.”

Embarrassed at having been caught daydreaming, I forced myself to focus on work. And I succeeded – until I heard Nicholas’ voice come from the speakers.

“The kind of woman I’d prefer?” Nicholas said. “Someone loyal. Strong. Even tempered. And she has to like to children.”

“Check, check, and check,” came a voice from the table of girls. “He’s describing me! It’s meant to be.”

“Dream on. He’s clearly describing me.”

“You don’t even like kids!”

us make it

screen showed the interviewer. “Children, hm? Does that mean we can expect you to have a

back to Nicholas. He gave a small smile, but his eyes were guarded. “It’s my duty as a prince to continue the lineage. But, yes, I’d like to have a

girls squealed in delight. “He’d make

the camera, and for a moment, it seemed as if he was

My heart ached.

the side again, looking at the interviewer, and immediately, I felt

hadn’t thought of me at

my heart, hoping to

three years. I couldn’t still be hung up on him. Sure, I hadn’t dated anyone else since,

lonely. I had Elva, and I had Anna. I didn’t need romance to

retrieve it. When I returned to the dining room, Nicholas was still on the screen, but speaking on an

that the royal family is investigating with the utmost seriousness. This illegal trade of wolves

plate of

silenced at once,

“The weakening of any one wolf, weakens the whole pack. We cannot let that

waitresses hissed at

“I’m sorry.” I quickly set to cleaning it. As I did, I cursed myself so loudly in my thoughts, I couldn’t hear any

end of my shift, I was worn down and exhausted. After my accident, I pushed myself as hard as I could, focusing solely on

not once lift my eyes to the television again, not even when the table of girls bemoaned

on the list. Why even

dishes in the sink. After washing away a particularly stubborn clump of food from a plate, I noticed how quiet it was around

stove, or prep for tomorrow. Almost always, he was the last to leave

would clean the dining room. The lights in the

I was alone.

air brushed the back of my exposed neck.

I’d been cleaning, I immediately swung around, ready to knock Boss over the head with it. Anything to

too late. Boss

knocked the plate onto the

hips hard to

I was trapped.

of my shirt, revealing my lacey white bra.

within me, I struggled against him. He only held tighter, rougher, fingers biting

didn’t have

my cheek. I felt him smile against my jaw. “You have a child, after all. I know you aren’t a