Sweet Dreams Are Made of Teeth by Richard Roberts

Author:Richard Roberts [Roberts, Richard]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: dark fantasy
Publisher: Crossroad Press
Published: 2020-06-16T00:00:00+00:00

I went back to Bar Number Three. I didn’t know what else to do. I was starting to get the feeling that whatever I tried, something different was going to happen.

I wasn’t disappointed. I could see the dingy door to the bar down the street ahead of me when I heard wings flapping heavily above me, and with a fall of feathers and some drops of blood I thought were theatrical Lily fluttered down for a landing beside me.

“I smell wounded innocence from all the way across town, and it turns out to be you, Fang,” she greeted me playfully, “Why am I not surprised?”

I wasn’t in the mood. On the other hand….

“Lily, I—” I started, “You—” I didn’t know how to say it.

To my relief, almost all of the teasing smirk disappeared, and she stared at me, then crouched down and laid a hand on my shoulder. Red eyes looked curiously into mine, the same red as her lips and her hair and her fingernails. Lily had a theme too, and it made me feel more comfortable with what I was trying to say.

“You want advice about girls, don’t you, puppy?” she asked, sounding mildly surprised.

At this point I was starting to feel like everyone I knew was smarter than me. Again. “Well, you’re—” I started, but she cut me off.

“—the only girl you know that you’re not in love with?”

I nearly fell on my back, I scrambled backwards so fast. My hind legs fell out from under me, and I was sitting on my tail and still trying to backpedal. My mind stopped. When it started again, it was only to feel guilty as I blurted out, “I’m only in love with one girl!”

I only knew how afraid I’d been she was going to tease me about this when I felt the relief that she didn’t. Instead she stood up, closing the gap between us, and slid her hand between my ears. “All right, puppy,” she urged me, “You haven’t got the slightest idea why asking me was such a bad idea, so maybe for you it won’t be. Come on. There’s something I’d like to show you that will help.”

A little tug with her fingertips on my collar, and then her hand slipped away as she started walking. I got up again and fell in beside her. “I just thought you’d know a lot more about this kind of thing than I would,” I explained helplessly.

“That’s why it was dangerous to ask,” she answered. Her tone sounded whimsical, but I knew she was teasing herself, not me. “You wear your heart on your sleeve, so I’m betting I know most of this. Can you give me a little hint about what’s going on?”

“If I knew, maybe I could figure it out myself,” I told her. I could hear bitterness in my own voice. “I have a girlfriend, and nothing’s changed about how I feel for her. It’s just that I think Self-Loathing is jealous and wants me to love her.

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