The Luna Choosing Game

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!”

“Yeah, well, we’ll see which of us make it through the preliminary selection. Then you’ll see!”

mean we can expect you to have a big family,

guarded. “It’s my duty as a prince

in delight. “He’d

camera, and for a moment, it seemed as if he was staring straight through it. I froze

My heart ached.

to the side again, looking at the interviewer, and immediately,

me at all since the

pressed my hand over my heart, hoping to soothe

each other in three years. I couldn’t still be hung up on

I had Elva, and I had Anna. I didn’t

I returned to the dining room, Nicholas was still on the screen,

utmost seriousness. This illegal trade

of food

at once,

any one wolf, weakens the whole pack. We cannot let that

of the other waitresses hissed

I did, I cursed myself so loudly in my thoughts, I couldn’t

I pushed myself as hard as

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

I wouldn’t be on the list.

dishes in the sink. After washing away a particularly stubborn clump of food

tomorrow. Almost always, he was the last to leave at night. But he

said they would clean the dining room. The

I was alone.

of hot air brushed the back of my exposed neck.

immediately swung around, ready to knock Boss over the

was a moment too late.

the floor,

pressed his hips hard to mine, wedging me against the lip of the

I was trapped.

revealing my lacey white bra. He pressed his palm

Panic swelling within me, I struggled against him. He

have