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!”

“Children, hm? Does that mean we can expect you

back to Nicholas. He gave a small smile, but his eyes were guarded. “It’s my duty

in delight. “He’d make such a good

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

My heart ached.

interviewer, and immediately, I felt foolish.

of me at all since the

pressed my hand over my heart, hoping to

in three years. I couldn’t still be hung up on him. Sure, I hadn’t dated anyone else since, but that didn’t mean anything. I’d been too busy to

had Anna. I

dinged in the kitchen, signaling a meal was ready. I went back to retrieve it. When I returned to the dining room, Nicholas was still on the screen, but speaking on an

the utmost seriousness. This illegal trade of

plate of food in my

at once, all

wolf, weakens the whole pack. We cannot let that go

waitresses hissed

I did, I cursed myself so loudly in my

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

not even when the table of girls bemoaned their

hadn’t applied. I wouldn’t be on

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

clean the stove, or prep for tomorrow. Almost always, he

would clean the dining room. The lights in the dining room

I was alone.

my exposed neck. The

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

I was a moment too late. Boss

plate onto the floor, where

arm circling around my waist, he pressed his hips hard to mine,

I was trapped.

of my shirt, revealing my lacey white bra. He pressed his palm against

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

have the