Chapter 110: Chapter 98: Wild Guitar

The sounds emitting from the Junonia Inn were akin to the concerts back in my last world. Cheers, shouts, bottles clinking together, and the unmistakable twangs of a guitar.

“I know I haven’t asked, but is this inn named after someone?” I wondered aloud, staring at the hand-carved sign emblazoned above the door. “It’s pretty.”

“Really?” Keke playfully bumped her shoulder into mine. “That’s the name of our city.”

My jaw slacked, and I stared at her and Cannoli in turn.

“My Lord, were you truly naive to the geography of your own island?” Ceres asked, flanking my opposite shoulder.

“Wait, no. This– This never came up. I haven’t been here that long,” I floundered, searching for the right thing to say. Way to look like a jackass in front of the new girl. I jabbed pointedly at Keke. “You three had me in a boat for spices, remember?”

“Mhm,” Keke hummed, her eyes glittering with laughter. “I don’t remember you protesting.”

Cannoli bounced between her feet, her hands balled at her chin. She was clearly oblivious to the conversation. “Oooh, Iggy sounds so good! Let’s go inside! Please?” she begged.

I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. “Geography lessons later. Concert now?”

“Of course,” Keke teasingly poked my side and led the charge through the door.

When Cannoli had mentioned a performer in the city, I’d expected a lot of different things. A lute player in the quiet corner of a bar strumming ballads about love and loss. Maybe a girl who played pipe flutes or drums. Possibly a dancer. Even with Tristan’s musings of an electric guitar in Nyarlea, what awaited us inside was a different beast entirely.

It seemed like the whole of Ni Island—sorry, Junonia City—had gathered to see Iggy perform. All tables and chairs had been removed from the main hall, replaced instead by the twitching, dancing feet of at least a hundred catgirls crammed into one tavern. At the far back was a makeshift stage, and on it jammed the star of the show.

Iggy’s flailing, shoulder-length hair swung in a rainbow of strands around her cheeks and chin as she rocked her head back and forth in time with the music. Her ears were decked with various rings and studs, and when I did catch a glimpse of her face, a sparkle in her nose suggested a nose piercing.

Her outfit was still nautical-themed like the rest of the girls on her island, but ebony cloth with blood-red accents was a stark contrast to the lighter colors that Keke and Cannoli usually wore. Bracelets clanged and cluttered her fishnet gloves, echoing ripped fishnet stockings that ended in calf-high boots.  

In her hands, she gripped a guitar with a bizarre shape to the body but a similar neck to those where I’d come from. It was definitely influenced by someone from my world, that much was certain. But the slick, red, chaotically curved base was something of a Nyarlean variety.

“...And then you’ll wonder, what, I wonder?” Iggy sang, her voice harmonizing perfectly to the chords she played. “When we hear thunder, where do we hide; go under?”

Tristan had explained the right of it. Visible threads of electricity flowed from her fingers to the strings, illuminating her guitar and blasting the sound from wall to wall of the inn. Girls in the crowd jumped in time to the music, some with bright magic glowing on the edges of their fingertips—a lot like glowsticks.

“This is crazy!” I yelled.

“What?” Keke yelled back.

Yeah, should have expected as much. I laughed, then pushed my way through the crowd until I found the bar.

With drinks in hand and smiles all around—even Ara, if you’d believe it—we danced and swayed in time to the sharp rhythms beat from Iggy’s guitar. At least a handful of girls in the crowd knew her lyrics and sang along. Keke maneuvered her way in front of me, pressing her hips back into mine, and swung them in time to the music.

Jesus Christ, this is not helping.

But a wicked glance over her shoulder said she knew.

After we’d enjoyed more drinks than we should have and more music than I’d heard in a long time, Iggy announced her set was over and, if any were able, that she’d be taking donations herself center stage.

“I’m gonna give her some Bells,” I announced, then handed Keke my cup. “Can you hold that for me?”

“Sure,” Keke giggled. “Here, add this to the pool.” She passed her own mug to Cannoli and reached into her [Cat Pack], tugging a sack of Bells free and handing it to me.

“Wait! I want to give her some too!” Cannoli handed her empty cup to Ara.

The cycle continued until Tristan and Ceres were balancing an equal amount of wooden tankards in the crooks of their arms and palms of their hands, and I was in a similar situation with the bags of Bells.

“Great. We’ll collectively pay her rent for a year,” I laughed. “Thanks, guys.”

I hauled my dragon’s hoard of Bells to the front stage, carefully avoiding the other girls pitching in or passing by. When I finally reached it, Iggy was sitting next to her guitar case, holding a small basket in both hands and looking eagerly from face to face with shining eyes and a slight frown. To my surprise, the basket was pretty damn empty.

She was even cuter up close. Music-themed tattoos peppered her arms, and her bracelets clinked around her wrists when she moved.

“Hey. Great show,” I said, fumbling with the multiple bags of Bells to carefully aim them into her basket. “Got a few extra for you.”

Iggy’s amber eyes lit up at the sight of all of the bags, but she quickly shook her technicolor head and cleared her throat. “Oh, uh, thanks.”

I shoveled each bag into her basket and smiled. “I didn’t think rock music had made its way to Nyarlea. Where did you learn?”

Her gaze shifted to the left, then the right. “Well, my dad,” she replied gruffly.

Is she hiding her real voice? “He has good taste.”

“Right?” Iggy’s façade broke for a split second, her voice shooting up an octave and a smile breaking on her dark lips. She clapped a hand over her mouth and dodged my gaze, her pierced ears lowering over her hair. “W-what I meant is, yeah, he did have good taste. Before he died, that is.”

“Sorry to hear it.” Man, the future’s looking pretty damn bleak for me. I offloaded the last bag and stretched my arms. “Anyway, thanks for the concert. Really. I’m sure everyone here could use a break, and this was a good one.”

As I turned to leave, Iggy shot to her hands and knees and grabbed the sleeve of my jacket. “Wait! Y-you’re this island’s man, right?”

I paused, then slowly turned back to face her. “Yeah, that’s me.”

“What’s your name?”

“Matt.” I looked at the hand holding my jacket. “Nice to meet you.”

“Iggy.” Her pale features turned bright pink, and she released my sleeve. “Matt, could we, um,” her voice dropped, and she said something inaudible.

“What?” I had a feeling that I knew what she wanted, but Keke’s hips grinding against mine were still at the forefront of my mind. Not to mention Ravyn’s sighs still haunting me at the seams.

Iggy reset her jaw and locked my gaze. “Spend the night with me,” she said, suddenly in control of the situation. “That’s your job, right? As the island’s man?”

 I chuckled. “I guess it is, huh?” Glancing over my shoulder, I tried to spot my group in the crowd without success. “Yeah, we can do that. I’ll be right back, alright?”

“Oh! O-okay!” Iggy stammered, clutching the basket close to her chest.

Don’t look so surprised, Iggy.

I found my way back to my party and found a drink-flushed Tristan snickering to Ara. Ara clutched Ceres’ sleeve and silently pleaded for help.

Keke giggled and placed a hand on my chest. “So, back home?” she asked.

I rubbed the back of my neck and gritted my teeth. “Sorry, duty calls.”

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Keke’s ears fell, and her lower lip jutted forward in a pout. “Really?”

With a quick nod, I ruffled her hair. My heart could only take so much pulling for one night. “Really. I’ll find you in the morning, okay?”

“Fine,” she drew out the word as long as possible and rolled her eyes. “You owe me.”

“I do. And Cannoli. And probably Ceres. But here we are.”

Keke snickered and kissed my cheek. “Be safe, Matt.”

“Yeah. Will do.”

“My Lord, should you need me,” Ceres began, bowing deeply. She’d disposed of the empty mugs sometime between my conversation with Iggy and returning.

Does booze do nothing to you? “I’m sure I’ll be fine—” 

“You need only call,” she finished cryptically. “Please.”

Is she going to wait outside the window or something? “Of course. Thanks, Ceres.”

Before anyone else could utter thinly-veiled, stalkerish promises, I found my way back to Iggy. She’d packed up her guitar, and it seemed those who were willing to give her tips had already done so.

“Damn, pack a house and still don’t get paid what you’re worth, huh?” I asked. Feel like I should give her more Bells. 

Iggy shrugged. “Some nights are better than others. Yours will keep me eating for a while,” she laughed beneath her breath, then caught herself. “I-I mean, I’m fine. My music will carry me where I need to go.” She hopped off of the stage, then lowered her voice. “And serving tables will carry me the rest of the way.”

I chuckled. “Hey, I get it. I’ve been there.”

She led the way to the innkeeper, and my gaze slid from her hair to her hips. Holy shit, did she have nice hips. Her skirt flared over a voluptuous backside and well-framed thighs. The diamonds of the tights cast delicious shadows on her skin, and I felt my thoughts drift once more.

“Yeah?” Iggy glanced over her shoulder. “Glad I’m not alone.” 

It was my turn to blush. Though, my embarrassment was saved when the innkeeper rounded the bar. I promptly paid for a night in their rooms, and we made our way upstairs.

“Do you want me to carry something?” I asked.

Iggy laughed. “No. I’m good.”

“Do you not make enough to live on?” I asked, trying to break the distraction of Iggy’s legs.

She shrugged. “Just barely. I wish I could say I was doing this full-time, but I’m not. Have you been to Nautilus?”

I coughed. Is that on Ni? “...No.”

“Really?” Iggy laughed—a real, unmasked sound that bounced off the walls and rang in my ears. She shifted her guitar case in her hands and the basket beneath her arm. “It’s about half a day’s walk from here. You must be pretty new to Ni.”

“Yeah, I am,” I admitted.

“Well, I work the tavern in Nautilus. That’s where I really earn my keep right now.”

“And you’ll be okay with a kid?” The words escaped my mouth before I could think about it. This world wasn’t the same—not by a long shot. But I didn’t want Iggy to take on more than she could.

“Of course she will. Why wouldn’t she?” Iggy glanced over her shoulder. “There’s plenty of nyannies in Nautilus.”

Nyannies. That’s right. “Right. Sorry.”

We arrived at our room, and Iggy shoved the key into the door handle. Reshuffling her things in her arms, she stared at the number on the door and paused.

“Here, let me.” I opened the door and held it for her.

“T-thanks,” she murmured, hurrying into the room and setting her case down before placing the basket on the small writing desk opposite the bed. “Jeez, I know I shouldn’t be nervous. This is silly.”

Lucky for her, I was beyond nerves. After the fiasco with Ravyn and Keke’s constant teasing, I was way past the awkward phase of a first meeting. I closed the door and moved behind her at the desk. I slowly wrapped one arm around her waist and the other across her chest.

A small, surprised gasp escaped her lips, but her petite form warmed, and she leaned into me. I nibbled the edge of her ear, just above the piercings, and her fingers dug into my thighs.

“Wait. No one can know that I’m like this,” she said in a waterfall of words. “I-I have an image to maintain—”

“Whatever happens here stays here,” I reassured her. Did you just steal that line from Vegas, Kelmer?

“Promise?” she whimpered as I lapped the warm curve of her ear.

“Promise.”

I held her tighter and moved the hand nearest her chest to her throat. “If you don’t like something, just tell me to stop. Okay?” I murmured, tracing the angles of her ear with my tongue.

“Okay,” she breathed.

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When it was over, sweat glistened from every inch of our skin. I kissed Iggy’s spine, her shoulder, then nibbled her ear. She shivered. I drew away from her and guided her back to standing.

“So, when are you coming back to Junonia?” I asked, finding her satisfied gaze in the mirror.

“What, I can’t stay here with you?” Iggy teased. “I’m honestly not sure.”

“Then I’ll have to come to Nautilus,” I replied, stroking her hair away from her face. “I’m going to take care of this island, Iggy. I promise.”

“Good. Someone needs to.” She turned away from the mirror and buried her face into my shoulder. “For now, though, can we just be close to each other?”

I chuckled. “Of course. We’ve got all night, after all.”

“Thanks, Matt.”