Chapter 41: The System Just Ordered Me to Do WHAT?!
The bar smelled like wood polish, old beer, and the specific kind of fried food that probably tasted better than it should. Dim lighting. Booths along the walls. A long bar running across the back with bottles stacked two rows deep.
Not bad.
Adrian had been in places like this maybe twice in his life, both times briefly, never long enough to settle in. Somehow, standing here now felt different. Maybe it was the fact that nobody cared who he was.
Jenna was already heading toward a booth.
He followed.
He was still halfway turned, taking in the room, when he walked into something solid.
The impact barely registered on Adrian’s end, more like he’d bumped into a piece of furniture. The other guy, however, stumbled backward two full steps before his feet tangled beneath him and he went down.
Adrian stopped.
Shit. I thought I bumped into a chair.
He reached down immediately. The man stared at his hand for a beat, then scoffed and took it.
Adrian pulled him back to his feet with barely any resistance.
Which was strange, because the guy looked like he should have been the one knocking Adrian over. Thick arms. Heavy chest. And tall enough to make Adrian tilt his head slightly to look up at him.
Okay. It’s the Incredible Hulk.
Adrian filed that away and kept his expression neutral.
"Jason!" one of the waitresses called, concern in her voice.
Jason brushed off whatever they were saying and looked at Adrian instead.
A long, flat, intimidating stare.
"Uh... hey," Adrian said. "Sorry."
Jenna appeared at his elbow. "I think we should go."
Adrian nodded. They started moving, but a hand pressed against his chest.
He looked down at it, then back up at Jason.
The hand pressed harder.
Adrian felt the pressure, but his body didn’t move an inch.
Jason’s eyes flicked from his hand to Adrian’s face. For half a second, surprise crossed his expression.
Then he cleared his throat.
"ID."
"Do we look underage?" Jenna shot back.
Jason didn’t even blink.
"ID."
Jenna sighed beside him and reached into her bag.
A woman’s voice came from somewhere behind Jason, easy and amused.
"Let them in, Jason. I know her." A pause. "She’s old enough... and don’t break up the couple, you damn knucklehead."
Jason held Adrian’s gaze for another beat. Then his posture shifted, and a slow grin spread across his face.
"My bad," he said. "Welcome to the shank."
He gave Adrian a solid tap on the shoulder, the kind meant to land.
"Hopefully, I’ll be seeing you around, tough guy."
Adrian’s shoulder didn’t move. Jason glanced at his own hand, then at Adrian.
That should’ve hurt.
It hadn’t.
Jason smiled and walked away.
Jenna rolled her eyes. "Sorry. He’s like that."
"Don’t worry about it. It’s fine."
The booth was toward the back, slightly removed from the loudest part of the bar. Jenna slid in across from him.
Adrian’s attention drifted toward the entrance again. Jason had returned to his post and wasn’t looking their way.
That was soothing.
A guy built like that couldn’t move me.
He sat with the thought for a moment.
The gym. The boxes. My recovery.
His eyes drifted toward Jason again.
And now this.
Enhanced Physique was starting to look less like a description and more like an explanation.
He didn’t know enough to confirm it yet.
"...you’re okay or..."
He blinked. "Sorry. What?"
Jenna gave him a look.
"I asked if you’re okay."
"Yeah. I’m good. Everything’s peachy."
She didn’t look convinced.
"You called me at eight at night and suddenly wanted to go out." She rested both elbows on the table. "Which part of that statement sounds peachy?"
Adrian looked at the table.
"Um. Would you believe me if I said I just really needed to go out?"
"With me?"
"You’re my best friend." Adrian looked at her. "Is that so unbelievable?"
Jenna studied him.
"Listen." She leaned back, crossing her arms. "I haven’t exactly been the best friend lately."
"Which part do you mean? The part where you were a douche or the part where you disappeared?"
"Um." He’d walked right into that one. "Both?"
"After Maya, you just..." Her thumb traced the edge of her jacket. "Cut everyone off. We figured you needed space. But then today happened, and you did it again. I don’t actually know how to help you when I don’t know what’s going on."
Also accurate. He wasn’t going to deny it.
"She’s in the past."
Jenna looked at him steadily. "Yet you still can’t say her name."
"I don’t have to." He reached for his glass. "She showed me what I’m meant to be."
Jenna’s expression softened.
"And what are you meant to be?"
Adrian opened his mouth. Nothing came out.
Her mouth curved slightly.
"The guy who got a new girlfriend so fast?"
"Rose?" He looked up. "She’s not my girlfriend."
"She’s not?"
He opened his mouth to explain.
Then remembered the arrangement. The wager. Last night. Rose in the red shorts on the couch.
His brain supplied a few more details. He declined them.
Not helpful.
"Yeah," he said. "She’s not."
Jenna’s smile lingered before she looked back down at her phone.
"Okay."
"You don’t have to explain everything," she said. "Just don’t disappear."
He looked at her.
"If you need space, take it. If you need someone to sit there while you say nothing, we can do that too." She shrugged, setting her phone face-down. "Drew and I aren’t going anywhere."
He wasn’t sure what to say to that. She was making it sound simple.
Maybe it was.
"Okay."
She smiled. "Good." She reached for her menu. "Now.... Go order. Fries and shots."
"Shots?"
"We’re celebrating."
"Celebrating what?"
"You finally escaped that Disney witch."
He almost defended Maya on reflex. Then he remembered he didn’t actually want to. He smiled and headed for the bar.
The bartender glanced up when he found a spot.
"What are you drinking?"
Adrian looked at the bottles behind her. "Something light. I’m new at this."
She raised an eyebrow. "New to drinking?"
"No. New to ordering without having an excuse to."
She laughed, louder and fuller than he’d expected. He decided that was probably a dangerous observation to share aloud.
"You want light, or do you actually want to feel it?"
"Light. And shots for the table."
She nodded and got to work. A moment later.
"Hey. I know you."
He turned.
Blonde. Easy smile. The kind of person who’d already decided nothing around her was worth taking too seriously.
It took him a second. Then the clothing store came back; the jacket rack, the brief eye contact while he’d been standing in the aisle like he’d forgotten how aisles worked.
"You’re..."
"The man in black." She said, warmth in her voice rather than mockery. "That’s what she called you."
Adrian glanced down at his shirt and gestured at it.
"No black tonight. That’s progress, right?"
She laughed and settled onto the stool beside him.
"Didn’t take you as the type who spends much time in bars."
"I’m not. Off tonight. Figured I’d come down."
"What about you?" Her eyes moved over him briefly. "What made the man in black decide he needed a drink?"
His lips curved. "Let’s just say tonight was a crazy night."
"Well." She smiled. "Crazy is kinda an understatement."
"What do you mean?"
"I saw Jason get knocked on his ass," Dina said, a grin tugging at her mouth. She nodded toward the entrance. "That isn’t something you see every day."
Adrian followed her gaze. Jason had resettled near the door, arms folded, doing his best impression of someone that didn’t care.
"The most interesting part of my night was watching you walk away from that completely unbothered."
"Really?" He said. "It’s normal for me. I walk away from confrontation all the time."
Where did that lie even come from?
"Oh." She glanced at Jason again. "So you’re a bad boy, huh?"
He wasn’t. He was literally losing his sober virginity tonight. "What do you think?"
"Mm." She took the last sip of her drink, her eyes lingering on him. The bartender slid his drinks across the counter as Dina extended a hand.
"I’m Dina."
He shook it. "Adrian."
His phone buzzed. He looked at Dina. Then reached for it anyway.
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[BONUS QUEST GENERATED]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
A billionaire’s harem belongs at his side, close enough for his hands to rest on their buttocks.
Objective: Make physical contact with the New Investment Target.
Select contact point: [Breasts] / [Ass]
Target: Dina Hathaway
Time Limit: 10 Minutes ⏳
Reward: Target Registration Opportunity + $100,000
Failure: Quest forfeited. ❌
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Adrian stared at the screen. Once. Twice.
No. He read it again. Absolutely not.
Dina was still looking at him. Jenna was somewhere in the booth behind him. Jason was posted up by the entrance.
Adrian slowly lowered the phone.
Why couldn’t I just have a normal system?