Coye Vol 2 Ch 5

Darkwood General Store was an older building near the middle of town, part of a long stretch of other shops that made up a pronounced shopping center.

Like most of Cransmere, it was a building made of sturdy wood, but the store was a darker color than the ones on both its left and its right. It also looked but was better maintained than its neighbors, coming off as well taken care of.

There were plain bushes out in front of the shop below its windows, while ivy and bramble grew along the exterior of the building. Rather than contributing toward a dark and suffocating atmosphere, this bramble gave the store a rustic appearance that only added to its charm.

Most buildings in Cransmere had foliage overtaking them to some degree, but the Darkwood General Store was among the distinguished few who could make it look classy.

Rustic was an appropriate look for the place, too, considering it had been serving the community for over three hundred years by now.

At the moment, Coye was standing outside this historic store's door as his heart pumped madly.

His apprehension rose as he stared at the 'OPEN' sign hung on the door.

He knew what he came here to do.

If he lingered around the general vicinity of the store, Mrs. Lillis would usually end up taking notice of him and approach Coye of her own accord, yet she was nowhere to be seen right now.

Coye would have to enter the building and break the ice on his own, which proved a daunting prospect for the socially-challenged adventurer.

Despite his nervousness, Coye was still resolved to do what needed to be done. He wasn't sure how things would play out, but he wasn't going to pussyfoot around and idle, hoping things would be alright in the end.

Not any more.

Coye would take action by hitting on a beautiful woman of his own accord.

It wasn't even about the sex, although that was still a big part of it. More so, Coye was hoping this would take care of the problem and allow him to get back to doing what he did best- slaying monsters and not having to think too hard about things.

'Ready when you are, big guy.' Shayla assured him, knowing how bad his nerves were and doing her best to ease them as any good partner should.

"Okay," Coye nodded after a moment of silent determination. "L-Let's do this..."

He stepped forward, inching closer to the door with the intent of entering, only to make a sudden stop as he began reaching out with his hand. Coye looked over his shoulder as his intuition called out to him, warning him that he was most likely being watched.

'Hey, what's up? You having second thoughts or something?'

Coye scanned the nearby rooftops and alleyways but didn't see anything other than ordinary common folk making their way through the street, minding their own business. The feeling of being watched subsided, too.

Given that no one was close enough to find it odd, Coye addressed his partner with a direct response. "I thought I felt that I was being watched again, but... you're in my hat, so..."

'I didn't see anyone,' Shayla frowned and scanned the area herself, but just like Coye, she came up short.

"Probably not a big deal," He sighed. Unlike when Shayla was spying on him, Coye had a feeling he knew who it was this time around.

Shayla was eager to brush off the concern, saying, 'Alright then, baby, round two! Let's go!'

Nodding his head, Coye opened the door and stepped inside the Darkwood General Store, a bell attached to the entrance ringing as he did.

The store was quaint, looking like an ordinary item shop one might find in any other town across the Realm. There were shelves pushed against the walls, each stocked with all manner of goods.

There were adventuring supplies, ranging from packs of rations, durable canteens, and cheap swords to more mundane goods like wax candles, books, and groceries.

Several displays were set up in the center of the store to draw attention to new products, one of which was a colorful stand advertising some collectible trading card game invented by Dwarves.

Coye thought that the colorful creatures depicted on the packages were fascinating, but that wasn't what he was here for, and he figured he'd have no use for the cards in the first place.

Behind the counter was one last row of shelves stocked with yet more boxes and jars of various goods, as well as a door leading to both the storage room and the owner's house.

Just as he was about to work up the necessary courage to call out for the unseen proprietress, Mrs. Lillis pre-empted him.

"Welcome! Be with you in just a moment," A low, sultry-sounding voice echoed out from the storage room.

"Okay," Coye said, feeling a tingle down his spine as the familiar voice called out to him.

The sound of objects falling over echoed as Mrs. Lillis mumbled, "Shit," and then followed it up with a more gentle, "Oh, my. Coye, is that you? What a lovely surprise..."

'Someone sure is happy you're here,' Shayla nudged Coye's scalp with her elbow and smirked a toothy smirk. The Pixie was ready to be entertained.

After another minute of standing around and waiting, Mrs. Lillis emerged from the backrooms, touting a clipboard in one hand and a small box of those trading cards in the other.

Coye took a long, hard look at the older woman and was surprised at what he saw.

Mrs. Lillis wore a sleeveless blouse over top of a dark purple dress with beautiful frills. The dress and its low neckline did very little to cover her assets, which by all accounts was the point.

She also wore a black, equally frilly choker around her neck to accentuate her outfit and a red sash tied across her gratuitous hips like a belt. This sash was held in place by a silver buckle holding a violet gemstone, but this was far from the only jewelry Mrs. Lillis was showing off.

Dangling from her neck were two stylish necklaces that drew further attention to the area of her breasts. One was a string of shining pearls, while the other was made out of links of silver chained together.

And then there were the silver earrings that connected another set of violet gemstones to her ears. One was hidden by her hair, but the other was fully displayed and did its job to make its wearer more refined.

Lastly was the golden wedding band on her left ring finger, which was a simple thing in stark contrast to everything else the widow adorned herself with.

Mrs. Lillis looked as stunning as she always did, only now that he had a growing curiosity for the fairer sex, he noticed things he'd never given a second thought to before.

He loved the way the widow styled her dark magenta hair so that it fell over half of her face, covering up one of her droopy golden eyes in a way that made her look both captivating and mysterious in equal measure.

Also, on the widow's lips was subtle lipstick that gave a faint trace of color to her otherwise pale skin, and only now did Coye grasp full and puffy those lips of hers actually were.

And then there was her body.

She was taller than Coye by almost an entire foot, and her hourglass figure was unfathomable to the boy as he still struggled with his baser urges. While not fat, it was obvious Mrs. Lillis had a bit of meat where it mattered, and Coye discovered right now that he liked that sort of thing very much.

Could having sex really change the way someone looks at the world around them to such a degree? Coye felt as if he was staring at Mrs. Lillis for the first time and wondered if they had ever truly met until this very moment.

As their eyes made contact, Coye felt it in his heart and soul that he made the right choice of who to hit on.

Meanwhile, Shayla was equally stunned, albeit for a very different reason.

The Pixie believed this woman to be some sort of Saintess, given how long she was willing to allow this perverted boy to stand idly by and gawk at her.

Then again, if Mrs. Lillis really did like Coye, Shayla assumed this sort of reaction was what the widow had been waiting for and that she was willing to tolerate a little awkwardness at the beginning.

"Darling," Mrs. Lillis uttered, putting down the clipboard on her counter and then dropping off the small box near the display as she walked toward him, "Are you alright...? You look like you've seen a ghost."

All at once, Coye snapped out of his trance and was hit with another round of embarrassment.

First, he caught himself staring at Miss Whittle's breasts, and now this?

Coye hated how his eyes and thoughts kept straying, but on the other hand, he was happy to have been awoken to the unseen beauty of all the girls around him.

It was a trade-off, he supposed.

"S-Sorry, Mrs. Lillis, um..." Coye grasped at the first excuse he could come up with, flailing and fumbling along the way. "J-Just got back from the forest an hour ago, and I'm still feeling a little... out of it..."

"Oh, no..." The woman frowned, took a step forward, and brushed his cheek with her hand. "You poor thing, fighting so hard to keep all of us in the village safe. Where would we be without heroes like you? Nowhere, I tell you, nowhere..."

Coye's eyes widened, and he shivered at her generous touch. Her hand was so warm and so very, very soft.

'Holy hell, this is gonna be easier than I thought,' Shayla applauded the lady-balls on this woman for just up and making contact with the boy like it was nobody's business.

Then, she upped the ante.

"Let me see here," Mrs. Lillis leaned forward close enough to kiss Coye at a moment's notice.

Her massive breasts hung down as she bent over, barely held in place by whatever bra had the unenviable task of containing those busty behemoths of hers. If it weren't for her face being all up in Coye's, he'd have struggled not to glare at them.

Then, Mrs. Lillis closed her eyes and rested her forehead against Coye's, lingering for several seconds in silence until saying, "Mmm. Well, you're a little warm, but it doesn't seem like you have a fever at the very least... thank the Goddesses."

'Kiss her. Do it now. Kiss the damn milf!' Shayla pounded her tiny fists on Coye's head but was let down as the boy disengaged from the skin-to-skin contact.

The Pixie was rushing things but couldn't help it due to the hype she felt. Aside from the strenuous sex, this was the most excitement she'd had since leaving the forest, and she was eating it up.

Coye ignored Shayla's 'advice' and walked over to the trading cards. "N-Nope, I'm just fine... thank you, Mrs-"

"Coye," the woman extended her pointer finger to him and wagged it back and forth with disapproval. "How many times do I have to tell you? You don't need to be so formal with me. Suzette is fine."

'She sure as hell is,' Shayla zinged.

He was starting to wonder if his partner wasn't going to end up annoying him and making this more complicated than it otherwise needed to be.

"Sorry..." he sighed. "I-I'll try to remember."

"See that you do," Suzette smiled as a playful laugh overtook her, the cuteness almost overtaking Coye for a second time. "With that out of the way, what can I do for you, Darling? Are you here about the rations sale I told you about, or- ah-"

She noticed how Coye was looking at the boxes of trading cards and misread his intentions.

The businesswoman sensed an opportunity and struck her unsuspecting prey, asking, "Were you wanting to pick up some packs of RealMonster cards?"

Shayla didn't know what these cards were about, but they looked an awful lot like they were something for kids. Trying to improve Coye's chances, she suggested, 'Tell her no! Otherwise, her pussy is gonna dry up on the spot, and we're gonna have to go to the brothel.'

Coye cursed Shayla for planting the image of Suzette's pussy in his hand, and he gritted his teeth to center himself as he fought it off.

He was admittedly a little interested in these colorful cards, but while he took issue with the way Shayla said it, he agreed with her message and didn't want to come off as immature in front of this stunning beauty.

"N-No," Coye shook his head, lying. "I'm not interested in those, or anything like that..."

He should've known her better than that by now that Suzette couldn't have cared less if the boy wanted some cards. She was mature enough to understand that one's interests didn't speak toward one's maturity.

More than that, she could see right through his denial.

"Is that so? They're very popular with adventurers, so I assumed you might've been curious." Suzette gave a graceful smile as she approached the display and picked up two packs of RealMonster cards from a box labeled 'MONSTERS OF KARNALLE'.

"Never heard of it before... I, um, I don't talk to others in my Guild all that much, so..." He blushed and wished they would stop talking about trading cards.

Suzette's motherly instinct kicked into overdrive as she frowned at such a sad-sounding response. "That's no good," She shook her head, took Coye by the hand, and pressed the two packs into his palm. "Here, Darling. Maybe these will help you make some more friends, hm? You never know!"

Suzette gave Coye a teasing wink that almost killed him as all the blood in his body flooded his cheeks.

Shayla was blown away by Suzette's insight and maturity to the point where her insecurities were starting to get the better of her.

She started thinking that Suzette was almost too good to be true but held back because Shayla had nothing to back it up with other than her own jealousy of this woman's charms.

"Oh," Coye smiled and pocketed the small packages, happy at his gift. "Thank you, Mrs- um... S-Suzette..."

"Oh, don't thank me yet..." Suzette giggled, her words masking less than innocent intentions.

Suffice to say, Shayla was correct about Suzette.

Not about her being too good to be true, no, but about her being head over heels for this lovely little half-elf.

It was standard procedure dictated by the wholesaler that retailers should give people a free pack of cards if they showed interest.

Suzette didn't understand it herself, but some people- especially young, naive adventurers who were careless with their money- were borderline addicted to opening these things like they were a drug. Free samples were the most surefire way to create such an addiction.

All it takes is a single pack, which is why she gave him two.

After all, if Coye became addicted to RealMonster the same as all those other adventurers did, then he'd have no choice but to continually visit the only store in town that carried them.

Hers.

"Anyway," Suzette smiled, wearing a flawless mask of innocence. "Was there anything else you wanted to pick up while you were here?"

'Perfect opportunity, here, don't mess it up,' Shayla warned. 'Tell this chick that you came because you wanted to see her.'

Coye was astonished- for the first time since they stepped in the door, Shayla provided a piece of advice that wasn't absolute garbage.

If he did it right, Coye imagined that it would make him sound smooth, romantic, and maybe even a little suave.

Unfortunately, it came out as, "A-Actually, I... um... uh... er..." followed by a long pause.

Shayla groaned and slammed her forehead into her palm.

Suzette, however, was patient. She gave the boy a reassuring smile that told him without words that he didn't need to be nervous with her.

It comforted Coye, knowing she would wait as long as it took for him to say what was on his mind. This comfort gave him the courage to suck in a deep breath of air and just blurt it out.

"I came here to see you," he stated, sounding almost as suave as he wanted to.

'Nice,' Shayla was pleased with his delivery and made sure to raise his ego appropriately.

Suzette was frozen in place.

After another long pause, this time on her end, she tilted her head. "Come again? This old lady is getting up there in years, so I'm always worried about whether or not my hearing is starting to take leave of me..."

Having said it once before, Coye found it easier the second time around. This time, he even looked her in the eyes as he repeated, "I said that I came here to see you, if... if that's okay."

The old lady- who was really only thirty-four years old but enjoyed playing it up- nodded her head in a vapid manner as if she heard the words but didn't actually parse them.

As more time passed, Coye grew unsettled and followed up by trying to turn his statement into something more casual. "I-I just figured since you're always inviting me over, that maybe, um..."

Suzette walked over to the door, ignoring his words. Coye was scared that she was about to show him the door or something for a moment.

This fear subsided when the woman casually flipped over the 'Open' sign to 'Closed'. Then, she turned to face Coye with a subdued smile on her face.

"That sounds lovely, Darling. How would you feel about sharing some afternoon tea?"

"Sure," Coye smiled, nodding his head like a good little boy and melting Suzette's heart even further.

'Aaaaaaand you're in!' Shayla celebrated, pumping her fists into the air and accidentally hitting the roof of Coye's hat. This might've looked suspicious if Suzette's eyes weren't closed tight in a deep smile.

Although Coye had successfully jumped the first hurdle, he knew that he still had to stick the landing. Regardless, he felt a sensation of pride start welling up within. A week ago, he would've never done this, yet now here he was, excited and scared in equal measure to see where things went next.