[Reader's Club+] Preview - A Wish Made Thrice, Ch.2 (Patreon)

  Ellena still had a hard time believing she was here on vacation. The casino-hotel she was staying in--hell, Atlantic City as a whole--was nothing like Laguna Beach. This was a city here to make money, not celebrate the beauty of nature. She had thought it might have just been the culture at work, but they really did live differently on this coast.

  Ugh, work. She was not looking forward to Monday after the heated meeting yesterday. She had already been at loggerheads with her otherwise all male team, but when they turned to being lewd about one of the new interns, she took a stand and called them out. It turned out that they said the same things about her behind her back. That moment was not the first time she wished she had been born a guy, and it probably would not be the last.

  Like, she was a certifiable prodigy when it came to networks and taking them apart. She had already completed a dozen white hat bounties before graduating high school, and had only gotten better through her undergrad and graduate work. Back at Berkley, she was a respected member of the Comp Sci faculty. Here, she was just another “hot asian babe looking to sleep her way to a cushy VP position.” Gag me with a spoon, right?

  Which is why Ellena was stewing over her fourth Limearita and trying to decide if she should ask Abby, the butch-as-hell bartender what she was up to later. The two of them had exchanged some conversation in the hour or so she had been killing time, and Abby was putting off interested vibes, but Ellena was still unsure. After the mix up with Meribeth, she was a bit gun shy about outing herself as bisexual. 

  To find the courage, Ellena put the glass to her lips and took several long gulps. As she downed the last of the mixed drink, she watched Abby moving around on the other end of the bar. She had on crimson lipstick which matched her bow tie and cufflinks. Her button down was the same semi-metallic grey as her intense eyes. The velvet vest and well-tailored slacks made her look even more entrancing. so much so that Ellena kept staring long after she should have looked away. When Abby turned, their eyes met and the other woman winked at her. Ellena felt her face heat up and she averted her gaze at once.

  That was when someone who was probably part of the entertainment sat down beside her. Why were they an entertainer? Well, they had blue skin for one. Then there was the unnatural fuschia color of their eyes that had to be contacts. Beyond that though, they were kind of hot in that flawless, twice-filtered Instagram model kind of way. Their dark hair was a perfect tumble of curls, and their cute attire fit in ways that should not have been possible. Even so, Ellena was unable to tell if they were a man or woman and their voice did nothing to clear up the question.

  “What’ll ya have?” 

  “A Glenlivet on the rocks,” the stranger said. “Actually, make that a double.”

  Abby’s eyes flicked over to Ellena. The corner of her crimson lips quirked up into a grin and Ellena’s stomach rolled over. “Another ‘rita?”

  “Might as well…”

  “Okay, be right back.”

  “She’s totally into you,” the stranger whispered behind their hand. “Smart money says her number is on the napkin she brings back.”

  “What makes you say that?” Ellena asked.

  “Call it a hunch,” they said before offering their hand. “Shim, nice to meet you…?”

  “Ellena,” she said taking their hand. Their skin was warm to the touch, like a mug with fresh coffee and there was no paint on Ellena’s palm after the fact. How ever they had turned their skin blue was not going to come off easy.

  “So, Ellena,” Shim began, “tell me something. What is it you wish for above all else?”

  “Why should I tell you?”

  “Let’s say I can make it happen.”

  “Hm.” She thought about wishing to be a guy, but put that aside as Abby caught her eyes once more. What if instead of changing everything about herself, she could just excel as a woman? "I would want to exceed all expectations. At work, with my parents, all of it.”

  Shim whistled. “Okay, that’s a tall order, but I’ll see what I can do.”