Page 45 of I Accidentally Summoned a Demon Boyfriend

“You missed me?” I repeated his words to him. “Did I hear that correctly?”

“Is that so hard to believe?” he asked. “Or are you used to the human men who don’t tell you such things?”

“I’m ignoring that comment for now, because I’m still stuck on the part where you miss me.”

“For you, it’s been a few months. For me, it’s just a few weeks. I checked on you the first few days, like I said I would. Then, I waited for you to call out to me, for you to need me. Days went by, and nothing. I couldn’t take it anymore. So I came back, and when I get here, I find you on a date with a guy who looks like an armpit.” He grunted. “I get it. For you, it’s been long enough to move on, but for me, it’s a punch to the gut to see you here with someone else.”

“An armpit?” I thought about who he could have meant. “Jericho?”

“Yes.” He grunted. “How could you even consider being with someone like that?”

“Wait. Were you jealous?” I snorted, not because I thought it was funny, but because sometimes, when my nerves got the best of me, my brain’s solution for release was laughter. I immediately regretted it when his brow furrowed.

“Jealous? No. Embarrassed is more like it.”

“You were embarrassed? Why?”

“For you. Why would you even be seen in public with him?”

“I can’t believe this. You have the nerve to do what you did and then lecture me about the men I chose to spend my time with.” I paused. “Wait. What was wrong with the doctor?”

“Could you not smell his breath? It damn near knocked me over.” He waved his hand in front of his nose. “Almost passed out when I talked to him.”

“What did you say to them?” I ignored the childish comment. The doctor’s breath was fine; Metice was being an asshole.

“Honestly, it didn’t take much. A light threat, and they were gone.” He shrugged. “See, you should choose better. A better man would have at least told you what happened. A good man wouldn’t have allowed empty threats to stop him from being with you.”

“This is unbelievable.” There I was, standing in my home, listening to a demon I once thought I made up tell me about how I had to choose better men, as if women didn’t hear that shit enough. “What do you want me to do?”

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“You just admitted to sabotaging me. Is this something you plan to keep doing?”

“If you keep dating losers, yes.” He stood in the hall, jacket open, staring at me like he hadn’t just confessed to being a stalker.

“And the alternative is what? Stay single forever? Date a demon from another world?” I threw my hands up. “Give me a break.”

“How is it that someone who is so impressive, someone with so much life under your belt, deals with such ridiculous men?” His brow furrowed as he tried to understand the logic behind my situation. “Why do you put yourself through that?”

“What else would you have me do, Metice?” I asked. “Look, I’m sure it’s easy for you to sit there looking how you do. You’re obviously a desired demon from your world. You’re probably used to having the best of the best throw themselves at you, but it’s different here. It’s different for me. The dating landscape is not what it used to be.”

I threw my hands up, already frustrated with the topic, but continued.

“Throw on top of that toxic recipe that I’m a black woman in the world that tells me every damn day that no matter how impressive I am, I’m unwanted. If I step outside of my race, I’m a traitor to my people. But then I’m finding more and more often that the black men, the men who should want me, who should uplift me, don’t. Not the way I am. They’re stuck on having women be submissive, but they give us nothing to submit to.

“They taught us to be successful, to strive for greatness and build something for ourselves. I did what they said, checked all the boxes. Successful in my field, check. Money and a beautiful home, check. Hobbies and talents, check. You see that as a great thing, but guess what? To a lot of men, it’s all a red flag. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not just black men. We get it from every side.

“So many of them feel threatened by a woman who has her own. You know, I was on a date with the guy who told me I should pay since I was so successful. Then he went on and on about how he didn’t even understand why I was dating. I had everything; I didn’t need a man.

“It’s crazy to think that achieving my dreams and being good at what I do is held against me. And now, every time I log onto a social media app, all I see are people saying if you haven’t had a relationship or snagged a man by now, you might as well give up, because the current and future generations are all but lost for.”

“And after all that, you still try the date. Why?” he asked, genuine concern coloring his face.

“Metice, I don’t want to believe it. There has to be something out there, right? Someone who wants what I want. Like, all of this wasn’t for nothing. I know there are men out there who still want love and appreciate a good woman. I know there are men who aren’t threatened by their partner’s success. It’s just harder to find them. Just gotta dig through the muck of men fighting to hold on to a relationship type that no longer has a place in our world.”

“I guess that makes sense if you didn’t date, you wouldn’t be sitting here talking to me now.” He shook his head. “I don’t want you dating these men. You shouldn’t be putting yourself at risk for such morons.”

“Wait, is that what you want?” I dropped my hands to my side. “Do you want to date me?”

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