Page 10 of Claiming a Demon

He was quiet for a moment, contemplative, before he offered, “Did you want to come play with us?”

Before I could answer him, Juan dropped off our burritos. He grabbed a chair, spinning it around and straddling it as he joined us. “If you’re offering to play poker with Zach, then there has to be a rule not to look at his face. It’s cruel when it’s so easy to read him,” he commented with a lazy smirk.

Narrowing my eyes, I stuck my tongue out at him. “Shut up. I’m not that bad. I’m not Derrick bad, at least.”

He snorted. “True. My best friend is many things, but a poker master isn’t one of them.” He turned to Mal, offering him his hand to shake. “I’m Juan. I’ve been friends with that little ball of energy since high school.”

“Malakai.”

They shook hands, but Mal looked uncomfortable. At least, that’s what I was picking up in the subtle shift of his energy and the tension in his jaw. The man would seriously be a poker master with that face.

“So where’d you two meet?”

“Abby’s place. I helped him find a gift for a friend’s engagement party,” I replied. I got the feeling that Mal wouldn’t offer that information on his own. He seemed to draw in on himself once Juan showed up. I wasn’t sure if he was shy or maybe a little untrusting of humans, but I figured if I spoke for him, he’d relax after a while.

“Ah. Yeah, no one gives better gifts than Zach. He’s the only one of our friends who takes notes when we offhand mention something we like.”

I scrunched my nose with a scowl. “Shut up. You’re making me seem weird. I just care about what you guys want. Is that so bad?”

The tension left Mal’s face after a while, but he didn’t offer much to the conversation. He listened intently, taking slow bites of his burrito as Juan and I argued about the friend code on meeting significant others. He’d been seeing a woman for a few weeks now and still hadn’t introduced her to his friends.

Hoping to draw Mal into the conversation, I turned to face him. “What do you think? How long do you wait before introducing your new relationship to your friends?”

“I’ve never had to do that,” he replied easily. That made me frown.

“Wait, never?”

He shrugged. “I don’t date much.”

He said it so easily, like it wasn’t a big deal. But I got the feeling there was more to that story. Mal was adorable and sweet. He deserved to have someone taking care of him.

If I was a little more full of myself, I might’ve pointed out that Mal offered to introduce me to his friends to play poker. But we weren’t dating, and I didn’t even know if he liked guys like that. It was hard to pick up vibes from a guy who masked his expression even while eating. Who eats the best damn sushi burrito on the planet without giving any indication on if they liked it or not? I mean, he finished it, but he didn’t make any expression that said he enjoyed it.

I kept that to myself, since I didn’t want to make him uncomfortable. But secretly, I made a plan to figure Mal out. Whether or not he was into me, he deserved to be in a happy relationship. Like gift giving, I was good at matching personalities. I could find someone for him easily. I just had to put aside the fact that I wanted it to be me.

CHAPTER SEVEN

MALAKAI

After another grueling week at work and several visits home, by the time my next appointment with Zach came around, I was feeling the strain. I had a stress headache above one eye and no matter how many times I rolled my shoulders, I couldn’t get the tension out. My legs felt like dead weights from being on them for so long, as well. As someone who worked long hours in a kitchen, I was used to being uncomfortable like this, but it usually wasn’t so distracting. Knowing there was someone out there who could fix it left me more aware of it than usual.

Stepping into the spa, I held my breath, waiting for the reaction that always happened when humans were surprised with my presence. Intakes of breath, uneasy looks, maybe getting up and leaving. I’d experienced it all no matter what establishment I went to, unless it specifically catered to paranormals. And the staring was even worse. It was one reason I loved working in a kitchen. I didn’t have to interact with anyone aside from the staff, who were also paranormal.

There were only two people in the spa's lobby this time, and the woman behind the front desk recognized me from the week prior. She looked uncomfortable the first time she met me, but this time she was a little more at ease, smiling at me when I approached the desk.

“You’re here to see Zach, right?”

I bobbed my head in response. I’d been told a few times that my voice was a little rough and it scared humans if I was tired and the sound got too gravelly.

“I think he’s just setting up his room. You can take a seat out here to wait for him or go straight to the meditation room if you’re more comfortable.”

I wasn’t sure how comfortable I’d be going back to that room without him, so I sat down in a chair in the lobby, pulling out my phone to check in with my friends.

Mal: Do we need anything for tonight? I can pick it up on my way home.

Hen: We’re hosting, right?

Mal: Yeah.

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