Page 69 of By the Fae

“Prah?!”

His face remained impassive as he spoke. “If you like, I thought I would take you to The Wild Phoenix.”

I laughed. Or coughed. Or did both simultaneously. The Wild Phoenix?! The most exclusive restaurant in Remy? I heard they had an eighteen-month wait list for bookings.

“You can get a reservation there?”

“I can pull a few strings,” he said.

Distantly Goldie called out, “His mummy owns the restaurant.”

Seth shot daggers towards Goldie’s approximate whereabouts.

“I thought you were going to ask me to help with your game,” I said.

Hello Holly, have you lost your mind? Seth Calder, the Seth Calder, is asking you on a date — a date! — why are you questioning him?

He flicked his hand as though to rid us of a bothersome fly. “We can, of course, discuss the game on our date. So, you and me, tomorrow night?”

“Oh,” I said, feeling a weight drop in my stomach. “I have plans tomorrow night. My sister’s band is playing a gig, and I’ve said I’d go.”

“Sunday?”

I thought of Mal’s Motley Meals. Of Joey, and Taurin, and Dima, the weird but curious vampire. I’d only have two, three Sundays left with them before the end of the deal.

“Can we make it next Saturday?” I said, realising I was giving over a date with my dream boyfriend to hang out with friends.

Something flashed across those startling green eyes, but then he fixed his expression back into its half-smile. “Of course. I’ll meet you at the restaurant at eight next Saturday.” Seth found my hand, lifted it to his lips, and brushed them across my knuckles.

But . . .

No tiny fissures of electricity. No butterfly-rave. My heart was still beating at a mile a minute, but that zapping sensation that nearly took my arm off in the meeting when Goldie curled his fingers around mine was notably absent.

“See you then,” I said, swallowing the uneasiness.

No, not uneasiness. Nerves. And excitement.

It had to be.

It seemed fitting that a band called the Bus Stop Willies would play a gig at a bar named Tallywhacker’s. The Remy University student union bar, in fact. When Joey and Taurin found out where it was, they’d asked if they could come too. The vampire would stay at home, which was fine by me. I liked him, sure, but I always felt so on edge around him. Strangely exposed. The same feeling you got when you knew someone was watching you. Only every time I turned to check, he was otherwise engaged.

Abby was so excited her big sister was finally coming to one of her gigs. She saved us all a booth near the front of the stage.

“I’ll have management put your names on the guest list,” she’d said, with an air ofcheck me out.

Instead of meeting at Goldie’s like I usually did on a Saturday, I got ready with Abby and drove her and her equipment to the bar. We stopped before heading inside to pose for selfies beside the bar’s What’s On bulletin board. An A1 poster showed a photograph of an old lady sitting at a bus stop somewhere in the Human Realms. To the right of her head, on scratched and dirty plexiglass, lay a spray painted, rather meaty-looking, ejaculating penis. Complete with balls and six thick, curly pubes.

“Travis, the drummer, took that picture just outside of Pannor. Great, isn’t it?” Abby said, making a peace sign at my phone as I snapped the photo.

“My sister is such a weirdo. I love her.”

Inside, the bar had a dark, medieval feel. There were weapons hanging up on the walls. Though, a closer, poking inspection revealed them to be made of moulded, ‘aged’ plastic. Stained glass barriers stood between the booths, and the bar staff wore corsets above their half-aprons, giving them all infinitely better cleavage than me.

The band wouldn’t let me help with the setup, so I got a lemonade with a stripy paper straw and took up position in the booth. I watched everyone lug heavy amps and other enormous black boxes onto the stage. All the while, the lead singer, Galmin, identifiable because he stood a whole foot taller than the other members, had pointed ears, and had absconded from wearing a shirt, chatted on his phone and fixed his hair.

The bar began filling up, and several times I had to tell eager patrons the rest of my booth was occupied. That I was simply waiting for my friends to turn up.

My friends.

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