Page 17 of How Not to Date an Angel

Julian pretended to consider it. “You might be right. I could just magic some human into giving me their car keys. Maybe house keys, too. Oh, now, that’s a good idea, Feathers. Best one yet,” he declared. “I think I’d like to try out a mansion.” That would be one way to enjoy his time on Earth while he could.

Panic was slowly filling Rami’s expression, and Julian spun on his heel as if he intended to hunt down the first human he found and magic all their possessions into Julian’s hands.

“Wait!” Rami called out, frustrated. “Don’t mess with the humans. You can stay here. Just—don’t expose yourself to them. They don’t know angels and demons exist.”

“I may have been stuck in Hell all this time, but I at least know that, Feathers.”

Rami’s expression went perfectly blank, smoothing out once again. “Whatever. Enjoy your day.”

Whatever.

“I’ll be sure to make it home for dinner, don’t worry,” he informed the angel as Julian snapped his fingers and changed his outfit to one that wouldn’t draw attention.

“Wasn’t worried,” they retorted without lifting their eyes from the page.

“Sure you weren’t,” Julian said, sarcasm dripping, and then let himself out the very door he’d appeared on the step of the night before.

He’d planted the seed; now he just had to wait.

Outside, the world was even prettier than he remembered.

The night before, he hadn’t been able to see very much, on account of it being dark and all.

Everything was different in the daylight.

Once he’d stepped out onto the sidewalk and made his way over a tiny bridge, the city opened up before him.

Cars honked, and people shouted at one another over trivial things. Humans and monsters alike were buried in their devices as they hurried from one destination to the other. They were taking it all forgranted! They needed to pick their damned heads up and appreciate what they had around them.

The sun still shone, but it wasn’t cast artfully over a leather armchair; it was blinding. He passed a human and magicked the sunglasses off the man’s face and onto his own.

It was nice to be here, even if it was a bit too warm, and he regretted the extra layers he’d added. That’s what he got for trusting an angel who loved sweaters regardless of the weather.

He magicked a tee shirt beneath his pullover and stripped his top layer off. He considered just dumping it in the next trash bin he saw, but instead, he missed by about two feet or so, and the human sitting nearby grabbed the sleeve and pulled it closer to claim it as his own.

The man needed it more than Julian did, so he kept walking. One little act of selflessness wasn’t going to get him into trouble.

At least, he hoped not.

He studied the humans he passed and nosily peered in the shop windows. At clothes and food and a hardware store. He even passed a sex shop and gawked at the window for a moment before committing the location to memory and moving on.

Humans and other monsters—Julian knew there was a different word they preferred, but he couldn’t think of it just then—didn’t know how good they had it here, on Earth. Free to do as they please, go where they want. He passed a tree, leaves stained orange with the passing of summer. It was just as lovely as it looked on television, and Julian plucked a leaf down, spinning it between his fingers.

Humans got to enjoy their simple little pleasures as much as they wanted.

Like a cup of coffee,he thought bitterly.

As a messenger, Julian didn’t get to dothis. To take his time and experience the Earth and all it had to offer. Julian held onto the leaf as he walked.

As he passed an alleyway a few moments later, a flash of light caught his attention. It was so bright in the day that most humans probably wouldn’t have noticed it. But the hue of it was one Julian had seen countless times, as he’d delivered summons and news to whoever needed it.

He glanced to the left and saw a messenger awaiting him.

With a sigh, Julian turned into the alley and met the demon at the end.

“I have a notice for you,” the demon said.

“Great, what is it?” he asked.

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