Page 61 of Beauty's Monstrous Demons

“I am ashamed to say that I’ve never tried Creole food, despite living in Louisiana now,” she says as we walk. “I unfortunately ate a lot of fast food on the drive through.”

“All you’re telling me is that your virgin tastebuds will thank you for that,” I tease her, opening the door to the establishment.

It has easy, relaxed vibes, and the live band starts playing jazz music in an hour. In a way, I do want to hide her away, but not in the way that she thinks. I want her to be all mine for a few hours.

The hostess is the owner of the restaurant, and Mari is one of the best people I’ve ever met.

“Hello, Alecto,” she says with a wide smile. “Bringing a girl tonight?”

Instead of teasing me about if I bring a man around, Lorelei grins at Mari instead. I haven’t even thought about dating anyone since Dahlia. Eight hundred years is a long time.

While I haven’t remained celibate, none of those experiences have ever meant anything to me.

“I am,” I say to Mari. “This is Lorelei.”

“Pleased to meet you, Lorelei, especially if you’re putting such a wide smile on his face. Alecto is a touch grumpy.”

Lorelei grins, peeking up at me as I chuckle. Mari is always teasing me to smile more.

“Right this way, please,” she says, walking us out to the back patio. It’s right on the bayou, and the back doors and windows are opened so we’ll be able to hear the music.

It’s also surrounded by heaters to protect against the chill in the air tonight.

Lorelei looks around as we sit with wonder on her face. The place isn’t fancy, but it is beautiful and full of charm.

“I don’t know why, but I was imagining something really stuffy,” she rasps once Mari walks back inside.

“While there are reasons why I’ll dine at places like that, I wanted to bring you here,” I say.

“Good choice,” she says, relaxing. “I love it.”

The rest of the night is filled with chatting as we eat, the sounds of her laughter echoing along the water. I’ve traveled somuch over the years, but there’s something about the bayou that settles my soul.

“How did it feel to audition for the musical?” I ask as she tells me about it. “Dalca is an asshole, unfortunately, so that’s going to be a pain since he’s the producer.”

“He’s a prick,” she grumbles as I snicker. “It was nerve wracking to audition and he just sat there and stared at me as if he was eating my soul. There’s really no other way that I can explain it. We start rehearsals next week.”

“Has he asked yet why you’re no longer living at your dorm since you’re roommates?” I ask.

“I had never seen his face before he announced the audition with Dr. Opus,” she hisses. “I recognized his voice from how much he’d yell at me.”

“That’s fucked up,” I mutter. “I’m calling it now, one of you may kill the other.”

“I carry pepper spray and a knife,” Lorelei says with a shrug. “My money is on me.”

“You’re saying that you could have just stabbed me and been done with it all in the lab,” I say, brow raised.

The waitress barely acknowledges my words outside of a lip twitch as she brings us our food, while Lorelei hides her face.

“I mean, I guess?” she squeaks out.

The waitress walks away and I lean forward with a grin, enjoying myself as she drops her hands.

“Why didn’t you?”

“Samael was right there, and I somehow didn’t think you’d break my neck,” she says.

“That’s a lot of trust you put in a monster you just met,” I grunt, my heart flip flopping.

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