Page 4 of Summoning my Grumpy Demon Boss

“Yeah. I um, I brought this.” She holds up a bottle of wine and my brows raise. “I wasn’t sure what to bring, but now I’m legal, it felt wrong not to buy something!”

I take the wine from her since she’s holding it out, but honestly, I have no idea what to do with it. We don’t even have glasses, let alone a bottle opener. “Thanks.” I set it next to the ESKI and wipe my hands again on my jeans nervously. The last thing I need is moisture on my skin.

Wine? Shit. I might be outta my league here.

“You want a beer?”

She nods and I fetch her one, opening it with the hem of my shirt. She takes a long drink. I find it a little less intimidating that she’s obviously as nervous as I feel.

“You wanna grab something to eat? Jack made some snags and there’s bread.”

She shakes her head. “I ate already, thanks.” She pauses before adding, “I’m sorry. I’m really nervous.” She gives a little laugh and my heart just about melts.

“Come on.” I take her hand and lead her across to a quiet spot where the sand is smooth and we can sit. The noise from Noah’s portable speaker isn’t so loud here and the sun is just beginning to set behind us, making the sky turn pink. “I’m glad you came,” I blurt.

Mia blushes. “Me too. I think.” She takes another drink of the beer I gave her.

“So where are you from?”

“Sydney.” She scowls. It wrinkles her nose.

“Wish I was from Kraken Cove, though,” she adds.

“Really? But it must have been so much fun growing up in a big city.” I’m playing it cool, but inside I secretly love she said that.

She shakes her head. “You’d think that, but I’ve always loved it better here. So relaxing. So quiet.”

At that moment, the music blasts and I look across the beach to where my brother is doing some stupid dance, laughing and carrying on with his friends.

We both laugh. “Well, most of the time,” she says.

“But you must have had loads of friends growing up.”

“Not really. My fault, I think. I have a boyfriend. Sometimes it’s hard to make time for everyone.”

My stomach lurches. I’d been leaning closer, wondering if I dare make a move.

“Well Ihada boyfriend. We’re on a break right now.” She tucks her knees up into her chest.

I can tell she’s feeling something. All I’m feeling right now is a healthy dose of relief.

I try not to let my stupid grin show. “What happened?”

“I dunno. He just said we should both take some time to get to know ourselves as singles. We’ve been together since we were fourteen. So I guess it makes sense.”

What a dick. If she was my girl, you better believe I’d never say such a dumb shit thing. “What do you think about that?”

During a long pause, Mia seems to be debating what to say. Then she looks right at me and fixes me with her light brown eyes. “I think he wanted to take someone else to the formal and make sure he got laid.”

“Fuck me.” The words sort of pop out of my mouth before I’ve even considered holding back. My hands are clenched into fists at my side with the effort of not saying something else I’ll probably regret.

“Huh?”

I shake my head. “Your boyfriend’s a fucking joke. Sounds like he just made the biggest mistake of his life.”

It might be my imagination, but when she licks her lips, her tongue lingers. It might make me a dick, but I’m definitely thinking about what it would feel like to cup the back of her head and bring her in for a taste.

I lean in a little closer. “Did he try to fuck you?”

---