Page 20 of Love is Trash in Hallow's Cove

“Said that he was taken and that the aliens looked really similar to him and were trying to find compatible creatures to repopulate their planet with?” I finish, then flush when I realize I’ve spoken over him—an absolute no-go on a first date.

“Yes! A lot of my friends think I’m ridiculous, but I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the monsters that populate the Earth originated from some other planet, and they came here so long ago that we don’t haveany record of it.”

“I mean, it’s possible that humans are the invasive alien species,” I say, pulse hammering at the thrill of having an earnest conversation about this.

Jake gives me a crooked smile. “If that’s the case, I’m glad they invaded. Means I got to meet you.”

Butterflies burst to life inside me at his words. They don’t sound like a pickup line. No, they sound one hundred percent genuine. I almost don’t know what to do with myself when faced with such sweetness, so I shove a taco into my mouth before I do something stupid like ask him to kiss me.

Chapter nine

Jake

Itrynottobe a creep and stare at Hayley’s mouth as she eats, but fuck, it’s hard to keep my eyes off of her. I take a swig of my soda to calm down my overheated senses, but the bubbles go right up my nose and I break into a coughing fit.

Hayley reaches over in concern, and then she’s touching my arm again. I shake my head to try to tell her I’m alright, and watch in slow motion as a dollop of guacamole falls from the taco in her other hand and lands with a soft splat right on the cutout over her cleavage. The cutout that I’ve been fighting with all my willpower not to look down at.

My dick presses against my jeans as I watch her pull back and start wiping at her tits with her napkin as she releases a flustered laugh.

“Wow, I’m really doing great at this whole first date thing,” she says, shaking her head in self-deprecation.

“You are.” I reply, and she snorts in disbelief. I let my eyes drop to the cutout again, and her eyebrows raise at my blatant glance at her tits. Her perfect tits I want to bury my face between. Beans likes the idea, though that’s because he thinks they’d be a nice soft place to take a nap.

“Your aim is impressive. Few people can spill their food onto the one spot where it won’t ruin their sweater,” I explain, bringing my eyes back to her face and trying to shift so the lump in my jeans isn’t blatantly obvious.

Hayley lets out a peal of laughter that makes my heart sing.

This is going well. Really well. She likes my jokes. She’s said she’s excited to be here with me. She’s… God, I thought she was perfect before, but now that we’re talking, and she’s showing me flashes of her true interests and personality, I’m really becoming obsessed.

“Thank you again for the tacos. They’re delicious,” Hayley says, after we eat in silence for a bit.

Gwen said I could take credit for them, but it doesn’t seem like the right move, given how we’re being open with each other. “I’ll tell Gwen you liked them,” I say with a slightly sheepish smile.

“Gwen?” Hayley thinks for a second. “The woman who works at the gaming store?”

“Yeah,” I say, taking another bite.

Hayley’s bright expression clouds and it takes me a moment to realize why.

She’s jealous.

Beans lets out a delighted shout inside me at the thought that my mate is possessive of me. Hell, I do too. “She’s my friend,” I explain. “I was really worried about fucking tonight up, so I went and asked her for help since she’s also a human. But there’s, uh, nothing romantic between us. She’s married.”

Hayley chuckles softly. “Damn, I’m that obvious, aren’t I?”

I laugh. “It’s okay. I have to admit, I was a little jealous seeing you going out with that demon.” As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I wish I could take them back. It’s weird for me to say I’m jealous on a first date.

I relax as Hayley gives me a shy smile. “Don’t be. This is so much better than any date I’ve been on since coming here.”

I should leave it at that. Take the win and ego boost. But I ask the question that’s been bothering me since I spoke to the wolf shifter teens. The nagging one that makes me question if I should let myself be around Hayley if she’s not looking for something serious.

“You’ve been on a lot of dates?”

Okay, maybe that’s not the exact question I want to ask, but even I know it’d be bad to ask her, “Why are you going on so many dates and does that mean you’re only interested in fun, casual stuff, and also, are you leaving at the end of the summer?”

Hayley sighs heavily, fluttering her bangs a bit. “Yeah.”

I nod and wait, silently begging her to give me more than that.

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