Page 17 of Vexing the Viper

"No, not boyfriend."

"I'm going to go talk to him." He doesn't wait for me to respond before he's up, out of his seat, and making his way to Mateo. I watch as he taps Mateo on the shoulder, putting an end to their dancing. Mateo flashes him a huge smile and they stand there talking in the middle of the dance floor.

Niko takes the cue and walks over to the table, sitting back down on the chair. Not wanting him to be alone, I stride across the dance floor and take the spot next to him.

"I thought I saw you dancing out there."

"Huh?" he asks, turning to face me. "Oh, it's you."

"It's me. The one and only." I beam brightly, scooting closer to him. "Surprised to see you here. Didn't think this was your kind of thing."

"What was my kind of thing? Drinking? Dancing? Hanging out with my friend? Did you think I was so boring that I just stay at home reading textbooks all night?"

"What?" I sputter, my eyes widening. "No, that's not what I meant at all. I was just surprised since Creelin is so big. So running into you anywhere was a surprise." Coby hisses at me, and I know I've made him mad. Already. "Do you want to dance?"

"No."

Not even a second to think about it. Just a flat-out no. "Do you want another drink?"

"No."

The alcohol from earlier must be making me bolder, because words start falling out of my mouth without much thought. "Why do you hate me? What did I do to you?"

"I don't hate you." He turns his head, taking a sip of his drink. My eyes track the movement of his Adam's apple as he swallows. His tongue peeks out and swipes across his bottom lip, and I wish it wasmytongue doing the licking.

"You never want to hang out with me."

Sighing, he pinches the bridge of his nose before glancing at me, then looking away. "We’re not friends."

"But why?" I whine. Probably pathetically, but whatever. I've been nothing but friendly to him, and it hasn't made a single crack in his hatred for me.

He reaches over, grabbing the shot glass on the table and downing it with one gulp. He winces at the taste, and closes his eyes. "I don’t know."

"What the fuck? You don’t know?" I ask incredulously.

"It's too complicated to get into."

"I don't think that's fair to me. Besides, I've been nothing but nice to you. But whatever, Niko. I'm done trying to be your friend."

I don't wait for him to respond before I'm pushing my way through the crowd and out the front door. My throat is getting tight and my skin is starting to warm. Pulling at the collar of my shirt, I exhale once the crisp air hits my face. My blood starts to boil, the anger taking over. I can't fucking believe he doesn't like me for a reason he doesn’t even know. I can only imagine how he would act if I turned around and pulled that same shit on him. Fuck him. And fuck trying to be nice to him.

Roommates.

That's it.

No more friendly King.

9

NIKO

King stormsout of the bar, and an audible exhale leaves my lips. I wasn't trying to be mean. But to be honest, I can’t even explain it myself. It’s hard for me to be around humans; I don’t feel comfortable enough. I’m so scared about being made fun of, that even though he says he wants to be my friend, I worry about whether or not he really does. How do I tell someone I’m scared of being made fun of by humans, but at the same time I’m attracted to a human for the first time in my life. My emotions are all over the place, and I don’t know how to handle it. Plus, the alcohol is not helping.

I take another sip of my drink looking out onto the dance floor. Mateo is still talking to the guy from earlier, so I sit and wait patiently. I don't like going out onto the dance floor by myself, which is why Mateo is usually out there with me. Some people tend to get too handsy, so I like to use Mateo as a buffer between me and anyone who tries to dance with me.

Scanning Zomb-Bar, I take in all of the different people, both human and monster. Some of the monsters are even in their shifter form, which means they feel comfortable enough to bethemselves. I raise my hand up and pet Rob, another one of my snakes. He curls around my finger, loving the attention.

I really hate that I can't shift. It's always been in the back of my mind, but now seeing those monsters that can easily shift in and out of form, I'm jealous.

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