Page 32 of Unbinding the Demon
“How old are you?”
“Eight thousand and twenty-three.”
“Don’t play games with me.” She glared while pointing a finger in my direction.
“Okay, okay, I’m twenty-seven.”Jeez.
“Do you follow a religion?”
“I suppose you could say I’m a Satanist.”
“Mhmm...”She crinkled her nose in disapproval. “Well, where are you from?”
“I’m a foreigner.”
“From where?” She narrowed her eyes and sounded both suspicious and accusing.
“Hel...sinki, Finland.”
“Then how come you don’t have an accent!?”
“Alright, Lacey!” Gwendolyn chimed in, raising her hand to silently ask her to cease the interrogation.
Good Gods of Hell... Lacey was one fierce mortal. However, I appreciated that she was so protective of Gwendolyn...Not that it mattered, though.I was only here to swindle her into performing a blood spell for me. Nothing more.
“Hold on, I’ve got one more question for him.” Lacey’s delicate finger returned in my direction. “What’s your last name?” Her eyes felt like they were scorching my already fiery soul.
The question took me by surprise. I was not expecting to be asked about a surname under these circumstances, and I hadn’t decided on one yet. I had to think of something quick. I looked over at Gwendolyn, whose big green eyes were peering up at me with curious anticipation.Dammit! She wants to know as well...“My last name?” I shifted my gaze around the table, finding all eyes on me. “Well, I do have one... I can assure you.”
Shit, I have to think of something fast!
To avoid Lacey’s ever-souring scowl, I quickly glanced off to the side. A waitress awkwardly carrying three plates came out of the kitchen, giving me a glimpse of a box that had Meyers written across it in blue ink. “It’s Meyers,” I laughed while watching the kitchen door swing back shut...Sounds normal enough.
“Oh. Like the hotdog brand?” Lacey said as she lowered her finger, shifting her eyes toward Gwendolyn.
“Fitting,” Gwendolyn snickered while placing her menu down.
“What do you mean, fitting?” I leaned to the side with a questioning frown.
“Oh, nothing,” she cackled to herself with a guilty, squiggly smile. “Let’s just order.”
As the night went on, I was able to get quite a bit of information about Gwendolyn from her friends. I learned of her love for heavier music, weird art, and any dessert that included strawberries. We laughed at stories about her delinquent shenanigans while she was a teenager. Like how she had purchased an entire box of doughnut holes just to throw at pedestrians from William’s car as they drove by. Or how she replaced all the banners in her school with pairs of underwear after the principal had ticked her off.
Even though she was frazzled by some stories they’d shared, she still seemed to enjoy herself. I was also enjoying myself quite a bit. I had even tried a burger to further sell my human masquerade. Turns out they’re delicious, and I ate three more to appease my voracious appetite. Gwendolyn had gotten a very healthy-looking veggie sandwich, and we shared a bottle of red wine. It was much tastier than my first drink of the night.
“So, I was thinking for our next date night, we should check out that new bowling place that just opened up in Cedarville,” Oliver suggested in between munching on some fries from William’s plate. “Since, you know, we’re no longer allowed back at Balsam Bowling.” He glared at William as though he had committed a grave sin against humanity.
“Oops.” William’s face turned bright red as he scrunched his shoulders and laughed. “My bad.”
I raised a brow and glanced down at Gwendolyn, whose eyes shone with delight as she explained. “During our last date night, William got super drunk off cheap beer and began throwing whole pizzas at the pins like frisbees.”
“Yeah, and the manager was not too pleased. Let’s just say that,” Darrell scoffed while leaning forward to adjust the jacket draped over the back of his chair.
“Wait just a minute... This is calleddate night?”I inquired while glancing over at Gwendolyn, the realization dawning on me.
“Well, yeah, silly,” Lacey playfully teased with a straw in her mouth.
“So just to be crystal clear, you’re telling me that this, happening right now, is adate?”I asked, while circling my finger around the table.
