Page 35 of Little Monster
It makes my heart flutter.
He stares at me for a second longer, then turns and plops onto the couch with Margot. “Come on.” He holds the controller out to me, one sandy brow arching up. “Show me what you’ve got,archmage.”
Despite my nervousness, I step into the living room and take the offered controller. Margot is taking up a much-larger-than-cat-size space on the couch, which leaves a small spot right next to Dex for me.
I sit down, thinking Dex will move over to make me a bit of room, but he stays right where he’s at, and that smirk is back on his mouth now, which tells me he knows exactly what he’s doing and is doing it onpurpose.
Not that I should be surprised.
I hit the PS button on the controller, and as the console turns on, I smile. “Watch and learn,novice.”
“Wicked combo,” Dex says from beside me on the couch. He’s leaning forward, elbows on his knees, his eyes wide and glued to the TV screen.
My elf mage casts another spell, freezing her opponents in place, and then she destroys them with a blast of crackling white-blue lightning.
The XP bar goes up, and a tornado of light surrounds my character as she levels up—this time to arealgrand sorcerer.
“Fuck.” Dex sits back on the couch, smiling easily. “You’re a little monster.”
My cheeks heat up at his compliment, and he must take notice, because he slips one arm onto the back of the couch—not quite around my shoulders, but close enough that it feels like it—and smirks down at me.
“That’s what I’m gonna call you now,” he says confidently. “Little Monster.”
“Little Monster?” I ask skeptically, pretending to dislike it when in reality I’m dying of joy inside. No one’s ever given me a nickname before—or at least not a cute one.
“Yes,LittleMonster.” He leans closer, and his gaze moves from my eyes to my lips, setting me on fire inside.
From the back of the couch, he reaches down and snags a strand of my hair, and I try not to let out a sigh of contentment as he starts twisting the lock around and around his finger. I want him to grab my hair and pull me in, crush his lips against mine, and—
My gaze flicks to the clock on the living room wall, and a jolt goes through me.
“Shit!”
I jump up, dropping the controller onto the couch, and Dex sits back, his brow furrowed in surprise.
“What?”
“My concert! I have to get ready. I can’t be late.”
I can’t believe I let the time slip away from me. I’ve never been late to a rehearsal or concert—ever. And I refuse to start now.
Rushing toward my bedroom, I realize suddenly thatDex Reidis still lounging on my couch. I turn back toward him, and he’s looking at me while absentmindedly scratching Margot behind the ears.
Sitting in my living room in the fading afternoon light, he looks... unreal. Like an oasis mirage in the middle of the desert.
“Do you wanna come?” I ask suddenly. I’m not sure where the question even came from, but I find myself resistant to letting him leave, to being parted from him.
In his moment of consideration, I feel foolish. It’s best not to ask questions that could lead to disappointment, embarrassment, or—
“Yeah. Sounds cool.”
Startled and surprised, I blink once, twice. He just keeps looking at me, scratching Margot on the head. Her purring fills the living room, and there’s a swelling of affection in my heart for him.
Stop, I scold myself.
He’s not the guy next door or a fellow musician in my orchestra; he’s a celebrity, a rock star, and falling for him will only lead to suffering.
But when he’s sitting on my couch like that, petting Margot, joking aboutLegend of Volthorn, it’s hard to see him as Dex Reid: Lead Singer and Guitarist of Loaded God Complex. Instead, he’s just... Dex. And maybe that’s what scares me the most.
