Page 21 of Halluci-Dating A Demon
“No, you didn’t. Caffeine does not have the same effect on you as the rest of us.”
He’s right. I experience only the bad effects—the jitteriness and stomach ache from too much sugar—but I don’t mind if it means I get to touch the same cup as Elias, giving me an excuse to slide my fingers over his. “Okay fine, so I went to see him.”
“And why is that?” His voice shifts to a higher octave and my eyes circle around the room.
“Because . . .” I clench my eyes shut. “Because I like him, okay? There, you happy? I’m lusting after someone I shouldn’t and don’t know how to get it to stop.”
He blows out a sigh. “So, what are you going to do? You have almost six months left of him being your patient.”
“I don’t know.” The defeat is evident in my voice and I tug at the strands of my hair. “I need to get over my little crush but I’m not sure how when I see him every day.” I see all the good he no longer sees. I see the excitement and happiness buried behind his sad, guilt-ridden eyes that begs to break through. And him liking what he sees in me isn’t helping the situation.
“You could always try a distraction. Maybe it’s time you give that dating app a try.”
“The Monster Match one?”
“Yeah. I mean if you’re really not wanting to cross a line with Elias and need to keep things professional, try shifting your focus to someone new. There are a lot of cute guys on there.”
There’s a cute one who just shared a bubble bath with me only twenty minutes ago too. One I need to distance my mind from when we’re not together. “I guess it won’t hurt to see if I match with anyone on there.”
“Yeah, just be aware of some of the humans who are only there to satisfy some monster fantasy, or those fetishizers. I know you well enough to know you aren’t looking for either of those things.”
I cringe. He’s very right about that. “Yeah, definitely not. I better not end up regretting this, and if I wind up on a date with some creep, I’m blaming you.”
A laugh trickles out of him. “If you must. You don’t have to meet up with any of them either. Flirt through messages and phone calls for a while.”
“That’s probably a good idea. I don’t know where we’d meet up anyway.” Thinking of someone cutting into my time with Elias causes a pinching in my chest.
“It’s getting late and I need to start closing up. I just thought I’d kill some time by bothering you for the last hour first.”
“Glad to see where I stand in our friendship.”
He snorts. “I better see you tomorrow. Even if it’s just a wave through the damn window.”
“I’m sure I can make that work. Enjoy the rest of your night.”
“You too. Pleasant wakefulness with Mr. Coffee over there.”
With that, I hang up the phone and laugh as I roll my head over the headboard. I lift my phone up again and search for the Monster Match app, hitting download after second-guessing myself more than once. I create my profile, adding what I’m looking for even though I’m not particularly sure myself. After typing the last word, I highlight the whole sentence and hitdelete. I start over, this time leaving out Elias’s dark eyes, brown skin and love for sour candy.
How am I going to get over my feelings for him when I’m trying to date someone who’s like him in every way. It keeps happening every time I think of what I’m looking for in a guy. I drop my phone on the bed when I delete most of my last answer, leaving behind the E and L in Elias.
Ten
Elias
“You going to get another visit from your new friend today?” Amy adds emphasis on the wordfriend, and I roll my eyes.
“Not that I’m aware of. He was probably in the neighborhood and wanted some coffee.”
“How do you two know each other anyway?” She perches herself on the corner of the counter, spreading her brightly painted pink nails in front of her.
I turn on the registers, not sure how to answer her question. Clearly, he isn’t human, and it’s not like she isn’t aware of monsters’ magical abilities. She’s dated a few in Stonehowe— where she currently lives due to the job she took two years ago. It was one of the first few towns open to monsters, and where the man who created the portals was from. “It’s kind of a funnystory. He’s . . .” I pinch the bridge of my nose. “He’s my sleep-paralysis demon.” Using the word “my” to describe him feels righter than it should.
Her mouth parts. “Wait, what? That’s some meet-cute right there.”
“Meet-what?”
She gives me a bored look. “Meet-cute. Guy runs into another guy making him spill his coffee, then apologies profusely and offers him his shirt.”
