Page 45 of Halluci-Dating A Demon
“Hey, Ellie.”
Oh great, a new nickname. At least it’s never been used by anyone else before, and he makes it sound cute too. Never did I think I’d be using such a ridiculous word to describe a demon, but alas, here I am.
“How’s the visit going?” His eyes lower. “I’m sorry.” His hand rests on my shoulders. “I wish I could make it better.” He rests his face against my chest, stroking my back.
He may not realize it, but making things better for me is exactly what he’s doing at this very moment. I take the scent of him and the sound of his voice back to the table with me, and they stay with me when the party starts and when Amy talks me into dancing too. Brody asks to cut in, smiling at me warily, and I need the memories of Arien more than ever.
We dance for two songs, and he rambles on about his new condo. He talks about how well his new business is going and how he would love to come out for a visit one day to check out my new coffee shop.
“Yeah, you should,” I say, hoping he doesn’t take me up on it.
“Yeah, I should. Amy keeps going on about how good it’s doing and about all the new drinks you keep adding.”
“Yeah, she mentioned that you two have remained in contact.”
“Yeah. I thinkweshould too after today. Only if you’re okay with it. I’d really like to have you in my life again . . .” He swallows hard. “You know, as a friend.”
That word would have slayed me weeks ago, but now all it does is aggravate me. People can’t go from sharing all the love and hate we did to being just friends.
“Yeah . . . uh . . . sorry, I think I hear Amy starting a fight with one of my cousins. I better stop it before she takes her shoes off.”
He laughs stiffly. “Of course.” He drops his hands and I walk inside, rushing up to my old room. Legs shaking, I take a few breaths. Why did he have to come? Amy told me he couldn’t make it after all, and I’d been counting on her being right. I rub my sweaty palms onto my jeans and stand up, swaying from side to side. I sit back down and my head drops forward.
Seconds later, a hand is lifting my face up, and purple eyes are staring deeply into mine. “Hey, Ellie. Want to dance with me?”
I want to say yes but I don’t know how we could. I’m unable to stand.
Answering my question for me, he lifts me up and rests my body against his, slowly moving us side to side. His hums turn into cheeky lyrics about how I smell like cake and he wants to taste me, not at all rhyming like he usually does.
A fire roars inside me as he keeps going, and he moves us a little faster, resting his face on my chest. He doesn’t stay as long as I want him to—he never does—but he keeps giving me pieces of him to focus on when everything else becomes too much.
Leaving the bedroom after he disappears, I spend the rest of the night talking with my cousins, who I haven’t seen in years, and sipping slowly on my margarita. When the party ends, Brody hugs me goodbye, putting his new number in my phone. “Take care, Elias, and let me know how you’re doing.”
Why does he suddenly care, when he’d left me falling to my knees, crawling to reach him again. I force a smile, waving him off before getting in the car with my sister.
“Ready to go to sleep to see your boyfriend?” Amy nudges me as the engine roars to life.
“I don’t sleep at night,” I bark.
“Not even when you’re up all day?”
“Unfortunately, no. I get restless at night mostly.” With the occasional dozing. But the sleep I get doesn’t usually do much for me the following day, when I end up walking around like a damn zombie still needing more rest.
“That sucks. You’ll still get to see him here and there, though, right?”
“Yeah.” I smile. We always find a way.
When we reach her hotel, we take turns using the bathroom to dress down for bed. As I lie awake in one of the two queen beds, I remember how Brody put his number in my phone and frustration rattles inside me.
I move my eyes to the side as my muscles go slack, and Arien is lying beside me with my book in his hand. “Now, where were we?” He eyes a snoring Amy in the other bed and then turns his gaze back to me. “Ah, that’s right. Chapter four.” He begins reading and my body relaxes more. He sprinkles dust over me, and I fall into a dark hole, leading me to where all the light is.
We’re sitting under some shade on a dock, and he continues where he left off in the book. In between him flipping the pages, we check the poles when the lines jump, and we catch different creatures from last time. Some have three heads, others have spikes, and then there’s two with glowing skin.
I read to him for the rest of the time I’m sleeping, and he catches some small hopping creatures, hugging them to his chest before letting them go. A large flower opens its petals and teeth come out, crunching down when one hopper lands too close.
Jumping, I drag Arien away from the flower, and he ends up making me chase him through a colorful forest with swinging branches that have bouncing twigs that latch onto my hair. Pulling them off, I laugh, and Arien runs toward me, spiraling around two large dragons flapping their shiny wings as their scales flash multiple colors in the light.
Spinning too much, we crash into each other in a fit of laughter, and the last thing I feel before I wake up is his smile pressed to mine. My eyes blink open and Arien is reading a dramatic scene between the two MCs, humming ominous music in between. My laughter keeps me with him longer, and so does his skin heating mine in the most wonderful way.
