Page 47 of Halluci-Dating A Demon
Ignoring the looks I’m getting from two women with children, I sit in the back and watch out the window as we pull onto the road. The bus reminds me a lot of the train outside the base in the monster world, with rows of seats and tons of passengers. Some sit down while others stand up, gripping to the bars on top.
I check again where to pull the string and hold my hand near it until I see where I’m supposed to get off. It’s a short walk to where Elias is, and I pick up my steps once I’m passing familiar places. The chalkboard with the drink menu appears after taking a turn around a building, and my heart flutters when Elias walks out of the back.
I stand outside the Daily Grind, watching him through the windows as he interacts with two different people. He’s almost smiling, something he didn’t think he deserved a month ago. Slowly coming about from that state of mind, his lips tilt a littlehigher as he tries it out for size, reminding himself it’s okay to have a little happiness when his brother can’t anymore. Adam would want him to.
I didn’t know him, but I know what I saw in the pictures and family videos. What Elias told me with his mind on some of the days he lay quietly next to me, pouring out his heart as I took it all in. As I wrapped myself around him, encouraging everything he’s been holding onto for so long.
I’m about to walk inside but pause as I see a blond-haired man lean forward, touching Elias’s arm and being blatantly flirty. My hackles rise, and I’m not usually one to experience jealousy but it’s the only way I can describe the angry fire rising inside me. With my hand on the door, I yank it open and enter the welcoming cool air, my body thanking me for moving away from the suffocating heat.
A smile creeps onto my face as I get closer to Elias, ready to tell him the good news and plan all our future sleepovers together. Elias excuses himself and rushes to the back, the other guy turning around. We step forward at the same time, and my eyes are so focused on the reason I’m here, and not on the unwelcome guest close by, that we crash into each other and his drink crashes to the floor, coffee going everywhere.
Embarrassment pricks at the back of my neck, and I bend down when he does, apologizing profusely. Straightening my stance, l glance around at the peering eyes. “I’ll get some napkins. I really am sorry.”
The man stands up, his face growing less tense. “It’s okay. It was an accident. I wasn’t paying attention either.”
I collect some napkins from where the trash can is and rush back, laying them out over the liquid. Doing my best to soak up the mess, I pile them on top of one another and push them hard to the floor with my shoes.
“Look, I’m sure I can get a mop or something from the back, so you don’t have to keep going to all the extra trouble.”
I raise my brows at that. “Do you work here?”
“My boyfriend does,” he answers quickly, and my mind goes right to Ian. Then he laughs, saying, “Well, more like owns the place. Hey, El.” Turning his head, he calls for him again and Elias appears.
“Yeah, what’s up?”
“Can we get a mop out here, hun?”
My stomach plummets. Boyfriend. Hun. El. All his recent words swarm in my head, making it feel like it could combust at any moment.
“I . . . I’m really sorry, again. If you need me to buy you another coffee . . .” I say, looking everywhere but at him and the man I was looking forward to sneaking upstairs with for the next three hours.
“No need. I got my own personal barista.” He perks his lips up, resting one hand on his hips.
“Here you are. What happened?” Elias’s eyes bounce between me and the other guy, my heart feeling like it’s being wrapped in barbed wire when the cute blond wipes whipped cream from his cheek.
“We had a little accident.” Elias’s eyes stay on the floor, and he chuckles, not sounding as forceful as usual. Then his eyes lift, finally meeting mine, and he smiles so big the blond even takes notice and gawks at the beautiful sight.
“Hey, you’re here early. I thought . . . I didn’t think I’d see you until my next nap. I only came down here because I had a visit from a friend.” He winces when saying the last word, and I realize who’s standing next to him now. Brody.
“I see.”
“And he was totally taken by surprise, weren’t you, El?”
“I . . . yeah.” He shifts uncomfortably.
“How do you two know each other? Are you roommates or something?”
“I . . . no. I live in the monster world, on base.”
“Yeah, Arien’s only visiting me. He swings by every day.”
“Oh.” Brody’s eyes bulge in curiosity. “I see. That sounds like a lot of traveling for coffee.”
Elias laughs awkwardly. “Arien actually isn’t a fan of coffee. In fact, I’ve named my cotton-candy drink after him.”
“You got a whole drink named after you too?”
What does he mean by too? My stomach clenches. Am I not as special as I thought I was, and are the two of them getting back together? What living hell have I stepped into, and why does Elias look so conflicted?
