Page 20 of Halluci-Dating A Demon
Not sure why, when the fact he even considers me a friend is more than someone like me could ask for. It’s not every day the human you’re supposed to be evoking fear in sees you as more than some annoying inconvenience.
I read the note again on the long drive home and again after I’m through the portal. As soon as I’m home, I use a magnet to pin it to the fridge. I have to make sure I’m reading the words right. I had changed my appearance to match what I thought he’d prefer, but he’s asking for me to visit as myself instead.
I’m worried at first that he’ll change his mind, but when I’m called to him as he’s in the middle of a cataplexy episode, in thetub with the water sitting just above his waist, I spot words on the mirror.
It was really good seeing you as yourself.
I lower myself in front of him, relaxing into the warmth and inhaling everything he’s feeling. I close my eyes and smile when the pain is not outweighing his peace for once. And is that . . . is that hope? Opening my eyes, I lean forward, sticking a finger in the tub to raise the water level and make bubbles appear.
“I think I’ll guess a different favorite of yours today. I saw you were watchingVenomearlier. Does that mean you’re a Marvel fan?” I tap my chin, leaning back and stretching out my legs around him. My ankles rub over his bare thighs, and I rest my hands on the edges of the tub.
“Okay . . . What aboutBatman? Wait, that’s not Marvel, that’s DC.” I flick at a pile of bubbles, lifting my knees. “I’ve read my fair share of comics while in other houses. I’ve also seen other types of reading material I wish I could forget.” I scrunch up my nose.
“Okay, I’m getting off-topic, sorry. Movies. Focus on movies.” I lay my head back, tapping at the water as I look at the ceiling. “How about theAvengers?”
I shake my head, look back at his frozen expression. “Guardians of the Galaxy?” I shift in the water. “Maybe I should move away from Marvel.” I chuckle, shoving bubbles together and lifting them in my hands.
“You were watching an Adam Sandler movie the first day I showed up so maybe that’s the direction I should go in.Big Daddy?” I drop the bubbles back into the water. “The Waterboy?”
I know way more movie titles than I realized. When I said I got bored waiting for people to wake up, I meant it. “Uh . . . What aboutClick? I personally really like that movie, but I think I preferThe Wedding Singerout of all his movies I’ve seen.” Ispread bubbles over my chest, smearing them across my skin. “Just Go with Itwas good too. There’s also50 First Dates.”
A knock on the bathroom door has me shooting up in the water, my heart speeding up.
“Elias? Everything okay in there?”
His sister. I thought she left. She must’ve spent the night. It does make more sense if she’s visiting from out of town.
Elias’s eyes blink and I watch myself slowly fade away, bubbles leaving the water with me. I’m back in my room in a matter of seconds, sitting naked on my bed. Why do I have a bed when I don’t sleep? Who the hell knows.
I’ve spent so much time trying to blend in where it didn’t matter. I mean, who’s going to drop by my home and see how closely I live my life to the way a human would?
I saw it as covering my bases everywhere I could, but now I’m wondering if it’s all been a waste of time. My stomach shifts when I think back to Elias’s sister talking through the door. Did she hear me? What would he tell her if she did?
My phone rings, dragging me from my thoughts, and I answer it as Kyvian’s name lights up the screen. “Hey.”
“Hey, you. Whatcha doing? Finally reading those books you got from me?”
I huff out a breath, leaning against the headboard. “I did that during my short break earlier. I was actually sort of working.”
“Oh. A late date with Elias, huh?” he mocks.
“No.” I slump my shoulders, trying not to think of what that would be like and where we’d go. Or whether we’d leave the house at all when the world was at our fingertips in every room we were in together. “I told you. It’s just work.”
“What do you do while you’re there if you’re not being all scary?”
I laugh, lifting the blanket onto my body. “Anything I can to make him feel something good.”
“Something good, huh?” His tone turns sultry, and I laugh again.
“Not like that. Get your mind out of the gutter.”
He gasps. “What? You’re the only one thinking that way so maybe you should. I simply meant telling a joke to make him laugh.”
“Yeah, sure.” I push out my lips, pursing them around the letters of the last word.
“So, was that you I saw waltz into his coffee shop earlier? You were there a while for someone who was grabbing a drink alone.”
“I was thirsty and needed a pick-me-up the same way you do.”
