Page 7 of Halluci-Dating A Demon
“Who then?”
“A friend. I want to show you something.”
He closes his mouth and then opens it again. “What’s that?”
“I bet you’ve never fished at a lake like this one before,” I say, remaining hidden behind a tree.
“I’ve fished in many lakes. Surely this is no different than any other,” he mutters under his breath. “Wasn’t there . . . Didn’t I get in a wreck?”
“No. Not this time. Not here. You’re just simply out on a nice day, about to tell your new friend how wrong you were about the lake.”
“Really?” His voice is a little humorous. “Am I . . . Is this a dream?”
Oh no. If he’s questioning it . . . then that means he’s beginning to wake up. I need to give him and his body enough of a reason to sleep longer.
“Does it matter?” I step out of hiding, running a hand through my hair. I glance down at my hands, hanging onto the illusion I want to give him and shaking away the purple tinting from my hands.
“I . . . I don’t know. This feels like a long time for me to be asleep if it is.”
“And would that be such a bad thing?” I cock my head.
“Do I know you?”
“No. I’m Arien.”
He shuffles on the deck, bringing his knees to his chest. “And where’d you come from, Arien?”
“From the trees. I saw you fishing and thought I’d join you. Try not to take your eyes off the water for too long, though. Those sneaky sirens like to play little tricks and games.”
“Sirens? In a lake?”
“Sometimes, yes.” I lower myself beside him, reaching for one of the poles. “They don’t stay particularly close to the surface though. It’s harder to lure their prey into the water that way.”
His eyes widen. “You’re being serious.”
“Very.” I jump up in excitement, slowly reeling the line in, and Elias’s eyes nearly shoot up to his brows when his gaze is met with the large creature attached to my hook. The blue and green fish with spikes on its fins flaps in my hands. With glowing scales, it fights against me, revealing fangs, and just as it’s about to snap at my fingers, I toss it back in the lake.
“What the hell was that?” Elias slides back, looking at the moving water.
“A fish,” I say between chuckles.
“No fish I’ve ever seen.”
“I told you this lake was different.” I preen, lowering the line back into the water.
His lips tilt in the corners and he laughs. “Yeah, you did.”
His laughter sends a rush of bubbly sensation through me and I feel myself glowing on the inside. It’s still not enough, though. It doesn’t match up with his sadness and anger. We stay by the water while he sleeps, fishing and dipping our feet in the water. He stares at all the strange animals he sees. The turtles with two heads and metallic shells. The laughing crabs with legs that can grow to different sizes.
“This place is so weird. This is definitely a dream.”
I place my hand on his as he begins to reel in the line. “Not yet. You’ve caught a really big one this time, but these guys like to make you think you have them before you actually do.”
His eyes lock onto mine and his breaths quicken. Zaps of electricity travel between our skin and we remain frozen for a long time, only breaking when the line jumps again. It tugs harder, making the pole nearly slip from his fingers. I use my other hand, and my ears are met with more laughter when wetug against the fish so hard we crash against the deck with him landing on my lap.
My breaths stutter and he licks his lips, tapping at something above my head. My charms. He can see my charms . . . That means he’s waking up. How long has it been? If I can’t keep my charms away, will I once again appear in his room without any clothes on?
“I’ve seen these before,” he says. “I’ve seen you before.”
