Page 265 of Midnights
Before that, I hadn’t seen him since that night at the bar when we were playing darts. So seeing him here was not what I was expecting. I accidentally almost punched him.
The first thing he said to me was, “Hey, beautiful.” Followed by, “Cam’s off doing Cam stuff, guess you’re stuck with me today.” Stretching like he had all the time in the world.
Apparently, he’d been assigned as my babysitter for the day. And the several days that followed. I didn’t mind, though, we have a lot of fun together. He actually answered my questions, and was willing to come with me whenever I wanted to sneak around.
That whole first day, we just threw sharp things at each other. Which, honestly… Has been my favorite activity so far. Mostly because I hadn’t thrown a knife since I was a kid, and I forgot how much fun it was.
He learned pretty quickly not to underestimate me. His first attempt totest my skillsended with my knife sinking dead center in the target before he even started hislessonon how to throw a knife.
After that, things escalated and we started to get creative.
Tyler also learned the hard way that I don’t miss. He stood there, with an apple perched on his head, grinning like a damn fool. Overconfident and smug. I told him it was a terrible idea, and he told me that he was confident I would miss.
That image will haunt me forever.
That was also the first time I saw firsthand how their fast healing worked.
One second the knife was sticking out of his forehead and there was blood everywhere. The next, there was nothing but smooth skin and that same cocky smirk asking me to do it again.
He had the audacity to laugh while I stood there, crying.
We spent hours like that, laughing and baiting each other until the sky bled into deep purples and golds. Then we’d sit down for dinner, getting way too creative with ways to prank Cam and inevitably getting scolded for the mess.
So the fact that he’s standing in my doorway now, tells me all I need to know.
“Babysitting duty?” I tease, raising an eyebrow. He just smiles and strolls in like he’s got nothing better to do.
“No way. Besides, you know you’d rather hang out with me than be alone. Don’t lie.” He tugs a cart behind him that's loaded with food. “And I brought the Fae wine, in case I needed to bribe you.”
“You convinced me.”
We settle into our comfortable rhythm while we eat. Then out of nowhere, he asks, “Do you ever miss being over there?”
I pause, swirling my drink. The truth is, I've actually been thinking about this a lot.
“You know,” I say finally, “I never loved being glued to my phone for work. Here, there's no alarms, no bills, no schedules. No emails barking orders. The best part is, I don’t have to care what time it is—or live by someone else’s expectations. It’s just… me. Doing my own thing. Onmytime.”
Tyler watches me, unreadable as ever, then finally gives a slow nod.
“It suits you. You look free, I guess. Happier.”
His lips twitch into a smile, but it's the kind that makes it impossible to tell if he’s being serious or setting up for another joke. “It looks good on you, Bird.”
I roll my eyes, but warmth pools in my chest despite my best efforts.
“Don’t start,” I warn, but he just laughs, leaning back in his chair with entirely too much charm for someone who’s just sitting.
I’m not going to lie, it took me a few days to get used to how good-looking everyone is around here. You get used to it, but every once in a while, I still get caught staring. Which everyone finds hilarious—especially when it's at Tyler.
He's tall, with muscles that look like they were carved out of stone and that cocky charm he wears like armor. His dark blonde hair is always messy, like he rolled out of bed and somehow made it work. Tattoos wind down his arms, cutting over muscle in a way that I really don't want to notice. He's a walking distraction. And yeah, maybe I stared a little too long once or twice. Apparently that was enough fuel for teasing I'll never live down.
“I still don’t know how humans do it every day,” he continues, shaking his head. “Wake up, eat, work, come home,Netflix and chill, repeat. Sounds like torture.”
He pauses, like he's thinking too hard. “Some things over therearepretty amazing, right bird?”
He’s been calling meBirdsince the moment I woke up that day, and the first time, I’d nearly choked on my drink, which, of course, only made him double over in laughter. Turns out, he was the one who called me that the night of the ball. Something he confessed with zero remorse.
He still swears he knew I had magic from day one.
