Page 26 of His to Haunt

Turns out that Kimmie knows Silas via a college friend, which is supposed to mean that we can somehow trust these guys though I have my doubts. Silas pays for a round of drinks, and he and Kimmie are instant friends, chatting it up. Kimmie always made friends easily.

“So, where you from, girl?” Ritter asks, briefly looking me up and down. Naturally, he has never heard of the town I’m from.

“It’s just a weird little community college town in rural California, outside San Diego,” I explain.

“And now you live here?”

“Nearby. Moonvine.”

His cocks an eyebrow. “What is with you and weird little towns?”

“Yeah, it doesn’t get much stranger than a cemetery town,” I laugh.

“Is that what Moonvine is? I thought it was a vampire town.”

“Ha-ha.”

“You think I’m kidding?”

I shoot him a look. A guy walks by, and Ritter narrows his eyes at him, lost in thought.

Though Ritter is good-looking and has a sense of humor, there is something off about him. The way he looks around the room as if he’s nervous about running into somebody seems shady.

We all move to a red booth seat and order some hors d'oeuvres and a bottle of expensive cabernet. Silas pays again. The men watch us eat, having none for themselves, which seems odd. Two glasses in and Kimmie blabbermouths that I live in a “gothic funeral home.” Thanks Kimmie.

“No shit?” says Silas. “I’ve got to see this.” Of course, the emo dude thinks it’s cool.

Kimmie and I argue in the restroom about the idea of these guys coming back with us.

“They’re a bit weird, Kimmie.”

“But good-looking and fun, right? Hon, at the very least, you need a healthy makeout session, preferably sex. Admit it,” she laughs.

“You’re not wrong, but—”

“Exactly.”

I sigh, not wanting to let her down. She drove four hours to have fun with me, and If I want to pretend that I’m moving on with my life and can somehow rise above the tragedy of my sister, I have to try to act like a normal person. This feels like a test. If I say yes to fun, I pass. If I say no, I fail.

After another round of wine, jokes, and laughing, we inevitably all take a taxi back to the Manor. Kimmie and Silas are already kissing en route, making it awkward for me. Ritter seems inspired by the snog-fest, gawking at me before raising his arm behind my shoulders.

“So…you said you’re into finance?” I ask purely for the sake of not making out.

He half-nods, uninterested in the topic, as he brushes his fingers over my shoulder from behind. I pretend not to notice.

“How’s that going?”

“Family business. And you’re a psychologist,” he shrugs as if we’ve already hashed that out, and now it’s time to move onto the action sequence of the evening.

“Working on it,” I say, clinging to the topic.

He sighs, slightly impatient sounding.

“So, I wonder if there’s a name for my condition,” he says, playing along.

I raise an eyebrow, worried this is leading to a weird pick-up line where he declares his state of head-over-heels-horniness or something.

“Tell me about it,” I humor him.

---