Saved By Your Hot Book Boyfriend

10. A Hot Guy in the Women’s Restroom!?

10

A Hot Guy in the Women’s Restroom!?

Mysterious Hot Guy

— Earlier in Your Apartment, While You Did Your Makeup—

First the so-called pajamas.

Now this .

She may just be a helpless little human, but I’m bound to protect her.

If she dies, so do I.

To think—all my power, all my energy, and it all rests on her .

It’s infuriating.

I pick up her phone, feeling the energy buzz through my hand. Everything here is electric. Stupid humans. Don’t they understand how easily it can be disrupted?

Maybe I can use that to my advantage .

Stay home?

Ha.

I may be bound to this weak little human until she sets me free, but if she thinks she can tell me what to do, she’s got another thing coming.

You

—The Present—

No way. You know how this ends. If you drink that wine, you’ll be down for the count.

But you don’t want to make a scene, so you smile politely at the server as she pours your glass, hoping your date won’t notice if you don’t drink it.

Alexander takes a long swig, swirling the red liquid inside as he narrows his eyes at the untouched glass in your hand. “Are you not going to try it, Miss Wintergreen?”

“Oh, I’m not a big wine drinker,” you say with as polite a smile as you can manage.

He frowns.

For an instant, his perfectly straight, white teeth look sharp, glinting menacingly in the low lamplight.

Wait, what?

Goosebumps prickle up the backs of your arms.

Then you blink, and his teeth are perfectly normal again. Perfectly perfect. Too perfect.

There’s not even any wine staining them.

You open your mouth, intending to make small talk, but your phone buzzes again, and you lean sideways over your purse to check it as discreetly as you can.

It’s Mr. Mysterious Hot Book Guy.

Of course it is.

No Name: Hey human

Hmm, maybe you should add him to your contacts while you’re at it. You tap a few buttons, smiling down at the screen as his next message comes through.

That’s better. You tap another button and add the picture he sent you. All set!

Hot Book Boyfriend: Whatever you do, don’t tell him your name

You blink down at the screen, shaking your head.

You: He *already* knows my name

Hot Book Boyfriend: Not THAT name. Your true name.

You raise your eyebrows at the screen.

Your what ?

But before you can tell Mysterious Hot Book Guy that you don’t have one of those, Alexander—or whatever his name really is—clears his throat.

“Is there something the matter, Miss Wintergreen?”

“Huh?” You ask, tucking your phone in your purse with a fake smile. “No, no, everything is fine.”

If this guy is really as dangerous as Mysterious Hot Book Guy seems to think, you’d better play it cool.

“It’s just my mom,” you lie, tucking your phone away. “I told her I’d call her later.”

So much for your honest personality. But, hey, a girl’s gotta defend her privacy.

Your date narrows his eyes like he doesn’t believe you.

Are you really that easy to see through? Probably.

This date isn’t really fun anymore. It kinda stopped being fun as soon as you got in his car, and now you’re just waiting for a way out.

You glance at the elevator doors across the restaurant.

Maybe you can come up with an excuse to leave early.

Then again. He hasn’t actually done anything particularly evil yet, and just in case he really is as dangerous as Mr. Mysterious Book Guy thinks, you don’t want to risk pissing him off.

“So, how do you know Corrine?” You ask as your dinner finally arrives.

The service was actually super fast. But everything feels like an eternity with this guy staring you down.

For a moment, his face goes blank.

That’s odd.

Then he catches himself and smiles that greasy smile as he says, “Oh, she’s a friend of a friend.”

Is that a lie?

Why does that feel like a lie?

Good news, though. He can’t be a fae or anything. Probably. Assuming those legends about fae not being able to lie are true.

Wait, did you just seriously consider that this guy could be a fae?

But with the way things are going, anything feels possible.

“After dinner, would you care to go for a walk?” He asks as he cuts his food.

Hmm, so far he seems human enough, if a little odd. Maybe Hot Book Guy is wrong, and your date is just a normal guy.

Before you can answer, your phone buzzes. And buzzes.

Someone is calling.

You glance at the caller I.D. It’s Hot Book Boyfriend.

Of course it is.

But you can’t answer a call from him in front of your date!

“Just a second,” you say with a smile before hitting the ‘answer’ button. “Hi Mom . I’m on a date. I’ll call you later.”

You hang up.

And for a second, you debate about turning your phone off.

But that seems like a bad idea.

After all, Mr. Hot Book Guy is bound by magic to protect you. So he’s probably only trying to help.

“Sorry about that,” you say with another polite smile as you start in on your salad.

Honestly, aside from being rather sterile of conversation and humor, your date hasn’t done anything horribly wrong.

Well. Aside from that very red-flag sneer earlier when you tripped.

Details .

And the fact that you’re still pretty sure he lied about knowing Corrine. Which is super weird, because she set you up with him.

Didn’t she?

Midway through another bite, your phone buzzes again.

This time you stand up, grabbing your purse.

“Excuse me for a minute,” you say, heading to the ladies’ room. It’s the fanciest restroom you’ve ever seen in a restaurant, complete with black marble floor and sinks, gilded mirrors, and fresh roses adorning the glinting countertop.

Fortunately, it’s also empty.

You shut yourself in the nearest stall and pull out your phone.

But before you can even read his message, golden light flashes out of the screen, making you jump. You nearly drop your phone, but somehow miraculously manage to hang onto it.

Barely .

“I figured out who he is,” Hot Book Guy says coldly as he materializes in the tiny stall between you and the door.

You stand there, mouth agape, staring at him. Fortunately, you only came in here to hide, and you’re still fully dressed.

But still—

“ You can’t be in here! ” you hiss once you find your words.

He folds his arms. “Why not?”

“For one thing, this stall is way too cramped. And for another—this is the women’s restroom!”

“So?”

“So! So —”

But before you can finish, the door creaks as someone walks in. You slap your hand over his mouth, hoping the innocent bathroom-goer won’t look down and notice the extra pair of feet in your stall.

Fortunately, they’re fast.

Whoever they are must just have been checking their makeup, because they stop briefly at the sink, wash their hands, and head out again.

You let out a long breath as soon as the door shuts and you’re alone with Hot Book Boyfriend again.

“How did you even get in here!?” You ask.

The stall is entirely too cramped, and certainly not meant for two people. But he just leans back against the door, smirking casually.

Infuriatingly casually.

Overhead, the lights flicker. For a second, the bathroom is plunged into complete darkness. Then they come back on.

He glances up, muttering something under his breath that sounds like a swear word.

“Excuse me,” you say, suddenly starting to feel quite a bit nervous. “But you’re blocking the exit. And I have a date to get back to.”

“Wait.” Hot Book Guy folds his arms like he has no intention of letting you through. Glancing up at the ceiling lights as they flicker again, he says, “You should forget this whole thing and come back with me right now.”

“Why?”

“Because. I don’t know who you think he is, but your date out there is no mortal man. He’s one of my kind.”

You shiver. That kind of explains all the weird feelings you were getting.

“And what exactly is your kind?”

Overhead, the lights flicker again.

Then go out.

From out in the restaurant, you hear the muffled sounds of someone screaming.

Mysterious Hot Book Guy swears.

“Stay put,” he growls, opening the door—which is a feat in itself, considering how packed into the stall you are, and that the door opens inward.

He squeezes around it and into the darkness beyond.

Stay put? Heck, no! You’re not about to be left alone in a dark bathroom stall, so you follow him out.

The main door swings open, and you freeze. There in the frame is a gigantic, glowing blue figure. He’s so huge, he’d have to duck to fit.

“ So we meet again at last ,” growls the low voice of your suddenly very ex-date.

He’s barely recognizable. Now his entire body is engulfed in glowing blue light, and there’s no trace of his perfectly manicured illusion left. And now you’re certain that’s what it was.

An illusion.

Even his English accent is gone.

Pointed horns stick from the sides of his bald head, and his sneer splits wider than it should across the exposed sinews of his cheeks, revealing a cavern of sharp teeth.

Yikes.

And his bare, blue chest isn’t helping. Neither are the scales and spikes rising from his shoulders. Is that armor, or is that actually part of his body!?

He’s got gauntlets over his arms, a thick belt, and a scaled sort of skirt. But other than that, he’s naked. And not in a hot way.

He’s like something straight out of a nightmare. Or a horror movie. Or maybe—

“ Your kind ?” you hiss at Mysterious Hot Guy. “Are you an alien ?”

He laughs dryly, stepping in front of you in the low blue light.

“I’ve been called a lot of things, but never that.” He glances back with a frown. “And what happened to staying put?”

“If I’m going to die, I don’t want it to be in a bathroom stall!”

“You’re not going to die,” he says flatly, and there’s something strangely comforting about his confidence. Even if he also sounds a bit annoyed. “But it’s hard to protect you if you won’t follow orders.”

“Don’t be so certain,” your ex-date says. “You may have evaded me before, but this time I’ve got you trapped.”

In front of you, Hot Book Guy lets out a low growl.

“It’s been a long time, Vincentius . And I can’t say I missed your ugly face.”

A bolt of blue light flashes out from Vincentius’s hand, and hot Book Guy shoves you back just in time as the bolt sizzles with a scorching boom into the floor right where you were standing moments before.

“It’s me you’re after,” Hot Guy growls, crouching in front of you as you cower, horrified against the sinks. “So leave her out of this .”

“On the contrary,” your ex-date laughs. “I’ve got reason to believe your little sorceress might be quite useful . So once I’ve killed you, I’ll be taking her for myself.”

Hot Book Guy growls again.

Golden light spirals around him as he stands, and the cuff on your wrist grows warm. “Alright,” he says, cracking his knuckles. With a glance your way, he says, “You might want to stand back.”