Forbidden! Exorcist Roommate (Hell’s Matchmaker #1)

Chapter 1 Chase

Chase

“This birthday party sucks,” I muttered to a stack of red plastic cups.

My words were drowned out as Jared hollered and tossed a football across his kitchen. It crashed into a neighbouring stack of cups beside me on the counter, scattering them in a plastic explosion. One of them somehow landed on my head. The other dudes cheered like he’d scored a major touchdown.

Thank fuck this wasn’t my house.

The sooner this crappy party was over, the better. I didn’t even want a damned birthday party. Not like this. I would’ve been fine hanging out in my apartment with a couple close friends, ordering pizza and watching a movie.

Unfortunately, I’d decided to make plans after a workout when my hands were sweaty.

While trying to text my best friend, Lily, my sweat-soaked finger slipped and sent me scrolling halfway down my group chats.

The invite mistakenly went to my old college frat instead—and those dudes were all too eager to throw a massive rager.

I couldn’t back out after literally just asking them to party. We weren’t close anymore, but they were old buds. I’d feel guilty refusing the invite to Jared’s house.

Hence the chaos.

A soft, amused voice broke my spell. “You have a cup on your head.”

It was Lily, who attended the party despite really not needing to. She had some past beef with Jared and the guys, which was mostly why I didn’t hang out with them anymore. But she showed up as moral support for me, which I appreciated.

I sighed as she removed it. She put it back on the kitchen island, where it would inevitably become another football casualty.

“Thanks,” I mumbled, glancing up at her. She was already tall, and she wore her heels inside the house because Jared’s place was a ‘keep your shoes on’ kind of establishment. “Why are you even still here? Go. Save yourself.”

“Someone has to keep you company,” she said. “Everybody else is... clearly occupied.”

We glanced over our shoulders. The football was now sitting on the marble counter while Jared and the boys balanced liquid-filled cups on top of it.

When one dude poured a little too much vodka, the cup overflowed and caused a chain reaction of cups, booze, and balls all over the marble floor.

The dudes roared and laughed like a pack of hyenas, their raucous noise echoing through Jared’s big-ass house.

“They make me embarrassed to be a guy,” I mumbled.

Lily grinned. “Thank god I realized I wasn’t one.”

That got a snort of laughter out of me. But I still felt bad she felt pressured to stay for my sake.

“Go home,” I insisted. “Text your girlfriend. Scroll Netflix. Do literally anything besides hanging out in this testosterone cesspool.”

She looked entertained. “All right. But first, I have gossip.” I could tell she wanted to speak in a conspiratorial whisper, but the frat boys were so loud, she nearly had to shout instead. “I saw a cute guy in the living room.”

“There are no cute guys in the frat,” I said, deadpan.

But Lily shook her head. “He’s not from the frat.”

I raised a brow. Who else was even here? I’d invited a few other friends, but Lily knew them by name—besides, they’d all escaped the chaos and gone home by now.

“You’ll know when you see him. He’s got this sexy mysterious aura,” Lily explained.

Now I was even more confused. Had somebody snuck into Jared’s house?

I peered out into the front hall. Sure enough, somebody had shoved a brick against the front door. It was propped wide open in the classic college dorm signal for ‘come on in!’

I let out an exasperated sigh. Jared lived in a wealthy neighbourhood, so he must’ve assumed it wasn’t dangerous. But seriously, the dude was inviting random strangers into his house while his parents were out on vacation. It was so high school. We were too old for this shit.

“Yo, guys, check this out!” Jared yelled. He thrust a small black book above his head. “At midnight, we’re gonna summon a demon!”

The guys all whooped.

I checked the time. Midnight was in fifteen minutes. Maybe after they failed to summon jack shit, I could finally go home.

Lily wished me a happy birthday, and good luck, then left. Alone now, I scoured the living room for the cute mysterious guy she’d apparently seen.

It didn’t take me long to find him. He stuck out like a sore thumb.

A really hot thumb.

My breath hitched when I saw him. He definitely wasn’t a stupid frat boy.

His frame was slight but toned, and despite his shorter stature, he carried himself with feline grace and the confidence of a model, all straight shoulders and long strides.

His windswept hair was deep black, the same colour as his eyes and turtleneck sweater.

I stopped in the middle of the living room and just gawked at him. It was impossible to look away.

Shit, I’d only had a couple light drinks. I wasn’t even tipsy. Yet my instant attraction to this random dude was reminiscent of my college days, where I’d easily down five beers and latch onto the first guy I saw, attractive or otherwise, then wake up steeped in regret.

But this guy definitely took the prize in the looks department. He was painfully handsome.

At first, the hot guy didn’t notice me staring at him. Either that, or he didn’t care. Either way, I was grateful because I’d been staring at him for an awkward length of time.

The guy kept scanning Jared’s living room, as if searching for something important.

“Uh... hey,” I called.

He didn’t even turn around. “Hello.”

His reply was curt, almost annoyed. He found the nearest bookshelf and examined it thoroughly.

That cold reply knocked some sense into me. What, I wasn’t even worth looking at?

“Do I know you?” I asked, firmer now.

The hot stranger didn’t face me as he replied, “I highly doubt that.”

“Do you know anybody at this party?”

“No.”

His answer was quick and left no room for argument, as if verbally swatting me away.

I crossed my arms, annoyed now. “So, do you always break into people’s houses, or...?”

“The front door was wide open,” Hot Stranger answered tersely.

“Right, but this is a private party. A birthday party, I might add. Mine,” I added.

There was a hint of pride in my voice, one I didn’t feel five minutes ago.

But now that Hot Stranger was ignoring me, it felt necessary to boast. Not that having a birthday party was something to be proud of, but hey, it was a single crumb of leverage.

Hot Stranger didn’t even pause. With his back still turned to me, he knelt in front of a bookcase. He pulled out a black hardcover, clicked his tongue, then shoved it back in.

“Hey!” I snapped. “I’m talking to you!”

Another roar of laughter exploded from the kitchen. Whatever Jared was up to now, it was obviously a laugh riot.

“God, it’s loud in here,” Hot Stranger muttered.

“Birthday party,” I reminded him in a snarky tone. “They tend to be loud.”

I didn’t mention the fact that I hated all the noise and would’ve rather been at home, half asleep on my couch and filled with pizza.

“I don’t have time for this,” Hot Stranger growled under his breath. He stood upright and finally faced me. “Have you seen a black book in this house?”

My brows rose as I recalled Jared waving a small book above his head, but I forced them back down.

“Maybe,” I admitted, shooting Hot Stranger a challenging glare. “What’s it to you?”

Hot Stranger took an unfaltering step closer to me. His eyes were a piercing black that cut me to the core, and when he narrowed them, I suppressed the urge to shudder.

“This is not a joke,” he stated. “This is a matter of life and death. If you’ve seen the book, tell me now.”

At that moment, I didn’t know what came over me. I couldn’t blame the drinks because I was stone-cold sober. Maybe it was because I hadn’t been laid in months. Maybe it was because Hot Stranger was the hottest stranger I’d ever seen, and it was my birthday, dammit. Was it wrong to want a reward?

“I’ll tell you in exchange for a kiss,” I offered.

He stared at me flatly. “Do not try to make a fool of me,” he warned. “You people turn intimate moments into a stupid game.”

You people?

My initial confusion turned to grim understanding. Hot Stranger wasn’t an idiot. He knew this party was teeming with frat boys, and he knew how homophobic they could be.

I’d been out for so long that it was jarring to be accused of second-hand homophobia. But Hot Stranger didn’t know me.

“I’m not like those guys,” I stated. “I’m gay, all right? They all know, too. It’s whatever.”

Something flickered in Hot Stranger’s gaze.

But now I was too embarrassed to keep up my charade. I turned around, ready to abandon the whole party.

“Forget it. Sorry I asked, it was stupid of—”

Hot Stranger’s hand landed on my shoulder. He whirled me around.

Before I knew what was happening, his soft lips landed on mine.

He smelled good. He tasted good.

My mind went blank. Blanker than my English exam that I got an F on. That blank.

The kiss was over too soon. As sparks of warmth danced in my chest, Hot Stranger pulled away and stared at me expectantly.

“The black book,” he prompted.

I felt like I’d been ripped out of a spell. It took a second for my brain to kick back in.

“Kitchen,” I said woozily. “Gonna summon a demon with it.”

“What?” he roared.

Hot Stranger shouldered past me like a rampaging bull. I didn’t know why he was so bent out of shape. Drunk guys did stupid things all the time, like screwing around with Ouija boards or other occult bullshit. Why was Hot Stranger acting like it was real?

Suddenly, I got a weird feeling in my gut. I raced into the kitchen after him.

Jared stood on top of the kitchen island counter. It had been cleared except for a crude summoning circle drawn in permanent marker. He—or more likely, his parents—were going to regret that tomorrow.

On one hand, Jared thrust the black book into the air. It was open to a specific page. From a distance, the tiny text was too small for me to read. But that wasn’t what made my heart sink to the pit of my gut.

In Jared’s other hand, he held a tall glass full of water and a blue betta fish. A living one.

“In order to perform the ritual,” Jared announced, slightly slurring his words, “we need a sacrifice.”

He held the cup higher. It was dangerously close to falling out of his drunken grip. My stomach clenched as the water sloshed with the fish still inside.

“Are you ready, boys?” Jared called.

The guys whooped, stoked and eager.

But I wasn’t happy. I was fucking pissed.

Infuriated, I shoved past all the guys in my path.

“Give me that fish right now,” I shouted at Jared.

Jared paused. “Who said ‘at?”

I leapt onto the kitchen counter, bristling with rage. The blue betta looked panicked. It swam from side to side in the tiny cup, confused and helpless.

I stretched out my hand. “Give me the fish.”

“What?” Jared asked, confused. “C’mon, man, we’re ‘bout to summon the demon, though.”

“I don’t give a shit.”

Jared frowned like I was the bad guy for harshing his mellow. “Dude, it was only $7. I’ll buy you one tomorrow, okay? Same colour and everything.”

My heart pounded in thick, sickly beats. I didn’t want to start a brawl at my own damned birthday party, but if Jared didn’t back off, I’d be left no choice.

“Hand over the fish, or I’m going to kick you in the nuts,” I warned.

He paled, freaked out by my threat. “Jesus, bro, it’s just a fucking fish. Calm down.”

I didn’t say anything. I was too angry. Glaring at him, I snatched the cup from his hand, careful not to slosh the water more than necessary.

The room turned quiet and awkward. But I didn’t care that I’d killed the vibes. It was better than those dickheads killing an innocent animal for no reason.

From my vantage point, I suddenly noticed Hot Stranger at the back of the crowd. His black eyes were wide. Was I imagining it, or was that admiration in his gaze?

Then he shook off his daze and pointed urgently at the book.

Did he expect me to grab it?

Keeping the fish safe was more important than the stupid demon-summoning book, so I hopped off the counter. I heard Hot Stranger’s indignant growl behind me.

“Chase!” he cried. “The book!”

Shit, why did I like it when he yelled my name?

I was too distracted to notice as Jared continued the ritual without the fish. In a drunken hurry, he read off a poorly pronounced Latin chant from the page.

I was almost out of the kitchen. Everything went still and silent for a second.

Suddenly, a beam of pure matte blackness erupted from the book. It swirled against the ceiling, writhing and buzzing with the intensity of a living thing.

The frat boys were too drunk to be scared, so they hooted and hollered in triumph.

Hot Stranger swore in a language I didn’t understand.

Then, like a predator locking onto its prey, the dark beam focused on me.

Without warning, it shot into my chest.

A sudden wave of dizziness swept over me. My body didn’t feel like my own. I was like a car with the brakes cut, spinning out of control.

Hot Stranger bolted towards me. The last thing I remembered was him saving the blue betta from my hand before I collapsed.