Nine
Arien
Strolling out of Pandora’s Books, I glance across the street. Elias is nowhere in sight, and I glance at the new watch I got to manage my time better. He should be working. Having thirty minutes to spare, I cross the road, looking both ways for fast-moving cars. The door is held open for me by an older woman, who gives me a toothy smile as I walk toward the cool, welcoming air, and I give her a silent, “Thank you.”
A man turns his nose up at me, while his friend turns around and says, “They let just anyone in here nowadays. Human form should be a requirement when entering public places.”
Ignoring their cruelty, I approach the counter and browse the drinks menu. “What can I get you?” a slender man with shaggy honey-colored hair asks, straightening his glasses.
“Uh, how about that lavender-foam matcha drink. A small one, please.”
“Sure. Anything else?” He was here last time and is completely unbothered as he fixes my drink order, his upbeat personality making me notice the jerks behind me less.
“Nope, that’s all. Thanks.”
“Wait . . . does your name happen to be Arien?”
I reach for the cup as he hands it to me. “Yeah, why?”
“I have something for you.” Turning around, he lifts his hands in the air as he mumbles something to himself. “Oh, that’s where I put it.” Leaning down, he pulls an envelope out from below the cash register and sets it in between us on the counter.
“What’s this?” I gesture toward the item with my name written sloppily on it.
His lips twist. “I’m not sure, but Elias said to give it to you.”
Biting the inside of my cheek, I slide the envelope into my pocket and step out of the way when I hear footsteps behind me. The man wearing the badge reading “Ian” on it greets the new customers before telling me to, “Have a good day.”
I smile, lifting my hand, and the envelope weighs heavily in my pocket as I walk to an empty table in the corner. Taking a deep breath, I remove the folded paper from the envelope and slowly unfold it.
The tightness in my stomach lessens when my eyes skim over the words written in blue ink.
I prefer the horns and purple skin. Please don’t hide any of it.
Flapping sensations fill my stomach and my cheeks ache from how big I’m smiling. I search for him some more but he’s not here, so when no one is paying attention, I slink my way upstairs. My hand rest against the door for way too long before I finally have the courage to knock. The door pulls open and a woman is laughing on his couch, pointing at the TV screen. “You’re missing the best part.”
“Then pause it so I don’t,” he says over his shoulder and lowers his gaze to me. Most men I come across are taller than me, but nothing like Elias. I don’t think people ever expect a sleep demon to be this small, but it does help when you want to be in and out of somewhere without being noticed.
“Hey.”
“Hi.” Clutching my cup in one hand, I lower my gaze to the other holding the letter. “I wanted to stop by quickly before I had to head back to base. I didn’t realize you had company.”
“Elias, what’s the holdup?”
“Give me a few minutes, will ya?” Letting out a short laugh, he returns his eyes to me. “Sorry, my sister randomly showed up for a visit and we were in the middle of watching a movie.”
“Oh, cool. It’s okay, I have to get going anyway.” My eyes bounce from him to the curious face behind him. She tilts her head, focusing more on our conversation.
“You gonna introduce your new friend?”
“Ah . . . Ames this is my de—friend, Arien.” He clears his throat, shuffling his feet. “Arien, this is my little sister Amy.”
“Yeah, I’m the cool one,” she chimes in, staying where she is. “You’re welcome to join us if you want.”
“As much as I’d love too, I’m running a little behind on making curfew, but it was nice to meet you.”
“You too,” she chirps. “I had no idea my brother was out here making new friends. Looks like I was worried for nothing about him being lonely, and you’re just the cutest little thing.”
“Ames,” he warns under his breath, lowering his gaze, and she laughs, her eyes full of amusement.
“Thanks. You two enjoy your movie, and sorry for interrupting.”
“No worries,” Elias says. “I’ll see you later.”
“Yeah, you will.” My cheeks heat, and I’m sure I’m reading way too much more into his words than I should, but we did practically kiss earlier. His lips were so warm, the perfect mixture of soft and rough as his facial hair scratched against my chin. The back of my neck tingles and I’m worried I’m holding onto hope for a kiss I’ll never experience again.
Elias closes the door as Amy opens her mouth, and he mouths an apology before fully disappearing on the other side. I walk back down the long staircase and order another drink on my way out, making a note to try more lavender-flavored drinks and food. Ian is as welcoming and sweet as before, sneaking me a free muffin as he hands me my order. When a tall, redhead enters the shop behind me Ian goes rigid, his confidence from before dying.
“Welcome to . . . to . . .” He glances down at one of the menus, and I snicker quietly to myself at how he suddenly forgot where he worked as I exit the shop. The driver opens the car door and glares at me through the window when I get in. I guess not everyone I spend every day with can be considered a friend. I was taken by surprise, and flattered to hear the word come from Elias’s mouth, and also . . . disappointed?
Not sure why, when the fact he even considers me a friend is more than someone like me could ask for. It’s not every day the human you’re supposed to be evoking fear in sees you as more than some annoying inconvenience.
I read the note again on the long drive home and again after I’m through the portal. As soon as I’m home, I use a magnet to pin it to the fridge. I have to make sure I’m reading the words right. I had changed my appearance to match what I thought he’d prefer, but he’s asking for me to visit as myself instead.
I’m worried at first that he’ll change his mind, but when I’m called to him as he’s in the middle of a cataplexy episode, in the tub with the water sitting just above his waist, I spot words on the mirror.
It was really good seeing you as yourself.
I lower myself in front of him, relaxing into the warmth and inhaling everything he’s feeling. I close my eyes and smile when the pain is not outweighing his peace for once. And is that . . . is that hope? Opening my eyes, I lean forward, sticking a finger in the tub to raise the water level and make bubbles appear.
“I think I’ll guess a different favorite of yours today. I saw you were watching Venom earlier. Does that mean you’re a Marvel fan?” I tap my chin, leaning back and stretching out my legs around him. My ankles rub over his bare thighs, and I rest my hands on the edges of the tub.
“Okay . . . What about Batman ? Wait, that’s not Marvel, that’s DC.” I flick at a pile of bubbles, lifting my knees. “I’ve read my fair share of comics while in other houses. I’ve also seen other types of reading material I wish I could forget.” I scrunch up my nose.
“Okay, I’m getting off-topic, sorry. Movies. Focus on movies.” I lay my head back, tapping at the water as I look at the ceiling. “How about the Avengers ?”
I shake my head, look back at his frozen expression. “ Guardians of the Galaxy ?” I shift in the water. “Maybe I should move away from Marvel.” I chuckle, shoving bubbles together and lifting them in my hands.
“You were watching an Adam Sandler movie the first day I showed up so maybe that’s the direction I should go in. Big Daddy ?” I drop the bubbles back into the water. “ The Waterboy ?”
I know way more movie titles than I realized. When I said I got bored waiting for people to wake up, I meant it. “Uh . . . What about Click ? I personally really like that movie, but I think I prefer The Wedding Singer out of all his movies I’ve seen.” I spread bubbles over my chest, smearing them across my skin. “ Just Go with It was good too. There’s also 50 First Dates .”
A knock on the bathroom door has me shooting up in the water, my heart speeding up.
“Elias? Everything okay in there?”
His sister. I thought she left. She must’ve spent the night. It does make more sense if she’s visiting from out of town.
Elias’s eyes blink and I watch myself slowly fade away, bubbles leaving the water with me. I’m back in my room in a matter of seconds, sitting naked on my bed. Why do I have a bed when I don’t sleep? Who the hell knows.
I’ve spent so much time trying to blend in where it didn’t matter. I mean, who’s going to drop by my home and see how closely I live my life to the way a human would?
I saw it as covering my bases everywhere I could, but now I’m wondering if it’s all been a waste of time. My stomach shifts when I think back to Elias’s sister talking through the door. Did she hear me? What would he tell her if she did?
My phone rings, dragging me from my thoughts, and I answer it as Kyvian’s name lights up the screen. “Hey.”
“Hey, you. Whatcha doing? Finally reading those books you got from me?”
I huff out a breath, leaning against the headboard. “I did that during my short break earlier. I was actually sort of working.”
“Oh. A late date with Elias, huh?” he mocks.
“No.” I slump my shoulders, trying not to think of what that would be like and where we’d go. Or whether we’d leave the house at all when the world was at our fingertips in every room we were in together. “I told you. It’s just work.”
“What do you do while you’re there if you’re not being all scary?”
I laugh, lifting the blanket onto my body. “Anything I can to make him feel something good.”
“Something good, huh?” His tone turns sultry, and I laugh again.
“Not like that. Get your mind out of the gutter.”
He gasps. “What? You’re the only one thinking that way so maybe you should. I simply meant telling a joke to make him laugh.”
“Yeah, sure.” I push out my lips, pursing them around the letters of the last word.
“So, was that you I saw waltz into his coffee shop earlier? You were there a while for someone who was grabbing a drink alone.”
“I was thirsty and needed a pick-me-up the same way you do.”
“No, you didn’t. Caffeine does not have the same effect on you as the rest of us.”
He’s right. I experience only the bad effects—the jitteriness and stomach ache from too much sugar—but I don’t mind if it means I get to touch the same cup as Elias, giving me an excuse to slide my fingers over his. “Okay fine, so I went to see him.”
“And why is that?” His voice shifts to a higher octave and my eyes circle around the room.
“Because . . .” I clench my eyes shut. “Because I like him, okay? There, you happy? I’m lusting after someone I shouldn’t and don’t know how to get it to stop.”
He blows out a sigh. “So, what are you going to do? You have almost six months left of him being your patient.”
“I don’t know.” The defeat is evident in my voice and I tug at the strands of my hair. “I need to get over my little crush but I’m not sure how when I see him every day.” I see all the good he no longer sees. I see the excitement and happiness buried behind his sad, guilt-ridden eyes that begs to break through. And him liking what he sees in me isn’t helping the situation.
“You could always try a distraction. Maybe it’s time you give that dating app a try.”
“The Monster Match one?”
“Yeah. I mean if you’re really not wanting to cross a line with Elias and need to keep things professional, try shifting your focus to someone new. There are a lot of cute guys on there.”
There’s a cute one who just shared a bubble bath with me only twenty minutes ago too. One I need to distance my mind from when we’re not together. “I guess it won’t hurt to see if I match with anyone on there.”
“Yeah, just be aware of some of the humans who are only there to satisfy some monster fantasy, or those fetishizers. I know you well enough to know you aren’t looking for either of those things.”
I cringe. He’s very right about that. “Yeah, definitely not. I better not end up regretting this, and if I wind up on a date with some creep, I’m blaming you.”
A laugh trickles out of him. “If you must. You don’t have to meet up with any of them either. Flirt through messages and phone calls for a while.”
“That’s probably a good idea. I don’t know where we’d meet up anyway.” Thinking of someone cutting into my time with Elias causes a pinching in my chest.
“It’s getting late and I need to start closing up. I just thought I’d kill some time by bothering you for the last hour first.”
“Glad to see where I stand in our friendship.”
He snorts. “I better see you tomorrow. Even if it’s just a wave through the damn window.”
“I’m sure I can make that work. Enjoy the rest of your night.”
“You too. Pleasant wakefulness with Mr. Coffee over there.”
With that, I hang up the phone and laugh as I roll my head over the headboard. I lift my phone up again and search for the Monster Match app, hitting download after second-guessing myself more than once. I create my profile, adding what I’m looking for even though I’m not particularly sure myself. After typing the last word, I highlight the whole sentence and hit delete. I start over, this time leaving out Elias’s dark eyes, brown skin and love for sour candy.
How am I going to get over my feelings for him when I’m trying to date someone who’s like him in every way. It keeps happening every time I think of what I’m looking for in a guy. I drop my phone on the bed when I delete most of my last answer, leaving behind the E and L in Elias.