Page 20 of Demon's Desire

“I… No, I’d remember going to a party.” Elias shook his head.

“What?” It took all of my muscle control not to glare at him. “You were there last night. You were being flirty so we danced. I kissed you, then the house caught on fire.”

“What?!” He was taken aback by that. “Fire? I’d remember a fire. I don’t even know—Wait. We kissed?”

“Ooooh,” one of his friends teased.

“I—Yes!” I huffed. “The house caught on fire, and I asked for your number, but you said you’d meet me here, today, at one o'clock instead.”

“Damn. You stood her up, El.” One of the other guys shook his head.

“I… I’m really sorry.” Elias shrugged. “I don’t remember any of that. Maybe I got too drunk or… something. But, you know, if you want, we can hang out for a bit. I can blow them off. You seem really, um… Well, I don’t know you, but you’re really pretty.”

I was completely shocked by everything he said. This made no sense. He wasn’t drunk last night at all, not that I could tell. But even if he had been so drunk he forgot everything, he was acting like a completely different person. There was none of his cool, suave nature that I’d seen last night. He was hesitant to compliment me, and he seemed… awkward. Which wasn’t inherently a bad thing, but it was a full one-eighty from the night before.

“Um… No. Sorry, I should get going.” I shook my head and turned around to grab my bag and the weird soda-coffee drink Marcus had given me.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked over to see Marcus. He had taken off his apron and was smiling at me. “Hey. He’s a dick. Why don’t I walk you home?”

I looked at Elias over my shoulder. He and his friends had gone over to get in line, so they were out of earshot. Elias seemed completely unphased by our interaction.

I glanced back at Marcus. I thought about saying no for a second before I decided that I had nothing to lose. I might as well turn this humiliating moment into something semi-decent, so I nodded at him and headed for the door.

Marcus walked with me. When we left the store, I noticed he was carrying another drink, but this one was in an actual coffee cup, not one for an iced drink.

“I got this for you,” he said, holding it out to me. “It’s white tea. It’s a little sweeter than black or green. You know, in case you decide that you hate that coffee thing.”

I looked at him for a second before giving him a slight smile. “That was really sweet. Let me try it.” I handed him the Coke-coffee and took the tea, bringing it to my lips. It was hot, so I was careful with it, but when I took a drink, I loved it. It was lighter than other teas I’d tried with an almost floral taste to it. “Mmm… Okay, the Coke cold brew was all right, but this is really good.”

He grinned. “Success.”

I laughed and took another small drink. “So did you just get off work or something?”

“Yeah.” He shrugged. “They let me off early.”

“Well, the timing was convenient for me.” I smiled at him as we reached the intersection on Sheridan. “Hey, why did you assume I was walking home?”

“I saw you on the street before you came in,” he explained. “I didn’t see you come out of a car, so I just guessed.”

“Oh, that makes sense.” I nodded and took another drink of the tea. “So, tell me about yourself. How long have you lived in Chicago?”

“I am so much less interesting than you.” He laughed. “I moved here about ten years ago. Never went to college. I don’t play sports or anything. I’m dull. You’re the exciting one.”

“I am so not that exciting.” I laughed with him. “Really, I’m pretty boring most of the time.”

“You’ve been in Chicago two days, and you’ve been hit on by at least two guys and lived through a house fire!” he teased, nudging me as we started across the intersection. “You’re already the coolest person I know.”

I rolled my eyes. “You need cooler friends.”

“Well, I think I just made one.” He winked at me as we walked. “What did you study in college?”

“Psychology.” I took another sip of my tea. It was pretty chilly here compared to Texas. I couldn’t remember it ever getting below sixty degrees in October there. Here, it was barely sixty, and it was currently the warmest point of the day. I appreciated the hot tea a lot during that moment. “I just needed something that I figured would help me get a better career in the future. Something more reliable than bartending.”

“You’re a bartender?” he asked. “So you’re basically a fancy barista.”

I rolled my eyes. “I was a bartender in Texas. And bartending is very different from being a barista.”

“They’re like the same job!” He chuckled.