Page 51 of Dreaming of Darkness

I pointed a finger at the screen, giving her a sad smile. “This thing always had the worst timing.”

“Agreed,” Elena sighed, then gave me a big smile. “Why don’t we go grab a drink?”

“I should stay, wait for this thing to get done.”

Elena’s pretty mouth pouted. “Just for one, maybe two! I’m dying to hear about this guy from the party. Everyone was raving about the pair of you afterwards.”

My throat felt tight, my scalp pricking. Raving could be good or bad. “What do you mean raving?”

“Just that you two were so pretty together, and that he was a great dancer,” Elena leaned in, eyes shimmering with humor, “Iheard he sent Alex running.”

I huffed a short laugh, “Okay, that was pretty funny.”

Elena clapped a hand over her heart, “I'm swooning already. Come on, come tell me all about him. I feel like we haven’t gotten to get to know each other yet.”

I looked up into her face and realized that while I was missing Traum badly, I was also missing human contact. And Elena, she was sweet and friendly, and she’d been making so much effort since I moved here.

“You know what, I’d love to. Let’s go.”

Laughing softly, we packed up the rest of our things and marched out of the building. A local bar was only a block away and we made it there in excellent time. Probably a combination of the cooling fall air and our need for a seabreeze cocktail.

As soon as we got sat, Elena laughed into the questions.

“How did you two meet?”

I shrugged, remembering how bad of a liar I really was. “I mean, he is just the man of my dreams.” I had to swallow a slightly hysterical laugh. I coughed to cover it up.

“Urgh,” Elena leaned back in her booth, smiling at me over her glass, “Do you two live together or anything?”

“No,” I sipped my fruity drink, “Sadly still doing the long-distance thing.”

“That sucks, my college boyfriend and I did that for years.”

We chatted on for a bit, mostly about the party and the new guy in accounting who had asked Elena to coffee. “He’s fine,” she said, her eyes rolling, “Just not…I don’t know, he doesn’t seem like the one. I feel like dating culture is dead. I just want to wake up married someday, two kids a dog, a cat and a fucking goldfish.”

I laughed, the drink warming my belly. “I get that. I know that Traum is the one, but I keep dragging my feet. It doesn’t make any sense.”

“Honey, I’ve seen him, you need to lock that down. And fast.”

My glass was empty against the smooth counter of the bar, “I know.”

“What is holding you back?”

I swirled my empty glass, watching as Elena ordered a second, “I’m not sure.”

“Well, you better figure it out, because unless my eyes are lying, your man is about to walk right over here.”

“What?” I jerked around, staring at the crowded bar as I met a pair of burning chocolate eyes. The color was all wrong, but the face, the shape, the curling smirk on his mouth.

“Traum,” I whispered, watching him cut through the crowd.

“Oh Jesus, that boy is pretty.”

I stood, my knee clanking against the counter. I felt nothing though, nothing but relief and pleasure at the sight of him, even in his human glamour. “You’re here.”

“Whereever you are, is where I wish to be,” Traum said, leaning in and brushing my mouth with a kiss.

“But how, how did you find me?”

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