Page 14 of The Devil's Waltz

Adrianna takes a drink of her coffee and sighs. “She said she’ll try, but work is being hard on people asking for time off. So, I guess we’ll see.”

I make an effort to keep a neutral expression as I nod, but I have to fight the urge to roll my eyes. Work-life balance means nothing to the organization, even for those in training, who still have some semblance of a life outside hunting demons.

“How was your maybe-date with Xander?” Phoebe asks, nearly beaming. “I’m dying to hear all about it.”

“Date?” Adrianna chimes in. “Cami had adate?”

I laugh. “You don’t have to sound so surprised.”

“Are you going to keep us in suspense, or are you going to spill?”

My lips curl into a smile as my thoughts drift back to yesterday with Xander. “It was really nice.”

“Nice?” Grayson asks, arching a brow at me. “That’s it?”

I blow out a breath, shrugging. “I don’t know how to adequately express what it was. And before you roll your eyes at me, I realize how lame that sounds, but it’s true. I haven’t dated much, and I’ve never really enjoyed the ones I have been on.”

“But this was different,” Phoebe offers, her gaze filled with delight.

“It…Yeah. I was nervous until I got there, but I relaxed almost immediately. It was exciting but easy to be around him. I don’t know how else to explain it.”

“So you’re going to see him again, right?” Adrianna asks, taking a drink from her massive cup of coffee.

I bite the inside of my cheek, my stomach fluttering with warmth. “I hope so. I haven’t talked to him today.” I cringe at my next words. “I didn’t want to come off too eager, or whatever.”

“Screw that,” Phoebe says, leaning back and resting her feet against Grayson’s chair. “Follow your gut. Don’t be afraid to go after what you want, Cami. If that freaks him out, which I very much doubt it will, then he isn’t right for you.”

“True,” Adrianna adds. “And it’s better to know now than to waste your time.”

She’s not wrong.

I groan, raking my fingers through my hair as I redo the bun at the crown of my head. “Okay, okay. I’ll text him when I’m done work.”

Phoebe shoots me a wink. “Attagirl.”

Not much later, they take off so Adrianna can finish her project, and I start my cleaning. There’s still an hour left until I can lock the door, but I don’t foresee many more customers.

Instead of waiting until I get home, I pull my phone out and send Xander a text before I can overthink it.

Thanks again for yesterday. I had a really great time.

I chew my thumbnail, staring at my screen as I wait for the message to change from delivered to read. The three dots appear when he starts typing a response, and my stomach flips.

I should be thanking you for the same reason. I hope we can do it again soon.

I’m grinning like an idiot as I read his message.

I’d like that.

What are you doing now?

Just finishing up work. I’m stuck on the closing shift again tonight.

I was going to make a joke about watching out for demons, but it’s probably a bit soon for that, huh?

I roll my eyes, but my lips still twitch.

You’re hilarious.

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