Page 34 of Hooked on a Demon
Up for a hangout?
Here it goes…
I can’t tonight.
Why not?
Tired and need a night in.
Work’s been busy, ya know.
I’m cool with chillin at your place. I’ll grab some beer.
Fuck. How do I tell him no?
Declan paces, knowing he needs to end this now before Everest even thinks about hopping in his truck.
I think it’s best if I chill on my own tonight. Buckley needs some time with me. He’s been feeling neglected all week.
And I think I may be getting sick, so I’m feeling a night in by myself.
Please buy it. Please buy it.
Three dots appear, then disappear. It takes a moment for the response to come through, and as he reads it, he knows Everest isn’t happy.
Okay.
It’s only a single word, but that’s so not Everest. Everest never shuts up. And the period at the end? Ugh.
Maybe sometime this weekend.
Sure.
Rather than try and make his friend feel better, and ultimately make it worse, Declan leaves it alone. He’s never been one to say no to Everest, but Tai was right, it’s time for Declan to grow up. He’s been tired of the bar scene and games for a while, and ever since Eliana literally walked into his life, he’s had no interest in those shenanigans anymore. But it’s all Everest seems to want to do.
So yeah, he lied to his best friend. But he’s been lying to himself much longer, and it’s time he allowed himself to feel that happiness he’s been avoiding for so long. And what is the first step to try to achieve that? Take Eliana out.
* * *
Pulling up to her apartment, his chest is tight as nerves run through him and dance around his insides like a little gnome building a new burrow. The energy within has him feeling restless and raring to go, but his brain tells him he needs to approach slowly. She’s not just any woman to him, and he doesn’t want her to feel as such.
It’s been so long since he has properly dated that there’s a part of him that doesn’t know if he even remembers how to do this without the goal to be getting into someone’s bed at the end of the night.
Swallowing, he does his best to calm the chaos inside of his body, then opens the door and steps out of his truck. He’s only ever been outside of her building, so he doesn’t even know what apartment is hers, and because he didn’t think to ask, as he steps into the vestibule, he hopes her name is listed on the board.
His eyes scan the list of tenants and thankfully find Oaks, E about midway down the list. He pushes the button the board dials whatever number is programmed into it. A moment later, her angelic voice fills the space.
“Hello?”
Fighting a smile, he replies, “Hi. It’s Declan. Do you want to let me up? Or you can come down. Whatever works for you. I’m easy.” The words tumble out of him like a stream of consciousness, and without any sense of control from his brain… if he had one.
Oh, my fucking Hades. Shut up!His demon chastises.
She laughs at his flustered words, and it’s a sound that hits him in the center of his chest, like a spell cast only for him. “You can come up. I need a couple more minutes. Apartment 1108.”
“See you in a few.” A loud buzzer sounds, and the second door unlocks, allowing him to find his way to his princess in the tower.
The elevator ride up to the eleventh floor feels excruciatingly long. As he lets his smoke unfurl from his body, he’s thankful he’s alone in the enclosed space. It doesn’t take long for the vessel to fill with smoke so thick he can’t see his own hand in front of his face, but the release of his power loosens the tension inside his body. His shoulders relax, and the butterflies in his stomach finally settle. As the elevator slows, he pulls the smoke back in, making it look as if nothing happened to whoever may enter after him.
