Page 14 of Help Wanted, Vampires Inquire Within
His words made both her and Mason laugh. Mason strode around the front of the car as the young man joined her against the building to watch him park.
“You two saved me,” he said, leaning against the wall next to her. “Without help, I would’ve been there all night.”
He looked as young up close as he did when he was driving the car. He was slightly taller than her, so maybe five foot ten or so. His black hair was a sharp contrast to his pale skin. His features were delicate but still distinctly masculine.
She had the urge to touch his sharp cheekbones and run her fingers down and under his jaw. Except for Mason, she’d never had the urge to touch anyone like this.
“Have you been driving long?” Skyler asked. She could sympathize with struggling to drive. She had a driver’s license but wasn’t comfortable driving anywhere but empty country roads.
The young man’s smile turned wry. “I should be better considering how long I’ve had access, but I hate it. The freeways around here are horrible. So many people honked at me on the way here that it might be a new record for me. I’m not sure I’ll be able to work up the courage to drive home.”
She chuckled. “Do you have anyone you can call to pick you up?” she asked as a group of humans walked past them, not giving them or the lively bar behind them a second glance.
He shook his head. “My friends are all out for the night, and I don’t want to ask them to stop having fun for me. It took a lot for me to convince them to go out without me.”
That made her curious. “You didn’t want to hang out with your friends?”
A brief, sad expression crossed his face. “They feel obligated to stay close to me. It’s not fair to them.”
That sounded like a complicated situation. Before she could ask another question, Mason was striding up. “Do you have the fob for the car?”
The boy nodded and held up a rectangular fob. “You mean this thing? Do you want it so you can rid me of that infernal contraption?”
Mason laughed. “No, but you should lock it. It’s a nice vehicle.”
The boy hit a button on the fob and the perfectly parked car beeped. “There, now it’s safe until you decide to steal it from me.”
“You just need a little practice in a better place,” Mason said. “Not on a narrow busy street at night.”
“Perhaps,” the boy grumbled. Then he gestured behind them at Joy. Are you going in there? I’d like to buy you both drinks for your kindness.”
He must be able to see Joy because he was standing with her and Mason. The wards were designed to let humans see everything when they were accompanied by a non-human.
Even though Mason wasn’t usually this friendly, he seemed as charmed by the young man as she was. “Sure, I could use a stout.”
“Excellent,” he said, leading the way into the small bar. “Barkeep, give my new friends the finest of whatever they want.”
His affectation was adorable. It reminded her of the steampunk group one of her sisters liked to hang out with.
Zan took a deep breath, then tilted his head, confused. “I don’t think we’ve met each other. I’m Zander, or Zan if we become friends.”
The young man’s face looked startled, and he turned to face her and Mason. “I’m terribly sorry, I never told you my name.” He executed a little bow. “I’m Jack.”
“Hi Jack, my name is Jill,” Skyler said.
Jack’s eyes went wide. “No! Really?”
“Not really,” she answered with a chuckle.
“In that case, should I call you Not-Jill?” Jack asked with an easy smile, and pointed to Mason. “Or maybe I should call you Mason and make our interaction efficient, if a little confusing.”
“My name is Skyler,” she said, noticing Zan talking to Rissa with a frown on his face and pointing to Jack. Was Zan upset because Jack was human? He was probably worried about him being here and maybe seeing something he shouldn’t.
“Zan, he’s with us,” Skyler said. It was only a little white lie and a calculated risk. It was rare that anything weird happened at Joy.
Of course, when something did happen, it was usually spectacular with shifters taking their animal forms and vampires with glowing red eyes ready to rip the enemy apart. She’d seen that all firsthand!
Thankfully that was unlikely, so she was willing to take the risk to enjoy the adorable Jack’s company.
