Page 8 of Demon's Mate
Ollie seemed just as eager to be friends as Harper was. He must have been really lonely in the apartment by himself. Whyelse would he make such an effort to be nice when they didn’t know each other? Or maybe Ollie wasn’t being overly nice, and Harper just didn’t know how to interact with kind people.
“That sounds really great,” Harper admitted.
Ollie’s grin widened. “Perfect. Let’s go.”
“Now?” Sweat broke out on Harper’s palms. He wasn’t ready to leave the apartment.
Ollie stood from the couch, pocketing his phone. “We might as well get your makeover going. I wasn’t exactly looking forward to sitting around all evening. Now we’ve got something fun to do.”
Harper stopped himself from fidgeting under Ollie’s gaze. Satandamnit, why was he so awkward? “Are you sure you don’t mind? You were just at work.”
“Na, not at all. Let’s do it. Then we can get dinner on the way home. There are some quality takeout places on the way that I’ll have to show you since you’re new to the neighborhood.” Ollie grabbed a light jacket off the armchair, looking expectantly at Harper.
He was shorter and dressed in all black, his long-sleeve button-down rolled up to the elbows with the top few buttons at the collar left undone. He looked good, stylish, like someone with his own personality who knew who he was.
Would Harper have his own style one day? Maybe even a personality that felt authentic rather than like a mask? Fuck, he hoped so.
Screw it, he was leaving the apartment even if he hadn’t planned to so soon. He wanted this experience, bonding with his roommate.
Harper ducked into his room to grab a hoodie and followed Ollie out of the building.
As they walked, Ollie chatted about his job and his colleagues. It sounded like he was pretty happy at the salon.
Harper magically scanned people as they walked, looking for witches, and even when he didn’t detect any—or any vampires because the difference between the two wasn’t immediately obvious when vampires could move around during the day—he didn’t relax.
How could he? He may never relax again at this rate, let alone on a nice summer evening with crowds of people out enjoying themselves. Every corner they passed, he expected someone to jump out.
The salon was in a busy part of the Banks Harper hadn’t been to before, near lots of restaurants and bars. At least the salon itself was dark and quiet inside.
Ollie let them into the large, open-plan space, switching on the lights and illuminating the high ceilings and exposed brick walls. He led Harper over to his station, and they talked about colors, highlights, and lowlights before Ollie went to mix the dye.
Harper eyed the large front windows and all the people beyond, but no one passing by paid the salon any attention. There still weren’t any witches around. Everything was fine.
The sky turned orange, casting everything in a soft glow.
“You okay?”
Harper startled, heart pounding, and nearly jolted out of his seat. It was just Ollie returning with his supplies. Harper gripped the armrests to steady himself. “Yeah, fine.”
Ollie paused. “Jumping out of your skin doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in your answer.”
Harper froze. Was Ollie mad at him or making fun of him? Maybe he couldn’t do this friend thing after all.
“You seemed tense walking over here. Is everything all right?” Ollie went on, his tone kind and maybe even concerned. “Sorry, I don’t mean to pry.”
Good, Ollie wasn’t mad. Harper tried to shake it off. Hedidn’t want Ollie thinking anything was odd about him, but he didn’t want to have to wear a mask all the time either. “I was just worried we’d run into someone, but it’s fine. I’m having a weird day, that’s all.”
“Okay.” Ollie gave him a small smile. “If you need anything, let me know.”
Yeah, there was no way he was asking human Ollie to help him avoid the Nightingale Coven, but he appreciated the offer. “Sure, thanks.”
Ollie started sectioning off Harper’s hair, placing the foils, and brushing on the dye. The contact sent tingles over Harper’s scalp. Ollie caught his eye in the mirror. “If it’s an ex you’re worried about seeing, I totally get it.”
Harper shifted in his seat. He didn’t have any exes. “It’s not that. Um…it’s more a family thing.”
“Gotcha.” Ollie frowned. “Do you mind taking off your glasses?”
Harper did so, folding them and putting them on the counter in front of the mirror. “Are you avoiding your ex?” he asked, hoping to turn the conversation back to Ollie.
