Page 34 of Hollow

“You make me not hate what’s underneath the mask.”

“Maybe one day, I will make you like what you see underneath the mask.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Jack teased. “You’ve seen my ego. Could you imagine how insufferable I’d be if I was walking around with pretty privilege, too?”

“You are a vexing man.”

“I try my best.” Jack grinned.

His golden eyes held such an alluring shimmer. The stitches holding his face together framed his carefree smile.

Dimitri smiled back, enjoying the rest of the evening and listening to Jack talk about anything and everything under the sun.

CHAPTER NINE

Crinkled and crackling leaves fluttered in the air, carried by a frigid gust. Many others still littered the trail, crunching beneath Jack’s boots with every step. Winter had finally arrived and brought with it much colder days than in years past. December didn’t usually have such bitter chills.

Jack folded his arms as he huddled for warmth underneath his thick Christmas sweater. While going shirtless was his trademark style, Jack wasn’t venturing into town to promote his monstrous legend. Plus, he liked his ugly holiday sweaters.

“How are you cold?” Dimitri asked, his jacket was left unzipped and fully exposed his muscular abdomen.

“Not all of us have super Leshy weather resistance.”

“I would not call it that,” Dimitri said. “I just do not think this country gets very cold. Hot, yes. Unbearably so.”

“Well, I’d be nice and toasty if we were in my truck.” Jack shivered, his shadowy expression twisted into a row of chattering sharklike teeth.

Dimitri didn’t respond, merely took a deep breath, and smirked.

“Yeah, yeah, nature’s good and all that.”

Jack often found himself forced on exhausting hikes whenever he tried to drag Dimitri into town. It was sort of their compromise with each other. Dimitri would agree to people if Jack agreed to nature. Honestly, Jack considered Dimitri’s sacrifice a bigger burden. He remembered living life as an introvert for almost a century.

Maybe he was never really an introvert, just a broken extrovert. The point was, once he found himself, found the spark and joy that came with interacting and putting himself on display, he couldn’t imagine going back. However, he recalled how physically draining and mentally mortifying it was to interact with people when he didn’t have the bandwidth for such things. So, he’d pick at Dimitri for sure, but he’d also show his gratitude for every outing he agreed to.

“How are you even so cold?” Dimitri asked, standing behind Jack and wrapping his arms around the frozen little monster. “I thought you could turn off your sensations.”

“I don’t like dulling my shadow senses unless I’m really overwhelmed,” Jack explained. “It puts me in a fog.”

“Like the mystery fog?” Dimitri gestured to the blanket of fog that parted with their every step.

“I can’t tell if you’re making a witty pun or a straightforward comparison.”

“I never do anything straight.” Dimitri raised his brows and gave Jack a teasing expression.

Jack snorted.

As they reached the edge of the woods, Jack paused and retrieved a set of string lights. He turned them on, letting the bright colors add to his pitch.

“What do you think?”

Dimitri stared unblinkingly. Jack handed him the lights.

“Try them on.”

“Try them on?” Dimitri asked, holding the string of lights. “What are they for?”

“Something to make you festive.”