Page 104 of A Shade of Myself
The stoplight turned yellow, and I slowed to a stop.
“Yes.” He jabbed a finger at me. “It would all be so…” A streetlight illuminated a ferocious expression on his face.
My breath caught, a thousand possibilities playing out in that pause.
“So…” A frown creased his brow and he slumped against the seat, almost in surrender. “Ridiculous,” he said softly. “Good,” he said more firmly.
I caught my hand before I rubbed my heart.
The second the light went green, I hit the gas, leaving what could have been behind in a plume of exhaust.
I was an adult capable of having sex without becoming a giddy puddle of feelings. I’d done it before. Admittedly, my deepening friendship with Laurent made it harder for me to separate out those emotions, but if I wanted the sex to continue, and I did, then it was on me to keep those sides separate.
I forced a smile, my hands tightening on the wheel. “Excellent. We’re agreed. Though if you tell me that our friends-with-benefits arrangement is over, I might have a thing or two to say about it.”
Laurent relaxed. “That’s not ending any time soon.”
Great. That was great. I mean, I was still fifty-fifty on even wanting a relationship with the guy. Sixty-forty. At least thirty percent in doubt. This way, I kept getting fantastic sex, and who knew? He might get over his issues and realize what we had going was more than friends with benefits. Meantime, I got to take things slow. Very slow.
I pulled up to the curb at his place, not bothering to cut the engine. “Thanks for coming with me to Giulia.”
When my bright smile didn’t waver under his keen stare, he nodded. “Sure. Tatiana gets back tomorrow.”
“That’s right.”
The awkward silence would normally have made me turn away or dig into my purse with some flimsy excuse, but I just sat there, smiling at him, and he broke our stare first, releasing his seat belt with a click.
“Good night.” He leaned in like he was going to kiss me.
I hesitated a second, then did the same.
Except, he’d stopped at my hesitation, so I followed suit, right when he’d moved in again. He hit my cheek with his nose and sighed.
“Good night!” I flashed him a thumbs-up, holding that moronic pose until he’d gotten out and headed down the sidewalk without a look back. Then I dropped my head against the wheel.
So much for my afterglow.
Bright and early Thursday morning, I headed to New York to break the news to Giselle, since there was no point tossing and turning in bed, pretending to sleep. I didn’t give her a heads-up that I was coming in case the demon was monitoring either of us now.
When I stepped through the shadows into the Kefitzat Haderech, I begged Pyotr to let me talk to the neon sign. He finally agreed after I promised to bring him BBQ chicken and cornbread to try, just like they ate in the Fast and Furious movies.
Once the sign had turned on, I gave it my most charming smile. “Hear me out before you decide, okay?”
It flashed me its skeptical face.
“Great,” I said. “I know this is a Banim Shovavim space, but I’ve got an Ohrist under a demon illusion. This demon may be monitoring her, and I need to discuss breaking his spell. Would it be possible to bring her in here for five—”
I was blown backward through the shadows and into my living room, knocking my potted orchid over, dirt scattering on the floor. Rubbing my shoulder, I returned to the KH.
“You made your point,” I said to the sign. “I won’t ask again.”
Pyotr sighed like he was disappointed and wouldn’t let me take the cute pink baby sock with the lacy ribbon. He stuck me with six dingy stretched-out sports socks that smelled vaguely of mold.
Gross. I rolled them into a giant ball. “Do you know of anywhere in New York that’s warded and would be safe from prying demon eyes?”
Pyotr raised his hand, looking to the sign for permission to speak. The sign face nodded. “There is pizza place in Midtown. Entire building was warded by former owners. Now only pizza store is safe but owned by Sapiens.” He gave me the address.
“You’ve earned yourself a double order of cornbread, my friend.”
