Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72519 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72519 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
“So…a date, huh?”
“I would like to get to know you better. Hang out. See what other things we have in common. Maybe…kiss some more…”
“Like this?”
Luke leaned in and captured Matteo’s lips in a sweet kiss that had a bit more force behind it. Matteo’s lips felt even softer this time, and he made the cutest noise that left Luke light-headed. His skin tightened, and he breathed in Matteo’s scent that still held notes of his cologne but something softer and slightly floral under it.
A board creaked somewhere close to them, followed by an unmistakable giggle.
Matteo jerked away from him and swung his head around, eyes wide as he searched the room. The hand that had been pressed into the mattress between them grabbed Luke’s arm. “Did you hear that?”
“I’m sure it was the house settling. It’s an old building. It makes all kinds of creaking and groaning noises.”
“No, I mean the giggle. You heard it, right?”
Yeah, he heard it. He didn’t want to call Matteo a liar, but it wasn’t like he could explain that it came from one of the demons watching them.
“I heard…something,” Luke hedged. “I thought it might be a bird. Or maybe one of the neighbor cats chasing after a bird.”
“Really? You think?”
“Possibly. Maybe we should study for an hour, and then we can discuss what to do on our first date.”
Matteo’s expression cleared, and the fingers biting into Luke’s arm loosened to fall to his own lap. “Okay. That sounds like a responsible plan.”
“And don’t worry. I’ll be right here to keep you safe.”
“That sounds even better.”
The first step in protecting Matteo was going to be setting up new ground rules about spying on them when Matteo was over for a visit. This time, it was just a kiss. He didn’t want to think of the demons watching him if things were to get…spicy.
Chapter 18
The Shovel Talk
LUKE
Luke held his large cup of coffee with both hands and briefly wondered if there was a way he could crawl inside it. The morning had begun bitter cold with the wind gusting up to twenty miles an hour so that it felt even colder. It was as if winter had sunk into his bones, and he would never feel warm again.
Not to mention, the mix of caffeine and restless energy was the only thing keeping him conscious today. This did not bode well for the long day of classes ahead of him.
Harper plopped into the empty seat next to him on the sofa in the student lounge area on the third floor of the science building. Usually, the upper floors of this building were stiflingly warm, but even the old heater couldn’t belch out enough warm air to combat the low exterior temperatures.
As soon as she was settled, he leaned into his best friend, his head resting on her shoulder.
“If the other lesbians start thinking I’m straight, I’m kicking your ass,” she muttered as she lifted her cup to her lips.
“No one on campus thinks you’re straight,” Luke mumbled as he gave a jaw-cracking yawn.
“Better not.” She took another drink of her coffee and nudged him. “Why the hell are you so sleepy? I thought you said that you had quit your jobs to work for your landlord. Shouldn’t you be getting way more sleep now?”
“I should be…” he paused and grinned broadly into her shoulder. “But I was up half the night texting with Matteo.”
“Bitch!” she gasped. Harper shoved Luke off her so she could look him in the eye. “I didn’t know you’d finally gotten the guts to text him regularly.”
“Well, it’s only normal since we had our first kiss.”
“Sneaky bitch!” She smacked him on the shoulder, then added two more when the first one didn’t seem to have any effect. “You kissed? How can you be holding out on me like this? I thought we were friends. That means you have to dish on everything. Particularly the good dating bits. Why the hell else would I be keeping you around?”
Luke snickered and took a sip of his coffee. God, he adored this woman. He didn’t know what he would do without her. She had a way of keeping him sane while the rest of the world went crazy.
“Okay, fine,” she huffed and settled on the sofa. “We’ve both been busy recently. Now’s the time. I don’t have class for another half hour.” She stuck out her index finger and poked Luke in the arm. “Start talking.”
“Well, there’s not much to tell. We’ve just begun hanging out. He was talking about how loud it was in his dorm, and I kind of bragged about living off campus. He was interested in seeing the house, so I invited him over on Friday. We stopped and picked up a pizza on the way—”
“Wait! You’re telling me he’s seen the house you’re living in, and I haven’t?” She thrust one hand into the air and held her coffee cup to her chest. “Betrayed! I have been betrayed!” She said it with enough force and emotion that several people passing through the lounge stopped to stare at us. But they gave no more than a look before continuing on. They probably thought one or both of us were drama majors. Or simply undergrads.