Page 40 of Demon Dating Service

The pizza box held in his hands, the scent of cheese, tomatoes, and oregano drifted around them with each step. Luke hadn’t been hungry when they’d left school, but his stomach was now growling with every step they took.

After a few more blocks, they reached the giant house that loomed over the entire street. The sun had already set behind the house, casting it in creepy shadows, while the pair of porch lights flickered like torches in a breeze.

“Holy fuck,” Matteo whispered.

Luke glanced back to find Matteo stopped at the edge of the sidewalk leading to the front porch, his wide eyes locked on the house. The wind had bitten his cheek pink, but they seemed to pale now as Luke watched him.

“What’s wrong?”

“You’re not serious, are you? You don’t actually live here?” Matteo lifted one hand and pointed a trembling finger at the house in question.

“Yeah. Sure. Why?”

“Dude! That’s the murder house!”

“What?” Luke squawked. The box wobbled in his hands, but his fingers tightened on it before it could fall. “What are you talking about?”

“Everyone on campus says it’s haunted. Haven’t you heard?”

“No.”

Matteo shook his head and retreated a step. “It was the first week that I was at school. Some of us went for a drive, and my roommate stopped here. He said this place was crazy haunted. All the neighbors have reported hearing weird noises coming from it, but nobody lives there. People have gone in on dares and were never seen again. There are all kinds of stories about people dying and body parts being found in the yard.”

Luke cleared his throat and let his gaze dart over to the house as he attempted to organize his thoughts. He had no doubt that some of those stories were probably true. His “unique” roommates loved to get up to mischief. He might have even helped them a few times—notthat he condoned hurting anyone physically.

“That’s crazy,” Luke said with a laugh that he prayed didn’t sound too forced. “First, the house isn’t abandoned. I’ve been living there for more than a month now. The owners are nice. I think people are bored and cooking up wild stories because the house is so big.”

“Okay…but…don’t you think it’s a little creepy?”

Luke looked at the house. “Not…really. I think it’s just the way the sun has set behind it. It’s making all these shadows. It’s not scary.” To him, it was a warm, safe haven in a world that was always trying to crush him. Yes, there were a lot of demons in there. Maybe the house itself got restless. It would do things like hide the doors to the bathrooms or turn on all the water faucets at the same time, but those were silly pranks.

Matteo didn’t seem convinced. He shivered, and Luke wasn’t sure if it was from the cold.

“Do you not want to go in?”

“Um…”

Luke’s shoulders slumped, pebbles of disappointment piling up in his stomach. He’d been eagerly anticipating this non-date. They’d be away from the prying eyes of hundreds of college students, and maybe, he could have a normal conversation without feeling endlessly self-conscious.

“We could take the pizza to campus. Eat it at your dorm.” Of course, it would be ice cold by the time they reached his room, and they’d be stuck trying to locate a working microwave in which to nuke it.

“Fuck, no!” Matteo straightened. “Those damn vultures would scarf up all our pizza before we got any and bitch about not getting any breadsticks.”

Luke bit his bottom lip to hold in his laugh. Matteo tipped his chin up and sucked in a loud breath as if he were gathering his courage.

“You promise you’re going to protect me?” Matteo asked while keeping his eyes locked on the house.

“Of course. I won’t let anything hurt you.”

“Cool. Cool.” Matteo nodded, but he didn’t take a step. He continued to stand shivering on the sidewalk, staring at the house.

Luke walked to him and patted him on the shoulder. “I live here. It’s safe. We’ll go in, heat the pizza, and I’ll show you around. You’re going to love the library and the family room. I swear they’ve got the biggest TV I’ve ever seen.”

“Okay.” Matteo took a step forward, but it was a slow, tiny one.

“Did you know there are more than twenty types of vultures and that they can eat meat in any stage of decay?” Luke blurted out.

“What? That’s crazy!” Matteo said, and this time he took an even bigger step.