Page 10 of Habibi: Always and Forever

HALLUCI-DATING A DEMON ON A BOAT

ELIAS

“W e got everything?” I whip my head back, lifting my face as Arien steps onto a chair and grabs something from the very top of a book shelf.

“Almost,” he squeaks, stretching his arm out.

“You need help?” I shuffle the backpack strap higher up my arm.

“Nope. I got it. Go on ahead and I’ll be right behind you.” He lifts his heels, tongue sticking outside his mouth as his tail holds on to the edge of the shelf.

“You sure? Do I need to stay behind in case you need someone to catch you?”

“I'm sure,” he says, tugging down a small white bag. Losing his balance, he waves his arms, and his tail loses its grip on the wood. I drop everything I’m holding on the ground and jump behind him as he falls back.

My arms almost miss him, squeezing tightly once getting a proper hold.

I maneuver him to where he’s able to curl into me, smiling. “Got it.”

A bag lifts by the side of my face with a purple tail looped around the handles, and I laugh. “You do need me after all, it seems.”

“I mean, the floor would have caught me just fine,” he muses and I shake my head, pecking a kiss on his nose.

“It wouldn’t have been as gentle.” I kiss him again, running my lips over each cheek and his forehead.

He giggles, pushing at my chest. “Wouldn’t have come with sweet, loving kisses either.”

“Nope.” Hooking my fingers around his chin, I capture his pretty purple lips with mine.

His skin is warm and inviting, and his mouth opens to let me in further as his tongue touches the tip of mine.

The kiss is short and gentle, though it’s hard to keep it that way when he tastes so good being covered in sugar so early in the day.

He recently decided that pancakes taste better with a side of cotton candy, and I decided everything else tastes better with a side of him. Pulling my face back, I set him on the ground, and he steadies himself against me, holding the bag behind his back.

“You going to show me what was worth nearly falling to your death for?”

He rolls his eyes. “Don’t be dramatic. Demons can’t die that easily. And not yet,” he says pointedly, putting more distance between us.

Leaning forward, I try to peek between the white flaps and he shoos me away. “I said not yet, pendejo.”

“Hey, did you just call me a bad word in Spanish?”

“Did I finally use it right?”

A laugh spills from my lips. “No sé, chico lindo. It refers to an idiot or dumbass where my family comes from.”

“Oh.” Turning a darker shade of purple, he lifts his hand to his mouth. “Is chico lindo derogatory too?”

Reaching a hand out, I stroke his cheek. “No, diablo lindo. It means pretty boy.”

“And diablo lindo?”

“Pretty demon.” I lean down to rub my nose over his, but as soon as my eyes dart toward the bag he shakes a finger between us.

“I see what you were trying to do, distracting me so you could take a peek. It’s a hint to what my Halloween costume is going to be, and it may be of some use on our trip out to the lake too.”

“Hmm. Should I be worried?”

“With?” He grins, crossing his arms behind his back and swaying from side to side. “Never. Come on, let’s hurry before it gets too hot.”

Grabbing what I dropped on the floor, I follow him out to the car and load the trunk. He slips into the passenger side, sliding a pair of sunglasses with the lens frames in the shapes of watermelons over his eyes.

“Cute shades,” I say, sliding in beside him.

“You think? I thought they’d be perfect for one of my patients. One of his favorite memories is going watermelon picking with his mom.”

“That’s sweet. You think you’re helping him like you’ve helped me?”

“I hope so. Well, not in the same way of course.” He waggles his brows. “Not everyone gets the special treatment you do.”

I snort, pinching his cheek. “Well, I’d hope not.”

“He’s only the third person I’ve taken on since starting this whole experimental treatment, and I’m hoping I get a chance to help more people sleep easier.”

“I’m sure you will. Thinking of you coming to visit during sleep paralysis should make anyone look forward to closing their eyes.”

His face flushes, and he brings it closer to mine to press a chaste kiss to my lips. “You’re still, and always will be, my favorite patient.”

“Good, because you’re my favorite paralysis demon.”

“You say that as if you’ve had a lot of others.”

“Two too many.” I turn the key in the ignition and the engine roars. “It really is a big relief when you no longer need to fear closing your eyes at night.”

“Yeah. And I do prefer it when people smile when they see me instead of having them wishing they could run away screaming.”

“You definitely have a forever smiley face with me.” My lips stretch as I drive faster down the road.

“What else do I have?”

I tilt my head closer to him. “All of me there is to have.”

He reaches for my hand, tangling our fingers together. “And you have all of me too.”

“How lucky am I?” I brush a thumb over the back of his hand.

“How lucky are we?” His smile matches mine and he hums sweetly, lifting in his seat when the lake appears in view. “We’re here. It’s so much bigger than I thought.”

“Yeah. It’s nice to be here again. Lots of memories.” My heart squeezes.

“We’re about to add some more too.”

“I can’t wait. Having more good things to connect to this place will only make coming here better.”

“And so will what’s in this bag.” Something sparks in his eyes.

“You gonna let me see what that is yet?”

“Nope.” He purses his lips, holding his head higher, and I laugh, pulling into a large parking lot partly filled with trucks that have boat trailers connected to the back.

“Fine. Keep being a tease, then.”

“Oh I will.” He grins, hopping out of the car as soon as I shift it into park. I follow suit, grabbing what we need, and he’s sitting down by the docking area stroking the top of the water with his fingers and tail when I’m done picking up the keys for the boat rental.

“How’s the water?”

“Nice and cold like I thought it’d be.”

“So, no swimming today, then?” I say between chuckles.

Shivering, he wraps his arms around himself and shakes his head. “No way. I heard there are bodies of water that are naturally warm, though.”

“There are. When I was younger, my parents took us to this hot spring in Idaho. I'’l have to take you up there sometime and we can stay in our first cabin together.”

His eyes shine. “I’ve never been in a cabin before.”

“It’s been a minute since I have too. Would be nice to be somewhere remote again, surrounded by nature. There are way too many people coming out to this lake now.”

“Is there?” He moves closer. “I didn’t notice anyone else.

” Smiling cheekily, he stands on his tiptoes and I meet him halfway, pressing my lips to his.

The kiss almost goes on for too long, and then he places one of his feet too far back almost taking us both down into the water.

I lean my weight back and we fall into each other with tangled limbs on the dock, laughing.

“I need to really be careful where I kiss you. First the bonfire incident, and now you nearly drowned me.”

“Drowned? Doesn’t seem that deep.”

“I’m not really a great swimmer.”

His eyes widen. “But you spent so much time by the water?”

“Yeah, on land or in a boat. Sometimes a canoe or a raft.”

“Canoe? That’s one of those narrow boat-looking things, right? With the paddles?”

I laugh sharply. “Yeah. We can rent one next time.”

“Okay. And maybe if we make it to the hot springs, I can show you how to swim.”

“Sounds like a plan. How’d you learn your way in the water?”

He shrugs, standing to his feet first. “Didn’t have a choice where I’m from. I taught myself over time. It didn’t happen without me almost drowning and being eaten by a few water creatures first, though.” He offers me a hand and I take it.

“Sounds rough. Luckily the creature swimming with me is cute and prefers grilled cheese sandwiches and sugar.”

“I mean, you might not be so lucky if you were to wrap yourself in sour belts and cheese.” His stomach makes a noise and I bark out a laugh.

“Is someone hungry already? We just had breakfast maybe an hour ago.”

“Yeah, a small one.”

“Four pancakes with a side of sausage is small?”

He looks down at his stomach and rubs at it. “Apparently so. It’s okay, though. I packed lots of snacks in your bag when you weren’t looking, along with an extra Lunchable in the ice chest.” He really does love his Lunchables. The nachos and pizza ones especially.

“So, no risk of me being anywhere on the menu for you anytime soon, then?”

“Nope but what’s in that bag of mine could change that.

” He drapes his arms in front of him, swaying back and forth.

He’s going to drive me crazy with all the guessing he has me doing.

What could he possibly have in there that’s perfect for his costume while also coming in handy out on a fishing boat?

I guess I’ll have to wait and see. Good thing there are other ways I can distract my mind until the time comes.

Stretching out, I kiss his cheek and neck, wrapping an arm around him after slinging everything over my other arm.

He of course holds on tightly to his bag, and I hold on to him until we’re on the boat.

I untie the rope from the dock, letting it float far enough away before firing up the engine.

Arien sits in the back seat, leaning back and dipping his hand in the water.

He watches as his fingers jump with the boat, smiling.

I get so lost in looking at him, I almost crash into another boat, quickly turning the wheel in time to dodge it.

The guy driving lifts his hands in the air, yelling profanities, and I frown, lifting a hand in apology.

“Mind go elsewhere?” Arien scoots to the edge of his seat.

“Yeah, you could say that.” I slow down, giving him a cheeky smile as I look for a good spot to drop the anchor.

“Where would that be?” Leaning forward, he rests his face on his closed fists.