Page 8

Chapter eight

Hayley

Sunset takes forever to arrive. I spend most of the day in the stock room reorganizing, but it doesn’t do much to calm my nerves about tonight.

I have what I think is a date with my hot, weird neighbor. I really should’ve clarified if it was a romantic or platonic thing, because not knowing is only making me more nervous.

I do my hair and makeup, but not too much, so I don’t look like I’m trying too hard. Then spend an hour rummaging through my clothes to put together an outfit that will be appropriate for both a first date or a totally non-date hangout with a new friend. I settle eventually on a cute pair of jeans that make my ass look great and a cropped sweater that has a little heart cutout to give a hint of cleavage.

I know it’s ridiculous, but wish I still had my lucky panties. They might not have been doing much for me, and sure they were torn, but I think they’d help me be less agitated. Instead, I’m wearing one of my least favorite thongs so that there’s no visible panty line. Even though it’s going to be dark and we’ll be sitting most of the time. Just in case he looks at my ass.

God, I need to relax. If I act uptight and put too much pressure on this, I know I’ll blow it. And despite the very strange way he behaved when we first met, there’s something about Jake that I’m really into. Not just his looks, which made him appear in my sexy fantasy, but his… energy. Yeah, he’s odd, but he’s also really cute. There’s something inside me which tells me he’s special.

I know I should probably ignore that something, since it’s most likely only my romantic side wishing for what happened to Aunt Betsy. Something that says unequivocally “this is the person for you”. Without that fated mates certainty that I was hoping to find with a monster when I came to Hallow’s Cove, I’m terrified because I’ll have to rely on my own judgment which has a terrible track record.

With that bleak thought rattling around in my mind, I head back downstairs as the sun dips below the horizon. I inhale shakily, squeezing my eyes shut for a moment to steel myself for whatever happens tonight, then open the side door out into the alley.

“Holy shit,” I curse. It isn’t under my breath. It’s a loud exclamation that draws the attention of the man currently arranging throw pillows on a couch near the entrance of the alley from the street. The man who looks like a goddamn snack with his tight jeans and vintage leather jacket, lit by strands of fairy lights that criss-cross above his head between our buildings.

Oh shit, this is absolutely a date.

Jake looks up, eyes wide, when he sees me gawking at him. “H-Hayley! Hey.” He looks back at the couch with a slight grimace, then runs a hand through his hair. “Sorry, I’m not done setting up. It took a little longer than I anticipated to put the lights up.”

“This is…” I’m having a hard time putting into words how what he’s set up makes me feel. It’s magical . No one has ever put this much effort into a date for me. Maybe that’s sad, but it’s true. And now I’m wishing I’d used waterproof mascara because there’s a strong urge to cry at the wave of emotion that crashes over me.

Jake’s face falls as he misreads my reaction. “It’s too much. Shit, you didn’t think this was a date. Of course you didn’t.” He shakes his head and scrubs a hand across his face. “Who would ask someone out via a raccoon stakeout?”

“I thought it was a date!” I blurt. Jake looks back up at me and I smile. “I was going to say that this is amazing. I didn’t expect you to put so much effort in, but I love it.”

His face lights up with a hopeful smile that makes my stomach flutter. “Yeah? You sure it’s okay?”

“I mean… it’s not the most practical setup for a stakeout, since the string lights and the couch might scare the raccoon off.”

Jake laughs. “How do you know it doesn’t like mood lighting and a cozy atmosphere? ”

“True.” My laugh is more of a breathy giggle that makes me cringe slightly at how ditzy it makes me sound. I clear my throat. I’m still standing next to the door, so I step closer to Jake and the couch.

As I get closer, I catch him inhaling deeply and pray that my deodorant and my shower made my scent alright for a shifter with a sensitive nose. His eyes flash gold momentarily, and my pulse spikes, but then that heated look is gone, and he’s patting the couch for me to sit.

I lower myself onto the couch, flushing as I realize it’s more of a loveseat and we’re close enough that our legs touch when he sits down next to me. There’s a long moment of silence.

Jake turns and looks at me, his tongue darting out to wet his lips before he speaks. “Are you hungry? I have the tacos if you’re ready to eat. Or we can, uh, talk first if you want. Though they might get cold and it’s probably not safe to let the food sit out for too long. You know what, I’ll go get them.” He stands and walks off before I have a chance to answer his initial question and I watch him with a bemused smile.

He’s nervous. Like, really nervous, not just regular first date jitters. He wants to impress me. The knot of tension in my stomach eases at the realization that he’s as invested in this date as I am. When was the last time a date put in an effort to make me happy?

I’m not sure anyone ever has. Sure, they dressed up and flattered me so they could get me into bed, but they didn’t transform a fucking alley into a romantic tableau .

I know I’m getting ahead of myself, but damn, that feeling inside me that Jake is special is screaming at me now. And when he returns with a goddamn platter of tacos which are clearly homemade and not from a fast-food joint like I expected when I made the request, I know I’m a goner.

He places the platter down on a tray table and passes me a cloth napkin. “Crap, I forgot to ask you what you’d like to drink. I have, uh, tap water, or… moonshine. Dammit, that’s not a great selection, but I mostly drink water and don’t have people over a lot to warrant having a better selection. But I can go to the store and buy you something else!”

Before I can stop myself, I reach out and touch Jake’s arm, which silences him as his eyes go wide. “Take a breath,” I say gently.

He nods and inhales, his wide eyes softening.

“I’ll go get something from inside. After all, it’d be a little silly to have you go to the shop I run to get us drinks.”

Jake chuckles weakly. “You’re right. I’m sorry, Hayley. I’m not normally this weird. Well, no, I am, but not in a nervous way. I just, uh, I really don’t want to screw this up.”

I squeeze his arm and smile back at him, chest swelling at his words. “I’m really fucking nervous, too. I’ve had bad luck on dates lately. Bad luck with dating in general, if I’m being honest.”

Jake blinks down at me. “But you’re perfect.” He flushes as he realizes what he’s said .

A twin blush washes over my cheeks at his compliment, but I wave him off. “No, I’m not. You said you’re weird, but a lot of the time I feel like I don’t fit when I’m talking to people. Especially on dates. I know what I’m supposed to say, how I’m supposed to flirt, and I can go through the motions, but it’s all pretend. Inside, I’m yelling at myself to seem normal, so I don’t scare them away.”

“Really?” Jake’s eyes go wide. “How are you weird?” He sounds excited, rather than put off as he asks the question.

I chuckle. “That could fill a whole conversation. Why don’t I go get some drinks, you take a moment to take some deep breaths, and then I’ll tell you how much of a freak I am?”

“That sounds fucking amazing,” he sighs, giving me a broad smile that makes the urge to kiss him rise even though that’d be super inappropriate to do right now.

“Do you like soda?” I ask, trying to shake out of my besotted stupor.

Jake nods. “Yeah. I don’t drink it much though because it makes Bea—” He cuts himself off as he clears his throat. “Uh, it makes me a little hyper. But I’ll probably need the energy if we’re going to be up late.”

My cheeks heat even more at his words. They aren’t flirtatious, but I can’t not think about what we could get up to in the late hours of the night.

“Okay! I’ll go, uh, get that.” I stand and scurry back inside, heading for the coolers in the shop and sighing as a blast of cold air hits me when I open the glass door. I stand there for a moment, letting it cool off my overheated senses until Eddie appears by my side.

“Everything okay?” he asks, quirking a brow at me.

“Y-yeah. Trying to pick what I want.” I grab two bottles and close the door quickly. Thankfully, Eddie is the least nosy of the triplets, so he doesn’t ask any further questions.

When I return to the alley, my stomach does a little flip at the sight of Jake sitting there waiting for me. Tonight isn’t going at all how I expected, but I’m going to embrace it. For the first time, I’m going to be unfiltered Hayley on a date.

Shower TED talk Hayley would be so proud of me.

Jake stands as I approach, brushing the front of his jeans and drawing my eyes directly to his crotch. I flush and quickly bring my gaze back up to his face, wishing I could go back and stand in front of the cooler again.

I pass him a bottle and he murmurs his thanks, then we both sit. It’d be weird to not face him, so I tuck my legs up under me and turn so my back is against the arm rest. I awkwardly fumble with my bottle of soda and shove it between my thighs to keep it from tipping over as he hands me a plate that already has four tacos portioned out onto it, along with dollops of salsa, guacamole, and sour cream.

“Thanks!” I say brightly, accepting the plate as warmth spreads inside me at his thoughtfulness.

Jake follows suit, positioning himself on the couch to face me, and we both stare at each other for a long moment .

Unwilling to go back to us both feeling awkward as shit, I say the first thing that comes to mind. “I believe in aliens.”

A soft smile spreads Jake’s full lips, and he cocks a brow. “Yeah?”

“Yep. It feels absurd that the universe is so vast that there wouldn’t be alien life. Maybe they don’t want to come here to this backwater planet, but who knows?”

“Oh, they’ve come here,” Jake deadpans.

I narrow my eyes at him, assessing if he’s fucking with me or not. As much as I said I was weird, I’m worried that if I admit I agree and start babbling about all the accounts of alien sightings I’ve read about, he’ll change his mind. That he wants cute, fun weird, not “the truth is out there” weird.

“Are you serious?” I ask evenly.

He pauses and takes a moment to scan my face. I guess he finds what he’s looking for because he nods. “Yeah. Have you seen that documentary where the one guy kept getting his cows abducted and the minotaur who—”

“Said that he was taken and that the aliens looked really similar to him and were trying to find compatible creatures to repopulate their planet with?” I finish, then flush when I realize I’ve spoken over him—an absolute no-go on a first date.

“Yes! A lot of my friends think I’m ridiculous, but I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the monsters that populate the Earth originated from some other planet, and they came here so long ago that we don’t have any record of it.”

“I mean, it’s possible that humans are the invasive alien species,” I say, pulse hammering at the thrill of having an earnest conversation about this.

Jake gives me a crooked smile. “If that’s the case, I’m glad they invaded. Means I got to meet you.”

Butterflies burst to life inside me at his words. They don’t sound like a pickup line. No, they sound one hundred percent genuine. I almost don’t know what to do with myself when faced with such sweetness, so I shove a taco into my mouth before I do something stupid like ask him to kiss me.