Page 2 of To Cuddle A Gremlin (Monsters in Love Side Stories #1)
CHAPTER 2
Kazmier: You okay? You’re awfully quiet.
Crash: I’m fine. Long day. Just tired.
Kazmier: If you need to talk, I’m willing to lend an ear.
Crash: Thanks.
Kazmier: So, out with it. What happened? You never did a run-by of my farm.
Crash: Think I just want to focus on my own farm. I've got a whack of gachapons and 3
Kazmier: Lucky duck. You got mad skillz. The maddest.
Crash: How do you talk to someone you like?
Kazmier: Carefully? You had an encounter, I’m assuming?
Crash: Well, this person I like dropped by my work.
Kazmier: Tell me more.
“ H i there. I was hoping to run into you again,” Isadore said.
Sebastian twitched before freezing in place, and Isadore winced. He hadn’t meant to scare Sebastian, but he didn’t want him to hide away either. Isadore had figured out Sebastian’s schedule and waited outside the library doors for him to leave for the day. Yes, what Isadore was doing was adjacent to stalking, but Isadore had a feeling Sebastian had plans to avoid him.
Sebastian was all awkward limbs and shy smiles. He never looked at the world straight on, always under the cover of a ducked head. Just the other day, Isadore saw for the first time the palest hazel eyes hiding behind Sebastian’s black frames. Isadore had never seen a human with such an unique colour. Only creatures of late fall had shades of brown like Sebastian. What intrigued Isadore the most was Sebastian’s intense focus on what he enjoyed and lack of awareness of the world around him. His innate kindness to others grabbed Isadore’s attention as well.
“You—you came back. Why?” Sebastian gaped at Isadore before clapping a hand over his mouth. “Dear God, I didn’t mean to be so insulting. I am so sorry. Hello.”
“Hello.” Isadore smiled. He itched to stroke the blossoming pink cheeks, but humans didn’t appreciate touches from strangers, so he kept his hands to himself. Ever since coming from the other dimension where the majority of his kind lived, Isadore had been fascinated by this world's societal mores and norms, but learning to abide by them was challenging. “You left so fast yesterday I didn’t have the opportunity to make sure you were alright.”
“Oh, right. Yeah, I’m fine. Happens all the time. No need to worry about me. It’s all good.” Sebastian waved off Isadore’s concern with a big smile.
Isadore drank in Sebastian’s fine-boned beauty while maintaining distance. He longed to feel the pale skin with the back of his hand. Keeping to himself was a challenge. His people were tactile, and touch was a love language. To not feel Sebastian in some fashion irritated Isadore.
“I know. But I wanted to see for myself. You…didn’t visit the café this afternoon, and I was concerned.” Isadore clenched his fists in his pockets. Why was this place so cold? This interaction wasn’t going as he planned. But the arrested look in Sebastian’s eyes was new and kept Isadore from giving up.
“Oh, thanks. I’m—I’m good. I just—” Sebastian huffed in frustration before taking a deep breath. “I had lunch in the library. Saving money.”
Money was another one of the foreign concepts to this world, but Isadore had discovered humans liked to hoard it. “Yeah, I understand. Food can become pricey if you go every day.”
“Yup, exactly.” Sebastian rocked on his feet, a furrow forming on his brow. He glanced at the ground, the library, and everywhere but Isadore. Sebastian had reached his limit and needed Isadore to give him space. Isadore had managed to talk to Sebastian without him running away, and that right now was enough.
“Since you seem to be okay, I’m gonna go. Nice chatting with you.” Isadore itched to pat Sebastian’s hand or even going so far as to steal a hug for a reminder of this interaction, but Sebastian’s tense bearing warned him off. “See you soon at the café?”
Sebastian nodded and smiled before spinning around and heading in the opposite direction of where he went yesterday. “Fucking hell.”
Isadore jerked his head and blinked. Sebastian’s curse wasn’t anything he expected. The swear was delightful, and Sebastian wasn’t as immune to Isadore’s charms as he thought. But how could Isadore translate that into some sort of affection? Wooing Sebastian required strategy and tactic, something Isadore was too impatient to implement.
In the morning, Isadore sprawled at his usual table in the front corner of the cafe, facing the door. His best friend, Harry, sat with his back to the plate-glass window, eying the deli counter where Isadore’s brother, Tony, was working his type of magic. Isadore kept his eyes on the street, not paying attention to what Harry was rambling on about. Harry liked very specific things in his life: comics, art, and Isadore’s older brother.
“Isadore, are you even listening to me?” Harry snapped his fingers at him. Isadore dragged his eyes away and arched an eyebrow as Harry sliced a piece of chocolate croissant.
“I am.” Isadore rested his chin on his laced fingers and batted his eyes at Harry, whose clothes were tailored and his hair just so. “How do you manage to keep your style so perfect?”
“I use high-end products and baby the crap out of it. Stop pouting. Your Sebastian isn’t coming, but the sweet and adorable Sammi is.” Harry jerked his chin toward the door before fingering his bangs into place. Sammi stepped through the glass door and began unwinding her long scarf from its loops around her neck. The jewel tones of the wool set off the rich brown of her skin. Her braids were coiled into two buns at the top of her shoulders. Isadore had to force himself to sit still and not barrage her with endless questions about Sebastian.
“Do you think I scared him? Is Sammi going to tell me to back off? I knew meeting him twice was a douche move. God. Courting humans is worse than courting gremlins.” Isadore shuddered. Gremlin traditions involved bringing electrical components to a mate’s family as a dowry. But Sebastian was skittish, and trying to remain within his periphery was hard.
“God, Issie, I don’t know. I wasn’t there. You said this wasn’t going to be a dissect-everything-I-did-outside-the-library lunch,” Harry grumbled, his eyes darting toward the kitchen doors.
“And I thought you weren’t going to stare at Tony the whole time either. But I’ll stop, I promise,” Isadore snapped back. He watched as Sammi moved through the lunch line, his eagerness to join her threatening to upset the fragile peace between him and Harry. When did talking about feelings become so contentious between them? They'd never argued about this before. He was an adult with his own hovel and his own hoard. He shouldn’t be behaving like a fledgling. “There’s no point in rehashing what I did. I fucked up.”
“You did. And I wasn’t looking at Tony. I was glancing at the … menu board.” Harry sipped his coffee. Isadore rolled his eyes as Harry’s cheeks pinked up. How Harry could have a crush on Isadore’s brother was something he would never understand. Tony was grumpy, fussy, and hated people fawning over him. Which was a brownie’s worst nightmare. Tony avoided Harry because of his artistic nature and despised Sebastian for his shy persona and inability to meet Tony’s gaze when ordering at the counter. “Tony or Tara added new items.”
“Fine.” Isadore took a bite of his ham sandwich, giving up on teasing Harry. “Do you think I should try again?”
“Are you talking about freaking Sebastian out?” Sammi asked as she appeared at their table. Isadore jumped before smiling at the petite woman.
“Yes, the conversation has become mind-numbingly mundane. Is there any chance we can get these two to stop pussyfooting around each other?” Harry asked, leaning back in his seat. The buttons on his shirt strained against his barrel chest. “Hello, Beautiful Sammi, how are you today?”
Sammi leaned against Harry, giving him a side hug. “Hey there, Handsome Harry. I’m doing fantastic. The sun is shining, the air is fresh, and we have no blights on the horizon.”
Shuddering, Harry shook his head. “Spring can’t get here fast enough.”
“The Winter Solstice has to happen first, Harry,” Isadore chided. This year, the chamber of commerce was working hard with the new residents to create a welcoming season for everyone. Each member of the chamber wanted the past year wiped from their collective memories. The warlock, Darius, and his friends in their fight to save the town from an eldritch demon had done a lot of damage to the community spirit. Isadore had stayed out of the way, not wanting to step on toes or become a target. His kind didn’t do well around demons or magic.
“Which is the perfect segue into getting you and sweet Sebastian together. This type of holiday spirit is his kryptonite. He’s addicted to the lights and the festivities, though you wouldn’t be able to tell.” Sammi returned her attention to Isadore.
Perking up, Isadore did his best not to rub his hands together like a villain would. Sammi’s tidbit helped Isadore with some possible plans. Though Isadore preferred to discover the information from the person themself, Sammi was proving to be a perfect spy. “Really? That’s amazing. I can work with this.”
“Gee, thanks, bestie. Appreciate the love.” Harry turned to look at Sammi. “Maybe the lunches have been a little quiet without the random sighs of adoration or play-by-play. Do you have an idea when we can expect things to be back to normal?”
“I don’t know. Geez, I'm not Sebastian’s social planner.” Sammi elbowed Harry before wrapping her scarf around her neck. “Just be gentle. He’s not like most people.”
“I’m discovering that,” Isadore admitted. She left, and the bell on the door jingled. Isadore rolled his eyes at Harry obviously peering into the kitchen. “It’s the afternoon, Harry. Tony’s doing paperwork.”
“Still looking at the menu board.”
“Still hasn’t changed,” Isadore returned. He pushed away from the table and stood. “You are no help. You realize that, right?”
“Never said I was.” Harry said. “Hey, where you going?”
“Just having a chat with the manager of the joint. And you should get to your shop before the comic geeks take the new issues.”
“They wouldn’t—yes, they would. Dammit. Listen, Issie. Relax when it comes to your young man. If it’s meant to be, something will happen.” Harry clapped Isadore’s shoulder before giving the kitchen one last longing look.
“Back at ya, pal.” Isadore smiled at the server at the counter before heading to the office beyond the kitchen. When Isadore and Tony came to Granite, Tara had welcomed them with open arms. She hated daytime and much preferred the stillness and cover of darkness to work. Tony had chosen to be a brownie at puberty rather than a gremlin. He was happy as anything to cook in a perfect kitchen without the responsibility of dealing with people and their need to thank him.
“Anthony! Where you hiding?” Isadore called as he sniffed the air. Rich aromas came from every corner. As long as he stayed away from any preparation station, he was allowed to visit his brother.
“What do you want? I don’t have time for your bullshit today.” Tony popped his dark head out of the office. Ink marks dotted his cheeks, and his hair was sticking up everywhere. Tony’s attitude rolled off Isadore’s back. His brother was constantly grumpy and hated being interrupted during paperwork time.
Isadore sprawled in the office chair across from Tony’s desk and wrinkled his nose at the amount of receipts and paper on the desk. “I don’t have bullshit. I just wanted to say hi to my favourite brother.”
“Seriously, Is. I can’t right now. The computer is screwing up. Tara needs my order before tomorrow, and I lost sight of what I was doing.” Tony glared at his brother with pale green eyes. They were similar in appearance, with the exception of Tony’s dark brown hair and muscular build. He'd taken to the humans’ desire for honed muscles, where Isadore shuddered at the idea. Tony picked up a sheaf of papers before returning them to the same spot. Isadore sighed and straightened the mess on Tony’s desk.
“How many times have I told you to stop pressing buttons? The machines are delicate beasts and require a soft touch and gentle words of encouragement.” Isadore came around the desk and shoved his brother away from the keyboard. “I wanted to see how you were doing because you usually drop by the table to grumble at me.”
“I was working on my supply order, which is important, and I already dealt with your ‘woe is me’ attitude about that guy you like.” Tony dropped his head back on the office chair. “You said?—”
“Whatever. I also told you to stop clicking everywhere. You have like ten workbooks open.” Isadore wiggled his fingers over the keyboard, using both skills and literal magic to clean up his brother’s chaos. Normally he wouldn’t spell the computer to do certain tasks, however Tony’s snarly frustration with electronics had Isadore tempted.
“No I don’t.” Tony tried to push Isadore away, but Isadore was too stubborn and intent on making his brother’s life easier. He ached to talk about Sebastian with his brother, but Tony was at his limit. Maybe another day and not when they were in the diner.
“Yes, you do. Just let me do this,” Isadore growled. Creating a foolproof Excel file for Tony was the least he could and gave him some control. His emotions toward Sebastian weren’t so easily managed. But one day, he’d learn how to maintain calm.
“You gotta have patience, little brother. If this guy likes you, he’ll figure out something. Just takes time.” Tony squeezed Isadore’s shoulder once before passing him a magically appearing cookie.