“So, this is Purgatory,” Juliet says, and I nod my head and look around the room.
“I’m guessing it’s very different from Cupidale?”
She laughs and scrunches her nose, which makes me notice the sparkling pink hoop on her left nostril.
“Yeah, very different. But Love seems to enjoy living here, and everyone seems welcoming, so it can’t be that bad.”
I shrug. “I think Love enjoys bossing all the reapers around more than anything. But it’s not so bad. It’s mostly a place to rest my head and be with friends,” I say softly.
“Friends are important,” Juliet says.
Shit. Right, I don’t want to be her friend. I would like to be more than that. She’s beautiful, and Love is convinced we’re a perfect match. I might already be convinced of it, too, and we’ve only shared a few words. She’s sweet, not as brash as some of the other cupids. Something inside of me is calling to her.
“Friends are important, even if most of mine seem to be complete assholes,” I say, and her lips twitch.
“I noticed you’re the only female reaper here.”
“We’re a bit of a rarity.”
“Does that get lonely?” she asks, holding her drinking glass to her chest.
I clear my throat and look around the room. “They’re my family, but I’ve been looking for more.”
“More friends?” Juliet asks as Love somehow magically makes a ridiculous amount of pink balloons appear from the ceiling.
“Everyone, grab a partner!” Love shouts, and I look down at Juliet.
Juliet shrugs her shoulders, and we stand there next to each other as Love explains the rules of this stupid fucking game.
“It’s called dance battle. You place the balloon between you and your partner. You have to keep the ball from touching theground or from popping. The music will change and you need to dance to the rhythm. Oh! You can also sabotage other couples by popping their balloons.”
The cupids all look excited while most of the reapers in the room look absolutely dumbfounded by this twisted game of torture. What are they putting in the water in Cupidale if this is what they think is fun?
But when Juliet holds the balloon between us and I press closer, it might just be the best game I’ve ever heard of. Juliet is shorter than me, but we make do with the balloon between our chests.
“I’ve been on a string of good luck lately. We’re going to win,” Juliet says.
“Competitive?” I ask with a smirk.
“More than I’d like to admit. I hate losing, and I’m even worse when I’m not immediately good at things.”
“I definitely understand that,” I say as Love blasts the music.
Death looks less than amused by the game, but he entertains her nonetheless as everyone starts dancing. I consider popping our balloon so we can touch, but that would just end the closeness we’re currently sharing.
Juliet untucks a small arrow from under her dress, it must have been strapped to her thigh.
“Watch this,” she says.
She tosses the small arrow like a dart and hits the balloon between Gloom and his male companion. It feels like karma from him being a douche earlier, and I can’t help but smile. These cupids might be happier than anyone else I’ve met, but they all seem to have a slight edge to them.
“What the fuck?” Gloom shouts, looking around the room.
Juliet turns her head and laughs as a slower song comes on and we act like we had nothing to do with his loss.
“Impressive,” I say, my hands no longer able to stay at my sides as I confidently hold her hips.
A small sigh leaves her, but she doesn’t tell me to move my hands, so I keep them in place, enjoying the slight curve of her figure. My knuckles brush against the delicate feathers of her wings, and I swear she shudders.
