I’m feeling off balance, more nervous than anything. It’s the first time I have butterflies in my stomach, and I don’t want to mess this up by saying the wrong thing. My dates with Eros were easy because I never really said much, he did all the talking.
“Love says you have a cat,” I blurt out, totally feeling out of my element.
When I became a cupid, I understood a lot of things about being a functioning person, but not who I was. Who you were in your mortal life is ripped away. I feel out of my element, not just because Mors is a powerful woman, but because I have next to no dating history.
“Hades. He’s a bit of a hellion, but I love him.”
“Is he from Hell?” I ask, blinking, and Mors laughs.
“Not Hell, per se, but he somehow found himself in the bad place, and I decided to bring him home with me.”
“We don’t have cats in Cupidale, it’s a travesty. I sometimes like to go and make love matches at the animal shelter just so people will fall in love and adopt a cat together.”
Mors smiles, and it feels genuine. Like she somehow finds me charming, and that sensation could undoubtedly become addictive. I could easily see myself yearning for this reaper’s praise and approval.
“You’re fucking cute, cupid,” she says, and I blush.
I shake my head but smile back at her. “I just started really picking up on how to be a cupid. I’ve only been a cupid for a little over a month.”
“That must have been difficult. I honestly don’t remember much about my first months being a reaper. It was so long ago.”
“It doesn’t bother you that I haven’t been in the veil very long?” I ask timidly.
It’s part of why I haven’t explored anything in Cupidale: the pink city is full of very open and experienced freaks. Breaking in another cupid isn’t exactly on everyone’s radar. It doesn’t help that we’re all so addicted to love that most cupids are in some sort of relationship, whether it’s monogamous or polyamorous.
She shakes her head at me. “No, it just means I can show you the joys of immortality,” she says in her smooth voice.
My pulse quickens as I take a sip of water. Did it suddenly get hotter in Purgatory? Or maybe possibly in this restaurant? I down the rest of my glass, and Mors refills it with a smile.
I watch humans flirt all day long, and I know without a doubt this larger-than-life reaper is flirting with me, but am I any good at returning the sentiment? I want to be. I’m a fucking cupid for crying out loud. I can handle a little flirting.
Totally… right?
“What do you like to do for fun?” I ask her. Not as smooth as I had hoped. Right now all that feels smooth is my brain. Come on, Juliet, step your game up.
Her lip quirks, and I have a feeling she’s holding back a dirty retort.
“I work a lot, but I enjoy tennis,” she says.
“There’s tennis in Purgatory?”
“You’d be surprised by the activities we have here, but yes. What do you enjoy?”
“I’ve been trying to learn to bake; it’s been going better recently. Maybe I could make you something sometime?”
“I’d love that.”
Her smile is sweet, and I find the idea of doing things for Mors makes my pulse spike. I love spreading love all day, everyday. But what if I didn’t need an arrow? What if it was just brownies, or a flower, or any small thing that made me think of her.
The server comes over with our food, and I’m impressed by how well the reapers eat. The food is rich, and delicious. I can’t help but moan after every few bites. Mors gives me a look every time I do it, and instead of feeling self-conscious, I feel emboldened.
Eros never looked at me the way she does.
He never asked me questions about myself or seemed to genuinely want to get to know me. She’s also not pressuring me into anything beyond this dinner date. It takes me a moment to realize that this feeling is lust.
A lust that hasn’t been this strong in my entire short-lived, cupid life.
“Juliet, are you all right?” Mors asks, and I shiver at the way she says my name.
