When he pulled away, I finished lacing my boots and grabbed a black hoodie with my favorite claymation skeleton on it. It was a date, but trolley tours weren’t exactly dressy affairs, especially around Halloween. Before heading to Christopher Columbus Park, we stopped by a fast food burger place for a quick dinner. Sam wasn’t fond of processed food, and after seeing his house I understood why, so I threatened to eat his fries and he stopped complaining.
“Burgers and fries are a delicacy of their own,” I informed him. I dipped my fries in my chocolate shake and ate them, much to his mortification. “If you won’t eat the food of the commoners, I’ll eat it for you. Trust me, I can put it away no problem.”
He smirked. “I’ve seen the way you eat desserts. I have no doubt you can.”
I shoved his shoulder playfully. “Ass.”
It was fully dark when the tour started. There was nothing to be afraid of, but I used it as an excuse to cling to his arm. He didn’t look like he minded, and I would catch brief glimpses of him smiling before he wiped it away. I almost asked why he kept doing that, but then I looked around the trolley and saw how many people were watching us.
Whatever kind of natural charm that had people throwing themselves at him every day, he was apparently trying to hold in tonight. Heat filled the trolley and I stomped my power back down, but not before a couple guys jerked away from the metal rails they’d been holding. I looked around at them, confused.
“What did I do?” I asked Sam in a low voice.
“Nothing they won’t get over,” he replied. He grinned, just a quick flash of teeth, before he subdued himself again.
Maybe it was a bad idea to do anything with other people around. If it was just the two of us, we wouldn’t have to worry about what happened to them or how our powers affected them. Anxiety started creeping in, but Sam squeezed my hand as he helped me down at the next stop.
“Don’t do that,” he said gently. “Everything is fine. You’ve got it under control.”
I heaved a sigh, but relaxed into his side as we strolled through the headstones of Granary like it was a normal park. “I burned them, didn’t I? That’s why they jumped like that. I knew this was a bad idea.”
He tipped my chin up to meet his eyes. “You seriously underestimate how much I can handle. You’remytemptress, and you’re not getting away from me so easily.”
The moonlight made his teal irises luminous and reflected off his dark, unbound hair, giving his face a soft glow. He looked ethereal, and I was drawn into the magic in his touch. Suddenly, there was too much space between us. His fingers glided across my jaw and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. My breath caught in my chest.
Then someone bumped us on the path and broke the trance. Sam closed his eyes and exhaled sharply, and I suffered the Sophiee irritation. Maybe we could pick it up later, when there were less people around. I shook it off, diving back into our conversation as if we hadn’t been about to make out in the middle of a fucking graveyard.
“So one of my powers is seduction and I didn’t realize it?” I threw my head back and laughed. A cemetery probably wasn’t the most ideal place for it, and I was pretty sure I startled half the people there. “I’m half witch, half… what are they called? The sex demons?”
“A succubus,” Sam supplied helpfully.
“Yeah! You think I’m a succubus?”
He ran a hand over his head. “I’ll admit, I did consider it when we first met, and given our almost nightly activities it would make sense. But no, I don’t think so.”
“What about a siren? Luring young men to their deaths.”
“But I’ve never heard you sing.” He was enjoying himself with this; there was a glint of mischief in his eyes. “And besides, I haven’t heard of any men crashing ships in the bay area. Surely, you wouldn’t deprive yourself of so much fun if you had that ability.”
“Maybe I’m a vampire,” I said. I let go of his arm and ran around the Franklin monument, peeking back at him and wiggling my fingers. “They hypnotize people with their eyes, right? Do my bidding mortal. Mwahaha!”
Sam laughed and pressed me against the monument for a quick kiss. “I think that chocolate shake went to your head. Most people try not to draw attention to themselves in a cemetery at night. You’re getting hyper.”
I was actually trying to steer clear of any serious discussion about what I really was. If tonight went well, then I would bring the topic to the table. He had magic and an insane collection of religious artifacts. It was possible he knew a thing or two about the real deities that existed, and maybe he wouldn’t be as freaked out about my dad as I believed.
The tour guide called us back to the trolley and I was kind of disappointed there were no ghosts to be seen. Sam had his head on swivel, though, and I wondered if he could see something I couldn’t. Or he was just being protective, or both. Itwasclose to Halloween. There were all kinds of crazies out, both supernatural and not.
After the tour ended and nothing had happened, I was more than a little excited. Almost liberated. My curse was over and Sam had been its breaker. I wasn’t a fan of Disney’s fairytale endings, but I couldn’t help but compare him to the prince who’d come to save me, even though he technically didn’t do anything. Maybe it wasn’t out of the cards for me to have my own happily ever after.
“Thank you,” I said.
He glanced at me as we walked down the sidewalk, forgoing the bus that would’ve taken us back to the lot. “For what?”
“For waiting for me to get my shit together. For not making a big deal about my third date fears.” I hugged his arm. “Thank you for proving me wrong.”
For a long moment, he didn’t say anything. As we came closer to the parking lot, he paused and gestured to the park on the other side. “Since the date part is over and we’re safe, do you want to take a walk?”
“A midnight stroll through the park?” I tapped my chin, pretending to think about it, then nodded. “That sounds nice. Very romantic.”
