Does anyone respect my privacy?
His featureless face tilted slightly as he spoke. "I couldn't help but overhear someone contemplating... an absence from tonight's gathering."
I crossed all four of my arms and grunted. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
Hollow crossed the room in two elongated strides, looming over me with his blank, featureless face. "This isn't optional, Atlas. I need to understand her purpose here."
“—She moved here for her roommate!” I snapped. “That’s the only reason. They are best friends.”
Slendermen didn’t scare me, but if he had gotten up and personal with a human, he would have had them pissing themselves. Other monsters rarely scared them, unless there was a match. When they get territorial… well, it’s a problem.
Hollow straightened his impossibly long spine, the fabric of his meticulously pressed suit stretching with the motion. He tilted his blank face. "I sense there's more to her presence here. The gathering tonight presents the perfect opportunity to investigate. I've observed how she responds to you—she's clearly intrigued."
My dick pressed up against my slit. With the jeans, it made it even more noticeable.
“But keep that in your pants. Don’t need to scare the poor girl away.”
Lucien snorted. “I think she can take care of herself. I saw some things under her bed that would make an incubus blush.”
My eyes grew redder, and my cheeks warmed.
What was that supposed to mean?
The party danced with life around me while I hugged the corner of the open-air tent. Strings of light bulbs outlined the perimeter, casting a warm glow over tables draped in festive clothes. Earlier, as twilight had faded to darkness, the monsters had assembled this gathering place—their inhuman height and strength transforming space into celebration in mere minutes.
The anxiety before leaving was unbearable. Even with the patch, I'd needed to relieve myself three separate times. One patch clearly wasn't doing the job, so I'd applied a second. Three more waited in my back pocket, ready to use at the first sign of trouble.
Why me?
Lucien stood in front of a human; wings folded elegantly behind him like a cape. He balanced a drink in one hand and a plate of appetizers in the other, his long tongue darting out to snatch a strawberry. The human male watched with wide-eyed fascination. "Dude, that costume is insane," he said, leaning in to examine Lucien's features. "Who's your designer? I need their contact for the next costume party!"
We had to answer that we were into cosplay, and we created it with our own devices.
My feet couldn't stay still as I scanned the crowd for any sign of Kassie and her roommate. With each passing minute of her absence, memories of the previous night kept invading my thoughts.
After Lucien and I had supposedly gone home, I flew up to Kassie’s window. She placed her books and toys on the shelves—that I had made—and got ready for bed. She never saw me, never even looked toward the window as she crawled into bed.
A little part of me was disappointed that she didn’t get dressed in her room; instead, she did it elsewhere, but I still got to see her in a large t-shirt with black thigh-high socks on.
I shouldn’twantto see her naked; that was wrong.
Just like watching her from the window.
But I couldn’t help it, because she swayed her hips like a dancer and bent over in front of the window to fluff her pillow. I saw her underwear, which rode up her ass and gave me an impressive look of what I wanted to sink my teeth into.
That round, plump…
I squeaked and pressed both hands harder against my jeans.
She was so pretty.
And nice.
How was I going to talk to her?
I reached into my back pocket and grabbed another patch. I peeled off the adhesive, pulled open my button shirt, and slapped it on my stomach.
As I buttoned up my shirt, Lucien leaned in close, his antennae gently brushing against mine in that familiar gesture that could mean either concern or solidarity.
