I’d been a freshly turned vampire, and the way Bennie had babied me and watched every single one of my steps had ground my nerves into dust. So, after weeks of enduring it, I’d run away, gone searching for Finn, and had come here afterward to stew in my thoughts for a bit.
“Oh yeah, I get that. I had a roommate my first year of college, and it was literal hell.”
I perked up, my eyes narrowing as my mind went back, trying to remember the guy Finn had roomed with.
“How come?”
Finn scrunched up his nose. “He was a homophobic douchebag. After he found out I was gay, he was insufferable. He constantly thought I was trying to flirt with him.” He rolled his eyes. “As if I’d ever stoop so low and pine for a homophobic prick like that. I’d rather date my fucking stalker than that douche canoe.”
I jolted.
He would date his stalker?
A.k.a. me?
Okay, he’d said a whole lot of things before that, but I couldn’t be bothered to actually commit anything to memory aside from the fact that he’d consider dating me—well, the other me.
Still, I needed to get us away from this topic without sounding dismissive.
“You have a stalker?” I asked.
There, I sounded worried. And I was. I was fucking anxious he might say something that forced me to tell him any part of the truth.
“Apparently,” Finn sighed. “But I really don’t want to talk about that right now, if it’s okay with you. The doc at the ER told me I should reduce my stress, and talking about my possible stalker kinda has the opposite effect.”
I nodded emphatically. “I get that. Uhm… hey, we should check out the menu. I’ll even order a tea instead of coffee too.”
Not that I technically needed to eat or drink anything. But inviting him out for tea and then not having anything would be weird.
Finn laughed. “Thanks, but feel free to order coffee if you want to… maybe let me sniff it a couple of times.”
I snorted. “Spoken like a true junkie.”
Finn shrugged, but his cheeks blazed bright red again. I reached for the menu lying on the coffee table between us and handed it to him before getting up.
“I just need to go to the bathroom. I’ll be back in a minute.”
Grabbing my backpack, I hurried to the display cases and turned to the right, veering off into a narrow hallway, the walls adorned with mirrors in corny golden frames.
Holy fuck,I thought as I pushed open the bathroom door.I am talking to Finn. I’m having a real conversation with him.
Best day of my existence. Ever.
Chapter 10
Finn
Iwatched Eric leave, backpack in hand, and worried just for a minute that he might be walking out on me. Then he turned right into a hallway instead of left, where the exit was, and I let out a breath and focused on the menu in my hand.
There were a ton of options. Tea, coffee, juices, pastries, and a couple of savory options. A well-thought-out variety that would allow almost anybody to find something. Even someone whose stomach had turned against him, like me. Okay, I might not have been completely innocent. I might’ve driven my stomach into rebellion.
I shifted in my chair again, wishing like crazy I could take off my shoes and pull up my legs to hunker down just like… oh, the girl three tables down was currently doing. Another lady in her forties was sitting cross-legged on a couch, a skein of woolnext to her, while her hands were moving rapidly, the knitting needles clattering quietly.
This was such a strange space. It felt homey, a little like my grandma’s living room, and people appeared to be treating it just like a regular living room in their homes. Upon closer look, I found even more people not wearing shoes and with their feet up on the chairs.
Most guests were women, many of them knitting or crocheting, though there were a couple of guys too. Some people were chatting, but it was pretty quiet for a café.
Eric didn’t really fit in with the crowd.
