Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 120029 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 600(@200wpm)___ 480(@250wpm)___ 400(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120029 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 600(@200wpm)___ 480(@250wpm)___ 400(@300wpm)
“Oh,” she says, as if this isn’t the answer she was expecting, but Nate leans into my touch, his cheeks even darker now that we’re standing close together, among all those people.
“Do we?” he asks with a mouth that should be whispering my name.
“We have unfinished matters from last night,” I tell him, never letting go, even as I look back at Richie being helped out of the garage by his friends. “And I’ve been so successful at beer pong I’ve not even had the opportunity for a drink.”
Nate laughs, but the moment I smile back, still holding his chin, his gaze drops. Is he shy?
“Well, I definitely owe you a drink. Thank you for this… it was very noble of you,” he says, wrapping himself in my cloak.
“It’s the least I could do after seeing the way he manhandled you. I would have preferred to draw blood, but this chance to humiliate him was also satisfying.”
He opens his mouth with a scowl and grabs my arm, leading me away from the girl, who keeps staring at my back as if she’s never seen shadowcraft in action.
Then again, she probably hasn’t… I am not always certain what exactly humans consider myth and what they believe to be true.
“Is beer good?” Nate asks, approaching a crate of dark bottles with colorful labels.
“I do think I earned it, since I won beer pong? I’ve never had a human beer,” I add with excitement. A big part of why I joined the Nighcloaks is that I hoped to see more of the human realm, yet this is truly my first unsupervised visit and I’m going to make the most of it. I’m especially excited for a guide like Nate to enjoy the trip with.
Nate opens two bottles with a metal device, then hands me one. “You really are committed to this whole—” He gestures at me with an appreciative smile. “Are you supposed to be someone from a specific book? I don’t think I read that one… but I want to,” he adds before resting his lips on the mouth of the bottle in a way so adorable I want to dive in and claim them myself. I can’t wait to slide my fingers into his black curls while—
Getting ahead of myself.
“Why? Do you like books? What kind?” I ask and take a swig of the surprisingly bitter drink. I can’t decide yet if I like it.
Nate pulls on my arm to guide me out of the garage where the duel took place. The way he doesn’t avoid touch makes me hopeful for tonight.
The moon is so small in comparison to the one in the Nightmare Realm, but the night is made so bright by all the lights I can barely see any stars in the sky. They’re in windows, in big lamps in the streets, many people carry glowing devices, and the vehicles I passed on the way here also emit their own lights. I am yet to see the sun I’ve heard so much about, but how much brighter than this can it get?
It’s quite chilly, which is likely why most of the humans don’t sit around in front of the building, but I know the cloak will keep Nate warm, so I follow him into the shadowed yard behind the house. Many different items are scattered within sight—flimsy furniture that has been knocked over, balls, and something that looks like a griddle for cooking, but Nate leads me toward a rather ugly bench swing with no decoration. Then again, simple design seems to be a feature of this realm.
“Oh, I like all books,” he says, glancing at me before once again hiding his face in the collar of the cloak. “But most of all those set in worlds that are more magical than this one. Stories that allow me to leave this reality behind and dream, you know? Where love is real, and people get to be selfless,” he says as if that’s an impossible dream. Before I can answer, he sits on the bench and hugs the bottle to his chest.
I take another swig of the beer. The taste is growing on me. Maybe. I lean on the chain the swing is held by and stroke Nate’s hair, getting a buzz of excitement from sampling its wavy texture. I wish I could sense it on my face when I wake up tomorrow, as well as the morning after that. It’s a confusing feeling, because I’ve never attached to anyone this easily. But I have saved him, and the thought of not knowing where he is and how he’s doing instantly fills me with dread.
“You’re even more precious than I thought. What kind of issue could that fiend have possibly had with you?”
He rolls his eyes behind the square frames of his glasses. I know humans have much worse eyesight than us elves, so he might not even know how clearly I can see his expression. “He’s yet another frog I kissed. I’m really starting to think I give them too many chances.”