"Okay, fine. He was a spy. "
"We should have gone to that movie, though. I think some explosions would have done you good, helped you relax after a hard day. "
"It's not my fault I wasn't allowed in without an adult and you forgot your license. "
Lend rolled his eyes. Silver shot through his nearly black hair and I laughed, shoving him.
"Knock it off. That's creepy. Besides, if you pretend to be old to sneak me in, it'd be super gross if we started making out or something. No more gray. "
"Fine. " His hair rolled into corkscrew curls, turning a coppery red.
I laughed. "Quit it! Someone will see you. "
His eyes got serious and his hair shifted back to its normal appearance. "Are you sure you don't want me to stay? I can blow off classes tomorrow if you aren't feeling well. "
"You really don't have to. " Lend never missed class; I loved that he was willing to skip for me, and part of me was tempted by the offer . . . but I'd feel too guilty.
He sighed. "I do have a bio lab. You're really okay? Nothing hurting from your fall? No weird side effects from the sylph?"
"I'm okay. "
"Alright. I'll see you on Saturday. "
"Not Friday night?" I hated the whine that crept into my voice. I wouldn't be that girlfriend, the whiny, clingy one who couldn't have a life outside her boyfriend. Even though she totally justifiably wanted nothing more than to spend every minute of her life with him. Nope. Not that girl.
"I've got a group project in vertebrate anatomy, and the only time we could schedule it was then. I doubt we'll get done early enough for me to get here at a decent hour, and if I stay in my dorm where there are no beautiful, fun distractions, I can finish up my homework and be absolutely yours all weekend. So first thing Saturday morning. "
He leaned in and kissed me. I wished he could melt away his glamour and kiss me as himself, talk to me as himself, but it wouldn't do for someone to walk by and see me making out with a nearly invisible silhouette. The downside of dating a half-human, half-water elemental, I suppose.
Pulling back far sooner than I wanted him to (which, let's face it, could have been several hours-I never got tired of kissing him), he got out and opened my door for me. The second I stepped out of the car, a strange chill breeze wrapped itself around me. All the hairs on my arms stood up in response. Shivering, I hugged Lend tightly, ignoring my bruises.
"Don't do it, okay?" he whispered.
"Do what?"
"Work for IPCA again. Just-just don't do it. "
I looked up into his face. "What if I can do some good?"
"You're doing enough good being yourself. I worry about what might happen to you. "
I frowned, making a noncommittal noise, which he seemed to take as an agreement, judging by his smile. "I'll see you Saturday. " He kissed me again and then waited for me to walk up the steps before getting back in his car and driving away.
Long-distance relationships? Suck. Majorly.
Sighing, I walked in and through the brightly lit diner. David bought On the Hoof a decade ago as a front for his paranormal-hiding operation. It provided jobs for paranormals in need and a good place for everyone to meet and keep track of one another. The decor was cheerful, a slightly tired fifties theme. Nona, the manager, waved at me, her gorgeous blond glamour hovering over oaky brown skin and greenish, mosslike hair. Allegedly she lived in the upstairs apartment with Arianna and me, but really she went back to the forest at night, setting down roots until the sun came up. Tree spirits-another species of paranormals I'd never met on bag-and-tag duty at IPCA. I was all about the violence and mayhem back then.
I nodded distractedly at several of the regulars, mostly vamps and werewolves, noting yet another new paranormal I'd never met, who made my heart hurt a little-she looked like a cross between Lish and a human, complete with gills on her neck and fins lining her bare legs beneath the glamour. Lately we'd been seeing more and more species neither David nor I had ever come across.
Come to think of it, a lot of new paranormals other than the werewolf or vamp variety had been visiting Nona, hanging around the diner or meeting her out back. And the sylph was certainly new. Maybe Nona would-
I shrieked, narrowly avoiding tripping over the kitchen gnome, a particularly grouchy specimen named Grnlllll. At least, I think that was her name. Or his name. Hard to tell with gnomes. Maybe that's why she-he?-hated me. The glare seemed pretty feminine, though.
The desire to get away from Grnlllll's baleful looks outweighed my desire to talk to Nona, and I slipped through the kitchen door. Upstairs at last, I collapsed onto the faded, floral couch.
"Evie?"
"Yup. "