Dirty Lying Faeries

Chapter Two

Thea

"I don't want to go yet," Candace whined, trying to push my hand away as I reached for her seat belt. "That girl with the vintage Tiffany ring let me try it on. I want to go baaack."

"Here." I took a pastry that I had pilfered from the snack table on the way out and stuck it in her mouth. "Eat that and please don't throw up in my van."

"Mm-mmhrm phff," she said, unintelligibly, as I buckled her up. "More of these?"

Smiling, I handed her another pastry, and walked around to the driver's side door.

While the van warmed up I gave the gallery one last look, seeing a silhouette in a window on the third floor, high off the ground. My fingers tightened on the wheel. Perhaps wishful thinking on my part, but I could have sworn it was Devin. We drove off, leaving the strange party and the enchanting gallery owner behind.

—

The roads were quiet, and in half an hour I had Candace inside her warm apartment building. I was digging out my copy of her key when she began swaying her arm in front of me, a series of numbers scrawled across her skin.

"Look what I got tonight."

"Are you serious right now?" I turned the key and half dragged Candace through her front door.

"One HUN-dred percent, baby!"

"Why didn't you just put the number in your phone? This isn't middle school anymore." I caught her as she stumbled and helped her over to her bed. I unzipped her cocktail dress and let it slide to the floor. "Only you would find a booty call at an art gallery."

"No, it's—it isn't a booty call." She giggled as I tucked her into bed, the bubbliest drunk I'd ever known.

"I will remind you that I knew you in high school." I moved her shoes so she wouldn't trip on them in the morning and grabbed a wipe from her bedside table. "Let me see your face."

She sputtered and pushed, fighting me as I wiped off her makeup. "Ugh, too rough."

Eventually I was able to clean her face, and then mine, before getting her in bed and turning off the light.

"Good night, Candie."

"Nooo, are you leaving? Stay with me, pleeease!" She was half out of bed again.

"Stop! Stop," I said as I rushed back. "Fine, all right, I'll stay here tonight."

Candace giggled and made room for me on the bed. I dropped the red gown next to hers with a sigh and crawled in.

"For someone so put together, you sure are a hot mess when you're drunk," I said.

"Yeah? For someone who needs to get laid . . ."

She paused. "You . . . need to get laid."

"Go to sleep," I told her flatly. She snuggled in next to me, clutching me like a teddy bear, and I pulled the covers up to our chins. "I swear, if you throw up on me . . ."

Silence.

"Hey." I looked over—she was out like a light. I stifled a laugh. I could pretend to hate dealing with her drunk ass all I wanted, but she indulged me when I wanted to peruse a bookstore or see a new exhibit with little complaint, and the occasional designated driving wouldn't kill me.

"Night, Candie," I whispered.

I considered leaving, but she'd entwined herself around my body and would probably wake up if I moved. Oh well—it was after midnight anyway and sleep sounded really good about now.

But I couldn't.

A pair of playful green eyes wouldn't get out of my head. My fingers still tingled where Devin had kissed them. Something felt significant about it but I couldn't say what. Maybe I was excited about the gallery or about Devin or both. After a while spent counting sheep and trying to get comfortable, I gave up and watched the moonlight through the windows. The occasional car passed by—a soft hush whispered through the glass every time one drove through the icy slush.

He was trouble. Too smooth, too much my type.

Focus, Thea. You don't need that kind of distraction in your life. It's not like a little bit of shared interest is going to lead to your dream career. He probably wasn't serious about hearing your ideas anyway—that doesn't happen to the quiet ones like you.

He smelled wild, like cedar trees or a campfire.

Stop it.

What would it feel like to run my fingers through his hair?

Throwing off the covers, I peeled myself away from Candace, needing air. Pulling open a drawer to borrow a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie, I willed my feet to move quietly through the studio apartment. Candie had decorated her small and expensive ideal home with her favorite name brands. And the location was great—I looked out the window and could see a thin slice of Elliott Bay. I pulled on my coat and went up to the roof.

The chill hit me right away and I tightened my coat around my shoulders. A gazebo with benches and a picnic table had been built up there for the tenants. As I sat on one of the benches, my breath clouded in front of me, but the air was doing wonders to cool down any part of me trying to stay hot and bothered.

"—heard that he already picked one."

"What court do you think she'll—"

"—about time we got another—"

Curious, I stood and walked to the edge of the building. The streetlights below glowed yellow, and another car splashed through the slush on the road.

"—another ignorant human—"

Peering over the chain-link fence that bordered the rooftop, I saw two women sitting on the hood of a Mustang. One of them was a pretty blond; the other had snow-white hair.

I squinted—was their skin a little blue? They were wearing almost nothing, despite the freezing temperatures.

"—probably another brat for Spring."

The brisk night carried the sound so well from the street to the rooftop. Suddenly, one of them, the blond, turned and stared right at me. Watching me, she grinned and whispered something to her friend. They both broke out in laughter. I jumped back from the fence like it was on fire. Embarrassed of getting caught snooping and weirded out by their odd conversation, I'd had enough fresh air. Back inside and downstairs again, I climbed back into bed with Candace and soon fell into a deep, restful sleep—eyes in the forest and glimpses of pointed ears and teeth filling my dreams.