The Struggles of Dating a Demon [Completed]

First Meetings

Mabel had worked for Herman for two years. She'd gotten out of college with a degree in business, and had started at Herman's Herbs and Spices with the hope of learning more about running a small business.

While she had learned several tips and tricks of the trade, Mabel had also noticed something else: Herman, for every moment that he acted a bit ditzy, made an exceptional amount of money. Too much money, when one considered that most herbs and spices weren't exactly made of gold or highly desirable.

There were, of course, plenty of other "herbs" that brought in much more business and money—those particular herbs were also illegal. But Herman had never involved Mabel in his possibly-illegal business, and so Mabel never brought up the strange visitors that she sent to Herman's office. Nor did she inquire about why those visitors only stayed for minutes, then left with packages labeled with the words Sage and Bay Leaf—or some other unassuming spice—tucked under their arm.

On one particular Sunday, though, Mabel couldn't help but watch the man leaving Herman's office with a critical eye. It wasn't his impressive height, dark eyes, or shaggy hair that kept her curiosity piqued.

Instead, it was the way the shadows seemed to collect around him, dancing under his feet as he walked and vanishing abruptly as soon as the door shut behind him.

Although he hadn't even made eye contact with her, Mabel felt strangely naked, and goosebumps erupted on her skin. Suppressing a shudder, she ignored the sudden chill in the air and got back to wrapping up Mrs. Denall's order of Herman's Soothing Herbal Soothers.

She couldn't shake the feeling of being watched for the rest of the day.

***

"Mabel!" Suppressing a sigh, Mabel quickly shelved the just-delivered jasmine in its appropriate spot, before picking her way down the small ladder and trudging to Herman's office.

It wasn't as though she didn't like the man—he was actually a great boss, questionable business dealings aside—but she was ten minutes from closing down the store, and she really just wanted to go home and sleep.

"Hey, Herman," she greeted, pushing open his office door and stepping inside, "What's going . . ." the words died in her throat.

Standing directly behind her seated boss was the same man from a week ago, drenched in shadows and looking impossibly intimidating, his eyes a swirl of dark red and brown. "Mabel," Herman greeted with a nod, ignoring the man behind him, "I need you to fill out this order before you go." He held up a slip of paper with his cramped handwriting splayed across it, and Mabel took it with trembling fingers, her eyes never straying from the strange man.

"Mabel?" Herman's blue eyes were concerned, and his brows furrowed with confusion, "Are you alright?"

The unnamed man smirked, and Mabel snapped out of her daze, swallowing down the sudden bout of bile in her throat. "Y-yes," she spluttered, fingers clenching around the paper, "Everything's fine. I'll just, uh, get this done then, and head out, okay?" she struggled to keep her eyes solely on Herman's, her body trembling with the urge to scream, run, and never return.

Her boss nodded, but she could tell he was still worried about her. "That's fine. I'll see you tomorrow."

Mabel nodded stiffly, sparing the man dressed in shadows one more terrified glance before whirling around and practically running to the front of the shop.

"Oh, my God," she murmured, struggling to keep a solid grip on the glass containers as she filled in the order Herman had given her. "Oh, my God." She stopped, setting down the jar of ginger and grasping onto the counter.