Page 21 of Darkness Defined

“Hey, you know this place pretty well, right?”

He turned back around and gave me a look. “I have a name.”

Really? I got stuck with this guy? “Alright, Alex, do you know if there is a gym around here?”

“Why?”

“Because that’s where you go to work out.” I bit my cheek to stop myself from snapping. At the very least I’d be stuck with this smart ass for a few months, last thing I needed was to make him an enemy.

“I know why one would go to a gym,” he said with a laugh. “I’m asking why you want to go.”

“Look, just answer the question.” Aaand… there went all my attempts at being calm. “Is there or isn’t there?”

“Yes, but you don’t need it.”

“I think I know what I need a lot better than you.”

“That’s not what I meant.” He seemed to flounder a second before finally asking, “You’re going for strength training, right?”

I just looked at him. I didn’t appreciate the assumption, even if it was true.

“That won’t do anything,” he added.

“Like hell it won’t.” I took in his excessively tall, lean form and pretty face. He’d probably never so much as thrown a punch, let alone stepped foot in a gym. All he had to do was smile and the world would give him whatever he wanted on a silver platter.

Alex smiled as he shook his head, which only emphasized my assessment. “Demons don’t need to work out to be strong, we just… are. All it really does is make you look intimidating, bulky. If that’s what you’re into, then you do you. But you don’t need weights to be strong.”

“If you didn’t want to help, you could’ve just said so. I’ll find it on my own.” I turned to make my way to the door. This was why I didn’t talk to people. Useless waste of time. Now I’d have to waste even more time and probably get lost trying to find the damn place on my own.

“No, wait! I’ll prove it to you.”

I glanced back at him, curious despite myself. “How?”

“Take me for example. Do I look intimidating?”

“No.”

His mouth fell open, then he closed it. “I’m going to choose not to be offended at how quickly you answered that. Come here.” He waved me over as he sat at the table.

I continued standing by the door.

He stared back at me. A hardness that contradicted his obviously amiable nature flashed in his eyes. “Matt, don’t be stubborn. Let me show you. If you’re not convinced, I’ll tell you where the gym is.” He paused a moment, as if reconsidering. “Fine, I’ll tell you anyway, but only after you at least let me try to make a point.”

Begrudgingly, I walked over and sat down across from him. It was a little unnerving how excited he was.

“Give me your arm.” He rested his right elbow on the table and held up his hand like we were going to arm wrestle.

I eyed his waiting hand. “You’re joking.”

“Are you going to let me show you or not? What’s the worst that could happen? You lose?” One raised brow accompanied the edge of challenge.

I caved and placed my elbow on the table. Before I could change my mind, he snatched my hand. A jolt went through me as if there was one of those hand buzzers in his palm. In the shock of it, my hand almost got to the table. The muscles in my arm tightened and our joined hands stopped perfectly an inch above the surface. It was clear he wasn’t trying very hard to hold it there. I felt the resistance lessen even more. His eyes sparked with triumph.

“You haven’t proved anything,” I said, at a loss to explain his unusual reaction or lack of apparent effort.

He smiled. “I know.”

“This is stupid.” I moved to free my hand.