Page 41 of Double Shot

I’d never lived in the suburbs before, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to be so far out of town. My apartment was in the city—hence its shitty quality for the extortionate price I paid—but… I supposed it didn’t make all that much sense to keep living there when I had to drive back out of town most days for work. And the motel wasn’t too far from here.

It seemed nice around here. But now that I was looking at the house, I knew there was no way Nat and I would be able to afford it. It wasn’t particularly big, but it was still a house. A whole-ass house. The rent on its own wasn’t too bad, but I hadn’t really thought about all the other bills that came with a whole-ass house.

With a sigh, I unbuckled my seat belt and climbed out of my car. Well, I was here now. Might as well look around and spend some time in a nice house that smelled good and was clean and didn’t have mushrooms growing inside.

This was definitely one of those streets with a high concentration of supernatural residents, I realised as I headed for the front porch. I could sense the energy of a succubus across the street, but it was somewhat weak, which meant they were older.

The front porch was cute. Whoever currently lived here definitely liked fall—Halloween specifically—because there was already a picturesque pile of pumpkins and other gourds in various shapes and sizes tumbling aesthetically off an old barrel beside the front door. Nat would call it stupid but secretly love it.

About ten seconds after I knocked on the door, it opened to reveal a tall, very muscular man with long blond hair and a friendly grin on his face. After swiftly taking in his outfit—because he was wearing a pale blue crop top and I could see his abs—I focused on his face with a friendly smile of my own.

His head had cocked, and he was eyeing me curiously now. Then I found my own head tilting too as I stared back, recognition sparking. We had a brief, awkward moment where we both clearly recognised each other but had no idea where from, before it clicked. For me, at least.

“Wrestling!” I pointed at him. “You’re the headless horseman wrestler!”

He blinked, then chuckled as he crossed his arms over his chest with a crooked, faux-humble grin. “That’s me. Dullahan Dan. So you’re a fan?”

“Well, I…” I paused, not sure what to say without coming across as offensive, because I wasn’t not a fan, but I also hadn’t been back to watch since that meet and greet… “We met at a meet and greet a while ago,” I told him instead.

He gazed at me for a few seconds, before his eyes flared with recognition. “You came to see Vince and Crossbody.”

I smiled. “That’s me. I’m a big fan of those two.”

“Not their wrestling performances though, right?” He snickered. “I need to thank you for letting us all know that those two used to sneak off to a motel to fuck in secret while pretending they still hated each other at work.”

A little shiver of arousal went through me. “They hated each other?”

That was ridiculously hot.

Dan made a face. “Well, they both claimed they did. But clearly not.”

“That’s true.” I shook my head with a little sigh. “You should’ve felt the energy they put out. Pure, unbridled passion. They would just keep fucking, and fucking—”

“Why don’t you come in?” Dan interrupted with a grimace and stepped back, holding the door open for me. “Thinking about moving, huh?”

“Oh.” I stepped inside and looked around, taking in the bright, airy front hall and the wide archway that led straight into the living room on my left. “Well, yeah… My living situation is really shitty. Man, it smells so good in here.”

“Thanks,” Dan said proudly, pointing at a lit candle on the coffee table. “Apple and pumpkin spice. I’m using up my scented candles before I move out because they give my boyfriend headaches. Gotta make the most of ’em before I’m in a house where I can’t have them anymore.”

I nodded politely. “Ah, I see. Makes sense. So—”

“I have a boyfriend,” Dan interrupted to needlessly tell me, seeing as he’d literally just mentioned it. His sculpted chest puffed up with pride. “He’s an IT manager. A ghoul. He’s really smart.”

“Very nice.” I smiled at him. “So, um, what’re the bills like—”

“I’m moving in with him,” Dan continued with a huge grin. “Just next door, but yeah, it’s pretty exciting. I’ve been learning to cook.”

After a pause, I said, “It’s a great skill to have. Um, do you mind if I look ar—”

“We were neighbours for three years before we got together.” Dan tucked his hands into his sweatpants pockets with a fond smile. “I used to annoy the shit out of him. Then we started hooking up, and… yeah.”

That piqued my interest. “You ended up falling in love?”

A slight flush stained Dan’s cheeks, but he smiled and shrugged. “Yeah. Fell hard for him.” With a little huff of amusement, he added, “So hard my head popped off.”

I realised my hand had settled on my chest, over my heart, as I gazed at him. “That’s so romantic. And now you’re moving in together.”

“Yep.” Dan grinned wide again, rocking back on his heels. “He’s never getting rid of me now. Stuck with me forever.”