While You Were Creeping - Poppy Rhys Page 0,13

excuse as to why I was hanging out with anyone, but especially a furry, hooved, and horned alien. “M-my new Krampus!”

So, it just came out.

I’d been meaning to talk to him about that, but then the cocoa distracted us.

Perry’s smile faltered on one side before she recovered. Always had to look perfect.

“Oh! How nice! I thought for sure you’d take George up on his offer.”

It gave me smug pleasure to rile Perry. There were few things in life I enjoyed more these past few years.

“Nope. Had a few better prospects. Kye couldn’t be more perfect for the role. Right Kye?” I rolled my eyes toward him, hoping he got my silent message again.

I was gonna owe this guy so much.

Without skipping a beat, he rumbled, “Aye, I’ll have my bundle of branches to swat some naughty ass. Holly’s will be mighty red.”

It didn’t register at first but—

What?!

I nervously chuckled, clenching the handle of my mug so hard I thought it might snap off in my palm while I hoped and prayed I didn’t accidentally chomp on my tongue.

If he had feet, I’d covertly stomp on one right now.

“Such a jokester,” I said, trying to recover. The mental image of Kye swatting my ass was something I shouldn’t think about.

Not now. Not ever.

Oh my god.

Now I couldn’t get the image out of my head!

“Hmm.” Perry squinted. “See you at the meeting. Don’t be late.”

And then she turned on her expensively booted heel and walked away.

I took a giant gulp of my cocoa to distract myself, even though it scalded my entire mouth. It was better than throwing the mug at the back of Perry’s head and messing up her perfectly bobbed honey brown locks.

“She seems nice,” Kye commented, but his sarcasm was palpable. And comforting. See? I wasn’t the only one who thought she was a devil!

“The nicest.”

“Who is she?”

I crunched into the peppermint stick, probably looking like the grumpiest person at The Bowl. “George’s fiancée and head of the Evergreen Queen committee.”

Kye hummed, leaning on the counter and sipping more of his beverage. “Principle Huckle? What happened between you two?”

He was so close now that his arm was rubbing against mine as we watched the tourists and residents happily walk past the café, shopping bags in hands and bundled up. I envied their cheer.

“Nothing you probably haven’t heard before. Boy meets girl, girl falls head over heels blind in love, boy finds new girl, end of story.”

“Perry’s the new girl?”

“Yep.”

Kye started swirling his peppermint through the droopy whipped cream in his mug. “Why do you stick around?”

I asked myself that all the time and I always arrived back at the same answer. “My family’s here. Besides, the only school district hiring is hours away. I’d have to move. Anyway,” I sighed, and drained the last of my coco, “once my Evergreen Queen contract is up in a couple seasons, I don’t have to see Perry as much.”

“As much?” His gaze was heavy. It made me uncomfortable... in a pleasant, I-haven’t-been-looked-at-that-way-in-a-long-time sort of way. Like he was trying to understand me. “Why would you ever have to see her again?”

“About that...” I hedged, fiddling with the balled napkin in my hand. “Perry’s actually my cousin.”

“Well, fuck.”

“I know. I must’ve accrued some shitty karma in a past life.”

“Karma?”

“What goes around, comes around. Kinda like a checks and balance of life. You do bad shit, bad shit will come for you later on.”

“Interesting...”

“You know... you don’t talk like I expected. You curse and speak English. Most non-natives just use implanted translators.” He seemed less alien when I thought of it that way, despite his physical appearance saying completely otherwise.

“You’re not the first human I’ve spent time with.”

Hmm... The witches he spoke about, no doubt. Put a pin in that for later.

Before I could overthink it, I blurted, “Wanna be my fake date to George and Perry’s wedding?”

Kye chuckled, toasty and rumbly, but when I didn’t say ‘just kidding!’ he peered long and hard at me, laughter fading. “First, I’m Krampus, now I’m your fake date? This is too much, witch.”

I scowled, his comment about spanking me with his branches resurfacing against my will. I shook it off. “I keep telling you, I’m not a witch. Besides, not to point out the obvious, but what else do you have going on?”

Eyes narrowed, he stared out the window, giving me the silent treatment.

Okay, so maybe that was rude, but I was kinda desperate at this point. The last thing I wanted to do was show