Succubus Shadows Page 0,37

when the show finally ended and we walked out with Gabrielle and Cody.

"That was awesome," she exclaimed. "Thank you so much for sharing the tickets."

"No problem," I said. My ears were ringing, and I wasn't sure if I was still shouting.

"I think that was the best show I've ever seen," said Cody nobly.

Gabrielle clutched his sleeve, and his eyes widened. "I know! Which was your favorite song?"

Silence.

"Mine was that one were they kept saying 'My Armageddon scales will burn your post office,'" said Seth deadpan.

"Oh, yeah. That's one of their greatest," she said. "It's called 'Plywood Fuck.'"

"That's my favorite too," said Cody. I somehow doubted he'd heard any of the music tonight. His senses were all on Gabrielle.

Perfectly in sync, Seth and I glanced at each other and exchanged secret smiles, both of us amused at Cody's love. I wasn't as far gone as he was, but when our group finally split up, I found myself walking on air too.

"Interesting night," Roman told me when we got home. He'd been along in spy mode. "I think Cody might actually have a chance."

"Maybe," I said. "He's clearly smitten, but she only seems mildly interested. In a friendly way, though."

Roman rummaged through the kitchen and poured himself a bowl of Lucky Charms. "He's not the only one who's smitten."

I sighed and collapsed onto the couch. "Let it go, okay? We all know I'm a long ways from getting over Seth."

Roman gave me a sly look. "I wasn't talking about you."

I stared at him for a moment, my vodka-addled brain trying to make sense of his words. "Wait...you're talking about Seth? He's over me."

"Oh my God, Georgina. Could you be any more delusional?"

"He's getting married."

"That means nothing. If it did, guys wouldn't catch chlamydia at their bachelor parties."

"But he does love Maddie. And no matter what you think about his feelings, he'll be out of my reach once they're married."

"The fact that they're dating means he should already be out of your reach - but past evidence shows that's not true."

I scowled and kicked off my shoes. "Don't bring that up. I feel bad enough - and so does he. If you're just going to taunt me, then I'm going to bed."

But to my surprise, Roman didn't wear that mocking look that had become so typical for him since returning to Seattle. His eyes were serious, his expression - almost - concerned. "I'm not trying to taunt you. I'm just stating the facts. No matter what happens, you and Seth can't seem to stay away from each other. You should put in a transfer request."

"What, out of Seattle?" I asked incredulously. "I love it here."

"You'll learn to love some other place. Honestly, it's the only way you're going to be able to move on - the only way either of you can move on. You're in a situation where you see him every day - tonight being a prime example. He broke up with you, and then you broke up with him for some 'greater good' kind of goal. But if you keep hanging around each other, it won't matter. You'll never heal. You're just going to get your heart ripped out every day."

I was so stunned that I couldn't even respond for several seconds. The old taunt danced in my head: circles and circles. "I...why do you say that? Why do you care?"

"Because I already see it happening every day. You are getting your heart ripped out over and over, and it kills me to watch it happen."

Again, I fell speechless for a moment. "I thought...I thought you hated me. I thought you wanted to destroy me."

He finished his cereal and set the bowl down. I didn't have the will to shoo the cats away. "I don't hate you, Georgina," he said wearily. "Am I upset about what happened to Helena? Absolutely. Am I upset about you lying about loving me? Yes. Do I want some kind of revenge? Maybe. Honestly, my feelings change from day to day. Some days I do want something awful to happen to you. Some days...well, I know you did what you did out of some misguided sense of...I don't know. You thought you were doing the right thing."

I wanted to tell him that I had loved him, in a way. But that probably wouldn't be useful right now. "Well, watching this Seth drama unfold is probably giving you lots of material when it comes to something awful happening to me."

"No," he said, with a weary head