My legs go weak as though the earth has suddenly shifted under my feet, and I want nothing more than to run and hide. Instead of following my rabbit instinct, I turn and make my not-so-graceful exit, blending into the foot traffic until I can cross the street. I should be able to circle the block and end up at the apartment without any issue. It’s not like I haven’t done this before, once or twice. What’s the harm?
It’s better off this way, right? Maybe my first estimation was correct, and a crushisa lack of information, and Asher slotted in the last puzzle piece.
No, we’re looking at the bright side. I will not linger in the past. This whole mess has potentially saved me a lot of heartache and not to mention it’ll shave a good 20 minutes off my morning commute. I’ll have more time to grab a coffee or take a detour through the park, maybe I’ll start listening to more audiobooks.
This neighborhood looks like mine, with the same brick apartment buildings of different sizes and shapes, all with white decorative trim. Though they have a small grassy fenced-in area to the side of their stairs to add a bit of extra curb appeal.
Not that they need it. The strip of houses sits on the edge of Harrington Park, a wooded area with a bike path leading to a small duck pond and gazebo. It’s beautiful—a tiny patch of the forest surrounding Madison transplanted in the heart of the city, reminding everyone where they are.
Recognition catches me in a snare as I pass one yard in particular, my brain is trying to tell me something, screaming, actually. Then, it hits me, or to be more accurate. It barks at me.
My heart leaps to my throat as I turn to see the terrier free from the confines of its yard and staring at me a couple of houses down. The same brown and white dog who yaps at me every time I’ve walked down this street. He must be sensing my rabbit side.
The dog snarls and lunges forward a few steps, the added shock making me shift. One second I’m human, then the next the sidewalk burns against my paws. I wiggle free from the tangle of my clothes and dart across the street, tires squealing and horns blaring behind me.
Nothing else matters but my safety as I bound towards the park.
THREE
Asher
She’s gone.Penny was right there, looking perfect, wearing her lilac sundress compliments her golden waves, a blush to her round cheeks from the cold. She was so close I could practically stare into her shining green eyes. Today was going to be the day when I finally mustered up the courage to talk to her for more than a few seconds and she disappeared.
We’ve been neighbors for a couple of years now, exchanging smiles and waves like you do. I’ve even walked across the street a handful of times, wishing her happy holidays or helping her and her roommate take a mattress to the second floor. There haven’t been many opportunities for me to ask for her number, and lately every time I reach my hand up to wave, she ducks her head and scurries away like a mouse.A sweet, shy little mouse.
The timing was perfect. She was walking on my side of the street for once, so our paths were sure to collide. I even signed for the rest of the shipment as fast as I could. There’s a chance I might have sold a piece of my soul, but I figure it will be worth itif I could finally ask her out to coffee. Or tea. I think Penny might prefer tea.
I crane my neck, searching for her even though she has completely disappeared from view, possibly lost in the flow of sidewalk traffic.
“Where do you want them?” Clark asks, plucking the shipment order from my hands. “Boss?”
“What?” I look over at him. “Oh, keep them in back for now. I want to avoid the bloodbath of stocking them during store hours.”
People are ravenous for the new creature trading cards. I’ve seen a grown man try to rip a booster pack out of a kid’s hand before.Thatasshole is banned from the store for life. They’re also usually the ones who end up back here a week later, trying to sell the rare ones.
He grabs the dolly, then stops and watches me, “You alright?”
I scrub my hand through my hair, forcing out a breath, “Yeah, why?”
“No reason, no reason. It seemed like you were looking for someone.”
I shake my head, “No. No one.”
Clark glances around, then walks into the store, leaving me on the sidewalk.
None of my employees need to know about my crush, they’ve already tried to set me up with every single woman they know. I have to explain again and again, it’s not so easy for me. It’s difficult to date as a dragon when you’re looking for a true soul connection. A soul mate.
Try springingthaton a first date, let alone a date with a mortal, which severely cuts down the pool of women in the city. Penny seems different, call it the byproduct of my crush, but she might understand.
Is it strange I want to linger a little longer? Maybe she had to stop at a store.
A scream cuts through the dull roar of the street, swallowed by a passing car.
I swear it sounds like—my feet move on their own, thoughts racing as I dart across traffic towards the sound, carefully dodging cars, their drivers screaming obscenities in my wake.
The crowd forms in front of a small duplex, gathering in a semicircle around a pile of clothing, their chatter building as I get closer.
“She disappeared.” A little old lady says, one hand pressed against her throat while the other clutches her purse at her side. “Vanished right into thin air.”
