Hunt Me! I Crave the Chase (Spooky Boys #3)

“Yeah okay, but that doesn’t even make sense. We’re not even talking about a beef option.”

Collin gave him the stink-eye. “I don’t see why not.”

“Because it’s weird?”

“Weirder than catering pizza to supernatural creatures?”

“You’re a little shithead.” Blair turned to me, ignoring Collin completely. Clearly this was a sore subject for the both of them. “So…yeah?” Blair waited for my approval, his painted fingernails tapping nervously on his knees.

He’d taken to painting them different colors since he’d moved here. Always goth. But sometimes green. Purple. Red. Like he was experimenting with them as much as he was with the other aspects of his life.

I blamed Richard and the fact that Blair had never had actual freedom or a home to go back to before. Richard supported him and his colorful nails far better than I’d ever thought he was capable. Though to be fair, the only Richard I’d known had been nine-years-old, scared of tetanus—and definitely not the vampire he was today.

But he made Blair happy.

Elmwood made Blair happy.

And happy was a good look on him, even if I didn’t recognize him sometimes. Even if it hurt to know that he was moving on, and I was still stuck.

Always stuck.

The pizza turned to lead in my stomach.

“It’s good, dude,” I said, because he was still always looking for my approval, even now. And this was our sweet spot. The only time I really felt like I could be who I was supposed to be. “Definitely the best pizza I’ve ever had.” Better than the one last week, that’s for sure. I don’t think I ever wanted to try asparagus on a pizza ever again. That had been a failed experiment I was more than glad Blair had tossed to the trash.

Asparagus belonged uhhhh?—

Somewhere.

But it definitely didn’t belong on pizza.

“What are you doing tonight?” Blair asked, leaning back as he watched me eat, his shoulders flexing while he picked absently at the chipped polish on his thumb. “Rich bought us tickets to go to the movies in Ridgefield and I thought you might want to come?” He peeked up at me through his lashes, always a worrier, that one.

Worried I spent too much time alone.

I’d only been here a month and he’d tried to invite me out with him and my brothers at least three times a week. I was running out of excuses, and we both knew it.

“And watch you guys make out? No thank you.” I frowned. “Didn’t you go out last night?”

Blair laughed, his cheeks pink. “I’ll keep the PDA to a minimum. And yeah, we did.”

Good for him.

“My dog’ll get lonely if I’m gone too long,” I lied. And then was struck with loss so visceral I nearly threw up. Because I didn’t have a dog anymore. He’d run off. He hadn’t wanted me. Hadn’t needed me, the way I needed him.

“You have a dog?” Blair cocked his head, eyes wide. “Really?”

“Um. Yeah.” Lies, lies, lies. “Except, he kinda ran away.”

“Oh, shit.”

“I’m gonna…yeah. I’m gonna look for him later,” I pretended like I hadn’t spent an hour hunting for him already. Like the dog hadn’t fucked off as fast as he possibly could the second he had a chance to get away from me. My stomach churned.

“You want help?”

For a second I considered it, but then I remembered Blair had just told me he had plans. And my gut told me hunting for the dog would be fruitless. He’d followed me all the way from Colorado. If he’d wanted to find me, he would’ve by now.

“Nah, you enjoy your movie.”