“Well.”

Lisa and Elora jumped in surprise. Elora glared at Syndra. “Could you somehow announce your presence before you just walk through our window?”

Syndra clucked her tongue at her. “Testy aren’t we? Nice outfit.” She motioned to the costume Elora still hadn’t taken off.

Lisa stepped in before Elora could respond.

“Do you think that Cassie is safe with Trik?”

Syndra leaned against the counter and tapped her chin with a long fingernail.

“Trik won’t hurt her. She’s his Chosen and he is, therefore, incapable of hurting her. Now, anyone that comes between them is fair game.” She gave Elora a pointed look.

Elora held up her hands. “I’m not trying to go toe to toe with Mr. Bad Ass; I just want to know that my friend is ok.”

“She’s ok,” Syndra responded.

Elora rolled her eyes and threw her hands in up in the air. “Well now that that is all cleared up.”

“Why don’t we all just go over to Cassie’s house and see for ourselves if she is alright?” Syndra said with a wave as she walked through the same window she had arrived in.

Lisa was shaking her head at the Queen as she watched her go. “Can you imagine how much time we could save if we could do that?”

“Can you imagine how much easier it would be to sneak out of the house?” Elora responded with a smirk.

“Good point.”

~

“I’m home,” Cassie hollered into the house as she closed the door behind her and Trik.

“I don’t know why you insist on meeting them now,” she muttered to him.

Trik twirled a strand of her hair around his finger and Cassie slapped it away when she heard her mom coming down the stairs.

“Isn’t it customary for the boy to meet the girl’s parents?” He whispered in return.

Cassie started to respond but her mom came into the entryway. “Where have you…,” she started to speak but then stopped midsentence as her eyes fell on Trik. Cassie watched as her mom took in the incredible masculine beauty that was Trik in his human guise. When it was apparent that her mom wasn’t going to stop any time soon, she snapped her fingers in front of her face.

“Mom, hey, I’m over here. Remember me, your daughter?”

Her mom blinked several times and finally looked over at Cassie. She cleared her throat as she tried to remember what she had been going to say.

“Yes, Cassie.”

“Well, at least you remember my name,” Cassie mumbled.

“You’re late and who is this, this,” Sylvia looked Trik over again as she tried to find the right word.

“This is Trik,” Cassie interrupted. “He’s…”

“I’m the boyfriend.” Trik took Sylvia’s hand and brought it to his lips, kissing it chastely and then quickly releasing it. “I can see where Cassie gets her beauty.”

Sylvia colored. “Oh you’re good, but not good enough for me to forget that my daughter is late and actually left with a different boy than she has arrived home with.”

Cassie grimaced at her mother’s tone. She turned to Trik and smiled. “So I’ll talk to you later?”

“Is that a not so subtle hint of telling me to get lost?” Trik raised a single brow at her.

“Pretty much.”

Trik leaned down and gave Cassie a quick kiss on the cheek and then a slight bow to her mother.

“It was very nice to meet you.”

“Uh-huh,” Sylvia was once again struck by his inhuman beauty and didn’t snap out of it until the door finally blocked him from her view.

Sylvia’s head snapped back around to Cassie.

“Who on earth was that?”

Cassie smiled nervously. “That was Trik.”

“I got that much, Cassandra. But who is he, and where did you meet him, and how old is he, and how on earth is he that good looking?”

“Slow down mom,” Cassie told her mom as she headed for the kitchen. She needed some caffeine to help clear more of the alcohol from her brain before she dove into this whopper of a lie she was about to have to get her mom to swallow.

“As I was saying,” Cassie began again as she pulled a Coke from the refrigerator. “His name is Trik and I met him over a month ago at dad’s work.”

“Does he work in your dad’s building?” Her mom asked.

Cassie took a quick sip of her drink as she tried desperately to come up with a plausible explanation for Trik being at her dad’s work. “He’s a courier for one of the offices in the building.”

“How old is he?”

“He’s 18, but he graduated last year. He was homeschooled,” Cassie added.

Sylvia crossed her arms over her chest and stared at her daughter. Cassie could tell that her mom was deciding on whether to call her on her load of crap story or just let it go for now. Thankfully , it was the latter.

“Next time please call if you are going to be late and your father needs to meet Trik before you go out on a date with him again, or return from a date with him.” Sylvia laughed at her words.

“Ha, ha, very funny,” Cassie said dryly as she tossed her empty Coke can into the trash.

“I still don’t understand how you left with Todd, but then came home with…”

“Hotty Mctotty?” Cassie grinned.

“Yes, I will agree, he is quite good looking.”