Well, that was weird.

And that’s putting it mildly.

I tap my heels on the concrete to spur a little warmth through my ankles while I wait for Dina to finish up inside. After that reading, I didn’t want to be in there anymore — even if it meant freezing outside in the cold.

Time’s up.

The hell does that mean?

Finally, the door opens and Riley steps out. “There you are,” he says.

I nod. “Where’s Dina?”

“She’s buying some… tea leaves or something.” He shrugs and looks me up and down. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Sorry about before,” he says. “That joke was inappropriate.”

I wave a hand. “Don’t worry about it. That’s just Dina being Dina.”

“Still, I told her that she should apologize. So, she will. In her own way. Eventually.”

I chuckle. “Looking forward to it.”

“How’d the rest of your reading go?” he asks. “You looked a little shell-shocked when you walked out.”

“It was… interesting,” I answer.

“If she said anything weird, I wouldn’t worry about it. She was probably just trying to scare you.”

I nod. “Happy Halloween.”

“Exactly.”

“She didn’t scare me,” I say. “Just gave me a few things to think about, that’s all.”

Riley nods and doesn’t pry further.

The door opens again and Dina steps out with a paper bag folded up in her hand.

“That was awesome!” she says, her breath fogging in the cold. “Told you Cassandra was amazing.”

“She sure was,” I say.

She bounces excitedly. “What’d she tell you? Is there a Riley in your future?”

I hesitate. “Not really…”

“Well, not with that attitude, hermit.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being a hermit. She said so herself.”

“You’re gonna end up like one of those weirdos, aren’t you?” she jokes. “Bundled up in a cabin out in the middle of nowhere with books and no TV.”

I smile. “Add in a few cats and I’d move in tomorrow.”

Dina lets out a long groan. “Fine. Whatever. Be boring.”

Riley rolls his eyes. “You guys want some coffee?” he offers, changing the subject. “My treat.”

“Yes!” Dina says, latching onto his arm. “I need a serious shot of espresso.”

I shake my head. “Actually—”

A man shoves between us at full speed, slamming me in the shoulder and knocking me off balance.

“Stop that guy! He stole my purse!” a woman shouts a block away.

I stumble backward, unable to hold myself upright in my high heels, and slip off the curb into the street.

Dina gasps behind me, barely audible over the car horn blaring in my ears.

“Tannis, watch out!”

Headlights flash brightly to my left. I freeze as my entire body tenses up from paralyzing fear. With eyes clenched, I wait. I wait for the sudden rise of pain amid squealing tires. I wonder if it’ll be quick. With any luck, I’ll get knocked out on impact and wake up in the hospital drugged out and numb.

Or worse.

Happy Birthday to me.

“Tannis!”

This is it. Exactly what Cassandra said.

I wait. And wait.

Then, I float. My toes rise off the hard ground and I brace for pain.

But I feel nothing.

Except for a firm grip around my torso.

I open my eyes. Somehow, I’m safe on the sidewalk again, far away from the speeding traffic. My toes dangle several inches off the concrete. I focus my blurred vision on a man. He’s tall, easily a head or so taller than I am. Short, brown hair. A clean-shaven face with a hint of a shadow emerging beneath sharp cheekbones.

And his eyes…

Deep, black pools that look right through me.

My breath hitches.

“Tannis!” Dina shouts from… somewhere. “Are you okay?!”

I ignore her voice, seemingly trapped in time with this stranger. Though…

I know I’ve seen him somewhere before.

He wets his gentle lips. “Answer her,” he says, his voice firing a bullet down my spine. “Are you okay?”

I nod, bouncing my chin as if my neck were jelly. “Yeah.” I find my voice. “I’m okay.”

“You sure?”

“Mm-hmm.”

He slowly bends and sets me down. My toes touch the ground but my ankles sway like rubber and I nearly slip to my knees.

“Whoa…” He rests his hands on my waist for balance, showing a hint of a smile. “Steady now…”

I straighten my legs and lock my knees in place. My cheeks burn with awkward fire. Embarrassment clenches the pit of my gut. I bite down hard, wanting so badly to roll up into a fetal position and just die.

“I’m sorry,” I spit out. “That guy hit me and I slipped off the curb and I…”

I have no idea what happened next.

It was just me and him.

“And this guy friggin’ Batman’d out of nowhere and pulled you off the street!” Dina shouts with awe. “Seriously, dude. That was amazing!”

His lips twitch with amusement. “It was nothing.”

Riley shakes his head, his face pure white. “No, it was… impressive.” He looks at me apologetically. “Tannis, I would have done the same but I didn’t see it in time, I swear…”

I breathe a laugh. “It’s okay…”

Dina lets out an angry scoff. “Fucking dick driver,” she says. “Did you catch his plate?”

“No,” Riley answers. “Too fast and too dark.”

“How about that stupid thief? Someone should chase him down kick his ass.”

The stranger smiles at me while they discuss whatever proper justice they’d like to see and I realize he’s still holding me up.

“Can you stand?” he asks me.

I nod, utterly entranced by his midnight eyes. “Yeah,” I say.

“You sure?” He raises a suspicious brow.

I bounce on my ankles, testing them. “I’m good now.”

He releases his embrace and takes a half-step backward, giving me a little space to catch my breath. I dig my heels into the concrete to stall my shaking knees but another glance up into those eyes threatens to knock me right back down again.

Once he’s sure I’m fine, his hands fall to his sides and he slides them into the pockets of his sleek, black coat.

Dina sidles a little closer to me and I cringe at the sinister twitch in her eyes. “And just who are you?” she asks. “I don’t recognize you — and I know everybody.”

“Dina,” I snap.

She hooks her arm around mine. “This is Tannis,” she says. “I’m Dina and that’s my boyfriend, Riley.”

The stranger nods and extends a hand toward me. “I’m Ari,” he says. “It’s nice to meet you, Tannis.”

I move to shake his hand but as I touch his fingers, I nearly jut back. His skin is so ice-cold it almost burns but as our hands entwine, it’s not a chill that fires up my elbow.

“You, too,” I say. “And thank you — for pulling me off the street.”

He bites his bottom lip. “You’re welcome,” he says.

“So, what kind of a name is Ari?” Dina asks.

I glare at her again, hoping to stall her manic game of Twenty Questions.

“The same kind of name Tannis is,” he says. “Aristos. It’s Greek.”

Dina perks up. “Oh, that’s cool!” She nudges my arm, her intentions stupidly obvious. “Isn’t that cool, Tannis?”

“Yeah,” I say, clearing my throat. “That’s from aristo, right? It means best?”

“It does, Tannis. Form of Tanith.” He smirks, almost proudly. “You know your stuff.”

“I dabble,” I say with a shrug. “Four years of high school Latin. And my mother is Greek so I might have picked up a word here and there…”

My voice falls beneath his piercing stare.

“Okay, my bad,” Dina says. “Not cool. Kinda dorky.”

His eyes flick in her direction but he says nothing.

“So, are you new around here?” she asks, digging into him a little more.

“Kind of,” he answers vaguely.

“Good! Because we’re about to go get some coffee at this fabulous place down the street and I’m sure Tannis would love to treat you. You did save her life, after all. Right, Tannis?”

Fuuuuuuck.

I swallow hard. “Uh… actually, I’ve gotta get home soon,” I say, my voice cracking. “Remember?”

Dina scoffs. “No, you don’t.”

“I said I’d be home by ten.”

“Rebel!” she whines. “For just one night. Fly! Be free!”

I shift uncomfortably.

Ari notices. “Actually, I’m not big on coffee but I’d be happy to walk Tannis home. Turns out, the streets around here can be quite dangerous.”

My cheeks flush.

Dina slaps my back. “Perfect!”

“Uh…” I swallow hard. “You don’t have to. I’m sure you have somewhere else to be.”

“No, it’s not a problem,” Ari says. “My plans were very boring and something far more interesting has come up.”

Excuse me, what?

Dina hums loudly, looking rather pleased with herself as she latches onto Riley’s thick arm. “Well, we’re gonna get going, then. Starting to freeze my tits off and I need coffee, so we’ll see you later, Tannis!”

“Okay…” I give her and Riley a wave. “Bye, guys.”

“Nice to meet you, Ari,” she adds, flashing a wink at him as they pass us by.

“You, too,” he says, bowing his head.

Riley looks from me to Ari and back again. “You good?” he mutters.

I nod. “Yeah. Thanks.”

Dina drags him off and I stand still, permanently clenched in front of Ari until they’re officially out of earshot.

“I’m sorry about that,” I say. “She can be a little…”

“No worries.” He chuckles. “I know the type well.”

“And you really don’t have to walk me home. I appreciate the offer and everything but it’s not very far at all…”

He looks at me and smiles. “Lead the way, Tannis,” he says, his voice firm and deep.

I hold my breath. “Okay…”

I turn around and Ari settles into a matching stride on my left. It feels like we walk a whole block in silence as kids in costumes occasionally rush by. Or maybe I can’t hear him over the blood pounding in my ears.

Oh, gosh. Is he talking?

Have I been ignoring him?

Look at him, dammit!

I turn my head just as he turns his. We make eye contact and I try not to startle too much as he confidently smiles at me. Hell, if I were that gorgeous, I’d be pretty confident, too.

Ari nods. “I can see it.”

I flinch. “Huh?”

“The Greek,” he says. “It’s in your eyes.”

My chin falls automatically. “Yeah, I’ve heard that before.”

“You ever been there?”

“Greece?” I shake my head with a laugh. “God, no. I’ve never been out of Ohio.”

“It’s beautiful,” he says. “You’d like it.”

“Is that where you’re from?” I ask.

“Once upon a time.”

I bite my cheek, wondering if it’d be rude to dig for more information. “And now you’re here?”

“For now,” he says.

“Just visiting?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have family here?” I ask. “Maybe I know them.”

He smiles. “No. No family here.”

I scold my curious tongue. “I’m sorry. I’m asking too much.”

“You’re not.”

“I’ll just shut up now.”

“Please don’t. You can ask me anything you want.” He stares at me. “Or, if you’d rather, I can ask you a few questions.”

Goosebumps cover my arms. “I’m not that interesting,” I say. “My life is anything but exciting.”

“I think it’s more exciting than you realize.” He peeks over his shoulder. “Near-misses like that don’t happen to just anyone.”

My gut lurches with residual dread. “Just got lucky, I guess.”

Ari chuckles, bringing out the deep dimples in his chin. My own lips twitch as we ease into a slow, comfortable stride on the sidewalk.

“Why haven’t you left Ohio?” he asks.

“Oh.” I inhale sharply. “You were serious about the question thing…”

“Yes, I was.”

“Uh…” We part slightly as a ghost, a witch, and a vampire run between us with overflowing candy buckets. “Well…” I clear my throat, “I wanted to go… anywhere but here for school but my parents convinced me to stay back home for a while to get my gen-ed credits out of the way first.”

Ari nods to show he’s listening. “Not a horrible idea nowadays, I hear.”

“It’s not, no. But it’s just a delay on the inevitable that they seem to have a hard time accepting.”

“You leaving them?”

“Yep.” I exhale. “I don’t know why but they’ve always been a little clingy, sort of.”

“I’m sure they mean well,” he says.

“They do. Definitely.”

“My parents were the same way.”

“Oh, yeah?” I chuckle. “How’d you get them off your back?”

“They died.”

I pause mid-stride. “Oh, god. I’m sorry.”

He laughs and motions for me to continue with him. “Don’t be. It was ages ago. Though, even now, I can still feel them lingering over my shoulder, waiting for me to screw up.”

I study his face as we walk forward. He can’t possibly be a day over twenty-five — thirty tops — but he speaks like he’s much older than that.

We come to a stop at the corner before crossing it.

I point right. “This is my street,” I say.

Ari turns with me, almost before I even announce it. The busy downtown streets fade off behind us as we enter a quieter residential area. House lights illuminate our way forward, each porch decorated with jack-o-lanterns and spooky clings on the windows.

“Nice neighborhood,” Ari says.

“It’s not too bad,” I say.

“It looks like you’ve…” he pauses and smiles, “you’ve lived a good life here, Tannis.”

I breathe a laugh. “It could be worse,” I say with a nod.

“Are you happy?”

The question strikes me oddly. I come to a slow stop and he does, too, his eyes locked on my face as he waits for an answer.

My tongue weighs heavy in my mouth. “Hm,” I hum.

“What?” he asks.

“Nothing. I… just realized that no one’s ever asked me that before.”

Ari smiles.

A door opens across the lawn beside us.

“Happy Hall—oh!”

I look over to see my mother in the doorway with a giant pail of candy and I realize that we stopped in front of my own house.

“It’s you.” My mother laughs. “Sorry, honey. Thought you were a trick-or-treater.”

I chuckle. “No, it’s just me, Mom, and…” I gesture at Ari as we take a few steps up the walk. “Mom, this is Ari. He…” I quickly decide not to even mention the near-death experience. “He walked me home.”

Ari bows his head. “Good evening, ma’am,” he says.

Mom pauses, her face slowly falling. “Ari?” she repeats with shadows in her eyes.

I bite down. Yes, Mom. I’m standing next to a guy. Don’t freak out or anything.

She shifts with unease, opening her mouth to speak only to close it again quickly.

“Mom,” I say, growing embarrassed.

“Sorry, I’m just…” She straightens up and swallows hard. “Thank you for walking her home.”

Ari smiles. “It was my pleasure,” he says.

“We appreciate your kindness. Very much.”

I furrow my brow at them. Why is she acting so stiff?

“Would you like to come in?” she adds, waving behind her at the door.

“No, thank you,” Ari says, staring at her. “I’m not here to intrude. Just getting her home safely.”

Mom exhales; with relief or disappointment, I can’t be sure. I’ve never seen her like this before. Is she worried about me walking around with a stranger? Is she suspicious or angry or—

Ah, crap.

It’s my outfit.

I cringe on the inside. I meant to stop and throw on my jeans at Dina’s before I came home and now she knows what I’ve been wearing all night.

I am so dead.

“Well, thanks again,” I say to Ari. “It was nice talking to you.”

He looks at me and smiles. “Have a good night, Tannis.”

“You, too. Stay warm.” I step up the porch stairs to stand beside my mother.

“I will.” Once again, he gives a respectful bow. “Happy Halloween,” he says as he turns around.

“Happy Halloween,” Mom says, her voice lightly quivering, “Ari.”

His eyes linger on her for a split second before he looks down and reaches the sidewalk again, taking quick strides back into town.

I stand still, preparing for the strong word-lashing I’m about to receive as my mother continues staring at the back of his head.

“Mom, you okay?” I ask, testing the waters.

She twitches and throws on a motherly smile. “Yeah. Let’s get inside. It’s freezing out here.”

Before I can reply, she spins around and bolts through the front door, leaving it wide open for me to follow.

An apology preemptively gathers on the tip of my tongue as I walk over the threshold, my borrowed-heels clacking along the hardwood floor. “Sorry if I’m a little late,” I say. “Dina dragged me downtown and we just kind of lost track of time…”

Mom closes the door and swiftly locks it behind us. “That’s all right,” she says, hugging her stash of candy as she flicks the porch light off. “I think you’re early, actually.”

“Oh.” I nod. “Cool.”

“Did you guys have fun?” she asks.

“We did, yeah.”

She looks down at my short skirt and I stiffen.

Here we go…

“Well, go throw on your jammies and come back down,” she says, somehow ignoring my bare knees completely. “We’re gonna binge the rest of this candy and watch Great Pumpkin.”

I snort. “We watched it earlier. And twice yesterday.”

“Baby, I didn’t raise you like that,” she jokes, forcing me to laugh. “There’s no such thing as too much Great Pumpkin.”

“Thinking I might go to bed, actually,” I say. “I’m pretty beat. Rain check for next year?”

She takes a deep breath. “Sure. Of course. Get some rest.”

“Tell Dad goodnight for me.”

I lean in and she kisses my cheek.

“Goodnight, honey,” she says.

“Goodnight.”

I head upstairs, happy that I seemingly got away with my little act of All Hallow’s Eve rebellion. Or maybe, just maybe, my parents have decided to let me grow up a little bit. Crazy concept, I know, but maybe…

As soon as I reach the top, I bend down to unhinge the medieval torture devices on my feet and relish in the plush, warm fibers as my toes graze the carpet.

“Finally,” I mutter, staring daggers at the heels dangling from my finger as I walk down the hall to my room.

I waste no time stripping the night’s costume off and tossing it deep into my closet in favor of thick, flannel pants and a long-sleeved shirt. I’ll have to return Dina’s heels tomorrow; a task that I’m actually looking forward to a little. It’s not every day I get to enthrall her with tales of my night with a man.

If I can even call it that.

I take a quick trip to the bathroom to freshen up and brush my teeth before hopping into bed. I cocoon myself in blankets, getting nice and warm before turning off the light.

Another Halloween in the books.

I lie down on my pillows and my thoughts instantly drift back to him.

Ari. The mystery man who saved my life.

Happy shivers dance along my arms and legs as I replay the encounter over and over again. One moment, I’m blinded by fear and the next… I’m not. I’m looking into his eyes and feeling more alive than ever before.

Soon, my eyelids weigh heavy and I flutter them closed, though my thoughts stay with him.

His face. His smile. His voice…

I slowly fall over the edge into a deep sleep but, just before I drift off completely, I’m struck cold by a single, frightening thought.

I know where I’ve seen him before.