Mrs. DonKi Kong.
My cheeks flushed when I repeated the name in my head. Wow, that was an ugly name. I made a mental note to keep my last name if I were to ever marry DonKi.
“Okay, you’ve made your point,” I snapped at him. “My date has an ugly name. Ha. Ha. Ha. Now can you leave and let me have my date?”
“I’m sorry, Teacup,” Eclipse drawled out. His lips caressed over my ear for a brief second before he affectionately tugged me closer. “You’ve mistaken me for someone who is actually considerate.”
“Hey Grace!” a voice called out from the darkness.
Excited that Don was here, but still pissed off that Eclipse was beside me, I tried to keep myself composed when I turned around. Don made his way down the aisle, excusing himself to all the other movie goers who were already seated. He was wearing a black trench coat over a dark suit and his hair was perfectly gelled and styled. He looked well mannered, well groomed, and so cute—definitely husband material.
“He doesn’t look like your type,” Eclipse commented at once, breaking me out of my admiring state. I felt him rest his chin on the top of my head. I knew he was assessing Don’s physical appearance in relation to his own. Judging by the comfortable hold he maintained on me, Eclipse wasn’t the least bit worried about the competition.
Determined to not appear like a psycho talking to herself, I kept a smile on my face while I responded through gritted teeth. “What’s my type?”
“Me,” was all Eclipse purred into my ear.
Right then and there, I decided it was due time to actually get on with my date. I did not want to find myself in another sticky situation with Eclipse (and I most definitely did not want another nosebleed).
“Don! Hi!” I eagerly greeted once he was a couple of steps away. He was still excusing himself from the last three people before he could make his way over. I promptly pulled my bag off the seat and placed it on my lap so that he could sit down.
“Sorry for being late, Grace,” Don whispered after reaching our seat. He lifted his eyes to find me in the dark. “I—”
Don stopped talking the minute he laid eyes on me.
A puzzled expression slid over his face.
I stared at him in confusion, unnerved with his reaction. “Don, what’s wrong?”
Was it just me or did it look like Don wasn’t staring at me in particular, but at—
“Teacup,” Eclipse chimed in, interrupting my train of thoughts and shocking the hell out of me when he added, “you’re being rude. You should introduce us.”
“What?!” I squeaked out once I absorbed what Eclipse was saying to me. I must have been hallucinating. This wasn’t possible. Eclipse was invisible! How could Don see Eclipse?
I kept on telling myself that it wasn’t possible, that Don couldn’t be privy to Eclipse’s existence. To my horror, when I felt Eclipse unwrap his arm from around me, rise up, and extend his hand to Don, who uncertainly extended his hand out as well, I felt my world tilt on its already stupefied axis.
“Hi, I’m Eclipse. Gracie’s”—he paused to utilize the right classification for our relationship—“really good friend.” Eclipse happily ignored my stunned eyes as he continued to address Don, who was also shell-shocked. “You’re her friend DonKi?”
Clearly baffled with what was happening, DonKi—er—Don!—nodded and shook Eclipse’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“The pleasure is mine,” said Eclipse. “I hope you don’t mind me tagging along. Gracie and I have been”—he faked a blush—“hanging out a lot lately and we wanted to spend more time with each other.” He laughed boisterously, patting Don’s shoulder with brotherly love. “Plus, it doesn’t hurt to make new friends, right?”
“Yeah,” Don agreed uncertainly.
Don’s confused gaze darted to me. Soft accusation twinkled within his light brown eyes, but he was too polite to react as any other red-blooded guy would, which was to storm out after having another guy impede on his date.
“Yeah, no, it’s fine.” Don forced a smile to graze his lips. “I definitely don’t mind. Heh . . .”
I wanted to die.
I was thunderstruck, absolutely paralyzed with mystification. It was only when I caught the bewilderment on Don’s face did my rationale—along with my anger—return to me.
“Eclipse,” I said sweetly, standing up and tugging at his arm, “can I talk to you outside?”
“The movie’s starting, Teacup,” he replied dismissively, making a move to lean back in his seat.
“Now, Ashtray,” I said through clenched teeth. I wanted to say, “Now, asshole!” Despite the temptation, I couldn’t bring myself to curse in front of Don. I was determined to appear demure and perfect for my potential future husband.
Eclipse studied me tentatively. A tired sigh emitted from him before he nodded and obliged with my subtle demand.
After giving Don an artificial smile and a determinedly upbeat assurance that we’d be back as soon as possible, Eclipse and I excused ourselves from the theater and went to a quiet area in the lobby.
“I thought you were invisible?!” I shrieked, staring up at him in outrage. My mind was still churning with mystification. “How is it possible that Don can see you?” I glanced at the girls admiring Eclipse from afar and felt the anger multiply within me. “How is it possible that everyone can see you? Why are you suddenly visible?”
He gave a non-committal shrug, his muscles undulating under his light gray dress shirt. He feigned innocence by stuffing his hands into the pockets of his black pants. “I may have the option of choosing between being visible and invisible, and decided that since I was bored, it would be more fun to be visible and officially be part of your life now.”
I gawked at him in intensified horror. “You decided that it’d be more fun to be visible now?”
Oh crap, this wasn’t good.
Invisible Eclipse was already tough to deal with; how on earth was I supposed to handle a visible Eclipse?
Eclipse bobbed his head, oblivious to the miserable thoughts simmering in my brain. “It conserves more of my powers to stay visible anyway. Being invisible takes up too much unnecessary energy.”
My eyes morphed into poisonous slits. “Why didn’t you tell me that you had the option of being visible?”
His lips quirked into a playful curve. “It was more entertaining conversing with you while I was invisible. It adds more of a personal touch, don’t you think?”
“You wanted to laugh at me while I tried to figure out how to talk to you without looking crazy,” I accused, knowing Eclipse too well. He couldn’t care less about adding a “personal touch.” He only wanted to torture me for his own amusement.
Eclipse grinned. His eyes glanced favorably at my earpiece. “Your earpiece idea is very smart, Gracie. I was very impressed when you bought it for future meetings with me. You’re definitely a clever little human.”
“A clever human would have been able to get rid of you by now, not be stuck with you and your now visible self,” I blurted out on impulse.
His lighthearted grin remained, yet his voice grew sterner. “No, an ignorant human would attempt to get rid of me. A clever human would put up with me, and a strategic and intelligent human would see the advantages of having the Demon of Lust by their side.”
I groaned. I disregarded his recent statement when something he mentioned thrust into my mind.
“And what were you talking about? Why do you need to ‘conserve’ your powers?”
Akin to being doused by ice-cold water, humor fled from his face. Eclipse uncomfortably tilted his head and avoided eye contact. It was apparent that he did not want to disclose this information. However, after taking a moment to think it over and concluding that he needed someone to vent to, he relented with his usually secretive state.
“My powers are dwindling as we speak,” he shared, arresting my attention with this shocking revelation. “I have to pick and choose carefully which powers I want and which I ca
n do without. Unfortunately, as of this moment, becoming invisible requires too much energy. I need to conserve my power—basically only use it when it’s necessary. Making myself visible to humans is a small price to pay to keep what’s left of my powers.”
I folded my arms and canted my head. Curiosity clawed at me. “What powers do you have left?”
“You can look at my situation as a smartphone without a charger,” he supplied. “After I became a Dimmed Demon, I was charged at my fullest power. Yet, with every progressing day, my battery power decreases in strength. As of this second, I have to conserve my powers because there is no recharging my batteries. I’m trying to perform the least strenuous activities as possible, just in case”—he paused to find the right words to use—“bigger issues arise. If anything big comes up, I’ll still have enough power to take care of it.”
“Wow,” I remarked dryly, finding it ironic that the great Demon of Lust was so crippled. This must have been his biggest nightmare come to life. “You must really hate your life right now.”
For the first time, Eclipse showcased frustration, contrasting his typically easygoing demeanor.
“I’ve never been more miserable,” he admitted with a groan. He briefly closed his eyes before flashing me a hopeful smile. He placed a suggestive hand on my hip and gently moved us closer together. “That’s why you should endeavor to make my stay here a bit more bearable, Teacup. Perhaps you can give me your soul to make me feel better?”
I broke out of his hold and glared at him. He was making my life unbearable and he had the audacity to make it appear as though he was suffering more than me?
“You’ve completely ruined my date,” I said angrily, reverting back to our original topic. I remembered how touchy-feely he was with me in the theater, when I had no idea that he was visible. I belatedly realized that Don must have caught sight of Eclipse whispering sweet nothings in my ear, behaving as though he was my boyfriend. I wanted to cry. I could only imagine what was running through Don’s mind. “Now DonKi thinks I’m some mean hoe who is playing him.”
I was beyond frustrated, so much so that I was even calling Don, DonKi now. It was difficult to no longer call him by his full name when we all knew what it was.
“He’ll get over it,” Eclipse dismissed offhandedly. “Now, let’s go back in. You don’t want to appear like some mean hoe who ditched him at the movies, do you?”
That jerk. He had a point.
Dejected with how sucky my date was already going, we walked back in, and I made it a point to ignore Eclipse. While doing so, I also leaned in closer to DonKi. I was adamant on making things right—I would not allow Eclipse to ruin this date.
“Eclipse is just a friend,” I whispered to DonKi, gently squeezing his hand in the darkness. I gave him my most charismatic smile. “He was really depressed today. I felt bad so I invited him along to help him feel better. I really hope you don’t mind.”
Upon hearing this, DonKi, being the sweet guy that he was, bestowed me with a reassuring smile. “Of course I don’t mind. You’re such a good person, Grace.”
I beamed at him, ignoring the accusatory cough coming from Eclipse when he overheard DonKi calling me a good person.
I kept my sole attention on DonKi as the movie commenced, whispering things into his ear about how funny I thought the movie was and offering him my baby carrots (which he appreciatively ate). DonKi was a former overweight-turned-disciplined-dieter as well and that was one of the reasons why I wanted him as my future husband. We could be diet partners and watch out for each other as we grew older and lazier in life. It was a match made in Heaven.
Eclipse must have sensed my resentment towards him while on the date. Being the strategic guy that he was, he used my weakness to his advantage. He was hell-bent on getting back on my good side.
“Fries?” he offered amiably, extending the box to me so I could get a side-by-side comparison of my boring baby carrots and the delicious looking fries.
I swallowed convulsively, staring at the food like it was an offering from Heaven. My first weakness was sweets and my second was fries. I was already ravenous from getting a whiff of the sinful food Eclipse possessed earlier, but these hot new fries were a new addition and a very tempting one. There was no contest. I couldn’t . . . I just couldn’t say no.
Giving into temptation, I handed DonKi the remaining baby carrots. I covetously curled my fingers and dug into Eclipse’s fries with the fervor of a famished hyena.
“Do you want some as well?” Eclipse offered to DonKi, holding up the delicious box of food like it was a temptation from the Devil himself—which wasn’t far from the truth since Eclipse was the spawn of Satan.
When it looked like he was about to say no, DonKi suddenly bounced his head like a bobbing figurine. He reached over, grabbed the mouthwatering hot dog on the top of the pile, and took the biggest bite I had ever seen in my life.
My jaw fell to the floor.
I was scandalized!
DonKi told me that he had been on track, completely eating healthy for the past six years. Never once did he give into temptation—until now. Talk about falling off the wagon!
“Thanks man!” DonKi said appreciatively to Eclipse, who laughed as he smoked and ate his fries with me.
And that was how the three of us remained throughout the entirety of the movie. We immersed ourselves in Eclipse’s platter of junk food like three fat kids who had been released from captivity. We would surely regret our decision tomorrow, but for tonight, this sinful vice was worth every delicious calorie.
“All my life I’ve dreamed of my Prince Charming.”
15: The End of Eternity
After the movie was over, the date continued as planned. DonKi proposed that we get a bite of something to eat (even though we had stuffed ourselves silly in the theater), so that we could have the opportunity to get to know each other a little bit better. Although hesitant to stuff more food into my mouth, I agreed, and we decided on street food.
We settled under a red canopy at a nearby food stand and happily munched on our noodles. Cool air coursed around us, mixing with the steam that rose from the freshly made noodles. It was crowded and loud under the tent, but it also felt romantic and laid-back. The cacophony of noises eventually became an unobtrusive, dull buzz for us.
As the rain drizzled down, DonKi and I talked about our childhood, our favorite movies, our struggles to lose weight when it all seemed impossible, and our thoughts on college and post-grad life. It was the very picture of a beautiful date. The only unfortunate anomaly was the third wheel in the form of the ever-attention-grabbing Eclipse, who was right there alongside us every step of the way.
To my pleasant surprise, Eclipse was pretty considerate. He was quiet as we spoke about random things, politely listening to us while he ate his noodles and smoked his cigarette. I had assumed Eclipse was quiet because he was being thoughtful. On the contrary, I came to learn that he was only being quiet because he was being observant. He was simply bidding his time before his crass personality appeared again.
“If you still don’t make a move on her, then you’ll regret it.”
My gaze rounded when Eclipse’s voice interrupted us from out of the blue.
DonKi angled his body in Eclipse’s direction. I was seated between them at our square table while they sat across from one another. Although he had been polite to Eclipse all night, it was clear in DonKi’s unhappy expression that he didn’t appreciate another guy impeding on his date. I kept assuring him that Eclipse and I were “just friends” (even though that was total bullshit—I would never consider Eclipse to be a friend), but DonKi wasn’t stupid. It was obvious that Eclipse liked me, and for this reason alone, DonKi had every right to be annoyed with Eclipse.
Swallowing heavily as a means to keep his patience intact, DonKi forced a courteous smile to materialize on his face. Politely, he asked, “Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” Eclipse replied, his face cool with challenge.
He couldn’t care less about DonKi’s opinion towards him or about being politically correct. “I said, if you still don’t make a move on her, then you’ll regret it.”
I drew in an anxious breath. Oh no, what was Eclipse up to? Why was he suddenly threatening DonKi? Weirder yet, why was he telling DonKi to make a move on me?
DonKi clenched his jaw. Annoyance started to line the features of his face. “What are you talking about, man?”
“Eclipse, stop it!” I shouted, staggered by his actions. I could already feel the testosterone-filled tension move around me. I did everything I could to quell the growing tension by asking, “Why are you telling DonKi to make a move on me?”
Eclipse looked at me like I was high on drugs. He raised a critical brow at me. “Teacup, no offense, but why the hell would I tell some other guy to make a move on you when I’m courting you?” The tone he used on me was soft and calm, but when he returned his attention to DonKi, his voice was hard as steel. “I wasn’t talking about Gracie. I was talking about the actual girl you’re lusting after.”
“Who?!” I pounced, shocked with this revelation. I whipped my head back to DonKi. My face swarmed with bewilderment. I thought we had a connection. Was it possible that DonKi was lusting after some other chick while laughing and dining with me? Could he be that messed up?
DonKi regarded me with a wary gaze before tentatively darting his eyes towards Eclipse.
“What are you talking about?” he said again, irritation brimming in his voice.
“Okay, Gracie here is the epitome of the type of girl us guys want,” Eclipse resumed just as our waitress brought us several more bottles of soju. Smoke danced away from his cigarette as the explanation flowed from his lips. “We all want to throw her into our beds, rip her pretty little white dress off, worship every inch of her body, and be the animals we’re meant to be with her.”
That mental image was too enticing.
“Shut up,” I hissed, forcing the images to filter out of my head. I could feel the blood threatening to trickle out of my nose and I knew I had to control myself before I had another embarrassing nosebleed.