Not long after I developed my full-blown crush on Jax, I attempted to embark on my first date in an embarrassingly long time as a diversion tactic.

So, when Brad from Tinder asked me out, I thought, Fine.

The beginnings of this love story was a decidedly modern one: I swiped right. He swiped right. From there, we messaged back and forth for a few days. I liked that Brad didn't give off any obvious serial killer vibes. As in, he didn't ask me to go cave exploring on our first meeting like one of the other creepy dudes I'd also been talking to—

See? Romance wasn't dead, after all!

Just kidding! Dating sucked balls. Finding love was always so much easier in Hottpad romances than in reality. I had zero expectations with Brad from Tinder. I simply wanted to get dolled up and get out of the apartment, away from a certain tatted up, hard-muscled somebody who kept roaming around my bedroom, my kitchen, my living room in nothing but a pair of gray joggers that left very little to the imagination...

I didn't know if Jax was flaunting his, ahem, sizable assets on purpose, but—whether or not his intentions were intentional—I refused to fall victim to such temptations. I was an independent-minded, college-educated, occasionally-badass bish who knew better than to let her ovaries explode over a stupid pair of joggers. My overactive mind had been over-analyzing my imaginary future as Mrs. Jaxon Zane Maddox for far too long and far too often, and this nonsense needed to stop!

As my feelings for Jax grew stronger, reason flew out the window. Irrational fears buzzed through me.

What if Kyra's witchy spell stopped working one day?

What if Jax and Lord M disappeared on me as suddenly as they had appeared?

The possibility of losing them depressed me more than I expected. Even though they were becoming quite real in every sense, especially in developing and expanding on their own individual identities, identities that felt distinct from the ones I had initially created for them—it was probably better not to get too attached to Jax or Lord M since the future for them was one big, unexplainable unknown.

Trust me when I say I've already tried to Google this shit a million different ways—how to prevent a love spell from breaking, how to stop characters from leaving the real world, how to keep fictional people alive—but I always came up with nothing.

Like Jax said, we really had no choice but to roll with this strange phenomenon one day at a time...

My phone lit up. It was a notification from Brad.

See you soon, Annalise. :)

I smiled—sweet guy—and texted back, See you soon, Brad. :)

With some effort, I shoved my worries to the wayside and started applying mascara for my big night out.

Yes, back to Brad. Focus on Brad. We like Brad.

Brad was the kind of guy that I needed to date right now. He was around my age. In college. Electrical engineering major. Good on paper. He seemed funny but not too funny. Cute but not too cute. Tall but not too tall. Nice but not too nice. He was just like me—decent and average in every way.

Plus, he agreed to take me out to my favorite boba shop.

We were practically made for each other!

Thirty minutes later, when I stepped out of the bathroom in a cute, little black babydoll dress with my hair curled and my makeup all done, I ran into Lord M in the living room. Immediately, I noticed that he was sitting alone, Kyra-less, on the couch.

His whole demeanor seemed a bit down, but he exclaimed in delight at the sight of me, "My, my, my! Dear, sweet Annalise! You look positively radiant! Is there a special occasion that I am not aware of this evening?"

I nodded. "Something like that, I guess."

He released a glum sigh. "Well, good for you, Annalise. Good for you."

I gave the vamp a quick once over. He was dressed in all black. Black dress shirt. Tight black jeans. Black boots.

Clearly, my gothy roommate had been doing all of his shopping.

I lifted an eyebrow. "I could say the same for you, Lord M. Hot date with Kyra tonight?"

"Alas, no," Lord M replied with another forlorn-sounding sigh. "As of this morning, my green-eyed goddess conveyed some rather distressing news to me—"

He gave a dramatic pause. I waited for him to continue.

"She determined that we might be better off as... friends."

My eyes grew round with shock. "What? I thought Kyra was head over heels in love with you?"

"There was a time when I believed our love to be deep and true as well," Lord M mumbled with a miserable expression, "but, alas, my black-hearted beauty claims I am too—what was the modern day vernacular she employed? Ah, yes. 'Clingy.' She requested for me to provide her with a little more... space. Breathing room—if you will."

I gasped, "She didn't!"

He lamented, "Oh, but she did!"

Secretly, the selfish, sleep deprived part of my brain was pleased to learn that there would be no more nightly banging and howling sessions from Kyra's bedroom, but Lord M looked so upset right then that I couldn't help feeling bad for the poor vamp.

With a surprising amount of sincerity, I murmured, "I'm sorry things didn't work out for you two..."

With dark, tormented eyes, Lord M leaned towards me and moaned remorsefully, "I broke my vow of celibacy for her, Annalise! I thought my precious Kyra and I were to be betrothed!"

I hummed sympathetically, "Oh, Lord M, nowadays people don't necessarily get married just because they have sex..."

He glanced down at his crotch sadly. "I feel so foolish."

My heart went out to him. Lord M looked positively devastated.

Suddenly, on a whim, I decided to cancel my Tinder date and, instead, stick around to cheer up Lord M. This decision filled me with a sense of righteousness.

For weeks, I had been stewing in guilt for blowing up at the vamp over his lack of 'unwavering commitment to one woman.' Now, I felt even worse about what I said after learning that Kyra had dumped him for being too clingy. Jax's words stuck with me. Lord M had suffered long enough. He was no longer a character in my book. The vamp was his own person now and deserved to live his life however he saw fit.

I set my jaw determinedly. This was probably as good of an opportunity as any for me to finally apologize.

"Hey, Lord M? You seem like you could use a friend right about now. Wanna come grab a boba with me? It'll be my treat..."

Lord M glanced up at me. His handsome face brightened by a flicker.

"What a kind soul you are, Annalise, to take pity on a lovesick ignoramus as myself, but... what of your set plans for the evening?"

"It's not a big deal, Lord M. I can cancel and reschedule my date."

He gazed at me gratefully. "You would do such a thing... for me?"

"I would!"

"Oh, my dear! You have no idea what this means to me. Your friendship feels like the warm breath of summer upon the wintry chill of my broken spirit."

I chuckled at his theatrics. Oddly, Lord M's over-the-topness was starting to grow on me.

"So, are you coming or not?"

"Your invitation sounds delightful. I believe I shall take you up on your offer, after all. Thank you!"

"Great! Let's go!"

I grabbed my purse and cell phone. I texted Brad a quick message about a family emergency and maybe rescheduling our date for another day. Lord M rose from the couch and offered me his arm. Happily, I took it. The gesture was very sweet and gentlemanly. It made me feel like a bonafide lady from a Jane Austen novel or something.

As we headed out the door, Jaxon's voice boomed from behind us, "Hold up! Where are you two going?"

I winced at the sharpness of his tone. Why did he sound so annoyed?