“I never lose,” Damien said with a wry chuckle. There was a promise to his words that made Reyna shiver. It was sometimes easy to mistake him for an average twenty-something adult, but at times his presence would shift and she would be reminded that he was hundreds of years old.
All of her friends were, which was a secret that Reyna had only discovered recently. She stood up and went over to the sink, filling up her water bottle as she tried to fight off the feeling that resurfaced. Maybe the extreme fitness plan that Damien had her on was good for one thing: it kept her from getting too up in her head. It made her forget the very real game of life that they were to play in a month’s time.
Damien abandoned his post next to the couch grapes to follow after her. He leaned against the counter and she instinctively took a step back. “You know, I’ve heard Australian outdoor trampolines are some of the best,” he said, as though there was a conversation he was continuing.
Reyna dramatically motioned to the studio apartment that he had already filled to the brim with fitness equipment. Between the treadmill, weights and rowing machine, there was little space to even stand. “There is no way we are getting a trampoline.”
Damien ignored her, pulling out his phone. Though she was still wary of getting close to the demigod, she couldn’t help but glance over at his screen. It was a bad habit she had picked up living with her often-absent parents. Knowledge had sometimes meant the difference between knowing when there would be food on the table and when there wouldn’t be.
He pulled up a browser tab and quickly typed ‘best website to buy a pool table online’. Reyna opened her mouth to scold him just as he glanced up, immediately catching her eye. She felt her cheeks redden as a mischievous grin formed on his face. He had known she was spying on him and had clearly been looking for a reaction from her.
She gritted her teeth, turning on her heel and walking into her bedroom. She slammed the door behind her, a bit harder than she had intended. Finally alone, she breathed a sigh of relief. Why did he infuriate her so much? She shook her head, trying to calm herself down. The next month training with him was going to be a fate worse than any monster waiting for her outside.