by Sherry Soule
“Hello, ladies,” Hayden says when he finally reaches us. “Having fun?”
Viola raises her bottle. “A blast.”
“I am now,” I say with a big smile.
Hayden plops down on the blanket between us, and his thigh brushes mine. My adrenaline does this rapid hormonal-pumping thing. I inhale his scent, everything spicy and masculine and oh-so-sexy.
“Up for a walk alone on the beach, Peaches? We could get away from all the craziness and score some quality alone time,” he whispers in my ear.
“Yes, please.” I blush, earning my nickname. “I mean, that would be nice.”
Actually, it would be really nice, considering the fact that every other girl here is flirting with him tonight—blame the consumption of alcohol—and I already can’t wait to ditch this party. But what those girls don’t know is that he’s all mine.
“Once everyone’s distracted, we’ll sneak off.”
“You’re not drinking?” I ask.
“No way. I drove here, and just say no, right?”
“Right.” I smile and nod. “What’ve you been doing?”
“Homework. Video games.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yup, and whenever I’m playing Super Mario, I imagine you’re the one I’m rescuing.” He bumps my shoulder with his and grins. “Keeps me motivated.”
Oh, my. I can’t stop grinning like a lunatic.
Zach belches noisily. He triumphantly raises both hands over his head with a huge smile, but when his gaze locks in on the three of us sitting together on the blanket his grin instantly vanishes.
Code red!
I clench my jaw. Please, oh, please don’t come over here. I really don’t need your fat insults tonight.
I lift a strand of hair and chew on it. Hayden reaches out and stops the anxious movement. For a second, his large hand holds my small one. His blue/green gaze is so exotic, and his smile warms my heart. We’re both lost for a moment until someone loudly clears their throat. Hayden and I flinch and scoot apart.
Zach takes a swig of beer and almost tumbles over. “How’s the fire over here?”
My throat closes and I have trouble swallowing. Oh, god. Did Zach see us touching?
“You joining the fun, Viola?” Zach asks. “Most of the girls seem up for it.”
“No thanks,” Viola replies dryly. “Count me out of the wet T-shirt competition.”
“Are you sure? You’re looking pretty damn hot tonight.” Zach eyes Viola up and down with a smirk, and then he jerks his head in my direction. “But we all know who would win—hands down.”
Heat flushes my face and I grind my teeth. Zach annoys the shit out of me and I have half a mind to throw my bowl of gummy bears at him. But surprisingly, his insult doesn’t have quite the same ego-deflating effect as it did before. Go me!
Hayden shoots his younger brother a dirty look. “You’re drunk. Shut up and sit down.”
“Don’t bother, Hayden,” I say under my breath and cross my arms over my chest.
Zach lurches closer, like a hissing snake that might strike at any moment. A stream of beer spills from his can onto the sand near our feet. The kids closest to us stop and stare, as if eager for a good fight.
Cue the awkwardness.
Hayden scowls up at his brother. “I’m not in the mood for your shit tonight.”
Second that.
Zach puts up his hands, still clutching the bottle. “Protective of your new little friend, bro?” He raises his eyebrows. “Maybe little is the wrong adjective.”
He can’t think of better insults? Zach is like the classic jerk in every horror flick. Maybe I’ll get lucky and one day zombies will eat his brains.
Hayden’s expression darkens. “I’m warning you, Zach.”
“Or what? I won’t be the one getting in trouble with you-know-who for spending time with you-know-what,” Zach says, throwing a look of disgust in my direction.
“You need to go home.” Hayden’s tone is low, controlled.
“But the party’s just getting started!” Zach crouches down to stare at me face-to-face. “Or did someone finish all the food already?”
Before I can stop him, Hayden shoves his brother backward hard, causing Zach to fall on his back, his beer spilling all over his chest.
Surprisingly, Zach doesn’t say anything rude. He laughs. “Just having some fun, bro,” he slurs. “You’re such a buzzkill!”
“I think your basketball buddies need you at the keg,” Viola says. “Girls are lining up for the contest.”
Zach drunkenly gets to his feet and swirls around, shouting, “Hey! Don’t start without me.” He shambles toward the group without a backward glance.
Disaster avoided.
Tanisha and Raymond appear with happy smiles. Tanisha takes a seat by us on the blanket while Raymond wanders off in search of cold beverages.
Hayden nudges my arm. “Sorry about that. My brother’s a jackass.”
“It’s okay. I’m used to people making stupid comments like that,” I say, looking out at the ocean.
“But it still doesn’t make it right.” Hayden’s fingers glide down my arm. “Hey, while my brother’s busy squirting water on those girls’ chests, let’s make a break for it.”
I lean closer to Viola. “Hayden and I are going for a walk. Distract Zach if he comes looking for us, okay?”
“Got it.” She wiggles her fingers at me. “Go have fun.”
Hayden sneaks away first and wanders behind a sand dune, leaving the rowdy teens and the horrible boob contest behind. I wait about five minutes, then stand to stretch and pretend to go look for the bathroom. I glance over my shoulder to make sure it’s safe and that Zach’s still preoccupied with partying before rushing over to Hayden. Once we’re a safe distance away, he takes my hand. We steal within the cover of shrubbery outlining the beach.
“Hard to believe the school year is almost over,” he says.
“Then we face adulthood, as my mom puts it. Not looking forward to that.”
He laughs quietly. “How many colleges did you apply to?”
“Only the three that I’m interested in attending. And you?”
“A few contacted me.”
“Really? Which ones?”
He shrugs. “Princeton, Yale, Stanford, Berkeley…”
Damn. I still hadn’t heard from my top three film schools yet, with the University of Southern California being my main choice. Or talked my parents into letting me move to Los Angeles.
“Any preference?” I ask.
He glances over at my face and squeezes my hand. “Berkeley. It’s close to home…and close to my girlfriend.”
My heart jumps. Girlfriend?
I swallow. “Does Berkeley have a good science department?”
“One of the best in the world.”
Hayden’s fauxhawk flops over into his eyes and the light brown strands gleam in the moonlight. Snatches of conversation and laughter carry over to us on the wind.
“Sounds like a no-brainier. Someday you’ll be Hayden Lancaster, Ph. D.” I smile. “Has a nice ring to it.”
“And you’ll be a famous screenwriter.”
“Touché.” I sigh and change the subject. “I don’t want to go back to school. Back to pretending we’re not a couple…”
“I know this is hard,” he says. “But we could sneak into the custodian closet for some private time between classes.”
“Um. No. Totally not sexy.” I roll my eyes. “As much as I’d like to indulge in some heavy petting and kissing, the closet doesn’t do it for me. You glimpse teens doing that all the time in TV shows and it just looks incredibly uncomfortable and completely unromantic. And such a cliché.”
“Can’t blame a guy for trying.” His smile is lopsided. “If you change your mind, I’m always game for some cloak-and-dagger love.”
I giggle. “This secret relationship stuff sure isn’t easy.”
“We’ll figure it out as we go,” he says. “It
’s us against the world, Peaches, and I like our odds.”
“You’ve got to be kidding. We were doomed from the start.”
“Hey now!” He lifts a fist in the air and stares into my eyes with mock seriousness. “I could conquer the world with just one hand as long as you were holding the other.”
My heart flutters. So cheesy, but also so freaking sweet.
“You’re such a dork.”
He stops walking and gives me the softest smile. “But I’m your dork. Now until forever.”
Hayden tugs on my hand and pulls me closer, wrapping his hands around my waist. Lowering his head, his mouth swoops down to cover mine in a knee-melting kiss. The touch of his lips explodes like fireworks throughout my body, and I’m kissing him back, matching his fervor. One of his hands moves down to my hipbone, his fingers slipping under my blouse, grazing the top of my waistband in slow, languid circles that cause my skin to flush hotly. Fantasies of a shirtless Hayden assault my mind, and I have to push away the urge to yank off the faded Ramones T-shirt, clinging to his taut muscles.
Instead, I pour all the angst and worry and longing over the last few weeks into that deep kiss, and realization washes over me—in this moment of intense passion—he feels the same way. He’s just as addicted to me as I am to him. And that seems to shatter any remaining walls between us.
Pulling back slightly, he breaks the kiss. His eyes are blazing with desire, triggering the already heated blood in my body to catch fire. My knees shake. Wow, can that boy kiss.
“Don’t listen to my brother. He’s an asshat,” Hayden says, but I turn away and lower my head. He gently lifts my chin with his finger. “I mean it, Sloane. If people can’t see how absolutely breathtaking you are—inside and out—screw them.”
He pulls me into a tight hug and kisses my forehead. I rest my head on his chest and sigh.
“Our hearts are beating simultaneously,” I whisper.
“Yeah...I guess they’re happy.”
I smile and shake my head at his utter cuteness. Who says that guys can’t be hopeless romantics, too?
I smile up at him. “Thanks for sticking up for me.”
“I’ll always have your back—no matter what,” he says softly, then looks back at the bonfire. “We’d better return to the party before anyone notices we’re gone. Mainly my dumbass brother.”
Another wonderful stolen moment with my secret hybrid boyfriend. And I’ll take as many as I can get.
FRIGHT NIGHT BABBLE
Welcome, Snarklings!
There is the only one clichéd movie trope that makes me all kinds of happy: “The Final Girl Rule.”
This is a classic concept within most thriller and horror films that explicitly refers to the last female alive to confront the murdering psycho, who as the only survivor lives to tell the tale. And most times, the badass “final girl” has some type of shared history with the evil baddie, which works as a great plot twist.
Most importantly, the “final girl” is usually the investigating awareness of the movie, propelling the narrative forward and as such, she exhibits toughness, cunning, and vigilance. This chick rocks!
Well, there you have it, kiddies. My one and only acceptable cliché in the genre.
Peace, love, and horror flicks,
Zombie Queen aka Sloane
TWENTY-FIVE
The evening of Devin’s movie get-together, I hurry through a shower, and then stand in my closet, gazing at the sea of black garments.
Sighing, I yank a pair of dark footless leggings off a hanger. From the dresser, I pull on a lavender puff-sleeved blouse with silver lacing and fasten a thick, glittery belt around my waist. After triple checking myself in the mirror, I brush out my hair, teasing the purple strands at my scalp to give it lots of volume. Then I slip on my rockin’ peep-toe wedge heels and smile at my sparkly blue toenail polish. Next, I apply smoky eyeshadow and red lipstick—presto—I’m ready to party. Tonight is going to be perfect.
My cell buzzes on the bed, waking up Jinx, who meows and stretches. I seize the phone and look at the screen.
Hayden: I’ll be at your house in 10 mins.
Me: Can’t wait 2 C you.
Hayden: Me 2.
I shove my phone into my velvet purse, grab my keys, and rush downstairs.
In the living room, my brother’s sitting on the floor in front of the TV, his nose inches from the screen. Some comical Disney sitcom is on and Jonah giggles uncontrollably at the silly antics of the actors.
The crunch of tires on the driveway signals Hayden’s arrival.
“Jonah, tell Mom I’ll be home late. I’m hanging out with some friends tonight.”
My little brother sniffles and says, “Yeah, whatever.”
At the door, I take two deep breaths before opening it and stepping outside. The night sky is a stark throng of royal blue, twinkling with bright starlight. I hurry to the SUV and slide onto the passenger-seat.
“Hi there,” I say, fastening my seatbelt.
Hayden shifts into reverse and backs out. “Hi, beautiful.”
“Are you sure it was a good idea to pick me up?” I ask.
“We’ve been over this, Peaches. We’re friends, going to spend time with our other friends. Nothing suspicious about that. Everyone already knows we hang out. If anything, it’ll look more suspect if we keep sneaking around. This way, we’re acting like normal teens.”
He’s right. Of course.
Cracking the window, I relax and smile, then I check out my secret boyfriend. Tonight Hayden’s wearing a black V-neck shirt and ripped up jeans with a pair of brand new Etnies. He looks freaking fantastic. I catch a whiff of his cologne—spicy and intoxicating. So unlike normal teenage boys, he has a signature scent that’s all his own. Maybe it’s a cool alien thing, making them all look good and smell good. Because damn, he’s incredibly handsome for an extraterrestrial/human.
“Thanks for going tonight,” I say. “I hope you don’t get bored.”
“With you? Never.” He makes a right turn. “Can you punch the address into my GPS?”
“Sure.” I input the data into the system on the dashboard.
“Things still tense between you and your brother?” I ask, thinking about the text Zach sent me a couple of days ago and his bad behavior at the bonfire.
“Yeah. But I told you not to worry about it. You’re more than worth putting up with his stupidity.”
“You sure?”
He reaches over and takes my hand. “Positive. I feel so at ease around you, and I can honestly say I’ve never met anyone quite like you before. You are total beauty to me.”
My cheeks burn. “Maybe one day I’ll see myself through your eyes.”
He brakes at a stop sign and glances at me. “I just see you, Sloane. Intense, intelligent, sexy-as-hell. My cute, funny, Peaches.” His gaze smolders. “And I’m not going to let my idiot brother ruin this for me.”
A serious case of glittery butterflies hits my stomach. I swoon. Majorly.
“I told you not to call me that,” I say, but my voice isn’t very stern.
“But I like calling you that. It’s your pet name.”
I laugh. “Now we have pet names?”
“Yup. Because we’re just two hopeless romantics, who don’t care what anyone else thinks anymore.” He presses on the gas pedal and we lurch forward. “I guess maybe we’ll work out after all.”
I shake my head at him. “Such the optimist.”
“One of us has to be,” he teases.
Hayden’s in such a good mood that it’s infectious. Tonight is going to be all kinds of fun. Still, a part of me wishes we were hanging out alone.
Hayden parks the Range Rover near the curb of Devin’s California bungalow-styled home. Warm, gold light blazes from all the windows. Several cars are parked outside, which means everyone else is already here. He helps me from the SUV and takes my hand. On the porch, I ring the doorbell and Raymond answers.
“Hey, guys, come on
in.” He waves us inside.
We follow him through the house and into the family room where the rest of the Graveyard Gang is gathered. I wave at Tanisha and she waves back. It’s a spacious room with plush beige carpet and dark paneling. One entire wall has floor-to-ceiling windows with a nice view of the Bay. Brown suede sofas and an armchair surround a teak coffee table that holds two big bowls of popcorn, and faces a massive flat screen TV. Raymond and Tanisha are sitting together on the other sofa, and the newest members of our club lounge on the floor.
Devin puts a disc into the DVD player, and then straightens. He fires a deadly glare at Hayden and my hand-holding status.
“Who invited you?” Devin says to Hayden.
Hayden tenses beside me, his good mood vanishing. “Sloane did. You got a problem with that?”
I roll my eyes. “I invited him. Hayden’s my guest, but if you’d rather we leave—”
“No. It’s fine.” Devin stares at my right breast, then moves his gaze to the left. “You look very attractive this evening, Sloane.”
“Um, thanks—”
“You are very welcome.” Devin smirks. “You’re not wearing a coat. I like your new top.”
Translation: No jacket means Devin can ogle the mega-boobs all night.
My cheeks prickle with heat. Raymond snorts a laugh, but covers it with a cough.
“You need to learn how to be more respectful of women,” Hayden says, lowering his voice.
Devin raises his eyes to my face. Finally. “What did I say now?”
A muscle in Hayden’s jaw goes crazy. “Just watch it,” he warns.
Devin’s cheeks puff out, but he stays quiet. First smart thing he’s done in a while.
I figure it’s best to just ignore Devin. I won’t let him ruin my night. And I love it when Hayden goes all He-Man on me.
Stifling a girlish squeal, I grab Viola’s arm and drag her into the next room.
“Where’s Brendan?” I ask. “I thought he was coming with you.”
“He got stuck helping out his dad with something.” She sighs. “He’s gonna meet up with us at Club Nocturne later.”
A touch of unease hits hard. I chew on my hair and contemplate what to do. Sneaking into an eighteen and over nightclub with my friends could get me into so much trouble. My parents are pretty laidback, but I usually follow their rules. Only the thought of spending additional alone time in a dark club with Hayden can lure me to the dark side.
