Without taking his eyes off the blond, Dawson snapped up his hand and caught the ball. There was a loud thud that made Bethany wince, but he didn’t flinch. “Thanks, buddy.”
“Christ on a crutch,” Carissa murmured.
Dawson grinned as he raised his arms and folded his hands behind his back. The shirt he wore rode up, exposing a flash of taut stomach muscles. Wow. No doubt he had a six-pack in kindergarten. He seemed oblivious to the fact that all three girls were staring at him.
To say the rest of the class was awkward was a massive understatement. After changing, she punched open the door and saw Dawson waiting for her.
His brows knitted. “You doing okay over there?”
“I think I should be asking you that question.”
He took her hand, pulling her to him. Bethany pressed her cheek against his chest. “It hasn’t been bad. I’ve gotten to see you.”
She smiled and lifted her chin. Their gazes locked. Heat flooded through her. “You always say the right things. A really good skill to have.”
His nose brushed along hers. “Only with you.”
A knot formed in her throat at the same moment a whole truckload of butterflies took flight in her stomach. “See. There you go again.”
“Hmm,” he murmured, wrapping his arm around her waist. Never before had she been big on PDA in the halls. Usually she rolled her eyes and made some kind of internal snarky comment whenever she saw it, but she was discovering that she liked being that girl with Dawson.
“Can I come over after school?” he asked.
“I was hoping you’d want to.”
“I’ll stop by after supper, okay?” He kissed her cheek and pulled back. Taking her hand, he walked her out to the parking lot. At her car, he lifted her hand and pressed his lips against her palm. “I have a feeling there’s going to be a meeting of the minds when I get home, so I might be a little late.”
She winced. “I wish I could be there with you. It’s not right that you have to defend yourself and me all alone.”
Tenderness filled his brilliant green gaze. “I’ve got it covered.”
“But—”
Dawson kissed her palm again, and the sweet gesture simply floored her. “Don’t worry about them. I don’t want you to worry at all.” He let go of her hand and started backing up. “I’ll be over as soon as I can.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
Chapter 14
Intervention Round Two went as expected.
In other words, it consisted of everyone taking turns bitching him out and sometimes more than one at a time. Dee and Adam were the only ones who didn’t take part. Sitting side by side on the couch, they had identical somber expressions.
Matthew wanted to go to the DOD, like they were supposed to in cases of exposure, but Daemon and Dawson managed to convince him that the risk wasn’t high. After an hour of straight arguing, he relented reluctantly.
“This is so risky,” Matthew said, pacing the living room. “If she tells a single—”
“She won’t tell anyone. I swear to you.”
Ash shook her head. “How can you be so sure?”
“Look. This is a done deal,” Daemon said, cutting her off. “We’re not going to the DOD or to the Elders. It’s over.”
“This isn’t moveon.org, Daemon,” she snapped back. “This affects all of us. And with her glowing—”
“I will protect her. I will also make sure no Arum gets close enough to even see her.” Dawson crossed his arms.
Ash gaped. “This is going to blow up in your face — in all of our faces. There’s a reason why humans don’t know about us. They are fickle and insane!”
Even Dee’s eyebrows rose on that. Ash was pretty damn nuts when she wanted to be.
Then Ash twisted toward Daemon, her cheeks flushed. “I can’t believe you’re allowing him to do this. Next thing we know, you’ll be dating a human.”
Daemon busted out laughing. “Yeah, not going to happen.”
The bitchfest went on for another hour before the Thompsons left. On the way out, Adam pulled Dawson aside while his siblings stewed in the car.
“Look, I don’t care if you’re in love with the girl—”
“I’m not—”
“Don’t even say you’re not in love,” Adam said, glancing at the empty house next door. “I don’t care if you do or don’t. It’s really not the point, but you have got to be careful.”
Dawson folded his arms. “I am being careful.”
“Dude, this isn’t careful. Everyone is pissed. This is going to affect Bethany.” He took a breath. “I’ll try talking some sense into those two, but your problems aren’t just the Arum or the DOD, if you get my drift.”
Aw man, the kind of rage that shot up his spine was enough to rain down some wrath. “If they do anything, I will—”
“I know, but you have to expect this. Even with Daemon and Matthew backing your…lifestyle, it’s not going to be easy.”
Now he was starting to lose his patience. His “lifestyle” was him wanting to be with the person he cared about. As if that was a bad choice or something. “Adam—”
“You’re my friend.” Adam clamped his hand on Dawson’s shoulder, meeting his eyes. “I got your back, but you need to be real sure about the road you’re traveling down.”
Dawson exhaled roughly. “I…don’t know — shit. I don’t know what you want me to say.” Mainly because he didn’t even know how to begin to put what he felt for Bethany into words. Maybe Adam had a point. Maybe it was the big L.
A keen sense of understanding marred with sadness crept across Adam’s face. “Look, what kind of future do you have with her? Is she worth pissing off and alienating everyone?”
“I think the answer to that is pretty obvious.”
“True,” he said, dropping his hand. “But this is huge. Know of any Luxen and human that have made it work? Lived to talk about it?”
Yeah, now entering Downersville, population one.
Adam gave a little smile. “I don’t envy you, because I really don’t think we can help how we feel. God knows I’m well familiar with that.” He winced, and Dawson wondered if he were talking about Dee. “I just worry, because I don’t think Dee and Daemon could deal if something bad happened. And I don’t think you could if something happened to Bethany.”
Dawson watched his friend leave. Adam had given him a lot of food for thought. Bad, cheap, leftover yuck food for thought.
But mostly, he was consumed by how he felt for Bethany. Because he was risking everything and everyone, and that was selfish. God, there was only one thing that could cause anyone to be that self-centered.
…
It didn’t take Bethany long to realize that there weren’t many Team Dawson-and-Bethany fans. Over the next couple of days, Daemon spent the bulk of English class glaring at his brother and ignoring her, even when she tried to be civil.
It also became easy for her to tell Andrew and Adam apart. The nice one was distant whenever they crossed paths or when he chatted with Dawson, but he smiled at her. The other, evil alien twin scared the living bejeebus out of her. Daemon’s glares had nothing on Andrew’s. He was someone she didn’t want to cross paths with alone. Luckily, Dawson stuck close to her side and by Friday, good news. Her trace had faded. Six days was all it took.
She and Dawson spent the weekend together, holed up in her bedroom. Door kept open, of course. Mom popped her head in, but each time, she brought cookies. There was a good chance that Dawson was falling in love with her mom.
The boy could eat.
He explained once, after his third Big Mac, that it had to do with their metabolism and the amount of energy they used. Trying not to be jealous, Bethany had poked at her cheeseburger, which she knew would go straight to her butt.
The boy could also cuddle.
When they felt relatively sure that her mom wouldn’t bust up in her bedroom or the living room, Dawson would hold her close, as if he needed to be tou
ching some part of her. At times, his whole body vibrated.
She didn’t get to see him in his true form again, because of the trace it would leave behind, but with each passing day, Dawson loosened up around her. His new favorite pastime seemed to be popping out and appearing right in front of her, giving her a minor stroke each time he did it. He also moved a lot of things without touching them. These little actions didn’t throw off a lot of energy, but they were really neat to see.
Things were going well. And then she met Ash, formally, on Monday.
She’d seen the blonde in the halls every once in a while. Hell, it wasn’t like you could miss her. Like Dee, she was gorgeous, almost too beautiful to be walking the halls of high school. Ash seemed better fit for the catwalks of Milan.
Bethany was heading out of chem class, surprised when the lithe blonde spun around, bright sapphire eyes locking on hers. “Bethany?”
She nodded as she sidestepped a group of students.
Ash’s gaze slipped from hers, drifting over her plain cardigan and worn jeans. Ash’s finely groomed brows knitted as if she were looking for something Bethany clearly didn’t have. “I must admit. I am a bit confused.”
So was Bethany. “Care to explain?”
Ash’s blue eyes snapped to hers. “I’m not sure what Dawson sees in you.”
Whoa. Way to be blunt. Bethany had to force her jaw closed. “Excuse me?”
Ash smiled tightly and waited until another group of kids shuffled past them. “I don’t get what he sees in you, but I think you heard and understood me the first time around.” Then her voice lowered. “He can do better. And he will. Eventually he’ll grow tired of the greener grass and move on.”
Bethany was almost too stunned to respond. “Sorry you feel that way, but—”
“What do you have to offer him other than risks?” Ash stepped closer, and Bethany had to fight the urge to back up. “You guys aren’t going to last. One way or another. So why don’t you do both yourself and Dawson a favor, and leave him alone.”
Bethany felt like a shaken soda can about to be popped open. Yeah, she knew she didn’t hold a candle to a girl like Ash, but geez, she wasn’t yesterday’s leftover fast food, either. But before she could let loose a doozy of an eff off, the taller girl pivoted gracefully and stalked away, moving among the other students effortlessly.
Bethany stood there, mouth agape. That did not happen. She got the whole unhappy about her knowing their truth part, but that seemed personal. Was she an ex-girlfriend of Dawson’s? God, wouldn’t that be her luck? She was competing against the memory of an alien Victoria’s Secret model.
Dawson was at the far end of the corridor. He turned, as if sensing her. “Hey…” The smile faded from his handsome face. “What’s up?”
She stopped beside him, glancing around. “So I just had a tiny chitchat with Ash.”
And there went the rest of the smile. “Oh, God, what did she say?”
“Did you guys date or something?” The minute those words left her mouth, she regretted them.
“What? Oh, hell no.”
Bethany folded her arms. “Really?”
To her surprise, he laughed and cupped her elbow, guiding her toward the dirtied window overlooking the back parking lot. “She and my brother are dating — well, not right now, but on and off for as long as I can remember.”
Annoyed by the fact that she was relieved to hear it, she frowned. “What? Since they were ten or something?”
Dawson shrugged. “What did she say to you?”
Bethany gave him the quick and dirty version. By the time she finished, Dawson looked like he wanted to punch something. “Do they really see me as that big of a threat?” she asked.
His jaw ticked. “Yeah, they do.” He kept his voice low. “See, they don’t know you. And they don’t know any humans outside the DOD who are aware of them. This is new for them, but inexcusable.”
Part of her was glad he was so pissed, but she didn’t want to come between them any more than she already had. Forcing a smile, she stretched up on the tips of her toes and kissed the corner of his lip.
A shudder rolled through his entire body.
Bethany grinned, loving the effect she had on him. Sure, he was an alien with pretty much unlimited power, but she made him tremble. Score one for the pitiful human!
“You know, I have an idea,” she said.
“You do?” He snaked an arm around her waist as his head dipped, running his jaw up the side of her neck. For a moment she totally forgot what she was saying. “Bethany?”
“Oh.” She flushed, pulling back. Students were practically gawking at them. “I was thinking maybe things would be easier if we didn’t act like it was a big deal. If we didn’t try to…stay away from them. Maybe if they got to know me…”
Bethany trailed off because he was staring at her like she’d just kicked a baby into the street. “Okay. Never mind.”
“No.” He blinked and then grinned. “It’s a great idea. I should’ve come up with that.”
She beamed. “Yay me.”
He dropped his arm over her shoulder. “Well, let’s get this over with, then.”
Wait — what? She slowed her footsteps. “Huh?”
“How about we make an appearance at lunch? Most of them share your period.”
The great idea sounded good in theory, but now that they were putting it to the test, she sort of wished she’d kept her mouth shut. But she pulled her big-girl panties on and prepared for probably one of the most awkward lunch periods of her life.
PHS’s cafeteria was like every high school cafeteria. White square tables crammed into a room that smelled like Pine-Sol and burned food. The loud hum of conversation was actually kind of comforting to her. Normal. The line for food moved quickly. Dawson stacked his plate with what may’ve been meatloaf, and she’d grabbed a bottle of water. She always packed her lunch — peanut butter and jelly. Her day wouldn’t be complete without it.
Bethany didn’t need to know where his friends sat. She felt their stares and wondered if that was a super-alien power — drilling holes through bodies with just the power of their eyes.
Beside her, Dawson was a picture of ease. The easy half grin was plastered across his striking face, and he seemed oblivious to the stares he was getting as they headed down the middle of the cafeteria.
Dee and Daemon were at the table, sitting beside who she suspected was Andrew by the open-mouthed stare he was giving them. She assumed the rest of the students sitting at the table were human, because Dawson had said that most of the Luxen were younger or older.
“Hey, guys, mind if we join you today?” Dawson sat across from his brother before anyone could answer, tugging Bethany into the seat beside Dee. “Thanks.”
Bethany put her paper bag on the table, holding her breath.
“Bold move,” Daemon murmured, lips twisted into a smirk.
Dawson shrugged. “Nah, we just missed you guys.”
Daemon picked up a fork, and Bethany seriously hoped it wasn’t going to turn into a weapon. “I’m sure you did.” His familiar-yet-foreign green eyes slid to her. “How are you doing, Bethany?”
“I’m doing well.” She pulled out her sandwich, hating the fact that she could feel her cheeks blazing. “You?”
“Great.” He stabbed the meatloaf. “Don’t see you in here often. Are you skipping along with my responsible brother?”
“I usually eat in the art room.” She paused, pulling her sandwich into chunks. An odd habit of hers that Dawson made fun of.
“In the art room?” Dee questioned.
She nodded, lifting her gaze. There wasn’t an outright look of scorn or anything on the beautiful girl’s face. Mostly curiosity. “I paint. So I’ll eat in there and work on projects.”
“She’s really good,” Dawson threw in. His lunch was half devoured. “My girl has skills.”
Andrew leaned forward and said in a low voice, “Your girl is going to turn into one huge, mo
ther—”
“Finish that sentence and I will stab you in the eye with the spork Bethany’s about to pull out of her bag for her apple sauce.” He smiled gamely. “And she’d be very upset if I got her spork all messed up. She’s rather fond of the thing.”
Yeah, she would be upset over that…for many reasons.
Andrew sat back, his jaw tightening. On the other side, Daemon did the strangest thing. He laughed — really loudly. It was a nice sound, deeper than Dawson’s.
“A spork,” Dee said, grabbing her bag. “What is a spork?”
Bethany’s mouth dropped open. “You’ve never seen one?”
“Dee doesn’t get out much,” Dawson replied, grinning.
“Shut up.” Dee pulled out the fork and spoon in one and smiled. “I’ve never seen one of these! Ha. This is so handy.” She looked over at Daemon, eyes dancing. “We could get rid of over half of our silverware and get like ten of these and we’d be set for life.”
Daemon shook his head, but the look on his face was one of utter fondness. And Bethany got it then. That no matter how much the three of them were pissed off with one another, there was a deep, loving bond among them. Seeing that caused her to relax. As much as Daemon was upset with Dawson or Dee was worried, they would always stick together. It made her want to run home, hug Phillip, and be a better sister.
Lunch wasn’t that bad afterward. The only downside was Andrew, but he left after a while, and she was so grateful that Ash was a no-show. They left with a few minutes before class to spare.
Outside of the cafeteria, Bethany grinned up at Dawson, motivated by the experience. “That wasn’t too bad, was it?”
The smile he wore warmed her. “Yeah, it was okay. I think we should do it again.”
She laughed, and then he reached over and took her hand. He pulled her into an empty classroom full of computers. Without saying a word, he slipped the strap of her bag off her shoulder and placed it on the floor. Bethany shivered, unsure if it was because of the frigid air circulating or the determined look on his face.
She took a step back, wetting her lower lip nervously. His green eyes flared. “What…are you doing?”
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