"No."
"Yes you are."
"I'm not."
"You so are."
Despite the fact that I hadn't even known Zane that long, this was a glorious moment in my life. Mr. Arrogant, Sir I-Know-I'm-Right was second-guessing himself!
"What was the big deal, anyway?" I questioned. "Maybe Ty wouldn't have freaked out as much if he'd known you had a good reason to take me away—unless you didn't have a good reason."
"I had a good reason," Zane said defensively—defensively. Oh, yeah. I was lovin' it.
One problem. Normally, Zane was just full-on, in your face, darkly, wittily, classically... hot. Steamy. When he got defensive, that just added this element of... well, cuteness. And I know that he would drain me dry if he knew that I just said that. But it was true.
"OK, then," I smirked, flipping my hair behind one shoulder. "Tell me what that was. After all, if we're going to pointlessly stand on the side of the road, I'd at least like to know what your reason was."
"You just reminded me of something," Zane said quickly, grabbing my hand and dragging me towards his car.
Normally, I would fight back. But, hey, I had a pretty PO'd Hunter to do that for me, as Ty was clearly bursting out of the house at warp speed, Natalie and Madison on his tail. His exact words at that moment are, once again, better left alone.
"Don't you get that stake, Hunter, or I will rip your throat out!" Natalie threatened, venom in her voice.
Ty wasn't getting the stake. No, he wanted to fight like a good old-fashioned human. With his fists. At least, that's what I thought when he stopped in his tracks, preparing to punch the heck out of Zane.
"Hold on, caveman," Zane snapped, his fangs lengthening a bit. OK, the guy was a bit annoyed by now... "Let me spell this out for you: I am trying to keep the girl safe. We need to get her out of here."
"So tell me," Ty yelled. "What the Hell is so dangerous? Because the main threat I see to her right now is you."
It was clearly a battle of who was the most macho, in my eyes. The Voice was laughing its head off. What the heck is that thing, anyway? My inner minx, or something? Great, I have an inner minx. Just what I need.
"Actually," Zane began slowly. "I'm not exactly sure what the danger is... But she's in danger, all right?"
Natalie and Madison-who were watching like an entertained crowd-exchanged a glance. Leaning over to Natalie, Madison whispered something in her ear, and Natalie shook her head. I felt like there was something I wasn't clued in on.
By now, Ty had relaxed a little bit, and just looked kind of befuddled. "What? Are you trying to tell me that you have some kind of freakin' sixth sense? Give me a break."
"It's not a sixth sense," Zane growled, looking more embarrassed by the moment. "I don't see dead people—you know, besides the normal ones. There's just something telling me that Alex needs to get out of here. I don't need her blood gushing all over the place, so I think it would be better safe than sorry. You can come in the car if you want, Hunter."
"I am," Ty assured him, still looking unsure. Clearly, he didn't know whether to trust Zane or not—neither did I.
"You mean you're just going to let him drive us off?" I asked incredulously. "I thought you were Mr. Trust No One! What's up with you?"
"He has a point," Ty admitted grudgingly. "Better safe than sorry. Sometimes, Supernaturals have a sixth sense. Normally it's witches and warlocks, though, occasionally werewolves... Vampires? Almost never." He sent Zane a suspicious glance.
"You can even drive, if you want," Zane offered. "With your own car. We don't have to take mine."
Ty looked straight at me, then at Zane. The vampire and the Hunter locked eyes for a moment. They both seemed to be evaluating each other, seeing who was the most trustworthy.
Finally, Ty walked up to Zane and shook hands with him. "I'm trusting you this time. Don't make me regret that—or you will end up with a stake in your heart."
"I've been warned," Zane nodded. He then turned to the vampiresses. "If there is danger, then it's probably coming here. Take my car and drive Flora and Peter to her place, then go straight home. Got it?"
"Yes," Natalie nodded. She bit her lip, then suddenly walked up to him.
I watched in fascination as she laid a hand on the side of Zane's face, looking deeply into his eyes. Tilting her head, she touched her forehead to his very briefly, then leaned up and brushed her lips against his cheek. Murmuring something in his ear, she walked back to Madison. Like quick shadows, the vampires ran back inside the house.
As if nothing had happened, Zane opened the front passenger door of his car for me. Taking my seat, I once again wondered what was up with him and Natalie. Were they together? I'd seen something briefly cross his face when she'd kissed him—guilt. Whatever they were to each other, there was a bond between them. That much was obvious.
Taking the driver's seat, Ty started up the car, not waiting for Zane to get into the backseat. I sent him a disapproving glance, and he sighed, waiting. However, there was no need, since it took Zane about half a second to get in.
"Thanks for waiting," he said dryly. I had a feeling that he hated being unable to drive his own car.
"Are you dating Natalie?" I blurted out, then clapped a hand over my own mouth. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why did I have to be so impulsive! This was just what I needed. My words would probably hurt Ty's feelings, and inflate Zane's ego even more. They would both misinterpret me, of course.
However, when I frantically craned my head around to take back what I'd said, Zane looked very different. The guilt was back, and he was gazing out the window. Wow. I actually felt... sorry for him.
"How is that any of your business, Alex?" Ty asked between gritted teeth. OK, he'd misinterpreted.
"That's... I didn't mean like..." I was stumbling over my words, still transfixed by Zane's expression.
He turned his head to look at me, giving a small, sad smile. "I know what you mean. You were curious about how she treated me earlier." After a long pause, he spoke again. "Natalie and I have a complicated relationship. But no, we aren't... romantic. We're just very close. Closer than I am to Madison. We've traveled together as companions for centuries."
"Sorry for asking," I mumbled, looking down at my lap. "I see how it was personal."
"Don't worry about it."
Oh, but I had to. Glancing at Ty, I analyzed his expression. He was staring straight ahead, his jaw clenched. He looked even more upset than before. Did he... like me? Maybe he did. But did I like him?
I didn't know.
He was going to kiss me before. And I was pretty sure that I would have kissed him back. But would it have been an in-the-moment thing? Or would I have been kissing him because of real feelings?
When I was in the ninth grade, my class had been especially into PDA. Well, not me, since I didn't have anyone to engage in PDA with. No one I'd liked, anyway. But anyway, our teachers were very annoyed with this, but detentions-and even suspensions-didn't seem to phase the young couples. So someone suggested the embarrassment tactic.
In Health, we were constantly given pamphlets about choosing your newest love interest wisely. (While doing this, our teacher, who was a sixty-year-old man, talked about his high-school girlfriends.) The pamphlet talked about having real feelings for a person. It also defined lust. It gave the old-time definition for lust, talked about what kind of consequences you would have gotten in ye olden days for lust... The whole enchilada. Of course, despite being embarrassed out of their brains, none of the couples actually stopped making out by their lockers.
Still, as I looked at Ty, I couldn't help but think about those pamphlets. He'd gotten hot—I couldn't deny that. And I was a seventeen-year-old girl. Was what I felt for him just... lust? Part of me hoped it was. The other wanted the opposite.
Then there was Zane. He was basically any woman's definition of lust. My sixty-eight year old grandmother would swoon over him—and I knew that my Aunt Marie would definitely flirt with him. (Needless to
say, Aunt Marie is my favorite aunt. She rocks.) Still, he seemed to have many unlocked sides. So many secrets... I didn't think that he was telling me the whole truth about Natalie. Not that I had any right to know.
Like any teenager, I began to get a bit worried when I noticed that my parents were now home. Who knew how they'd react to me getting in so late, despite my note.
"Hope the 'rents don't kill me," I muttered, unbuckling my seatbelt.
"If they do, I'll resurrect you," Zane promised, flashing me a quick smile. This earned him a low, reproachful growl from Ty.
"Hey," I murmured, laying a hand on my friend's arm. "Relax. He was just kidding, and you know it."
"I know." Ty leaned forward and whispered in my ear. "You just don't joke about that kind of thing."
"Sorry for being so improper," Zane said, rolling his eyes. "See you, Alex." Without saying goodbye to Ty, he left the car, walking down the sidewalk.
But I didn't leave. I sat there, waiting. Some things had to be said. "Ty... When I asked Zane about Natalie... I didn't..."
"I know." He gave a heavy sigh, resting his head against the windshield. "I don't want to be jealous, Alex. I can't let myself be jealous, because one day, you're going to meet a guy. A guy that you'll choose over me."
"Ty..." The note of sadness in his voice was unbearable. But I couldn't just say that he was wrong. I didn't know by future—I didn't even know my true feelings for him! Heck, his feelings for me were still a mystery.
"It would change everything if I said want I want to say." Leaning forward, he brushed his lips against my cheek. Closing my eyes, I willed myself not to turn my head and press my mouth against his. Still, I did press the side of my face against his.
"Say what you want to say," I pleaded. "I want to know."
Softly, I returned the kiss-on-the-cheek. Yes, that was mean, using my... "feminine wiles", as Madison called them. It wasn't fair. After all, Ty, Hunter or not, was still a nineteen-year-old guy. But I couldn't be that potent a flirt, could I?
Apparently, I could.
Despite his previous words, Ty turned my face towards his. "Alex."
I opened my mouth as if to speak, but words didn't come out. We were inches away now in the dark. My mind was flying... What were we doing? Why was I inching closer to Ty? And-ridiculously-the memory of Zane's icy breath against my throat. All were there with me. I was going to kiss Ty. Holy gosh.
"No," I whispered, ducking my head. "Ty, you were right. We can't kiss. Not right now. Maybe later... But not right now. I mean, our emotions are on high, we don't know what we're doing... Now just isn't the time."
"I know what I'm doing."
"Part of me... wants to kiss you," I murmured, looking up at him. "Then there's the other part." I'd been going over this so many times in my head—why was it so hard to verbalize it? "I'm not saying never. I'm saying not this minute."
"What happens if one day I have to say never?" Ty whispered back, stroking my hair. "Alex, maybe you don't realize how dangerous being a Hunter is. One day... I might not be around. We may never have a chance. I don't want to scare you, but that's how it is. I can't escape my destiny. There are other things that may keep us apart as well, too many things for me to list right now. If you're worried about what may happen if we kiss—don't. I'll work through it either way myself. But if you just don't have any romantic feelings for me... Well, then I'll work through that. It's fine."
How much of a rat was I? Here was this guy, so nice, so cool... Someone I'd known for most of my life. He was basically saying that he had feelings for me, in a way. And I was just sitting there like an idiot.
"I don't know," I answered, feeling the tears welling up in my eyes. Dangit, I never cry! Why now? "Really, Ty, I wish I did, I really wish I did, but I don't."
His face fell, and he pulled away from me. "That's fine."
Touching the side of his face, I whispered, "Please understand. I just can't... Not right now. I don't want to act on nothing."
"So it might be nothing?" He gave a heavy sigh.
"No, no that's not-" I broke off, unsure. "Ty, I meant it when I said I don't know. I think I have feelings for you, but I can't be s-"
This time, I was unable to complete my lame answer. Why? Because Ty was kissing me. Kissing me. Not on the cheek. On the lips.
Holy gosh.
For a minute, I was just stunned. It wasn't like he was moving his lips all over my face, or anything. (Been with a guy who did that. Never again.) In fact, his lips were quite soft, just moving a little bit. Of course, like the stunned idiot I was, I just sat there, shocked. Whoa. Where did he learn to kiss like that? Had he been liplocking with someone behind my back, or something? Not that it was any of my business, or anything. Unless he'd gotten some lip fungus from someone. Nah, that just wasn't Ty. Plus, I found that I didn't really care.
Surprisingly, it was Ty who pulled away. He kept his hand on my face for a moment, looking at me as I stared at him, wide-eyes. "Sorry about that. I just had to do it." After a pause, he realized that I probably wouldn't be doing anything. "You should go now."
"Oh-um-yeah," I agreed awkwardly, shaking my head. Quickly, I jumped away and out of the car, speed-walking up to my house.
As I walked inside, I found my mom waiting for me, hands on her hips. Uh-oh. Her expression was unreadable; I couldn't tell if she was mad or not.
"Sorry," I mumbled, looking down at my feet. "We just, you know, needed to get out. Ty took care of me. Everything was fine." I hoped I didn't have any bloodstains on my clothes...
"Alex, I'm not mad at you," Mom said slowly. "I'm not completely happy, but I trust Ty. I just have to know—where you two on a date?"
Shocked, I jerked my head up and gaped at her. My jaw must have been dragging across the floor. "What? Are you serious? Mom!" There was a slight smile on her face now. Was she smug? "Were you spying on us, or something?"
Mom now was looking away guiltily, clearly hoping that I wouldn't pursue that question. Busted! "Not spying, really. You're lucky that I didn't get your father!"
"Mom," I began. "If you trust Ty, then you shouldn't have spied. That was personal." I winced. "What did you see?"
"Not much," Mom said defensively. Her brow suddenly furrowed. "I did see a young man that I didn't recognize get out of the car earlier on. Who was that?"
"Um..." Best to prolong this as long as possible. "Tall, dark, and handsome?"
"Alex."
I sighed, stuffing my hands in my pockets. "Funny story about that, actually. You see, I've made a new friend!"
"Be serious, now," Mom murmured. "What kind of friend?"
"Oh, just a friend." I waved my hand. "We're not that close. I met him through Ty." Of course, Ty hates him and he's a bloodthirsty vampire, but you don't need to know everything, do you?
"I'd like to meet him," Mom said suspiciously, raising her eyebrows. "After all, he is a young man."
"Mom!" I gave a groan. "It isn't like that!" Please, please don't go there. "His name is Zane. He is a friend. A nice friend. He has no interest in me... I have no interest in him."
"You're a teenage girl, Alexandra," Mom stated skeptically. "This 'Zane' is very... very good looking. I don't want you to get into anything with any boy unless your father and I know him-"
Clapping my hands over my ears, I began to childishly-but effectively-sing, "I'm not listening, I'm not listening, I can't hear you!"
"Very mature, Alex." Mom actually rolled her eyes. "I'm so glad I raised you right. Just be careful, all right?"
"Yeah, sure," I mumbled, blushing as I ran upstairs. As I did so, I began to realize how tired I was. In fact, I was already asleep-and still clothed-when my head hit the pillow.
Xxx
This kiss was different from the last time. My eyes were closed, but not squeezed shut. His hand cradled my head, and his lips moved against mine more insistently—until, of course, they went to jaw. Down his lips went, brushing lightly against my neck. I kept my eyes close
d, relishing the darkness.
Until I realized that I had no idea who was kissing me.
What the heck? It was intoxicated, but I had no memory of seeing the guy's face. He seemed to realize that I was worried, and laughed.
For the first time, I opened my eyes, and found Zane's face.
Now my eyes really flew open, and I found myself-thankfully-in my room. Oh my gosh. Was it just a side-effect of kissing Ty? Why... why had I been dreaming about kissing Zane?
Chapter 10
"Like, Alex! I haven't seen you in, like, forever!"
Only one kind of person can say 'like' twice so quickly. Not to be mean, but seriously. I know I say 'like' every now and then, but at least I don't say it in those kinds of terms. I've got dignity, you know. Sure, when that person was addressing me I was sitting on a child's swing-I was at the playground again, this time alone-but that dignity is very present.
"Casey," I said, giving a wan smile. "It's only been a few weeks. I thought you were in Mexico for the summer."
Every school has its cliques. I hate to say it, but it's true. The nerds, the jocks, the people who don't really belong in cliques-moi, thanks-and the beauty queens. Then there's the queen of the beauty queens.
Enter Casey Larson. I've known her since we were five, and that's the only reason she's civil to me. You see, I am one of the few people who knows that Casey's not a natural blond. I know that she used to be twenty pounds overweight. Then there's various other things, like the fact that—well, never mind. The point is, Casey and I aren't friends, but we aren't enemies.
I just can't stand her.
"Oh—my dad had a major case." Casey's botoxed lips puffed out in a pout. Did I mention that her father's a lawyer? Of course. "Mom wanted to stay home for moral support. I tried to convince her to let me go by myself, but she said no..."
"Wow. That's too bad." Looking behind Casey, I noticed that three of her Casey Clones were standing behind her, appraising me with their dull, critical eyes.
"Yeah, I know," Casey sighed, somehow drawing her 'know' into three syllables. Clearly, she was bored—or else she wouldn't be giving me the time of day. "So, what have you been up to?"
Meeting: Vampire Hunter Saga Book 1 Page 14
