"Huh," Jason said, not wanting to encourage Adam.
"Yeah. Big huh." Adam tossed his pizza crust in the trash. "And even though I know the vampires have funded a massive percentage of our Malibu goodness, it kind of freaks me out to think of them behind closed doors, making plans. I mean, shouldn't our kind have a delegation?"
Jason shrugged. "If they're planning their annual croquet tournament, no. If they're coming up with, uh" - he glanced around to make sure no one was listening - "some kind of meal plan, yeah. But I thought we decided that they can handle themselves."
"Yeah. I know," Adam agreed. "I guess I should - "
"Adam, did you consider the animal and insect population in your theory?" called out a junior in desperate need of a growth spurt.
"Insects? So every mosquito has a soul, is that what you're telling me?" Adam asked, returning to the debate.
"I'm going to keep looking for Tyler," Jason muttered. He grabbed a soda on his way out.
He took a swig as he headed for the family room. Sometime during the party, it had become make-out central. He did a Tyler scan. Didn't see him. Jason turned away. But then, through the sliding doors leading to one of the house's many decks, he caught a flash of dark blue sweatshirt, like the one Tyler had been wearing tied around his waist.
Jason hurried across the room, careful not to step on the couple stretched out in front of the fire. Evidently in Malibu, sixty-five degrees was considered fireplace weather.
He opened the door and saw Tyler leaning against the deck's wooden railing, staring down at the ocean. "There you are," Jason said. "I've been looking for you.”
Tyler whipped around. "Oh, hey."
Jason shook his head. "You haven't even been here a week and you're going native."
"What?" Tyler asked.
"You've got your hoodie zipped up to your neck like it's freezing," Jason said.
"Ocean makes it cold out here," Tyler answered, his hands jammed into the front pockets.
"What are you doing out here by yourself, anyway? I was looking for you in the party hot spots. You know, the Tyler zones."
"I wasn't out here by myself until a few minutes ago," Tyler said. He turned toward the ocean, then immediately turned back to face Jason. "You know what I mean? Huh? Huh? Huh, huh, huh?"
Jason laughed. "So who was she?"
"It wasn't a name kind of situation," Tyler replied.
"Well what'd she look like?" Jason asked. Did she have anything unusual about her? he added silently. Like fangs?
"What? You're not getting any, so you need some vicarious thrills? Is that it?"
Jason decided that it didn't seem like Tyler had been fed on. He was talking fast, and his eyes were darting back and forth. After Erin had bitten him at Belle's party, Jason remembered that he had hardly been able to move. He'd felt drunk and floaty and, to be all California surfer about it, mellow. Tyler definitely wasn't mellow.
But had there really been a girl out there with him? Jason wondered darkly. Or had Tyler been hanging out with his friend Ritalin? He was all twitchy.
"You ready to get out of here?" Tyler asked.
"Sure." Jason had thought he might have to pry Tyler out of the party with a crowbar. His friend was a close-the-party-down kind of guy. He was glad he didn't have to persuade Tyler to leave. But it did put some more checks in the Tyler weirdness column. "Let's go tell Adam we're heading out."
Jason led the way back to the kitchen. The reincarnation talk had switched over to - with Adam in the group, what else? - movies.
"We're thinking about taking off," Jason told him.
"You're not staying for the screening? We're talking Tarantino here. Are you feverish?" Adam asked.
"Nah. Just like to leave the party at the peak," Jason told him. It didn't really make sense, but whatever. "See you at school."
"See you," Adam said.
As they got close to the front door, Jason spotted Sienna and Brad lingering in the hallway, standing close together. His heart suddenly felt as if it had tripled in weight. "See you guys later," Jason forced himself to say.
"You're leaving?" Brad asked. "Party foul. The second wind is about to hit. I can feel it."
Sienna didn't say a word. She didn't even look at Jason as he slapped hands with Brad and made his way out the door.
Tyler hurried toward the bug, his hands still shoved in his pockets. Jason followed him. He glanced back once, and saw Sienna kissing Brad again, her hands sliding up under his shirt.
Td let her drink every drop of blood in my body if she kissed me like that to do it, Jason thought.
ELEVEN
“Okay, boys, spill!" Aunt Bianca ordered Jason and Tyler the next morning. "What kind of depravity went on at that party last night?"
Stellar. The last thing Jason wanted to talk about was the party. It just reminded him of his screwup with Sienna. And Tyler was no help. He just sat there gazing at his sausages as if they held the secrets of the universe. His foot, propped on the chair leg, bounced about a million miles an hour.
"That juicy, hmm?" Bianca asked. "You can't even come up with one thing you're willing to share?"
"Bowling," Jason answered. He scooped a second helping of scrambled eggs out of the frying pan and onto his plate, then sat back down at the kitchen table. "You know, it's a gateway activity. A high percentage of teens who've tried it move on to miniature golf. And once you go there, you can't get back without rehab."
"Bowling? You left Zach's party to go bowling?" Dani shook her head in disgust.
"The Lafrenières have a bowling alley," Jason said. "We didn't have to leave."
Tyler suddenly looked up and rolled an orange across the table, knocking over the salt and pepper shakers. They all stared at him.
"Bowling," he explained.
Man, he was hyper. Ritalin before breakfast? Jason wondered. He glanced around the table. No one else seemed to find Tyler's behavior strange.
"It's a good thing you stayed home, Dani," Bianca said. "That's no kind of environment for you."
"You're way too young to start with the bowling," Jason's father agreed, with a smile.
"And bowling was the most scandalous part?" Aunt Bianca asked, spreading strawberry jam on a piece of toast.
"Pretty much," Jason answered. What did she think? That he was going to start talking about underage drinking? Or give an estimate on the number of hook-ups that took place at Zach's? Or say that Tyler was probably high by the end of the night, and possibly now, too?
Bianca turned to Tyler. "Jason's being discreet. You tell us about the party. How did it compare to one of your Michigan blasts?"
"It's no different, right, Tyler?" Dani asked.
"No one ended up dead at the parties in Michigan," Mrs. Freeman pointed out, standing up abruptly and refilling her coffee cup.
"Someone died at a party out here?" Aunt Bianca asked, stopping with her toast halfway to her mouth. She glanced at Dani. "You didn't tell me that!"
"It was a party on a yacht. A girl fell overboard and drowned. She'd been drinking," Jason's mother explained. "Now do you understand why I don't want Danielle at these things?"
Carrie was already dead when she hit the water, Jason thought, flashing on her body lying on the beach. Her lips blue. Eyes staring sightlessly.
"I... I can't believe it," Aunt Bianca murmured.
"Horrible. I can't even think about her poor parents," Mrs. Freeman said with a shudder.
"Well, last night's party was just a party," Tyler said. He used his fingers to pop a Tater Tot into his mouth, then another. He swallowed them, hardly bothering to chew, then smiled at Jason's mom. "The big difference was that the girls were wearing less clothes than they would have been in Michigan."
Mrs. Freeman actually laughed. Tyler had always been good at making her laugh. Jason's dad snorted.
Tyler grabbed the ketchup bottle, opened it, and thumped on the bottom so hard that he almost completely smothered his remaining Taters. "I even s
aw a bikini top floating in the hot tub," he added. Then he pointed at Bianca with a grin. "And that's all you're getting out of me."
"Did you go in the hot tub?" Dani asked casually.
Jason knew what she really wanted to ask Tyler "Did you have anything to do with the removal of the bikini top?" Dani could never resist gossip - especially where someone she knew might be involved.
"Didn't bring a bathing suit," Tyler replied. He looked over at Jason. "Hey, man. Think you could drive me into the city when you're done?"
"Done now," Jason said, forking the last bite of eggs into his mouth. "Let's go." He got up feeling relieved. It would get him away from any more questions about the party.
"I'll meet you out there," Tyler said. "I want to grab my jacket."
"You're not going to need it," Jason told him, but Tyler was already gone.
Jason stood up and checked his pocket for his car keys. "See you guys later," he told his family as he headed out of the kitchen.
He hurried outside, unlocked the car, and slid into the driver's seat. A minute later, Tyler got in, hoodie zipped to his chin. "Any particular place you want to go?" Jason asked.
"Just Malibu central. I'm guessing I'll be able to find a post office there?" Tyler replied.
"Sure." Jason backed out of the driveway and headed for the Pacific Coast Highway, enjoying the view as usual. All that blue ocean stretching out forever. But he noticed that Tyler wasn't looking at the beach. He sat staring straight ahead, eyes intense, as if willing the car to go faster.
"Not like I'm trying to get rid of you, but won't it take you a few days to get home if you have to hitch? And even with those free days at school..." Jason let his words trail off. "I could spot you bus money. Again, not that I'm trying to get rid of you." Except that he was. Kind of. And how alternate-universe was that? Jason wanting Tyler gone? He used to wish they were brothers so he could live with the Freemans all the time.
"School's the least of my problems," Tyler said as Jason turned onto a road peppered with stores. "You can just let me out here."
"Here?" Jason glanced at the trendy restaurants and the shoe store. "You sure?"
"Yeah. Here is good." Tyler started to swing the door open before Jason had even pulled all the way over to the curb.
"You want to meet up in a while?" Jason asked. It was more than obvious that Tyler didn't want Jason anywhere around right now.
"I'll find my own way back," Tyler said as he climbed out of the car. "Later." And he slammed the door before Jason could get another question in.
"Thank you for using Jason's cab service," Jason muttered, staring after his friend. What was his deal? And what was he up to now?
Whatever. Jason couldn't do much if Tyler wasn't going to talk to him. He pulled back out onto the street and made a U-turn at the corner. He spotted Sienna coming out of L'OCCITANE en Provence. Sienna and Belle.
Without giving himself enough time to wimp out, Jason pulled into the parking space just vacated by an SUV. "Hey," he called as he got out of the car. "Impressive moves on that wall last night, Belle." He figured it was safer to say something to Belle first. Belle was always friendly.
"I made a couple hundred in tips," she joked. "Cold, hard cash. But Dom wasn't happy. He doesn't get that I just like attention. Is that so horrible?"
"I vote no," Jason said. "So what are you two up to?"
"I just bought some Olive Paste. It's the best thing in the world for sun-damaged hair," Belle told him. "Sienna's keeping me company. Not that she's actually talking or anything."
"I've talked," Sienna protested.
"Right. You said the words venti mochaccino about half an hour ago," Belle teased.
"Half an hour ago?" Jason repeated. "Then you must be ready for another one. I know shopping for hair products is tiring work. Not that I spend much time shopping for hair products," he added, which didn't significantly improve his not-so-brilliant comment.
Not that it mattered. All that mattered was that he got to spend some time with Sienna. Enough time so that she'd actually start speaking to him again. Possibly even want to kiss him again, in this lifetime.
"No, Belle needs to get home," Sienna said. She seemed to be talking to his left ear. "She insisted on wearing her new Jimmy Choos and she's destroyed her feet."
“I’ll drop you at your car," Jason offered gallantly, thinking that even that would give him a little Sienna - time. "Where'd you park?"
"We walked," Belle answered. "Not my most intelligent decision, I admit." She shook her head at her sandals, which were nothing but some thin straps and spike heels.
"I'll drive you home, then," Jason said firmly. Score. He'd drop Belle off first, then -
"Oooh. Yes, please," Belle said, pulling Jason away from his thoughts. She slipped off the sandals and picked them up.
"Do you mind if I don't come with you?" Sienna asked Belle. "I said I'd drop in at Brad's place and help his mom pick out new drapes. I'll call and have Brad pick me up." She looked Jason in the eye for the first time. "I'd rather not put you out."
Or be anywhere near you, Jason added silently. Got it.
"Sure. Don't let my feet spoil the rest of the day for you," Belle said, seeming oblivious to the conversation going on under the conversation. She turned to Jason. "Can we go? This pavement is getting hot on my poor little piggies."
What could he say? "Sure." He opened the passenger door of the bug, and Belle hopped in. Jason shut the door for her.
"Sienna, about what happened at the party...," he began, taking the unexpected opportunity for an attempted explanation.
She pulled out her cell and hit a speed-dial number. "Hey, babe," she said, looking right at Jason. "Want to come get me?"
Jason gave a nod, then walked around to the driver's side of the car and slid behind the wheel. "Thanks so much. You are such the lifesaver," Belle told him. But Jason wasn't really listening.
You knew Sienna was with Brad. You've known it since the day you met her, Jason told himself. It's better this way. Let her stay pissed at you. You shouldn't be going after her, anyway.
"Where's that Tyler?" Belle asked. "All the girls at the party were intrigued. Some of them are planning a hunting trip to Michigan, which now seems to be Land of Cute Boys."
"He's still in town ... someplace," Jason told her. Doing who in the hell knows what, he thought.
"Did he have fun at his first Malibu party? Zach's was definitely the one to go to."
"He claimed to. He disappeared for a while, which is usually a sign of some kind of fun, right?" Jason asked, grinning.
"Absolutely. I love to disappear at parties. It makes Dominic go mental, but the best amusements happen away from the crowd," Belle answered.
They drove past the police station, and Jason thought about Adam: "Child of the poor but hardworking chief of police," as Adam had described himself on the day they met. Maybe he was right. Maybe something had been going on last night with the vampires that at least a few humans should be aware of. And Belle knew Jason was in on the truth about exactly who lived in DeVere Heights.
"I noticed you and Sienna and some of the others disappeared upstairs for a while too," Jason said, trying to sound casual. "Were you having fun?"
"Yes."
Jason thought it was the first time he'd ever heard Belle give a one-word answer to a question. She didn't say anything else for the rest of the ride.
Clearly whatever the vampires had going was nothing humans were allowed to know about. But, like Jason kept telling Adam, that didn't mean it was anything bad. Right?
TWELVE
Jason noticed it as soon as he walked into the locker room for swim practice on the Monday after Thanksgiving weekend. Judging by the uncharacteristic quiet, something was wrong. The guys on the swim team were all there as usual, but they were changing in silence. No postschool, prepractice banter.
"What's up with you guys?" Jason called. "You all still in a turkey coma?"
"One of us i
s a thief," Harberts answered flatly.
"What?" Jason demanded, wandering over to Harberts s locker. Brad sat next to him, swim goggles pushed up on his forehead.
"The Lafrenières got robbed the night of Zach's party," Brad explained.
"They're sure somebody who was at the party did it," Van Dyke added from the next row of lockers over.
Jason relaxed a tiny bit. "So you're talking one of us who was there, not one of us on the team," he said.
"It better not be somebody from the team!" Van Dyke declared, appearing from around the corner. "That would be an even bigger betrayal."
"What was taken?" Jason asked. "A lot?"
"Just one thing. An antique that's been in the Lafrenière family for hundreds of years," Brad said. "Zach's dad freaked out hardcore this morning when he realized it was missing. He called the school and had Zach yanked from class."
"That's asinine. What's Zach supposed to do about it?" Harberts asked.
Brad shrugged.
"All I can say is that Maggie Roy is not guilty," Kyle volunteered, joining the group. "I had my hands on her all night."
"Priesmeyer just wants to advertise that he finally got a little," Van Dyke commented with a laugh.
"Hey, we're talking Maggie Roy," Kyle said.
"Been there. Done that," Harberts told him.
"You lie. We all know you're on your way to being the next forty-year-old virgin," Kyle shot back.
Ah, this was the locker room Jason knew and loved.
"What kind of antique are we talking?" Harberts asked, getting serious again.
"A gold chalice. That's a cup to you, Harberts," Brad answered. "The thief was smart, too. The chalice was locked in Mr. Lafrenière's briefcase. I guess it's usually kept in a safe-deposit box, but he'd taken it out to use over the holiday. Anyway, the thief managed to crack the lock, and he left this glass paperweight in place of the chalice. Otherwise, Mr. Lafrenière would have realized something was wrong the second he picked up the case."
Alex Duval - [Vampire Beach 02] Page 8
