Onyx (12 page)

I laughed. “I used to love the holidays. And yeah, I was real big on the Christmas tree when Dad was alive. We’d put it up while watching the parade on Thanksgiving.”

“But?”

“But Mom is never home on the holidays now. And I know she won’t be this year; since she’s new at the hospital, she’ll get the shaft.” I shrugged. “I’m always alone on the holidays, like some sort of old cat woman.”

He didn’t respond but watched me intently. I think he sensed how uncomfortable it made me to admit, because he changed the subject. “So, this Bob guy…”

“His name is Blake, and don’t start, Daemon.”

“Fine.” His lips tipped up. “He’s not an issue anyway.”

My brows furrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Daemon shrugged. “I was kind of surprised when I was in your bedroom while you were sick.”

“I’m not sure I want to know about what.”

“You had a poster of Bob Dylan on the wall. I expected the Jonas Brothers or something.”

“Are you serious? No. Not a fan of pop music. I’m a huge fan of Dave Matthews and older stuff, like Dylan.”

He looked surprised, but then he launched into a discussion about his favorite bands, and we were surprised that we had the same tastes. We argued over which Godfather movie was the best and what reality show was the stupidest. Hours went by, and I learned more about Daemon. And there was that different side of him, the one I’d glimpsed a few times in the past. He was relaxed, friendly, and even playful without making me want to bash him upside the head. We did argue over a few things, a bit heatedly, but he wasn’t a jerk.

It all suddenly felt
easy
, and that scared the crap out of me.
It was past three a.m. by the time I’d realized how long we’d been talking. I pulled my tired gaze off the clock and looked at him. His eyes had drifted shut and his chest rose and fell evenly.

Daemon looked so…peaceful. Not wanting to wake him, I pulled the afghan off the back of the couch and carefully spread it over him. I grabbed a smaller quilt and tucked it around my legs. I could’ve woke him, but I didn’t have it in me. And yeah, there was a teeny, tiny part of me that didn’t want him to leave. I didn’t know what that meant for me. And I didn’t put too much thought into that. Not right now. Not when I was sure my brain would take an obsessive turn into boy land.

“Thank you,” he murmured lazily.

My eyes widened. “I thought you were asleep.”

“Almost, but you’re staring at me.”

I flushed. “I am not.”

Daemon pried one eye open. “You always blush when you lie.”

“I do not.” I felt the flush spread down my neck.

“If you keep lying, I think I will have to leave,” he threatened halfheartedly. “I don’t feel like my virtue is safe.”

“Your virtue?” I huffed. “Whatever.”

“I know how you get.” His eyes closed.

Smiling, I snuggled down in my corner of the couch. We never did change the channel.

Sometime later I remembered something he had said earlier. “Did you find it?” I asked sleepily.

His hand slipped over his chest. “Find what, Kitten?”

“What you were searching for?”

Daemon’s eyes opened and held mine. The swelling was back in my chest, spreading through my body. There was a spike of something—excitement?—in my lower stomach as the silence stretched out for what felt like an eternity. “Yeah, sometimes, I think I did.”

When I woke up on Monday morning, I wasn’t sure exactly how things were going to play out when I saw Daemon in class. He’d cleared out of the house while I was still asleep and I hadn’t seen him when I hung out with Dee on Sunday, which consisted of watching her suck face with Adam. Guess that phone call went well.

Spending time with him Saturday night hadn’t really changed anything between Daemon and me. At least, that was what I kept telling myself. It was just a good moment in a long string of bad ones. And I had bigger and better things to think about. I had a date with Blake after school.

But my thoughts kept straying back to Daemon, and a deep fluttering started in my stomach when I thought about us side by side on the couch.

Warmth tingled over my neck while Carissa was telling me about a romance book she was reading. I kept my eyes glued to her, but I was well aware of the fact that Daemon was there.

He took his seat behind me. A second later, something I’d oddly missed in a messed-up way happened. Daemon poked me in the back with his pen.

Lesa’s brows arched, but she wisely said nothing as I twisted around. “Yes?”

His half grin was all too familiar. “Reindeer socks today?”

“No. Polka dots.”

“Sock mittens?”

“Regular,” I said, fighting a stupid grin.

“I’m not sure how I feel about that.” He tapped his pen on the edge of his desk. “Regular socks just seem so boring after seeing the reindeer socks.”

Lesa cleared her throat. “Reindeer socks?”

“She has these socks that have reindeers on them and are kind of like a mitten for the toes,” he explained.

“Oh, I have a pair like that,” Carissa said, grinning. “But mine have stripes on them. Love them in the winter.”

I passed Daemon a smug look. My socks
were
cool.

“Am I the only person who is wondering how you saw her socks?” Lesa asked.

Carissa punched her on the arm.

“We live next door to each other,” he reminded her. “I see lots of things.”

I shook my head frantically. “No, he doesn’t. He hardly sees anything.”

“Blushing,” he said, pointing at my cheeks with the blue cap of his pen.

“Shut up.” I glared at him, fighting a grin.

“Anyway, what are you doing tonight?”

Butterflies filled my stomach. I shrugged. “I have plans.”

He frowned. “What kind of…plans?”

“Just plans.” I turned around quickly and focused on the chalkboard.

I knew Daemon’s gaze was fixed on the back of my head, but all in all I was feeling kind of good about things. Definite progress had been made when it came to Daemon. We’d spent hours together without killing each other or submitting to wild monkey lust. My new laptop was divine. Simon wasn’t in class to blame me for getting his ass kicked or to tell people he saw me go all supernatural on the windows. And I had a date tonight.

That last bit made me swallow. I really had to come clean with Blake. It wasn’t fair to him…or to Daemon. I wasn’t ready to suddenly believe Daemon, but I couldn’t go on pretending there wasn’t
something
there.

Even if it might only be alien flu.

…

“Here.” Blake grinned, sliding his dish over. “Try some of this.”

I kept my expression in check as I twirled my fork in the noodles. “I don’t know about this.”

He laughed. “It’s really not that bad. It smells kind of funny, but I think you’ll like it.”

After a small bite, I decided it wasn’t horrendous. I glanced up, smiling. “Okay. Not bad.”

“I can’t believe the first time you’re eating Indian food is in West Virginia.”

I ran my hand over my jean-clad leg. The small candle on the side of the table flickered. “I’m not very food adventurous. I’m a steak-and-hamburger kind of chick.”

“Well, we have to change that, because you don’t know what you’re missing.” Blake winked. It totally looked cool coming from him. “Thai is my favorite. Love the spices.”

The slim redheaded waitress swung by and refilled our glasses. She kept smiling coyly at Blake. I couldn’t blame her. Blake was one of the few guys who could pull off the sweater and button-down shirt look.

I tried some more of the noodles. I was having fun, but as I pushed the food around the plate, I felt a weird tug in my stomach. I was having a great time with him, but...

“So I heard something at school today,” Blake said after the waitress left.

Slumping against the seat, I bit back a string of curses. God only knew what he’d heard. Rumors about me were flying like UFOs. “I’m afraid to even ask.”

He looked sympathetic. “I heard that Daemon beat up some guy because of you.”

We’d made it this entire time without bringing up Daemon. I slumped a little in my booth. “Yeah, he kind of did.”

Both his brows rose in surprise as he leaned forward. “You going to tell me why?”

“You haven’t heard the rumors?”

He ran a hand through his messy spikes. “I hear a lot of things, but I don’t believe them.”

It was the last thing I wanted to do, but I figured he’d hear the not-so-true parts sooner or later. Hell, he might’ve already. So I told him about my homecoming date from hell.

Anger flashed in his hazel eyes, and when I’d finished, he sat back. “I’m glad Daemon did pummel the dick, but that’s kind of an extreme reaction for someone who’s just a ’friend.’”

“Daemon can be…”

“An asshole,” Blake suggested.

“Yeah, that, but he’s kind of protective of…um, Dee’s friends.” I squeezed my fork, feeling all kinds of awkward. “And so he got a little mad over what Simon was saying. He’s really not that bad. Just takes a little bit to get used to.”

“Well, I can’t blame him for that, but he really is…
protective
of you. I thought he was going to break my hand for touching you at the party.”

Sliding the plate back to him, I rested my chin on my hand. I needed to tell him the truth. Soon. But I didn’t want to spoil dinner. I was being a total chicken, but I rationalized it was okay if I at least told him by the end of the evening. Heck, I wasn’t even sure what I was going to say.
No, I’m not dating Daemon, but I can’t stop thinking about how we combust every time we’re near, so it’s probably best if you don’t get too close?
I sighed. “Enough about Daemon. It must be hard loving surfing so much and being so far from a beach.”

“It is,” he agreed. A distant look crept into his eyes. “Surfing is probably the only thing that clears my mind. When I’m out there on the waves, I don’t think about anything. My brain is officially empty. It’s just the waves and me. It’s peaceful.”

“I can understand that.” Silence stretched out for a long moment. “It’s the same thing when I’m gardening or reading. It’s just me and what I’m doing, or the world I’m reading, and nothing else.”

“Sounds like you do it to escape.”

I didn’t respond because I hadn’t really thought of it that way, but now that he said it, I did use those things to escape. Discomfited, I idly separated the noodles on my plate into groups. “What about you? Are you trying to escape?”

Several seconds passed before he answered. “That’s the funny thing about trying to escape. You never really can. Maybe temporarily, but not completely.”

I nodded absently, struck by the depth of what he said. It was the truth. After I finished a book or potted a plant, Dad was still dead, my best friend was still an alien, and I was still attracted to Daemon.

Blake started talking about plans for Thanksgiving break next week. He’d be out of town for most of it, visiting family. I glanced up, my gaze sweeping the small restaurant. Warmth jolted down my spine.

Oh, holy hell to the no
. I couldn’t believe it. This was not happening.

Behind the tall partition walls, a dark head moved through the tiny rows. I fell back against the seat, wholly aware of
him
and horrified. This was my date—
my date
. What was he doing here?

Daemon navigated around the clusters of tables with a grace I envied. Women stopped eating or ceased mid-conversation as he passed. Men scooted back to give him more room. He had a profound effect on everyone who saw him.

Frowning, Blake twisted around, and his shoulders stiffened as he faced me. “Overprotective type…?”

“I don’t…even know what to say,” I mumbled helplessly.

“Hey guys.” Daemon slid into the seat next to me, which left very little room. The whole left side of my body was pressed against his, tingling and warm. “Am I interrupting?”

“Yes,” I said, mouth agape.

“Oh, sorry.” Daemon didn’t look sincere. Or make any attempt to leave.

A half smile formed on Blake’s lips as he sat back and folded his arms. “How are you doing, Daemon?”

“I’m doing great.” He stretched, draping his arm along the back of our booth. “How about you, Brad?”

Blake laughed softly. “My name’s Blake.”

Daemon’s fingers tapped off the back of the booth, brushing my hair. “So what were you guys up to?”

“We were having dinner,” I said and started to scoot forward, but Daemon’s fingers hooked around the back of my turtleneck, fingers gently sliding against my skin. I shot him a death glare and ignored the goose bumps peaking my skin.

“And I think we were just about done,” Blake said, his eyes centered on Daemon. “Weren’t we, Katy?”

“Yeah, we just need our check.” Very discreetly, I lowered my hand under the table, found Daemon’s thigh, and pinched. Hard.

He tugged me back, causing my knee to hit the table. “What were you planning to do after dinner? Was Biff taking you to a movie?”

Blake’s easy grin started to falter. “Blake. And that would be the plan.”

“Hmm.” Daemon’s gaze flicked up, and a second later, Blake’s glass tipped over.

I gasped. Water sloshed over the table, spilling into Blake’s lap. He jumped up, letting out a curse. The movement shook the table again. His plate of spicy noodles slid—well, flew—onto the front of Blake’s sweater.

My jaw dropped. Holy mountain mama, Daemon had taken my date hostage.

“Jesus,” Blake muttered, hands at his sides.

Grabbing napkins, I turned to Daemon. My look promised a vengeful death as I handed Blake the napkins.

“That was really strange,” Daemon said, smirking.

Red-faced, Blake glanced up from patting his crotch dry. For a moment, his eyes fixed on Daemon and I swore he was going to come across the table. And then his eyes shuttered. Quietly and with stiff, jerky movements, he brushed off the brown noodles. The waitress rushed to Blake’s side with several more napkins.

“Well, anyway, I’m actually here for a reason.” Daemon picked up my glass and took a drink. “You’re needed at home.”

Blake halted his movements. “Excuse me?”

“Did I speak too fast, Bart?”

“His
name
is
Blake
,” I snapped. “And why am I needed at home? Right now, at this very moment?”

Daemon met my eyes, his stare heavy and intense with meaning. “Something has come up and you need to check it out now.”

Something
obviously meant alien business. Unease crawled down my spine. Now his sudden appearance made sense. For a few minutes, I was really beginning to believe it had been pure, primal jealousy that drove him to go all stalker on us.

And as much as it ticked me off to do this, I knew I had to leave.

Turning to Blake, I winced. “I’m
really
, really sorry about this.”

Blake’s gaze darted between us as he picked up the check. “It’s okay. Things happen.”

I felt like a tool, which seemed fitting, since I was sitting next to the biggest wiener ever. “I’ll make it up. I promise.”

He smiled. “It’s all right, Katy. I’ll take you home.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Daemon smiled tightly. “I got this, Biff.”

I wanted to face-palm myself. “Blake. His name
is
Blake, Daemon.”

“It’s okay, Katy,” Blake said, lips thin. “I’m a mess.”

“Then it’s solved.” Daemon stood, allowing me to scoot out.

Blake took care of the check, and we headed outside. I stopped by his car, aware of Daemon’s intense stare. “I am so, so sorry.”

“It’s okay. You didn’t knock the stuff on me.” He paused, brows narrowing as he stared hard at something over my shoulder. Two guesses what—or
who
—that was. Pulling his cell out of his back pocket, he checked the display before shoving it in his jeans. “Although that was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen. But anyway, we’ll make up for it when I get back from break, okay?”

“Okay.” I started to give him a hug but halted. The front of his sweater was stained and moist looking.

Laughing, Blake leaned in and placed a quick, dry kiss on my lips. “I’ll call you.”

I nodded, wondering how one person could single-handedly ruin everything within a minute. It was a talent. With a wave, Blake was gone, and I was alone with Daemon.