by Sherry Soule
“Um, about that...” I say. “How am I going to get in? I’m not eighteen like you guys.”
“No worries. I’m chummy with The Hulk, so I’ll get you in.”
I laugh. “The Hulk?”
“The bouncer. You’ll get it when you see him.” She jerks her head back at the movie room. “I want the dirt on you and Hayden. And don’t you dare say you’re just friends again!”
Crap. Time to fess up.
“We…we’re…” I swallow. “I like him. He likes me, but like I said before his family doesn’t approve, so we’re not ready to go public just yet.” There. I said it. My shoulders instantly relax. “I guess you could say…we’re secretly dating.”
“Well, that’s just dumb. Why would his parents care who he dates?”
“It’s complicated, but for now we want to keep things casual at school and in front of his brother. He told Zach that we’re only friends.”
“What can I do to help?”
I impulsively hug her. “That’s why I love you. You always have my back.”
She smiles. “Hos before bros…or is it fries before guys?”
I laugh. “Either one works for me.”
“Now onto other matters, like, what are you going to do about Devin?”
“What do you mean?”
“Sloane, I get that you hate conflict and that’s okay, but I think it’s time you did something about him.”
“I’ve tried—”
“No. Not really. You always say you don’t wanna make a big thing out of it or you just ignore his creepy behavior. I haven’t interfered because I keep expecting you to handle it on your own. You’re a big girl and you need to set Devin straight. Sure, he might get all butthurt, but eventually he’ll get over it. And if you lose his friendship—you do. Trust me, Sloane. I know what I’m talking about.”
Viola isn’t scolding me. Just stating a fact. And, okay, my best friend has a point.
“You’re right. I’ll talk to him, just not tonight.”
“Good. Because if you don’t, Hayden and Devin are going to end up killing each other. And who would you rather be friends with creepy Devin or sexy Hayden, anyway?”
Duh. No contest.
We join the others and I sit on the couch near Hayden, with Viola sitting on my other side.
She leans around me. “Hayden, since you’re not a zombie groupie like us, how did Sloane convince you to come tonight?” Viola grabs a handful of popcorn and shoves it into her mouth.
He scoffs. “No convincing needed. I get to hang out with Sloane, so it’s kind of a no-brainer.” He gazes down at me, his expression amused. “But I have read a few of The Walking Dead comics.”
I think I’ve died and gone to zombie heaven. Hayden’s charming, protective, sexy, and reads comic books. With zombies. Mushy girl sigh.
I lean closer to Hayden and whisper, “Are you still up for going dancing tonight?”
He takes my hand. “Where you go—I go.”
“Good. I’ll text my mom and say I’m staying the night at Viola’s, cool?”
He smiles. “Very cool. We’ll have the whole night together now.”
“That’s the plan. We’re going to have so much fun!”
I write a quick text to my mom, so I don’t have to stress being home at a certain time. After hitting send, I relax and lean back. My secret boyfriend wraps his arm around me in the safety of the dark room. No government agents or snotty hybrids here to witness any PDA.
With a bowl of popcorn resting in my lap and my trusty notebook beside me ready to take notes for my movie review, I settle in to watch a group of teens battle the walking dead. Hayden seems to be half-heartedly paying attention to all the screams and blood and gore. Every few minutes, he nuzzles my ear, kisses the top of my head, or squeezes my hip.
Two hours later, the film ends and everyone gets up to stretch and take bathroom breaks. While Devin is showing off his horror movie collection, Viola pulls me aside.
“Brendan just texted me and said he’s going to meet us inside Club Nocturne.” Viola’s fingers fiddle with the black velvet choker around her neck. “So we gotta make a break for it now before Devin pops in another flick.”
I nod. “I’ll fake a stomachache and tell him that Hayden’s taking me home.”
“Good idea. And I’ll say I need to leave because I have an early piano lesson tomorrow, and since I came here with Raymond and Tanisha, they’ll have to leave, too.”
“Brilliant.”
Hayden stands by the archway, but he doesn’t move from his spot. Looks like he’s ready to go, too.
We thank Devin for having us over, then give him our lame excuses, and rush out the door. Everyone piles into their vehicles and we speed off toward our next adventure.
As Hayden flies down the street, we pass another black SUV. The driver’s side window is halfway down and I catch sight of a man in dark sunglasses, watching us drive by. But I don’t mention it to Hayden. No one, not even creepy government agents will screw with my fun night.
We leave our cars in the closest parking lot down the street from Club Nocturne, walk the three blocks, and then get into the long line to wait. The guy checking IDs at the door resembles a professional weightlifter. Now I get The Hulk reference.
Instead of waiting with us, Viola slides up to the bouncer and whispers something in his ear, and he nods with a smile. She’s got this irresistible charm over men young and old. Viola motions for us to get out of line and meet her at the front. The bouncer raises the red velvet rope blocking the entrance and ushers us inside.
The dark nightclub is loud with pulsating music blaring from the speakers and vibrating with so much force the ground shakes. Colorful lights swirl down on the dance floor, illuminating the throng of gyrating people, and fog machines shoot out an eddying vapor. Those who aren’t dancing to the DJ’s techno beat are lounging at tables, drinking, laughing, and talking. Viola finds us a booth and everyone scoots in around a table to survey the crowd. Tanisha and Raymond order sodas and relax against each other.
Brenden appears and taps Viola on the shoulder. She turns around, and they embrace.
Hayden shakes hands with him and they smile at each other. “Been a long time.”
“Too long, dude,” Brenden says. “Things good in Winter Haven?”
Hayden glances at me. “Yeah. Real good.”
Brenden says something in Viola’s ear, and then takes her hand and leads my best friend onto the dance floor.
“I don’t recognize anyone here,” I say.
Hayden smiles. “Neither do I.”
“Safe enough to dance?” I ask hopefully.
“And then some.”
Hayden grabs my hand and pulls me to my feet. We push through the dancers and he whirls me around to face him in the middle of the crowd where we’re surrounded and shielded by other couples. Under the multicolored lights, he wears an almost lazy smile, one that can melt the heart of any girl on this planet.
He gives my hand a sharp tug and I’m in his arms. He dances slowly, grinding into me, and all those forbidden feelings for him rush to the surface. And holy alien hotness—he can move. Being this close to him makes my body tremble and my head spin. Suddenly, it’s as if the other dancers, my friends, and the thrumming music all fade away. There is only Hayden, his passionate stare holding mine, and our bodies smashed together. His hands slide over my back, up my arms, and tangle in my hair.
He leans his head close to my ear. “You look gorgeous tonight, Sloane.”
I wrap an arm around him, gliding my fingers up his neck and into the buzzed hair on his nape. Keeping rhythm with the music, he tilts his head and kisses me just beneath my jaw.
With one hand, he softly traces my lips with the tips of his fingers, making them tingle. “I want to kiss you...taste your shiny lips.”
Shivers of desire rush through me. Lowering his face, his firm lips touch mine, soft and gentle. My lashes flutter downward and my pulse sprints unde
r his touch. Our tongues mingle in a slow dance while our hips sway to the music. His fingers feel unbelievably warm. When Hayden finally breaks away, he keeps his arms wound tightly around me.
Clinging and jerking him closer, I kiss him again with all the suppressed emotions revolving inside my heart. A hot flush spreads over my body. All this intense energy has been building between us like electricity flowing between our grinding bodies.
Finally, breaking the kiss, he brushes the hair from my eyes. “We need to slow down,” he says huskily in my ear. “Or else I’m going to drag you out of here and do naughty things to that sexy body of yours.”
It takes a moment for me to catch my breath and remember we’re in a public place even though it’s so dark and smoky in here. Even though I want to do naughty things with Hayden. Touch every inch of his muscled flesh and kiss until we’re lightheaded.
“Kissing you can lead to all kinds of trouble.”
I wiggle my eyebrows. “The good kind?”
He starts to nod, then looks over my shoulder and freezes. His body goes stiff. I don’t want to turn around. Don’t want to see anything that could possibly ruin our night. Still, when I finally turn, my heart sinks.
Tama is dancing sexily with two other girls. Most of the guys near the bar are watching with lustful stares. I have to grudgingly admit that she looks gorgeous in a skintight emerald dress, stilettos, and gold hoops dangling from her earlobes. My trendy ensemble looks like a burlap sack in comparison to her chic outfit. Just being in the same room with Tama, with her golden skin and tall perfect body makes me feel short and chunky and unattractive. We’re polar opposites in every sense, and I can’t help wondering how Hayden could date someone like her and then someone like me.
I swallow a lump that forms in my throat. Hayden steers me over to a dark corner. He runs a hand through his hair as though he doesn’t know what to do.
Tama dances her way through the crowd, winking or acknowledging every cute guy she passes. She strolls over to Darion and Arcane, waiting at the edge of the dance floor.
Helplessly, I glance around for backup. Viola is still dancing with Brendan on the other side of the club, and Raymond and Tanisha have disappeared from the booth.
Freakin’ terrific.
I cast a sidelong look at Tama and her hateful crew just as she spots Hayden and me. The loathing and disgust oozing from her furious glare hits me from across the room. She says something to the others and points at us. Now all three hybrids are frowning in our direction.
With her eyes flashing and fists curled, Tama stalks straight over to us.
And just like that, my fun night ends worse than a clichéd thriller.
TWENTY-SIX
Beside the fuming Tama are Arcane and Darion, who flank her like two thugs. Up close, I check out thirty-something Arcane, taking in his indigo sleeveless T-shirt, leather pants, and biker boots. Beside him, Darion looks just as formidable in a long-sleeved, black shirt and pants, with steel-toed cowboy boots. The three of them don’t look remotely human—their features too sharp and they give off the distinct impression of dangerous predators. Treacherous and cunning.
No one moves for what seems like an eternity.
My heartbeat thunders in my ears. With my head lowered, I take an instinctive step back, but Hayden doesn’t budge or back down. My body temperature rises steadily with each driving beat of the music. I hate to break it to Hayden, but this is usually when we “sub-humans” run like hell.
Hayden grasps my hand and jerks me forward until I’m next to him again, and wraps one arm possessively around my waist. Even with Hayden staying close, it doesn’t slow my wildly beating pulse, but I steel myself to face Tama.
“Isn’t she sweet?” Tama says, with a hard smile. She scans me over from head to toe. “But so average.”
Average my ass!
The fear instantly dissolves. My chest clenches. I want to smack her. Hard. My hand curls into a tight fist, and it takes everything I have not to hit her.
I pull away from Hayden and glare up at Tama. “I don’t know what your mental issues are, chick, but I’ll bet they’re hard to pronounce.”
Tama crosses the few feet between us in two seconds flat. She gets so up in my face that I can count the freckles on her nose. “Let me make this real clear and easy for your tiny brain to comprehend—you’re not one of us, sweetheart,” she says through her teeth. “Go home. You’re inferior and pathetic and…chubby.”
Oh, hell no. She did not just call me fat!
“Watch it, Miss Cranky. Before I cram my shoe up your bony ass,” I snap.
Stepping back, Tama claps. “She’s got teeth!” She turns to Hayden and asks, “But is she deaf or just really slow? I told her to beat it.”
“I can hear just fine.” I put both hands on my hips. “Damn, what did you have for breakfast this morning, Carnation Instant Bitch?”
Before I can go nuclear on her ass, Hayden inserts himself between us.
“That’s enough,” Hayden demands. “This is a public place and I’m here with my friends. That’s all.” He sighs, scratching his eyebrow with an index finger before continuing, “Tama, listen to me very carefully. It’s over,” he says firmly. “And we aren’t doing anything wrong…I’m just hanging out with my best friend.”
Tama takes a step backward, heartbreak written all over her face. “Does she know the truth about you—about us?”
Hayden glances from Tama to Arcane. “She doesn’t know anything.”
Arcane, who I assume is their leader, pushes Tama aside. “Hayden, please don’t lie to us,” he says in a deep, resonating voice. “I thought you said it wasn’t serious with this...” —he flicks a glance at me— “girl.” He pronounces it like it’s another word for roadkill.
Hayden stiffens. “Now you’re telling me who I can be friends with? I can choose my own friends, thanks.”
Everyone is quiet for a moment and some serious tension fills the air. All because of me.
“Outside. Move it,” Arcane commands in a stern tone that makes my neck hackles rise. “And leave the Homo degeneratus here.”
Hayden bends close to my ear. “Stay inside the club. I’ll be back in a minute.”
I shake my head. “No way.” Then I say to Arcane, “And I don’t take orders from you.”
Arcane’s lips quirk up at the edges. “Is that so? Well, then, it’s a good thing I wasn’t talking to you.”
“We’re in this together,” I whisper to Hayden, “and I’m not leaving you.”
He glances at Arcane. “Leave her be. It’s me you have a problem with.”
“Well, now we gotta problem with both of you,” Darion says.
“There’s no need to go on a crazy warpath,” Hayden says. “I’ll go along peacefully.”
“Splendid.” Arcane nods his dark head. “I like you, Hayden. You remind me of when I was young and stupid.” He gestures at the exit doors. “Shall we take this somewhere more private?”
With thug one and thug two behind us, we have no choice but to follow Arcane outside to a dim alleyway behind the club. The dancing and crammed bodies raised the temperature inside, and the instant I step out, the cool air hits my sweaty skin. The night sky resembles a piece of black satin stitched with thousands of glittering stars. The doors swing shut with a final bang and cut off most of the noise inside.
Great. Now I’m alone in a dark alley with three pissed off alien crossbreeds. And I’m the only defenseless human. Go me.
Countless horror movies start with lighthearted teens happily partying, and then suddenly the action shifts into gory violence. Gulp.
Arcane paces with his hands folded behind his back. Tama and Darion stand stiffly like Mafia hitmen anticipating orders from their boss of an impending execution. Probably mine.
A breeze lifts my hair, and I shiver violently. Hayden keeps me close to his side, the warmth of his arm around me chasing away the chill. I take a deep breath and hold it for strength, then force myse
lf to look at the hybrids. Their grim expressions seem like the kiss of death for Hayden and me.
Hayden narrows his eyes. “Was Zach the one who contacted you?”
Arcane nods. “He’s concerned. We all are—”
“Why? You have nothing to worry about.” Hayden steps forward, but I cling to his arm. “So you can just pack up and go home.”
Arcane stops pacing. “I don’t want to be the bad guy here or interfere with your budding teen romance, but this ends here—tonight—before it goes any further.”
Hayden’s brow crinkles. “What do you mean?”
Arcane deeply sighs. “I’m sure you’re familiar with the code of the Galactic Brotherhood and what it means to break the laws we live by. You’re just being incredibly juvenile and selfish, my friend. Please think rationally about all this.” He glances at me, watching my expression.
“I don’t understand what the big deal is,” Hayden replies. “I’m just out having fun with my friends. Like I said, she doesn’t know anything.”
“Oh, really? Because I find it odd that this girl, who supposedly doesn’t know about our kind, didn’t even flinch when we mentioned the brotherhood.” Arcane’s words drip with polite sarcasm.
Ah, shit. My pulse races, blood thundering around my body.
“Just as I suspected,” Tama says.
“She’s just nervous and confused,” Hayden says quickly. “She doesn’t understand what’s happening.”
“And I don’t care,” I say, finding my voice. “You guys can sort this out by yourselves.”
I hate to leave Hayden alone with the crazies, but I seem to be making the situation worse. I turn to go back inside the club, but Darion blocks my path.
“Stick around awhile longer,” he says.
Hayden shoves him backward. “Leave her out of this. Just deal with me. I take full responsibility for my actions. We can go someplace else and talk—”