by Leia Stone
“You crazy bitch!” Maxine said.
Ronnie laughed, tears rolling down her face.
Jesus. That was way too much for me. My nerves were shot.
I looked around, noticing Mr. Hansen had woken up during the commotion. It was just us three remaining.
“I had to do it! You were in a coma, and we’re all waking up,” Ronnie pleaded with her as she started to pull out the knife and pack the wound with gauze.
At that point Maxine seemed to realize we were flying. With wide eyes, she glanced over at me. “Rough night?” she asked conversationally.
I chuckled, glad our crazy Texan was back. “You have no idea.”
Then I felt it, that familiar waking up feeling.
“I’m waking up. Meet us in Vancouver! And no more stabbing Maxine,” I shouted at Ronnie.
Ronnie just shook her head, but a smile graced her face.
We’d made it. Another day, another Dream War, and we were all alive.
When I woke up, I immediately turned next to me to look for Damien, or a stranger, or whatever scenario it would be this time, but the bed was empty. Sitting up, I glanced around the room and chills broke out on my arms.
What the hell? It couldn’t be….
A framed picture of a fourteen-year-old me, in army fatigues and holding a gun at the cadet academy sat on the nightstand. My heart was racing inside my chest. Pulling my legs over the edge of the bed, I stood and threw the door open wide, following the sounds that were coming from the kitchen. I ran through the hallway, took a left at the end and found Damien sitting with my mom, and one of her roommates at the kitchen table, enjoying a cup of coffee.
“Kitty!” my mom shrieked. She was wearing cutoff jean shorts and a black AC/DC T-shirt, sporting a gnarly red rash on her arm.
“Mom!”
She slammed into me with the tightest mom hug known to man. My mother was strong, inside and out, and sometimes her hugs bordered on bone-crushing.
“We’re in Miami?” I asked, bewildered. This couldn’t be an accident, could it?
My mom put a hand on her hip and pulled out a skinny cigarette from behind her ear. “Imagine my surprise when I wake up to this handsome hunk in my bed.” She motioned to Damien, who grinned ear to ear. My mom’s best friend and roommate, Birdie, gave a catcall whistle, and passed a bottle of red wine to my mom. It was 5:00 a.m.
“Yeah… this is my friend Damien. My client, actually,” I explained.
My mom raised an eyebrow. “Oh, is that so? Because he said you guys were dating.”
My cheeks flamed red and Damien grinned wider. He was enjoying this.
“Well… he has yet to actually take me on a date,” I said, flustered, and when the wine made its way to me, I poured myself a glass. I was not ready for Damien to meet my mother and her crazy friends.
“Tell me more,” Birdie chimed in, resting her chin on her hands, and blinking up at me bashfully.
I knocked back the glass of wine in one big swallow and laughed nervously again. “Did you guys see the giants?” I changed the subject.
My mom’s expression darkened, her long stringy blonde hair shaking as she nodded. “Evil, evil bastards. I shot his dick off and it grew back!”
Damien winced, grabbing his groin.
“Geez, Mom.” My mom was Maxine’s level of hardcore, and then maybe even a few levels above that. She didn’t give two shits about anything, except her friends and me.
I motioned to her arm. “What happened?”
She waved me off and started to cook something on the stove. “Sentry blood. Nothing I can’t handle.”
Damien’s phone rang then, and he answered it with a “Hey, buddy. Where are you?”
Jeremy.
My heart pinched, and I held my breath as I listened in.
“What? The old house on Rosecreek Lane?” His eyes flicked up to meet mine, his expression wide-eyed and fearful.
Damien told Jeremy he was sending the jet for him and then hung up.
“What happened?” I stepped closer to him while Birdie watched on, as if waiting for us to start making out or something.
“Jeremy woke up next to Josephine,” he told me.
I sighed in relief. “That’s great!”
He nodded. “But they woke up in our old childhood home. Something’s not right about this.”
I frowned. The female sentries were up to something, and I didn’t like it one bit.
My phone beeped. I glanced down to see a text from Ronnie.
Ronnie: Woke up next to Maxine.
I replied quickly as my mom set a plate of buttered toast before me.
Kit: Is she okay? Where are you?
Ronnie: She’s pissed that I stabbed her, but she’s going to be fine. We landed in Texas at Maxine’s high school. Weird. See you in Vancouver.
Weird indeed.
“The ghouls are up to something again,” I told the room.
My mom shrugged. “Good. Means they’re scared. They’re changing it up.”
That was certainly one way of looking at it.
Damien and I ate our breakfast in relative silence. We said nothing of our night with the ghouls, about them knowing my name, or any of that. For a small moment in time, we just… hung out with my mom and her roommate.
“Are you still dating Roberto?” I asked my mom, as she sharpened her hunting knife.
“Nah, he’s with Macy now. I’m seeing Eddie from 14B,” she replied coolly.
I chuckled. Macy was one of my mom’s roommates. How they so easily handed off boyfriends was beyond me.
“Brisk still in love with Ronnie?” Mom asked.
I nodded. “Yep, but she won’t give him the time of day.”
Birdie, who was a short, slender woman in her early fifties, cackled. “You send that tall drink of water my way. I’ll show him what he’s missing.”
Damien grinned, and I couldn’t help but smile as well. I’d forgotten how loony my mom and her friends were. It was kind of entertaining and refreshing in a way. None of them had a filter. They were all like Maxine, choosing to live life to the fullest because they could die the next day.
“So how long have you two been dating?” my mom asked.
“Well it was nice to see you, Mom,” I told her with wide eyes, hoping she would take the hint and shut her mouth.
Damien smiled. “A few weeks now. Kit’s pretty amazing,” he gushed.
Oh my God, kill me now. But wait, that was a sweet thing to say.
“Is the jet coming for us? Should we get to the airport?” I asked Damien.
Birdie cackled again, her years of smoking painfully obvious when she laughed. “Come on, child. You’ve never brought a boy home. This is fun.”
I was quite sure my cheeks were flaming red, and I felt a panic attack coming on. My hands were numb, and I was nauseous. Damien and I were new, not in the ‘meeting my mother’ stage. I am so not ready for this.
Damien chuckled. “Kit’s right. My pilot will be here shortly to get us. It’s been lovely to meet you both though.”
My mom rubbed his shoulder. “Thank you for the plasma cuffs. You’re always welcome to pop into my bed anytime.”
“Mom!” I shrieked, and she winked, taking a swig of wine from the bottle.
Damien’s grin was a mile wide as I dragged him out the door ten minutes later.
“We’re never speaking of this again. We’re pretending it never happened,” I scolded him as we made our way down to the taxi.
Damien gave me a rakish grin. “Oh, it happened, Kitty.”
Ugh. I need more wine.
Seven
The jet had picked us up with Jeremy and Josephine already on board. Everyone had landed in the United States, thankfully, so it was only a few short flights to pick up the entire crew. It was distressing to me that we’d all landed at a childhood home, high school or other place that was important to us. How the hell did the females know that shit? It gave me chills. By 5:00 p.m., we were all at th
e new loft in the West End of Vancouver. It had a breathtaking view of Stanley Park, and I couldn’t help staring out the window, taking it all in.
“Kit, I need that picture. I need to set up my desk.” Jeremy paced the room.
He did not like change, that was for sure. Poor guy was fidgeting the entire flight and kept asking if the moving truck had arrived and delivered his desk, were there any scratches on it, and so on.
I pulled out my phone, opening it to the picture of his desk and then handing it to him.
“Do you want me to help you?” I asked sincerely.
“No, you’ll probably do something wrong. But thanks for offering,” he said bluntly.
Ronnie met my eyes and we both smiled. There was something about Jeremy that we’d all grown to love. His personality, his quirks, his brutal honesty, all of it.
“She can’t help you anyway. She needs to get ready for her hot date,” Damien announced.
Maxine gave me a confident grin from her place—recuperating on the couch with Nox. They were playing footsie with each other under the blanket and starting a movie. Like it was no big deal that within five seconds, they were full-on soul mate dating. Maxine had zero hang-ups. Oh how I envied her.
“Is that right?” I asked Damien.
He leaned in close to my ear, and the feel of his hot breath on my neck nearly drove me insane. “That’s right,” he said, then breezed past me for the master bedroom, where I assumed he was going to get ready.
When the door shut behind him, I threw myself in front of the TV. “Maxine, I need a dress,” I tried to whisper.
Maxine paused the TV and pursed her lips. “How bad do you want him to want you tonight?”
I looked over my shoulder to see Josephine smiling as she chopped fruit in the kitchen.
“Bad,” I answered.
Maxine instructed me to get her duffel bag, and then pulled out a tiny scrap of black fabric, and insanely tall hooker heels. “Have fun tonight, cupcake.” She winked.
“Thanks, Maxie. I’m glad you’re okay.” I kissed her cheek.
When I stood, about to go up the stairs and get ready, I saw Brisk standing in front of Ronnie with a small bunch of flowers he must’ve picked off the balcony. They were the tiny potted kind; a few still had dirt clinging to the roots.
“Veronica Sotto,” he said a little too loudly. “I’ve been a patient man, but I’m not going to wait any longer. I know I joke around a lot, but I’m dead serious about my affection for you. Go on a date with me tonight, and let’s see what happens.” He extended his hand to Ronnie, giving her the flowers.
I froze.
I’d never seen my best friend look so cowed. She stood there, mouth half open, clearly in shock, expression almost fearful. I’d never seen Brisk so serious, either. I kept waiting for him to crack a “your mama” joke, and laugh this whole thing off, but then I saw the look in his eyes.
He’d finally given up waiting. Seeing me and Damien, and Maxine with Nox, must’ve stirred something in him. He wasn’t waiting around anymore. Good, he shouldn’t.
What happened next was like watching a train wreck in slow motion.
Ronnie pushed the flowers away and giggled nervously. “Brisk, stop it. I’ve told you I’m not interested in you like that.”
No. She wouldn’t.
“Just move on,” she added curtly.
She did. After that heartfelt declaration of his affection for her… she totally shut him down.
Brisk’s entire face went red as he crumpled the flowers in his fist, and threw them at her feet. “Maxine isn’t the fucked-up one around here, you are!” he shouted, then took off. He blasted out of the room and out the front door, letting it slam behind him.
“Ronnie!” I shouted while the whole room just stared at her in shock.
She looked like she was about to cry, looking at the crumpled flowers like they were a dead pet.
Even Josephine had stopped chopping and was staring at Ronnie like she’d sprouted two heads.
“I’m going for a swim on the roof,” she declared in a huff, walking out onto the balcony, which I was pretty sure didn’t lead to the roof….
Man, I thought I had commitment problems.
My best friend had lost her damn mind. I decided to let her stew in her juices while I was on my sexy date with Damien, but when I got home, we would have a long talk.
I ran upstairs and showered, put on full make-up, then blow-dried and curled my hair. This was full-blown getting ready. I hadn’t gotten this glammed up since graduation night at the academy. Damien was smart, sweet and mind-blowingly sexy. And I was claiming that shit tonight.
Mine.
After slipping into the tiny dress Maxine gave me, and deciding to just wear my black ankle boots and not the stripper heels that would probably have me breaking my neck, I looked in the mirror.
Hot damn, Kit, you still got it.
The black dress was one of those cutout types with panels missing on the sides, and the back was sheer from my neck to the top of my butt. I was barely covered, and it looked good.
A slow grin tugged at the corners of my lips. I felt like I’d been waiting for this moment for over a month.
There was a knock at the bedroom door. “Our car’s here. Do you need more time?” Damien’s deep voice came through the wood.
My stomach did somersaults as I opened the door and came face-to-face with him. He looked absolutely delicious—dirty-blond hair slicked back, clean shaved, wearing a black button-up shirt with black slacks and a royal blue skinny tie.
My eyes met his, and I could see the effect my dress was having on him. His gaze smoldered into me.
“I’m not sure I want to leave the house with you in that dress,” he growled, a hint of desire in his voice as his eyes slowly roamed down my body.
I poked my bottom lip out and he stepped forward, taking my face in both of his hands and sucking my lip into his mouth. Warmth spread throughout my whole body, and I had half a mind to pull him into the room and slam the door, never letting this dress see the light of day.
When he pulled back, he had to adjust his pants.
“Let’s get going before I change my mind and cancel the whole night,” he joked.
With a sly grin, I intertwined my fingers with his and we walked hand in hand down the stairs.
The first catcall whistle came from Maxine. The next one surprisingly came from Josephine.
“Have fun, kids!” she called out, and I laughed as we left the apartment and took the elevator down to the lobby. The doorman held the door open, and waiting just beyond was a black stretch limousine.
“Is this the part where you show off all of your money?” I asked him.
He nodded. “Absolutely.”
With a laugh, we both climbed into the limo, and I prepared myself for the best date of my life.
“So, Jeremy went through this three-day phase when we were kids, where he wouldn’t eat anything but raisins. It terrified my mother that he wouldn’t grow properly.”
Damien and I were trading childhood stories while we sat at the VIP table of the fanciest hotel restaurant in Vancouver.
“What happened?” I asked him.
Damien gave me a wicked grin. “I got a few dried cranberries and threw them in his pile of raisins when he wasn’t looking.”
My mouth popped open. “Hey, that’s mean.”
He chuckled. “I was seven, so I thought it was funny. Jeremy nearly blew the house up with his rage. Told me I’d ruined everything, and he would never eat another raisin for as long as he lived. And he hasn’t.”
I chuckled. “He’s a stubborn guy, I’ll give him that.”
Damien nodded. “But he went back to eating normally after that, so my mother was happy.”
“You’ve done a really good job taking care of him,” I said sincerely, reaching across to take his hand.
He stroked the top of my palm, his gaze half-lidded as the waiter brought our dessert, setting the
chocolate soufflé on the table.
“Thank you for saying that. It means a lot.” He loaded the fork with a bit of soufflé and fed it to me.
I slowly wrapped my lips around the fork, scraping off the cake with my tongue, relishing in the delightful taste.
He cleared his throat. “After this, I thought we could have the driver give us a tour of the town before dropping us home. He’s local, and I hear he’s a wonderful guide.”
I leaned forward in my seat, putting my elbow on the table. “No, thank you,” I said plainly.
His eyebrows drew together. “Okay. We could go see a movie, or did you want to just head back and see how Ronnie’s doing?” I had told him over dinner about the Ronnie and Brisk drama, and he seemed concerned for my best friend. Another endearing quality to add to the list.
I took a sip of my water. “What I want is for you to go to the front desk and get us a room while I finish this cake.”
His eyes practically glowed. “Are you sure?” His voice was so husky I nearly melted in my chair.
“Yes,” I said with 100 percent certainty.
Without another word, he took off through the restaurant like someone was chasing him, and I couldn’t help but grin. That night, I was going to be Maxine. I wasn’t going to worry about falling in love with Damien, or losing him or mourning him. I was just going to enjoy every inch of him.
The second we entered the top-floor suite, I spun around and wrapped my arms around his neck.
“Someone’s eager.” He grinned, looking down at me as he ran his hands the length of my back.
I rolled my eyes. “Okay fine, let’s go to a movie,” I stated, pulling my arms away from his neck.
His eyes widened. “No, this is a better idea.” He tugged me closer, slamming my pelvis into him, and I couldn’t help but let a peal of laughter escape me.
When I met his gaze, it was so full of warmth and desire that the laughter stopped short in my throat.
“What are you thinking about?” I teased him as I pulled off his tie and started to unbutton his shirt.
He unzipped the back of my dress and slowly peeled it off me, peppering my jawline with kisses. “That I’m the luckiest man on Earth.”