by Box Set
"I haven't even brushed my teeth yet," she objected. My eyes dipped to her lips. Bad move. All I wanted to do was pull her into the hallway and kiss her until she forgot we'd ever broken up. Until she forgot every guy she'd been with since me.
I forced myself back to her eyes, which I could drown in, but at least I could control myself. Had it been like this when we were together? This insane, overwhelming need to see her, hold her, touch her? I couldn't remember. I know I'd been obsessed with her, but I think it had been possible to have a conversation without wanting to devour her. I do know that no one had affected me the way she had since. Not even close.
A mischievous smile played around her lips as she stepped back and swung open the door. "Navi!" Terrie squealed as she leaped off the couch and raced into the hall, holding her head.
Navi snickered.
"She's doing about as well as Bryson," I said as I followed her inside. It felt so wrong to be this close and not touch her. Like the last four years hadn't happened and we'd never broken up.
"Yeah. It's entertaining." She grinned over her shoulder at me as she led the way over to the couch. I stopped next to her, closer than I should have but not close enough. It was near enough that I could feel the warmth of her skin against mine without actually touching her. And I really wanted to touch her. Just run my knuckles across her cheek bone. Or my thumb against the back of her hand. Or my fingers through her hair...
"Sit." She pushed me backward until the backs of my legs hit the couch and I sat. "I'll brush my teeth and we can go." My chest felt scalded where she'd put her hands and it took everything I had not to pull her down with me.
I was a mess.
She disappeared before I could, and Konstanz rounded the corner, yawning and rubbing her eyes. "You're here early," she mumbled. Her hair was a tangle of waves and her mascara was sleep-smeared under her eyes so she looked way more exhausted than she probably felt.
I glanced at my watch. "It's ten o'clock."
She gave me an impish smile. "Yeah. Like... six whole hours since you've seen her last."
I opened my mouth. And then closed it. Then opened it again. She sat next to me on the couch, completely delighted. "I can't help it," I said, my voice low. I'm pretty sure I sounded tortured. "Six hours was too long."
"Wow." Konstanz nodded slowly, eying me through rapidly brightening eyes. "You've got it bad."
I swallowed, staring at the coffee table, the floor, the blank TV screen. Apparently these girls were gamers—there were at least three different video game platforms on the entertainment center. "I've missed her."
"If I recall..." Konstanz tipped her head to the side, finger-combing her wild hair. "You said you hated her and you never wanted to see her again. I guess that only counted when you could actually still see her every day."
I thought back to those torturous months of high school. We'd broken up right before we'd graduated, and every single day was a fight with myself to stay away from her. How could you hate someone so much and want them at the same time? We still had classes together. She started skipping school to get away from me. I started dating as many girls as I could to forget about her. And it had been hell. "She hurt me, Konstanz."
Konstanz shrugged. "You hurt her, too. A lot. You have no idea what she went through after you guys broke up." Her words were like a sword to the stomach—sharp, fierce, and sudden. Before I could respond, she leaned close, her eyes sparkling. "She was talking about you in her sleep last night."
The agonizing wound in my stomach healed as my heart sped up for the eight thousandth time in ten minutes. She leaped to her feet and danced away, laughing softly. If Navi was talking about me in her sleep, that meant she was dreaming about me. Before my heart could decide what to do with that new, exciting information, she came around the corner, tugging a hoodie over her head.
It was a good thing, because I think my blood pressure had already skyrocketed to dangerous levels and her in a tank top was more than I could handle for any extended period of time. "Teeth brushed. K, have you seen my wallet?"
She'd called Konstanz K when we'd been in high school. Hearing it again, so casually, sent a jolt through my system like I was being dragged back in time. Back to her. "You don't need your wallet." My voice sounded strangled, even to my own ears. She gave me an odd look. I cleared my throat several times before I trusted myself to speak. "I'm dragging you out of the house. The least I can do is pay."
She shook her head. "That's not fair. I can pay. I just gotta find..." Konstanz appeared next to her, holding the sparkling pink wallet with little skulls all over it. "Oh. Thank you."
"If you pay for yourself, it's not a date," I said as she came toward me. She stumbled a little and her eyes widened, those perfect pink lips opening in a silent O.
"This... this is a date?"
I reached out, pried the wallet from her hand, and tossed it back to Konstanz, who stood grinning behind the couch. "I would like it to be."
She blinked, long lashes brushing her cheek as if in slow motion. "Oh... okay."
I had to summon a hell of a lot of courage to take her hand and wind her fingers through my own. In doing that, I knew she could feel me shaking, and she'd know in those first seconds that I was pretending to be way more calm than I really was. "Ready?" I asked quietly.
She nodded, a faint smile playing around her lips.
"Bye!" Konstanz called cheerfully as we left the apartment.
"She can't sleep when I'm gone at night," Navi said as I led her down the hall and out the door. It was raining steadily, but Navi, unlike any girl I've ever known, raised her head into the rain and spread her arms, smiling.
If I hadn't been consumed with thoughts of her before, that image of her in the rain would have taken over completely.
And then she dropped her arms, laughing, and ran to my truck. It was so right for her to be there, in the passenger seat. She belonged in my truck.
She belonged with me.
"So," I said, trying to sound like I wasn't falling so fast I didn't even have time to be scared, "Any requests?"
She leaned back, buckling her seat belt before she glanced at me, biting her lip. She shouldn't have done that.
My eyes dipped to her mouth and I couldn't look away. I wanted to tug her lip free with my mouth, smooth my tongue over the soft, pink skin.
She sucked in a breath and I finally, finally forced myself to look up at her. I want to kiss you. I need to kiss you, Navi.
"The Chicken Coop?" she asked softly, her cheeks coloring under my stare. I needed to chill out or she'd run screaming from my truck. "Do you feel like bacon and eggs?"
I nodded, starting the truck. "The Chicken Coop it is."
Chapter 12
Navi
I couldn't breathe. If he looked at my mouth one more time, I was going to launch myself across that truck seat at him. I wasn't sure exactly what would come after that, but I was sure it wasn't something that required advanced planning.
My hands twitched, like they were hoping desperately if they caused a commotion, Alec might notice and hold them again. They'd taken on a life of their own.
I watched him sneakily through my hair. He looked like a Greek god, all strong jaw and straight Roman nose and those eyes. It was insane how gorgeous his eyes were. I'd loved them before, but now, when they looked at me, they made me want to throw myself at his feet and beg for mercy.
Last night—in the middle of a battle with demons who wanted to sneak into society and eat us for a midnight snack—I kept finding myself thinking about him. It was a dangerous little habit that could probably get me killed.
And this morning. As soon as my eyes had opened, I'd reached for my phone. To write him. Because he was the first thing I thought of when coherency found me. Waking up to his text had sent butterflies into fits of chaos everywhere.
He reached over and snapped the radio on as he drove us easily through the light traffic. "You're awfully far away," he said softly, tugging
gently on the edge of my hoodie. Holy crap, he wanted me closer to him? I could barely think straight as it was.
But my body had a will of its own. As soon as he stopped for the next stoplight, I undid my seat belt and slid over, buckling myself into the middle seat before the light changed again. "That's better," he said, glancing over, those eyes tracing my face, my throat, my mouth. Again. Did he have any idea what he was doing to me? My entire body felt like I'd had about eight thousand cups of coffee. It was buzzing. Positively buzzing.
"I remember in high school..." His voice trailed off as he looked over again, his hand leaving the steering wheel to find mine. His fingers shook just a little.
Ah. He did know what he was doing to me.
He cleared his throat, focusing on the road. "I remember in high school you used to sing to every song on the radio."
I smiled. "I knew you better then. It's just weird when a stranger starts bellowing in your car. Didn't you know?"
He frowned, his brows lowering as he risked a glance back over at me. "I'm a stranger?"
He didn't like that one bit. I hid a wicked smile and feigned innocence. "Well... I haven't seen you in four years. Maybe I don't know you at all."
He rolled his eyes. "We proved last night that you know me very well. I haven't changed, Navi. The only thing that's different is that now—" He froze, turning panicked eyes on me.
"Now... what?" I asked, reaching up to gently turn his chin back toward the road so we didn't both die in a fiery crash.
"Nothing." He flipped through his MP3 player and then focused on the road. The song came on, an old one. He started singing along, mostly, I think, to distract me from whatever he'd been about to say. It worked. I remembered how we used to sing together when he drove me to school every morning. And this song.
It was a duet.
I hesitated, because somehow singing in this car with him was way more terrifying than singing on a stage in front of a hundred people. But the girl started singing and Alec stopped, and the way his chin fell in defeat melted me. I started singing, quietly at first, but when he joined in again I gained courage and sang louder. His fingers tightened around mine. The sweet lyrics, his low, sexy voice, filled the car, filled my head until I felt like I was drugged and couldn't look away from him. I loved the way our voices flowed together, over and under and around.
And then the song ended and I crashed back to reality. He pulled into the restaurant parking lot and stopped the truck. Raising my hand, he kissed my knuckles softly, so softly, but the feel of his lips against my skin sent delicious shivers up and down my spine. The last thing in the world I wanted to do right then was get out of that truck.
Unfortunately, one must eat.
Alec let go of my fingers, but so slowly I hoped that maybe he was as reluctant to get out of the truck as I was. My eyes devoured him as he walked around the front to my door—with the tight black t-shirt under his jacket and his baseball hat on backward. The truck squeaked in protest as he swung open the door, like it felt the same way I did and we should just stay inside together. I twisted on the seat and slid out, but he caught me, his hands on my waist as he lowered me gently to the ground. Our bodies were close, so close I could feel his rapid breathing as he stared down at me, his hands sliding down to my hips, pulling me closer to him.
"Alec! Navi! What a surprise meeting you guys here!" Bryson yelled.
I jumped guiltily away from Alec, wondering what on earth was wrong with me. I didn't belong to Bryson. I had nothing to feel guilty about. Alec growled under his breath and turned slowly. "I thought you'd be in bed for the rest of the day."
"Nah. I'm just fine. Nothing a little coffee can't fix." He looked awful. His eyes were bloodshot and he was pale and shaking. Clearly, still in the throes of a hangover.
"Bryson?" I asked, leaving Alec's side. Bryson was tipping dangerously and I caught him just as he toppled over. "Are you sure you should be out of bed? You were pretty out of it last night."
He grimaced. "I know. I'm so sorry. I was hoping we could talk about that."
I felt so bad for him. He looked like he wanted to die. "Of course we can talk about that," I said quickly. Behind me, I heard Alec approaching, his shoes crunching on the gravel. I could feel him coming closer and everything in me hoped he would slide his arms around my waist and pull me back against him.
He wouldn't, of course, because we were... well, I wasn't sure exactly what we were. Obviously, more than friends. I mean, I thought we were more than friends. But we weren't together. But we weren't on some casual first date, either. There was too much tension. Too much need. Too much history. Alec stopped next to me, arms crossed over his broad chest. "You need to go home, Bryson. Go back to bed. You look like shit."
Bryson grinned at me. "I don't think that's possible."
Oh, it was possible. But I didn't want to be mean. "You look like you're in pain," I said gently.
"I am." He nodded. "I'm in pain because I know I was terrible last night and it breaks my heart that you think I'm an idiot."
Alec sighed, shaking his head. "Dude, that was cheesy as hell."
Ignoring Alec, Bryson said as enthusiastically as seemed possible at the moment, "Let's go get some coffee, should we?" Bryson looped his arm through mine and started for the door.
Muttering, Alec followed along behind. This is not how I wanted things to be. I didn't want to be in the middle. I didn't want Alec to be angry today. I wanted to sit on his lap and drink hot chocolate and stare into his eyes all morning.
Now that was cheesy.
I reached back, summoning all my courage, and grabbed Alec's fingers. They were stiff with shock for about four seconds, and then he curled his hand around mine and squeezed gently.
The little bell above the door tinkled cheerfully as we walked in. "Table for three please," Bryson said, wincing as the dull roar from the very busy restaurant assaulted his tender head.
I leaned around him, clearing my throat. "Actually, we're getting our food to go, if that's okay. We're not staying."
Bryson's chin dropped in confusion and Alec chuckled. Now he did pull me back against him, tugging me away from Bryson's tight grip. His arms slid around my waist, holding me tight against his chest, so tight I could feel his heart pounding against my back. Like what he'd just done had taken a lot of courage.
I couldn't swallow.
The thought that his heart was pounding—that he was as nervous as I was—it was adorable.
Bryson turned slowly, his eyes widening. "Are you two—are you here together?"
I blinked three times, trying to see how he couldn't already know that. I failed. "I... we... you saw me get out of his truck—"
Bryson waved a hand through the air. "I know but I mean—together together?"
I tried to figure out how to explain it without hurting his feelings. I opened my mouth twice, but couldn't make any sound come out.
"Yes," Alec said flatly. I twisted my head around to see his face. He looked down and smiled before he returned his glare to Bryson.
In my daydreams that he would come back, that I would find myself in his arms again, this was not at all what I had imagined. The hostess handed us menus and neither boy broke their cold staring contest to take them. I sighed, thanking the woman. "Guys?"
"Where are you going after this if you're not staying here?" Bryson asked. He sounded angry. Like I'd somehow betrayed him. Or Alec had. I frowned, wanting desperately to escape this place. Why were there never any demon attacks in the day? Although if there were demon attacks, I wouldn't be able to fight them. My powers didn't work when the sun was up and my ghosts couldn't come out of their prison. If there was ever an attack during the day, I'd be dead. Like, within two seconds, probably.
"I'm not sure how that has anything to do with you." Alec's arms tightened protectively around me, which was comforting given my train of thought.
"I saw her first, Alec."
He saw me what now? "Are you serious with th
is?" I asked incredulously. "You saw me first?"
"Actually, I saw her first. In seventh grade when we were thirteen. I've loved her ever since. So. Back. Off."
I froze. Everything in me froze—my blood, my breath, my heart, my brain. Alec had loved me ever since? What about the last four years when we were supposed to hate each other? What about now?
"You had your chance with her, Alec. You walked away."
"And it was the biggest mistake I ever made. I'm not going to make it again."
My head started to pound, whether from the extreme awkwardness of the situation or the extreme lack of food, I wasn't sure. I was suddenly very tired and very hungry and very confused. "Enough!" I yelled. The entire restaurant turned to stare at us. The hostess, who'd been watching with unabashed curiosity, hurried away. I slid out of Alec's arms. I needed space. I needed fresh air. And sleep. And food. "Bryson, I'm sorry you thought there was something between us when there wasn't. That was not Alec's fault." Before I could see the hurt in his face, I turned on Alec, shoving stray strands of my dark hair away from my face in frustration. "Alec, you owe me breakfast. So either you stop arguing with Bryson and decide what you want, or I'm walking home to make my own cereal." I crossed my arms and glared at them both.
Sure, I fought demons on an almost nightly basis with an army of lost souls. But confrontation in the daylight with people who weren't trying to destroy humanity? That was something entirely different and much, much harder.
Alec closed his eyes, briefly. "I'm so sorry, Navi. What do you want?"
"A bagel. Toasted with cream cheese. And hot chocolate," I muttered, still pouting. He nodded and strode off to find the hostess who seemed to be hiding behind her counter, probably ready to call the cops.
"Navi, please don't do this. Don't go with him. He's all wrong for you." Bryson took my hand, rubbing his thumb across my knuckles. "I know you don't know me well, but there's an undeniable connection between us. You can't tell me you don't feel it."
"Bryson," I said gently, disentangling my fingers. "I don't know you at all. And I don't feel a connection. I'm sorry. You're very nice." Yes. Add the nice bit. Because that always softened the blow.