Milayna's Angel

by Michelle K. Pickett

  I smiled at Xavier. “Yes, we’re good for tonight.” I couldn’t hurt his feelings.

  He let out a breath. “Good.”

  Word of our date quickly made its way around school. I could hear people talking about it in the hallway. Girls were jealous, calling me skanky and slutty. I felt like I should be wearing a scarlet letter across my chest. Boys were happy. One less fish to compete against in the high-school dating pool. And Xavier was a big fish.

  “I can’t believe you’re going through with this.” Jen eyed Xavier across the room. “I mean, you just broke up with Chay.”

  “Actually, he broke up with me. Big difference. Besides, it’s not a real date.”

  “So why go?”

  I don’t know. I guess ‘cuz I want to, and maybe I want to make Chay a little jealous.

  I shrugged a shoulder. Jen smirked like she’d heard my thoughts. “He’s not the jealous type, you know.”

  “Who?”

  “Chay.”

  I snorted. “You’d be surprised what Chay Roberts is and isn’t.”

  The day went by in a blur. Classes ran into each other. Lunch sped by at lightning-fast speed and before I knew it, Muriel and I were driving home from school.

  “He’s pissed, you know,” Muriel told me.

  “Who?” I already knew the answer.

  She sighed. “Chay.”

  “Well, he gave up the right to be mad. What do you think, Muriel, am I making a huge mistake?”

  “Probably, but what fun would life be if we didn’t take a risk or two?”

  “So if it were you and Drew, you’d go?”

  “In a friggin’ heartbeat.”

  Chay texted me after school. My finger hovered over the read message button. Did I want to know what he had to say? Yes. I pressed the button, biting my lower lip as I waited for the message to display.

  Chay: You’re going out with him?

  I could almost hear the accusation in his voice.

  Me: Is there a reason I shouldn’t?

  I prayed he would say yes. That there was a reason I shouldn’t go out with Xavier. I wanted him to tell me it was all a big mistake. He didn’t mean what he said. He did love me.

  Chay: No. No reason.

  I tossed my phone onto my bed and walked into the bathroom to get ready for my non-date with Xavier.

  The doorbell rang at exactly six o’clock. I plodded down the stairs to the foyer. Plastering on a smile, I opened the door. All I saw was a gigantic bouquet of red roses, and then Xavier peered around them, wearing a dimpled grin.

  “Hi. And before you say anything, I know this isn’t a date. So these flowers are just for a friend of mine.”

  “Thank you.” I smiled and took the enormous bouquet from him. “Geez, how many are there?”

  “You can count them later. C’mon, we’ll be late for the movie.”

  “Lemme get my jacket.” I carried the roses into the kitchen. Their sweet smell surrounded me like a cloud, and I breathed them in. “Mom? Would you please put these in water for me? Xavier and I are going to be late for the movie if we don’t leave.”

  “Sure. Wow, look at them all.”

  “I know.” I giggled.

  And that was how our non-date, date started—me giggling like a little girl over some flowers. And it only got better from there. Xavier was easy to be with. Our non-date lacked the tension I was expecting. It was effortless.

  “Where are we going?”

  The spring days were getting longer and the last of the day’s sun streamed through the window, making Xavier’s black hair shine. I tried not to look. It wasn’t like we were on a date. I shouldn’t care about his hair or how it looked in the sun. Maddeningly enough, I kept looking. Even more so, he knew it. I could tell by the way his lips pursed as he tried to hide his grin.

  “I found a little movie theater downtown. It’s pretty cool. I thought you’d like it.” He glanced at me before turning his gaze back to the road.

  It was an older movie theater that had been restored. It had a glowing marquee with lights trailing around it. Neon lights decorated the front, framing vintage movie posters.

  “It’s so cool.” I looked up at the lighted marquee. It was so bright it overshadowed the streetlights.

  “Yeah, it is. It reminds me of the movie theaters in the ‘50s and ‘60s. What do you want to see? They’ve got a wide range of films playing. You can choose from any four of them.”

  I laughed. “Yeah, it’s cool, but there aren’t very many screens. Not like the new multi-screen theaters.” I walked the length of the theater front and looked at the posters. The four movies playing were in art-deco frames between vintage movie posters. Eight art-deco frames lit the front of the theater. It was one of the coolest things I’d ever seen. “I love this.” I looked at Xavier over my shoulder.

  He smiled. “Good. I thought you would. So what’s it gonna be? A comedy, romance, or horror?”

  “Ugh, I have enough horror in my life. I could use some comedy.”

  After the movie, we went to a little bistro down the road from the theater. Xavier and I sat at a little table nestled in the corner of the restaurant. There was a candle in the middle of the table next to a vase of fresh flowers. That was nice. Not many places had fresh flowers on the table. Usually they were plastic and covered in dust and greasy grime. But the little restaurant was nicely decorated, with lots of little touches that made it casual, but elegant.

  The lighting was low, but not too dark that you had to squint to see. The table was covered in a linen tablecloth, no paper placemats. There were fabric napkins instead of paper, and the tables were spaced nicely so you weren’t bumping elbows with the people next to you. It would have been romantic if we were on a real date, which we weren’t. A fact I found I had to keep reminding myself of throughout the night.

  The staff was helpful, a little too much so when it came to Xavier. The waitress couldn’t get to him fast enough. Not that I could blame her, even though it irritated me. He leaned back casually in his chair, his long legs stretched in front of him as he waited for our orders. He looked, well, unbelievably gorgeous, a thought that pricked me with guilt. I shouldn’t be thinking about him like that. I was still in love with Chay. It wasn’t fair to either one of them for me to be teetering on the fence… I’d almost forgotten Chay didn’t want me on his side of the fence so there was nothing to be guilty about, after all.

  After dinner, when we’d gotten into Xavier’s car, he turned to me. “Milayna…” He cupped my face in his hands and grazed his lips over mine. They were firm and moist, and it felt good right down to the tips of my toes. He started to pull away and I wrapped my hand behind his neck, pulling him to me. His thumb caressed my cheek as his full lips moved over mine, his tongue dipping between my lips, sending jolts of electricity through me.

  Oh, this is so wrong.

  Xavier lifted his head and grinned ruefully. “Sorry. I know this wasn’t supposed to be a real date, but I just wanted you to know how that felt. I’m sure your idiot ex-boyfriend is going to realize what a colossal mistake he’s made and want you back. And you’ll go because you love him—anyone can see that. But I had to do that just once.”

  Silently, I listened to Xavier’s apology. I agreed with everything he said. I did say it wasn’t a real date. I probably would go back to Chay if he asked me. And… I wanted to know what it felt like to kiss Xavier as much as he wanted to know how it felt to kiss me. And kissing him felt damn good.

  I reached out and touched his lips gently, lightly. My fingertips glided over them, skimming their outline. His body shuddered in response, his lips parted slightly, and the tip of his tongue moistened them as my fingers trailed across.

  Xavier plunged his hands in my hair and pulled my mouth to him. I fisted my hand in the front of his jacket. Our mouths moved against each other’s, caressing, tasting, craving more. He kissed me long and deep. My breathing was quick and combined with the scent of his cologne, my head swam.
He felt different. He tasted different. He smelled different. And, oh, he touched me differently, but so, so good. He and Chay were like oil and water. I wasn’t sure which he was, but I could feel myself drowning in him. And, God help me, I didn’t want to be saved.

  He grazed his lips softly over mine one last time before lifting his head. Untangling his hands from my hair, he softly trailed a finger down the side of my face and across my collarbone. I shivered.

  “You’re amazing,” he whispered.

  ***

  “What are you doing here?” I asked as soon as I climbed out of Xavier’s car at home.

  “He doesn’t open your door for you,” Chay mocked.

  “Just answer the damn question, Chay.”

  “Well, while you two were out partying, we were here dealing with a bunch of Evils. Hope you had a great time, by the way.”

  “We did.” I smiled.

  “What’d they want?” Xavier asked Chay, who glared at him without answering.

  “They didn’t say,” my dad answered. “They asked for Milayna. When they found out she wasn’t here, they took off.”

  “So they wanted her.” Xavier took a step toward me.

  My dad nodded, rocking backward on his heels. “Or at least to scare her.”

  18

  Benjamin

  “So?” Muriel asked. She’d called right after she saw Xavier’s car leave.

  “It was nice.”

  “A date with hottie and you say it was nice?” She chuckled.

  “No, I had a really good time. It’s just—”

  “It wasn’t Chay,” she finished.

  “Yeah, something like that.” I sighed in frustration. “He’s being such an ass. What’s up with him?”

  “Dunno. So did he kiss you?”

  “Who? Chay?”

  “Geez, Milayna, you have Chay on the brain. No! Xavier,” Muriel practically yelled.

  “Yeah.”

  “Okay, now we’re gettin’ somewhere. Did you kiss him back?”

  I sighed loudly. “Yes.”

  “And?”

  “It was good,” I admitted begrudgingly.

  “Are you going to see him again?”

  “Gads, Muriel, what is this? Twenty questions?” I flopped backward on my bed.

  Muriel was unfazed. “Are ya?”

  “I don’t know. He didn’t say anything about it. Besides, it was kind of awkward coming home and seeing my ex-boyfriend having a powwow with my dad.”

  “I guess that would kill it. Bummer.”

  “And it doesn’t matter, anyway. It wasn’t a real date.”

  Muriel burst out laughing. “Chick, I got news for ya. If it wasn’t a real date, you two wouldn’t have been playing tonsil hockey.”

  “Whatever. I have to go.” She was still laughing when I clicked off the line.

  Maybe she’s right. Was it a first date? Do I want it to be? Do I want a second? If I really loved Chay, I wouldn’t be getting over him this fast. And I did… do… love him. Xavier’s just the rebound guy. Yeah. A totally gorgeous, rebound guy that kisses great. I’m screwed.

  I went into my bathroom, pulled my hair up in a ponytail, washed my face, and got ready for bed. Walking back into my bedroom, I clicked out the light when something caught my eye. A little red body. Perched on the overhang outside my window. I threw open the window.

  “What now?”

  “Did you have fun?” Friendly asked, smiling and wide-eyed.

  “Yes.”

  “Chay was pissed. That was fun,” Scarface said, his deformed smile spreading across his yellowed teeth.

  I rolled my eyes. “I’m sure you enjoyed that. What do you two want and how’d you get up here?”

  “We get up here all the time,” Friendly said. “We’re supposed to watch you.”

  “You watch me all the time?” A shiver ran through me. “Why?”

  “He told us to. He doesn’t want to screw up like Azazel did.”

  “Who doesn’t?” My heart thundered in my ears.

  “You’ll find out soon enough.” Scarface rubbed the palms of his red, stubby hands together in anticipation. “It won’t be long.”

  “Yeah! He’s putting the final touches on some new games for us to play!” Friendly giggled.

  Oh no.

  “I’m not playing any more of your games. Go away.” I slammed the window down, barely missing their fingers. Sliding the lock, I drew the blinds closed.

  “Mi-lay-na,” they sang, tapping on the glass. “Come back and talk.”

  Crawling into bed, I tried to ignore them, but even over the sound of blood rushing behind my ears I could hear them shuffling around outside the window. I pulled back my blanket and stepped on the floor, praying it wouldn’t creak. Grabbing my pillow, I snuck downstairs to sleep on the couch in the family room. I rounded the corner and screamed.

  Sitting on the couch were two fat, red bodies. One was smiling and swinging its legs back and forth, the other was scowling with its arms crossed over its chest.

  “Milayna!” my parents yelled, running down the stairs.

  My dad skidded to a stop at the opening into the family room, his face hard. “Go back upstairs, Rachael.”

  She walked around him and sucked in a breath, her hand flying to her throat. Standing motionless for a few beats, her face hardened and she walked to the laundry room. After she grabbed the broom, she walked into the living room and hit Scarface upside the head. He spewed a mouthful of profanities at her before disappearing in a little puff of smoke.

  She turned her broom on Friendly. He cackled and ran through the room, clapping his hands at the new game. My mother chased after him, swinging the broom as she went.

  “Oh, for cryin’ out loud,” my dad muttered.

  I couldn’t help but laugh. The sight of my mother chasing a red demon in the middle of the family room with a broom was… funny. Or maybe I was hysterical. Either way, I laughed so hard I snorted. My dad rolled his eyes.

  I heard a quick rap on the back door, and my laughter faded. Chay walked through the room in his sweatpants and tennis shoes. His suede jacket was pulled over his bare chest, showing just enough of his ripped abs to make any girl’s mouth water.

  “What’d you do? Give him a key?” I accused my dad.

  “Well, he needs to be able to get here to help when I’m not home.”

  “Ugh.” I stomped upstairs to my room. The sight of my mom chasing Friendly around the house, swatting at him with a broom, wasn’t quite as funny anymore.

  I heard my mom walk up the stairs a few minutes later. “Good night,” she called as she passed my door.

  “Did you get ‘em?” I tried to hold back my giggles.

  “Swept the floor with him.”

  I laughed. “Good night, Mom. I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  I lay in bed, listening to the deep timbre of my dad’s voice, followed by Chay’s easy laughter. It infuriated me. I threw the blankets over my head to drown them out. I’d just grabbed my MP3 player and earbuds when a soft knock sounded on my door.

  “Come in,” I called to my dad. To my complete shock and horror, it wasn’t my dad who walked through the door. “What do you want?”

  He stood in the doorway, his hands in the pockets of his jacket. “What did they want?”

  “Does my dad know you’re up here?”

  His lips twitched. I wasn’t sure if he was trying to hide a grin or a frown. I decided I didn’t care. “Yes, he knows. What did the hobgoblins want, Milayna?”

  “Same old stuff.”

  Chay rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. “I can’t help if you don’t tell me.”

  “I don’t want your help. Get out.”

  “I know. But you need it, and the group needs yours.”

  Ugh, why does he have to be so reasonable? And why, after just having mind-blowing kisses with Xavier, is my heart doing all kinds of stupid things just looking at him?

  “They
said they were watching me,” I answered finally.

  He walked to the window and opened it. “How long have they been sitting out here?”

  “I don’t know. Wait, how did you know they were out there?”

  “I had a vision. Who are they watching you for?”

  “How am I supposed to know?” I tossed my music player aside and stood up. “I assume Abaddon, but it’s not like we had a heart-to-heart. I asked who and they answered in riddles like always. You figure it out.”

  He nodded. His jaw working, he turned his face from me. It wasn’t until then that I remembered I was in my pajama bottoms and a T-shirt. A thin T-shirt. My face burning, I yanked my robe off the hook on my bedroom door and slipped into it.

  “Did they say anything else?”

  “Just that he had some games for us to play. But you know how they are. That could mean a snowball fight or—”

  “Something much worse,” he finished. We were both remembering the garage fire they started that almost killed a man.

  “Yeah. There’s that, too.”

  “Milayna… about tonight… I didn’t like you being with him,” Chay said, his face averted.

  “You gave up your right to care either way.”

  He looked at me. I stared back at him. He was not going to make me feel guilty for going out with Xavier. Not after the things he said. He surprised me by agreeing. “I know.”

  Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out my ring. He laid it softly on the table beside my bed. “Just in case.” He looked into my eyes then. I felt the electrical buzzing moving through my nerve endings. I looked away before a bridge to his emotions could be made. I didn’t want to know what he felt. I didn’t.

  He left, closing the door with a faint click behind him.

  ***

  “Why can’t he come?” Benjamin whined.

  “He just won’t be coming for breakfast on Saturdays anymore.” I tried to keep my patience.

  Little brothers can be such a pain.

  “Just because you’re mad at Chay doesn’t mean he can’t come play with me.”