Chapter 16
Believe it or not, Daniel and I managed to have a very civilized date after that. You might think it’d be a little awkward, each of us being so very suspicious and all, but we just avoided the topics of murder and amateur sleuthing, and everything went surprisingly well. I think the slinky minidress helped cheer him up. Plus he took me to a steakhouse, which is a pretty direct route to my heart now that I’m a hardcore carnivore.
Of course I spent the whole time wondering why Daniel was investigating the murder. But I knew bringing it up would make Daniel ask me questions, too…the kind I wasn’t about to answer.
I stayed up the rest of the night organizing and reorganizing my clue sheets, in the hope that staring at them in different ways would give me the answer I was looking for. I fell asleep shortly before dawn.
Which is why I was not entirely thrilled when Zach banged on my bedroom door six hours later, at eleven in the morning.
“GO AWAY!” I yelled from under the covers.
“What’s that?” he called through the door.
“Leave me alone, Zach!”
“All right,” he said with a note of glee in his voice. “I’ll just tell him you don’t want to see him.”
“Yeah,” I mumbled into my pillow. A moment later, I sat bolt upright in bed. “Wait, who?” I bellowed. “Him WHO?”
I knew he could hear me, because I could still hear him, humming smugly as he trotted off down the stairs. But he didn’t respond.
Dadblasted…
I jumped out of bed and ran to my dresser. I sleep in a tank top and boxer shorts, and there’s no “him” I could think of that I’d want to see me like that. But I had to get downstairs quickly, so I had a critical choice to make: (a) find a sweatshirt, (b) brush my hair, or (c) put on pants. If you’d ever seen me first thing in the morning, you’d understand why I picked (b). I ran a brush quickly through my hair, flung open the door, and raced downstairs after Zach.
“Sorry,” Zach was saying as he swung the front door shut. I seized the handle and yanked it out of his grasp.
Milo was standing on the front step, looking disgustingly perky and rugged and gorgeous and awake for that hour of the morning.
“Uh-oh,” he said when he saw me.
“You better believe ‘uh-oh’!” I cried. “Do you know what time it is?”
“Almost noon?” he said with an apologetic smile.
“Not even noon!” I said. “I’m afraid this relationship is doomed.”
“Would it help if I said you look really cute in your pajamas?” Milo said. I glanced down at the penguins snoozing in sunglasses on my boxer shorts. My black tank top said Wake me when there’s pancakes in white letters across the chest.
“No, because I’m pretty sure you’d be lying,” I said.
“I’m not!” Milo protested. “I think they’re adorable.”
“AHEM.” Behind me, Zach cleared his throat pointedly. “If you guys are done making everybody sick, could we close the door, please? Milo, dude, either come in or go away.”
I glared at Zach. Talk about not knowing your antivampire protocol! My one chance to find out if Milo needed an invitation into the house, and Zach blew it.
Milo gave me puppy-dog eyes. “Is it okay? Can I come in?” he asked. He held up a paper bag. “Would muffins help?”
“Hmm,” I said. “Depends. What kind?”
“Banana chocolate chip.”
“Ooooh, in that case,” I said, holding the door open. As Milo came in, I glanced past him and saw his car in the driveway. Why was he awake in the middle of the day? Did that mean he definitely wasn’t a vampire—or was he just trying to act like a regular human for my benefit?
Zach followed us into the kitchen with a sullen look on his face. “So why are you here?” he growled at Milo.
“Zach, don’t you have a calculus test to finish?” I said pointedly.
“I’m done with it,” he said, hopping onto one of the kitchen stools with a definite I’m not going anywhere attitude.
“Sorry about my brother,” I said to Milo. Zach scowled even more at the b-word.
“No worries, Zach is cool,” Milo said, giving Zach a smile that was not returned. See, if there was any question that something was wrong with Zach, this had just answered it. It’s simply unnatural to resist a smile like Milo’s.
Crystal poked her blond head around the door. “Did I hear someone say muffins?” she asked. I knew she must have been asleep when he said it, but Crystal is like me—she can sense food from a mile away, and will even get up in the middle of the day for it.
“Milo, this is my sister, Crystal,” I said. “I should warn you this is a house full of ravening wolves, so I hope you brought enough muffins to save yourself.”
“Let’s find out,” he said, opening the bag. I handed him a plate and he shook about a dozen muffins onto it. My mouth dropped open.
“Did you make those?”
“Um…yeah,” he said. “Is that weird? Do you think I’m less manly now?”
“Yes,” growled Zach.
“Mmmblvvttwsmph,” Crystal said around a mouthful of muffin. She’d practically used vampire super-speed to dive on them.
“I think you’re the manliest, most attractive muffin-maker I’ve ever met,” I said, slipping my arms around Milo’s waist and giving him a hug. Zach looked like he was about to throw up.
“I can never find muffins that are both banana and chocolate chip,” Milo explained, putting his arm around my shoulders, “so I figure I have to make them myself.”
“Okay, all is forgiven,” I said. “I can learn to love a muffin man, even if he does keep crazy hours.”
Milo and Crystal laughed. Zach, not so much.
“Have you guys seen Bert?” Crystal asked, nibbling the edges of her muffin. “I woke up and he was gone.”
“Nope, sorry,” I said. Zach shook his head.
“So weird,” she said. “I checked all the rooms. He must be out somewhere.”
“That’s Crystal’s husband,” I explained to Milo as she wandered out of the kitchen.
“Where are your parents?” Milo asked.
“Slee—” Zach started.
“Out,” I said, kicking him hard under the table. What kind of normal grown-ups would be asleep at nearly noon on a Sunday? “So what are we doing today, now that someone has so rudely awakened me and everything?”
“Well,” Milo said, “how do you feel about the beach?”
My face must have revealed my true feelings before I could speak, because immediately he went, “Because I think it’s terrible. Blech, who likes the beach, am I right? I hate the beach. Totally hate it. Yuck.”
I laughed. “Besides, a beach in Massachusetts in early October?”
“Yeah, okay, worst idea ever,” Milo said agreeably. “You know what is good, though, is…going to the mall?” My nose had barely wrinkled before he said, “Just kidding! I hate the mall, too. Worst place ever.”
I used to like the mall, but you have no idea how many mirrors there are in your average mall until suddenly your life depends upon avoiding them. This is the one thing Vivi and I argue about, because she thinks it’s fundamentally un-American to hate malls. She keeps saying to me, “But you dress so well! You must love shopping! I don’t understand!”
Sadly, nowadays I do all my clothes shopping online. It is a freaking nuisance.
“Hey, Milo,” Zach interrupted. “I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”
“Shoot,” Milo said, taking one of the muffins. I was already on my second, if you’re curious.
“I was just wondering,” Zach said with studied casualness, “what it was you and Tex were arguing about on Monday in the weight room.”
Milo’s hand froze with the muffin halfway to his mouth. I stared at Zach, whose eyes were fixed on Milo.
Milo carefully put the muffin down. “I didn’t know there was anyone else there,” he said slowly.
“I was nearby,
” Zach said. “I have pretty good hearing. But I didn’t catch what it was about.”
Milo was avoiding my eyes. On the one hand, if what Zach had said was true—and it sure seemed to be—then he might have just given me an important clue. On the other hand, Milo now looked really sad and uncomfortable, and it kind of made me want to slug Zach in the nose. I sidled closer to Milo and let my arm brush against his in a sympathetic way. Maybe also in an Oooh, your arms are sexy way.
“It was nothing,” Milo said with a shrug. He gave me a half smile and touched my free hand lightly. “Just a stupid fight. I feel bad about it now.”
“It didn’t sound like nothing,” Zach pressed. “Didn’t I hear you say something about that creepy senior?”
My ears perked up. “Creepy senior?”
“The one who never talks to anyone,” Zach said. “He’s always taking pictures or scribbling in that notebook. What’s his name, Milo?”
“Rowan something,” Milo said. “Rowan Cantor, I think. Yeah, it was about him.”
Now my senses were on full alert. “Tex and Rowan knew each other?”
“Barely,” Milo said, wincing. “That was part of the problem.” He sighed. “Tex decided that it was his job as captain to recruit new members of the basketball team, since they lost so badly last year. He noticed that Rowan was tall, which was good enough for him.”
“I thought Tex was all about football,” I said.
“He did any sport he could fit into his schedule,” Milo said. “Basketball, too.”
“I can’t really picture Rowan playing basketball,” I said.
“Exactly,” Milo agreed. “I mean, I don’t really know the guy, but as far as I can tell, he just wants to be left alone.”
“Is that what you were arguing about?” Zach interjected nosily.
“Sort of.” Milo rubbed his head. “I thought Tex was kind of harassing him. Like, getting really into his space, you know? Guys on the swim team told me that Tex would throw basketballs at Rowan during gym class and follow him down the hall, badgering him about how the team needed him and stuff. I figured I knew Tex well enough to tell him I thought he should step off. He thought otherwise. He kept saying he thought Rowan was finally getting interested.” He glanced at me. “How terrible is that, fighting with a guy the day before he dies? I didn’t want to say anything because it’s not like I thought Tex was a bad guy. He was just…overly enthusiastic, sometimes.”
“Sure,” I said, nodding. A million things were going through my head. Clicking things. Probably not the things Zach was hoping were going through my head, though.
“You know what we could do?” Milo said to me hopefully, clearly trying to change the subject. “There’s this park not far from here that has an amazing hiking trail—the leaves are starting to change and it’s not too strenuous and the views are great. Or…um…do we hate hiking, too?”
Zach snorted. “You’d have better luck getting her to a football game.” There was a note of bitterness there; I’d skipped most of Zach’s football games when we were dating. I know—it was bad of me. I wanted to be a supportive girlfriend, but (a) boring, (b) cold, (c) confusing, and (d) mad crazy boring.
“Hey, shut up,” I said. “I can hike. I’d love to go hiking.”
“Really?” Milo brightened.
Well, no. Not usually. But for Milo, I was willing to make an exception, even if it meant a truckload of vampire sunscreen and a migraine for the next three days.
“I’ll go change,” I said. Zach was full-on glaring at me now. I didn’t particularly want to leave him alone with Milo. “How about you wait for me in the car?” I said sweetly.
“Okay,” he said, his eyes shifting to Zach, so I knew he had the same thought.
“Take some of the muffins,” I said as I headed out of the kitchen. “I’ll need as many chocolate chips as possible to get me up a hiking trail.”
I’ve always hated putting on sunscreen, but it’s a lot more motivating when you imagine bursting into flames than it is when all you have to worry about is maybe skin cancer someday. Yeah, Olympia says the fire thing won’t happen, but I’ve seen too many Buffy episodes to feel one hundred percent safe out there. So I slathered the smelly stuff all over my face and arms and hands before putting on khaki cargo pants, an indigo blue T-shirt, and a light blue hoodie.
Zach was standing at the front door when I got downstairs, his arms folded and a deep frown on his face. “So, are you, like, dating that guy or what?” he demanded.
“It’s none of your business if I am,” I said. “Tell Olympia where I went and that I’ll be home in a few hours.”
“I can’t believe you’re going hiking with him,” Zach growled. “You never did anything outdoors during the day with me…back when I could, I mean.”
“Chill out, Zach,” I said. “He’s part of my murder investigation, all right? Go back to sleep.” I pushed past him and ran out to the car, where Milo was waiting for me in his way-too-cute sunglasses.
Despite what I’d said to Zach, as Milo and I climbed the trail I didn’t bring up Tex or the murder. Bright orange and gold leaves whirled around us, and the wind tugged at my hair. Halfway along, Milo took my hand to help me over a fallen tree and then didn’t let go. It was sweet and comfortable, walking with him like that, with sunshine sparkling down through the trees. It was really easy to forget for a while that I was a vampire. Oh, and that maybe he was, too, only with slightly more murderous tendencies than me.
But I hadn’t had any blood that morning—hello, cute boy in my kitchen! Plus it totally doesn’t go with banana muffins. So I was feeling sort of faint by the time we got to the top ridge. The bright sunshine up there didn’t help either. I sat down on a large boulder in the biggest patch of shade I could find.
“You okay?” Milo asked, handing me a bottle of water.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I said. I tried to give him a reassuring smile. “You’re right, it’s really pretty up here.”
He sat down next to me and put his arm around me. I leaned my head on his shoulder. The trees rustled overhead, and a star-shaped red leaf drifted down to land on my knee.
“This is kind of weird for me,” he said after a long moment.
“What is?”
“Being with a girl.” He touched my hair gently. “Falling for someone, I mean, just like that.” He chuckled. “I’m not very good at playing it cool, am I?”
“I prefer it that way,” I said, tilting my head to look up at him. “I figure, if you like someone, you should—”
And then he kissed me.
Chapter 17
If it turns out that heaven is getting to relive the best moment of your life over and over again, that kiss with Milo is currently my top pick. I mean, not that I’m likely to get there anytime soon, being the undead and all.
I didn’t want to go home. I wanted to be a normal girl and spend the rest of the day with Milo. I wanted to go to the movies and out to dinner, and then cuddle (or, you know…something along those lines) in his car at the end of the night.
But I couldn’t. I had to go home, drink my daily recommended dosage of cold animal blood, and then lie in the dark for hours recovering from too much sunshine. Oh, and I also had to solve a murder in the next two days so that my dad wouldn’t lock me in a coffin for the next three hundred years. Literally.
My head was pounding by the time Milo dropped me off. I drank two glasses of blood and went straight up to my room, turned off all the lights, and crawled under the covers.
“Serves you right,” said a voice from the doorway.
“Go stake yourself,” I said, keeping the pillow over my head.
“I don’t know what you see in that guy,” Zach grumbled.
“Yeah,” I said. “Funny, smart, sexy, good-looking, sweet, and a baker. Nothing appealing about that at all.”
“But maybe a murderer, right?” Zach said. “That’s why you’re really dating him, isn’t it?”
“I’ve decided he�
��s not a murderer,” I said, peeking out from under the pillow. The light from the hallway spilled into my room around Zach’s beefy shape, and I had to cover my eyes again.
“Oh, really?” Zach said. “What brought you to that conclusion all of a sudden?”
Well, for one thing, I highly doubt a murderer could be that good a kisser. “I’ve decided it’s someone else,” I said.
“Yeah? Who?”
I sighed. “That Rowan guy you were talking about. There are too many clues pointing in his direction. Plus he’s freaky.” And NOT a good kisser.
Zach let out a sharp, barking laugh. “Wow,” he said. “You really are dumb.”
I wriggled deeper into the covers. “I do not have the energy for you right now, Zach.”
“Well, I know something you don’t know,” he said. “And I think maybe you should.”
“I’ve got a good idea,” I said. “Why don’t you just tell me, instead of acting like a six-year-old? Or else go away and let me sleep.”
“There’s a reason we’re here,” Zach said. “In this town, I mean, here and now. I heard Olympia and Wilhelm talking about it. It’s because of you.”
I shoved the covers back and sat up. Immediately a five-siren alarm went off in my head, like a jackhammer trying to blast through my skull. I clutched my head and tried to glare at Zach.
“What are you talking about?”
“You don’t know anything, do you?” he said in that snide way of his. “You don’t even know how you really died.”
I stopped breathing. Admittedly, this wasn’t a huge problem, since I was dead and didn’t actually need to. But still, without meaning to, I literally stopped breathing.
“I died in a car accident,” I said. “Everyone knows that.”
“That’s not the whole story,” he said. His face was backlit so I couldn’t see his expression, but I could practically feel the waves of smugness coming off him. “But you don’t know the truth. That’s why you have so many issues.”
“I do not have issues,” I snapped.
“Olympia and Wilhelm think you do,” Zach pointed out. “They think the fact that you turned me is a sign that you still have a lot of your own death issues to work through. That’s why they brought you here. Now Wilhelm thinks you killed Tex, and maybe you need to work out your issues inside a padded coffin for a while. I, for one, think he might be right.”
Never Bite a Boy on the First Date Page 11