I knew Daemon’s gaze was fixed on the back of my head, but all in all I was feeling kind of good about things. Definite progress had been made when it came to Daemon. We’d spent hours together without killing each other or submitting to wild monkey lust. My new laptop was divine. Simon wasn’t in class to blame me for getting his ass kicked or to tell people he saw me go all supernatural on the windows. And I had a date tonight.
That last bit made me swallow. I really had to come clean with Blake. It wasn’t fair to him…or to Daemon. I wasn’t ready to suddenly believe Daemon, but I couldn’t go on pretending there wasn’t something there.
Even if it might only be alien flu.
…
“Here.” Blake grinned, sliding his dish over. “Try some of this.”
I kept my expression in check as I twirled my fork in the noodles. “I don’t know about this.”
He laughed. “It’s really not that bad. It smells kind of funny, but I think you’ll like it.”
After a small bite, I decided it wasn’t horrendous. I glanced up, smiling. “Okay. Not bad.”
“I can’t believe the first time you’re eating Indian food is in West Virginia.”
I ran my hand over my jean-clad leg. The small candle on the side of the table flickered. “I’m not very food adventurous. I’m a steak-and-hamburger kind of chick.”
“Well, we have to change that, because you don’t know what you’re missing.” Blake winked. It totally looked cool coming from him. “Thai is my favorite. Love the spices.”
The slim redheaded waitress swung by and refilled our glasses. She kept smiling coyly at Blake. I couldn’t blame her. Blake was one of the few guys who could pull off the sweater and button-down shirt look.
I tried some more of the noodles. I was having fun, but as I pushed the food around the plate, I felt a weird tug in my stomach. I was having a great time with him, but...
“So I heard something at school today,” Blake said after the waitress left.
Slumping against the seat, I bit back a string of curses. God only knew what he’d heard. Rumors about me were flying like UFOs. “I’m afraid to even ask.”
He looked sympathetic. “I heard that Daemon beat up some guy because of you.”
We’d made it this entire time without bringing up Daemon. I slumped a little in my booth. “Yeah, he kind of did.”
Both his brows rose in surprise as he leaned forward. “You going to tell me why?”
“You haven’t heard the rumors?”
He ran a hand through his messy spikes. “I hear a lot of things, but I don’t believe them.”
It was the last thing I wanted to do, but I figured he’d hear the not-so-true parts sooner or later. Hell, he might’ve already. So I told him about my homecoming date from hell.
Anger flashed in his hazel eyes, and when I’d finished, he sat back. “I’m glad Daemon did pummel the dick, but that’s kind of an extreme reaction for someone who’s just a ’friend.’”
“Daemon can be…”
“An ass**le,” Blake suggested.
“Yeah, that, but he’s kind of protective of…um, Dee’s friends.” I squeezed my fork, feeling all kinds of awkward. “And so he got a little mad over what Simon was saying. He’s really not that bad. Just takes a little bit to get used to.”
“Well, I can’t blame him for that, but he really is…protective of you. I thought he was going to break my hand for touching you at the party.”
Sliding the plate back to him, I rested my chin on my hand. I needed to tell him the truth. Soon. But I didn’t want to spoil dinner. I was being a total chicken, but I rationalized it was okay if I at least told him by the end of the evening. Heck, I wasn’t even sure what I was going to say. No, I’m not dating Daemon, but I can’t stop thinking about how we combust every time we’re near, so it’s probably best if you don’t get too close? I sighed. “Enough about Daemon. It must be hard loving surfing so much and being so far from a beach.”
“It is,” he agreed. A distant look crept into his eyes. “Surfing is probably the only thing that clears my mind. When I’m out there on the waves, I don’t think about anything. My brain is officially empty. It’s just the waves and me. It’s peaceful.”
“I can understand that.” Silence stretched out for a long moment. “It’s the same thing when I’m gardening or reading. It’s just me and what I’m doing, or the world I’m reading, and nothing else.”
“Sounds like you do it to escape.”
I didn’t respond because I hadn’t really thought of it that way, but now that he said it, I did use those things to escape. Discomfited, I idly separated the noodles on my plate into groups. “What about you? Are you trying to escape?”
Several seconds passed before he answered. “That’s the funny thing about trying to escape. You never really can. Maybe temporarily, but not completely.”
I nodded absently, struck by the depth of what he said. It was the truth. After I finished a book or potted a plant, Dad was still dead, my best friend was still an alien, and I was still attracted to Daemon.
Blake started talking about plans for Thanksgiving break next week. He’d be out of town for most of it, visiting family. I glanced up, my gaze sweeping the small restaurant. Warmth jolted down my spine.
Oh, holy hell to the no. I couldn’t believe it. This was not happening.