Whatever. I thought you didnt like me?
My hand curled in the air. There was no breaking his hold. Youre right. I dont like you.
Anger flared in his eyes. Youre lyingblushing cheeks and all.
The worst case of verbal diarrhea happened. You were kissing me a few days ago and now you were having fun with Ash? Is this what you normally do? Jump from one girl to the next?
No. He dropped my arm. Thats not what I do. I dont .
Yeah, I hate to break it to you, but you are doing it. And so had I. What was I doing? I couldnt be mad at him when I had done the same thing, but I was. It was ridiculous. God, I am being such a whiny girl. Just forget I said anything. You can do whatever you want and I dont have any right
Daemon cursed, dropping my arm. Okay. You have no idea what was going on between Ash and me. We were only talking. She was messing with you, Kat.
Whatever. I whirled around, walking again. Im not jealous. I dont care if you and Ash make alien babies together. I dont care. And honestly, if it werent for this stupid connection, you wouldnt even enjoy kissing me. You probably already dont.
Daemon was suddenly in front of me. I took an involuntary step back. Do you think I didnt enjoy kissing you? That I havent thought about it every second since then? And I know you have. Just admit it.
In the pit of my stomach, tight coils thrummed. What is the point of this?
Have you?
Oh, for craps sake, yes, I have. I do! Do you want me to write it down for you? Send you an e-mail or a text? Will that make you feel better?
Daemon arched a brow. You dont need to be sarcastic.
And you dont need to be here. Ash is waiting for you.
He cocked his head to the side in exasperation. Do you really think Im going to go to her?
Uh, yeah, I do.
Kat. He shook his head, his voice a soft denial.
It doesnt matter. I took a deep breath. Can we just forget this? Please?
Daemon smoothed a finger over his brow. I cant forget this and neither can you.
Frustrated, I turned on my heel and stalked toward my house. I half expected him to stop me, but after a few successful steps away I realized he wasnt going to. I had to fight turning around to see if he still stood there. Id made enough of a fool of myself tonight. Kicked a hissy fit over Ash and Daemon, stormed out of the party, and nearly decapitated Simon. All of this before midnight.
Awesome.
Chapter 10
Turning eighteen wasnt as exciting as Id thought it would be when I was a kid, but some pretty cool stuff happened. I made it most of the day not worrying over what had happened last night. Blake called to chat, and I received a shiny new laptop already set up with everything installed.
Before I did anything else, I logged into my blog and wrote a quick Im Back! post. A huge chunk of my life that had been missing returned. Mom had to pull me away from the laptop pretty quickly, though. I spent the rest of the day traveling a great distance with Mom to meet Will at the nearest Olive Garden.
Will was the touchy, feely sort.
I wasnt sure how to feel. Not once did he take his hand off my mothers during dinner. It was cute, and he was charming and handsome, but it was just weird to see her with another dude. Weirder than Id thought it would be. But he did give me a gift card to the local bookstore. Bonus points there.
The customary ice-cream cake was different this year. Will joined us at home for it.
Here, he said, taking the knife from Mom. If you run it under hot water, its easier to use.
Mom beamed up at him like hed just discovered the cure for cancer. They chatted while I sat at the table, trying not to roll my eyes.
Will placed a slice in front of me. Thank you, I said.
He smiled. No problem. Im just glad youre completely recovered from the flu. No one wants to be sick on their birthday.
I second that, Mom said.
She didnt take her eyes off him until it was near the time for her to get ready for her shift in Winchester. Will remained in the kitchen with me, finishing off the last of his cake while the silence between us grew to an awkward level of epic proportions.
Have you been enjoying your birthday so far? he asked, dangling the fork from his long fingers.
I swallowed the last of the crunchy part, which was the only section of the ice-cream cake Id eat. Yeah, its been really nice.
Will picked up his glass, tipping it toward me. Well, lets toast to many more in the future, he said. I picked up mine, clanging it off his. He smiled, crinkling the skin around his eyes. I plan on being here to share them with you and your mother.
Unsure of how to feel about him being here a year from now, I set my glass down and bit my lip. Part of me wanted to be happy for Mom, but the other part felt like I was betraying Dad.
Will cleared his throat, inclining his head to the side as he watched me. Amusement flickered in his eyes that were so pale, they were almost gray like mine. I know you probably dont like the sound of that. Kellie told me how close you were to your father. I can understand your reluctance to having me around.