Kat, youre not helping. Im being serious. This ishard for me.
I rolled my eyes. Of course apologizing would only be hard for him. Okay. Im sorry. Want to sit? I have cake. Cake should sweeten your disposition a little.
Nothing can soften me. Im as cold as ice.
Hardy-har-har. Its made of ice cream and has the yummy crunchy middle part?
Okay, that may work. The crunchy middle part is my favorite.
I fought the grin that tugged at my lips. Okay, then come on.
We went to the kitchen in awkward silence. I grabbed a hair tie off the counter and tugged my hair back. How big of a piece do you want? I pulled the cake out of the freezer.
How big of a piece are you willing to part with?
As big as you want. I grabbed a knife out of the drawer and sized up what I thought would be a suitable piece for him.
Bigger. He hovered over my shoulder.
I moved the knife to the side.
Even bigger.
I rolled my eyes and moved it a couple of inches.
Perfect.
The knife refused to cooperate when I tried to cut off half of the cake. It got an inch down and wouldnt go any farther. I hate cutting these freaking things.
Let me try. He reached around and our hands brushed as he took the knife from me. Electricity danced over my skin. You need to run it under hot water. Then it cuts right through it.
Stepping aside, I let him take over. He did the same thing Will had done earlier, and the knife went through the cake. The button-down shirt he wore pulled across his shoulders as he leaned over and ran the knife under hot water again before cutting a smaller piece.
See? Perfect, he commented.
Chewing on my lip, I grabbed two clean plates and placed them on the counter. Do you want something to drink?
Milk is always good if youve got some?
Getting the milk, I poured two tall glasses. I grabbed the silverware and motioned toward the living room.
You dont want to eat in here?
No. I dont like eating at the dinner table. It seems so formal.
Daemon shrugged and followed me into the living room. I sat down on the couch, and he took a seat on the other end. I poked the cake, not really hungry at all. My stomach was full of knots.
He cleared his throat. Nice roses. Brad?
Blake. I hadnt thought a second about Blake since Daemon showed up in my hallway. Yeah, theyre nice, arent they?
Whatever, he grumbled. So why are you spending tonight by yourself? Its your birthday.
I scowled at his blatant reminder. My mom had to work, and I just didnt feel like doing anything. I poked at the cake some more. Its not as bad as it sounds. Ive spent many of them by myself.
I guess you probably would have preferred I hadnt stopped by then, huh?
Looking up, I watched as he stabbed his cake with his fork until he parted the ice cream away from the cookie middle. He took a bite of the crunchy part. I really did come to apologize for last night.
I sat the plate aside and pulled my legs up underneath me. Daemon
Wait. He held up his fork. Okay?
Sitting back, I nodded.
He glanced down at his plate, his jaw clenching. Nothing happened between Ash and me last night. She was justmessing with you. And I know thats hard to believe, but Im sorry if ithurt you. Daemon drew in a deep breath. Contrary to what you think about me, I dont jump from girl to girl. I do like you, so I wouldnt mess around with Ash. And I havent. Ash and I havent done anything for months , before you even came around.
There was a peculiar fluttering in my chest. Never in my life had I had such a hard time figuring myself out as I did when it came to Daemon. I understood books. I did not understand boysespecially alien boys.
Things are complicated between Ash and me. Weve known each other since we came here. Everyone expects us to be together. Especially the elders, since were coming of age. Time to start making babies. He shuddered.
It was official. I liked the sound of that even less the second time around.
Even Ash expects us to be together, Daemon went on, stabbing his cake. And all of this? I know its hurting her. I never wanted to do that. He paused, struggling for the right thing to say. I never wanted to hurt you , either. And Ive done both of those things.
Two bright red spots blossomed across his cheeks. I ran my hand over my leg and looked away. I didnt want him to know that I saw him blush.
I cant be with her the way she wantsthe way she deserves . He stopped, exhaling. Anyway, I wanted to apologize for last night.
So do I. I bit my lip. I shouldnt have snapped at you like I did. I guess the whole window thing freaked me out.
What you did last night with the windows. Well, that was one hell of a display of power that you have no control of. He glanced at me, lashes lowered. Ive been thinking about it. And I keep thinking of Dawson and Bethany. That evening they returned from hiking, and he was covered in blood. I think she may have gotten hurt.
And he healed her?
Yep. I dont know more. Theythey died a couple of days later. I guess its like two photons splitting, separate but the same. That explains how we can sense each other. He shrugged. I dont know. Its a theory.