CRUEL SUMMER

Chapter 21 - Kian

I had stalked Pix.

Okay – well, not exactly stalked. More like, spied on.

If she hadn't pulled the pizza parlor switch, I wouldn't have had to drive around looking for her stupid jalopy. When I finally saw it parked at the Milk Way, I turned my highly-recognizable corvette into Elizabeth Walker's old seashell driveway and tucked it in behind her house.

The Walker house had supposedly been abandoned since Elizabeth's death in the 1850s, though it was obviously maintained, probably by the historic society.

I strolled back to the packed Milk Way and blended into the tree line, the shadows being oh-so-helpful. I eavesdropped on my sneaky Pixie through the faded paint and open windows, and heard MJ talking about some idiot's party.

Then Pix named the street the party was on, at which point I headed back to my car and straight for the specified area. Ten minutes later I had located the house thanks to the 40 or so cars parked haphazardly everywhere.

The look on Pix's face when she realized I was also at the party, was priceless, especially with MJ seated on her lap.

Officially invited in by Teddy's mom, I was able to enter the house, thank god. As a soul thief, I couldn't enter without an invite by the owner, and I was damn sure Teddy didn't hold the deed to the ultra-chic beach house.

I followed Pix into the house and was besieged by the scent of stupidity and horniness. Teddy was a big guy, but I was taller and quickly found myself in the spotlight. Within minutes I'd lost sight of Pix and Apron Boy, and was surrounded by a clan of extremely confident girls with extremely small swimsuits.

"Excuse me, ladies," I said, finally managing to squeeze my way out of their wandering hands and pleading protests to stay. I wove my way past the sliding bodies, looking for Pix. Even with my supernatural hearing, the blaring music and crush of dancing bodies derailed my ability to locate her.

As it turned out, Mrs. Bencourt was more like Mrs. Robinson, because she looked to be having a great time with a large array of teenaged guys.

After working my way through another throng of girls (who managed to cop a feel), I spied Pix's dark, violet streaked hair heading through the glass sliders. I followed, finally catching up with her and MJ, who were standing out on the pool deck, staring at the ocean beyond and the white sand beach.

"Think you could wait for me next time?" I asked, a little pissed I got dumped. Again. I never remembered girls being this slippery, although remembering back to my human days wasn't so easy after a century and a half.

MJ looked at me. "Why are you even here? You don't belong here."

"Why? Because I'm no longer in high school?"

Understatement of the year.

"Because you aren't a local," said Pix, turning toward me, her hands on her hips. "What are you, staying at a hotel?"

"Nope. I'm officially a 'local' as I bought my own place." I winked at her and her bowed mouth fell open in shock.

"You what?" asked MJ, his voice almost shrill. "What the frick do you mean you bought a place?"

I moved slowly, pretending to pull out my wallet and count cash. "I. Bought. A. Place. With. MONEY."

MJ muttered a few curses and stormed off toward the beach where a volleyball game was getting underway.

Pix was still staring at me. She blinked a few times. "You weren't kidding around, were you? You really are staying?"

I nodded, leaning against the railing that overhung the beach. "I said I was and I'm a man of my word. Are you mad?"

The way she looked at me, with such stunned innocence, sucked the wind out of my sails. She cleared her throat.

"I, uh, I'm just floored. I guess I'm not used to people, you know, following through on what they say they're going to do. Or what they promise."

"Perhaps the people you know suck?"

She laughed. "Or maybe I just bring out the worst in people."

"I doubt that, Pix. I think you bring out the best in me, and that's the truth. It's not a line and not a devious way to lure you to my bed."

She snorted.

"I'm serious!" I demanded with a laugh, standing up straighter and forcing her to step back. "I would like a chance to be a friend. You make me laugh and you challenge the hell out of me. It drives me insane."

She offered a crooked smile. "I may be just a bit competitive."

"Ya think?" I laughed, reaching out to tuck her windblown hair behind her shoulder, but she dodged my hand, and a moment of panic flushed her face.

Surprised at her reaction, I quickly dropped my hand. "Your hair was wrapping around your neck. I was just going to move it for you."

She looked a little mortified for a second, but recovered as she wrangled her hair behind her hoodie. "I can deal with my own hair, thanks."

I raised my hands in surrender. "Understood," I replied, but I found her reaction really odd. Not more than a day ago, we'd been dancing together, our bodies pressed to one another. But just now, it was almost as if, for a split second, she thought I was going to . . . hit her.

A cold fear started sinking through my gut.

I studied her carefully as she looked out over the beach at the volleyball game and to where MJ had parked himself in the sand by the sidelines. "Ana . . ."

She cut me off by flicking her head toward the white ball that was sailing back and forth over the net. "They never let MJ play – they think he's too tall and too skinny to play volleyball. They think he's just a big goofball and would be a liability."

She turned to me, her blue eyes blazing in the light from the bonfire below. "MJ and I aren't liabilities. We can hold our own, but no one ever gives us a chance to prove ourselves."

I leaned down on the railing studying the three people currently batting the ball over the net, recognizing one of them as Teddy. The other two I'd seen inside the house – another football player, who I heard a girl call Jesse, and a curvaceous brunette with an ice queen attitude.

"So how about we combine forces and kick the crap out of some volleyball players? Or can you not really play the game, Pix?"

A slow smile spread on her lips. "Oh, I can play, Key. I can totally play . . . and the carnage will be brutal."