Hot Stranger took an unfaltering step closer to me. His eyes were a piercing black that cut me to the core, and when he narrowed them, I suppressed the urge to shudder.
“This is not a joke,” he stated. “This is a matter of life and death. If you’ve seen the book, tell me now.”
At that moment, I didn’t know what came over me. I couldn’t blame the drinks because I was stone-cold sober. Maybe it was because I hadn’t been laid in months. Maybe it was because Hot Stranger was the hottest stranger I’d ever seen, and it was my birthday, dammit. Was it wrong to want a reward?
“I’ll tell you in exchange for a kiss,” I offered.
He stared at me flatly. “Do not try to make a fool of me,” he warned. “You people turn intimate moments into a stupid game.”
You people?
My initial confusion turned to grim understanding. Hot Stranger wasn’t an idiot. He knew this party was teeming with frat boys, and he knew how homophobic they could be.
I’d been out for so long that it was jarring to be accused of second-hand homophobia. But Hot Stranger didn’t know me.
“I’m not like those guys,” I stated. “I’m gay, all right? They all know, too. It’s whatever.”
Something flickered in Hot Stranger’s gaze.
But now I was too embarrassed to keep up my charade. I turned around, ready to abandon the whole party.
“Forget it. Sorry I asked, it was stupid of—”
Hot Stranger’s hand landed on my shoulder. He whirled me around.
Before I knew what was happening, his soft lips landed on mine.
He smelled good. He tasted good.
My mind went blank. Blanker than my English exam that I got an F on.Thatblank.
The kiss was over too soon. As sparks of warmth danced in my chest, Hot Stranger pulled away and stared at me expectantly.
“The black book,” he prompted.
I felt like I’d been ripped out of a spell. It took a second for my brain to kick back in.
“Kitchen,” I said woozily. “Gonna summon a demon with it.”
“What?” he roared.
Hot Stranger shouldered past me like a rampaging bull. I didn’t know why he was so bent out of shape. Drunk guys did stupid things all the time, like screwing around with Ouija boards or other occult bullshit. Why was Hot Stranger acting like it was real?
Suddenly, I got a weird feeling in my gut. I raced into the kitchen after him.
Jared stood on top of the kitchen island counter. It had been cleared except for a crude summoning circle drawn in permanent marker. He—or more likely, his parents—were going to regret that tomorrow.
On one hand, Jared thrust the black book into the air. It was open to a specific page. From a distance, the tiny text was too small for me to read. But that wasn’t what made my heart sink to the pit of my gut.
In Jared’s other hand, he held a tall glass full of water and a blue betta fish. A living one.
“In order to perform the ritual,” Jared announced, slightly slurring his words, “we need a sacrifice.”
He held the cup higher. It was dangerously close to falling out of his drunken grip. My stomach clenched as the water sloshed with the fish still inside.
“Are you ready, boys?” Jared called.
The guys whooped, stoked and eager.
