“It matches mine.”
My head shot up as he moved the collar of his shirt, revealing a gold necklace that said SCOUT, with a small bat attached. Suddenly, I felt like complete putty. I started to falter,and he caught me.
“You okay?” He chuckled. I nodded and stood straighter, taking a deep breath.
“Yeah. Desi, I love this. I love you.” I turned to let him put it on me. His name rested at the base of my neck. When I turned back to him, I leaned up and planted a kiss on his lips.
“I thought you would.” He looked down as if I hadembarrassed him with how I reacted to his gift. He shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked on his shoes. “You ready?”
I nodded,and he pushed the button to unlock the car. I hugged him once more before I hopped into the car. He moved much slower, climbing in and buckling himself silently. He glanced at me, grinning like an idiot and holding the necklace. He smiled, but then his face turned serious.
“Ohio to New Jersey is almost seven hours. I don’t want to stop.”
“I already went to the bathroom,and I packed blood.” I raised the backpack in my lap,and the recyclable metal bottles filled with blood clanked together inside. “Come on, let’s have a good trip. I’ll let you have control of the radio.” I promised.
He grinned and put out his hand. I dug into my bag and pulled out a cinnamon ball, handing it to him. He popped it into his mouth, flashed a smile, and reached for the phone in his pocket. He connected it to his car, and a moment later,we were pulling out of the parking lot whileToo Hot For Teacherblared in our ears.
I loved his music.
I pulled out my sketchpad and doodled as I bobbed my head and sang to the playlist filled with Guns N’ Roses, Van Halen, and plenty of Iron Maiden.
Desi drove in mostly silence, not relaxing even an iota the entire time we drove. It was a little unnerving. Despite trying to get him to loosen up and get as excited as I was about our vacation, he was still tense.
“It’s not like you’re missing anything.” I tried to offer him,but he responded by tightening his grip on the wheel.
“That’s not the point. I just don’t think this is a good idea.”
“How so? I’ve got you here with me, and Corrine already promised she wouldn’t try to kill me anymore. There’s no reason to be scared.”
His jaw tensed. “I’m not scared. I’m…” he paused,and I looked up from my cartoon doodle. His tongue flicked over his lips,and he continued. “I’m worried about myself. It’s a guy thing. I change when I’m around them. I turn into an asshole.”
I blinked and raised my eyebrows. “More than you are already?”
He scowled. “Yes. And I don’t want you to feel like I’m neglecting you or that I’ve changed. I’m going to try to be conscious of it, but it’s just the environment. Tully and Dante like to party,and they party hard.”
“And you think I can’t hang?” I crossed my arms over my chest. “I can party just as hard as the next guy.”
“Really? Is that why you’ve spent the last few years as an assistant manager for a movie theater?” He side-eyed me,and I could almost hear the rest of that unspoken sentence.Nerd.
“I’m responsible. But I’m still fun. Do you think you’d have more fun if I weren’t there?”
He didn’t respond, which in itself was a response.
“Wow. Okay,” I sat up straighter in my seat. “I’ll show you that I can hang just as much as the rest of your little gang.” I put up air quotes at the end, which I knew would annoy him. It did.
“Don’t call us—” he huffed,and then I saw his eyes roll while still focusing on the road. “Fine. You want to play and party with us, by all means. But I’ve told you before that you shouldn’t trust any of us.”
I waved my hands at him. “Yes, I know. The Seven Sins are bad. Yes, even you. I’m a big girl. I can hold my own. By the end of the week,you’ll be groveling at my feet, begging me to go back to the nerdy girl you came with.”
He shook his head and laughed. His shoulders finally relaxed,and he smiled for the first time in what felt like days. “I admire the enthusiasm. It’s sure to be an eventful week.”
I grinned. “Yes. And then we can return back home and continue on with our regularlyscheduled programming.”
“Which is?”
“Me finding a new job, applying for art schools. Then once I get in somewhere,I need to start looking for a place to stay. Not every school letsvampires stay on campus.”
“Whoa, hold up,” Desi took his hand off the wheel and put it up in the air. “What do you mean, look for a place to stay? You’ve got a place. You live with me.”
