the game against the other school and the dance. Tickets were selling left and right. Lesa and Carissa also had dates. Neither of them had dresses, from the sound of yesterday’s lunch conversation.
I, on the other hand, didn’t have a date.
They tried to convince me yesterday that going stag wasn’t the height of social disaster, and I knew that, but standing along the wall all night or playing third wheel wasn’t my cup of tea.
Everybody knew each other in a school as small as PHS. Couples had been together their entire high school stint. Friends were shacking up with one another to go to the dance. And I, having no real connection to anyone, seemed dateless. Total killer for the self-esteem.
After spending math class ignoring Daemon’s attempts to tick me off, Simon appeared by my locker while I switched out one heavy, useless book for another heavy, useless book.
“Hey,” I said, smiling. I hoped Daemon was nowhere nearby, because God only knew what he’d do. “You looked like you fell asleep in class today.”
He laughed. “I kind of did. And I was dreaming about formulations. It was all very frightening.”
I laughed, shoving the textbook into my backpack as I nudged my locker door shut with my hip. “I can imagine.”
Simon wasn’t bad looking. Not if you had a thing for big, burly jocks who looked like they tossed bales of hay during the summer. He had arms the size of tree trunks and a charming-enough smile. Pretty blue eyes, too, and when he smiled, the skin around those baby blues crinkled. But his eyes weren’t green, his lips not poetic.
“I’ve never seen you at any of our games,” he said, his skin doing that crinkly thing. “Not a fan of football?”
Simon was the starting fullback or lineback. Honestly, I had no clue. “I went to one,” I told him. And I’d left at halftime with Dee. Both of us had been bored out of our minds. “Football isn’t my thing.” I expected him to leave after that because football was like a religion around here, but he leaned against the locker next to me, folding his arms over his chest. “So, I was wondering if you had plans next Saturday.” My eyes went up to the red and black banner above his head. Next Saturday was homecoming. My throat dried like a cornered animal, and my eyes got all buggy. “No. No plans at all.”
“You’re not going to the dance?” he asked.
Do I say I don’t have a date or does that sound way too lame? I settled on shaking my head.
Simon looked relieved. “Would you like to go? Together?”
My first thought was to say no. I barely knew the guy, and I thought he’d been dating one of the limber cheerleaders, and I wasn’t interested in him. But going with Simon didn’t mean I was going to marry him. Or even date him. I would be going to a dance with him. And a horrible thought popped in my head. I couldn’t wait to see Daemon’s face when he learned I had a date.
I told him yes, and we exchanged numbers and that was that. I was going to the homecoming dance, and now I also needed a dress. Mom would be thrilled by this. At lunch, I broke the news to Dee, thinking she’d be excited.
“Simon asked you to the dance?” Dee’s mouth had dropped open. She even stopped eating for five whole seconds. “Did you say yes?”
I nodded. “Yeah, so what?”
“Simon has a reputation,” Carissa said, eyeing me over the rim of her classes. “Like he wants to be the PHS bicycle.”
“He wants to give everyone a ride,” Lesa clarified with a shrug. “But he is cute. I like his arms.”
“Just because he has a reputation, that doesn’t mean I’m going to add to it.” I poked my salad around my plate. Meatloaf had been on the menu today. So was not braving that. “And he was kind of cute when he asked.”
“Him and Kimmy broke up a week or so ago,” Carissa said. “Supposedly, he was cheating on her with Tammy.”
Ah, Kimmy. That was the limber cheerleader’s name. “Does he have a thing for girls’ names that end in Y?”
Lesa snorted. “Aw, just like you. It’s a match made in heaven.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Well, whatever. You got a date. Now all of us can shop for dresses this weekend.” Carissa clapped her hands. “Oh! And maybe we can carpool together. Sounds fun, right? How about you Dee?”
“Huh?” Dee blinked. Carissa repeated her question, and Dee nodded with a faraway look in her eyes. “I’m sure Adam would be okay with that.”
We made plans to go to Cumberland on Saturday, and Lesa and Carissa were practically bouncing in their seats. Dee didn’t look excited. She didn’t even look happy. And strangest of all, she didn’t finish her lunch or eat half of mine.
…
When I left school that day, I had to walk all the way to the back of the parking lot since I’d been late that morning. The lot lined up with the track and football field, which was empty. It was a total bitch to park there. Cold wind whipped down from the mountains, blasting that entire area of the gravel lot.
“Katy!”
I turned around, recognizing the deep voice. My heart leapt in my throat. I didn’t feel the wind anymore. Squeezing the strap on my bag, I waited for him to catch up to me.
Daemon stopped in front of me and reached out, fixing the twisted strap on my bag. “You know how to pick a parking spot.”
Caught off guard by the gesture, it took me a moment to respond. “I know.”
We made it to my car, and while I threw my bag in the backseat, Daemon waited beside me, his hands shoved into his pockets. There was a dark look to his gaze, a tightness to his lips.
My stomach dropped a little. “Is everything okay? It’s not…?”
“No.” Daemon ran a hand through his hair. “Nothing…uh, cosmic-related.”
“Good.” I breathed a sigh of relief, leaning against the car next to him. “You scared me there for a second.”
He twisted toward me, and like that, there were only a few inches between us. “I hear you’re going with Simon Cutters to the dance.”
I pushed back a strand of hair that blew across my face. The wind knocked it right back. “News travels fast.”
“Yeah, it does around here.” He reached out again, but this time he caught the piece of hair and tucked it back behind my ear. His knuckles brushed against my cheek. The slight touch brought that weird tingle, along with a shiver that had nothing to do with the cold. “I thought you didn’t like him.”
“He’s not bad,” I said. Kids were rolling out on the track, stretching and getting ready to run. “He’s kind of nice, and he asked me.”
“You’re going with him because he asked you?”
Isn’t that how things worked? I nodded. He didn’t immediately respond while I fiddled with my car keys. “Are you going to the dance?”
Daemon inched closer, his knee brushing my thigh. “Does it matter?”
I bit back a string of curses. “Not really.”
His body angled toward me. “You shouldn’t go with someone just because he asked you.”
I glanced down at the keys, wondering if I could stab someone in the eyeball with them. “I don’t see why this has anything to do with you.”
“You’re my sister’s friend, and therefore it has something to do with me.”
I gaped at him. “That is the worst logic I have ever heard.” I started around the car, but stopped at the hood. “Shouldn’t you be more concerned with what Ash is doing?”
“Ash and I aren’t together.”
A stupid part of me liked the idea of them not being together. Shaking my head, I went for the driver’s door. “Save your breath, Daemon. I’m not backing out because you have a problem with it.” Cursing under his breath, he followed me. “I don’t want to see you get into any kind of trouble.”
“What kind of trouble?” I yanked open my car door.
