Page 6 of Devil on the Lake

Daniel nods, then shakes his head. His eyes flick to Dante, then return to me, gleaming with intensity. “I’m just waiting for her to get here.”

“Cool. Have a great time.” Dante clamps his long fingers around my wrist and tugs me along.

“Dude. Fucking rude, much?” I complain as we leave poor Daniel in the dust and head for Lowell.

“Don’t care.” He tosses a distrustful glance back at Daniel. “I’m not spending my night with that guy waxing poetic about the moonlight gleaming off his crush’s porcelain skin or whatever.”

“You have very deep-seated aggression issues towards literature. And what’s up with you not letting me breathe without you around?”

His shoulder hitches and he shoots me a flat look. “It’s a party.Thedamn party of our lifetimes. Mischief Night and Halloween only fall on a weekend every six years.” He pulls up short before we reach his friends and whirls on me, angling his head close so his words are only for me. “Don’t you want to make that a weekend to remember?”

“Yeah, it’s cool, I guess.”

“Come on.” His warm breath ghosts over my lips. “You love this shit. I know you do. Bet you’re wet as fuck because we’re in the middle of the woods at night.”

Air rushes out of me. Ignoring his lewd remark, I put space between us to cool off my overheated face. “If I hang out with you, will you give me my ID back and stop being weird?”

The corner of his mouth kicks up and he walks backwards. “If it gets you to party with us, your ID is mine until Sunday morning.”

My shoulders sag. “Fine. Whatever.”

I’ll just steal it from him later.

“Here, man.” Lowell trades bottles with Dante. “Broke into my old man’s liquor cabinet and raided it for the good stuff.”

“Top shelf. Nice.”

Dante swigs the dark liquor and hums in pleasure. The sound is downright sinful.

“Spooky girl.” Lowell eyes me, checking out my legs. He offers a mint tin full of little white tabs while Dante is distracted talking to their friend Ryder. “You want a party favor?”

“No.”

“Relax, it’s just E. Makes the lights look nice.”

“I said no.”

Movement from the corner of my eye catches my attention and I meet Daniel’s eye. He’s a few feet away, leering at us.

“Bro, you come on way too strong.” Ryder helps himself to a tab and puts it on his tongue for me to see it perched next to the silver ball piercing. He swallows it down and winks at me. “The lady refused. My bad—” He circles me with a cocky grin, fingers caressing my arm. “—the gothic queen. This look would be a great addition to my portfolio. The bone structure of your cheeks is chef’s kiss. Will you let me draw you sometime?”

“Ryder,” Dante grits out. He moves between us, putting me at his back while he squares off with his friend. “Lay off. She’s not interested in your classic come on.”

My stomach dips. Why is he acting jealous?

While he’s busy, I slip away from them all. I won’t leave without my ID, but I can’t spend the whole party with him. Between the notes, how he treats me at school, and the suspicious change of heart tonight, it’s too much. Something is up with him.

“Oh, hey!” Luna jogs to catch up with my purposeful strides. “Have you gone down to the lake yet? It’s so pretty tonight with the full moon. Want to walk there with me?”

As long as it’s far away from Dante. “Sure.”

“I really am sorry about the dolls.” Luna bites her lip.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m used to it. People in this town are pretty quick to judge based on appearance. They don’t like anything different from what they consider normal.”

Her gaze falls to the ground. “Yeah. My parents are the first to tell me that. Dad judged my mom way before he got to know her. They’ve always taught me not to do that. I feel like you don’t get close to anyone at school. If you ever want to hang, or even just want someone to listen, I’m always around, okay?”

A tiny glow of warmth swells in my chest. I offer her my first genuine smile of the night. “Thanks.”

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