Page 38 of Blood Moon
Annoyed, and half-ready for a challenge, I finished the drink and crushed the cup into his chest. Before I could say anything else, we were both being pulled by Stevie from the kitchen to the living room where a circle was forming.
In the center, on a paisley rug, was an empty liquor bottle. It was already spinning when I finally understood that we’d been summoned to play seven minutes in heaven.
I sighed, pinched the bridge of my nose and tipped my head back as I mumbled a string of awful words beneath my breath. The first person to spin was a Black girl with a short curly fro and a sparkling headband. When the bottle stopped spinning, it landed on a person with bleach blonde hair across from her.
They held each other’s gaze before squealing and being escorted to a closet that was located off the living room by the entryway. Once shut inside, the person guarding the door shouted for them to set a timer.
While we waited, the circle passed around a bottle of cheap wine, and I wondered who provided all the liquor. It was hard to distinguish, but one thing I knew for sure was that the circle grew with more people by the minute, making the space feel smaller and smaller.
I tried to ignore the fact that Julian was a few spots away, talking to someone with chestnut hair and mesmerized eyes. She fawned over him, grabbing a lock of his hair and twirling it between her fingers. When she laughed at something he said, I felt a pang of jealousy—unsure why because he wasn’t even funny. But the way he focused on her pulled her into some kind of reverie. Her face warmed with shades of scarlet, and I squeezed my hands into fists, the nails digging into my palms as I speculated what those golden eyes would look like if he possessed a heart that could fall in love.
Prick,I thought as I glared. He’d saved my life, but at what cost? For him to torture me with useless apologies and inconveniences. For just a second, I had been concerned by his absence, and now that he wouldn’t stop popping up, I regretted my prior feelings. I wanted him to just go away.
I heaved a frustrated sigh, and it was my own breath that betrayed me. Julian noticed my scowling, and he bit down on his bottom lip before smirking. A beautiful and treacherous sight. As if he knew I was aggravated by him. As if he knew he had an advantage. Then he turned his attention back to the girl that was transfixed by him, and I rolled my eyes.Dingleberry.
Suddenly, seven minutes felt like two seconds. Before I knew it, the two that had gone into the closet were bursting out with laughter and swollen lips, stammering back to the circle, and I was up next.
All eyes were on me as I held the glass bottle in my hand. My breathing came slow while I watched it spin round and round. It eased after a few seconds, landing in front of none other than Julian.
The universe found my hatred funny, apparently. Becauseif it had been listening,then it would understand that this was a very bad idea … unless, more cleverly than me, it had conspired a plan, a new opportunity to use this as a way to dig for more information.
My mouth went slack, and Julian shook his head nonchalantly as he rose to his feet. His back was already to me as he shifted past the crowd to the closet.
Damn. Even if this was a chance to get answers, I could barely gather myself. I grabbed a water bottle from the person beside me and took a swig, trying my best to stall. I didn’t want to be alone with Julian, not really. With him, it was always the same story; he’d leave me feeling empty and breathless.
But the crowd was already cheering me on, and someone I didn’t know helped me to my feet.Fine. Fine.If these were the cards that fate had dealt, I’d go along with the charade—get the intel I needed—but not without complaining the entire time. As expected, I groaned reluctantly while I was shoved away, and before I exited the living room, I swore I saw Seven staring in my direction.
The person in front of the coat closet reminded me to set a timer on my phone, and then I was inside. Alone, in the dark, withhim.
“We don’t have to do this, you know,” Julian said while I set the timer and turned on my flashlight. The bright light made me feel more at ease.
I clicked my tongue. “That’s a bit rich coming from you.”
“I’m just saying … you have a choice.”
“Hmm.” I twisted my lips. “It sounds like you’re afraid of me.”
Julian chuckled, and it actually offended me. “Fear?Is that what you think this is?”
I had to tip my head back to truly see him. His face was illuminated, but around him were meandering shadows. They hovered like rain clouds. “Sure … why else would you want me to leave this place so badly? You say it’s because it’s not safe for me to be around you … but what if it’s not safe foryouto be aroundme?”
He pressed his lips thin, holding back a grin or a laugh, though he wasn’t very good at it. Watching him now, I could sense that something had changed about Julian, though I still didn’t understand what that something was.
“Sure,” he said softly, dragging his fingers through that hair of his. “But aren’t you supposed to be upset with me?” he reminded. “You never accepted my apology, and it’s feeling like this is a waste of breath for you.”
I glowered, observing how his gaze drifted from my eyes, to my mouth, down to the hammering pulse in my neck. It filled me with a warmth that tugged at my center, tickled my thighs. It was tormenting. I didn’t like how he tried to use my words against me.
I inhaled, tried to will that warmth away. “Yes,” I said, hoping his eyes would meet mine again because, every second they trailed me, my heart raced harder. It was this treacherous feeling, like being caught by the ankle and pulled into murky waters. I needed to cut myself loose, release my body from the confused state it was in.
“You’re kind of a dick, Julian. An apology doesn’t resolve that.”
At that, he fixed his eyes to mine, and while I’d assumed it would make this easier, it didn’t.Focus,I reminded myself. I needed to be on my A game. “That’s fair,” he said, tilting his head to the side.
“Of course it’s fair. It’s alsotrue.You see how I did that? I told the truth.”
“Yeah, I see how you did that. I’m taking notes as we speak.”
I sneered, crossing my arms as I leaned against the wall. This place was so small … and he was so incredibly close. But that was the point, wasn’t it? “So why aren’t you afraid of me, anyway? You don’t know what I’m capable of.”
