Page 30 of Demon Kissed
Without waiting for him to respond, I push the door open and storm into the hallway. I can hear Zolroth directly behind me, so close that his breath caresses the hairs on my neck.
Stupid demons. Stupid, asshole demons. Stupid, asshole, sexy demons. Stupid—
I pause my internal rant when I see William standing at the end of the hallway. Most of the students have already left, eager to beat the warning bell, but not my William. He’s way too cocky to allow something like a school bell to dictate where he goes and when.
His eyes are comically wide as he glances between me and Zolroth and then the closet behind us. His face darkens drastically, and I can almost hear the wheels churning in his head as he pieces together a conclusion—the wrong one.
Without a word to either of us, he stomps in the opposite direction, his hands bunched into fists. I watch him go with my heart lodged in my throat, wishing I could, I dunno, call out to him. It almost appeared as if he was jealous. Which is impossible, right? A guy would have to like a girl to be jealous.
And I would definitely know if William liked me.
Zolroth flashes me a cocky grin.
“See?” he says smugly, and I resist the urge to punch him in his perfect teeth.
“You’re an insufferable asshole,” I huff.
“That may be, but this insufferable asshole will get you what your heart desires.” He moves to stand beside me, and despite the hallways being empty of students, wraps an arm around my shoulders, tugging me into his chest. “Even if what your heart desires is a prep-school, wannabe Disney prince with a horrible haircut and a dick the size of my pinkie. But to each their own.”
11
By the timeI get to academic decathlon club after school, my safe haven, I feel like I’ve been transported into a parallel universe.
This day was even crazier than yesterday, and I almost got arrested yesterday.
Janie St. James and her crew tried to sit by me at lunch. I’ve been invited to a barbecue and a party downtown at someone’s uncle’s condo. I don’t know where, but I’ve been assured there will be coke. As incocaine!
What the hell is going on?
Did these peoplenotsee my mommy drop me off this morning? Do they not know that my life regularly consists of burning spaghetti as I cook dinner and simultaneously try to play Transformer Killer Robots vs. Godzilla with Adam?
I’m not cool enough for cocaine parties.
But Zolroth already winked and agreed we’d go.
And I don’t even want to think about P.E. and how asshole Mr. D made me dance with every guybutWilliam. Or how I bolted past the counselor’s office when Van stepped out and mentioned I had an appointment to the entire hallway. Which I did not!
Of course, when I’d run, fucking Mr. D had popped up out of nowhere and taken it upon himself to catch me and bodily drag me back. And I mean bodily. His hard chest had pressed against mine, and he’d slid me down the front of him like I was a stripper and he was the pole.
The session with Van had made me sweat like I was in a sauna. He’d asked me all kinds of questions about my preferences, telling me he wanted to make sure William and I were compatible.
“What’s your favorite meal?” Van had sat back in his chair, folding his hands behind his head as he quizzed me about my dating favorites.
I’d just made shit up. I don’t have dating favorites because, newsflash, I don’t date.
But I’d spat out answers like I was a sprinkler on automatic swivel.
“Italian food.”
“Orange sherbet.”
“Walks in the park.”
Until he’d asked about oral sex preferences.
Then I’d run a second time.
If Mr. D had been waiting, I would have kicked him in the sac to get away.
