“I have a strange idea that I should test this out.”
“Test what?” My eyes dropped to his lips. I felt myself sway.
“I think you would like to know.” He moved closer, his hand sliding up my arm and resting carefully at the nape of my neck. “You have beautiful hair.”
“What?”
“Nothing.” His fingers spread along the back of my neck, slowly weaving themselves through strands of loose hair.
His deft fingers moved against the base of my skull. My lips parted, and I waited.
He dropped his hand and reached out again as I stood there, eager—maybe too eager—to discover if he felt the same unexpected ache. If he was any bit as affected as I was.
Instead, Daemon plucked up a bottled water off the counter.
I slumped against the counter. What the holy hell.
His eyes danced with laughter as he turned back to the table. “What was it that you were asking, Kitten?”
“Stop calling me that.”
He took a drink. “Did Dee pick up a movie or something?”
I nodded. “Yeah, she mentioned it earlier in class.”
“Well, come on. Let’s go watch a movie.”
I pushed away from the counter and followed behind him. I lingered by the door as he held the DVD up and frowned. “Whose idea was this?”
I shrugged and then watched his brows rise as he read the blurb on the back. “Whatever,” he muttered.
Clearing my throat, I took one step into the room “Look, Daemon, you don’t have to sit and watch a movie with me. If you have other things you want to do, I’m sure I will be fine.”
He glanced up from the movie and then shrugged. “I have nothing to do.”
“Okay.” I was still unsure. Imagining him enjoying a movie night with me was more farfetched than the idea of aliens living among humans.
I dragged myself across the room and sat on the couch as he fiddled with the movie. After sliding the disc in, he approached the couch and sat down on the far end. Then the television came on, and I would swear he’d left the remote by the T.V. It was probably a good thing I didn’t have his power. I’d be beyond lazy.
He glanced at me, and I immediately faced the television.
“If you fall asleep during this movie, you’ll owe me.”
I turned to him with a frown. “Why?”
Daemon spared me a wolfish smile. “Just watch the movie.”
I made a face, but remained quiet. Daemon shifted. The couch dipped and the distance between us grew smaller. I held my breath until I had to come up for air. He didn’t seem to notice as the open credits rolled over the screen.
I stared at his profile and wondered for the hundredth time what he could be thinking and, like always, I came up empty. Out of frustration, I turned back to the movie and decided the strange pull I felt for him had to be my imagination. It couldn’t be anything more.
Tense and unused to what I was feeling, I counted the minutes until Dee returned.
Chapter 20
Daemon was surprisingly subdued in math on Wednesday. The inevitable pen poke only came once, and that was to remind me the only plans I had after school were with him.
Yeah, whatever, like I could forget.
In bio, like the day before, Mr. Garrison’s keen stare kept going back to me. I knew he saw the trace, and I had no clue what he was thinking. Daemon hadn’t mentioned if he and Dee had said anything to the other Luxen. Throughout the day before, several teachers had given me weird looks. Today, one of the coaches I passed on the way to the cafeteria stopped in the middle of the hall and looked me up and down. Either he was a perv or an alien. Or both, which would be a winning combination.
While standing in the lunch line, I did everything in my power to not look toward the back of the cafeteria. Staring at the food, I stepped forward and nearly bounced off the back of a walking mountain.
Simon Cutters turned around and then looked down. He smiled when he saw me. “Hey there, Katy.”
I handed my money to the checkout lady, and turned to Simon. “Sorry about that.”
“No problem.” He waited for me at the end of the line, his plate full of food. He ate almost as much as Dee. “Did you have a clue what Monroe was talking about in trig? I swear it was a different language.” Considering I’d spent most of the class ignoring the boy behind me…“I have no clue. I’m hoping someone took notes.” I shifted my plate. “We have a test next week, right?”
Simon nodded. “Right before the game, too. I think Monroe does that—”
Someone reached in to grab a drink, forcing us to take a step back from one another, which wasn’t necessary since anyone could’ve easily walked around us. When I inhaled the crisp scent, I realized who it was.
Daemon grabbed a carton of milk off the cart and flipped it. Passing me an unreadable glance, he turned to Simon. Both of them were the same height, but Simon was much broader. Still, Daemon gave off a more badass vibe.
“How you doing, Simon?” he asked, flipping the carton again.
Blinking as he backed up, Simon cleared his throat. “Good—doing good. Heading over to my—uh, my table.” He looked at me nervously. “See you in class, Katy.”
Frowning, I watched Simon trip over his own feet to get to his table. I turned back to Daemon. “Okay?”
“Are you planning on sitting with Simon?” he asked, crossing one arm over his chest.
“What? No.” I laughed. “I was planning on sitting with Lesa and Carissa.”
“So am I,” Dee chimed in, coming out of nowhere. She balanced a plate in one hand and two drinks in the other. “That is if you think I’d be welcomed?”