Bloodlust (6 page)

On the sofa—a shiny-slick, half-moon-shaped burgundy sofa—two couples were half undressed and making out. Neither of the girls was Dani, which was good. Jason wasn’t up for a second fight tonight.

Behind the sofa, a bikini-wrapped girl was stretched out on the floor, ingesting some vile-looking blue liquid through a funnel held by a guy who had the words “papi chulo” written on his naked chest in Magic Marker. Jason didn’t think bonging a drink that looked like it should be served with a little umbrella and some plastic seahorses was particularly advisable. Gladly, no Dani present.

He popped the top of the Mountain Dew and took a swig as he headed into the kitchen. The carbonation bubbles felt like bombs against the inside of his throat. It was as if Dominic’s fingernails had actually broken the skin and gouged out a layer of flesh.

Just like it would be back in Michigan, the kitchen was another party hot spot. A guy who looked as if he played actual—as opposed to virtual—football was doing push-ups with two girls sitting on his back. Another girl was counting the push-ups. A couple of guys had co-opted the granite top of the kitchen island and were mixing up a batch of brownies, with much controversy over exactly what went into them. And in the far corner of the kitchen, Jason’s friend Adam was talking to a girl from their history class, Carrie Smith.

Nice,
Jason thought. Carrie was a surfer girl. He’d spotted her with her board driving home one day. She kept her dark brown hair short, and she had pointy Jack Nicholson eyebrows—the girl version—which made her look kind of devilish, in a cute way. Jason thought Danielle would give the two of them her potential couple stamp of approval—if she was anywhere in sight. But she wasn’t.

From the way Adam was leaning in and the way Carrie was smiling, Jason figured he might be interrupting something, so he didn’t head over. Besides, he wanted to find his sister. He told himself he was worrying about nothing. Danielle had been to lots of parties without Jason playing chaperone. In fact, she was more of a party animal than he was. But that feeling of darkness that he’d gotten down on the beach hadn’t let up. It was probably just a side effect of getting half asphyxiated by crazy Dominic, but still….

Where was she? Jason exited the kitchen and passed by a spiral staircase. He didn’t even want to think about Dani being up in the bedroom territory. Instead, he veered through the first open door he came to—and there she was, playing pool with Van Dyke. Well, at that precise moment, she was actually perched on the edge of the table, flirting for all she was worth, but it came to the same thing.

Jason smiled. Dani had always been a hustler when it came to pool. She looked like a giggly girl who didn’t know how to hold a cue. But she played like a pro—she’d been learning from their dad since she was five.

Dani hadn’t noticed Jason’s arrival. Van Dyke, however, had. “Freeman!” he bellowed in greeting. “Your little sister is kicking my ass!”

“Well, you shouldn’t have told me girls can’t play,” Dani retorted. “You deserve what you get.”

“Harsh,” Van Dyke said, shaking his head and grinning.

Dani bumped him out of the way with her hip, then leaned over to line up her next shot. As she did, she glanced up at Jason.

He raised his eyebrows questioningly.

Dani laughed and answered his unspoken question. “I’m fine. I’m not drunk, and I can handle your friend here.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” Van Dyke mumbled.

Jason grinned. “Okay, then. Later.” He kind of wished Dani were hanging out with a guy her own age. But Van Dyke had been friends with Brad for years, and that made Jason think he was probably a decent guy. Besides, Danielle was clearly having fun, getting evidence that her life in DeVere Heights didn’t have to suck, and that was all good.

Back downstairs, Jason grabbed another Mountain Dew and headed out to the pool. Couples were making out at the edge, but he could still find space in the middle. He’d worn board shorts just in case. It
was
a beach party, after all, and they didn’t do euphemisms. Sienna’s teasing voice came back into his mind, and Jason smiled at the thought of her. He peeled off his T-shirt and got ready to dive into the pool.

“Oh, come on, that part’s no fun,” a girl called.

“Yeah, come over here,” another added.

Jason glanced over his shoulder and saw two girls in bikinis, one blond, the other Asian with glossy black hair, leaning on the little wall that separated the hot tub from the pool. Water from the hot tub flowed over the wall into the pool like a waterfall, making the girls’ long hair swirl about them mermaid-style. Hot.

“What?” Jason asked.

“The pool. It’s boring. The Jacuzzi is much more interesting,” the blond girl called.

Jason walked over to her. “Why is that?” he asked.

“Because there are bubbles,” the Asian mermaid replied. “And steam. And all sorts of things a regular pool doesn’t have.”

“Like me,” the blonde added.

“Hey, no trying to hog the new guy!” her friend protested.

Jason grinned. They were both cute, they were both flirting with him, and it was about time the party offered him something to think about besides Sienna. “Okay, you’ve convinced me,” he said, and eased himself into the hot tub to sit between the two girls. “I’m Jason.”

“We know,” the blond one told him. “I’m Cindy, and this is Jin.”

The other girl smiled.

“How is it possible that every single person in school knows my name?” Jason asked.

“You’re a celebrity,” Jin replied. “We don’t get new boys around here very often.”

“Plus, you’re a cute new boy,” Cindy added. “We
really
don’t get those! You were seen moving in and the texts and calls started immediately.”

Jason laughed. “On behalf of Luke Archer, former new kid, I’m offended.”

Jin wrinkled her nose. “Oh, Luke. He’s such the loner. He’s no fun. At least you hold a conversation. I’m not even sure Luke knows how to talk.”

“Well, talking is just one of my many talents,” Jason answered with a laugh. “So, are you two seniors? Wait, you can’t be. All the senior girls are off the market,” he said, thinking of Sienna, even though hanging with Cindy and Jin was supposed to be blocking the Sienna thoughts.

“We’re lowly juniors,” Cindy told him.

After hanging out a while with Cindy and Jin, including some dancing, caught on film by a grinning Adam, Jason was pretty much done. He also knew their mom probably would stay up worrying until he and Dani appeared at home. He pushed himself to his feet and headed for the pool room to see if Dani was still there.

“Are you the one who’s been hogging all the Dew?” a familiar voice called as he passed the coolers near the front door.

“Does four qualify me?” he asked Sienna.

“That makes you an ‘Absolut’ piggy,” she answered with a smile, but her voice lacked its usual animation, and Jason noticed that her face was pale.

Jason gave the soda can in his hand a test shake. “I’d say there’s a good third left. With maybe only five percent of that being backwash. Want it?”

“Ewww! But even if it was fifteen percent saliva, I’d have to say yes,” Sienna answered. She took the can and drained it in one long swallow. “Ahhhh. That should keep me going a little longer. True, Pepsi One has more caffeine, but what’s caffeine without sugar?”

“Uh, I’m trying to come up with something clever here, but failing,” Jason told her. “Milk without the chocolate? Tonic without the vodka?”

“Better stop now before you hurt yourself.” Sienna’s smile took the sting out of her words. “Did Dani have fun tonight?”

“Looked like good times were being had last time I saw her,” Jason answered. “She was—”

He broke off as Brad rushed through the open back door. “Somebody puked in the hot tub. I’ve gotta see if the pool guy will come out tonight to drain and refill. My mom will have a convulsion if she doesn’t get her morning soak. Something about pores and heat and toxins. Honestly, I don’t listen.”

“So I guess this means you won’t be able to take me home anytime soon,” Sienna said. “I’m wiped.”

“Are you sure you’re not just dehydrated?” Brad asked. “Want me to find you something to drink?”

Sienna shook her head. “I just want to crash.”

“I can take you home,” Jason offered. “I was about to head out anyway.”

Sienna nodded gratefully.

“Great, thanks,” Brad said, rushing off again.

“I’ll go get Dani and her friend and we’re out of here,” Jason told Sienna. For a second he allowed himself to think about what it would be like if his sister and Kristy weren’t at the party. If he’d been handed this chance when he could have been alone with Sienna. There was something about being with a girl in a car—it was like the two of you were in your own private world.

Which is why you should be glad to have Dani and Kristy along,
Jason told himself.
You definitely need chaperones. And what about that whole meeting-other-girls thing? What happened to that plan?
He had to admit he hadn’t been all that aggressive about his other-fish-in-the-sea fishing. He hadn’t even asked for phone numbers from Jin or Cindy. Neither mermaid had been nearly as intriguing as Sienna. Which is why chaperones equaled good and safe. He might attempt something brainless, disloyal, and all things bad without someone to watch him.

Jason headed for the pool room, but a familiar giggle stopped him in his tracks. Dani was in the living room, on the big burgundy sofa. He could hear her laughing, but the back of the sofa came up too high for him to see her. A brief stab of worry went through him; was she drunk? Was she with a guy? Van Dyke? He stepped around the couch and stopped in surprise. His sister was practically convulsed with laughter, all trace of the pouty, self-pitying Dani gone. Kristy sat next to her, also laughing her butt off.

“What’s so funny?” he asked, going over to them.

Danielle took one look at his face and laughed even harder. She looked a little pale, and her gray eyes were kind of spacey. “I don’t know,” she answered, her giggles finally subsiding slightly. “I’m just happy.”

“Oh.” Jason wasn’t sure what to say to that. He settled for, “So you had a good time?”

Kristy snorted, which got Dani laughing again. Kristy joined in.

“O-kay,” Jason said. “You two have obviously had enough to drink.”

“I’m not drunk,” Dani protested, slurring her words. “I only had one beer.”

“Yeah, I’m not drunk. I mean, she’s not drunk,” Kristy agreed. She sat back on the couch and gazed at Jason with a huge grin on her face.

“Need some help?” Sienna asked, coming up from behind him.

“I’ve got two drunk girls who say they’re not drunk,” Jason told her. “Any help at all would be appreciated.”

She smiled at him, then reached out her hands toward Dani. “Up,” she ordered cheerfully. Dani giggled and grabbed her hands. Sienna hauled her to her feet and steered her over to Jason. Then she pulled Kristy up and led her toward the front door, holding on to her arm.

Jason kept hold of Dani, too. Not that she seemed likely to fall over—he just got the feeling she might wander off toward something funny or pretty or shiny if she got the chance. If he didn’t know her better, he’d think she was stoned.

He and Sienna got both girls outside and into the tiny backseat of the VW. Sienna took the passenger seat, and Jason climbed in beside her.
Eyes on the road,
he told himself as he pulled out of the driveway. The last thing he should be doing was looking at Sienna’s long legs stretched out next to him.
Remember, there are other people in the car.

Except, after he dropped off one of his chaperones—Kristy—the other one fell into a nothing-

Just keep your hands on the wheel and your mind on the road,
Jason instructed himself firmly.

“What are you thinking about?” Sienna asked, ruining the plan.

He couldn’t exactly tell her the truth. But what was he supposed to say? “Dominic,” he said, surprising himself.

“Dominic?” Sienna repeated. “Why?”

“He was really strong,” Jason replied thoughtfully. “Like, freakishly strong.”

Sienna leaned her head back against the headrest and gazed at him with a tired smile. “Dominic was just drunk,” she assured him. “Some people have anger issues that come out when they drink.”

Yeah, but they don’t usually get stronger,
Jason thought.

Sienna sighed and turned to look out the window.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Mmm,” she murmured. “Just tired.”

He took the hint. She didn’t feel like talking. Which made it a tiny bit easier to concentrate on the road—until he pulled into Sienna’s driveway.

Her house wasn’t in the Spanish mission style, like a lot of the places in Malibu. It was spare and clean, with no ornamentation, almost like something carved out of one piece of stone. It managed to distract him from Sienna’s presence for, precisely, no time at all.

“Thanks for the ride,” she said, putting her hand on the door handle.

“Sure,” Jason replied. Better to say too little than too much.

“And sorry if I was sort of a bitch to you before—down on the beach, after the fight. It’s just that seeing you getting mauled by Dominic…” Sienna’s voice trailed off.

“I know,” Jason said thoughtfully. “You were scared for me.”

She didn’t answer. Instead, she leaned toward Jason and kissed him on the mouth.

Then she pulled away and jumped out of the car before he could respond. Jason was left staring after her as she ran up to the house, his whole body tingling from that one electric moment of contact.

Why the hell did she do that?
he asked himself. And why the hell did she stop?

“G
et up, Dani,” Jason called the next morning. He winced as he lifted his hand to knock on her door. Somehow Dominic had managed to bruise his arm as well as his throat during the fight the night before.