Milayna (25 page)

Stupid, stupid, stupid. I should’ve been more careful after Lily and Shayla.

“Thanks for bringing me home. It was a lot of fun being out with the group.” I tried to sound normal. My throat was so tight, I was sure my voice sounded strained. I wished he’d stayed in the car instead of walking me to the door. It wasn’t like we were on a date.

“Maybe we could do it again?”

“Yeah. The group definitely needs to get out and do fun stuff together. Stuff that doesn’t include demons,” I said with a nervous laugh.

“Well, yeah. But that’s not what I meant.” He skimmed his hand up my arm to my neck. I was in too much shock to really follow along with what was happening. It wasn’t until his hand curved around the back of my neck and he leaned in, saying, “I was thinking next time it could be just me and you.”

Oh please, don’t kiss me.

I was never very lucky when it came to guys. Jake’s lips touched mine. I suppose it was a nice kiss. It was soft and sweet. But, it wasn’t Chay. His were perfect. The kind of kisses that made my heart fall into my stomach and my toes curl—a kiss that created warmth in all the right places. They threw me off-balance in a way that I never wanted to end. The kind in romantic movies when the gorgeous guy kisses the girl, the music swells in the background, and you think, ‘Yeah, that doesn’t happen in real life.’ But when I kissed Chay, it was as though it did happen. I heard music in my head. Our own symphony. Okay, totally too corny. But true.

Yeah, Jake’s wasn’t like that.

Jake rested his hand on my waist and started to deepen the kiss when I took a step back. “Um, that’s nice, but I’m with Chay. I really need to go…” I motioned to the house.

There was no way in Hell, or, preferably, out of it, we’d go on a date together.

“Yeah. Okay.” He frowned. “I’ll see you Monday. That’s if we don’t have any trouble over the weekend.”

I laughed. It came out too loud and shrill, and I cringed. “Yeah, we don’t want any trouble.”

“Right. ‘Bye, Milayna.” He lifted his hand in wave and walked away, watching me as he went.

He’s gonna change. Maybe he has already and that’s why I felt so weird around him.

“‘Bye.” I made myself stand still for seven seconds. I ticked them off in my head. Okay, I was going for ten seconds, but I didn’t make it. I wanted away from him.

I all but fell into the house. I tried not to slam the door closed—I forced myself to push it closed gently, but as soon as it latched, I threw the deadbolts. Letting my purse fall to the floor, I leaned my forehead against the door, sucking in a deep breath to calm my nerves.

My hands were still shaking. My entire insides felt like they were shaking. I was James Bond’s martini: ‘shaken, not stirred.’ Of course, that was said in the delicious Scottish Sean Connery’s voice, because everyone knew he was the best James Bond. Yeah, I totally watched too many of those old movies with my dad.

“Milayna.” I flinched at the sound of my dad’s voice coming from the living room. “How’d it go?”

“Uh, okay, I guess.” My face was still buried against the wood door.

I’m never moving from this spot. As long as I stand right here forever, my life can’t get any weirder and I can’t screw it up any more than I have already.

“Did you have fun?”

Jumping, I slapped my hand over my mouth to hold in a squeal. I turned and let out a breath, dropping my hand. “Chay. What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be slaving over your project?”

He slipped his fingers in his pockets and shrugged. “I should be working on my project, but there was something more important I needed to do.”

We seemed to move in concert. He slid his hand under my hair and cupped the back of my neck, and I leaned forward and fisted my hands in his hair, pulling him to me. I tilted my face up to him, and he lowered his lips to mine. I lost myself in his slow, tender kiss. Fingers of warm electricity made its way through my body, sparking off the sides of my veins like the stars of sparklers, and I moaned into Chay’s mouth.

When he broke our kiss—because, hey, we had to breathe sometime—I said, “Chay, not that I’m not thrilled you’re here, because I am. Beyond thrilled, actually. But, why are you here?”

“Look in the backyard.” He jerked his head toward the back window.

I rubbed my temples where an ugly migraine was building. “Ugh, again? How many of them? Just the two?”

“Nope. Six.”

“Six. Wonderful,” I sighed. I wasn’t planning to deal with the little red goblins when I got home. “What do they want?”

“You. I’ve been sitting out there with your dad for an hour. They ignored us. They’re running around like normal, digging up flowerbeds, swinging, trying to climb trees. Someone should really explain that their legs are too short for that.” He chuckled.

“Let me change clothes, and we’ll go see what they want.”

“Can I come?” Chay winked.

I stopped halfway up the stairs and looked down at him with a smirk. “My dad likes you, but I think that would definitely put you on his shit-list.”

“You’re probably right. I’ll just stand here and enjoy the view.”

That doesn’t make me feel self-conscious at all.

I hurried up the stairs, stripped out of what I was wearing, and into my favorite faded jeans and a sweatshirt.

“‘Kay. Let’s go see what the imps want tonight,” I said when I got back downstairs.

“I like you like this better.” Chay looked me up and down.

“Like what?”

“Faded jeans, your favorite sweatshirt.” He wrapped a finger around one of my belt loops and pulled me to him.

“How do you know it’s my favorite sweatshirt?” I laid my hands on his chest.

“You wear it a lot on weekends.” He kissed the hollow behind my ear. I curled my fingers into him and sighed his name.

“Mm. Wait, how do you know?” I pulled back and looked at him.

“I see you. I live behind you, you know.”

“Hmm, I don’t know if that’s sweet or creepy.” I raised an eyebrow.

He kissed the tip of my nose. “Sweet, definitely sweet.”

I laughed. “Okay, whatever you say. Creeper.”

“The only thing I don’t like is this.” He reached behind me, took the clip out of my hair, and ran his fingers gently through the wavy strands. “You should wear it down.”

My voice stalled. I let my gaze roam over his face. I drank in his features, his odd-colored eyes that looked more green just then than blue, his strong jaw that had a day’s worth of stubble, and full lips—the bottom just a little fuller than the top, giving him a natural pout that was too damn sexy to be legal and begged to be nibbled on, his dark hair cut short on the sides but left longer on the top, giving him that natural bed head look that was hotter than hell itself. I reached up and smoothed back a lock of hair that had fallen over his forehead. “Okay,” I whispered when I found my voice.

Chay tilted his head and looked at me. “What?”

I shook my head. “Nothing. I’m just glad you’re here.”

“Me too.” Turning me around, he threw me over his shoulder. I giggled as he carried me into the backyard. Chay put me on the edge of the deck and sat next to me, his arm wrapped around my shoulder.

“Milayna’s here,” one of the hobgoblins cheered, smiling wide.

“Yeah, I’m here. What are you doing here?” I rolled my eyes and buried my face in the curve of Chay’s neck. I was so over the pipsqueak duo.

“Did you have fun tonight?”

Burgundy hoodie. Black boots.

“I had an okay time, why?”

“Because Azazel said to tell you—”

I jumped off the deck and kicked the goblin. He rolled head over butt in the air, cussing the entire time. I turned to Chay. “I need to talk to you.” When he didn’t move, I grabbed the sleeve of his suede jacket. “Now.”

“What’s going on?” he asked when we were in the house.

“I was going to text you when I got home. But then you were here and you started kissing me, and you really know how to use your lips.” I reached out and ran my fingers over his bottom lip. “I mean, geez. How’s a girl supposed to think?” His teeth bit into his full bottom lip to hold back a grin, and my eyes stalled on the sight. “Really? Like that’s helping.”

“Sorry.” He laughed and wrapped his arms around my waist so tightly a whisper couldn’t have squeezed between us. “What’s up?”

“Jake is changing. Or maybe not. I don’t know for sure.” I put my hand on top of my head. “I just had some flashes of a vision tonight, and I think the person in them was Jake. But, then, I’m not sure.” I flung my hand from my head out to my side. “I think they could be someone else. But part of the vision was definitely about Jake. But the other part wasn’t. I think. I don’t know.” I dropped my arm and my hand slapped against my thigh.

“Milayna, slow down.” Chay cupped my face. “Start at the beginning.”

“Okay. I had a vision of a gray hand and a burgundy Abercrombie hoodie and black boots with a silver buckle. You know, like motorcycle boots? So I know someone is going to change. Jake was wearing a burgundy Abercrombie hoodie—”

He threw his hands in the air. “Damn it, Milayna!”

I put my hand on my hip. “Let me finish. But he wasn’t wearing black boots. He had white Nikes on. So I don’t know if it’s him or not. I’m not sure what the vision meant. If it was about Jake or someone else. If it was about someone turning… who is it? The person in the hoodie or the boots?” I pinched the bridge of my nose between my thumb and forefinger. “I can’t focus. There’s too much floating in and out of my brain.”

I grabbed Chay’s arm. “Oh, I almost forgot. When we got here, he asked me the oddest questions. Like if I ever thought of changing or if I would change if it meant saving my family. So I asked him if he’d changed and he said, ‘Hell no.’ When I asked why he was asking me if I would change, he said he was just ‘keeping tabs’ on everyone.” I let out a breath. It felt good to tell someone else. The weight of the visions were crushing.

Chay’s face turned hard. “I knew we couldn’t trust everyone in the group. But Jake?” Chay shook his head. “He’s one of our strongest. I just never thought he’d switch sides. You’re sure?”

“No. I mean, I’m sure that someone is switching, but I don’t know who.”

“Shit.” Chay rubbed his hand up and down the back of his head.

“Yeah. Come on. Let’s go see what the goblins want before they tear the whole yard up.” I pulled him by the arm toward the back door.

“Okay, guys,” I said when I walked into the backyard. “Let’s play.”

They hopped up and down, clapping their fat little hands together. “Yay, Milayna’s playing. Azazel will be happy.”

“No, I’m not playing with him. I’m playing with you. What’s your game?”

“He said to tell you that he hopes you had a good time tonight,” Scarface said.

My stomach sank.

Chay threaded our fingers together. “Tell him I did, thanks for asking.” I smiled at the goblin.

“And Azazel wants you to know that the two of them will be good workers.” The friendly goblin smiled at me. He squeezed his hands together so tightly that the tips of his fingers swelled and looked like little red balls.

“What two?”

“Nope, that’s no fun! You’ll have to wait and see,” the goblin sang before he popped out of sight, followed by his red, pipsqueak posse.

Two weeks, three days until my birthday.

My phone rang at eight o’clock Saturday morning. I pulled my comforter over my head. “Go away,” I mumbled into my pillowcase.

It could be Chay.

I snatched the phone off the table. “Hello?” My voice was still raspy from sleep.

“Good morning, beautiful.” His voice sounded like decadent chocolate drizzled over plump, ripe strawberries. So very sexy.

“You’re up already? You know, we actually get to sleep in on Saturday mornings.” I stretched in the warmth of my bed.

“I want to see you.”

“When?” I tried to hold back a yawn.

“Now.”

I laughed. “Now? Are you kidding?” The phone disconnected, and the doorbell rang.

Pulling my hair into a ponytail, I bounded down the stairs. I opened the door and there he stood. Tall, ripped, and every girl’s dream of handsome.

And he’s mine, mine, mine, I sang in my head.

“Chay,” I said, laughing. “What are you doing here?” I tilted my head to the side and touched my fingers to my parted lips. Oh my. He sure beat the hell out of sleeping in. There was a feeling of weightlessness in my chest, a fluttering deep in my belly, and I knew I was in so deep with him.

“I told you, I want to see you.”

“Are you in your pajamas?” My breath hitched in my throat thinking of him sleeping… in bed.

“Sweats and a T-shirt… yeah. So are you.” He grinned in a lazy way that sent my heart galloping.

Ohmigosh. Hormone overload. He slept in those clothes. And his hair is still messy and he hasn’t shaved and…

“Who’s at the door?” my dad called.

“Chay,” I hollered over my shoulder, my voice a little breathier than usual.

“Is he having breakfast with us?”

Turning to Chay, I licked my lips and tried to smooth a stray lock of hair behind my ear. “Um, do you want to have breakfast with us? We have breakfast as a family every Saturday.”

Chay looked at the ground and shook his head slowly. “I don’t want to crash your cereal party.”

I laughed. “He wouldn’t have asked if he didn’t mean for you to stay.”

He looked at me through his impossibly long, black lashes. “And you?”

“I always want you,” I whispered. “Always.”

His lips twitched and he gazed into my eyes. “Then I’d love to have breakfast with you, Milayna.”

Geez, he looks way too good for this early in the morning.

“Okay, I’ll be right back.” I started to close the door and then remembered he was still standing on the porch. Grinning, I opened it and rolled my eyes. “Come in.”

I started toward the stairs when he caught my hand, “Don’t get dressed. I’d feel awkward sitting at your table in my pajamas.”

“I won’t. I just gotta, you know… ” I made brushing motions in front of my mouth. “Teeth. Dragon breath and all.” I ran upstairs to my bathroom, brushed my teeth, splashed water on my face, and ran wet fingers through my ratted hair, leaving it down like he liked. I walked to the stairs and smiled when I heard him and my dad talking in the kitchen. I wasn’t the only one who liked him.

“Milayna?” my mom called quietly from her bedroom down the hall. I turned. “Your guy’s here?” She tilted her head toward the stairs, a gleam in her eye.

“Yeah.” I couldn’t help the smile that stretched across my face.

She smiled back and winked. “I guess we’d better get breakfast going.”

“Oh, it’s my week to cook.” I rolled my lip between my teeth.

“I’ll do it. You two go do whatever it is people do this early in the morning.” She stifled a large yawn.

“No, that’s okay. I want to.” I hurried downstairs.

“Hey.” Chay held his hand out to me.

“Hey.” I slid my hand in his and he pulled me to him, kissing my temple. His lips were soft and warm, and I had to concentrate on what I was going to say. “Uh, I forgot this is my week to cook, so we can talk in here.” I pulled him behind me to the kitchen.

“Wherever is great. I could help.”

I turned to him. “You want to?”

“Sure, what are we cooking?” Looking around the kitchen, he picked up an egg-shaped timer. He turned it over in his hands like he’d never seen one before.

“Well, what do you like?”

“You.”

I bit the corner of my bottom lip to hold back my smile. I lost the war—I looked up at him and smiled. “I like you too.” I bumped my hip into his. “But, what would you like for breakfast?”

“I like anything.”

“Banana pancakes?”

“You know how to make banana pancakes? I knew I was fallin’ for you for a reason.”

I think my heart just stopped. He just said that out loud with my dad in the room!

I cleared my throat. “Ah, well, you haven’t tasted them yet.”

Chay and I cooked breakfast together. Banana pancakes and fruit with fresh-squeezed orange juice. He was in charge of the fruit and orange juice. He didn’t know the first thing about cooking, so I made the pancakes.

By the end of breakfast, he’d sufficiently charmed my parents into thinking he’d hung the moon. When he asked if he could borrow me for the day, they didn’t hesitate.

“Sure,” my mom said. “Just have her back by tomorrow morning.”

Chay stopped with his glass of orange juice halfway to his mouth and stared at my mom with a dumbfounded look. I snorted a laugh and nearly choked on a piece of cantaloupe.

My mom chuckled. “Midnight,” she clarified.

Chay sat his glass down and let out a big breath. “Right. Of course.” He nodded. “I’ll pick you up in an hour, Milayna?” At my nod, Chay rinsed his plate at the sink before walking toward the door. “Thank you for breakfast, Mr. and Mrs. Jackson.”

“Anytime. See ya, Chay,” my dad said, waving over his shoulder when Chay walked by.

“See ya, Ben.”

“Later, dude,” Ben said around a mouthful of pancake and fist bumped Chay.

***

Exactly an hour later, his yellow Camaro pulled in the driveway. He walked to the porch; I opened the door before he rang the bell.

“I would’ve come out if you’d honked,” I said.

“Honked? My dad would kill me. You don’t honk for a lady, you walk to the door.”

“I think I like your dad.” I reached up to push a curl behind my ear. Chay’s hand beat me. He twisted the red strands around his fingers before sliding them behind my ear. My breath stalled in my lungs. Every time he touched me, I was afraid to breathe, to move, to speak. I didn’t want to do anything that would break the spell—make him stop. He let the strands sift through his fingers as he trailed the tips of his fingers down the side of my neck, across my shoulder, and down my arm until he reached my hand and threaded his fingers with mine.

“So where to?” He looked at me, his face relaxed and his expression open. It was something I rarely saw on him and I would’ve gone to the moon and back just to keep that look on his face.

“Me? You asked me out, remember?”

“Okay, I pick whatever you pick.” He grinned.

“I hate that. Tell me what you want to do and I’ll tell you what I want to do. And then we’ll pick.”

He turned to me and took a step, forcing me to take a step backward. I felt the smooth metal of the car behind me. Chay splayed his hands on each side of me, boxing me in. He leaned in close, but he didn’t touch me. I could feel the warmth of his body, smell his scent, and remember his taste. “I don’t care what we do, Milayna. I just want to spend time with you.” He shifted his weight and wrapped an arm around my waist.

There goes my heart again—doing all kinds of funny little tricks.

“We have all day, right?”

“Every second.” He nodded.

“The zoo.”

“Sounds great.” Chay pushed off the car and opened my door for me.

“You’re really okay with the zoo?” I asked once we were in the car, afraid he’d think it was boring or childish.

“Yeah, I haven’t been since I was a kid. It’ll be fun.”

We drove to the zoo without one quiet second between us. We talked about everything, except who—what—we were. We didn’t bring up the subject of demi-angels or demi-demons. There was no mention of demons or hobgoblins. Azazel’s name was never uttered. It was glorious.

We were at the big cat exhibit when I sucked in a breath and doubled over, dropping the slushie Chay had just bought me. The red liquid spewed across the pavement like the iced blood running through my veins.

“C’mon.” He guided me to a bench. I sat down, leaned forward, and wrapped my arms around my knees. “A vision?”

I nodded.

“Why didn’t I see this coming?” Chay said through clenched teeth. “You’re in a lot of pain?” He looked miserable. “What can I do?”

“Nothing,” I whispered. I wasn’t even sure I said it loud enough that he could hear. “When the vision is over, it’ll go away.”

“The pain never gets better. I thought it’d lessen as you got used to them.”

“No, it’s not better.” I pressed the thumb and index finger of one hand against my eyes to ward off the pounding growing in my head. It felt as if a person were inside my head, banging against my skull trying to break through. The other hand gripped the bench so hard my fingernails bent. My breath hissed through my clenched teeth as my insides squeezed together like they were in a vise, then stretched out of shape, all the while they burned and burned. I could almost taste the char in the back of my throat.

I tried to keep my breathing even and focus on the pictures that started to scroll in front of my eyes. Deep breath… in and out… in and out…

A little girl. A stuffed bear. Falling.

“A little girl with a stuffed bear.”

Chay blew out a breath. He put both hands on his head and turned in a circle. “You just described half the kids around us.”

“That’s all I see,” I snapped. Anger buzzed through my veins like a hive of angry hornets. The vision was only giving me glimpses of the problem. I needed the whole picture. My heart galloped in my chest. I didn’t know how much time I had. I couldn’t fail again. I couldn’t.

Come on, come on! I need more. Give me more!

“I’m sorry,” he said, rubbing my back.

I concentrated on the vision, trying to block out everything around me and just see the images in my mind and listen to the sounds.

Pink shorts. Pigtails. The bear is falling.

I focused harder, rocking back and forth on the bench, my hands pressed to my eyes.

A tiger. The stuffed bear. Falling.

“Oh!” I dropped my hands and sat up. “She’s wearing pink shorts and pigtails. Her father has on a blue shirt and jeans. They’re either by the tiger exhibit or they’re on their way.”

“I see them.”

“Stop them! Stop them now! They can’t get to that exhibit.” I stood and bounced on the balls of my feet, my hands on the top of my head. My insides quivered like the nasty, green Jell-O they served at school.

“How?”

I can’t think. I can’t think of a way. The vision, it won’t stop playing. It won’t let me think!

I held my head. “I don’t care! Just stop them or that father is going to fall into the pit with the tiger. She’s going to drop her bear into the grating between the rock fence and the drop-off. He’s going to try to climb over to get it, and he’ll fall.”

“I know what to do.” Chay ran to a nearby kiosk gift shop and bought two stuffed bears. He ran back to me and grabbed my hand. We made it to the tiger exhibit just as the little girl dropped her bear over the fence. She started to cry. The father let go of her hand and braced himself to jump the fence when Chay stepped in.

“Sir, please don’t do that. It’s dangerous, and you have a lot of kids watching. You wouldn’t want one of them trying it.” He knelt down in front of the little girl. “We have two bears just like yours. How about you take one of our bears, and we’ll let the zoo keepers have your bear as a surprise?”

She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “Okay.” She took the bear Chay held out to her.