A Demon's Kiss (Young Adult Romance) (8 page)

CHAPTER 10

I kind of had a tongue wrestling session with Logan Ryan this afternoon. I don’t even know how it happened. I kept telling him, “Slow down,” and he kept murmuring, “But I like you so much.” And I liked his kisses “so much,” (
so
much!) and hearing that he liked me “so much” was, you know, nice. And the kissing got my mind off Gage and demons. So it was productive. And important.

And hot.

Okay, too hot. I had to send him home.

It was funny, though. ‘Cause the whole time I dated Seth I thought kissing was over-rated. I didn’t get its enormous appeal. I mean, it was fun, sort of. But sloppy and messy. And I got a slight rash around my mouth. It didn’t exactly leave me clamoring for more.

But suddenly kissing took on a whole new meaning.

First there was Gage with his sweet, tender kisses, kisses I never wanted to end. Then Logan with his fire-works. Kissing—it was awesome.

I went to work that night on a high. But I quickly crashed to a major low when Chloe Reece walked in. I had to help her and two of her friends try on every dress in the store.

“You go to our school, don’t you?” Chloe asked, as I brought yet another dress to her fitting room.

I had classes with her ever since freshman year. And last semester I had three with her—PE, Drivers ed., and Spanish—so her question kind of bugged me.

“Yeah, I go to your school.”

“Hmm,” she said, having already lost interest. “Can you get me this in a size four?”

As I was leaving the fitting room, I heard Chloe tell her friends, “I have to look gorgeous for the dance—I’m going to make Logan drool.”

Hearing that made my stomach knot. I stood frozen at the door, unable to move.

“Did he die when you told him you were going to the dance with Austin?” Amber West asked.

“Logan? Are you kidding? He was
relieved
.” Chloe sighed. “He hates school dances. But I’m going to drop by his house before Austin picks me up—to give him his sweater back or something. I have to come up with a good excuse. Anyway, I’m going to look so hot, he’ll beg me to ditch Austin and go to the dance with him. And you know what I’m going to say?”

“Yes, yes I’ll be your love slave?” Amber suggested.

“No. I’m going to say, ‘Sorry loser, you had your chance.’”

“Right.” Amber didn’t sound convinced.

“No. I mean it,” Chloe said. “Austin is so in love with me—he treats me the way I deserve to be treated. Logan doesn’t deserve me.”

I stopped eavesdropping and went to get Chloe a size four, but I felt sick. She didn’t know Logan was going to the dance? What kind of game was he playing? I really, truly didn’t want to be part of a scene. But this dance thing was an ugly scene just waiting to happen.

What was Logan doing to me?

I wanted to go home and hide under my covers. I didn’t want to have to deal with this stuff. And it really sucked to have to keep going into that dressing room. Every time I went in, my heart sunk a little deeper.

This time Chloe was talking about some sports-awards banquet Logan was taking her to tomorrow night. Tomorrow night! He had just been making out with me this afternoon, and tomorrow he was taking Chloe to his awards banquet? What a jerk!

When I got home from work, I was tired, and angry. Seeing Logan sitting on my front porch didn’t make me feel any better. If anything, it made me madder. Did he come to stir his evil brew?

“Hi,” he said with a friendly smile.

I gritted my teeth. “Hi.”

He widened his eyes, obviously surprised by my bad mood. We hadn’t exactly parted this afternoon on bad terms.

“I—brought you something.” He handed me a wrapped gift. It was heavy. Really heavy.

I scowled at it. What’s this? A pay off for making out with him?—or for helping him with some cruel, twisted mind game he was playing on Chloe?...and me?

I opened the gift. Then just stared. It was a brand new laptop computer. Good pay off. “Wow. Thanks.”

“Well, your other computer—it’s pretty old.”

“Yeah. Look, I’m tired,” I said, feeling confused.

“Okay, I’ll let you go. But I came for something else, too.”

I gritted my teeth again. “Yeah? What?”

Did he think he could just come over whenever he felt like it? He could buy me gifts to butter me up, have some no-strings-attached kisses, then run off to award banquets with his girlfriend?

He looked unsure. “Well, I have this award banquet thing tomorrow …”

“And you’re taking your girlfriend. I heard.”

“Well...I’d
like
her to be my girlfriend.”

“I’m pretty sure she already thinks she is.”

Logan looked confused. “Are we talking about the same person?”

“Chloe,” I answered, but at that same moment, he said someone else.

“What?” I asked in surprise, not sure I heard what I thought I heard.

“You,” he said. “You.”

That’s what I’d
hoped
I heard. Suddenly, my heart was pounding so hard I was positive it was going to pounce right out of my chest. “You want me to be your girlfriend?”

“I don’t have anything to blackmail you with, but yeah...I was hoping.”

I sat down on the porch beside him, suddenly wide-awake. “Wow,” I murmured. “Logan Ryan’s girlfriend.”

CHAPTER 11

A brand new lap top computer! I stared at it a long time before actually opening up the case. When I finally did open it, I ran my hands along the keys, getting a strange thrill thinking,
This is mine
. I typed the words out,
This is mine
. I stared at the words in awe.
Mine
.

After I got over my computer ogling (it took about an hour) I called Izzie. When I told her about it she was foaming at the mouth. “He gave you a what?!”

“A lap top computer,” I exclaimed. “But it’s not quite as big of a deal as it sounds. I mean, it’s a big deal, of course. But Logan’s dad is the head guy at a computer company. He probably gets them for free.”

Izzie sounded uncertain. “I thought Logan’s dad was a microbiologist.”

“Oh…. Is he?” I guess I’d heard that, too. “Well, whatever. Logan said the computer fell off the back of a truck. But...I thought he was kidding.”

“Fell off a truck?”

“Look, I don’t know. He gave me a
computer
.” I was seriously forgetting any misgivings I’d had toward the guy. Seriously. I mean, I didn’t have nice things, nothing of my own, so yeah, I was a little cowed by his gifts. But who wouldn’t be, right? I mean, it wasn’t like he was trying to buy me gifts to get anything, right? Well, nothing bad. He’d given me an expensive dress and a brand new laptop computer and what did he want in return—me to be his girlfriend. Okay, maybe I was overly excited about that just because Gage so
didn’t
want me to be his, that I was thrilled someone, anyone, wanted me. But then again, this was Logan Ryan. Everyone wanted him. But he wanted me. Me! With a smile, I added, “And he wants me to be his
girlfriend
.”

Izzie exploded. “His girlfriend!”

“Yeah.” I actually laughed. I was giddy—which was unusual for me. “Kind of romantic, huh?”

“Kind of? It’s
mega
-romantic.”

“Yeah.” I laughed again. But then furrowed my brow, ‘cause Summer breezed into the room. Immediately, she was at my new computer—opening it up, checking it out. Hey!

“I’ve gotta go.” I quickly hung up, then snatched my computer away—or meant to. But Summer was too intrigued by it.

“Where’d this come from?” she asked.

“Uh...it fell off a truck.”

Looking back on it, I know that was a dumb answer. I should have said I borrowed it from Izzie or something. But I’m not a very good liar.

Summer put her hands on her hips. “Fell off a truck?”

“Um, yeah.”

“What kind of truck?”

I felt trapped. “I don’t know. The guy I’m going to the dance with gave it to me. He saw the truck.”

Summer’s hands were still on her hips. She narrowed her eyes. “Who
is
this guy you’re going to the dance with?”

Summer has never been interested in my life. Never, ever. So why choose now? Suddenly, she was Miss Interrogation. I snatched my computer out of her hands. “It’s none of your business.”

“No? Well, is it my Mom’s? ‘Cause I’m going to tell her.” Summer started to call for Beth. I practically tackled her, trying to cover her mouth.

“Shut up!”

Summer pushed me away. “Then you better tell me what’s going on, Michaela. Some guy is making bets to go out with you, and giving you computers? Who
is
this guy?” She lowered her voice. “Is he a drug dealer?”

“Geez, no!”

Of course Summer would think something like that. Who else would want to go out with me but a criminal? Certainly not somebody normal and no way someone handsome or popular. A guy that wanted to deal drugs at a dance—a guy that just needed an in—yeah, that was the only kind of guy that made sense to Summer, the only kind of guy that would want to date me. Of course, she heard my crazy dreams at night, and sometimes found me holed up on our closet floor in the fetal position right after I brought Gage back from the dead.

She might know a different side of me than say, Logan. Or anybody else. Even Gage. Or Izzie. Maybe she was right. Maybe no one normal
should
want to date me, but whatever. Someone way better than normal did. My heart kind of danced at the thought.

Summer still had her hands on her hips. She put them down to her sides for a second, then brought them back up. “Well, you’re suddenly all mysterious. And you’re acting weirder than usual. Are you in some sort of trouble?”

Yes, I’m in trouble! I have scary Hooded Cloak People coming to get me. “No,” I said, blowing the bangs out of my eyes, trying to look carefree and annoyed. (The annoyed part being easy.) “I’m not in trouble.”

“Then what’s going on? Who’s your date?” Summer rummaged through our bookshelf. She got out last year’s yearbook, then gazed up at me expectantly. Great. She was going to look him up.

I blew the bangs out of my eyes again, feeling trapped. I didn’t want to tell her. I just didn’t. But I couldn’t keep it secret much longer. What was the use? She was going to find out eventually. I mean, she was going to the dance, and
we
were going the dance. Wouldn’t we stumble upon each other? Eventually? I’d never actually been to a school dance, but it seemed likely.

I stared down at my computer, tapped a few keys, checking to make sure Summer hadn’t hurt it with her poisoned hands. “Logan Ryan.”

Summer narrowed her eyes, like there was no possible way she heard right. “Who?”

“Logan Ryan.” I said it really slow, like she was mentally impaired. Of course, then she looked at me, like I was.

“Logan Ryan? Logan Ryan from school?”

 
“Yeah,” I said, slipping into my Metallica t-shirt, the one I wear to bed. I didn’t bother turning it right-side out. I’d worn it to the point it was comfortable either way. “Logan Ryan from school.”

Summer rolled her eyes. “I don’t believe you.”

Carefully, I closed my computer and put it on our desk. It fit as though it belonged there. I stared at it with a smile growing on my face and a tickle in my stomach.
He wants me to be his girlfriend
. “Fine,” I said. “Don’t believe me. I don’t care.”

 
“Logan Ryan, who’s dating Chloe Reece, asked you to the dance?” Summer sounded mad. And disbelieving. And...mad.

I turned to her.

“Yes,” I sighed impatiently. This is why I don’t tell Summer things.

“And he gave you that computer?”

I clinched my jaw and climbed into bed. “Yes.”

“I don’t believe you.”

I rolled over and faced the wall.

Summer huffed. “You’re seriously demented.”

 
I gave a little snore.

***

I couldn’t sleep. Couldn’t. I was too excited. Logan Ryan asked me to be his
girlfriend
! That was a huge deal—for him too, I figured. After all, he kept denying that Chloe was his “girlfriend.” But he wouldn’t be able to deny it about me. I mean, he had come up with the word himself, on his own. I had nothing to do with it.

I didn’t really get it though. Why me? I mean, Logan didn’t even know me. Not really. Why would he choose me to be his girlfriend when he had Popularity Barbie crawling at his feet? I figured the question was definitely worth exploring—but I didn’t let it cast a cloud over my sunshine. Not tonight. I just wanted to bask in the glow. After all, Logan
seemed
sincere. And who could explain the mystical workings of the heart? Surely not me. If I could, I’d never think of Gage again. Ever.

I tried not to think of him now. Instead, I thought of Logan helping me with the computer today, then how he’d held me in his arms on our couch, telling me he liked me so much. Logan Ryan. Wow. I still couldn’t get over it. He was suddenly my boyfriend.

The only problem was, as I drifted off to sleep, I started to think about Gage.
Who’s the most important person in your life?
Gage’s answer echoed in my brain, “Michaela Tolley.”

But you don’t tell the most important person in your life, “Don’t crowd me.” You tell them, “I love you. Be my girlfriend.”

***

For Logan’s banquet, I wore my black dress. I would have worn my new red one, but that was for the dance. Suddenly, I had choices in my closet. Two fancy dresses. Very cool.

Izzie came over to do my hair. She wears hers butch short. But she’s good at hair. She could make a
living
doing hair. Only she doesn’t want to. She’s going to be an artist—a sculptor. But maybe she could do the hair-thing as a back up or on the side. ‘Cause she’s really good. And doing hair, it’s kind of like art. You take a plain, ordinary person and transform them into something attractive—art.

Anyway, Izzie was excited about my date with Logan. It was kind of like she was going vicariously. She kept gushing about how my life had suddenly taken a romance-novel type turn: first Gage saying I was the most important person in his life, then Logan asking me to be his girlfriend.

Maybe Izzie could be all three: a hair person an artist
and
a romance writer, she had a knack for all three, making ordinary things into the extraordinary.

“Wow, you look beautiful,” Izzie said when she finished working her magic. “No wonder you have guys falling at your feet.”

I rolled my eyes, wishing it were true. But it wasn’t. “Maybe Logan is,” I said, having to allow for the strange fact it
seemed
he was. “Maybe. But not Gage. He’s just playing a game—trying to mess with my head.”

Izzie shook her head slightly. “That doesn’t sound like Gage. Besides, why would he do that? Michaela, he’s been your friend forever. And he’s not the same as you—you have other close friends. But not Gage. Not really. Sure, he has his band, but he doesn’t really “hang-out” with them. He hangs out with Addison and you. That’s it.”

“He doesn’t hang out with me anymore,” I grumbled, staring in the mirror. I poked my finger through a pretty tendril Izzie had made in my hair. “He told me not to crowd him, remember? That’s what I’m doing.”

Izzie swatted my hands away from my hair. “Michaela, give him a break.”

I shook my head. “I can’t. Look, I don’t want to talk about Gage. It hurts.”

She didn’t know. ‘Cause I didn’t tell her. She didn’t’ know about his kiss. So she couldn’t understand.

Izzie fooled around with my hair some more, but I sort of wanted her to leave. Not that I didn’t love her with all of my heart. I did. But actually, I was getting nervous about my date and her excited chatter was making me edgy.

Scary thoughts started to wander into my head. Why did Chloe think she was going to the banquet with Logan? What was that about? And why didn’t I worry about this before now?
Because I was too excited about Logan choosing me over Snooty Barbie, that’s why
.

But suddenly the guy seemed pretty demented. I mean, he
blackmailed
me to go to a dance with him—a dance his sort-of girlfriend wanted him to take her to. Then he invited me to go to the banquet with him when Chloe thought she was going. Was Logan a cruel, twisted person? Was I going out with a...meanie?

Izzie picked up last year’s yearbook, skimming through it. Summer had left it out last night after her big inquest thing. She went to bed huffy and hadn’t talked to me since. Not that she made a habit of talking to me anyway. She didn’t. So I wasn’t sure if she was still mad or not. Not that I particularly cared either way. But it would have kind of been fun if she was home now, so she could see who I was going out with tonight. Maybe then she wouldn’t think I was “seriously demented” anymore. But she probably would. I sighed. Summer kind of knew me.