this woman, but I'd kept my distance so she could have a chance to grow up. She hadn't even been seventeen when we met and I didn't want her to regret being with me. So I'd stayed away. But I didn't go through all that self-denial only to have her dating someone else. Hell no!
“What is it with you anyway?” she suddenly demanded, turning to look at me. “First you kiss me, then you disappear. Eight months, Dylan! You kept away for eight months! Now you show up acting like you have the right to delve into my life!”
I looked at her in surprise. I'd never heard her sound that way before. She had changed since the last time I'd seen her. For one, she'd become more assertive and I found that sexy as hell.
“I thought being your friend gave me that right,” I replied.
“No, it doesn't give you the right.”
That hurt. I didn't know why it did, but it really hurt. “I see.” I turned away from her and faced the night. When would I learn that emotions led to hurt? I felt her hand on my arm and turned to face her again.
“I don't know what we have, Dylan, but it's not quite friendship,” she said softly, looking so earnestly at me that I wanted to kiss her, but I restrained myself. “There's that kiss we shared several months ago and, try as I might, I can't forget about it.”
Good, I thought. I couldn't forget about it either and I liked the fact that I wasn't the only one going through that form of torment. Before I could say a word however, she went on.
“But that aside, friendship should be based on trust.”
“I trust you.” I said, surprising myself. I didn't do trust. I'd been burned too many times to even want to try. But if there was one person I could say I trusted, it would be Luanne.
She shook her head sadly and removed her hand from my arm. “No you don't.”
What was she talking about? I frowned. “Of course I trust you.”
“Really? Then tell me why you're not speaking to your family.”
I clenched my teeth and looked away. That was not a subject I was willing to touch with a barge pole.
“Okay, then. What happened to turn you so bitter? Who hurt you?”
She continuously surprised me with how astute she was. The fact that she'd guessed I'd been hurt in the not too recent past was a shocker on its own, but that was not enough to get me to discuss that. I turned to look at her and caught the flash of hurt in her eyes.
“Lu, you don't understand,” I said reluctantly. I didn't want to hurt her but I wish she had asked for something else, something easier.
“No Dylan, I understand very well,” she said gently and stood up.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“It's late and I need to go to bed.”
I looked away to hide my reaction but I got a mental image of Luanne in bed with me right beside her. I immediately shook it away.
“Here,” I unwrapped the blanket and held it out to her.
“Are you going off?”
“No, I'll be here a while.”
She nodded then. “Keep the blanket then, you'll need it.”
She turned and as I watched her walk away, I felt suddenly bereft. She hadn't taken a few steps when I felt the hairs on my neck stand up in alarm. I heard a soft whining sound and before I thought about it, leapt towards her and pushed her flat on the roof. The bullet winged past us and got lodged in the wall of the chimney. From where we were on the roof, thanks to extraordinary eyesight, we could see it was a silver bullet.
“Are you okay?” I whispered into her ear. She nodded in response.
I felt her trembling beneath me and, taking hold of her arm, we floated through the roof onto her bed. I was scared, too. A silver bullet wouldn't have killed her, but it could have done potential harm.
“Someone shot at me,” she said in shock.
I wrapped my arms around her and she clung to me. It had been eight long months since I'd had my arms around her. Eight long and lonely months. And even though the circumstances were grave, it still felt so right. I dropped a light kiss on top of her head and rested my cheek on her hair. Her hair smelled of strawberries and chocolates and I inhaled deeply.
As I