The Art of Being Emily - Katie MacAlister Page 0,65

a little. “What do you mean I should take you home?”

“It's just that...um...I don't really want to...uh...you know...touch you. There. Right now. Maybe another time—”

“You little tart!”

I felt awful, hurt that he called me a tart, and guilty because he needed me and I failed him, but what was I supposed to do? I didn't want to grope him, but I did want to maintain my girlfriend status. I'm willing to bet you that the evil Tash isn't afraid of a little thingie fondling. God! Why don't they have a Girlfriend 101 class to teach you how and when you're supposed to do stuff? The least they could do is make us a cheat sheet. I hate winging life like this.

I decided a little white lie wasn't going to hurt anyone. “It's not that I don't want to, it's...um...I'm not feeling so good right now. Maybe I'm coming down with a cold or something. I'm probably contagious. I think you should take me home.”

I jumped back into my seat as he snarled under his breath, starting up the car and slamming his foot onto the accelerator. I was absolutely miserable. I knew I was letting him down, but Mom always said I shouldn't let any boy push me into doing things I didn't want to do. I just wished someone would tell Aidan that he wasn't supposed to get mad when I said no.

He muttered a lot on the trip home. I didn't say anything, what could I say, my whole life was ruined. Everything was horrible. I figured he would probably break our date for the Vamp Ball, and then he'd tell Tash that she was right all along, and I'd never have another date again because all the guys would think I was an idiot. I tried to think of something I could say to make him happy again, but my mind flaked out on me and couldn't come up with anything better than me telling Aidan my hand was sprained, and the doctor said no thingie touching for a week.

“I'd just like to know what you see in Devon.”

“Devon?” Huh?

Aidan shot me an angry look. “Yes, Devon. The bloke you were with the other night—you do remember the night of the party, don't you?”

OHMIGOD, you don't think he knows that I barfed all over Devon, do you? I'll die, this time I really will die. Fang said that he told Devon not to tell anyone, and Devon said he wouldn’t, but what if he had? What if he told Aidan? GAH! I blinked at him a couple of times, trying to think of something to say about that night that didn't involve Devon or vomit.

“Um...”

“Just answer me this—are you my bird or not?”

Oh! Relationship talk! I'm much better at that than the sex stuff. “Of course I am, Aidan, if you want me to be. I mean...yes!”

OK, so I sounded like an idiot. Minus ten points for babbling, but plus twenty-five for not losing my cool earlier.

“Right. Then I'll be expecting you to act like it.”

“Uh...” Do you think he was talking about sex? What if he wasn't? What if I've got it all wrong? Maybe I just have too much sex on the mind. Maybe he just wants to have a girlfriend he can talk to and go clubbing with and things like that. “Sure. So—we're going to the Vampire Ball together?”

He gave me kind of a funny look. “Right, but I expect you to be gagging for it by then.”

Gagging for it? Now he really had me confused. What on earth did “gagging for it” mean? It doesn't sound like sex, does it? You don't gag when you French kiss someone, right? It must be something else. Maybe it was a funny way of saying he wanted me to be more romantic.

I worried about him all night long, but this morning I decided that if he wants me to be his girlfriend and he is going to take me to the ball, that meant things are pretty coolio between us despite the thingie situation. Right? Right.

Anyway, that was yesterday. Today Holly and I went to the café. Aidan was there, without Tash (which was nice), although he didn't really pay me any attention. Devon had Pier (I guess they're a couple), and Holly sat and watched a guy at the next table, which was very intriguing. She's never shown much interest in guys, but this one, a thin black guy with a gold earring, really