Bloodthirsty - By Flynn Meaney Page 0,56

turned to speak to me and I panicked and popped the half-naked chicken into my mouth.

“So what makes a sophomore like Kate cool enough to hang out with you, Finbar?” Mr. Gallatin asked.

“She’s—” I began. But the Dragon Curry flavor hit me.

I couldn’t swallow. It was so, so freakin’ hot. But I couldn’t be rude, either, and spit the chicken out. When I opened my mouth again, the sting of my own breath made me gasp.

“Hot!” I exclaimed. “Oh, God, hot!”

Silence ensued. There had been the usual pleasant dinner noises of forks clinking on plates, ice in glasses, and of course the deadly hiss of the Dragon Curry in its lair. Now there was silence. Kate’s father had asked me why I liked her and I had said, “She’s… hot.” Actually, I hadn’t said the word hot, I’d ejaculated the word hot. I couldn’t look at Kate’s parents.

But I did glance briefly at Kate, turning my head with a tensed neck. Kate was laughing, silently, with her mouth full.

Mr. Gallatin spoke up.

“Well, Finbar,” he said.

I looked up in dread, my face as red as the flakes I’d scraped from his chicken.

“You need some hot sauce on that?”

Kate’s father and Kate both laughed at his joke, and I attempted to simultaneously laugh and sigh in relief, but Kate’s mom rolled her eyes.

“You know when we were dating and I laughed at your jokes?” Mrs. Gallatin said to her husband. “I was faking it.”

Now I laughed aloud. In that moment, Mrs. Gallatin was so unexpectedly bold and straightforward. She was so much like Kate.

“Maybe some rice will absorb the heat,” Kate’s dad said more practically. “I’ll go get some.”

When Kate’s dad returned with rice, he said, “In all seriousness, Finbar, we’re glad Kate has found a friend like you.”

Well, I thought smugly. More than a friend. Your daughter kissed me in the hallway. With a little bit of tongue.

Of course, I didn’t mention this.

Kate’s father continued, “Someone who…”

Someone who is sexy? Dark and mysterious? No, he wouldn’t say that. Someone who really cares for Kate? Someone who’s become very close to our daughter? Was this leading into the boyfriend/girlfriend talk?

“Someone who’s interested in schoolwork,” Kate’s father finished. “A really nice kid.”

My death knell had rung. Boom, boom, boom. Done, done, done. No more chance with Kate. That was the worst thing he could have possibly said! Wow, this dad was crafty. That comment was the verbal equivalent of a chastity belt. I wish he had said: “A kid with rampant acne.” “A kid with incurable halitosis.” “A kid looking at five to ten years in the state penitentiary.”

Nothing could have ruined my chances faster with a high school girl than being labeled a nice kid. I thought this would be the night I found out whether or not I was Kate’s boyfriend. Well, I guess I’d found out. A nice kid isn’t a boyfriend. A nice kid is a friend.

Of course, I nodded and smiled. I hid my disappointment.

“Now for dessert,” Kate’s dad began. “We have another Thai specialty. An extra-spicy—”

Kate’s mother interrupted, rolling her eyes. “We have ice cream. But Kate, why don’t you show Finbar the Bat Cave while we clean up? You can eat dessert later.”

Kate’s “Bat Cave,” which was their name for the basement, really rubbed the salt in the wound of our nonexistent romance. It was the coolest place in the world. My non-girlfriend was Batman. And I was her Alfred, pale and dependable. But seriously, back to this basement. They had a full-sized pool table, an air-hockey table, even a skee-ball machine. I was envious of Kate and her brother and sisters. And whoever would be Kate’s boyfriend. I was pretty envious of him for a lot of reasons.

“We have the best movie channels,” Kate told me when I went to sit next to her. Damn. What soft leather.

“I watch, like, six movies every weekend,” she continued. “Oh my gosh, Bloodthirsty the movie is on. Have you ever seen it? This movie is hysterical. It’s basically pornography.”

On the screen, Virginia White, played by an anorexic model in a push-up bra, was spying on Chauncey Castle, some British “serious actor” with powder all over his face, as he examined vials of blood at his desk. After unscrewing the top of one of the vials, he brought it to his mouth and drank it. Virginia gasped and Chauncey turned around to catch her spying.

I turned to Kate and said, “I thought girls loved Bloodthirsty.”

“They just like this movie