Nightstruck - Jenna Black Page 0,46
new friend, Aleric. Aleric, this is Becket.”
The boy I’d literally run into when fleeing through the fog near school smiled at me, showing no sign of being surprised to see me.
CHAPTER TWELVE
I was stunned speechless. What were the chances that I would run into Aleric when being chased by a trash monster at school, and then he would run into Piper at a party and arrange to meet up with me here in Center City? It’s not like we lived in a small town.
“It’s a pleasure to see you again,” Aleric said. His words and his tone were perfectly pleasant, but there was something sharp and predatory in his expression, something that made me unwilling to shake the hand he offered me.
Piper jabbed me with an elbow, but that didn’t make me feel any more inclined to shake Aleric’s hand. His too-green eyes glittered with amusement. Far from being offended by my refusal to shake, he seemed to enjoy it.
“You sure do get around, don’t you?” I asked him, and I was shocked to hear a faint quaver in my voice. Yes, there was something spooky and unnerving about Aleric—and about his showing up in my life for a second time—but surely there was nothing to be scared of. After all, we were in public, with plenty of people around. And he hadn’t said or done anything that should make me afraid of him in anything but a shy-girl–meets–hot-guy way.
Aleric raised an eyebrow. “As do you.”
“Wait,” Piper said, sounding confused. “You two know each other?”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Aleric said, his eyes locked on mine. “We bumped into each other once before.”
“Wow,” said Piper. “What a coincidence!”
“Either that or he’s stalking me,” I said, earning another elbow and a sharp sound of protest from Piper. I tried to make it sound like I was kidding, but I don’t think either Piper or Aleric was fooled, even though Aleric laughed like I’d just told a great joke.
“I think the universe is trying to tell us something,” he said when he finished laughing. “Let’s get that cup of coffee. I’d like to hear more about your stalking theory. Personally, I think it would be kind of a neat trick to arrange to randomly run into your friend at a party. I’m sure you have a theory about how I pulled it off.”
“Thanks,” I said insincerely, “but no thanks. I was just on my way home.”
Piper grabbed my arm to keep me from walking away. “What is wrong with you?” she muttered under her breath. If she thought Aleric couldn’t hear her, she was delusional.
I jerked my arm out of her grip. If he was really some perfectly ordinary nice guy rather than some creepy stalker dude, then I was not only making a fool of myself but was also being unforgivably rude to him. But everything about him made me want to shrink away, despite his undeniably handsome face and his friendly smile.
“Next time you want to set me up on a blind date, ask my permission first,” I snapped at Piper.
Because I thought there was a slim chance I might be overreacting, I smiled at Aleric as best I could. “Piper and I are having a disagreement,” I told him. “Don’t take it personally. I just refuse to let her get away with lying to me.”
Piper groaned. “Oh come on, Becks. Get over it already. Where’s the harm in getting a cup of coffee?”
“Everyone hates a liar,” Aleric said, still smiling. His eyes seemed to bore into me, telling me he knew my every secret, my every lie.
My pulse was kicking as if I’d just run a mile, and my stomach kept wanting to turn over on itself. The sensation reminded me very much of how I’d felt when I’d approached the “baby” in the alley. My primal instincts had been right to warn me away then, and I was inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt now. Even though Piper didn’t seem to sense anything at all wrong.
“Hey!” she said indignantly, though I seriously doubt he’d been talking to her. “It was just a little white lie. Let’s not make it into some grand betrayal.”
I didn’t think now was the time and place to have it out with Piper, so I mostly ignored her as I took a couple of steps backward. “Nice to see you again, Aleric,” I said, and no one could miss the sarcasm in my voice. “Just in case I end up ‘accidentally’