of happened all of a sudden." Dee paused. "What were you and Daemon doing earlier...before the almost-kissing part?"
"We went on a walk. That's all."
"That's odd," she continued, watching me closely. "I had to steal his keys, but he got them back."
My face scrunched. "Yeah, thanks for that, by the way. There's nothing like a boy being blackmailed into hanging out with you to boost the self-esteem."
"Oh, no! It wasn't like that at all! I thought he needed...motivation to be nicer."
"He must really value his car," I muttered.
"Yeah...he does. Has he been spending a lot of time with you while I was gone?"
"We haven't spent that much time together.
We went to the lake one day and then just today.
That's all."
A curious look crossed her features, and then she smiled. "Did you guys have a good time?"
Unsure of how to answer, I shrugged.
"Yeah, he was actually pretty decent. I mean, he has his moments, but it wasn't all bad." If I didn't count the fact he was being forced into spending time with me, had almost kissed me for b onus points.
"Daemon can be nice when he wants." Dee pushed back on the swing, using one foot on the floor to keep it moving. "Where did you guys go for a walk?"
"We followed one of the trails and talked, but then we saw a bear."
"A bear?" Her eyes widened. "Holy crap, what happened?'
"Uh, I sort of passed out or something." Dee stared at me. "You passed out?" I flushed. "Yeah, Daemon carried me back to the porch and yeah, well, the rest is whatever."
She was watching me closely again, curious.
Then she shook her head. Changing the subject, she asked if she'd missed anything else while she was gone. I filled her in while my mind was completely elsewhere. Dee mentioned something about watching a movie later before she left. I think I agreed.
Long after I'd gone inside and pulled on a pair of old sweats, I was still confused over Daemon. He'd seemed almost likeable during our hike before flashing back to Super Douche.
Flushing and frustrated, I flopped on the bed and stared at the ceiling.
There was a network of tiny cracks in the plaster. My gaze traveled over them as my mind replayed the events leading up to the "almost kiss." My stomach flipped thinking about how close his lips had been to mine. Worse yet was the knowledge that I had wanted him to kiss me.
Like and lust must not have anything in common.
...
"Let me get this straight." Dee frowned from where she'd perched herself on the old recliner in desperate need of being reupholstered. "You have no idea where you want to go to college?" I groaned. "You sound like my mom."
"Yeah, well, you're entering your senior year." Dee paused for a second. "Don't you guys start applying as soon as school starts?"
Dee and I were sitting in my living room flipping through magazines when my mom had oh-so-casually walked in and dropped a stack of college brochures on the coffee table. Thanks, Mom. "Shouldn't you be applying? You're one of 'us,' too." The interest that had been sparkling in her eyes dulled. "Yeah, but we're talking about you."
I rolled my eyes and laughed. "I haven't decided what I want to do. So I don't see the need to pick a school."
"But every school offers the same thing.
You could pick a place - any place you wanted to go. California, New York, Colorado - oh, you could even go overseas! That would be awesome. That's what I'd do. I'd go somewhere in England."
"You can," I reminded her.
Dee lowered her eyes. She shrugged. "No, I can't."
"Why not?" I pulled my legs up and crossed them. It didn't seem as though money was a problem for them, not when you looked at the cars they drove or the clothes they wore. I'd asked her if she had a job, and she'd said she had a monthly allowance that kept her cushy.
Parental remorse at always staying in the city for work and all. Nice gig if you can get it.
Mom was great at giving me cash if I needed it, but I sincerely doubted she'd ever pony up three hundred bucks a month for a fun, new car for me. Nope. I'd have to keep on loving my little sedan, rust and all. Point A to Point B, I always reminded myself. "You can go wherever you want, Dee." Dee's smile was tinged with sadness. "I'll probably stay here when I graduate.