Starbound (3 page)

I welcomed the cool autumn air as it washed over my cheeks. I knew later tonight I was going to regret wearing so little clothes, but for now, it felt good. We walked to Matt’s BMW, and he immediately hopped into the driver’s seat. No,
hey let me get the door for you,
babe
. Chivalry was definitely dead in Matt, and I hated when he called me
babe
. It made my skin crawl.

In all honesty, I had no clue what I was doing with Matt. Just passing time, I guess. I wanted a boyfriend; what girl didn’t? I just didn’t want Matt, but no matter who I dated, none of them was right for me, and I had dated plenty. There was never that spark, that connection. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t looking to find the man of my dreams in high school, just someone interesting and fun to hang out with. Matt and I just didn’t gel well together.

I think I was just about over us. Our relationship had dwindled. It was toast.

“No worries. I’ll get the door,” I muttered under my breath.

“What’s that, babe?” Matt asked when I got in.

Grrr. If he called me
babe
one more time tonight, I might just make his tongue swell up like a sponge. I smiled through my teeth. “Nothing. I was just saying how much fun this party is going to be.”

“I know, right? It is going to be a blast.” He put the car in reverse, burning out right in my parents’ driveway.

Ugh.

His idea and mine were so off left field. I imagined this party was going to be just like the last one. He was going to get plastered, and I was going to have to spend most of the night fending off his wandering, grabby hands. Then the next day, he would have no memory of the night. Fun.

My head fell back against the seat as we drove across town. Of course Matt drove too fast, but rules didn’t apply when your dad was the sheriff. Staring out the window, a row of houses flew by, and I again couldn’t help but wonder what I was still doing with Matt. It was evident I wasn’t happy in this relationship. I heaved a long breath and cranked the radio. At least then I wouldn’t have to think, or listen to Matt’s buzzing nonsense.

As soon as we walked through the door of Brett Mansini’s larger-than-life house, Matt was handed a beer. Shocker. There was a game of beer pong going on in the dining room. A DJ was spinning some beats, and Brett’s parents were nowhere in sight. Like usual. They traveled extensively. Actually I didn’t think I’d ever seen his parents.

“I’m going to get a drink,” I hollered over the electric bass.

Matt was surrounded by a bunch of his teammates guzzling a bottle. I doubt he heard me or cared.

“Whatever,” I mumbled and went searching for something more to my taste.

I found a bottle of white wine, the good kind, and things escalated from there. One drink turned into two and two into three. I was bored to tears. Claudia had ditched me to play tonsil hockey with some football jock, and Harper was doing the wild thang with some girl I didn’t know on the dance floor. I angled my head from my seat on the couch. Wow. Those were some interesting dirty dancing moves, if you could call them that. How the heck did she get her leg like that?

This night couldn’t have gotten any worse.

I was alone.

I couldn’t stop picturing Seth’s face.

And I needed to pee.

Apparently my bladder couldn’t tolerate a few glasses of wine. Neither could my brain. The room swirled in dizzy hoops as I stood up. Immediately, I put a hand to the nearest wall in an attempt to steady myself and hugged it. Oh boy. I tried to scoot along the wall, using both hands with only mild success, meaning I stumbled more than once. And so the mindless search began.

Finding the bathroom in this joint was like winding through the hedge maze in Wonderland. Behind each door was a new surprise—and not necessarily a good one. I screwed up my face as I closed yet another door. Whatever had been going on behind door number three was going to scar me for life.

“Finally,” I said out loud when the next door revealed the porcelain throne. My bladder was going to thank me.

Then, before I could close the door behind me, a pair of rough hands grabbed my waist and pushed me through the door. I let out a shriek as I was spun around and silenced by a pair of lips smashing mine. Putting both my hands on the culprit’s chest, I shoved. “What the hell, Matt?” I should have guessed.

“What? This is what you wanted, isn’t it?” he slurred. His mouth attacked again, clumsily slobbering on any part of me he could get his lips on. He smelled like a brewery, and my stomach turned.

Just like a guy. “No, Einstein. I need to pee. Now get out.” I weaved and bobbed, trying to avoid his roaming lips. He didn’t budge and neither did his hands, which were freely traveling on my backside. I let out an exasperated sigh. I was
so
not in the mood. “Matt, knock it off.”

His hands moved from my butt to my bare legs then to my waist, and his lips were nibbling too hard on my neck. “Come on, babe. Live a little,” he said between wet kisses.

“I’m trying, but I can’t breathe with you smothering me.”

“Don’t be like that, babe.” His hand slid awkwardly up the side of my ribcage, skimming my breast.

I was going to clock him in the nose. “Damn it, Matt! Stop!”

“We’re just getting started,” he murmured, sucking on my ear.

The hell we were
. I was not about to have my first time in the bathroom at the house of some dude I barely knew, and most definitely not with a guy who didn’t respect me.

I never should have come tonight.

This had to stop, and he really left me no other choice. I nudged my leg between his and he moaned.
Douche
. With as much finesse and strength as I could muster after a few too many glasses of wine, I brought my knee straight up into the center of his family jewels.

Suck on that, lover boy
.

Matt instantly hissed in pain and clutched his junk. His sandy hair fell over his face as he groaned like he was dying. “Bitch. What was that for?” he spat between groans.

“That was for being an asstard.” I snatched my wristlet from the counter.

His hazel eyes flashed. “Prude!”

“Go screw yourself, Matt! We’re done!” I yelled and flipped him the bird. Then I promptly slammed the bathroom door, stumbling in my heels as I left the party.

“God, what an asshole.” I couldn’t believe that I had dated him for almost a year—365 days down the drain.

The brisk wind blew over my flushed cheeks as I ranted to the stars. My heels clicked on the road. I shivered. Without all my rage to overheat my system, I remembered that I was wearing next to nothing.

Why hadn’t I brought a shawl
?

What I wouldn’t give to be able to snap my fingers and
poof
, one appeared. Unfortunately that was not in my power. Nixies all had different abilities, and summoning was not part of my repertoire. But if I recalled, it was something Seth could do. Where was he when I needed him now?

I giggled.

Damn wine. I had drunk a few glasses too many if I thought Seth would do something nice for me. I could blame that on Matt as well. If he hadn’t been such a class act jerk tonight, I wouldn’t have gotten so tipsy.

Actually now that I was thinking about Seth and his awesome abilities, I also remembered how powerful he was and how captivating he looked wielding magick. He put my gift to shame. I was not even sure I would call what I could do a gift.

Now, while I was freezing, was not the time to start daydreaming about Seth. For God sake, I had just broken up with my boyfriend. Wrapping my arms around myself, goose bumps spread down my arms and legs. It was just the cold. A darkness had misted over the deserted road. Walking alone in the middle of the night no longer seemed like a smart idea.

My mind drifted to Seth, and I thought about the circle I was no longer a part of. An irrational sadness settled inside me, and a lump formed in the back of my throat. Everything had been less complicated before high school.

Oh God. I was a trainwreck.

My emotions were going haywire. One minute I was angry, then I was giggling like a crazy person, and now I was on the verge of tears.

Out of the blue, fat drops were spilling down my cheeks. They had nothing to do with Matt and everything to do with not wanting to be alone tonight walking the streets. I felt such a void. Sucking up a huge sniffle, I wiped the snot from my nose with the back of my hand. Then I smeared that on my black dress—attractive. What other choice did I have? I had gotten myself into this situation, and it was too much to hope someone was going to come and swoop me home.

A beam of headlights shone down the street behind me. My legs got tangled, and I cursed these heels to the hottest part of Hell. I contemplated sticking out my thumb, but I realized, even drunk, I wasn’t that dumb—at least not tonight.

The car came to a stop. My heart quickened.
Dear Lord, please don’t let them be kidnappers
. A car door opened, but I couldn’t see past the blinding lights.

“Kats?”

I’d recognized that voice out of millions, and only one person ever called me by that name. This time my heart raced for entirely different reasons. It would have to be
him
.

Chapter 3

Seth

It might be Friday night, but I was at Eddie’s Auto repair, my after school place of employment and the only mechanics shop in town. It was not glamorous, but it paid, and it beat smelling like a cheeseburger. I’d take smelling like a grease monkey any day of the week. On Friday’s I stayed late, closing the shop.

It was after 11:00 pm by the time I’d finished counting the register, cleaning up oil spills, and locking up. I was in dire need of a hot shower. There was grease under my nails, car goop covering my shirt, and some unnamed substance splattered on my jeans. All in a day’s work.

I liked working with my hands and loved cars, so it just made sense that I worked here. My auto teacher had put in a good word for me. I’d been employed by Eddie since junior year and couldn’t complain. The work kept my mind off other things…

Digging my car keys from my pocket, I hit the unlock button to my GMC Sierra, and the beeping of the keyless entry echoed off the brick building. All I could think about as I started the truck was hitting the sack. Yep, it was Friday night, I was only seventeen, and I couldn’t wait to get to bed.

Pathetic, I know, but I was beat. It had been a long day. Running a hand through my scraggly dark hair, I kept one on the wheel, cruising down the road. Driving was relaxing. It gave me a minute to myself, to clear my head without all the jumble.

On the downside, my mind wandered too often to the one person I tried so hard to forget, but when my body was bone tired, it was hard to keep her out of my thoughts. Girl’s like Kat were unforgettable.

I was no more than a few blocks from my house when I saw a familiar figure walking down the road. If you could call what she was doing walking, it was more like stumbling. I blinked. And blinked again just to make sure my mind wasn’t screwing with me. What were the chances that she would appear just as I thought her name?

Co-winkie-dink?

Probably not.

Pulling the truck to the curb, I put it in park and left it idling. I opened the door and called her name in disbelief. “Kats?”

She squinted in the dark at me, clearly blinded by my headlights. “Seth?” White luminous curls framed her delicate face.

I walked in front of the truck so she could see me and got my first good look at her. She was a hot mess. “Are you drunk?” I asked, sounding icier than I intended. Being aloof to Kat had become such a habit it was hard to play nice.

“Nooo.” She slurred the word, biting right back.

“Uh-huh. Get in.” I slipped a hand under her elbow, ignoring the spark. I figured she needed some support before she toppled over. Wouldn’t that have been a sight? The pretty and prissy Kat face planting the blacktop? “I’ll take you home.”

She shook off my hand and staggered. “I don’t need your help.”

“Oh yeah? You can barely walk.” A beam of moonlight hit her face, and I frowned. “Have you been crying?”

“No,” she insisted, swiping a hand on her glistening cheeks. “Why do you even care?” she asked surly. She stopped walking. Her face titled up, and she looked at me.

I could see the wet shimmer in her aquamarine eyes. It was all the answer I needed. My fists balled at my sides as I tried to ignore the pang in my chest. “Great. You’re drunk and crying. And you’re right. I don’t care.” Okay, so I was acting like a total dickhead, but it was my only defense against those sullen eyes. Then there was also the fact that I really, really wanted to hurt someone. At this point anyone would do, but I wanted whoever had made her cry to pay.

My eyes darkened, and she took a step back. “You’re an asshole, Seth. Just like the rest of them. I don’t know why I ever thought for a split-second you would be different.”

I watched her swirl ungracefully on her heel and start walking down the road again. She tripped once, before plucking off her shoes and tossing them in someone’s yard.

Classic
.

On top of it, she was also going in the opposite direction of her house. I shook my head, wondering how the hell I got myself into these messes. Or rather, how Kat got into these messes. “You’re going the wrong way!” I yelled.

She paused and just stood there in the middle of the empty road with her back to me. Letting out a huff, I trotted to catch up and turned her to face me. What I should have done was demand she give me her cell phone and called one of her sober friends to come get her. It would have been the wiser choice. Instead, I apologized. “Look, I’m sorry. It’s been a real shitty night.”

“You can say that again,” she mumbled.

There was something in her eyes that hit me in the gut. Unhappiness. I wanted to immediately fix whatever was wrong, which was the first warning bell that I shouldn’t get involved. “Let me take you home,” I heard myself say. “I can’t leave you out here alone. My dad would kick my ass.” Not true. He would have probably given me the lecture of a lifetime about being alone with Katia Montgomery. And he would have demanded to know if I was trying to get us both killed.