Chapter 19

His dark hair was slightly damp, as though he'd just come from the ocean, and he smelled like sun, sand, and cologne. A pleasant one. Not the sort most high school boys slathered on to hide the fact that they haven't showered.

He opened the car door in a very gentlemanly-like fashion. Extra points for that one.

“I was thinking we could do a few things before the party tonight, if you’re good with that,” he said as he slid into the driver’s seat.

Truthfully, I was good with whatever he had planned, because just the idea of someone planning a night out for me was a novelty. One I could get used to.

We drove for a short time, with him stealing the occasional glance at me from the corner of his eye. He seemed withdrawn, reserved. Was he nervous? Regretting his decision? Bored? Did I care either way? All very good questions, but it wasn’t until he pulled into an empty parking lot that I decided to voice one. “So, where are we, exactly?”

He parked the car then shifted to look at me. “Thought a walk along the beach would be nice.”

“Really.” I half smiled at how sappy it sounded. “Alrighty. Let’s... walk.”

Had I known the evening would involve physical activity, I’d have worn different shoes. But this girl was nothing if not adaptable. I stepped out of the car and my heels sank instantly. This should be fun.

We’d been walking for a few minutes, toward the gently rolling waves washing over the shore, when I finally tugged his arm for him to stop.

“Is this what you do to impress your girlfriends on a first date?” I said after pouring sand from Vivienne’s shoes for the fourth time. I finally slipped them off and continued walking barefoot.

“Haven’t had that many girlfriends.” He shrugged. “And you’re definitely a one-of-a-kind sort of a girl.”

“Oh, Luc, you say the sexiest things.” I rolled my eyes.

His eyes locked on mine. “Somehow hearing you say that with your accent drives me even crazier.”

”Than what?”

“Than you usually do.”

“Oh, I usually drive you crazy, do I? In all of the thirty seconds you've known me?”

“I've been watching you a lot longer than thirty seconds, Venus. A lot longer.”

"Well, look at you," I said, "getting more stalkerish by the second. Seriously, that’s a problem you should get treatment for.” My deadpan expression broke into a smirk. He was good at wit and sharp banter—I liked that. Too much sap was, well... too much. I liked that he had a bite to him.

Luc’s lips curled in a devious smile. “I just like to get to know my victims beforehand.”

“You’re supposed to be the hero in this scenario, remember. That is very un-heroic.”

“Says the villain. Guess you ought to know.” He chuckled.

Catching me off guard, he caught my hand in his on the upswing. I decided not to pull it away.

We strolled along the water’s edge, each lost in our own thoughts. Chilly ocean breezes tousled my hair, blowing strands across my face. My toes sank into the cool sand, growing number with each step. I couldn’t help noticing how steady and even Luc’s breathing was, though mine had picked up in tempo. He was calm, good at his game. I wondered how many girls had fallen for it. How many had succumbed to his unsuspecting charm and hypnotic lips? Had Lorelei? Would she, were she not so obsessed with otherworldly boys?

“We're here.” He pointed.

Gripping his forearm for balance, I teetered on one foot then the other to slip my shoes back on, then I looked in the direction he was pointing. As though his words alone had manifested it, we faced a skyscraping wheel, full of tiny swinging wagons, lit with a kaleidoscope of colors and lights and music.

I blinked. “It’s a carnival?” My voice flat-lined as I stared in disbelief. “You brought me to a carnival, on our date.” Not quite what I’d been expecting after the sultry beach walk.

His eyes roamed over me, and he grinned. “I know, I know, I promised you a night of nothing exciting. But c’mon, you’re not against having a little fun, are you?”

I had no words. It was a carnival. I might not have lived in their world, but I was familiar enough with their customs. Dates in the human world included candlelight and romantic dinners for two... not popped corn and sticky, screaming children.

Luc tugged on my hand. “Come inside.”

We entered a massive clown's mouth, and I stepped over his teeth, carefully, making sure my heels didn’t catch on his incisors. I was not dressed for an amusement park. But Luc didn't seem to care; he happily dragged us to the ticket booth and purchased several arms' lengths.

“Who do you think is going to use all of those tickets, Hero?” I frowned at him.

He flashed a devilish smile that lived up to his name. “Ah, don't disappoint me now, Villain. Let's go.”

There weren’t many girls who’d be okay with being called a villain, but I was. Partly, because it was true... mostly because he didn’t know it was true. Luc paced his words carefully, for just the right reaction, just the right effect. He was clever for a mortal. I liked that about him. He had an honest face and a beautiful smile, which distracted me from his hands that were busy digging into my soul.

I knew the type. I liked the type. And I especially liked that I'd only have one night with this particular type. One was more than enough to satisfy an itch for something different. To be her and make different choices. Better ones.

“You think you can scare me with these fast-moving rides?” I pointed to one that was swinging screaming passengers into the air, then plummeting them back to nearly collide with the earth before hurtling them into space again, with no time to breathe in between.

His clear eyes regarded me intensely, and he raised his voice over the vibrating music. “What makes you think I want to scare you, Venus?”

“Isn’t that part of the hero's ploy? Get the girl scared so she'll play damsel-in-distress?”

There was a pause before he smiled, a slow, honeyed grin that spread across his face. “I have a hard time picturing you in distress. Causing it, unquestionably. But living it—” He shook his head and looked away.

I licked my lips, hoping to hide the frayed nerve he'd come close to hitting.

I changed the subject before he could home in too close on the dark and twisted skeletons jangling in the closet of my psyche. “So what’s your pick? Will it be the horrors of the haunted house of mirrors, or do we join the scream queens on the Vomitizer over there?”

“You definitely don’t strike me as the Vomitizer sort of girl.” He pointed to a stand with a dancing hotdog in front. “Are you hungry? If I remember, you’re particularly fond of food served in paper,” he teased as he disappeared in a line.

I was ravenous. Apparently ignoring a cloying need took a lot out of a person.

Luc handed me a wrapped hamburger in a bun.

I wrinkled my nose. “Mmm. Greasy food served in paper from a rusted metal cart. Well, Hero, now I'm in love.”

“Hey, this is the best greasy food this side of the eastern seaboard,” he said. “I stand by it.” Luc sank his teeth into one of the four burgers in his cardboard box.

I shook my head but then did the same. By the time we were ready to try the rides, I’d finished three burgers and two baskets of fries before he returned with the soda. He raised his brows when he saw the scattered remnants of my paper-wrapped food. “Hungry?”

“Don’t ask the obvious. It’s annoying,” I said, wiping a glob of ketchup from my lips. I bit back my smile. He was having an effect on me. That could be dangerous. It made sense not to let things go too far. Keep it friendly, platonic, fun. That’s what my sister would do.

He smiled, syrupy and wide, before he reached over to smudge his thumb across the corner of my mouth. “Missed a spot,” he said.

This was becoming difficult. And let’s face it, my sister is an idiot. Hardly worth modeling her behavior.

“Hope you’re not too disappointed we haven’t left for the party yet,” he said.

My shoulders shrugged. “I think we should skip it. Trust me, we’re not missing anything but drunken hookups and wicked hangovers. Those are the only aftereffects of a night like that." I took the soda from his hand and drank it, then wiggled the empty cup in front of him. "Cautionary tale my friend.” Then on an impulse I didn’t see coming, I gave him a kiss on the cheek that left a coral stain.

Luc leaned in, about to return the favor, when a subtle vibration pulled my attention.

I checked the cell phone stowed in my purse... Lorelei’s purse. The screen filled with a rolling string of messages before ending with one succinct message. Seventeen missed calls. All from Abby.

This could not be good. If she’d been trying to reach me that desperately, something was wrong. My stomach squeezed into a ball, the way it always did when something was terribly wrong.

“Luc, I really, really hate to do this, but we’re going to have to cut things short and call it a night.”

His face folded in a frown. “Isobel.” He took my hand suddenly looking pained, almost panicked.

I waited, waited for him to say whatever it was that had him so worked up.

His lips were poised around the words, hugging them close, but they closed before he let them fall. My loss. I could tell, by the way his eyes lit up and his pulse raced, it would have been good. His pulse had never raced when he was with me. Not even when we met, and he'd been in the midst of hard exercise. This guy was all about control, and in that moment he was about to lose a little of it. An event I was salivating to witness. But no satisfaction this time. He swallowed whatever he was going to say, and I was left hungry, unfulfilled. Starving for more of his... whatever it was. Because the only thing I got from him was a resigned, “I’ll take you home, Venus.”