“Really?” she asked.
He leaned in. “Of course. What I really want is to spend time with you. Just you. And since we don’t have a lot of opportunities to do that, maybe we should take advantage of what we’ve got, you know?”
Claire nodded. Half of her was jumping up and down with excitement, but the other half was worried. “Won’t it look weird if we leave?”
“Nah,” he murmured. “Most of them are three drinks in already. They won’t notice if the couch is on fire.”
He was right—Claire hadn’t really thought about that.
“So, how come you’re not drinking?” The question popped out before she stopped to think about how it sounded. She bit the tip of her tongue and winced.
Matthew shrugged. “Too risky. I get caught drinking, I’m off the soccer team. And that means no scholarships, no college team. I’d be stuck going to community college and living with my parents. And that is definitely not part of my plan.”
He smiled at her.
“Come on,” he said, grabbing her free hand. “Let’s get out of here.”
They headed down the hall and through the living room. Claire was so tense that the back of her neck was practically an armored plate. She could feel everyone sizing her up, judging her. Matthew edged them toward the front door without being obvious about it.
Once the front hall was empty, the two of them slipped out the front door into the almost-dark, and Claire was pretty sure no one had seen them.
The night was quiet after the shouting and music of the party. They were alone. Really alone.
“Thanks for the rescue. So, um, where are we going?” she asked as they walked toward Matthew’s car.
“Wherever you want,” Matthew answered, pulling her in close.
“What about that coffee shop over on Fourth Street? The one next to the bookstore? Emily and I hang out there a lot.” As soon as she said it, Claire remembered that the last time she’d been there, she’d run into Victoria. Crap. What if she was there again?
Matthew smiled at her. “That sounds great.”
There were very few cars out—people really were staying home after dark these days. When they got to Fourth Street, Claire could see that the little row of businesses were all dark, the coffee shop included. Matthew slowed down as they passed it. A bright-pink piece of paper had been taped to the inside of the shop’s glass door.
“‘Temporary New Hours,’” Claire read, “‘ten a.m. to six p.m.’”
“You can see that from here?” Matthew’s voice was incredulous. “I must need my eyes checked.”
Oops. Damn.
“It’s closer to my side of the car,” Claire offered. “I didn’t think about them being closed.”
There was a flutter of movement at the far end of the row of businesses. Claire blinked at it as Matthew’s car drew closer. It was a person.
Oh, God. It wasn’t just a person. It was Lisbeth. She was walking down the sidewalk. Claire couldn’t figure out why she would be here when everything was closed. Lisbeth turned to look at Matthew’s approaching car.
Claire slid down in the seat so fast that her knees banged against the dashboard.
“Claire?” Matthew sounded shocked, and the almost-bitter smell of worry filled the car.
“It’s Lisbeth!” Claire hissed. “Just—keep driving and tell me when you can’t see her anymore, okay?”
“Oh, crap.” Matthew sped up a little, and Claire stayed hunched down into the seat. Her legs had started to ache from being crunched into such a weird position. In her back pocket, Claire’s cell phone started to ring. She managed to wriggle it out at the same time that Matthew turned a corner. Lisbeth’s number was lit up on the caller ID.
“Nooooo,” Claire moaned.
“Don’t answer it,” Matthew suggested.
“She’ll be furious,” Claire said. But if she answered in the quiet car, Lisbeth would know that she wasn’t at the party. She was screwed.
“Wait fifteen minutes and then text her.” Matthew suggested. “Tell her you couldn’t hear the phone because it was so loud—that it’s too loud to talk.”
Claire licked her lips and nodded. Lisbeth would be mad, but she’d probably buy that. The phone in her hand beeped as the call went to voicemail, making her decision for her.
“You can scoot up now,” Matthew said. “We’re far enough away.”
Claire slid back up in the seat. “Do you think she saw me?”
Matthew shook his head. “I think probably she saw me and got suspicious, you know?”
Claire leaned her head back against the seat. “I’m so sorry, Matthew. If my mom weren’t being so stupid about all of this … ugh. I’m just sorry that I’m making you sneak around, I guess.”
Matthew shrugged. “Look, I’d rather be honest about all of this, too, but my dad has screwed up enough stuff in my life that I totally understand. And who knows? Maybe she’ll change her mind once this werewolf stuff calms down.”