Rachel grinned at him. Of course he drank it black. And of course he said “ma’am.”
“I’ll be right back,” I said, hobbling up the stairs as fast as my half-numb limbs would allow. I closed the door to my bedroom and leaned against it.
What had just happened? I shivered violently and realized I could think about it much better after I got warm. I tugged everything off and threw on dry clothes, then headed downstairs. Adrian was sitting at the kitchen table with his cup of coffee, talking to my aunt. When she saw me, she smiled.
“Why don’t you and Adrian watch a movie until dinner’s ready?”
“It’s okay, I can help,” I said, stalling.
“No, no; it’s your birthday, you’re banned from the kitchen.”
Adrian smiled. “I’m up for a movie.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, but there was nothing I could do and he knew it. We headed into the living room.
“What’d you say to her?” I whispered.
“Nothing much.”
I gave him a look.
He shrugged. “Just that I was very happy you had come to Stony Creek, and I was having a wonderful time getting to know you.”
I scowled at him and he smiled at me. I rolled my eyes. “Fine then. What do you want to watch?”
“It’s your birthday,” he said with a lazy smile. “Why don’t you choose?”
I grabbed a random DVD from the pile, and popped it into the player, then headed for the armchair. Before I could sit, Adrian grabbed my hand and patted the seat next to him on the couch. I looked at him and shook my head no.
“I’m cold,” he said. “I gave you all my body heat, remember?”
I snorted. “Way to play the guilt card.”
But I sat next to him. He took the throw from the back of the couch and wrapped it around me, then leaned into the corner of the couch and pulled me against his chest in a very non-platonic manner.
“Are you crazy?” I whispered in his ear. “My aunt is right over there!”
“Do you want to sell the story?” he murmured, looking at the TV. “Wouldn’t you rather have them wonder if something is going on between us than wonder if they should ever let you out of their sight because you might do something stupid?”
I gaped at him, fishlike.
“Besides,” he said, settling into the sofa, “I still need to warm up. And if I remember correctly from the effects of a certain Halloween party,” he murmured into my hair, “you like cuddling with me.”
I was blushing too hard to think of an elegant reply. With the blanket on top of me and Adrian’s chest beneath me, it was like a sauna, but in a good way. “Fine,” I grumbled. Then I sat up again, remembering his earlier comment. “Wait—what was that about being my shadow?”
He shook his head. “I’ll tell you tomorrow.”
“Adrian,” I warned.
“Caitlin,” he replied, staring back at me evenly.
After a long moment, he very sternly pointed at his chest, then pointed at me, then motioned for me to lie back down.
How the hell was I supposed to resist that?
7
SELLING THE STORY
I woke up to a variety of noises: the sound of silverware and glasses being set on the table, the drone of the movie sound track, my uncle speaking with my aunt, the bubble of a pot on the stove, and most vividly, the beat of Adrian’s peculiarly slow heart against my left ear. I stretched, waking slowly, and rubbed my face into his chest.
“You’re in a better mood,” he observed, looking down with a small smile.
“I forgot how incredibly comfortable you are.” I laid my face on his sweater again and almost drifted off. I could feel a chuckle trickle up through his chest.
“I think your uncle doesn’t know what to do with me,” he whispered a moment later.
I immediately popped up and looked first at Adrian, then at my uncle, then at Adrian again, horrified. “What do we tell him?”
He shifted underneath me, tucking the blanket around my shoulders. “We tell him that we’ve become good friends since you’ve moved here, and that we’d like to see where the friendship takes us.”
“Does that mean we’re dating?”
“It means your uncle can interpret that however he wants.”
I frowned. “So, you’re doing all this just because you don’t want my family to worry about me?”
He waved his head back and forth in a so-so gesture. “There’s more. But I’ll tell you tomorrow. Enjoy your birthday.”
I raised a brow. “That doesn’t sound ominous at all.” He smiled, but refused to elaborate. “Fine,” I told him, “be cryptic.” I hunched my knees up to my chin. “What about my aunt, though? She’ll ask detailed questions. And Norah will repeat anything we say here to all her friends, so what do we tell people at school? Also, if this is all some weirdly elaborate joke about vampires because I wore a vampire costume on Halloween and it’s my birthday, tell me now, and your death will be quick and painful.”
He winked at me. “I can’t die, remember?”