Homecoming.
Practically the last place on earth I wanted to be. A night of watching sweaty, gawky human teenagers paw all over each other wasn’t my idea of a fun night. But I had little choice.
I glanced over at Ash. Standing beside her brother, dressed in a white gown, she really did look great. Too bad it was never, ever going to work between us. Our feelings for each other, even if she refused to admit it, had morphed into a more familial thing.
Andrew looked over at me as he messed with his cuff links. His brows inched up. “I don’t even know why you’re coming to this, man.”
His sister made an impatient noise in her throat. “I have to agree, but can we move this conversation inside?” She waved a slender hand at the school. “I have people I need to make jealous.”
I smiled. “Do tell?”
“My dress.” She twirled around, and I swore it was see-through for a second. I squinted. Yep. It was definitely see-through in certain areas.
I couldn’t help it. My smile spread, especially when Andrew looked away, his face paler than it was a few seconds before.
“My dress could feed a small village for a year, which means these…people haven’t ever seen the likes of such beauty and perfection,” Ash continued.
Shaking my head, I laughed. Ash…well, she was an acquired taste.
As the three of us headed in, I knew they’d never believe me if I told them why I really was here.
It had to do with one sweaty, gawky human teenager pawing all over one human in particular. The conversation I had with Kat a week ago, when we had been by her car, had replayed over and over in my head. Granted, the whole healing-her-hand thing had veered me off track, and even though we hadn’t talked about her homecoming date since then, I hadn’t forgotten about it. Definitely not after learning that Kat might’ve agreed to go to the damn party in the field afterward.
There was no way I could stay home. Instinct was screaming that she was going to need me. Or it was a really messed-up territorial need to…to do what?
Go in there, beat the crap out of Simon, and claim my girl?
Uh, no, because beating the crap out of humans would probably end in death, and she wasn’t my girl. No way in holy hell was Kat my girl.
Ash disappeared into a flock of several girls who were already squawking and squealing about her dress. Forcing myself to breathe and not zoom around the room, popping all the balloons that probably took an entire day to blow up, I found the nearest empty table and sat. Following suit, Andrew did the same. He started talking about some football game I could give two craps about, and I zoned him out.
And waited.
And waited some more.
And then I saw Simon’s jock–douchebag friends head toward the door, and I knew that meant Kat was here. Leaning back in my chair, I casually looked over my shoulder. Something unexpected happened to my chest. It felt like someone had walked right up to me and socked me in it. I might have stopped breathing. Right there, surrounded by humans, in front of Andrew, who was still running his mouth about some game.
“Oh Mary, mother of baby Jesus,” I muttered, eyes narrowing.
Kat stood by the door, her hands clasped around a tiny clutch as her gaze bounced around the gymnasium nervously. The dress…aw man, that dress should be illegal. Tight around the breasts and waist, then flowing over her hips like a river of crimson silk. Her hair was up, revealing a long, graceful neck I’d never really noticed before. That was weird, because her hair was always up it seemed, but then again, that amount of cleavage was never showing before. Except when she wore that bikini. Speaking of red…
Red.
Red was my favorite color.
Dee had been so right about the damn dress.
Kat wasn’t cute. She wasn’t even sexy. She was beautiful—absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. Not that I hadn’t noticed that before, but now? Now was something entirely different.
I watched her bolt as soon as she spotted Lesa, and an approving smile spread over my lips. That’s right, Kitten, I thought, stay away from Simon. He so doesn’t deserve to be in the same time zone as you.
I had no idea how long I watched her, but I eventually lost sight of her in the crowd. Part of me wanted to get up, punch Andrew in his mouth to shut him up, and go find her. But that would raise eyebrows, so I remained there, gripping the back of my chair so hard it groaned under the pressure.
Then she reappeared with my sister, skirting the dance floor. She stopped, twisting gracefully until her gaze landed on my table as if she’d been looking for me. Something inside me roared a male approval.
Our eyes locked, and there was that sucker-punch feeling again, except it moved lower, into my stomach. I was mesmerized, enthralled. Her lips parted and—