"No," Kylie muttered, determined to fight her own battles. Besides, she wanted to be here, this was home, and by God, she wasn't hiding her pattern. Sooner or later, they'd get used to her. Wouldn't they?
Eventually they would stop staring and accept her as one of their own.
"Well, I'm gonna do something," growled Perry. He moved forward. "You wanna stare at something?"
he yelled out. "Well, stare at this!" Perry swerved around, bent to the waist, dropped his pants, and mooned every pair of those fifty sets of eyes.
"Perry!" Holiday squealed, but there was laughter behind the tone. Burnett's chuckle bounced out of him, but then he slammed shut his mouth when he spotted Holiday's arched brow at his open show of humor.
"Don't be showing your ass, Perry!" Burnett said, his voice deep as if still trying not to laugh. "People are trying to eat."
Everyone in the entire room bolted out with laughter, even Kylie. Leave it to Perry to turn an awkward moment to one of complete humor. Kylie looked at Miranda, who was rolling her eyes, but pride sparkled behind them. And she should be proud. While pulling his pants down might have seemed extreme, it had been done with good intentions, to put a stop to an awkward moment-done to make Kylie feel better.
And it had.
Pants back up, Perry turned around and winked at Kylie. As they started moving to the food counter, Kylie leaned in to Miranda and said, "Perry's a keeper."
Miranda rolled her eyes again in humor. "I know." She grinned. "And he has a cute ass, doesn't he?"
Kylie laughed again. "I didn't see his ass, it's his heart that did me in."
As Kylie stood in line to get served her hamburger and fries-which actually smelled a bit like heaven -several people came over to welcome her back: Mandy, one of Miranda's witch friends, Chris, the vampire, and Jonathon, who wore a long face, obviously missing Helen.
"How's Helen?" Kylie asked, and was suddenly washed with a bit of guilt knowing it was probably because of her that Helen was attacked. "I'm so sorry this happened."
"It's not your fault," he said, and bumped her with his shoulder. "But give me a chance to put my hands on that asshole who hurt her and he'll be sorry."
"Is she really okay?" Kylie asked.
"Yeah, she's fine. Her parents say she can come back here in a week."
"That's good," Kylie said.
"Good? That's like forever. A whole week. Seven days. I'm gonna go bat-shit crazy. She's like my drug. I'm not used to being without her." He took off, not a happy camper.
Kylie watched him slump off-his posture that of a hurt and defeated-looking boy. And she got a flashback to how she felt when Lucas would leave. Lonely, empty. Her touchstone in life missing.
Trying to push the thought away, she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up and do a tickling tap dance. Trying to be inconspicuous, but fearing she knew exactly who was staring, she looked over her shoulder at the were table. Sure as hell, he sat there, studying her with wide, blue eyes. Eyes filled with a sad apology. Her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach.
Would she ever get over being mad enough to forgive him? The question painfully banged against her chest bone with each beat of her heart.She looked away and shot forward at the same time and ran right into a wide chest-a familiar wide chest. One she remembered leaning against last night in a dreamscape. When she glanced up at Derek's face, it was as if her brain decided this moment was perfect to download everything that happened. All the missing pieces of the puzzle of last night in the dream came hurling back.
The kiss.
His arms around her.
The gentle way he'd held her.
Oh, shit!
Chapter Sixteen
Kylie had stopped the kiss, but not nearly soon enough. And then she'd rested her head on his chest and cried because she'd felt so confused. He'd held her so close and let her cry. It had been cathartic and soothing.
It had been wrong.
Wrong because of what she saw reflecting in his eyes. Hope. Optimism that when her heartbreak with Lucas was all said and done, they'd find their way to what they'd had before.
That thought brought on an epiphany-one of those startling realizations that usually caused havoc in one's life. And yes, she felt the havoc, but she also felt ... a surge of questions and a need to understand.
Derek had cheated on her, actually slept with Ellie, unlike what Lucas had done-or what she'd thought he had done. And while she'd been hurt by Derek and felt betrayed, this thing with Lucas felt like so much more. Why?
Did it speak to how much she cared about Derek-that forgiving him had come easier? Or did it refer to the depth of her feelings for Lucas? That the feelings she held for Lucas were truer?
"You okay?" Derek asked, staring at her.
She nodded. "Just hungry," she lied, and moved in front of him in the line, so she wouldn't have to face him or the lie she'd just told.
He leaned down and whispered in her ear. "You're not mad at me, are you?"
She considered the question, and the answer came back. I can't be mad at you, it's myself I'm mad at.
She'd been weak. She should have called the end to the dreamscape before it got started. And she could have done that. So why hadn't she?
"No, I'm not mad," she whispered back. "I'm just..." Realizing they were surrounded by vampire ears that could hear all kinds of secrets, she said, "We'll talk later."
"That will work," he said. "I'm shadowing you tonight, so we should have plenty of time."
Kylie frowned. Maybe she needed to add Derek to Burnett's no-shadowing list. At least until she sorted out her feelings.
* * *
With a food tray in hand, Kylie moved to the table where Miranda and Perry sat. She sat down and glanced at Perry and again felt the wash of gratitude to the shape-shifter. "Thanks," she said.
"Anytime you need me to show my ass, I'm there for you," he said, grinning.
Kylie heard someone take the seat beside her and worried again about encouraging Derek. Picking up a fry, she looked straight ahead, trying to ignore the fae as long as possible. Her gaze shifted around the room, stopping on the were table and the four frowns being tossed her way from the weres sitting there.Frowns from everyone but ... Lucas.
A certain woodsy scent of the person sitting next to her suddenly filled her senses. The fry slipped from her fingers. Slowly, she turned her head to confirm her mistake.
Mistake confirmed. Her breath hitched a little.
It wasn't Derek sitting next to her. But Lucas.
Reverting her gaze to the plate of food, she stared at the hamburger that suddenly didn't smell or look so appetizing. "Shouldn't you be with your pack?" she whispered without looking at him.