Tear

“What is this?”

“Rum Punch.” Demetri shrugged. “And I think a couple other things. Don’t tell me you’ve never been to a party before, Nat.”

“Fine, I won’t tell you.” I put the cup on the counter.

“What’s with the crabby attitude?” He held me against his chest and kissed my neck. “Why don’t we go outside and get some fresh air?”

I nodded. That was exactly what I needed. Fresh air. It was freakishly hot in Evan’s house. Speaking of Evan. “Have you seen Evan?”

Demetri laughed. “Um yeah, he’s currently wrapped up in Alesha’s arms. Pretty sure he’s going to swallow her lungs any time now.” He pointed to the corner where Alesha was mauling one of my best friends.

“Right.” I swallowed the panic I felt at not having anyone near me that I could really trust. I mean, how much did I really know Demetri? Enough to know that I was attracted to him despite warning bells chiming in my head every time he was near.

By the time we reached the front door, the room felt like it was spinning. Great, add a panic attack to my already awesome night.

Demetri stumbled slightly, forcing me to grab him so he could walk in a straight line. “Whoops!” He laughed and pushed open the screen door to the porch.

Evan’s house was nestled a few blocks from the beach. His parents were never home. Everyone in Seaside knew he threw these parties. It just seemed like nobody cared. Sometimes the cops came by, but even then there were always bigger fish to fry in our sleepy town. So it wasn’t ever a problem.

“Beach?” Demetri said breathlessly into my ear.

No. Absolutely not. Not with him drunk. With my luck he’d try to swim and I’d have to jump into the frigid water and save his sorry butt.

“Um, why don’t we just walk around the block? I really don’t want to be away from the party that long.”

“Okay.” He shrugged and fell into step beside me. “So, you never said yes.”

“To?”

He threw his head back and laughed, still unsteady on his feet. “Being my girlfriend. Damn, you’re adorable.”

I could have sworn I said yes, but then again, he had quickly kissed me and I’m a little fuzzy on what was being said, what with all the music and Demetri slobbering all over me.

“Why me, Demetri? You date movie stars. You date girls who look like supermodels. I guess I’m kind of confused. I mean, on top of all that, isn’t this sorta fast? I mean, we’ve known each other for like two weeks.”

Demetri stopped walking and leaned against the chain-link fence, folding his arms across his chest. “Baby, you want to see fast, I’ll show you fast. This is the slowest I’ve gone in a relationship.”

Right.

“Besides…” He pushed away from the fence and leaned down to kiss me. “I want you. I figure you’re the type of girl that needs the big gestures. I mean, you’re special. Not the type to spend the night in my bed without any sort of commitment.”

“So you want to put a label on us in order to get me into bed with you?” I asked, suddenly furious.

“No!” He started laughing all over again shaking his head. “Seriously, you have to be like the cutest girl on the planet.” He kissed my forehead. “Babe, if I wanted to be in your bed, I could have done it a week ago.”

Was he calling me easy?

“Stop glaring.” He kissed my cheek and grabbed my hand as we continued our walk. “What I’m saying, very horribly might I add, is that I really like you. You’re different. Not like other girls. I want to do things right by you.”

I exhaled. That was better.

His smile was wide and excited as he pulled me into a side hug and kissed the side of my mouth “Do you like me too?”

“Of course I do!” I punched him playfully on the arm. “But I’m thinking you don’t have trouble with the opposite sex. I mean, I do read the gossip magazines like everyone else.”

His arm tensed on my shoulder. “You shouldn’t read that crap.”

“It’s not like I believe any of it,” I reassured him, looking into his eyes to convey the seriousness of my confession.

“Good.” His smile had vanished. “It’s just that, a lot of those gossip magazines have it all wrong about me. I mean, I’m not the man-whore they make me out to be.”

“Really?” It was my turn to be serious.

He grinned. “Nat, I’m dead serious. I’m not that bad. I mean, I’m bad, don’t get me wrong. I’m probably the worst sort of guy for you, but I’m selfish enough to ignore all the signs that say I’m wrong for you when all I want is to be with you.”

“So first, I’m different, second I’m easy, and now you’re ignoring your common sense to be with me? Wow, I actually believe you about the gossip magazines being wrong. No way do you have any sort of game, Demetri.”

“Hey!” He put my head down between his arm and body so it was stuck underneath is arm in a headlock. “I’ve got plenty of game.”

“Prove it!” My words were muffled by this shirt. He didn’t smell like Alec. He smelled like peppermint and cigarettes. Did he smoke?

“Fine.” He released me and stepped back. “Natalee.” He took both my hands in his, gone was the smile. His eyes gazed intently into mine. “You are the most unique and beautiful girl I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. When I’m with you, you make me want to be a better man. You make me dream of things I never thought possible. But it’s more than that — I want you. I want you so bad, that when you’re not by my side, it hurts.” He placed my hand over his heart then brought it up to his mouth to kiss it.