Kiss of Death (The Briar Creek Vampires, #1) by Jayme Morse & Jody Morse (23 page)

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Chapter 24

Lexi stabbed a piece of chicken with her fork
and gnawed at it angrily. From across the table, her aunt took a
tiny bite out of an eggroll and shot her a cold, hard stare.

“How was your day, Lexi?” Dan, who was seated
next to Violet, asked.

“Fine,” Lexi answered, spearing a piece of
broccoli with her fork and shoving it into her mouth. It took her
about a minute to realize how ridiculous she was being. Lexi was
angry at her aunt for inviting Dan over for Chinese food without
her permission. She decided that she probably shouldn’t take it out
on him, though. It wasn’t really his fault that her aunt was a mega
bitch.

“I went over to see Greg,” Tommy announced
loudly, scooping a spoonful of pork fried rice onto his white
plate. He turned to look at Violet. “The chore is done.”

“What chore?” Lexi asked, trying to hide the
curiosity from her voice.

Violet glanced over at Tommy. “Oh, your uncle
and Greg just had to talk some sense into a boy who got into a lot
of trouble. Nothing important,” she answered.

Lexi raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow. She
knew that Greg Lawrence had talked to Noah’s parents when he bit
her, but she didn’t realize that he regularly got involved in
things like that. Even if he did, how could that possibly involve
Tommy, a plumber?

Lexi wondered if they might have been warning
Gabe to leave her alone. Not that that was going to be a problem
anymore, now that he no longer wanted to see her. Or maybe that was
the reason why he didn’t want to see her, Lexi thought. Maybe her
uncle and Greg Lawrence had been harassing him for awhile about
leaving her alone.

Just as she was about to ask what the boy had
done wrong, her cell phone lit up to a bright shade of blue and
rang loudly. Recognizing her old area code, Lexi wondered who it
could be. She politely excused herself and flipped open her phone,
walking into the kitchen.

“Hello?”

“Lexi, this is Justin’s mom. I’m just calling
to see if he’s still there with you. I can’t reach him on his cell
phone and he’s not home yet.”

Lexi’s heart sank. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Collins.
He left early this afternoon. He should be home by now. Maybe he
decided to stop by one of his friends houses, first,” she
suggested.

“Maybe you’re right,” Mrs. Collins said
hesitantly. “It just isn’t like him to go this long without calling
me, though. If you hear from him, please let me know.”

Lexi promised that she would
and hung up
. Opening a blank text message, she typed
“
your mom is looking for u, call her
,” and sent it to
Justin.
Going back into the kitchen, she resumed
her seat across from her aunt.

“Who was that?” Violet asked, more cheerfully
than usual.

Lexi glanced at Dan. She knew her aunt would
be mad if she mentioned Justin in front of him. “It was a friend’s
mom. She hasn’t heard from him since he went on a road trip and was
wondering if I knew where he was,” Lexi answered, staring her aunt
in the eye.

Violet’s lips curled into a smile. “Well, I’m
sure she’ll hear from him soon, Lexi. I wouldn’t worry about it. I
also don’t know why his mom is depending on you to keep up with his
whereabouts. He’s part of your old life now,” she said, waving her
hand. Lexi gritted her teeth. The expression on Violet’s face told
her that she knew damn well that Lexi was talking about Justin.

Instead of saying what she wanted to, Lexi
tossed her napkin on her plate and ran upstairs to the safe haven
of her bedroom without saying a word to Violet, Tommy, or Dan and
slammed the door loudly. She could hear the three of them
whispering to each other downstairs, but drifted off to sleep
before she could even listen to what they were talking about.

*

The next morning, Lexi blew her small, shiny
whistle and yelled, “No running!” It was Monday afternoon and,
despite what had gone on the night before, Dan had sent her a text
message early this morning to remind her that they were supposed to
spend the evening together. Remembering that Lexi had come up with
it as an excuse on the night she pretended she wanted to go to
Mary-Kate’s instead of Gabe’s, Lexi cursed at herself. It’s not
like she had gotten anything out of sneaking to Gabe’s house
anyway.

Lexi noticed that Noah hadn’t been back to
Splish ‘N Splash during the past few days she had been working. She
wondered if he was sick, but was happy to not have to worry about
dangling her feet in the water – especially because it was so hot
outside.

Glancing to the children who were splashing
to the left of her, she noticed that Brandon was walking towards
her. Her heart skipped a beat.

“Hey, Lexi,” Brandon said, sitting down on
the cement beside her.

“Hi,” Lexi replied shyly.

“So, are we still on for Tuesday night?”
Brandon asked.

In the midst of seeing Justin and getting
into a fight with her aunt, Lexi had completely forgotten about the
date she had made with hot new co-worker. “Yeah,” she answered.
“How about I meet you, though? My aunt’s a little bit over
protective of me.”

“I completely understand,” Brandon answered,
his lips widening into a big smile. “My grandma, who I’ve been
living with since my mom died, is really protective, too.”

“I’m sorry about your mom,” Lexi said
nonchalantly. “Mine just died recently, too.”

“Really?” Brandon asked. “Was she sick,
too?”

Lexi raised an eyebrow. “No, she died in a
car accident.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Brandon answered.
“That must have been really hard for you, especially after losing
your cousin.”

Lexi remembered that she hadn’t told him that
her mom had died after Austin, but she figured that Dan must have
mentioned it. Or word really did travel quickly in Briar Creek.

“Thanks. Anyway, where should I meet you on
Tuesday?” Lexi asked.

“Let’s meet at my house. Make a right onto
Orchid Lane and a left onto Cherry Avenue. My house is at the end
of the cul-de-sac. It’s salmon with white trim. You won’t be able
to miss it,” Brandon answered.

“Sounds good,” Lexi replied, making a mental
note to save the directions in her cell phone later.

“I gotta get going, but I can’t wait to see
you then,” Brandon said, standing up.

“Me either,” Lexi replied, smiling and
watching his cute butt in his swim trunks as he headed to his
lifeguard stand. There was something about Brandon that was really
refreshing. Compared to the other guys she had met and dated since
she had been in Briar Creek, he seemed so normal. Of course, she
would find out on Tuesday how normal he really was.

*

“Do you mind if I go on a date with a guy
from work?” Lexi asked her aunt, wrinkling her nose at the bologna
sandwich that Tommy was eating. She could never fathom the idea of
eating bologna. Why would anyone eat something that was
thirty-eight percent hoof? Gross.

“Aren’t relationships between co-workers
against Splish ‘N Splash’s terms of employment?” Violet asked
quietly, without looking up at her.

“I don’t really know. I’m sure that they
won’t find out if we don’t make it obvious at work,” Lexi
answered.

“Of course they’ll find out, you foolish
child! This is a small town. As long as you live here, everyone
will know everything that you do,” Violet yelled at her.

“Well, maybe I’m willing to risk it,” Lexi
answered bluntly. “He seems like a really nice guy.”

Violet scoffed at her. “I’m sure he’s not as
nice as Dan.”

“No, why would he be? No one is as nice as
your precious Dan!” Lexi said sarcastically.

Tommy cleared his throat. “Lexi, I think what
your aunt is trying to say is that you’re dating Dan.”

Lexi stared at him. “Neither of you care if I
actually want to date Dan. You just assume that because you want me
to, I want to.”

“It’s what’s best for you!” Violet screamed
at her. “I forbid you to date anyone except for Dan!”

“I should have known better than to ask,”
Lexi answered, stomping upstairs to her room. She glanced in the
mirror. Even though she wasn’t sure if she really wanted to see Dan
tonight, she had a date to get ready for.

Dan had informed her that they were going to
spend a cozy night in. He would bring over a pizza to share with
her aunt and uncle and then they were going to watch some movies.
Lexi really didn’t like the idea because she didn’t want to spend
the night in the same house as her aunt, but she didn’t object. Dan
and Violet probably had already agreed on the plans before he told
Lexi about them, so her opinion wouldn’t matter much anyway.

Lexi opened her closet and pulled out a white
halter top from New York & Company. She pulled it over her head
and slipped into a pair of tight skinny jeans. Glancing at herself
in the mirror, Lexi smiled. She looked pretty damn good. On second
glance, Lexi noticed that her ass had gotten bigger – which was
probably because of all the Pop-Tarts she had been eating since she
got to Briar Creek.

As she ran a brush through her hair, Lexi
heard a loud thud. Glancing around, she realized that there was a
bat outside the window. Lexi shivered and wondered how bats could
have ever been her favorite animal. They were so creepy.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of
the doorbell ringing loudly. Lexi dropped her brush onto her
dresser and trotted downstairs.

Lexi swung the door open and found Dan
standing on the front porch, smiling at her. Across the street, she
noticed a red Volkswagen Jetta parked in Gabe’s driveway. Hadn’t
she seen a red Jetta parked in Mary-Kate’s driveway the day she had
gone to her house? Lexi tried to remember, but couldn’t.

Dan gave her a funny look. Grinning, he
asked, “Are you gonna let me in or are you gonna make me stand
outside?”

“Sorry,” Lexi muttered, stepping aside so
that he could come into the house. When he was in the entryway, he
leaned over and pressed his lips against hers before she could even
react.

Glancing out of the corner of her eye, she
hoped that Violet and Tommy weren’t watching them. Lexi realized
that if they had been watching, she wouldn’t have even gotten an
“ahem” because they’d be happy to see Dan and Lexi kiss in front of
them. They were so weird!

Dan pulled away from her and nodded to the
pizza in his hands. “I hope you like pepperoni.”

Lexi forced a smile. “Pepperoni’s fine.” In
the back of her mind, she thought about food poisoning, before
reminding herself that that wasn’t how her mom had died. Her mom
had pretty much told Lexi herself. Or her mom’s ghost, or whatever
it was, had told her.

Violet, who was wearing a stunning red dress,
came into the living room and said, “Hey, you two. Tommy and I have
some last minute plans. Maybe we can do this another time?”

“Of course we can, Mrs. Graham. Have fun!”
Dan said, beaming.

“Have fun, kiddos,” Tommy said with a wink.
Straightening his tie and coughing, he followed Violet out the
front door and closed it behind him.

“So,” Dan said, walking into the dining room
and setting the pizza on the table. “Shall we?”

Lexi smiled, this time a genuine smile. “We
shall.”

*

Later that night, Lexi turned the lights off
and settled on the couch next to Dan. Their conversation had flowed
pretty well at dinner, but she still wasn’t completely sure about
how she really felt about him. There was no doubt that Dan’s
sparkly blue eyes, tan skin, and cute grin earned him a nine out of
ten in terms of attractiveness, but would his touch send shivers up
her spine the same way Gabe’s did? She hadn’t spent enough time
alone with Dan or had been close enough to him to find out, but
part of her thought that she would already know if it was remotely
possible for her to feel the same type of connection with him.

Dan wrapped his arm around her and pulled her
close to him. Lexi snuggled against his cold, hard body and
intertwined her fingers in his.

Her mind drifted back to seeing Mary-Kate’s
car in Gabe’s driveway. Lexi wondered what she was doing over
there. She knew Mary-Kate was a bit of a tramp, but was she really
Gabe’s type? Had he really moved on from Lexi already? They hadn’t
known each other all that long, but Gabe had made a dramatic impact
on her. Had Lexi not made the same impact on him? Just the thought
of him with another girl made her feel sick to her stomach.

“I’ll be right back,” she told him, and got
up to go into the kitchen to look out the window. She couldn’t take
it anymore, she had to see if Mary-Kate’s car was still in Gabe’s
driveway.

“Hey, babe, what’s wrong?” Dan asked, coming
up behind her and tugging her close.

Lexi shook her head, which
she had nestled against his chest. “Nothing’s wrong,” she lied.
Mary-Kate’s car
was
still in his driveway. She tried to push the thought of the
two of them out of her mind. She pulled back to look at him,
feeling a wave of calmness wash over her as she stared into his icy
blue eyes. “Why?”

“I was just making sure you were okay,” Dan
said, lightly rubbing her shoulders. “You feel really tense.” Lexi
leaned back against him, enjoying the feel of his cool fingertips
pressing deep into her skin. Dan lowered his head and kissed her on
her neck. Lexi shivered.

“Does that feel better?” Dan whispered into
her ear, swirling his tongue around her neck. Lexi nodded, holding
in a moan that had trapped itself inside her throat. Dan reached
down and started easing Lexi’s shirt up.

When it got past her bra, she snapped back to
reality and asked, “What are you doing?”

“What you want me to do,” Dan said quietly,
looking deep into her eyes.