Vampire Beach: Legacy (9 page)

‘
I CAN
’
T BELIEVE
Mom and Dad gave me permission to go to Ryan’s party,’ Dani said sarcastically to Jason as they walked down their driveway. ‘His place is two whole houses away from ours! I might, I don’t know, get lost on the way home.’

Or you might, I don’t know, fall in love with a vampire
, Jason thought.
And end up like me.

‘Wow. Look at the Patricks’ yard,’ Dani breathed. Glass hearts – some red, some white – hung from the branches of every tree, glowing with the light of the candles that burned inside. More candles – these ones as long and thick as Dani’s arm – had been staked into the ground on both sides of the walkway leading to the front door. And somehow – Jason couldn’t quite figure out the mechanics of how – a second moon was suspended over the house, full and silvery, looking almost as real as the one nature made.

‘It’s so romantic,’ Dani said as they cut across the street.

Jason was suddenly struck by the fact that this was a Valentine’s party. It was all going to be about couples. He was probably the only guy there without a date. Well, except Adam. Adam didn’t do the dating thing much. He claimed he had a rare disease that made him sound like an idiot whenever he was around a girl he liked.

‘No offense, but I don’t want to walk in with my brother,’ Dani said. ‘I’ll see you in there.’ She picked up her pace, and a few moments later disappeared through the open double doors leading inside.

Jason wasn’t ready to go in anyway. He was beginning to feel like this was a big mistake. He spotted a stone bench under one of the trees and headed over. He decided he’d sit there for a while, and then, if he still felt like the party was going to be a torture fest, he’d take off and swing by for Dani later.

He leaned back against the trunk of the tree and watched people drift into the party. Lots of couples, just like he’d thought.
Sienna wouldn’t show with someone else, would she
? he wondered suddenly.
We’re not trying that hard to fool her parents. Are we?

No, there she was. Walking slowly through the candlelight. Her hair pulled up, showing off her long neck. God, she was gorgeous. She hadn’t seen him, and he didn’t call out to her.

‘Why didn’t I bring my camera?’

Jason smiled, recognizing Adam’s voice.

‘I could use a few more shots of Sad and Lonely Boy by Candlelight,’ Adam continued, stopping next to the bench.

‘And you aren’t sad and lonely?’ Jason asked with a grin. He looked up at the glimmering glass hearts above their heads. ‘And also by candlelight. Or is there a girl with you I don’t see?’

‘Belle is meeting me here,’ Adam answered.

Wait. Adam and Belle? Wasn’t Adam the one who’d spelled out the reasons why a vampire/human combo wasn’t all that great? ‘
Belle’s
meeting you here?’ Jason repeated, trying to wrap his head around the fact.

‘Not like that,’ Adam told him. ‘Belle has decided I’m much too groovy to be single. She’s making it her mission to find me the perfect girl sometime tonight, at this very party. Her one condition was that I didn’t bring the camera along.’

‘In that case, I’d like to add a condition too,’ Jason said.

Adam raised his eyebrows.

‘Don’t mention the Klingon Language Institute until you’re . . . until you’re married. Maybe have a couple of kids,’ Jason told him.

Adam shook his head. ‘Ass. So are you going in? Or are you continuing to brood – or whatever it is you’re doing?’

‘I’m sticking with the whatever for a while. Sienna’s in there. I thought it would be great just to see her. But I’m not sure I can take it.’

‘I feel you,’ Adam said. He started to sit down on the bench.

‘No way. Get in there. If Belle can’t hook you up, no one can,’ Jason told him.

Adam grinned. ‘I know. I have the best wingman – wingchick? – going. I cannot help but score.’

‘As long as you speak English only,’ Jason reminded him.

Adam shouted something guttural and unintelligible as he started for the house. ‘That’s "screw you" in Klingon,’ he called over his shoulder.

So much for hanging with Adam tonight
, Jason thought. But he probably shouldn’t really do the Lonely-Guy-by-Candlelight thing either. That was just too pathetic. He shoved himself to his feet and walked straight into the party.

Wild!
he thought as he looked around. Somehow Jason didn’t think Ryan’s mom had helped with the decorations – at least not inside. There was another one of those freaky how-do-they-do-that moons beaming down from the ceiling, and there were go-go girls – that was the only way to describe them – all over the place, shimmying to the music. They wore shiny white vinyl thigh-high boots and shiny white vinyl cupid wings. A few pieces of lacy red material – and a few strategic heart tattoos – completed their outfits.

‘How much do I love Ryan Patrick right now?’ Van Dyke asked from behind Jason. He held a plate with some lobster, some cinnamon hearts, and some strawberries on it. ‘He’s got to have collected all the red food in the state – and hired every unemployed model in Hollywood,’ he added with a grin.

‘Seems that way,’ Jason agreed, smiling back.

‘Uh-oh. Here comes my date. She’ll be pissed if she catches me looking,’ Van Dyke said. He put his plate down, rushed across the room and swept Maggie into a deep dip straight out of a chick flick. He kissed her as the go-go cupids boogied around them.

Jason didn’t need to be watching this. A drink is what he
did
need. Make that drinks.
Lots
of drinks. He wasn’t driving, so no worries on that front. He spotted a goofy fountain of deep red punch on a table to one side of the room. He was sure it would be spiked, but syrupy sweet drinks weren’t good for the long haul.

He decided to check out the kitchen for beer. Sure enough, Jason spotted a trashcan full of iced beers as soon as he stepped into the room. But a half a second later, he spotted Sienna. She was sitting on the counter, laughing at some story Lauren Gissinger was telling.

Jason backed out of the room quickly. He knew it was totally within the just-friends rules to walk over and join the group. But he also knew there was no way he could get that close to Sienna and not want to touch her. And that was too risky. ‘Punch it is,’ he muttered.

He strode back out to the fountain, dipped himself a cupful of the red stuff, and downed it. It was definitely spiked. He quickly refilled his cup, then decided to check out the backyard. Who knew what Ryan had going on poolside?

The first thing he saw was Erin Henry feeding on Harberts in the hot tub. Red and pink rose petals swirled around them, matching the dinner-plate-sized blossoms in the huge vases all around the pool. To non-vampires it would look like the couple were just making out, but Jason knew better. He also knew exactly how radical Harberts was feeling right now. When the vampires drank from you it was like getting a bliss injection. Like getting high on the best drug ever created.

Jason turned away, not wanting to think about anything vampiric. He heard the rhythmic thump of a dribbling basketball and quickly found the source. A lighted outdoor court. Full size. Now
that
he could handle. Jason chugged his punch, grabbed a beer out of the ice-filled garbage can near the diving board and made his way over to the court.

Brad and Priesmeyer were playing one on one. As Jason approached, Brad made a perfect basket from half court. ‘And that’s it. Priesmeyer goes down!’ he cheered. A couple of girls applauded from the sidelines. ‘Who’s next?’

‘Me,’ Jason called.

Brad threw him the ball, and they were on. Jason pounded down the court – but Brad got in front of him, blocking him.

Brad’s super-strength and supernatural speed made him a killer opponent. But basketball wasn’t all about the physical. Jason feinted left. Brad fell for it, and Jason managed to duck around him and . . . ‘He shoots, he scores!’ Jason cried.

But then Brad shot, and scored – twice. Jason pulled off his sweater and tossed it off the court. Time to get serious.

Even at absolute seriousness, Brad won 11-9. But since Jason wasn’t supernatural, he felt pretty good about those nine points.

‘Good game,’ Brad said.

‘Thanks.’ Jason used the hem of his T-shirt to wipe the sweat off his face. ‘I definitely need another beer after that.’ He snatched up his sweater.

‘I’m buying,’ Brad joked as he led the way back to the garbage can stuffed with beers.

Jason stared at the fake moon above the Patrick house. ‘Does one of Ryan’s parents work at a movie studio or something? That’s one hell of a special effect.’

‘No. His dad’s a lawyer. And his mom is a V.P. at the DeVere Center for Advanced Genetics and Blood Research.’

So that made it absolutely clear. Ryan and his family were vampires. There was no way you could get to be a V.P. at that place with blunt teeth. Sienna’s dad was on the board there. Maybe a few non-vampires held some lower-level positions, but quite possibly not even that.

‘I don’t know Ryan very well,’ Jason said, doing a little fishing. ‘It was cool of him to invite me to the party.’

‘That’s Ryan. He’d invite everybody in Malibu if they’d fit in the house,’ Brad said with a grin. ‘Belle has this whole system of classifying guys by what kind of dog they’d be if they were dogs, and she says Ryan’s a golden retriever: likes everyone, everyone likes him.’

I guess if Dani has to date a vampire, it’s good that he’s also a golden retriever
, Jason thought wryly.

‘I’m heading back inside. I want to dance with a go-go girl. Those wings – they make me nuts,’ Brad said. ‘And I
am
a single guy again. You coming?’

‘In a while,’ Jason answered. He wasn’t ready to paste a smile on his face and dive back into the crowd. He grabbed a beer and headed down to the beach, scrambling down the cliffside to the sand.

It was deserted, which was unusual for a DeVere Heights party. Generally the beach was the main event. But it was chilly out tonight, and Ryan’s house didn’t have stairs down to the sand. It was probably just as well that people weren’t clambering down the cliff drunk. Jason took a breath of crisp nighttime air and walked down to the sea. A little way further along the shore, a few boulders were scattered at the waterline, the black ocean lapping gently at their bases.

The real moon sailed high in the sky, casting a silver glow over the sand and turning the water to shiny obsidian. Jason had never seen the Pacific so calm before. He walked for awhile, making for the boulders. It was nice to be away from the noise and the heat of the party.

He skirted the boulders. And, suddenly, there she was. Waist-deep in the water, the moon glinting softly off her dark hair: Sienna.

She trailed one pale hand through the still ocean, dragging ripples of silver in her wake.

Jason stood still, afraid to move. Afraid to breathe. Afraid to ruin the perfection that was Sienna at that moment.

Then she turned toward him, as if she felt his eyes on her. She started to smile as she took a step closer to shore. Then she froze. He could tell she was remembering the new rules too.

Just friends
, a voice whispered in his head.
Friends.
But the adrenalin coursing through his veins told a different story.

They just stood there. Both staring. Then Sienna moved forward, just a tiny bit, a small step toward Jason.

That’s all it took. Jason was moving toward her, running into the ocean. She held out her arms as he reached her, and he pulled her up against him. Her mouth was on his, hot and wet and perfect.

Some small part of Jason’s brain was still telling him this shouldn’t be happening. That he should stop it. But that was an impossibility. Take his hands off her warm skin? Take his mouth away from her lips? Complete impossibility.

He didn’t care what happened. All that mattered was now: this minute, this night. He and Sienna alone on the beach together.

‘
I
’
M SORRY
’.
SIENNA
backed away from Jason, fingers pressed to her lips.

‘Don’t,’ he told her. ‘Don’t say you’re sorry. Not for that.’

Sienna smiled. ‘You’re right. We don’t have anything to apologize for. You go to a party, you have some drinks, you end up kissing one of your friends, right?’

‘Right,’ Jason said. ‘This pretty much falls into the friend category. That punch Ryan’s dishing out is lethal. I’m surprised I didn’t end up kissing Adam.’

Sienna laughed. A completely fake laugh.

‘Although I guess I’d have had to wait in line. Belle has made it her mission to find Adam his dream girl,’ Jason added.
Why am I talking about Adam when I’m finally alone with Sienna?
he thought.

‘It’s good for her,’ Sienna answered. ‘It keeps her mind off Dom.’ She looked down at the ground, like she was fascinated by the sand at her feet.

‘So, we’re good, right?’ Jason asked, because it didn’t feel exactly like they were.

‘We’re good. We’re friends. Everything is . . . it’s OK,’ Sienna murmured, eyes still on the ground.

He wasn’t finding it easy looking at her, either. Not standing so close. Not when he could still feel that kiss.

‘Do you think anyone saw?’ Jason asked.

Sienna glanced nervously up and down the beach. ‘I doubt it. There’s no cover anywhere. If anyone else was out here, we’d see them, right?’

‘Right,’ Jason said. ‘We’re alone.’

They stared at each other for a moment.

‘I need to go home,’ Sienna said in a rush. ‘I’m going to take the beach route. I’ll . . . I’ll see you at school, Jason.’ She turned around and hurried away from him.

‘Wait!’ Jason called.

Sienna looked over her shoulder.

‘Let me walk you,’ he offered.

Sienna just stared at him.

‘Except how stupid would that be? Me walking you to your house – where your parents live,’ Jason continued.