House of Leights Read online

  It was casual but dance-ready. My bag was small. I could only fit in my phone, cash, some cards, and lip gloss.

  “I’ve got everything,” I told her.

  She smiled, rubbing her hand across her eyes. She hadn’t taken any time off this year at all – she needed a holiday. Maybe this year she’d go to her parents’ place for Christmas, back to California. “Text me periodically,” she finally said. “Home by one, and don’t drink anything except what you poured.” She turned to go into her office, before pausing and looking back. “You look beautiful,” she added, and then pointed her finger at me. “Be careful. Stay close to Brad.”

  I didn’t complain about her rules. It was nice to have someone who worried about me but still let me have a little freedom. It was the best of both worlds. I grabbed my coat from the hall closet, pulled my boots on, and then stepped out onto the porch to wait for Brad. It was cold; the wind whipped around me, and even though what I was wearing was not exactly suitable for winter weather, there was no way I was changing. It’d be warm once I was inside the party.

  A car was slowly making its way up the drive. I knew it was Brad because he’d installed these stupid blue-toned bulbs in his lower light. Plus, my parents were gone for a conference for three days and wouldn’t be back until Monday or Tuesday, depending on travel time.

  They had this entire world and life I could never be part of, which always meant there was a huge space between us. It used to hurt a lot, made me feel like they didn’t want to be around me, didn’t trust me with their secrets. Now I understood that it was their job and they were legally unable to share the details with me, but just because I understood didn’t mean I liked it.

  “Hey, Maiz,” Brad said through the open window as he pulled up. “You look smokin'. Seriously. But you’re gonna freeze your tiny ass off.”

  I wrinkled my nose at him while hurrying down the steps to get out of said freezing winds. It hadn’t snowed yet, at least; that would definitely have ruined my suede boots. Brad had the window back up by the time I slid into the passenger seat, his heater sending delicious bursts of warm air across my half-frozen body.

  “This party is inside, right?” My teeth chattered slightly. I seriously didn’t think it was this cold in November last year. Mother Nature was kicking in her cold snap early.

  “Yep, Owens has an entire basement decked out. His dad just finished the renos and this is the christening.”

  I nodded, settling back into my seat. I wasn’t a huge fan of Mitchell Owens – a soccer star at our school who thought he was top shit. He was blond, ripped, and had biceps for days, because he basically lived at the gym. His ultra-confidence didn’t bother me as much as the vibe he gave me. I had a decent douche-radar, as I liked to call it. If there was a guy around who made me even slightly uncomfortable, I made sure to never be alone in a room with him. It was one thing my mom taught me, something she learned after being raped at a party when she was fifteen.

  Her parents never allowed her out at night, so she’d snuck out one time and the worst had happened. It shaped her entire world for years, basically until she met my father and learned to trust men again. She finally found the happiness she deserved.

  “I’m surprised you don’t have a date tonight,” I said to Brad, needing to think about something less stressful.

  He shrugged, focusing on the traffic we were slowly moving through. “Honestly, the girl drama has been a bit much lately. I’m thinking a nice, relaxing night with my best friend and a few drinks is the ticket.”

  I laughed. “Yeah, okay.” This wasn’t the first time he’d started with those intentions, but by the time “a few drinks” happened, he always managed to get snared by one of the scantily-clad chicks there.

  Brad flashed me his trademark crooked grin, the one he pulled out to get him out of trouble at school, and into trouble with women. “Scout’s honor.”

  My laugh turned into a snort. “You’re no Scout, my friend. Not even close.”

  He didn’t argue, because as usual, I was right.

  2

  It took us about twenty minutes to make it through traffic and reach the very nice development that Mitchell’s house was in. Cars were everywhere on the sidewalks, down the street, and across the road. Brad didn’t even bother looking for a spot, he just drove right down the main driveway, which was off the side of the house, and parked behind Mitchell’s car.

  “Owens told me that it was cool for me to bring my baby closer to safety,” he explained as he switched the engine off.

  I nodded, because I seriously didn’t care what the reason was. I was just happy I didn’t have to trek for miles in the cold. It also meant I could leave my coat in the car – I could brave the cold for a few minutes.

  As soon as I stepped out, I wasted no time heading for the house. “Come on, the new entrance is this way,” Brad told me, leading me past the path I thought we would take.

  I’d been heading for the front porch, but apparently that was not the way in now. We walked around the side of the house and there were people scattered everywhere, smoking and drinking. Brad waved and greeted most of them as we continued toward a set of open double doors that lay almost flush with the ground. Basement entrance, I would assume.

  Loud music could be heard before we were even close. We took the stairs down to the ground level, and … I could admit it, it was impressive. The area was huge; an entire floor had been cleared out and redesigned in a similar setup to a club: couches, tables, a designated dance floor – even a bar, which was packed with people. I recognized a ton of kids from school, but there were also a lot I didn’t know.

  “Big party,” I shouted over the music.

  Brad pushed a hand through his hair, ruffling it up a little. “Yeah, I kind of expected he would go all out now that his party space was ready, but this is pretty insane.”

  It was hard to hear him – I never quite understood why the music had to be so loud at parties. But after a few drinks I wouldn’t care. I’d just be dancing and dancing until my legs gave out.

  Brad wrapped an arm around me, semi-protecting me from the crowds. “Let’s get a drink,” he said, leaning down close to my ear.

  I nodded, letting him steer me toward the bar. Despite it being thirty people deep, we managed to get near the front quickly. I was surprised to see three people behind the bar wearing black and white and taking orders. I mean, my parents hired staff when they had their little parties, but I’d never seen it at a school thing.

  Brad noticed my wide-eyed stare. “Remember, Owens’ family owns a catering company. That’s where their money comes from.”

  I wrinkled my nose at him. “I’m sure this will come as a shock, but I don’t remember every little detail about Mitchell and his family.”

  Brad shot me a smirk, turning to order from the waitress. He got a beer, and I ended up with a pre-mixed bottle of something pink with vodka. I’d sip on this one drink for half the night, because if I came home too drunk, Gracie would never let me out again. Brad and I both watched closely to make sure the bartender opened it in front of us and that nothing shady went down. It was the reason we went for something in the bottle or can every time.

  The woman serving us looked to be about our age. She smiled as she handed the drinks across the bar, not even blinking an eye at serving alcohol to minors. I wondered if they were paid extra to break the law.

  As long as I got a drink, I didn’t care.

  “Maya!”

  The scream had me spinning around to find Courtney and Lace swaying before me. They were both cheerleaders on the team with me, the two I considered to be my closer friends. “You didn’t tell us you were coming!” Courtney yelled as she hugged me. She was almost a foot taller than me with heels on, her long blond hair smacking me in the face.

  As I hugged her back, I was hit with a strong smell of alcohol and I realized they’d been here for a while. Or they drank fast. Because they were halfway to wasted already.

  L
ace stepped in for a hug next. “Love your makeup,” I said when she was close. She’d gone for a sparkly red eyeliner to match her short, pixie hair. This week’s hair color was a rich blood red. Her large brown eyes almost looked vampiric against it. Not to mention her skin was even darker than her eyes, so the red really popped.

  I could never pull off the fashion choices she made, but she rocked them hard. Half the guys at the school pursued her, while she continually brushed them off. College or older for her; she didn’t date high school “boys,” as she called them.

  After my last disaster of a relationship, I was starting to come around to her philosophy.

  Brad, who had been chatting to a friend nearby while we caught up, gave me a wave. “You go dance,” he said. “I’ll find you in a few hours, and then we can head home.”

  Waving back, I turned to my girls. “You both ready?” I shouted, my hips already moving. The warmth from the vodka was spreading through my body. I was so ready to let loose. No more thinking about papers and college and being thousands of miles from my friends when we graduated. No more trying to figure out why my life felt empty even when it was full. Nope. Not tonight.

  Tonight was about the music.

  Despite my plan to go slow on my drink, by the time we reached the area set up as a dance floor, it was already gone. I dropped the bottle on a nearby table, smiling stupidly. I was always a lightweight with alcohol.

  Lace dragged me out onto the floor. She out-danced us without even trying, her moves a natural rhythm that could not be learned. But all of us were gymnasts, flexible and used to moving with the beat. Hugging in close, I moved my body with theirs, all of us smiling and throwing our heads back and arms up. The music was really working for me tonight, a great mix of dance and pop, without too much techno. I wasn’t a fan of too heavy a beat.

  Guys crowded in close, but they were useless to us on the dance floor. All they wanted was to slide up on me, and that threw my moves right off.

  “No!” I said firmly, pointing my finger at a dirty blond-headed guy I didn’t recognize. “No touching.”

  He held both hands up and backed away. As I was just turning back to Lace, who was shaking her ass like the next Beyoncé, I caught a glimpse of someone who gave me a moment’s pause. He was half in the shadows, leaning back against a nearby wall, and I could have sworn he was looking straight at me. There was a light rolling sensation in my tummy, but instead of the usual reticence I felt with strangers, the feelings inside of me this time were … different.

  My feet moved, heading toward him. He looked very tall … taller than most guys I knew, and considering my best friend was on the football team, that said a lot. He had one leg propped up, casual and relaxed. I sensed a coiled lethalness about him, which should have made me nervous.

  But it didn’t.

  I took another step closer. At the same time his leg slid slowly down the wall so he was standing on two feet again.

  “Maya, everything okay?” Lace asked. It took me a beat to register her question. With effort I turned to answer her, but before I even spoke one word, I was already turning back to him. He stepped out of the shadows and my heart clenched so tightly that I actually gasped in my next breath.

  “Maya!” Lace was more forceful this time. “What’s wrong? What did you see?”

  Still no words emerged, because I was trying to figure out if he was real. Was it possible any man could be that unbelievably gorgeous? His face … it had been the most perfect thing I’d ever seen. Dark and exotic, full lips, a strong jaw … it was the sort of face movie stars would kill to have.

  A body bumped me hard; the dance floor was getting so crowded. I stumbled forward. By the time I regained my footing and turned to the wall, he was gone. Without thought, moving in a frantic, almost trance-like state, I ran to where he’d been standing. But there was no one even close to this spot now.

  What the hell just happened?

  Had I literally just imagined that? Could my drink have been spiked after all?

  “Maya! For shit’s sake, girl.” Lace reached out and grabbed my arm, startling me. “You’re gonna give me a heart attack. Don’t just run off like that, lookin’ like you just saw an axe-wielding psycho.”

  I blinked at her slowly, and she examined me closer. “Was there actually a psycho?” she asked, her eyes roving around just like mine had done. Courtney joined us then, face creased in concern.

  I shook my head. “I thought … I thought I saw something … or someone. Never mind … I might just be losing my mind.” I shook my head again, more vigorously, and hoped some sanity would return with it.

  I didn’t feel drugged, just a little buzzed. But maybe this was something new, undetectable except for weird hallucinations of fantasy men. My burst of laughter did nothing to ease the concerned looks on my friends’ faces.

  I waved it away, shaking my head. “It’s all good. Come on, let’s dance again.”

  Neither looked convinced, but they did turn to head back toward the crowd. As I took the first step, I noticed something on the ground, almost hidden in the darkness. Leaning down, I picked it up, praying it wasn’t a used tampon or something equally as gross.

  Lifting my hand toward the light, I blinked a few times. It was a leaf, but not like any leaf I’d seen before. The stem was a bright golden color. At first I thought it was one of those artificial plants, but as I closed my hand on it crushing the leaf, a strong scent of pine and mint drifted to me.

  With a shake of my head, I dropped it back into the darkness. There was too much weird happening for my liking. I needed to go back to my normal life.

  There were no more glimpses of gorgeous strangers for the rest of the night, just the standard Dae students and a few newbies from neighboring schools. I found Brad later, playing poker with Mitchell and a few other football and soccer jocks.

  He caught my eye as I stepped into their corner of the room. I lifted my wrist and pointed to my watch. He picked up his phone, and realizing it was almost 1 A.M., threw down his cards and gathered up his money.

  “Ready to go, Maiz?” he said when he reached me.

  I nodded. “Yep. My feet are killing me. I’ve hit my dance quota for the night.”

  As we walked toward the stairs – the place was still mega-packed – I asked him, “Are you fine to drive? How much did you have to drink?”

  “Totally fine,” he told me. “I only had that one beer when we first got here, and I didn’t even finish it. I’ve been on water since.”

  I wasn’t surprised. If there was one thing Brad would never do, it was drink and drive. He’d lost his cousin a few years ago; the college junior wrapped his Beemer around a pole. Now, if Brad caught any of his friends even thinking about getting behind the wheel after drinking, he was right in their faces until they gave him their keys.

  The further up the stairs we got, the colder the air was, and by the time we stepped out onto the lawn I was shivering. “This weather is the worst,” I whined. “I’m probably going to get a chill and die.”

  “You’re so dramatic,” Brad said with a shake of his head. “You’re not going to die in the two minutes to the car.”

  “How can you know that for sure?” I countered.

  If he didn’t think it was completely unmanly, he’d totally be rolling his eyes at me right now. “Come on, you annoying brat.”

  He ruffled my hair, and I bit back the curse words just waiting to be flung at his annoying ass. It took longer than it should have to reach the car, because Brad had to high-five and fist bump every idiot along the way. At least my glare and chattering teeth kept him from lingering any longer than the bare minimum.

  Once I was inside, I started bouncing in my seat. “Hurry up and get the heater on!”

  The car started with a roar, and I got a deadpan look. “Anything else, your majesty?”

  Considering it for a beat, I finally shook my head. “No, I’m good. Just get me home in one piece.”

  He winked at
me. “Consider it done.”

  As we pulled out of Mitchell’s little subdivision, a bunch of police cars and dark SUVs screamed past us. “Think they’re going to break up the party?” Brad asked, turning a confused face in my direction.

  “Um … four police cars and four undercover cars is a little excessive, don’t you think?” Guess it was possible. There were a lot of kids there.

  Brad shrugged, before inclining his head toward his phone in the center console. “Can you text Owens, just in case. Let him know he needs to shut down the underage drinking.”

  Opening up the app, I quickly sent out a text to Mitchell, explaining what we’d seen. Brad’s phone buzzed almost immediately with a “thx dude.”

  I gave Brad the message and he relaxed. “You’re a good friend,” I told him, sinking back into the heated seat. “Despite my continued annoyance at your inability to treat women decently.”

  He ruffled my hair. I swiped his hand away and he laughed.

  “And because you won’t leave my damn hair alone.”

  “You know I respect women. I just don’t want to settle down. Something I make very clear far in advance of our hookups.”

  I would grudgingly give him that point. He made no false promises, but that didn’t mean he didn’t leave broken hearts behind. The ones who cared always hoped he’d change for them. And he never had.

  I was just opening my mouth to ask him if it was possible that he hadn’t settled yet because he hadn’t found the right person, but before I could say anything he hit the brakes hard and I threw both hands out toward the dash to brace myself. My seatbelt saved me from faceplanting at least.

  “Dude…” I said, pushing my hair back and glaring at him. “A little warning before you slam on the brakes like…”

  I trailed off as I finally registered the look on his face as he stared out the front windshield. Swinging around, I followed his line of sight, and blinking a few times, let out a low gasp. “What in the ever-loving world is going on?” I murmured.