Page 11 of The Spider Queen
I waved away his apology and then gestured for him to keep moving.
“He’s over there,” Hunter stated to Anita. “Crap. He’s talking to another girl.”
“That’s okay,” Anita said, tossing long, blond hair over her shoulder. She winked at me. “I got this.”
“Should I introduce—”
“Nah,” she said, beginning to dance.
Hunter and I both stood by while Anita moved to the music, getting lost in the rhythm of it. She inched her way closer to Jonah and the girl he was talking to.
“What’s she going to—” Hunter cut himself off when he saw Anita stumble and fall. Luckily, she was within arm’s reach of Jonah who caught her. She let out a breathless chuckle as their eyes met and held.
“Dude is toast.” Hunter grinned. Looking down at me, he said, “Will you keep your word and hang out with me tonight?”
“Okay,” I replied. “But can we go back outside? The smoke is killing me.”
“Sure thing.” He took my hand and led me back through the party. My skin zinged from his touch and when he laced his fingers through mine, I had to stop myself from hyperventilating.
“Hey, Hunter,” a beautiful redhead greeted, moving in front of Hunter, making him halt.
“Hey, Kim,” he said. “Do you know Poppy?”
Kim’s eyes slid to me and then dropped to our held hands. She sighed in disappointment. “Nice to meet you.”
“You too,” I said. I felt a spurt of…what? I wasn’t sure. Guys had paid attention to me in the past, but most of them were…not at all like Hunter. They were into science and easily dissuaded. They never felt like a threat to my way of life. Hunter was athletic, beautiful, and intelligent. And he scared the crap out of me.
We continued past Kim out onto the balcony, but Hunter didn’t stop there. He kept walking until we got to the stairs. The moment my feet touched the sidewalk, my head cleared, the sounds of the party already muted.
“Wanna go for a walk?” he asked. He let go of my hand and dumped out the rest of his beer before chucking the red cup into a trash bin.
“Sure you want to leave your party?”
“Yeah. Wasn’t any fun until you showed up. Come on, I want to show you something I think you’d like.”
Chapter 4
“Should I be worried?” I asked in mock fear.
“Nope. Besides, don’t you want to walk with a handsome, pre-med student under the light of the full moon?”
I laughed. “It won’t be a full moon for a few days. And you’re not that handsome.”
“Yes, I am.” He took my hand again, causing me to jerk back. “Why are you so jumpy?”
“I don’t know you,” I replied.
“Sorry.”
I let out a breath of air. “It’s—well. Not fine. I’m not used to it, okay?”
“Okay.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Listen, I know I come on strong, but I really don’t mean anything by it. If you don’t want to go with me—”
“I do,” I interjected. “I just—I’m not good at this.”
“I think you’re doing okay.”
“Yeah?”
