The Truth of Yesterday

Book 4 of the Killian Kendall Mysteries

By Josh Aterovis
Copyright 2026

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Chapter 21

I pulled into Danielle's driveway only a little later than expected. Her neighborhood was a step up from Craig's, in that the houses were discernibly different from their neighbors in architectural style. She lived in a light-blue, two-story Cape Cod with an attached two-car garage, whose open door revealed a matching set of late-model Audis, one dark green and one champagne. In the drive outside sat a slightly older red Hyundai, which I assumed to be Danielle's.

Unlike Craig, Danielle was not waiting to greet me. I approached the front door and knocked. After a brief delay, it was opened by a dumpy, middle-aged man in the uniform of a stereotypical college professor: sweater-vest over a button-up Oxford shirt, brown slacks, and brown loafers. His hairline had long ago sounded the retreat, and what remained was turning from a mousy brown to an equally mousy gray. He peered at me over half-glasses, wearing a slightly befuddled expression as if he expected to recognize me but didn't.

"I'm here to see Danielle," I said, hoping I had the right house.

"Oh. Yes. One minute, please." His voice was a surprisingly rich baritone.

I stood waiting on the doorstep for about a minute before she appeared. She looked remarkably like her father, except she was a little heavier and lacked the receding hairline. Her hair was the same mousy brown and hung limply to her shoulders; she had the same pear-shaped body; she even peered at me over her glasses in much the same way. She wore what looked like a man's shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a pair of Capri pants, and no shoes.

She eyed me critically. "Are you the guy who called and wanted to talk to me?"

"Yes, I'm Killian Kendall."

She nodded. "I've heard of you. Jake used to talk about you, and of course, almost everybody at school knows what you did."

"Of course," I said under my breath.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing," I replied quickly. She seemed a little sullen, and I figured it would be in my best interest to keep her talking while she was still willing. "Can I ask you some questions about Jake?"

She shrugged, which I took as an affirmative. When she made no move to either come out or let me in, I asked, "Do you think I could go inside or you could come outside so we don't have to talk through the door?"

She made a face and threw open the door with a dramatic sigh. "I'll come out there," she said as if she were making a huge sacrifice for my benefit. "If we go inside, my parents will listen."

I doubted her father would be able to work up enough interest to be bothered. I didn't know him, however, and I'd never even seen her mother, so I took her word for it. She led the way across the yard to a freestanding lawn swing with just enough room for two people to sit next to each other if they didn't mind being a little intimate. I minded, but sat down gingerly anyway, as far to one side as possible.

Danielle gave me an expectant look.

"So you're friends with Jake?" I asked.

"Not anymore."

"What happened?"

She picked imaginary lint off her shirt. "Who knows? He never told me."

"What do you think happened?"

"He got bored with us and moved on to greener pastures."

"Us meaning you and Craig?"

"Yeah."

"Was it always just the three of you?"

"Pretty much. Every once in a while, some guy would try to get close to Jake, if you know what I mean. He'd be around for a few days, and then we wouldn't see him much anymore. I think Jake's motto was, 'Use 'em and lose 'em.'"

"Do you know for a fact that Jake was sleeping with them?"

"Not for a fact, no, but it doesn't take a genius."

"Who were they?"

"I don't remember their names. They weren't really important, you know?"

I tried not to sigh in frustration, wondering if she was making this stuff up as she went along. She struck me as the type who embellished stories to be more dramatic — or invented them from whole cloth, if necessary.

"So you know Jake is gay?" I asked.

She rolled her eyes. "Duh. Everyone knows that. He's not exactly in the closet."

"Did that ever bother you?"

"Of course not," she said quickly, which probably meant that it had. I was beginning to suspect she had a crush on Jake and had resented the competition. It made me wonder how she felt about Craig, who also had a crush on Jake, one so obvious even Kane had noticed it.

"What about Craig?"

"What about him?" she asked obtusely.

"What did you think of him?"

She quirked her mouth to one side. "Craig is a little wimp. He followed Jake around like a puppy dog. It was sickening. That's probably why Jake quit hanging out with him in the first place."

I had to bite back asking her if that was why he'd quit hanging out with her too. I doubted Jake's sudden change had anything to do with Craig or Danielle, and, in fact, suspected Jake had actually enjoyed having his own private fan club. Something else must have come along to make lovesick teenagers seem paltry in comparison. Could that something have been the escort business?

It was obvious that Danielle lived in her own bitter little world. She saw only what she wanted to see, which led me to think she was unlikely to give me anything useful. To be honest, I didn't like her, and wanted to get away as quickly as I could. Still, I had one more question I needed to ask before I made my escape.

"So you don't really have any idea what's going on with Jake?"

"I already said no. We don't talk anymore."

I took a deep breath and decided I was done there. "Thanks for your time, Danielle—"

She cut me off. "Wait a minute. What was that all about? Why were you asking all those questions about Jake?"

She asks that now? I marveled to myself. The logical time would have been when I started interrogating her, not when I was done and ready to leave. Although I didn't owe her anything at that point, I suspected if I didn't give her something, she'd be on the phone to Jake before I was out of the driveway. On the other hand, she seemed like the gossipy type, so I couldn't tell her too much.

"You know I'm a private investigator, right?"

"So you said on the phone. How do I know you're not lying? How do I know you're not just hot for Jake's ass like those other guys?"

I gritted my teeth and counted to ten.

"The case is classified," I said.

Her eyes narrowed, and I knew I'd said the wrong thing. For all her bluff and bluster, however, I had a feeling she was really a coward at heart, so I decided to try a little scare tactic.

"Jake may be involved in something very dangerous." I clipped off each word in my annoyance. "Lives may be at stake, including everyone he is or was close to." Her eyes widened at that. My ploy might work after all, and, as far as I knew, I wasn't even lying. "I need you to stay very quiet about our talk or you could put the whole case in jeopardy. Do you understand?"

She nodded.

"Good. Thanks again for your time." I turned away quickly before she could ask anything else and strode across the yard to my car. I hoped I'd been convincing enough to keep her quiet.

I also hoped like hell I had overstated the case.

Once I was in the car, I checked my phone and saw that I'd missed a call from Craig while I was talking to Danielle. I wondered if he was already taking me up on my offer to talk, or if he had something to add to what he'd told me earlier.

He answered on the second ring, as if he'd been waiting near the phone. "Um, thanks for returning my call." He sounded slightly surprised, as though he hadn't expected me to.

"No problem," I said. "What's up?"

"After you left, I thought I remembered something, but I wasn't sure about it, so I looked it up in my journal. Right before Jake started acting weird, he was really excited one day at school. I asked him why he was so happy, and he said he couldn't tell me, but he might have met someone totally different from the normal boys around here. He was always going on about how much better the guys were in California."

"He didn't tell you anything about this guy he'd met?"

"No, sorry."

"Craig, you don't have to apologize all the time. It's not your fault. There's nothing to be sorry for. You've just given me some information I didn't know before. That's extremely helpful."

"Seriously?"

"Absolutely. Thank you."

"Um, you're welcome."

"I have another question for you. Danielle said Jake dated a lot of guys, but none of them stuck around for very long. Is that how you saw it?"

"I guess. Jake always said the guys here were too boring. I got the impression he missed the West Coast."

"But he told you the new guy he'd met was different?"

"Yeah."

"Any idea what he meant by that? Even a guess?"

"I don't know."

"Did he have any specific complaints about the guys here other than they were boring?"

"He said they didn't know how to party. And, um...he sometimes tried to get me to do drugs with him, but I never would. I don't know where he got them from. He complained no one here knew how to have fun. He always said that when I told him I didn't want to get high with him."

"What kind of drugs did he use?"

"I have no idea. I don't know much about drugs. I've never done anything. I don't even drink."

"Was it pills? Powder? Needles? Joints?"

"Joints and pills mostly."

"Mostly?"

"I mean that's all I ever saw."

"Do you know what kind of pills they were?"

"No, sorry. Er...I mean...sorry. I'm sorry I said sorry again."

I stifled a giggle. "It's okay. Thanks, Craig, you've been a big help."

"I have?"

"Definitely."

"Cool. Um, well, I'll let you get back to work or whatever."

"Okay. Thanks again, Craig."

"Yeah, you're welcome. Oh, and um, thank you. For, uh, talking to me and stuff."

"You're welcome. And don't forget to call me anytime you want or need to talk."

"Okay," he said softly. "Bye."

"Bye, Craig."

I hung up and thought about the difference between him and Danielle. One was sweet and gentle, while the other had the grace of a bulldozer. Jake couldn't have chosen two hangers-on who were more at odds. The only thing they had in common was their fascination with Jake Sheridan.

I took out my notebook and jotted down the little bit of information I'd managed to glean from Craig and Danielle, most of which came from Craig. After that, I decided it was time to check in on Kane.

His face lit up when I walked into our bedroom. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Did you forget about the costume party tonight?"

"No, but I figured you would."

"Well, I didn't. Do you have any ideas for costumes? We'd better get working on them if we want them to be any good."

"Micah's going, right?"

"As far as I know, although considering all this stuff happening at the paper, I should probably check with him just to be sure."

"Well, if he is, I was thinking maybe we could go as some famous trio, like the Three Musketeers or...well, I can't think of any others."

"What about the Three Stooges, or the Three Little Pigs, or Huey, Dewey, and Louie?"

He poked his lip out in a pout. "If you don't like my idea, just say so."

"No, I think it's great. I was only teasing. Let me call Micah and find out if he's still going."

I called his cell but it went to voice mail after ringing for a while. On a whim, I tried his desk phone.

He answered on the third ring. "Yeah? What do you want?" he snapped.

"Micah?" I asked uncertainly.

"Killian?" His voice softened. "Sorry about that. It's been a bad day."

"What's going on?"

"It's just this story. Things are getting messy. I'm getting crank calls. The paper's running scared. They want me to back off. I'll tell you about it later. This isn't a good time. Were you calling for anything in particular, or just checking to make sure I was still alive?"

"Well, actually, I was calling about the dance tonight at Haven..."

"Fuck! I forgot about that. Kill, I don't think I'm going to be able to make it. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," I said, trying to hide my disappointment. "What about the Equality Ball?"

"I think I can still make that. I'm so sorry, Killian."

"It's okay."

"Are you sure? I feel terrible."

"It's all good. Kane is going with me, so we'll be fine. Work comes first."

He sighed. "No, work shouldn't come first. You should come first, but right now—"

"Work has to come first," I finished. "Micah, I understand. Things won't be so hectic forever, and this story is a big deal."

"I don't know what I did to deserve you."

"That goes both ways, mister."

"I love you."

"I love you too." I hung up and turned to find Kane leaning against the wall.

"So, it's just the two of us, then?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Looks that way."

"I guess instead of famous trios, we should be thinking of famous duos?"

"Sure," I said cheerily, trying to shake off the disappointment that Micah couldn't go. "What are we going for here? Funny? Sexy? Clever?"

"Well, I want it to be creative. No pirates or vampires. I think we should go with sexy, don't you? Let's make Micah wish he'd been with us when he sees the pictures. Besides, I might actually meet somebody there. How about Batman and Robin?"

I shuddered as I sat on my bed and Kane flopped down across his. "No thanks. I haven't felt the same about Batman since Jake's Halloween dance that first year you moved here. And besides, how the hell are we supposed to make Batman and Robin costumes by ourselves in one afternoon?"

"Oh yeah. Sorry, I forgot. Well, um...what other superhero duos are there?"

"Do we absolutely have to be superheroes? Aren't those costumes a little...tight? And besides, who would be the hero and who would be the sidekick?"

"I don't mind being the sidekick. I'm younger, so it's only fair. And I know I have the body to pull off spandex. Are you a little worried there, big bro?"

"Not exactly worried. It's just that I don't especially like showing off all my goods for free. Ya know?"

"Wimp."

"Exhibitionist."

We laughed.

"Okay, so no superheroes?" Kane asked.

"If you're really set on it, I guess I can live with it."

"Well, there are other choices."

"Like what?"

"Um...you could always be a Hobbit."

"Are you trying to say I'm short?"

"I plead the fifth."

I threw a pillow at him, which he easily dodged.

"We could be hippies."

"Come on, Kane, that's not very creative."

"Hey, you be creative. I'm the one coming up with all the ideas while you just shoot them down. Are you sure you even want to go?"

"Yes," I said quickly, "I do want to go. Let's see...well, I could go as a mental patient. I wouldn't even have to wear a costume." Kane shot me a dirty look. "No? Okay, how about gangsters? No, not creative. Um...maybe we should just be pirates."

"This is a lot harder than I thought it would be."

"Tell me about it."

"Oh, wait! I have it!"

"What?"

"This is so perfect. Why didn't I think of it sooner?"

"What is it?"

"Sherlock Holmes and Watson. How perfect is that? You're a detective and everything."

I blinked. "That's actually a good idea. At least for me. It wouldn't be that great for you, though. I mean, what did Watson wear? A gray suit? Not exactly sexy."

"Then I'll go as a superhero."

"I thought you wanted to go as a duo."

"I did, but this is getting to be more work than it's worth. Oh hey, maybe Dad will have some ideas," Kane said and darted out of the room before I could even respond. He returned a few minutes later with Adam in tow.

Kane explained to him our predicament, and Adam thought for a few minutes.

"What about salt and pepper or ketchup and mustard?" he said.

Kane rolled his eyes. "That's not very sexy, Dad."

Adam raised an eyebrow. "You didn't specify sexy."

"It goes without saying. How am I supposed to meet girls if I'm dressed as a bottle of ketchup?"

"Who said you'd get to be ketchup?" I said.

"Nobody's going to be ketchup."

"What about the Ambiguously Gay Duo?" Adam said before an argument could ensue.

"Who?" Kane asked.

"They're characters from a Saturday Night Live sketch." We stared blankly at Adam. He sighed. "You guys are too young." We all thought for a few more minutes, then he perked up. "How about Greek gods?"

"That's not too bad," Kane said. "I think I'd look pretty good in a toga."

"Only the Romans wore togas," Adam said.

Kane rolled his eyes. "Fine. What did Greeks wear?"

"They wore tunics under cloaks. That would be a little much, though, so I suggest we simplify it quite a bit and just make skimpy, sexy tunics."

"Togas, tunics, whatever...isn't the whole thing a little cliché?" I asked.

"It doesn't have to be," Adam said. "You can decide on specific gods, and we can tailor the costumes. For instance, if you were Zeus you could carry a thunderbolt. Or Hermes could have winged sandals and helmet. Ares would have a shield, spear, and helmet. Apollo, a harp or bow and arrow. You get the point. Best of all, we could sew the tunics from old bed sheets, which won't take more than an hour or two. You'd only have to buy a few accessories."

We jumped on the computer and looked up images of various Greek gods. I chose Hermes, and Kane picked Ares.

Kane and I ran to the costume store to get the props we needed while Adam started sewing our tunics. By the time we got back, Adam had them both ready to try on. They were cut rather high, since Adam had cut them both out of the same sheet.

I started having second thoughts as I stood in front of the full-length mirror in our bedroom. "I don't know," I said doubtfully.

"Oh come on, Killian." Exasperation was clear in Kane's voice. "We have to leave in less than half an hour. What do you mean you don't know?"

"It's awfully...short."

"It's supposed to be short," Adam said, trying to suppress a snicker and not quite succeeding. "Kane insisted they had to be sexy."

"I mean, I know. There's just...less of it than I expected."

"You look great," Kane said. "Besides, it's too late now. Can we just go?"

I continued staring at my reflection. At eighteen, I still looked pretty much the same as I had two years earlier: short and thin. My chest was maybe not quite as scrawny as it used to be, but I was still feeling awfully exposed. My entire costume amounted to a white minidress, a winged helmet, and winged sandals, with a leather messenger bag slung over my shoulder.

I turned to check out Kane. His Ares costume was even skimpier than mine, but he was more built than I was, the result of a different body type, skateboarding, and some weightlifting. He wore only a skirt that barely covered his bits, and carried a fake spear, a round shield, and wore a war helmet.

"Easy for you to say," I grumbled. "You look fantastic."

"You both look great, and after all the work I put into those costumes, you're damn well going to wear them." Adam softened his proclamation with a warm smile, his face glowing with fatherly pride. "You'll be the two most handsome boys there."

"I feel like I'm on display," I said weakly.

"Oh come on," Adam said. "You're young. Flaunt it while you can. My days of running around half naked are long over."

"Ugh." Kane pretended to gag. "Thanks for that mental image."

Adam ignored him. "Besides, you'll be having so much fun you won't even think about it."

I sighed. "I hope so. I just wish Micah was going."

Kane squeezed by me to take one last look at himself in the mirror. "Are you done complaining yet?" he asked, his eyes never straying from his image.

I took a deep breath. "Yes."

"Good. Then let's go."

"We'll be early if we leave now," I said.

"Why don't you stop by the B&B?" Adam said. "I know it's out of the way, but Steve would love to see you in your costumes."

"It's not too much out of the way," I said. "And it'll allow us to be fashionably late."

"Perfect," Kane said. "That way we can make an entrance."

"Just what I want to do," I said sarcastically. "Are we going to have to pry you away from the mirror?"

"What? I'm not that bad."

"You haven't stopped taking selfies since you put your costume on."

"So? I look good. And so do you, so don't start. Let's go." He jogged off down the stairs.

I gave Adam a long-suffering look as I stuffed my wallet in my messenger bag.

He patted me on the shoulder. "I know you wanted Micah to go, but try to have fun without him. Just not too much fun. Don't forget you're taken."

"Oh my god, Adam!"

"What?"

"I would never cheat on Micah."

"I didn't say you would, but I was eighteen once. I remember what it was like."

"Come on!" Kane called from downstairs.

Adam grinned. "You'd better go before he pees himself."

I laughed and headed out the door.

"Oh, and Killian?"

I paused.

"Keep an eye on Kane, please."

Steve got a kick out of our costumes, as did the middle-aged gay couple who had checked in that day. They practically drooled over the two of us before we escaped out the door. The stop took longer than planned since both Steve and the couple insisted on taking pictures. I'm sure I was bright red in all of them.

The party was in full swing when we arrived. It was being held in the same building in which Haven met, although the room was larger. We found it by following the thumping sound of the dance music. Everett and the plump blonde from the first meeting were sitting at the door selling tickets. Everett was wearing a pink bunny costume. The girl, whose name escaped me, was dressed all in black with huge black wings. She looked like an overgrown crow, although I doubt that was the effect she was going for.

"Hey, Killian. Wow, you guys look great," Everett said. "You remember Tanya, right?"

"Of course." I handed him the money for our tickets, and Tanya stamped our hands.

Everett eyed Kane. "Sooooo...aren't you going to introduce us? Is this your boyfriend?" he asked finally, his curiosity getting the better of him.

Kane choked, and I bit back a giggle. "No, this is my little brother, Kane."

"Oh. Hi, Kane. I'm Everett. Are you gay?" Everett batted his lashes.

Kane grinned. "Nope, one hundred percent straight, but I'm gay-friendly. Just not that friendly."

"Damn. I knew it would be too much to hope there'd be two guys that hot in the same family who were both gay."

"Actually, I'm the only person in my family who isn't gay, but that's another story. Right now, I just need to know if there are any girls here who aren't just into other girls."

Everett hooted a huge booming laugh. "I like this kid. To be honest with you, I don't know who's here. I just arrived and took over for Tony. He wanted to dance so bad I thought he was going to have a heart attack before I got here."

"He was dancing out here," Tanya said. "But I've been on door duty the whole time and let's just say you should be fine."

"Thanks," Kane said, flashing her his most dazzling smile.

Everett chuckled. "It's wasted on her, buddy. She's only into girls."

Tanya elbowed him in the side, and he laughed again.

"Well, I guess we'd better go on in," I said.

"Wait, let me get a picture to post in the group." Tanya grabbed her phone and hopped up in a flurry of feathers. "Who are you supposed to be?"

"They're Ares and Hermes," someone said from behind me.

I spun around to find Noah giving me an admiring look. My mouth dropped open when I saw what he was wearing — or maybe I should say not wearing. All he had on was a leopard-print loincloth and a white shell necklace with a matching anklet on one foot.

He gave me a sexy smile. "Or is it Mars and Mercury?"

I licked my lips. "Um, you had it right the first time."

"I know my gods." He cocked his head to one side. "So, you like my costume?"

"Tarzan?"

"Yup."

"Picture," Tanya reminded me. I posed with Kane while she took a couple of photos. By the time she was done, Noah had paid and been stamped. He followed us into the room, which was surprisingly full.

Haven had hired a DJ, who had the music pumped up. The lights were low, and a disco ball threw tiny spotlights all over the room.

"Hey, guys," Val said, bouncing up in a cheerleader uniform. I had to laugh when I saw the letters FU across her chest. "Nice costumes," she said. Then she noticed Kane. "And who is this?"

"This is—" I started but Kane quickly interrupted.

"I'm Kane, Killian's brother. And you are?"

"I'm Valora, you can call me Val."

"Hello, Val."

"Kane is straight," I said rather unnecessarily.

"Well, I hate to disappoint anyone, but I'm not," Val said with a laugh. "However, I can introduce you to some girls who are into guys."

"That would be great." Kane jumped on her offer like a starving dog on a bone. He turned to me with a pleading look. "Is that okay?"

"Sure, go have fun. Just be careful. And you'd better not drink anything or Adam will kill me."

"There's no alcohol here," Val said. "At least officially. Come on, Kane. I'll introduce you to everyone."

The two of them went off into the crowd, leaving me alone with Noah.

"You really look great," he said after a moment.

"You look pretty good yourself." I was trying hard not to stare at his body, which was a lot more defined than I'd expected. He even had a lightly sculpted six-pack.

"Where's your boyfriend?"

"He couldn't come. Work stuff."

"That sucks. I have to meet this guy. I'm beginning to wonder if he really exists."

I glanced over to see if he was serious or joking, but it was impossible to read his expression.

"Oh, he's real," I said. An awkward silence fell between us. I spotted the drink table. "I'm going to go get a drink. You want anything?"

"Um, yeah, thanks."

I realized he'd been staring at my ass.

He grinned at me, knowing he'd been caught. "A Dr. Pepper, if they have it."

I grabbed two cans out of the ice, poured them into clear plastic glasses, and carried them back to Noah.

"Thanks," he said, taking one of them from my hand. A chill went up my spine as his finger brushed mine. "It was nice of you to bring your little brother. I hope he doesn't get hit on too much."

"You think he will?"

"Probably. He's a cutie, and the guys will be all over a fresh piece of meat like that."

"Kane can take care of himself."

"How about you?"

"What about me?"

"Can you take care of yourself?"

"I like to think so." I was getting nervous. "What do you mean?"

"Come on, you have to know you look really hot in that costume. Every guy here is staring at you."

"They might be staring at you, you know," I said in an attempt to shift the attention off of me. "After all, you're practically naked."

"You're not wearing much more. Trust me. They were watching as you walked across the room."

I glanced around and noticed several guys looking over in our direction. It was impossible to tell which of us they were checking out, although a few nodded when I made eye contact. I hoped the dim lighting would hide the blush I felt creeping up my cheeks.

"It was nice of you to notice that I'm practically naked though," he said with a grin. "I was beginning to think I was invisible."

"Oh, I noticed. I'm just trying to behave."

"Behaving is never any fun." He shifted a little closer. I could feel the heat from his bare skin.

"I need another drink," I said.

"You haven't drunk that one yet."

I looked down at the almost-full cup in my hand. "Oh."

"Come on, let's dance." He took my drink and placed it with his on the floor against the wall, then pulled me onto the floor. Once he'd pointed it out, I noticed more than a few sets of eyes following us. I had to admit we made a pretty hot couple.

The song playing was a sexy Beyoncé remix with a driving beat. At first, I was uncomfortable dancing with Noah — there wasn't much fabric between us, and my attraction for him was stronger than ever — but it wasn't too long before the music took over and I loosened up. Before I knew it, I had almost forgotten I was even dancing with Noah. I just moved into my own little zone.

"You're a great dancer," Noah whispered into my ear, startling me out of the slightly hypnotized state into which I'd slipped.

"Uh, thanks," I said, surprised how intertwined I'd become with Noah's body. I tried to pull away without being too obvious, but he drew me close again. I gave up. It's just one dance, I told myself.

That one dance turned into two, which turned into another, then one more, and before I knew it, an hour had passed and I was still dancing with Noah.

"I need a drink," I said, escaping from his arms at last. "Water, preferably."

"I'll get it," he said. "Wait over there." He pointed to a metal door on the far wall.

As I made my way in that direction, a few guys asked me to dance, and one of them, smelling strongly of alcohol, tried to grope me a little. I pushed him roughly away and finally reached my destination. I was only there a second before Kane was at my side.

"Hey, are you having fun?" I asked him.

"Yeah, actually I am. And from the look of things, so are you."

"What? I'm only dancing." I sounded defensive even to myself.

Kane cocked an eyebrow at me.

"Oh, put your eyebrow back where it belongs," I said. "It's just dancing. What was I supposed to do, stand against the wall all night?"

"No, but you could dance with a few other guys. You've been with the same one for the last hour. He's hot for you."

"He's just a friend."

"Killian, I saw the way he was looking at you. He wants you. Bad."

I chose to ignore his observations and change the subject. "Have you met anyone?"

He tried to look stern, but couldn't resist grinning. "Actually, yeah. She's really cool. She's my age and everything. Her name is Lila, she's Val's cousin, and she's bi."

I laughed. "Well, where is she?"

He turned around and scanned the dancers. Across the room, a tall, slender girl with long, dark hair fluttered her fingers at him. He waved her over. She was wearing a black cat costume with little ears perched on top of her head and a long tail trailing behind her.

"Lila, this is my brother, Killian."

"Good looks run in your family," she said flirtatiously.

"The same could be said for your family," I returned the compliment, even though Kane and I weren't technically related.

She looked a bit confused for a second, then her face cleared. "You mean, Val? Yeah, she's gorgeous. If she wasn't my cousin..." She waggled her eyebrows suggestively, and I laughed again.

Kane has his hands full with this one, I thought. Speaking of Kane, he was grinning like the proverbial cat that ate the canary, but I had a feeling he was the one about to get eaten.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Noah approaching with the water I'd asked for. Kane followed my gaze and frowned.

"Be careful," he said under his breath. "Don't forget how much you love Micah." With that he turned back to Lila and offered his arm. "Shall we dance?"

"Why, thank you, sir, yes," she said with a little curtsy, and they melted back onto the dance floor.

"Your little brother met someone?" Noah asked as he handed me my bottle of water.

"Yeah, she's Val's cousin. He seems to like her, but she looks like a handful."

"If she's Val's cousin then she really is a handful, from what I hear."

"What do you mean?"

"Never mind. It might not even be the same cousin. Is it hot in here or is it just you?"

I groaned. "That was awful. Can't you come up with something better?"

He grinned. "Actually, I'm serious. I'm really hot. I could use some fresh air. Come outside with me?"

A little fresh air sounded nice. "Sure."

He pushed open the door, and we slipped out into the cool night. A few other couples had the same idea, several of them busy making out in the shadows.

"The moon is almost full," Noah said.

I glanced up at the bright yellow orb hanging low in the sky. "A full moon for Halloween? The goblins and ghouls will love that."

"It's beautiful, though, don't you think?"

"Yeah, it is."

He moved a little closer to me. I shifted away as nonchalantly as I could.

"You really look great tonight, Killian."

"So you've mentioned a few times," I said teasingly. "You look great too. I suspect we're going to get cold quickly, though."

"It is a little chilly, now that you mention it."

He scooted closer again, and once more I moved away. At that point, he nearly had me pinned against the wall. Another foot and I wouldn't have anywhere to retreat.

"You could keep me warm," he said when I failed to pick up on his hints.

"Or we could go back inside."

I liked Noah, but things were quickly getting out of hand.

"I'm not ready to go back inside just yet," he said, his voice husky.

He turned to look at me, the moonlight reflecting off his face making him almost seem to glow. His eyes locked onto mine as his full, red lips parted.

He really has amazing lips, I found myself thinking. I wonder what it would be like to kiss them...

He moved a little closer, and my back hit the wall. He lifted his hand to softly stroke my cheek.

"I've wanted to do this since the first time I saw you," he whispered, leaning in quickly to press his lips against mine.

For one shocked, confused moment, I froze. Then my brain caught up, and I reacted. I twisted my face away, planted my hands firmly against his chest, and shoved with all my strength.

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