I thought about how the zombies always fell away from me after biting me. During that last fight, I’d assumed they were afraid of what I’d do to them, how I’d retaliate. Now I wondered if they’d tasted the same disease in my spirit. Wondered, too, if they reacted the same to the other slayers.
By the time midnight hit, I was no closer to answers—and I had a new question take center stage. Where was Cole? He’d said he was coming over.
As if on cue, my phone beeped.
I read, Can’t make it, sorry. B & F found nest. Injured. Traps out, guard stationed, so stay inside. U’ll B fine. C U 2morrow.
My heart thundered, a jackhammer against my ribs. I wanted details so badly I could taste them, but I knew better than to text him back. A distraction could get him killed. Bronx and Frosty would have to be patched up, and I’m sure the rest of the gang would be returning to the nest to destroy anything the boys had left behind. But I hated that I wasn’t with them.
I tossed and turned that night, my mind buzzing with too much energy. Me and beauty z’s were not meant to be, I guess. At eight, I showered and dressed in a T-shirt, shorts and flip-flops, hiding my bruised wrists with colorful cloth “bracelets.” Though I was starved, I opted not to go down for breakfast. I had no idea what to say to my grandparents or how to handle this situation.
At last I allowed myself to text Cole. I asked how Frosty and Bronx were doing. Five minutes later, there was still no reply. He was probably sleeping. Weekends were the only times we got to rest. Well, some of us.
Kat parked at the curb at ten, as planned, and I grabbed a purse—aka my secret survival kit, complete with a flashlight, small crowbar (for beating), nail file (for stabbing), the antidote and my cell phone—and raced out of the house at full speed. I needn’t have bothered. Nana and Pops were out back, gardening.
I slid into the passenger seat of Kat’s Mustang, goose bumps breaking out over my skin. Every day was cooler than the last. I drank in her familiar scent—a soft, floral perfume—and her always-wicked smile.
“Okay, wow,” she said. “There’s missing me, and then there’s missing me. That porch-to-car sprint has got to be a record.”
There was a rosy flush to her cheeks today, the shadows gone from her eyes. “Well, then, I deserve a reward.”
“I like where your head’s at. Let’s grab a coffee before we head to the mall. My treat.”
As she drove to the nearest Starbucks, I checked the sky for the cloud of doom. Good news: no rabbit. Bad: the sky was gray, the clouds heavy as a storm brewed. If the sun remained hidden, it couldn’t prevent the sensitive zombies from emerging. Right?
I made another mental note: ask Cole. Until I knew, I’d have to stay on alert. Just in case.
“Any word from Cole?” she asked.
“About what? Why? Did you hear something?”
She purred with amusement. “Calm down. I haven’t heard anything. And I think it’s safe to say he’s all yours. I swear, he practically devours you with his eyes every day at school. I was trying to hint that I wanted you to spill any info about Frosty. He hasn’t called or texted since yesterday evening, and that’s so unlike him. He’s basically my stalker.”
Ah. “Cole mentioned that he wasn’t feeling well. He’s on the mend, I’m sure, so you’ll probably hear from him later today.” I knew he was okay because Cole wouldn’t have been able to sleep and would have contacted me otherwise.
“Probably. He tries at least twice a day to hook up with me.”
“Hook up as in…” I couldn’t bring myself to say the word.
“As in sex?” she stated plainly.
“Well…yeah.”
We reached the drive-through, but there were three cars ahead of us.
“Then yes. He was my first,” she added. “My only. What about you?”
“Uh, no. I’ve never…”
Those pretty hazels widened. “Never?”
“Ever.”
“Lucky. I wish I hadn’t. Not because it’s bad, but because it changed things. It became all that Frosty wanted to do with me. But enough about me. You’re thinking about getting down and dirty with Cole, aren’t you?” she asked, nodding encouragingly for me to respond.
“No. Yes. Maybe. Oh, I don’t know.” Agitated, I twisted my seat belt through my fingers. “I’m not even sure we’re officially dating, although he did say he wanted me to get to know him well enough and when I said I didn’t yet, he threw out details about himself as if they were bullets and I was a target.”
“Girl, he wants to dip you in Frosted Flakes and have you for breakfast. That’s his favorite cereal, by the way.”
I…had no words for that.
“For what it’s worth, I can tell you that it’s a huge step and now that Frosty is my ex, I have to live with the fact that someone I may or may not despise has seen me naked.”
A single ray of sunlight seeped into the car, spotlighting her eyes, turning them a brighter shade of green while drowning out the brown. The sun! Sweet! That was one less worry. But of course, that ray vanished a second later as if it had never been. Argh!
We crawled up a few more inches as she said, “I know you’ve kissed Cole. Actually, everyone at the club knows you’ve kissed Cole, and I’m sure we’re all surprised your lungs remained inflated and you survived. So was he any good?”
A dreamy sigh left me—and I found three little words. “He was amazing.”
Her laugh was like the tinkling of fairy bells, merry and pure. “You’ve got it bad, my friend.”
“Yeah.”
She drummed her fingers against the wheel. “Well, here’s my advice. If you decide to go for it, insist on a condom and get on the pill. And I know, I know. I sound like I’m teaching Sex Ed. But you don’t want a Baby Cole growing in the oven, do you? And think about it. Who knows where Mackenzie has been? Not us!”
To get on the pill, I’d have to talk with Nana, but even the thought of discussing any of this with her filled me with horror.
“I wish you could see your face,” Kat said, shaking her head. “Okay, so since class with Professor Mad Dog is still in session, I’m going to tell you what my dad told me, and hopefully stop you from flinging yourself out of the car. Talk to him before you do anything. I mean it, Kat. I mean, Ali. And don’t start the talk just before making out, or in the middle of making out. Sit him down before anything’s happened—when nothing’s going to happen. Once a boy gets sex on the brain, he’ll say anything to get it. Kathryn, I mean Ali, are you listening to me? You have to find out where you stand with him, but I’m begging you, please decide you’re not ready.”
“Okay,” I said, horrified all over again. First I had to talk to Nana, and then Cole? I’d rather fight zombies! “So your dad told you all of that?” Brave man.
“I meant my mom, of course.” She gave another laugh, this one nervous. “Anyway, the perfect place for you to start your conversation with Cole is that officially dating thing. Are you or aren’t you? How do you feel about that? Will he be seeing other people? Then, of course, you lead into the bigger question. Will he cuddle you afterward? Believe me, that one is important. One time Frosty left me two seconds after we finished, just kind of pulling on his clothes as he jumped out my window, and I was like, are you freaking kidding me with this, but of course he couldn’t answer because he freaking wasn’t there!”
We reached the box before I had to respond, and placed our orders. What could I have said to something like that, anyway?
She went with an iced mocha and I went with a piping hot cinnamon cream latte.
“And here’s another thing,” she said, easing toward the window to pay.