Those bubbles popped as she shut the car door and met Dayton in front of the hood. Kenna looked at him and saw the blight—all of the reasons her happiness was inappropriate—but she also saw an invasive vine.
Love blossoming in the face of destruction.
They walked toward the orange glow and the acrid stench of smoke intensified. Her nerves grew tenfold with every step and her chest hitched as he looped an arm around her waist. He had never held her in that manner and it was decidedly possessive in spite of its simplicity. She felt like the rebel of the century. Her mentor turned lover turned boss slash potential murder suspect on her arm.
It was official. She was going to Hell.
They drew closer to the light, the music.Possum Kingdomblared in all of its grunge glory from an unidentified speaker. In Branch Spring, bands like Toadies and Nirvana got as much airplay as whoever was topping the charts and people wore too many flannels and thought they were way cooler than anyone else. Didn’t anyone tell them they were 220 miles southwest of Seattle?
With Dayton’s arm still locked around her waist, they emerged in the clearing. The crowd was relatively small for a college party, less than 100 people. Everyone in attendance was a grad student and Will had informed her that it was by personal invite only.
He hadn’t said anything about a plus-one.
Every head turned and eyed them as though they were disgraced royalty and so they didn’t kneel at their feet, only stared on in disbelief.
Kenna had expected whispers and the inevitable stares but as they held the attention of the entire crowd she wondered, for the second time, if bringing Dayton had been a mistake.
“Let’s get a beer and give them a chance to catch their breath,” he whispered, guiding her by the arm toward a large, open cooler.
He grabbed two bottles, twisted off the caps with his bare hands, and offered her one. The cheap hops fell flat on her tongue and she had no real interest in finishing the drink, but she kept it in her hand for the sake of blending in. Kenna’s grip tightened on the longneck as a chill rocked through her. To calm herself, she studied their surroundings.
Rather than one massive bonfire, fires roared in three separate pits. Strands of lights coiled around trees outside of a small cabin. People milled in and out of its screen door, some idling on the porch.
A sharp crack drew her attention back to Dayton. He was opening another beer. How long had she zoned out?
“We could still leave.”
“Everyone saw us.”
“I thought that’s what you wanted.”
“It doesn’t matter what I want.” The words seared her throat.
She wanted the gossip to die. She wanted everything he had done to have been nothing more than an elaborate nightmare. She wanted to wake up in his arms and be reassured that everything was normal.
Yet things were growing more complicated by the day and, though her feelings for him should have waned, they only intensified. She was determined to hold onto him and whatever they had, even if she didn’t fully understand why.
“Everyone saw us,” she repeated softly.
He opened his mouth as if to speak but someone cut him off prematurely. A familiar voice.
“Kenna,” Will called from across the way. Beer in hand, he jogged over to them, features tensing as he registered who was at her side but still sparing Dayton a courteous nod. “Dr. Merino.”
He pointed at Will. “Will Morris.”
“Impressive memory.”
“Hardly. We see each other every week.”
“Mind if I steal Kenna for a few minutes?”
“Not at all. As long as you bring her back.”
He faltered under Dayton’s penetrative stare and Kenna restrained her laughter as she and Will walked off toward the only vacant fire pit. She made the mistake of tossing her hair over her shoulder. Between the moonlight and the flames, there was no hope in hiding the bite marks.
“Whoa. What the hell happened to your neck?” He craned his head to better examine it, hand reaching out.
She stopped him before he made contact. “Don’t.”