“Oh, hey!” I said. I hugged each of them, eliciting smiles and laughter from the group, and even puffs of lusty auras from two of the guys. I was conscious of my lack of makeup and the fact that they kept slanting their eyes toward Kope. It wasn’t every day that a Cass High girl was seen out with a huge, gorgeous African man.

“This is my friend Kopano,” I said. He gave them all a nod and they stared. “Uh . . . he’s originally from Malawi. He goes to Harvard.”

“Wow,” said one girl.

“Awesome,” said one of the boyfriends.

More staring.

“So, what movie are y’all seeing?” I asked. I hoped we wouldn’t be in the same theater, and I was in luck. They were all seeing the romantic comedy.

“Well, have fun,” I told them. “Are you guys going to Ashley’s thing tomorrow?”

They glanced around at one another, unsure, and one girl asked, “Are you?”

“Yeah, you know I’ll be there,” I said with a smile.

They glanced around again, this time nodding their heads with sparks of orange excitement lighting up their auras. “Sure, we’ll go,” the girl said.

If there was one thing I’d learned in the past seven months it’s that popular people don’t need superhuman powers to make people bend to their will.

“Cool. See you then.” We walked away, followed by lingering stares.

I felt Kope looking at me, but I couldn’t meet his eyes just yet.

We got to the front of the line and I ordered a medium popcorn with a Cherry Coke for me and a Sprite for Kope since he didn’t do caffeine.

“Do you want butter on the popcorn?” the cashier asked.

“Yes,” I said, just as Kope answered, “No.”

We looked at each other and quickly spoke again, me saying no, and Kope saying yes. Then we both laughed and the cashier rolled her eyes.

“Aw, come on,” I said to Kope. “We have to have butter. I think you can handle a little fat.” And to prove my point I pinched his waist. My hands met the hard resistance of muscle, and his intense hazel gaze landed on me. My stupid face heated again. I pulled my hand away and switched my attention to the cashier. “Just a little, please,” I told her.

Note to self: I could not innocently touch Kope like I could Jay. I’d hoped his feelings would have passed after all this time, especially since he knew how I felt about Kai, but based on that heated glance it seemed not. My heart dropped a little. I wanted to be able to be friends with him without worrying about leading him on.

I was glad to sit down in the dim theater minutes later with the popcorn between us. Kope was far more polite than me. I dug right in during previews while he took handfuls and munched quietly.

With his eyes on the screen he said, “You are very popular among your classmates.”

The popcorn suddenly tasted stale.

“Yeah.” I felt him angling toward me.

“I meant no judgment.”

He kept watching me like he felt bad.

I took a drink of soda to wash the saltiness of emotion from my mouth. “Look. The movie’s starting.”

His watchful gaze stayed on me a moment more.

The worst part about the encounter with my peers was that I didn’t have to mention the party. It had become second nature. And the way they bent so easily to my suggestions . . . it was satisfying in a way that made me crave guilt. I needed guilt. I needed for my angel side to rise up and balance my demon side so I wouldn’t skid out of control.

I tried to put all that from my mind.

During the movie I liked taking peeks at Kope as his eyes darted around the big screen and he laughed at the funny parts, the dimple softening his cheek.

I found myself wondering if Kaidan ever went to the movies. Did he take girls and sit in the very back where it was dark and private? I crossed my legs and arms, then glared at the screen. Sometimes an imagination was an impediment.

After the movie our moods seemed to unwind in the warm night air. I’d parked around the side of the building.

“What are you doing?” Kope asked. He motioned toward my hand clutching my purse, the other hand partially inside. It must’ve looked weird.

“Oh,” I said. “I didn’t even realize I was doing it. It’s part of my self-defense training.” I pulled out the hot pink pepper spray.

Kope gave me a half grin. “I am glad to see you are prepared to defend us.” He said it jokingly, like he didn’t really think I could.

I stopped in the middle of the lot and faced him. Nobody was around. I felt a little punchy after all the tension in the theater and the giant soda. I shouldn’t goad him, I knew better, but I so wanted us to be friends. And friends had fun.

“You don’t think I can fight, do you? Try to take me,” I dared him.

His dark eyebrows came together in surprise and he chuckled.

“We are in public.”

“So?” I said. “Nobody’s around.”

“The asphalt is rough. I do not want to hurt you.”

I put my hands on my hips and scoffed, “Whatever. You’re afraid of a girl. I see how it is.” I wouldn’t push him to play along if he didn’t want to. It had been a bad idea, anyway.

I reached into my purse for my keys so I could unlock the car. During that second of distraction Kope pounced. I yelped as he pinned my arms behind my back, hardly exerting any energy at all while I squirmed. The hold he had on me felt different from the ones my instructor used, so I was frantic for a moment as I tried to decide how to get away.