Sweet Peril (The Sweet Trilogy #2)(18)

Kope and I looked at each other again. A night off with no threat of whisperers? Hanging out with one of my Neph friends? Heck, yeah.

Patti kissed my cheek and shook Kope’s hand good-bye. “Y’all have fun,” she said.

I grabbed my purse and we were out.

CHAPTER SIX

NON-DATE

It was not a date.

And yet, there was something very date-ish about walking into a movie theater with a guy, no matter how hard I fought against the idea. He’s your friend. Friends go to movies together. You and Jay used to go all the time.

Yes, but Jay never had a crush on me like Kope did once upon a time.

Well, I didn’t think about Kope like that. My head still spun from the encounter with Kaidan and my heart was way too fragile. Besides, I had bigger, more important things to think about than boys.

We stood at the ticket counter, looking up at the listings. He nixed the romantic comedy right away and I nixed the war film. We decided on an action-adventure and both reached for our wallets at the same time. He looked appalled when I snatched Dad’s credit card from my purse and slid it onto the counter before he could.

“This one’s on my dad,” I said. “You know, since it was his idea and all. I mean, not that I’m not glad to be here.” I cleared my throat and felt the skin on my chest warm with embarrassment at my big, dorky mouth. I took the tickets and Kope followed me.

“Let’s get popcorn first,” I said. “We can’t watch a movie without popcorn. It’s, like, a necessity, you know?”

He grinned and shrugged. “I did not know. This will be my first film.”

My jaw dangled open. “You’ve never been to the movies?” When he shook his head, I linked my arm through the crook of his elbow and pulled him toward the concession stand. “Come on, I need to school you.”

“Anna!”

Aw, crap. Three couples from school were walking toward us and I automatically sprang into party-girl mode.

“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.