“Michaelis? He’s fun, but I’m not sure if I’ll keep him. I’ve got my pick of the pack, you know. I’m surprised you’re not staying over, considering how infatuated you are with this guy. But I guess you got your fill for the night, huh?” She winks.

My face turns into a raging inferno. “Jordan, I know you’re a vampire, but I will find a way to kill you.”

“I’m terrified.” She pats Jay on the cheek. “Good night, Mr. Gatsby.”

22

“What do I wear to vampire support group?” I moan, staring into my closet.

Nick is lying on his stomach on my bed, scrolling through Instagram. “Something sexy.”

“Why? So they’ll want to bite me?”

“So they’ll want to bone you.”

“Ew. Seriously?”

“Precious, you’ve got a boyfriend again. An actual monster boyfriend. You better shake off that prim little attitude. It’s not like you didn’t get kinky with Tom the Terrible.”

“I’m not talking about this with you.”

“Fair enough.” He scoots off the bed and flips through my clothes. “You need something new in here. You live in the same three pairs of shorts and six shirts all summer.”

“I like what I like.”

“So go buy more of what you like.” He falls back onto the bed. “I’m not going to be your stereotypical gay fashion consultant, okay?”

“Too late for that,” I mutter into the clothes.

“What’s that?”

“Nothing.” I yank a sundress and a cardigan out of the closet. “This?”

“Nope.”

“You didn’t even look.”

“Your first choice is never the right one.”

With a groan I return the outfit to the closet and select another, a baby-doll top and capris. Nick blows a raspberry. Narrowing my eyes, I pull out a slinky red top, knotted at the shoulders, and a black miniskirt. “This?”

“Bingo.”

“No! Not bingo. This is the opposite of bingo. This is like wearing a big sign that says, ‘Drink My Blood’!”

“He’s picking you up in, like, two minutes, isn’t he?”

“Crap.”

“Put it on.”

The doorbell rings a minute later, while I’m still in the bathroom changing. Every minute that passes is another minute Mom gets to grill Jay about what he’s been through the past several years and what he’s doing now, so I struggle into sandals as fast as I can and grab my bag.

“See ya.” Nick salutes me.

“You better be gone when I get back.”

“Love you too.”

But when I rush into the entry hall, ready to save Jay, there’s no interrogation in progress.

My mom is hugging him.

And she’s crying.

He looks up at me over her shoulder, and his eyes are swimming with tears.

“Hey,” I say softly.

Mom turns around, sniffling. “Hey, honey. Sorry, I didn’t mean to, it’s just—”

“It’s okay. You all right?”

“I’m fine.” She plucks a tissue from the box on the hallway table. “Just fine. It’s really good to see you again, honey.”

And this time the “honey” is for Jay.

She lingers in the doorway as we head outside to Jay’s car. “You two have a good time tonight! Text if you won’t be back by twelve thirty!”

“I will.”

The car starts itself as we climb in, and we head out of our development onto the main road.

“So. Mom gave you quite the welcome.” I sneak a side glance at Jay.

“She apologized for not stepping in more and addressing the situation with my mom. I know I asked them not to, because I didn’t want to go into foster care, but she said they should have tried harder to figure out something else. And she said she was sorry you guys left so suddenly.” He clears his throat. “It was exactly what I wanted to hear. And I couldn’t say anything, so I just…hugged her. And she started crying. Do you think she’ll be okay?”

“I think she’ll be just fine.” I squeeze his shoulder briefly, and he looks over at me.

Humor sparks in his eyes. “Interesting choice of outfit. You look like a tasty little blood snack.”

“That’s what I said! But stupid Nick made me wear it.”

“Ah, the old ‘Nick made me do it’ excuse. I’m starting to hear that a lot from Cody, too.” Jay’s lips twitch up at the corner.

With a gusty sigh, I lean back in my seat. “Outfit aside, are you sure this is okay? I mean, I’m not a vampire yet. This group might not want me hearing their little vampire secrets and knowing their faces.”

“When I emailed them about it, they said, and I quote: ‘We’d be thrilled to have you and your girlfriend at the meeting.’”