Okay, posting this excerpt.? ? Quite? a contrast to the tone of the one last week, I think.? Keep in mind, it’s the roughest yet–I need to go back and edit some of the cliches, etc.? That said, I’ll go ahead and post it.? Cheers!

“Hey, I need you to help me out.? Quick!” I hissed, jerking Cody’s sleeve.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? “Asking works, too.? What could possibly be so urgent that you have to rip my shirt to tell me?”

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? “I need a decoy.”? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

His brow creased.? “You mean, like a duck?”

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? “What the—no, not a duck.? Freak.”? I choked back a laugh, in spite of my jittery nerves.? “I need someone to—crap!? Here he comes.? Look, just follow my lead, I don’t have time—“ I broke off and smashed my body against his, pressing my lips up to his mouth.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? He froze, his arms stiff metal rods at his side.? Wrapping my own arms around his neck, I tried sending him a mental message to do the same.? It failed.? “Put your arms around me—they’re coming, ” I hissed.? Still no response.? Finally, in desperation, I kicked him in the shin.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? “Oof!”? ? But at least he got the clue.? Well, sort of.? He rested his hands ever-so-gingerly on my hips.? Like if he held me closer, I might infect him with flesh-eating bacteria.

I held my breath against Cody’s stiff lips as Nate’s and Kenzie’s footsteps thudded closer, then paused.? After several tense moments, the footsteps finally retreated.? I shoved Cody away and expelled a disgusted sigh.?

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? “Okay, that was seriously the lamest fake kiss—or any kiss, for that matter—that I’ve ever seen or experienced in my entire life.? What, do I smell bad or something?”? I raised my arm and sniffed, but the only aroma tickling my nose was the cherry blossom scent of my deodorant.? I frowned.? Maybe he had an aversion to fruit.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Cody scrambled two steps back, his face registering shock.? “No, it’s not that, it’s—what the heck was that, anyway?? I thought I made it clear that we’re just friends.”?

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? I threw my hands in the air.? “You idiot—I was trying to scare Nate away.? But still—that was weak.? I mean, I just sort of figured—“ I stopped, realizing how conceited that sounded.? No need to humiliate myself further.? Unfortunately, Cody took up where I left off.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? He leaned back against the stone wall, amusement starting to chase the surprise from his face.? “You figured what, exactly?? That I’d be thrilled to kiss you?? Sorry, but you’re not really my type. Oh, don’t worry—there’s nothing wrong with you.”? His smile turned derisive.? “It’s me. I’m just into someone else.”

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? “Wait—oh my God—it’s Allie, isn’t it?? I knew it!? That would be so cool, the two of you as a couple.? Only—you can’t have date nights every night, because what would I do?”?

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? He broke in before I could go off again.? “No, it’s not her.”

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? “Then who?”? A hideous thought had my stomach lurching.? “Please, tell me it’s not Steph.? I’ve seen the way she looks at you, but I figured you had too much taste to fall for that Barbie hair and freakishly perfect body.”?

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? He shook his head in exasperation.? “No, it’s not her either.? If you must know, it’s—“ He studied me for a moment, took a deep breath, then blurted it out. “Nate.? I have a crush on Nate.”

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? My mind went blank.? It was like I heard his words, but somehow, they just didn’t compute.? “As in, Nate Nate?? Boy Nate?? My ex-Nate?”

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? “Yes, as in that Nate.? I guess I should have told you this before, but I’m so used to keeping it secret, it was hard for me to let it out.? Summer—I’m gay.”

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? I felt my jaw muscles working, but no sound made its way past my suddenly flaccid tongue.? Finally, I managed one measly squeak.? “Huh?”? And then, my speaking-ability returned.? Unforunately.? Because I cringed when I heard the words that escaped my mouth.? “But—you don’t even like Bravo TV!”?

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I’ve finally gone back and performed a little editing on the first chapter of my Work in Progress, tentatively titled “The Demon Guard.”? It’s still rough, but hopefully not too horrific.? Comments/ constructive criticism always welcome!

Cheers!

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? ? ? ? ? ? ? Squaring my shoulders, I entered the hallway to wait.? According to my watch, only four minutes had passed when Trent came tearing up the stairs.? He saw me and skidded to a halt, his sneakers squeaking on the hardwood floor.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? “So, what’s up?”? He flashed a white smile and rested his hand on the small of my back.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? “Why don’t we go into one of the bedrooms?”?

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? I felt his hand jerk in surprise.? I couldn’t blame him—ever since the debacle, I hadn’t been famous for my approachability. ? Even the majority of the students that mocked me feared my razor-sharp comebacks.?

But Trent recovered quickly.? He steered me to the farthest doorway down the hall on the right, and we entered a master bedroom.? I bypassed the attached lounge to plop down on the four poster bed, nervously smoothing my hand over the satin of the comforter.? At least my first time would be in a nice room—I’d heard all the horror stories.

“So, what do you want to do now?? I’ve gotta admit, I’m kind of surprised.? You’ve never seemed very interested.”

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? I smiled a sad smile.? “Shows how observant you are.? I’ve had a crush on you for ages.”? In spite of what was coming next, I couldn’t help the warmth that filled my cheeks. I glanced down at my hand, noting the ring now appeared black.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? I bolstered my courage and widened my smile into something I hoped looked seductive.? I could have been off, though—my flirting skills were way beyond rusty.? “Why don’t you take off your shirt?” I suggested, leaning towards him.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? His eyes lit up, then dimmed.? “Are you sure you haven’t been drinking?? Because I’m not the kind of guy who would do that.”

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? “Just that one sip of beer.? I hardly think it’s enough to get me loaded.”

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Faster than a gunshot, he yanked the black t-shirt over his head and tossed it to the side.? “Well, okay then.? Now what?”

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Tentatively, I lifted my hand to his chest until my palm rested on the warm skin.? His muscles bunched under my touch, but I could still feel the beat of his heart.? It was distinctive and rhythmic.? Very rhythmic.?

Too rhythmic.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? I dropped my hand, my own heart crashing against my ribcage like a caged tiger trying to escape.? Swallowing hard, I said, “Well, here goes nothing.”? I reached under the hem of my own shirt, and the smile in his eyes changed to something hotter.? I paused. “You know, I really do like you.? That’s why this is so hard.”

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? “What’s so hard?”

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? “This.”? I whipped my hand out from under my shirt, clutching the thin golden spike I’d grabbed from inside my leather sheath.? Then, without a moment’s hesitation, I shoved the spike straight into his skull.

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Another excerpt today!? ? This takes place at a frat party in chapter five, when Alex is still not totally sure? what’s going on with her strange impulses to help people.? I just tweaked it a little this morning, so hopefully I didn’t mess something up–but if I did, I’m sure somebody will let me know!? She’s talking to Genna and a random frat guy at first.

Happy reading!

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“So, I was just asking Stu about that party coming up.”

I nodded like I was enthusiastic, although my thoughts were still with Logan. Stupid.? I gave myself a quick mental tidy and perked up.? “Yeah, I heard it’s going to be a total blast.”

Stu smiled.? “Should be rockin’.? If you two think you’re ready for some serious fun…”

Genna clapped her hands together like a little kid, and a smile started across my face.? I opened my mouth to respond.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? And then it? nailed me.? Terror.? The emotion slammed into me so hard, my muscles spasmed and the cup slipped from my hand.? It bounced and landed with a clatter, ricocheting off the floor and spraying beer all over my new sandals.? Sticky wetness trickled between my toes.? But before I could? investigate the damage, the feeling struck me again.? Only stronger this time.? Slivers of ice slid down my spine, and I felt my heartbeat accelerate.

“O-ho, check out the party foul!”? Stu yelled, to the cheers of the three other frat guys standing nearby.

I couldn’t even answer.? ? For starters, my head pounded like I’d been? trapped in a car? blasting heavy metal for ten hours straight.? More importantly, I was suddenly experiencing an urgent compulsion to find and help the person in danger.? As in, now.

“Sorry,” I muttered finally, looking to both sides, desperate to go.? “Um…I’ve got to run to the bathroom and wipe this off.”? Genna gave me a peculiar look, but I didn’t stop to explain.? I fought back the impulse to sprint and instead took off at a speed walk down a hall to the left, letting my instinct guide me.? I hurriedly passed a bunch of open doors on each side, where guys and girls were hanging out and partying.? At the end of the hallway was a door leading to a staircase.? Without hesitation, I entered and headed down.

The panic was getting worse—much worse.? It clawed its way into my chest and squeezed, making my lungs strain to suck in air.? I shivered again and started to run, taking the steps two at a time.? I didn’t stop to consider what I might find or how I could help.? The instinct just forced me to move. Fast.

When I got downstairs, I entered another hallway.? A couple of doors led to empty rooms with long tables, kind of like board rooms.? Only dirtier and smellier.? My nose wrinkled at the sickeningly sweet stench of stale beer, mixed with the pungent aroma of urine and some other yuck that I’d just as soon not know the origins of.? Seriously–hadn’t frat boys discovered Febreeze by now?? ? But I didn’t have long to ponder the finer points of air fresheners, since my instinct was urging me past those rooms, to the very end of the hall.? I didn’t see a door, but somehow, I knew she was in there, the girl calling to me.? And her desperation skyrocketed by the second.

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