I flushed. "Whatever it's called," I grumbled.
He chuckled lightly to himself.
"Nineteen. I was one of the youngest ever to transform, until your friend Tallis came along."
I winced noticeably at the mention of Tallis's name, but I tried to recover before he noticed.
"So, you didn't have too many years to explore the mortal side of life?"
He laughed a little. "Judging by the way you're dreading this party - an event that is supposed to be fun - it doesn't seem as though I missed out on too much."
I rolled my eyes. "I'm sure your high school years were just fine. All a guy has to do is look good and sound cool. It’s not as easy for the girls."
I heard him snickering before he responded. "Is that your way of telling me that you find me attractive?"
I could feel my face suddenly beaming red again, and I started stammering in an effort to recover from my blabbering fiasco.
"That's not… I was just saying… Oh forget it. I think you know what you look like."
I slumped lower in my seat as his laughter roared free. How did my foot get that wedged in my mouth?
"Yes, I do know what I look like. I just wasn't sure if you'd noticed. I'm looking forward to this party a little more now that I know you have. We might break a few of Gear's rules."
He winked at me and such an adorably cocky grin perked up. I just shook my head before lowering it in embarrassment.
We pulled up to the house shortly after, much to my relief. I wasn't even sure whose house it was. All I knew was the address and the time to be there. Maybe I'd get lucky and Elaina wouldn't even be there.
There were people everywhere, which meant Miss Socialite Alpha Hyena was probably somewhere within the mix. My nerves balled up. I really didn't want to do this.
Most of the people looked like strangers. Were we at the wrong place? That would be perfect.
Jared hopped out and walked around to my side to open the door.
"Well, it's now or never." Then he held out his hand to take mine.
I took a deep breath as I got out. I saw two of the girls that usually followed Elaina around, making this all too real. My stomach started twisting up with knots. I had already been embarrassed in front of Tallis numerous times, and it would be nice if Jared didn't have to witness the same events he had.
Jared studied me, seeming to notice my tense... everything. "Aria, we can leave. I can tell your mom we were here. I'll just leave out the details about how long we stayed. If she prods for more information, I'll turn on the charm and lead her to think we stayed longer. I can be rather convincing."
I was instantly very fond of that idea. "Let's hang out for a minute so I can tell her I was here and then we can bail. I'm not as good at lying as you claim to be."
He chuckled a little. "Alright. Sounds like a plan."
We walked up to the enormous house and went in, narrowly avoiding the two hyenas. I breathed out in relief when I saw them veer right instead of following us. There were kids my age everywhere. We could hear splashing out back as if there was a pool. We were almost back there when I saw Elaina.
Bile rose to my throat when I saw the malice glaring from her eyes. She looked away from me long enough to appraise Jared, and then the frosty stare was back.
"Well, well, well. She did show up," Elaina snarked, her lips curled up in a wry grin.
Her hyenas laughed, acting like the sheep they were. She crossed her arms and shifted her weight to one hip. Then she continued. "And she brought yet another new boy toy."
Jared put his arm around me protectively, seeming bored with Elaina and her mignons. When my knees grew shaky, rattled with stress and nerves, I leaned against him for support.
"He's hot," one of her giggly, drunken mignons blurted out.
Jared just rolled his eyes as he pulled me away from the girls. Elaina wasn't the type to let someone walk away though, so she took another stab at me.
"I guess he's in a hurry to get what she gives out so freely." Then she and her hyenas cackled in unison. Several of the drunken partiers joined in, some of them laughing without even knowing why.