Masquerade (Heven and Hell #1)(36)
Author: Cambria Hebert

I giggled and pointed through the glass toward the lower deck. “There’s a huge stone fireplace down there.”

“Come on,” he said, grabbing my hand and leading me out into the music and crowd.

Not many people were gathered around the fireplace, which was a relief. Sam grabbed a bag of marshmallows off the coffee table and a long stick and sat close to the flames. He patted the bench beside him.

“I guess everyone’s where the spiked punch is,” I said almost to myself.

Sam shrugged and pulled a flaming marshmallow out of the fire. “I like them crispy.”

“Ewww,” I said, batting it away. “I like them lightly brown.”

He shoved his into his mouth and grinned.

“Be careful! That had to be a hundred degrees!” I waited for him to scream. Surely he was burned.

“Taste’s good,” he said, licking his fingers. Talk about a distraction. How in the world could he stand his food so hot? It made me remember that day in home-ec when he shoved the fresh from the oven pizza right into his mouth. Just like tonight, he hadn’t even blinked at the extreme temperature of the food.

Next thing I knew there was a perfect, lightly-brown marshmallow in front of me. I grinned. “For me?”

“I wouldn’t eat that undercooked thing.” He said, screwing up his face into a grimace.

I laughed and accepted the treat. I took a bite, and it was good. Crispy on the outside but warm and gooey inside. “Mmmm.”

“You’ve got it all over your lips now.” He grinned. “You’re supposed to eat it all in one bite. Less messy.”

I made a face and started wiping at my mouth with my fingers. He grabbed them and leaned in, his lips doing a far better job of getting the candy. “Much better,” he said, pulling back.

I caught movement out the corner of my eye and looked over. Amber and a few other cheerleaders were standing there with their mouths hanging open. I blushed.

“Marshmallow anyone?” Sam smiled, holding out the bag.

I held my breath. They were going to run off. No one wanted to hang with the disfigured girl anymore.

“Only if it’s extra crispy!” Amber said, sitting near me and grabbing a stick. All the other girls did the same.

“Ah, a woman who knows how to cook them. Hev likes hers browned.”

Amber laughed. “I know.” She turned toward me. “Remember that insane campout we had last spring?”

I laughed. “That was a crazy weekend.”

“Totally,” Amber agreed, looking at Sam. “We decided to go hiking, and we got lost.”

Everyone laughed at the memory, and Sam smiled, the corners around his eyes crinkling. I grabbed his hand, lacing our fingers. “When we finally made it back to camp, it was dark.”

“And there was a bear ransacking our campsite.”

“It was eating everything it could find!” one of the girls laughed.

Sam didn’t laugh, he stiffened. “Did it attack you?”

I squeezed his fingers. “No. It left when all the food was gone.”

He relaxed and smiled.

“Yeah, and then we had to spend the rest of the night trying to set up the bent tent and cleaning up the mess,” Amber exclaimed.

“Some weekend,” Sam said, smiling. The firelight cast a beautiful glow across his face.

“That wasn’t even the half of it.” Amber grinned. “But I’ll never tell…”

We all laughed. I could hardly believe that I was sitting at a huge party with a cute guy holding my hand and the friends I thought I’d lost all around me, laughing.

Maybe this night wouldn’t be as bad as I thought.

Chapter Twelve

Heven

“I see you’re having a good time,” Kimber said, sliding beside me.

“Actually I am. You throw a good party, friend.”

“It’s a talent.” She sighed, taking a sip of her drink. By the way she was swaying, I would say it was spiked.

“Where’s Cole?”

“Getting some food. He thinks I need some.” She took another sip and giggled.

“We were just thinking of getting some food, too.”

Kimber looked past me to Sam. “Looking good.”

Sam smiled. “How much punch have you had, Kimber?”

“Just a few.”

Cole walked up behind us with a huge plate of food. “Here, Kimmie. Eat.”

She laughed. He looked at me and rolled his eyes.

I grinned. “Hey, Cole.”

“Birthday girl’s had too much sauce.”

Kimber laughed.

“We’re going to get some food,” I told them.

“Oooh, meet me on the dance floor!” Kimber said.

“Sure, Kimber.” I agreed, hoping she’d forget.

Unfortunately, she didn’t.

Couples were dancing on the grass beneath white lights that glittered in the trees. Kimber managed to drag Sam and me, along with several others, onto the dance floor with her. I tried to stay as close to the edge of trees as possible. Sam and I moved enough to make it look like we were trying to dance. I think Sam hated dancing more than me, which was a little surprising. He moved so gracefully all the time, and he always seemed so comfortable in his skin that I figured he’d be a natural. Instead, he was tense and almost nervous, his hazel eyes scanning the trees and the shore of the lake. If he wasn’t sticking so close by I would think he was embarrassed to be dancing with me – the girl with no rhythm.

Finally, a slow song came on, and I thought we would make our escape, but Sam towed me out into the crowd and wrapped his arms around me. This kind of dancing was really good. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, Sam relaxing right along with me. We moved with each other to the music, and I hoped the song would never end.

Then the power went out.

The music stopped playing and all the lights went out. I didn’t realize how dark it would be without any lights. Sam stiffened and tightened his arms around me. People around us screeched and laughed. Some of the guys made ghostly sounds.

Then a wolf howled.

It sounded way too real for it to be a drunken guy. People around us started whispering nervously.

Sam tucked my head further into his chest, and I could feel his heart hammering away. He leaned in to whisper, “Let’s make our way toward the house. Don’t let go of me.”

I nodded.

“Do you have your whistle?” he asked.

Panic bubbled up in my chest. Did he think that some wild animal was going to take advantage of the dark and start attacking people? What if it was the same animal from the other night? I reached under my shirt and palmed the whistle.