“Sebastian?” Becky said, shocked.
I turned the light away from the vampire. He approached us in the moonlight, pushing my bike.
“What are you doing here?” I asked. “You’re supposed to be with Alexander!”
“He was painting and I wanted to get some air.”
“In Becky’s barn?” I charged.
“I was walking around and I heard some girls talking. I had to investigate.” He smiled broadly.
Becky seemed to buy his excuse, but I knew better.
“You scared us to death—well, at least me,” she said. “I’m so glad it’s just you.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “Truly. I’d never want to make your heart race. Unless it was for a good reason.”
Flirting time was over. “You’re lucky Becky’s father didn’t find you. He has a shotgun,” I warned.
“He rarely uses it,” Becky said. “You must be tired if you walked all the way from the Mansion. Can we get you a drink?”
“No—” I answered for him.
“Sure!” he said over me.
I took my bike from Sebastian and the three of us headed back to Becky’s house. In Sebastian’s presence, she was no longer afraid and didn’t cling to me in any way.
Becky offered us fresh lemonade. Becky had the best lemonade I’d ever tasted; her mother made it from scratch. Both Sebastian and I gulped it down and asked for seconds.
“It’s time we go,” I said.
Sebastian wasn’t ready to go. He wandered around her kitchen, examining every picture and decoration.
Where was Alexander when I needed him? If he had a cell phone, I could text him immediately. Instead, I tried to ring the Mansion’s line. If Alexander was painting, his music was probably blaring. It was true. The phone rang endlessly.
Even Jameson didn’t pick up.
“No voice mail—really frustrating,” Sebastian said.
“Aren’t you in town to visit Alexander?” I asked.
“Well, yes.”
“Then why aren’t you two hanging out?”
“We don’t spend every minute together. We’re guys.”
When Becky and I got together, we spent every minute in each other’s company. But guys? Sometimes when
Henry was over with Billy, one would be on the computer while the other was playing video games. I often wondered why they got together in the first place.
Still, I wasn’t crazy about Sebastian’s behavior. It didn’t seem to be bothering Alexander, however, if he was creative enough to paint. And for all I knew, Alexander might have needed the space.
“We better be going,” I finally said to Sebastian.
“I can drive you both back if you’d like,” Becky offered.
“You can drop Raven off first, then me,” he said.
“Becky will drop us both off at the Mansion,” I instructed. “Then we can tell Alexander where we’ve been.”
After Becky drove us to the Mansion and I placed my bike against the gate, I grasped Sebastian by his sleeve and pulled him toward the front door like a scolded child.
“See you tomorrow at Hooligans,” Sebastian called back to Becky.
We met Alexander in his room as he was washing out a brush in a small bucket.
“Did Sebastian let you in?” Alexander asked.
“Well, yes, but…”
“Did you go into town?” he asked Sebastian. “It did me good to get some work done.”
“Yes, I had a great time seeing the sights,” his best friend answered.
Alexander was euphoric from painting. I hated to spoil his mood by telling him where I’d found Sebastian.
“I’m really such a lucky guy,” Alexander said. “My best friend and girlfriend are here and I’m almost finished with my new project.” He pointed to a covered painting resting on the easel. “But this one is for me.”
Sebastian clearly wasn’t going to tell Alexander what he’d been up to. I strongly suspected that if Alexander found out Sebastian had been lurking in Becky’s barn, he might throw Sebastian out of the Mansion. I didn’t want to snitch on him, but I wasn’t about to keep secrets from Alexander.
I had a major dilemma on my hands.
I gazed at Alexander, who was relishing his creation and his friends. Alexander was so peaceful, I couldn’t bear to tell him Sebastian was stalking Becky or that Trevor was saying I was two-timing him. But then
Sebastian surprised me.
“I happened upon Becky today when she and Raven were together,” Sebastian confessed.
“Happened upon?” Alexander inquired.
“Alexander—I’m hooked. I just wanted to see her one more time.”
“He flew into her barn when Becky and I were getting my bike,” I said lightly. “Nothing serious.”
“You can’t be sneaking around her house,” Alexander reprimanded. “That’s immature. And dangerous.”