Demon Huntress (Alt Collector)

Chapter 4

"Seriously, will you relax?" Brody looked at me. "I'm starting to feel how nervous you are, and it's going to make me nervous."

"I'm sorry," I wondered how long it would take before I was used to the fact that he could feel my emotions. I caught the barbell that went through my tongue with my teeth, and tried to make myself calm down.

"Oh, and I'm not totally sure how they'll feel about that," Brody reached over and tapped the ball. "I don't think Mom would care, but Dad's a bit straight laced."

I pulled the barbell back into my mouth. "Sorry you're dating a hooligan."

Brody laughed. "You're far from a hooligan. I just don't want to hear some comment like why a pretty girl would do something to herself like that."

Brody's mom, Deanna, was already home and in the kitchen making dinner. I'd met her a few times when I was with Sean and he stopped by, but never for long. I kind of wished I'd taken the time to leave my hair down, but it was too late now, she'd spotted me and was drying off her hands to come and greet me. I wasn't sure if she'd hug me or shake my hand. "It's so nice to see you again, Emily," she went with the hug. "Brody told us he's asked you to the prom. I've told him that he has to bring you by so we can take pictures. The back garden will be perfect. I just got some flowers in that are already blooming."

I could almost hear Brody's eyes rolling. "Of course," I wanted to hit him. It was a small request. I hated pictures, but it was a small price to pay. "Can I help you with anything?" I was expected to help Mom when she was cooking. I was decently capable around the kitchen.

"No, I've got it. You go with Brody. He'll show you around or something. Thank you for offering though," she turned back to the meat she was cutting up.

"So, that's my mom," Brody said after he led us out of the kitchen. "Where have you been in the house?"

"Kitchen and family room," I said. "Pretty much where you've been in my house."

"I've been in Sean's room, your bathroom, and I've actually peeked in your room," Brody admitted.

"You're bad," I grinned.

"Come on, I'll show you my room and the basement. I shouldn't get yelled at as long as we leave the door open," he grabbed my hand and led me down to the basement. "Evan and I hang out down here mostly and watch movies and stuff." Evan was his younger brother. His older brother, Xander, was away at college in Virginia. "I'll kick Evan out any time you're here."

"What a great brother you are," I pushed him away from me.

"He doesn't worship me or anything. Sometimes I think he thinks I'm lame," Brody shrugged. "Having a hot girlfriend like you should raise me in his eyes."

"What about your last girlfriend?" not that I really wanted to think about Taylor. Luckily, they hadn't dated that long.

"The whole family hated her," Brody took my hand again. "Mom goes by first impressions a lot, and when she first met Taylor, she would hardly look at her. When Dad met her, he did this ignoring her thing, like he hoped she'd go away. I think they threw a party when I said we'd broken up." They'd only dated like four months. "First love she was not. You have nothing to worry about." He led me back up the stairs then up to his room. "I even cleaned for you, so you should totally feel special."

I looked around at his room. It was blue and his double bed was covered in a blue plaid comforter. I had the feeling that he kept it neat all the time, and that he hadn't put as much effort into cleaning as he wanted me to think, but I wasn't going to let on that I knew. His walls were decorated with posters of various sports teams, and group shots of the teams he'd played on. I recognized the majority of the guys who were staring back at me from those pictures. His trophies were lined up nicely on a small set of shelves near his closet, and one corner of his room was littered with lacrosse equipment. Brody's desk had his laptop and a few pens. There was a bookshelf nearby that I desperately wanted to look at closely, I wanted to know what kinds of books he read, but I figured I'd leave that for another time. I didn't want him to feel like I was inspecting him.