Night Moves (The Night Songs Collection) by Kristen Strassel Page A

the same for me? Maybe we aren’t on the same page, Ryder.”
    He raked his fingers roughly through his hair, frustrated. “I’m scared, all right? Happy now? I don’t want to fuck things up between us. Being what I am has fucked up everything for me so far. I can’t lose anyone else, Melanie.”
    I stopped pacing and glared at him. I wanted to be angry at him, but he just looked so sad. I sighed. “Ryder, there is nothing you can do about what you are. You need to stop being angry about it and accept it.”
    “I know.”
    “Well, I think it’s time you start. Come on, let’s have some fun tonight.”
    He smiled, much to my relief. “You’re not so bad, you know that?”
    I smiled back. “I know. So what do you want to do?”
    “Let’s check out Tommy’s party. Then take it from there.”
    I wanted to scream. I didn’t want to go to some stupid party full of drunken, pathetic, Midwestern groupies. I wanted Ryder’s blood. We had a whole room to ourselves. “Okay.” I forced myself to smile. “But next time, I get to pick out something fun.”

T homas’s party spilled out into the hallway. The door was wide open, with bodies huddled along the wall leading to the room. Music pulsed loudly and smoke clouded overhead.
    Ryder pulled me through the crowd by the hand. It was hard to walk without stumbling over someone. We made it all the way to the table, which had become a makeshift bar. Ryder poured two glasses of whatever it was and handed me one of them.
    I intended to down it all at once, but it was stronger than anything I’d ever drank before. The liquid seared my throat on the way down.
    “What the hell is this?” I had to shout to be heard.
    “Venom.” Ryder winced as he drank his. “Isn’t it awful?”
    “Then why are we drinking it?”
    “It’s the official drink of the undead. And you wanted me to embrace the new me,” he shouted back at me, smiling as he polished off his Venom. He poured himself another. I grimaced as he topped off my drink as well. I braced myself to keep drinking.
    A wrestling match was in progress on one of the beds. Two girls in their underwear rolled around, tangled in the sheets, shrieking with laughter. An enraptured audience surrounded the bed and cheered them on. One of the girls managed to pin the other down on the mattress, and the crowd counted her out.
    Once the excitement of the match was over, the onlookers spread out throughout the room, looking for the next thrill. Several of them bumped into me as they passed. Nausea rolled through my body as I swayed, and I had to grab on to Ryder to keep my balance. This Venom stuff made a statement.
    Ryder took me holding on his arm as an invitation. He wrapped his arms around me, swaying me gently back and forth, enough to make the room spin in unimaginable directions. His lips met mine, his tongue beginning to explore the inside of my mouth.
    I gagged. I couldn’t help it. The Venom had no business in my body. My mouth watered in that sickly way as the bile churned in my belly.
    “I need air.” I had to force the words out. I didn’t wait for his reaction before I started to fumble through the room, pushing past anybody that came in my way.
    The hallway carpet swirled violently ahead of me, like a cheesy funhouse mirror. I couldn’t tell where I was in relation to our room. I held on to the wall, willing myself not to get sick before I made it outside.
    I barely got out the door before I let go. My insides rushed out of me, assaulting the sidewalk and the flower pot by the door. I sunk to my knees, unable to fight the inevitable. My stomach lurched upward repeatedly, even after it was empty.
    Tears ran down my cheeks from stress and humiliation. Several partygoers had walked by, gasping at my display. The residue of stomach acid burned my mouth. My whole body shook with hollowness.
    “Come on, let me help you get cleaned up.” I didn’t know the voice, but she sounded friendly enough as she lead me back to