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Balthazar wasn’t done. “But he has a hot temper. You saw his fight with Erich, so you know that.” I felt guiltily grateful that Balthazar knew nothing about what had happened in the Riverton pizza parlor. “He’s defensive, too. I can see how Evernight might make somebody like him defensive, but that doesn’t change that he’s sometimes—”
“Volatile,” I finished. “Yes, I’ve seen it. I don’t know if we’ll ever get together, because of that. But you deserve to know what I’m feeling.”
“All I’m saying is, watch yourself. If he hurts you, get out fast.” He gave me a crooked smile. “Then maybe I can catch you on the rebound.”
I put one hand on his arm. “I should be so lucky.”
Balthazar kissed my forehead. He smelled like pipe smoke and leather, and I halfway wished I’d waited to say all this until after I’d gotten to really kiss him at least once. “Ready to go inside?” he asked.
“A few more minutes. I like it out here. Besides, you can see the stars tonight.”
“That’s right. You love astronomy.” He put his hands in his trouser pockets and walked alongside me as we continued into the woods, peering up at the constellations that winked through the leaf-bare branches overhead. “That’s Orion, isn’t it?”
“Yes. The Hunter.” I lifted one hand to outline the legs, the belt, the arm stretching upward to deliver a blow. “See the really bright star in his shoulder? That’s Betelgeuse.”
“Which one is it?” Probably Balthazar didn’t really care much about astronomy, but I thought he was relieved to have something to talk about besides his romantic disappointment. I knew how he felt.
“Here, lean down.” As he bent beside me, I guided one of his arms upward, so that his own finger pointed to the star. “Do you see it now?”
Balthazar smiled. “I think so. Isn’t there a nebula in Orion?”
“Yeah, halfway down. I’ll show you.”
A voice behind us said, “Bianca?”
We both whirled around. I’d recognized the voice immediately but hadn’t believed my own ears. Maybe hope was misleading me. But there in the darkness stood Lucas in his uniform. He was glaring—not at me, not even at us together, but at Balthazar.
I whispered, “Lucas, what are you doing here?”
“Making sure you’re okay.”
Balthazar didn’t like that. He straightened up. “Bianca is completely safe.”
“It’s late. It’s dark. You’ve got her out here alone.”
“She walked out here of her own free will.” Then Balthazar took a deep breath, obviously working to calm himself. “If you’d rather be Bianca’s escort, maybe that would be best.”
Lucas was clearly taken aback. He’d expected a fight, not resignation.
“I’ll come in with you,” I told Balthazar. Regardless of what we’d just talked about, or how I felt, he was my date. I owed him that.
But Balthazar shook his head. “That’s okay. I don’t feel like dancing anymore.”
Confused and embarrassed, I slipped off the tuxedo jacket, bracing myself against the cool air, and said, “Thanks. For everything.”
“If you need me, let me know.” As he shrugged his jacket back on, Balthazar shot Lucas a look, then walked back toward the school alone.
As soon as Balthazar had left us, I muttered, “That was completely unnecessary.”
“He was leaning over you. Looming.”
“I was showing him the stars!” I hugged myself, trying to stay warm. “Did you think he was about to kiss me?”
“No.”
“Liar,” I retorted.
Lucas groaned. “Okay, I was trying to keep him away from you. I couldn’t just watch that guy put the moves on you and not do something about it.” Then he took off his school blazer and offered it to me. It wasn’t as elegant a gesture as it had been from Balthazar—but then, from Balthazar it had been simple good manners, the kind of behavior that was part of being a gentleman. Lucas, I thought, was desperate to do anything to show that he could take care of me, at least a little.
