My Date From Hell (The Blooming Goddess Trilogy, #2)

Shafted but good (Part 3)

Hannah looked over, her fork and knife frozen in mid-cut. "You do remember the fate of humanity stuff, right?"

"Yeah yeah. But he's going to fall in love with me first. For real." That was my new plan. Undo the arrow and dazzle Kai until he couldn't live without me. Until Persephone was just some chick he used to know.

I knew that wanting Kai to fall for me first was incredibly childish, but it had become the one thing that could help me feel a tiny bit better about the entire crappy deal.

Hannah set her cutlery down with a clatter. "Well, I feel so reassured about my continued chances for existence since you're acting so mature about this."

"I'll spirit you away somewhere safe," Festos promised her.

I couldn't take it anymore. Since I'd scarfed my food (children were starving and I had a fast metabolism) I pushed away from the table, aware that Hannah and Festos were following.

"Twenty minutes longer than I thought she'd last," Festos said to Hannah.

"Well, there was food. And this was about the limit of her holding out," she replied.

"Thank you," I said, as we headed down the corridor leading to the dorms, "for making me sound like a huge slut."

"Slut, glutton, you have a very limited window of willpower for things you want," she said, all matter-of-fact.

"If I was straight, I'd love you," Festos told her.

"Since she actually prefers her boys pretty, gay, and unreciprecating, you'll do as is," I assured him, heading through the door into the dorm wing and starting up the stairs.

Hannah traipsed up alongside me. "I'm evolving. Pretty and straight moves to number one. More actual fun, less voyeuristic of other people's fun."

I barged into Theo's room without knocking. Hannah followed me in. Festos hovered outside in the hallway.

Kai looked over at me. Just lounging as if he hadn't a care in the world. If you ignored the "tied around his middle to a chair with a magic chain" part.

My low simmer cranked up to full boil. Then I remembered my plan. Dazzle him. I smiled coyly. "Sorry I got so upset back there." I sat down on the edge of Theo's bed so I was next to Kai and placed my arm on his leg.

Kai's eyes narrowed suspiciously at me but I kept up my blithe good cheer. He blinded me with a full wattage smile. "Apology accepted."

My smile only faltered for a millisecond. "Wonderful." Note to self. Become immune to his hotness, and fast. Otherwise I was going down. And that couldn't happen before he surrendered.

Love, apparently, really was a battlefield.

"Spare me," Theo muttered, not even bothering to look up from his laptop. Which was typical for him. "We need to see Aphrodite. She can help us with Pierce and this mess."

I used to think Theo's lack of social niceties was due to awkwardness but once I'd learned he was a Titan, I'd realized it was because he couldn't particularly be bothered.

"Whatever. What's another goddess or seven to this gongshow?" I straightened up. Kai tried to catch me around the waist but I sidled out of his reach. I leaned over so my lips brushed his ears. "When you're ready for our date, I'll be waiting."

Kai's eyes darkened. "Theo, unchain me."

I patted his cheek. "I don't think you're ready yet. Posse, with me." I tried to keep my voice light as I headed into the hallway. "You know," I said to Hannah as we exited, "I may have been wrong about Kai and the whole betrayal thing, but I was actually completely correct in my impression of him as an absolute rat bastard."

I know it hadn't been Kai's fault that he'd been shot. But when even magical arrows fired by the God of Love himself failed to make the guy fall for me? Yeah, I got somewhat irrational about it. Because what was the alternative? Admit that I was that lacking in appeal?

Hannah stopped me halfway down the corridor. "The arrow not having an effect on Kai is merely accentuating what's really got you so pissy." She threw me a pointed look.

I was never telling her anything again.

"This is skating perilously close to ice cream territory," Festos cut in.

Hannah stroked her chin thoughtfully. "I'll have to figure out how magic use skews any data I collect."

"Collect for what?" Festos asked.

"Dating a god," she replied.

"Oh, honey," he sighed, "it's all skewed." He brightened. "Although not necessarily in a bad way."

Hannah cut her eyes sideways at him, considering, then headed toward the door that connected the boys' dorms with the girls'.

"That's it?" I called after her.

"For now," she called back, not even breaking stride.

Whatever. Now that I had an in with Pierce, maybe once this was over he could hook me up. Arrow me so I just loved some regular guy and didn't make a single comparison to broody, beautiful gods and how useless they made me feel.

Except, I didn't really want that either.

Was wanting to like and be liked in return, just for me, as me, too much to hope for?