“Oh. Oh.” My voice squeaks again. But I don’t jump out of the car right away. In the back of my mind, I’m thinking about things. If I could weaponize the disorienting power of my dick, I could probably bring whole countries to their knees.

“Thank you,” Gunnar finally says, and when he opens his eyes, the light in them is gone. His fangs retract, and the shape of his face slowly returns to normal. “For going out with me tonight. For listening. For … you know, this.”

“Thanks for being honest with me. And for not eating me, and stuff.” I mean it sincerely, but he laughs really loudly, and immediately I pretend like I was joking all along. “If you wanted to go out again sometime, that would be cool,” I say as casually as possible. He glances over, but before he can speak, I add, “No Great Love Story, I promise. Just … fun. And make-outs.”

Gunnar opens his mouth, hesitates. Then, “Actually, there’s an underground party tomorrow in one of the abandoned buildings near the woods? Well, I guess it’s more like a rave.” His brows contort into an adorable questioning expression. “It would be … kind of cool if you came?”

“A rave?” I try to imagine myself at a rave—only I have barely any idea what a rave looks like. The images that come to mind are neon body paint and glow sticks and people shoveling drugs into their mouths with those scoops from the bulk candy store. “Is this, like … When you say it’s underground, do you mean it’s a vampire thing?”

“It’s hosted by vampires, but it’ll be a mixed crowd,” he answers. “You might be surprised, but there are lots of mortals who like to party with us. Most of them are weird, but some are actually pretty normal.”

“I’ve heard of stuff like that before.” Just like vampires who choose to mainstream, there are humans out there who fetishize and even worship the undead. Most of them, of course, don’t come from towns with unusually frequent deaths by exsanguination. “I didn’t know there was anything like that in Fulton Heights, though.”

“A lot of stuff happens—here and everywhere else—between vampires and humans that neither side likes to publicize too much.” Gunnar reaches over and brushes his fingers against my cheek, and I go all tingly again. “You’d be totally safe if you came. And I don’t just mean because I’d protect you. There’s a lot of rules and plenty of security.”

“Can I think about it?” This is my polite way of saying, Not a chance in hell. Making out with Gunnar was one thing, and I totally don’t regret it, but walking into a vampire party? I’m dumb, but I’m not stupid.