HALFBLOOD DANCER

13. CAPTIVATED

Nina's full attention is now focused on me and every word I say.

I had just stepped out of the shower when she came into our room, impatient to tell me all about her new discoveries from her night out with our friends. But the second she heard I went to dinner again with Sandro, her own fantastic night was suddenly forgotten.

I tell her almost everything, with as many details as I can, but leaving the best part for last. She knows he picked me up from school and took me to dinner. She knows he's taking us all to Amalfi tomorrow and hosting us in his house. She even knows the name of the restaurant we went to and what we ate. But I haven't been able to admit to her that she was right all along.

"And you're still going to deny he's into you, Luna?" She interrupts me.

Here goes nothing. "He kissed me," I tell her, unable to find any other words.

A quiet moment of shock.

"I knew it!" she blurts out, finally coming out of it. "You see? I told you, Lu! I knew he was into you...but wait...wait." She stops to shoot me a quizzical look, her eyes narrowed. "And what did you do?"

"I kissed him back."

She gasps. "You did? How did you...I mean..." she pauses, clearly confused. "But...did you want to kiss him back?"

"Oh, I definitely wanted to kiss him."

"No way!" She gasps and stares at me stunned, her mouth forming a perfect O. "I mean, I knew he was interested. But you? No way." She staggers to the bed like a zombie and then drops on it absentmindedly. "I didn't think you liked him."

"I didn't think so either. Not until today." I remove the towel wrapped around my head and let my hair fall over my shoulders, enjoying the gentle scent of peaches.

"But, Luna, I thought he annoyed you. If anything, I thought you hated him. Let's be honest, he's been driving you crazy with his triple C."

"His triple what?"

"His Creepy, Cryptic Crap," she explains. "With capital C." She folds her hand, forming the shape of a C with her fingers.

I chuckle. "More like...his Captivating, Charming Confidence."

"Oh wow! Look at you, all smitten and...Crazy!" she says. "Honey, when I told you to accept that he was into you, I didn't mean for you to go for it."

"I know, Nina. I know...but he fascinates me."

"Listen, I know he's gorgeous and all, the epitome of Adonis himself. But-"

"It's not that, Nina," I interrupt her. "That's just all that people see because they don't know him well enough. There's so much more to him than that."

"Luna, you don't know him well enough either."

"But that's the thing, deep inside, I feel like I do know him." I choose not to mention the fact that I'm drawn to him by a powerful force I can't explain.

"See, that's the problem, right there! Luna, you're too innocent. And you always see only the good in people."

"No, Nina. I've gotten to know him better. He's actually a kind, generous, and very thoughtful gentleman. He's a strong and passionate man. He's smart, talented, and successful in every way a man can be."

"Wow, Lu! In three years, three years, I never saw you interested in anyone. Not in the slightest. I was beginning to think it was impossible. Who would've thought you had to go across the planet to be captivated enough to have your first kiss?"