I don't know what made me agree to dinner. Sure, Reyna would have been annoyed, and it would have made my living situation awkward, but Shaun was a creep. Surely that won out. But I did say yes. I felt a strange surge of confidence that made everything seem easier. Maybe Kalisa had actually done something with that ritual. Only instead of Seduction's Kiss she should have called it Confidence's Kiss.

Whatever the reason, I found myself sitting next to Shaun at an Italian restaurant less than twenty-four hours after creep-fest had started.

"I can't wait to see your costume." Shaun took a big bite of his pasta. "I know you're going to look so hot."

"Oh, I'll look hot." I'd decided to take a different approach with Shaun. He wasn't getting the time of day from me, but that didn't mean I couldn't mess with him a little.

He swallowed hard, and I struggled not to laugh.

"How was your morning exploring, Daisy?" Chad asked.

I paused to take a sip of water. "It was mostly uneventful."

"Uneventful?" Reyna laughed. "You found a Voodoo shop."

"Like I said, mostly uneventful."

"Was it down on Bourbon? Because those places are all tourist traps." Shaun sounded proud of himself, like he was saving me from having the wool pulled over my eyes.

"Yeah. I know." Something felt off agreeing with him though. Kalisa may have played with me, but I didn't like saying the Midnight Cauldron was a tourist trap. If nothing else the ambience had its own value and place.

Shaun set down his fork. "You should have asked me to come with you. You didn't have to do that alone."

I laughed dryly. "Yeah, asking you wasn't in the cards."

Chad suddenly grinned. "What? One night with him was enough?"

Wait. Did Chad actually think something had happened? Hadn't Reyna set him straight?

Before I could mull it over for too long, I felt a hand settle on my leg. I was already wearing the black skirt that was part of my cat costume. I'd packed one far less short than the one Reyna had suggested I wear.

"What can I say? I wore her out." He slid his hand up higher.

I smacked his hand away. "If by wearing me out you mean sending me out of his room running and screaming, then sure."

Chad laughed. "Ouch, man."

"To set the record straight absolutely nothing happened last night except this jerk trying to take advantage of me." Take that. I was on fire. If I'd felt this way the night before Shaun would have had a hand print across his face and a sore groin from me kicking him.

Reyna shot me a funny look, but I didn't care. Chad should know that his roommate was a total pervert. I hoped he didn't already know it. If so, he'd knowingly sent me to the lions and was not someone Reyna should be giving the time of day. You can tell a lot about a guy by the way he treats your friends.

"How drunk were you, Daisy?" Shaun smirked. "I think you're remembering things wrong."

Seriously? He was going to play that game?

"Remembering things wrong?" I tossed my napkin on the table. "No, I'm remembering things perfectly. If we had such a great night, why did you have to self-service this morning?"

The couple at the next table turned to look at us. I didn't care. I wasn't holding it in.

Shaun's response was to put his hand back on my leg.

I pushed my chair back.

"Shaun, please stop creeping out Daisy." Reyna glared at him.

I headed to the entrance without worrying about who would cover my tab. Considering the circumstances, I figured I deserved a free bowl of pasta.

Reyna ran after me. "Daisy!"

I stopped walking and turned around.

She pulled me into a hug. "I'm sorry. I'm being an awful friend."

I didn't disagree with her there. If the tables had been turned I'd be finding a hotel room or driving us home.

"It's just that I want things to work with Chad. I've never met anyone who makes me feel this way."

I believed her. The emotion in her words and face seemed real, but it was the way she glowed that made it impossible to deny. "I get that, but I still don't need this."

"I know. I know. I'll leave tonight if you want." She meant it. Reyna was a horrible actress. That reality alone was enough to keep me there.

"I think I can handle waiting until tomorrow. Just get Shaun to go out with you guys and without me."

We reached the apartment, and Reyna unlocked the door. Chad must have given her the key. "Why can't we do the reverse? You come, and he does something else?"

"Because I'm still going to be the third wheel. I get you're into Chad, and that's fine, but I'd rather do homework than tag along with you guys."

"Daisy? Do you hate me?" She gave me her puppy dog eyes again.

I sighed. She shouldn't have been the one making me feel guilty, but it wasn't worth a fight. "Hate, no. I just wish I'd stayed back at school. I can't go back and change that though. At least I had fun this morning."

"And you can have fun tonight."

Shaun and Chad walked inside the apartment, and I saw Reyna and Chad exchange a look.

"Don't worry. I won't sit at home tonight." I grabbed my cat costume from my bag and walked down the hall to the bathroom.

"What the hell, man?" Through the door I heard Chad. "Please don't screw this up for me."

"I'm not doing anything."

I rolled my eyes at Shaun's denial.

"You groped the girl, and from her reaction at the restaurant you were going there again."

"She's into me." Shaun was delusional. Completely and utterly delusional.

"No, she's not. My girlfriend's friends aren't yours for the taking. If she wanted to mess around then great, but she's made her feelings abundantly clear."

Girlfriend? That was fast.

"I'll back off."

"Stay away from her. They leave tomorrow. Think you can keep it in your pants for a few more hours?"

"Does Reyna have any other friends she can introduce me to?"

I was about ready to burst through the door and let him have it for that comment, but evidently Reyna was listening in too.

"Not a chance, and you owe Daisy about a million apologies. You were rude and gross to my best friend, and that's not okay."

I heard the telltale sound of a slap. Wow. Reyna's path to forgiveness had just been shortened considerably. I put on my cat ears and drew on my whisker s before walking out of the bathroom.

"I'm sorry," Shaun said as unconvincingly as possible as he still touched his cheek.

"Great." I started toward my bag so I could drop off my clothes, but Duncan walked out of his room at the exact moment, and we collided.

He put his hands on both of my arms to sturdy me. "Hi."

"Hi."

He still didn't let go. "Nice costume." His eyes had a faint ring of greenish-yellow color in them that seemed out of place in his brown eyes. I wondered if he was wearing contacts.

"Oh. Thanks." I looked at his all black ensemble consisting of a dress shirt and slacks. I guess that was as far as he went to dress up on Halloween. Given a choice, I would have skipped my costume all together.

"Do you have plans tonight?"

"None I particularly want to be part of." There wasn't a chance I was spending any more time with Shaun.

"She has plans." Chad walked over. "We're all going out."

"Come out with me instead." Duncan looked at me seriously. "I'm going downtown to meet some friends."

"Daisy's not hanging out with you." Shaun pulled on my arm. Duncan didn't let go.

Duncan narrowed his eyes. "Why would you have any say on what she does?"

"She's coming out with us." Reyna said from somewhere behind me.

"Aren't you guys going downtown too?" I turned to look at Chad.

Chad nodded. "Yes, and I promise you'll have a better time with us."

I turned, offsetting one of Duncan's hands. "Why don't we all hang out together? Then you can meet up with your friends, Duncan." That seemed like a nice compromise.

"No way." Chad, Shaun, and Duncan all said it at the same time. Why were they being so strange?

"How about we just do a girl's night then, Reyna?" I joked.

She gave me a panicked look which told me everything. She would have agreed to it if she thought I really wanted to. That's all I needed to see.

I smiled lightly. "I really want to hang out with Reyna tonight, Duncan. But I appreciate the offer."

"I have a better idea. Are you ready to go, now?" Duncan asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Why don't we go hang out with my friends first? We can meet up with these guys later." He gestured to Reyna and Chad.

I thought about it. The idea seemed reasonable enough. If I was having tons of fun with Duncan's friends I could just stay with them. If not, I had an out. "Sounds good." I grabbed my purse and double checked I had everything inside that I needed.

Duncan waited for me at the front door. I hugged Reyna to put her at ease. "Call me when you get down there."

"I will... be safe." She held on longer than necessary.

"I will be." I followed Duncan outside.

From inside I heard Reyna. "Is she safe?"

Chad reassured her. "Yes. At least I think so."

I shivered. Did Chad dislike his roommate that much?

"Don't worry about him." Duncan patted my arm.

I waited for more of an explanation of why I shouldn't have worried about Chad's hesitation, but none came.

"How are we getting downtown?" I didn't want to make a scene, but I also didn't plan on getting into a car with a guy I barely knew.

"The streetcar. Finding parking on Halloween would be impossible."

"Oh, the streetcar sounds great." Public transportation sounded perfect.

"You were afraid to get in my car." He gave me a small smile as we walked.

"Maybe a little." For good reason. From what Shaun had demonstrated, you couldn't be too careful. I figured I'd be safe enough in public though. At least I hoped I was. "Why did you invite me tonight?"

He looked at me like I was crazy. "Because I wanted you with me, and I thought you'd prefer to spend time with me than Shaun."

"You've got that much right."

He stopped walking. "My offer from last night is still on the table."

"Your offer? Wait, about killing him?" I contemplated an excuse of why I couldn't go.

He smiled, and I relaxed. Had I really thought it was anything but a joke? "He's okay. I'm leaving in the morning anyway."

"Oh. Leaving to where?" He stopped on the median to wait.

"To school. This was only a weekend visit."

"You want to go back?" He put an arm around me as a group of guys without costumes walked over.

I assumed it was a protective gesture and didn't shrug it off. "Yes. I've been ready since I got here."

"Because of Shaun?"

"Because of everything. I knew Reyna was into Chad, but I should have predicted just how into him she was."

"You're single." It was a statement and not a question.

"Yes. Very much so." What was with everyone asking me that? Kalisa was obsessed with it.

"Are you a virgin?"

If I'd been drinking, I'd have choked. Instead I coughed. "What?"

"A virgin. Have you had sex before?" He watched me carefully.

"How is that any of your business?"

"It's not, I'm just curious." He buried his hand in his pocket.

"I'm not a virgin." Considering the less than stellar experiences I'd had though, I'd have been better off being one.

"Good."

"Good? Why is that good?" Shaun and Chad were right. This guy was really weird.

"Because I'd feel guilty having the thoughts I'm having right now about someone untouched."

"Uh." Seriously? He had to get creepy too?

"Maybe I should just call Reyna."

"No." he removed his arm from around me, but stayed close. "I want you to stay."

"Evidently."

He smiled. "I promise you'll enjoy yourself."

"No weird, creepy business then?" I knew his word didn't really mean anything, but maybe it would help me emphasize I wasn't in the mood to be toyed with.

"No. Just a fun night out."

I needed to keep the conversation going. "What year are you?"

"Oh, I'm not in school right now. I was at Baylor for a while, but I'm taking a break."

Not in school? There went the comfort from knowing he went to college with people I knew. Not that that fact would have changed anything. "How'd you end up living with Chad and Shaun then?"

"They put up an ad looking for a third roommate, and I responded. The place isn't great, but I wasn't allowed to stay where I was living before."

"Were you living with your family?"

"Something like that." He looked down the road. "It's coming."

Although the streetcar was mostly empty when it pulled to a stop, it was nearly full by the time Duncan paid our fare, and we walked on. He gestured for me to sit in a seat next to a girl. "I'll stand."

I wasn't sure if he was doing it because he wanted other people to find seats or because for some reason he enjoyed standing, but either way I appreciated having a seat. I still wasn't used to the jerky stops and starts of New Orleans' most famous form of transportation.

By the time the streetcar reached Canal Street, it was filled to capacity. I couldn't see Duncan when I got off the car from the back. I hadn't even realized you could do that. He was waiting for me on the sidewalk.

"Where to?" I asked. It looked like there was a party pretty much everywhere.

"This way." He took my hand in his, but I didn't fight it. Otherwise we probably would have been separated by the endless crowds. I was really glad I'd visited the quarter in the morning so I at least had an idea of what it was like without thousands of people filling every nook and cranny. "I want to take you to one of my favorite bars."

"Ok, cool." I hoped this one was eighteen and up too.

We wove our way through the crowds. I glanced into the rows of bars and clubs teeming with people dressed in various degrees of costumes. Despite my apprehension of hanging out with someone I barely knew, the excitement seemed to be rubbing off on me. I found myself moving along to the music spilling out of one club when we were momentarily stopped.

"Duncan!" A girl with long blond hair yelled and proceeded to wrap her arms around Duncan's neck. She was dressed as a pumpkin, if a pumpkin was just a skimpy piece of orange fabric. "Come dancing with us." She was visibly drunk.

"Oh, hi." He gave me an apologetic look.

I shrugged. It wasn't like we were on a date.

"Why aren't you dressed up? It's Halloween. You're supposed to be dressed up."

He shoved a hand into his back pocket. "How do you know that I'm not dressed up?"

"Laurie!" The girl yelled. "It's Duncan, the stripper who did Debbie's party last week."

Wait. What? Did he strip? Wow, that was pretty surprising. He wasn't bad looking, but I hadn't met a male stripper before.

Another girl ran over. This one was appropriately attired. She had an awesome lollipop costume on. She also gave Duncan a hug, so I decided to people watch while I waited. That's when I saw him. The gorgeous guy from the bar. All six plus feet of his perfectness. This time he was wearing one of those sleeveless white t-shirts that showed off his muscular arms. But it wasn't his muscles that jumped out the most. It was his beautiful set of black wings. Now that was a costume.

He glanced up just as he passed, and my chest tightened. He looked at me with curiosity for a second before continuing on. Maybe he vaguely remembered my face but didn't know why. I wasn't sure what would be worse, if he remembered the humiliating moment, or if he didn't.

I suddenly felt embarrassed of my cat costume. Were the whiskers too much?

"Daisy?" Duncan called my name and snapped me out of my daze. "Ready?" The girls must have walked off while I was distracted because Duncan was alone watching me. I wondered how obvious my ogling was.

"Yeah, sure."

Duncan towed me along until he turned into a dark and completely unappealing dive. This was his favorite place? I kept my mouth shut. I didn't want to offend him. Maybe this was one of those hidden gems you always hear about. Just to be safe I texted Reyna the name of the place as inconspicuously as possible, Grounddiggers.

"Who are you texting?" Duncan asked as we walked through the entrance.

Evidently I wasn't as inconspicuous as I thought. "Just a friend." I'm not sure why I didn't just tell him who it was. I just felt like it was safer not to.

He nodded at a bouncer, who like Duncan was dressed all in black. The bouncer grunted something unintelligible to Duncan. Duncan must have taken the grunt to mean enter because he pulled me further inside.