Demonspawn by Glenn Bullion Page A

brought Tina's
truck. We'll take that. Give Alex a night off from driving. I'll
buy food and gas.”
    “Sounds like a plan.”
    It was a little cramped in the back of Tina's
truck, but it wasn't too bad. Tina sat in front with Dave, of
course. I tried to avoid sitting next to Cindy, but Jenny didn't
want to sit next to the window. So, stuck I was. Nothing like being
forced to rub shoulders with someone you know is mad at you.
    Dave stopped at the grocery store. He and
Tina ran inside while Jenny got out to make a call on her cell
phone. I got out just to stretch my legs, and to get away from
Cindy. To my surprise, she got out with me.
    We avoided eye contact for a moment, then
looked at each other. She gave me a half-hearted smile, a sign she
had cooled off a little.
    “Are we cool, Cindy?” I finally asked.
    “Yeah, we're cool.”
    Some more silence. There was still some
discomfort there.
    “I don't know what you're thinking, but I
swear that was an accident. Come on, you know me. I don't do crap
like that on purpose.”
    “You don't have a clue why I'm mad, do
you?”
    I was quiet. Well, I thought I knew,
anyway.
    “Uh, maybe because I saw you with no clothes
on?”
    “No. You saw me with no clothes on, and you
looked away like I was the ugliest thing you ever saw. You actually
covered your eyes, like I was blinding you or something.”
    I can only imagine the look on my face.
Probably a mix of plain dumb confusion and surprise.
    “Huh?”
    “Do you think I'm pretty, Alex?”
    I was a little annoyed, simply because I had
no idea of what was going on.
    “Is this a joke? What are you talking
about?”
    “It's a simple question, with a yes or no
answer. Do you think I'm attractive?”
    The simple question with a yes or no answer
made me uncomfortable enough to stall for time. I caught Jenny
sneaking a peek at us, but she quickly looked away and kept on with
her phone call.
    “Cindy, what the hell does it matter what I
think? There's a thousand guys out there who think you're
attractive.”
    “I'm not asking a thousand guys. I'm asking
you. And you just gave me an answer, I guess.”
    “No, I didn't. Don't put words in my
mouth.”
    She threw her hands in the air. “Why does
this have to be so damn hard? It's a simple question.”
    It was a simple question. But it was
wrong somehow to tell your best friend that she was the most
beautiful woman you'd ever seen. I stole looks at her all the time,
but that was always followed by guilt. You aren't supposed to be attracted to your best friend.
    “You're gorgeous. Come on Cindy, what's this
about? You even know you're gorgeous. You don't need me to tell
you.”
    She took a deep breath and smiled. “Then why
did you cover your eyes back at the apartment?”
    I barely held in my frustration. Women are
weird.
    “Did you want me to stand there and stare
like a pervert? I'm not gonna stare at a naked woman with my mouth
hanging open.”
    I saw Dave and Tina walking across the
parking lot with a bag of groceries. It was time to get moving.
    Cindy surprised me with a tight hug. Then she
climbed back in the truck. I shook my head. I still didn't know
what the hell just happened, but whatever it was, I was glad it was
behind us.
    “Christ. Next time I'll stand there like a
deer in headlights. That'll make everyone happy.”
    It didn't take us too long to get to where
Dave had in mind. He took a turn off the highway down a dirt road
through some trees. It was a little creepy considering the only
light came from the moon. But after about five minutes of driving
he slowed down.
    It was a hell of a scene. It was just like he
described. The moonlight threw wicked shadows across the worn-down
cabin. Right behind the cabin was a pier leading to a huge lake.
The moonlight shimmered off the surface of the water. The sounds of
nature were all around us. It was freaky. Ten minutes ago we were
on the highway. Now that all seemed so far away.
    “Wow,” Jenny said.
    “Yeah, I know,”