Kat had a pep-talk with herself before her next date with Jason. Thanks to Nex's comments, she let doubt surface in her mind about Jason's intentions. She only let it for so long before she decided he was just trying to get to her but it didn't stop her from noticing that Jason rarely did answer a question about himself and when he did he kept it vague. All throughout their dinner date she tried to ask him questions and he always brought it back to her without giving much information.

She couldn't stop Nex's words from repeating in her mind over and over. He's playing the part like the actor he is. Kat sighed and stared out the window, biting down on her lip. The problem was Nex also scared the living daylights out of her just this morning when he told her there was a centipede in her bathroom only to discover he was just messing with her and created it himself but it wasn't real. He also claimed to see her neighbor outside doing inappropriate things with someone much younger which also turned out to not be true but he certainly had a good laugh at the look on her face when she looked out the window to check.

She could never tell when he was being honest and when he was messing with her.

"You all right, babe?" Jason asked, setting his hand on her leg as they drove back to Kat's house.

"Fine," Kat answered, glancing over at him. She tried to push out all the negative thoughts Nex put there but then couldn't help herself. "Jay?" Kat asked, turning in her seat to look at him. The action inadvertently brought his hand further up her leg, making Kat's heart race.

"What's up?" He asked, leaving his hand high on her thigh.

"What's your family like?" She tried.

"Pretty average boring family," he said, grinning. "What about you?"

"What's average and boring mean?" Kat asked.

"You know," he shrugged. "Nothing special. Got both parents and a sibling. Hey, you wanted to see that new romance movie coming out, didn't you?"

Kat frowned slightly but nodded. "Yeah, I did. Are you into those kinds of movies though?"

Jason parked the car in front of her house and turned towards her, sliding his hand behind her head and pulling her towards him. "I'm into whatever gives me another excuse to see you, gorgeous," he said, kissing her.

Kat sighed and tried to shut out Nex's comments. He's just trying to get to me, she told herself. She kissed Jason back and held her breath when he slid a hand up her shirt and onto her bare back, sliding his other hand further up her leg. Kat pulled back a little, still feeling unsure.

"How come you don't want to tell me about your family?" She asked.

Jason sighed and sat back in his seat, running his hand through his hair. "I don't know, Kat. My family is complicated. I don't know what to say when people ask about my family because it's not exactly the picture of perfect, you know?" He said, reaching over and brushing her hair back. "I just hate when people treat me different once they find out how messed up my family is. I hate the pity look."

Kat nodded. She could definitely understand that. She felt that way about her situation too. Anytime someone asked about her parents and she had to explain they were both gone... She was very familiar with the pity look. The fact Jason could understand what that was like made her feel better.

"I get it," she nodded. "I really get it."

"Of course you do," he chuckled. "You always get it," he murmured, pulling her into another kiss then kissing down her neck where he paused. "Uh, do you live with someone?" He asked, nodding behind her towards the house.

Kat frowned and looked back, finding several people coming out of the house, laughing and stumbling. She held in the groan and instead took a deep breath.

"I have a roommate but it's just temporary," Kat answered.

"A roommate that likes to party, it looks like," Jason said, grinning.

Oh no. He seemed interested but she couldn't bring Jason in the house to whatever crazy party Nex had. She couldn't do that for more than one reason. For all she knew, it was demons in there and who knew how drunk they were. Marcus tended to let his demon side out more after drinking, disappearing and reappearing places, playing with flames he created out of thin air. She couldn't have Jason finding out there was a demon living in her house who regularly brought over demon friends to try to drive her crazy. Not only that but she wasn't sure how Nex would respond to having Jason in the house and she wasn't interested in finding out.

"Yeah, I usually just go in my room and stay out of it," Kat said, pulling away from him. "Well I'll talk to you later," she said, hoping if she left fast enough he wouldn't ask about it.

She made a move to leave but he slid his hand up her leg further and turned her towards him, pulling her in for another kiss. "Don't you want to spend more time with me?" He asked against her lips, sliding his hand down her back to her butt.

Kat's eyes closed briefly and she set her hands on his shoulders to push him back gently. "I do. So we should see that movie soon. How about Sunday after I get off?" She asked. She was hoping she could divert his attention away from joining the party.

"Well yeah," Jason said, looking at her curiously. "Sunday's great. I'll pick you up from the bookstore. But what about the par-"

Kat panicked and didn't know what else to do so leaned forward and kissed him. He groaned and set his hand on her waist, pulling her closer to him. Sounds from the party had Kat mentally rolling her eyes and concerned about someone coming out to find them so she slid her hands down his neck to his shoulders where she pushed back and quickly got out of the car. "Sunday it is, I'll text you later!" She said, shutting the door and hurrying up to the house.

Kat offered smiles to the demons outside and walked into the house, eyes widening at the amount of people inside, people that looked like they were on the brink of needing to find a hotel room somewhere.

"Kat," Marcus said, dropping an arm over her shoulder and leaning on her too heavily. "We're playing a drinking game, come play with us."

"Oh, um, I don't know," Kat said, stepping closer to Marcus as a much bigger demon that was too big to be human walked by.

"Come on, it'll be fun," Marcus said, nudging her towards the kitchen table.

Kat wasn't great at saying no to people but when her eyes landed on the table, her breathing hitched. Nex had one girl sitting in his lap and another sitting next to him, whispering in his ear. Logically, Kat knew she couldn't be jealous, she shouldn't be jealous. She was with Jason, after all. It didn't stop her from not caring to watch him with them.

"I think I need a bit to drink to catch up," Kat said, looking over at Marcus.

"That's more like it!" Marcus grinned, setting his hand on her back, leading her into the kitchen.

Nex's voice boomed in Marcus's head so loud it almost hurt. Hands off, Nex growled.

Relax, jealous freak, would you really rather her walk through this party alone? Marcus pointed out.

There was no response to that and Marcus rolled his eyes, grabbing a bottle but pausing when he saw Kat drink directly from another bottle.

"Bad date?" Marcus asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, my date was fine," Kat said, making a face as she set the bottle down. Her eyes went back to Nex who, seeming to her, had not even noticed she walked in the door but was still with those two girls, whispering things to them and leaving Kat feeling frustrated with herself for not liking it. She took another swig and winced at the taste again.

"Slow down, Kitty Kat," Marcus said, taking the bottle from her and looking at her curiously before following her gaze over to Nex then back to her. "You good?"

"I'm good," Kat nodded, taking the bottle back and taking another drink before walking off.

"Fucking children, I swear," Marcus said, shaking his head at both of them before walking over to Nex. "If your plan is to make her jealous, it's working. If it's not your plan, I suggest you cut it out," he said, taking a seat across from Nex. "Because you're upsetting her."

"I don't care if she feels jealous," Nex said, running his fingers down the arm of the demon sitting in his lap. "I'm just trying to get her sick of me enough she finally sends me home."

"Right," Marcus said doubtfully. "Well keep it up then because I do believe you're successfully pissing her off."

"Good," Nex said, focusing on the girls next to him and actively trying to stop himself from looking for her.

Nex distracted himself to the best of his ability but he couldn't stop thinking he wished someone else was sitting on his lap. He actively focused on not looking around for her and instead participating in the card game in front of him.

One of his friends and occasional fuck-buddies, Arda, came traipsing over and unsteadily set her hands on the table, swaying slightly. "Nex," she slurred. "I adore your pet human. She's so sweet."

"What?" Nex frowned, tilting his head to the side.

"She just showed me how to get blood stains out of clothes," Arda giggled. "Not like I really need that information but it was sweet of her to teach me anyway. She's not like most humans, is she? Tell me you've had a taste because I find her delightful and I'd like all the details on what it's like to have her," Arda said, licking her lips.

"She did what?" Nex asked flatly, slowly shifting the demon in his lap off him. Kat normally didn't interact much and just locked herself in her room when he had parties like this, he wasn't expecting her to be around still. "Where is she?"

"She's over near the kitchen with Armand, listening to all his woes," Arda giggled, covering her mouth. "She's got a whole pile of demons waiting their turn to get her sage wisdom on life."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Nex growled, rising from his seat and stalking past Arda, towards the kitchen. It wasn't hard to spot her, her scent was never far from his mind and it especially stuck out among the group of demons.

Nex's eyes widened when he found Armand laying with his head in her lap and Laris sitting close by as well as two other demons, seeming to hang on her every word.

"Listen, Armand," Kat sighed, brushing his hair from his eyes. "You don't deserve to be treated like that. Stop saying you're a demon and that makes it okay to be treated badly by this girl because it really doesn't. You need to learn to stand up for yourself."

As she spoke it became abundantly clear she'd had a bit to drink.

"She's right, Armand," Laris chirped in. "Vicky is no good for you and she doesn't want the same things."

"For the love of all that's unholy," Nex muttered angrily, striding forward and stopping in front of them. "Scram," he snapped to the demons. They scattered quickly and Kat glared up at him.

"What was that for?" She huffed.

"What are you doing? Are you insane? These are demons," he said, gesturing to the room. "They don't understand your innocence. You're lucky Armand didn't make a move on you with his face right in your fucking lap," Nex growled, grabbing her hands and pulling her up. "You're going to bed," he said, wrapping his arm around her waist and leading her to the bedroom.

"I don't want to go to bed," Kat snapped, pulling away from him and stumbling slightly. "You're not the boss of me," she said crossing her arms. "If you're throwing a party at my house then I get to join the party if I feel like it."

She stomped away towards the kitchen, leaving Nex focusing on breathing in and out as his fists clenched and unclenched. When he saw her reaching for another drink he muttered a curse and followed after her, taking the bottle from her hands before she had a chance to do anything with it.

"That's enough, kitten. I think you've drank all you can handle," he said, holding it out of her reach as she lunged for it.

"God, can't you just go away?" She snapped, crossing her arms again.

"Asking God to go away? My, my, you are not yourself tonight, are you?" Nex smirked.

"Don't you have people to..." her eyes drifted to the girls near the kitchen table, the same ones that had been fawning over him before. "-entertain?" she said, her eyes darting away.

Nex narrowed his eyes and snatched the next bottle Kat reached for. "You feeling jealous, kitten?" He asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Of course I'm not," Kat snapped, a blush creeping on her cheeks. "Stop taking all the alcohol from me," she pouted.

Nex groaned because her pout had infinitely more power over him than it should. He glanced back at the girls he was with earlier and considered forcing Kat to admit she was jealous until a new plan formulated.

"I'll give you the alcohol if you sit with me and be my good luck charm for our games," he said, inclining his head to the kitchen table. "What do you say?"

"Don't you have other good luck charms?" Kat grumbled, trying to snatch the bottle from him again.

"None as lovely as you," he said, catching her hand and tugging her towards him so much she almost fell right into his chest. "Come on, kitten. You're my ticket home and I can't very well have you running around here drunk. It's dangerous. I may not be able to use my abilities on you but others can. Come sit with me and I'll give you your favorite wine."

"I didn't see my wine," Kat frowned, looking around the kitchen.

"That's because I was keeping it for you," Nex said, stepping over and opening up the top cabinet, pulling out the bottle. "Come on then, you know you want to."

"Fine," Kat sighed, snatching a wine glass from the cabinet and walking past Nex without a second glance.

Nex moved ahead in front of her using his abilities and making Kat jump. She scowled at him and he ignored it, shooing the demons into the seats so there was only one empty. He plopped down and grabbed Kat's hands, pulling her into his lap.

Kat squeaked and stiffened when Nex's arm wrapped around her waist, his hand resting comfortably on her hip.

"What are you doing?" Kat asked, swallowing hard and remembering the last time she was in his lap. Last time was different because she was straddling him and now she wasn't but she couldn't stop the memories from flooding her mind and making her body warm.

"Do you see any empty seats?" Nex asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I can-" one of the demons started speaking to offer their seat but Nex sent her a glare, making her silence.

Kat watched the exchange suspiciously and opened her mouth to speak when suddenly a door slammed, making her jump. She turned to see her parent's door firmly shut and three demons backing away from it.

"I said to stay out of that room," Nex growled, making the windows and walls shake. "Take it somewhere else."

Kat turned to see Nex still glaring at the offenders until they were nowhere near the door. His eyes came to hers and she opened her mouth to speak but couldn't for the life of her think of what to say. For all his annoying quirks, he never touched on the subjects he knew she couldn't handle and there was something about him respecting the part of her that was still so tender she couldn't stand to talk about it, that made her heart start fluttering in a way she never felt before. With anyone.

"What?" Nex asked, surprised to find her staring at him so long.

"Nothing," Kat said, swallowing hard and reaching for her bottle of wine. "Nothing. Let's play the game."

And number 2