“I’m going to ask Marcus if he’ll go to Josie’s party with me,” Kate said as she picked through the dresses in Neiman Marcus.

I frowned at her but kept my eye on a red strapless David Meister she had passed over. Josie Newport was having a pre-Valentine’s Day party called Hearts Afire, and the dress code was red or black. Organizing my thoughts on potential dresses while playing shrink for Kate was very conflicting. “If you think he’ll say yes, go for it.”

“Why wouldn’t he say yes?”

“I—” I stammered. “Well, he probably wouldn’t be into a high school party.”

“He came to mine a couple weeks ago,” she said, frowning. “And you’re bringing Will, right?”

“Maybe, but I haven’t even talked to him about it,” I said, and pulled the red dress out. My thoughts were far away. Something about Kate potentially dating Marcus didn’t sit well with me. He was a reaper, and she was completely human, mortal, and unaware of the supernatural. I couldn’t let Kate get involved with reapers, and I had my doubts he’d ever tell her the truth about himself. How could they be together without Marcus keeping such an enormous truth from her?

Kate selected a dress and examined the fabric. I already knew it’d look gorgeous on her.

“Why are you trying on a black one?” I asked. “Get red like me.”

She made an ugly noise and held the black dress up to her chest. “Uh, no. Kate is not a matchy-matchy kind of girl. I’m not going to a party wearing the same color as my best friend.”

“You always wear black,” I noted, picking at the chiffon.

“It’s slimming,” she grumbled. “Don’t you read Cosmo? They tell you all this stuff.”

I rolled my eyes. “Right. I knew that.”

She grinned. “Want to come over tonight?”

“Of course,” I said. “I’m meeting Will after the mall, but after that, definitely. I’ll bring my homework so we can get both of ours out and not do any of it.”

She laughed. “Okay. I could really use some girl time, for sure.”

“So I’ll call you as soon as we’re done?”

“You’d better.”

Our moms walked into the dress area with their hands full of shopping bags. Kate’s mom eyed the dress in Kate’s hands.

“Did you guys find anything you like?” Mrs. Green asked.

Kate handed the dress over. “I’m trying this on.”

My mom thumbed the dress I’d chosen. “Are you considering this one?”

“Yeah,” I said. “Isn’t it gorgeous?”

She eyed it with a tight mouth. “Don’t you think it’s a little mature for your age?”

On the other side of Mrs. Green, Kate scoffed. “She’ll look hot in it, Mrs. M.”

“That helps so much, Kate.” My mom sighed. “If this is the dress you want, then all right. Go try it on, but it’s the last for a while, Ell. You just got a really nice one for your birthday.”

“Thanks, Mom,” I said with a smile as Kate grabbed my hand and dragged me toward the fitting rooms. Will would have a heart attack when he saw me in this dress.

Nathaniel’s house was empty when I arrived. Any chance they got, the boys were outside, which was unfortunate for me because I was the only one who noticed how cold it was. Today I wasn’t really there for Will. Instead, Nathaniel had said he had a surprise for me.

I pulled open the sliding door and stepped out. “Hey, guys,” I called, and hopped down the porch steps. They were hanging out by the shooting range, and a number of guns were spread out across the table on the platform. Nathaniel wore ear and eye protection and aimed an awfully large handgun at a target board placed at the very far end of the yard. The target was so distant that I could barely make out the lines. Nathaniel fired and, a moment later, frowned.

“Damn,” he grumbled. “Just outside.”

I squinted and put up a hand to squelch the sunlight gleaming off the snowy yard and into my eyes. If the bullet hit the target, I couldn’t even tell. It was yet another advantage reapers had over my human body, I supposed.

“That’s because you suck,” Will called out in a bored voice.

Nathaniel frowned. “That’s one time out of three clips that I didn’t hit the bull’s-eye. Why don’t you get up here and show me how much you don’t suck?”

He frowned dismissively. “I don’t like guns.”

“That’s because you suck.” Nathaniel fired again. He hit the dead center of the target.

“You’re a smart-ass, too.”

Nathaniel chuckled and removed the clip from his gun and reloaded.

I let out a sigh loud enough for them to notice and turn their heads. “You’re both ridiculous. I want my surprise.”

Nathaniel beckoned me. “Come here, Ell.”

I moved forward cautiously.

“You’re going to learn how to use a gun.”

A small involuntary noise of glee escaped me. “Really?”

“Oh, yeah.”

He removed his goggles and earmuffs for me to put on. He held out the gun and I picked it up. It was heavier than I had imagined it would be.

“First rule,” Nathaniel began, “is muzzle direction. Always point it at the ground, and don’t touch the trigger until you’re ready to shoot a target. Safety’s off.” His finger flicked a little lever near the trigger. He flicked it back the other way. “And it’s on.”