The Taste of Night by R.L. Stine Read Free Book Online

sold me this for fifty dollars, and it always works.”
    Eyes on the dancers, she followed him to the bar. Half the graduating class from Dark Springs High is heretonight, Destiny realized. She waved to some girls she knew. She spotted Ana-Li sitting in a big armchair in the lounge, leaning forward to talk to two guys Destiny had never seen before.
    In a corner by the lounge, a girl in a sparkly red mini-dress was lip-locked with a guy in black jeans and a muscle shirt. He had a tattoo of a motorcycle on his bicep. As they kissed, he ran his big hands through her blond hair.
    Blond hair…
    No, Destiny thought. Not tonight. I’m not going to think about Livvy tonight.
    But she stared at the girl kissing the big, tattooed guy so passionately, and she couldn’t help but picture her sister there.
    â€œHere you go.” Ari bumped her shoulder. She turned and reached for the beer bottle in his hand. “The guy carded me,” Ari said, grinning. “The Delaware driver’s license always works. Want me to get you one?”
    She frowned at him. “Ari, you don’t even like beer that much. What’s the big deal?”
    He shrugged. “Come on. We’re at a club, right? We gotta drink beer. Besides, I’ve got a lot of time to make up for. All those years, sitting in my room at the computer, going to dorky UFO websites or watching Star Trek reruns. I didn’t know what I was missing!”
    Ari has changed a lot, Destiny thought. I guess all the terrible things that have happened snapped him out of his fantasy world.
    Ari started to raise the beer bottle to his mouth—and Fletch Green grabbed it out of his hand. “Thanks, dawg.” Fletch emptied the bottle in less than five seconds and handed it back to Ari, a big smile on his face.
    Ari stared at the empty beer bottle.
    â€œSorry you guys missed my party last night,” Fletch said, sliding an arm around Destiny. “Hey, Dee, you look hot tonight.”
    Destiny wore a short, pleated black skirt, a tight, white midriff top, and her favorite red strappy sandals.
    â€œSo do you, Fletch,” Destiny shot back. He was wearing baggy cargo pants and a black T-shirt with a martini glass on the front.
    â€œIt was a great party,” Fletch said. “The cops came out three times. We have totally obnoxious neighbors. They call the cops if I sneeze too loud. But it was awesome. Gil Marx threw up in the fishpond. That was kinda gross. But no one else got too sick.”
    He took Destiny’s beer from her hand and finished that one too. He handed the bottle to Ari. “Thanks again, dawg. You know, you’re too young to drink.” He gave the back of Destiny’s hair a playful tug. Then he spun away and shambled off.
    â€œIs he here with someone?” Ari asked, watching Fletch push his way through the dance floor.
    Destiny shrugged. “Beats me. I heard he’s been drinking a lot. I mean, a lot .” She sighed. “The poor guy. He and Ross were like this.” She held two fingers together. “I think he’s alittle lost without him.”
    â€œHey, I thought we weren’t going to talk about that tonight,” Ari snapped. He clinked the empty bottles together. “I’ll get another round.”
    â€œNot now.” Destiny grabbed his arm. “Let’s dance, okay?”
    But he was already pushing his way to the bar.
    What’s he trying to prove? Destiny wondered. I thought we came here to dance.
    Ari returned a few minutes later with two more beers. He downed his quickly and went back for another.
    Destiny sipped hers slowly. She talked with three girls from her class, shouting over the throbbing dance music. They talked about how boring the graduation speaker was, their summer jobs, and what they planned to do in the fall.
    Destiny could see the girls were a little uncomfortable. They were trying hard not to mention Livvy. Finally, one of them said, “Have