Free Dead Is a Battlefield by Marlene Perez

her. Instead, I blushed.
    “No,” I said, so forcefully that Dominic faked a stab to the heart.
    “Ha-ha,” I said to him, and then turned to Katie. “C’mon, we’ll make a snack.”
    “Monopoly first,” she demanded.
    “No, snack first,” I said firmly.
    She skipped ahead of us and climbed onto the barstool in front of the counter that separated the family room from the kitchen.
    “Gracie, snack time,” I said.
    She finally looked up from her book. “Oh, hi, Jessica,” she said. “When did you get home?”
    I laughed. “It’s nice to see you, too, Gracie. Now kitchen. You can read more after your snack. Or maybe you want to play Monopoly with us?”
    “No, thank you,” she said. Her gaze sharpened. “Who is that?”
    I repeated the introduction and she handed me her book before heading for the kitchen.
    “I hope you like Monopoly,” I said.
    “Love it,” Dominic said.
    “I want banana buddies,” Katie demanded. She already had the peanut butter and bread out on the countertop.
    “What’s that?” Dominic asked.
    “Peanut butter on toast with a banana mouth and raisin eyes,” I told him.
    “My dad used to make us those,” he said.
    “I can make something else,” I said, remembering what Flo had told me about his dad’s death.
    “No, we can’t deprive Katie of her favorite snack. Besides, I like being reminded of him,” he said. “I’ll make the toast.”
    Once the toast was made, Katie and Dominic amused each other by decorating the peanut butter with silly faces.
    We ate our snack at the kitchen counter. My knee bumped Dominic’s under the counter and I jumped.
    “Where is everyone else?” I asked Katie. The house was unusually quiet. Not that I was complaining. I could only imagine the grilling I’d get if Sarah and Sydney were home.
    “I dunno,” she said.
    “Katie,” I said in a warning voice.
    She sighed. “Sarah and Sydney said they were at the library studying, but they’re probably just giggling about boys. Fiona’s at karate and Kellie’s at dance class.”
    Katie went to set up the game and Gracie returned to her book.
    “All those girls she mentioned are your sisters?” Dominic asked.
    “Every single one,” I said. “Are you scared?”
    Dominic reached over and slowly rubbed the corner of my mouth with his thumb.
    I looked up and met his eyes and a deliciously warm feeling spread through my body. He leaned in and I thought he was going to kiss me.
    “You had peanut butter on the corner of your mouth,” he said, pulling away.
    “Oh,” I said. What was I thinking? He could have any girl he wanted. He wasn’t interested in me.
    Katie’s voice shattered the moment. “Jessica, hurry up!” she shouted from the other room.
    I gave him a little smile. “This is your chance to make your escape.”
    “No way,” he said. “I love Monopoly.”
    “Then we’d better get in there,” I said. “Katie takes Monopoly very seriously.”
    “I like you better than that other boy,” Katie said to Dominic as she rolled the dice.
    He gave me a mischievious glance. “What other boy, Katie?”
    “Evan,” she said placidly. “He never played Monopoly with me.”
    “A grave strategic error,” Dominic commented.
    She nodded. “Exactly.”
    Dominic didn’t seem the least bit intimidated by the thought of competition. If anything, he was amused by it. It felt like he wasn’t taking me seriously.
    “Are we going to play or what?” I asked.
    “It’s your turn,” Katie pointed out.
    “Sorry,” I said sheepishly, and then rolled the dice.
    I watched him laughing and joking with my sister. Was this the real Dominic? I had thought I was a pretty good judge of character, but it was almost as if there were two of him, Selena’s Dominic—the guy who hung on her every word and ignored everyone else around him—and this guy.

CHAPTER TWELVE
    I was walking through the halls of Nightshade High when I saw a group of girls surrounding Selena. She handed Shannon