by A. M. Hudson
“Same way you stopped yourself from biting me, I guess,” I said, pulling his hand away from my face.
He nodded once. “This is a first for me, you know. I’ve never had to do that before—to control myself. It took everything in me not to rip your throat open and drink your blood, and even more to stop enticing you with the spell of lust.”
“Is that what made me want to…you know, die?”
“Yes.” He laughed. “It’s how we kill. We seduce you into trusting us.”
“So…you seduce men too?”
“No. I’ve never seduced a man. And I’ve not killed any girls since we met.” He brushed his curled fingers over my cheek. “I use an attack kill, now. It’s more brutal, more painful for the human, but I can’t bear the thought of killing girls since I found you.”
“Why?”
“Because I see your face—think how I would feel if that was you.” He looked up as, above us, the loud thunder of footsteps sent vibrations through the walls. “We better get back out there—lunch will be over soon.”
“Okay.” I breathed out. “But, what will we tell everyone?” They all saw us walk in here. I didn’t even wanna imagine what they’d think.
“Ara, what do you think they will think? We’re teenagers. Let them think what they want. They’ll never guess the truth.”
“Well, at least that part’s true.” No one would guess that I led a vampire under the stage and let him bite me. Or even more so—that I bit him. It didn’t matter what they thought, anyway. I was so damn hungry that if I didn’t go eat, David would become the next victim of the ogre. Then, he wouldn’t need to worry about me becoming a people-eater, because he’d be in my stomach.
David shook his head, laughing softly. “I can think of a few ways I could be in your stomach, Ara, without being eaten. Of course, you’d still have to put a part of me in your mouth.”
My lips gaped, a giant huff expelling between them.
His eyes widened. “Oh, no, I didn’t mean it that way. I meant blood—drinking my blood.” He held his wrist up.
I dropped the insult and giggled into my hand.
“I’m so sorry, Ara. That came out sounding…incredibly wrong.”
“Yes, but, it was also funny to watch you react that way.”
He lowered his head and shook it, a sharp intake of air whistling through his teeth.
“I love you, David,” I said, still laughing at his fallibility.
“Come on.” He reached for my hand. “Shall we head back out and face the music?”
“Yes.” The reality simmered over me then and I shook my head at myself. “I can’t believe I just provoked a vampire into biting me.” Therapy, anyone?
David cleared his throat. “You said it first.”
“Hey!” I dropped my hands to my hips. “I’ll give you therapy in a minute, if you don’t stop reading my mind.”
He chuckled, wandering across the room to grab his jacket. I loved it when he laughed. It made him seem so normal—so human.
“Except, there is nothing human about what we just did,” he joked.
“Stay out of my mind!” I headed for the door in a stormy huff.
“Wait.” He grabbed my arm and held up his jacket. “You might want to put this on.”
I frowned at him; he pointed to my neck. Oh crap! The bite! If it looked as bad as it burned, people would think David did something really horrible to me.
“I did.” He held his jacket out, pulled it closed around my chest once my arms were in, and kissed my brow.
“What about you? I bit you.”
“I’ll be healed by the time I cross the room. But you—” he laughed, running his finger over my bruise again, “—you may take a little longer.”
“How long?”
“If you heal fast—a week, maybe. If not—a month.”
Crud! “If Dad sees it, he’ll freak.”
“Ara, he’ll freak if word gets back to him that we were even in this closet—alone.”
Damn. Didn’t think of that. I wrapped my hand over the bite. The rough denim of David’s jacket rubbed against it, making it sting more. But, since he’d been wearing the coat all day, the strong smell of him was all over me like a warm breath, so I didn’t mind one bit.
“Oh, and one more thing.” He grabbed my arm again. “The history paper?”
“What about it?”
He kissed my temple quickly. “Don’t do vampires.”
“Why?”
“Just don’t.”
“You never give me a reason.”
“I don’t have to—you should just trust me.”
“No way. What do you think this is? The eighteen-hundreds?”
“No. I think you are a human, and I’m a vampire—and I have my reasons.” He turned away with a sly smile, and the room filled with light as he opened the door, severing any further discussion.
Hmph! I’m still doing vampires. You can’t stop me.
He leaned closer and muttered, “Try me.”
A group of David’s friends, only at rehearsal for their stupid comedy skit, burst into a Mexican wave as we walked out, sending me spinning back toward the closet.
David grabbed me by the coat. “Keep walking, Ara.”
“Hey, Dave? Man, your jeans are wet,” one of the jock’s pointed to the soda spill.
“Funny. Real funny.” David nodded and took my hand.
“Now I wish you had eaten me in there,” I said.
He laughed as we wandered back to our table. “Don’t worry about it. No one will pass any further comment on it. I’ll personally see to that.”
“Okay.”
“Okay.” He squeezed my hand.
“Oh, hey, you’re back.” Emily smiled casually.
“Are we? Didn’t notice,” I said.
She rolled her eyes.
“Do I need to ask what you two were up to in there?” Ryan’s brows rose and fell a few times.
“We were just talking,” David said casually and pushed my chair in for me as I sat down.
“Right, ‘cause everyone goes to the make-out room to ‘talk’,” Spencer said.
“As a matter of fact, that’s exactly why we were in there,” David said, then winked at me. “I would never be so inappropriate as to display my affections for the girl I love, in a closet space.”
Everyone looked into their laps. Conversation. Over.
“So. Subject change,” Emily chimed in, motioning around the table. “The memorial concert? The whole reason we’re here?”
“Let’s start the rehearsal, then.” I grinned, biting into my nachos, but they tasted boring in comparison to David.
From the corner of my eye, I saw him grin, and while conversations went on around us, David reached into my lap and took my hand, winding his leg under my ankle. And it felt nice—like the way things should be; sitting at lunch with friends, talking about normal things, concealing the burning desire to run away with the boy you love, and never let him go.
Thursday passed with a rhythmic pace; note-passing with David when we were in the same classes—only I didn’t need to pass them to him, since he just read my mind; talking with Emily in History, trying to get kicked into Mr Adams’ class, and lunch times with my group of friends in the auditorium, rehearsing for the memorial concert. When the day ended, I said my goodbyes and wandered across the field toward my dad’s house, stealing the quiet for my own private thoughts—for once. The sun warmed my upturned face and the wind caressed the crevices around my nose and under my chin. I closed my eyes, entrusting the safety of the widespread field of grass as I bounced along, smiling to myself, for no other reason than that I was happy.
“Haven’t you learned not to walk with your eyes closed?”
So much for private thoughts. “Well, I’m happy. If you want me to get across the road safely, you’ll just have to walk me home.” I opened my eyes to look at David. He looked so normal with a schoolbag on his back—just a boy, just as everyone e
lse saw him. His dark side was a secret. No one could ever imagine he was a vampire, and no one would ever know. Except me.
“So, I was thinking?” He glided along beside me, at my pace, with his hands behind his back and that cheeky grin slipping into place.
“Mm. I’m listening.”
“I want to buy you a dress for the Masquerade.”
“A dress? Why?”
We stopped for a second, and David took my hands. “This will be your first real ball. I want you to feel like a queen. And—” he turned and started walking again, smiling, “—I won’t take no for an answer.”
“But…Vicki?” I ran after him. “She wants to take me shopping.”
“And she can.” He spun around and walked backward. “But when you find the right dress, I want to pay for it.”
“David, I can’t—”
“Ara.” He cut in with a finger to my lips. “I’ll have no more of this. Just accept it, as a gift—a token of my affection for you. It will do me great honour to escort you to the ball in a dress fit for a queen—for my queen.”
My throat stopped passage of all vocabulary. I froze in place, my hands and feet numb under the weight of his perfect words. All I could do was nod and swallow the sentence that had been my retort.
Sam’s schoolbooks engulfed the dining table, leaving one space left for me to do my homework; the kitchen counter. I slumped over my books, munching an apple, spinning my hips from side to side on the swishy stool. I’d deliberately moved my schoolbag off the seat beside me, hoping David would sit there to either help me with my homework or just plain old be close to me, but he went and sat next to my pesky brother instead, and helped him. Except, he wasn’t helping him with his math—he was doing it for him.
“David, will you stay for dinner tonight?” Vicki asked, casually chopping away at vegetables.
David looked up from the page. “That’d be great, Mrs Thompson. If Ara doesn’t mind.”
A giant, invisible question mark formed above my head. Why would I mind, dummy? Unless you plan to eat us for dinner.
He smirked.
“Great,” Vicki beamed, without needing my answer. “It’s nothing special. Although, I am making apple pie for dessert.”
My vampire flashed the most incredibly charming smile and said, “Apple pie happens to be my favourite.”
“Oh, really?” Vicki’s whole face lit up. “That’s great then.”
I groaned quietly, rolling my eyes. I think my stepmother has a crush on you, David.
He nodded to himself, his eyes small with humour, aiming the pen tip to the top of the page. He went on then to explain some number jargon to Sam, and I turned back to my books, a breath away from asking for his help. I really just didn’t get this Pythagoras’ Theorem crap. I never had.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw David look over at me for a second, but as the numbers on the page started to shift into place in my brain, I fazed him, Sam, and Vicki out, and concentrated on my homework—taking a sideways glance every now and then to see David look up at the same time. All I really wanted, though, was to go upstairs to my room so David and I could do our ‘homework’ in private. The idea made me smile to myself.
A roll of paper hit my forearm then and bounced up, landing between my wrists.
David winked at me, rolling his hand in the air as if to say ‘Open it.’
As I unfolded the paper, perfect Victorian cursive handwriting stared back up at me in the words: What exactly would we be doing in your room—other than homework?
Stay out of my head!
He laughed and took a sip from his coffee cup; I ditched the paper back at him, but he caught it without even looking.
Smart arse, I thought. But if you were any decent sort of mind reader, you wouldn’t need to ask what I wanted to do with you in there.
He looked over at me, his face tight with a frown, his cup just in front of his lips.
I waited until he dared to take another sip, then showed him what we’d be wearing if Vicki trusted me alone upstairs with a boy in my room.
Brown liquid burst all over Sam’s homework, spraying from David’s mouth as he jerked up out of his chair, wiping his chin on his sleeve. “Ara!”
That’ll teach you. I giggled, covering my mouth.
Vicki stared between David and I, and Sam, oblivious to all other life forms aside from himself, simply shook his head, sighed, like we were immature, then went back to his homework.
“Ara,” Vicki said, handing David a dishcloth. “What did you do to the poor boy?”
“Nothing,” I said innocently.
“I’m sure.”
David placed the cloth and his cup in the sink, shaking his head the whole time, then popped up beside me when Vicki turned to the stove, and whispered quietly in my ear. “You need a filter on your thoughts, Ara-Rose.”
I scraped the side of my face down his chin, closing my eyes for a second when his soft lips left a kiss behind before he walked back over and sat beside Sam, still shaking his head.
“So, Ara,” Vicki said casually, “you have the girls coming for a sleepover this Saturday, right?”
“Mm-hm.” I nodded, quickly looking back at my homework.
“When are we going dress hunting then? I assume you’ll want to do it soon, before Mike arrives?”
“Did Ara tell you, Mom?” Sam interjected, winking at David. “David’s gonna buy her a dress?”
My head whipped up to look at my vampire; he smiled behind his book, keeping his eyes on the text and nowhere near my infuriated glare.
Vicki looked at me, then at David. “That’s a very kind offer, David. Are you sure?”
“I’m positive, Mrs Thompson. If you take her shopping, I’ll cover the costs.”
“Dresses can be expensive,” she said in a remarkably condescending tone.
David leaned back in his chair and lopped his arm over the backrest. I knew he was looking at Vicki, probably thinking, I’m about eighty years older than you, lady. I think I know what things cost. “There is no price too high. I want Ara to have the prettiest, most extravagant dress money can buy,” he said instead.
Vicki stared, her mouth gaping. “How much do you want her to spend?”
Don’t, David, please don't. Vicki would definitely spend exactly what he told her to, without any hint of remorse. I, on the other hand, would feel like a dirty thief.
He grinned, completely ignoring me as he ripped a corner of his notepad, scribbled something down on it, showed it to Sam, who nodded, then passed it to Vicki. “No less than this.”
Vicki gasped.
“What? Vicki, how much? Tell me?” I whined.
She folded the paper and slipped it into her pocket, spinning back to the stove with a bounce in her step. “So, we’ll go shopping on Saturday morning then, before your friends arrive?”
I folded my arms and looked at David.
“What?” He shrugged, holding both hands out, looking so cute and human my heart melted.
You’re cheeky, David, but I love you.
While David had mastered the styles and behaviours of the twenty-first century, practicing them well at school, when it came to automatically switching to ‘good boy’ mode around a girl’s parents, old habits died hard. He ate with the perfection of his inner English Lord, talking topics over dinner that had my dad more than a little impressed, and even complimented Vicki’s cooking. I kept watching his fork go from his plate to his mouth like a graceful bird flying, wondering how it affected him to eat human food. But when it came to the apple pie, I don’t think he was lying about it being his favourite, because he ate mine too. Then, he scored extra points with the parental units by helping me with the dishes, forever winning Sam over by giving him the night off. Didn’t earn enough trust for my dad to leave the kitchen, though. Instead, he decided to ‘read his paper’ while David and I stood by the sink, trying to talk about ‘human’ stuff.
David finished wiping the counter and re-rolled h
is sleeves before sticking hands back into the water, then handing me a soapy plate.
“Is it awful?” I asked, taking it in my towel-covered hand.
“Is what awful?”
I leaned closer, keeping one eye on Dad. “Eating?”
David let out a short breath of laughter. “No. It’s very normal for me. I mean—” He bent his knees so his lips came in line with my ear. “It’s not totally necessary, but I still enjoy it.”
“Really? So, it tastes okay?”
“Yeah.” He laughed. “I guess it’s like chocolate; you don’t need it, and you can’t survive on it, but you can enjoy it now and then.”
“Oh.” I nodded. “I thought it’d be like vamp—I mean, like your kind in the movies, you know; how it tastes like ash.”
“Nope. Things actually taste better,” he added, handing me another plate. “My senses are very finely tuned, so, taste is enhanced, touch is enhanced. Everything.” His smile was oh-so incredibly suggestive.
“So?” I said slowly, running one finger at a snail’s pace down his spine, feeling the soft silk of his shirt bunch up as I glided along. “This feels better when you’re a vampire?”
“Shh.” He nodded toward my dad, his shoulders lifting with the slow breath he took after. “And, yes. That feels incredible.”
Dad stood up suddenly and walked out of the room.
I held my breath. “Did he hear me?”
David listened for a second, then shook his head. “No. He’s gone to talk to Vicki about Mike coming to stay.”
“Well, what about it?”
“He just realised he might need some help getting that giant sofa out of the spare room. He’s going to ask me.”
“So he trusts you to help move furniture and do dishes, but not be alone in the kitchen with his daughter?”
“Sounds pretty standard for dads, Ara.”
“Yeah, well, maybe we should tell him you’re a vampire—at least then he’d stop worrying about me getting pregnant.”