towards me. I deserve it. But you do mean a lot to me. I sincerely hope you will let me be your friend?” She shoved the register drawer closed, locked it, and handed him the key.
“That sounds like you’ve made your decision?”
“You mean you would have taken me back?”
He was having difficulty keeping his emotions in tact, but he was trying hard. “Yes…I would.”
“I don’t deserve you,” she replied, looking away, not wanting to see the pain in his beautiful green eyes. “I’m so sorry, Paul.” A tear trickled down her cheek. “I hope someday you will forgive me. I know it’s hard to believe…but I really only had eyes for you in the beginning…” she faced him. “I had no idea I was going to fall in love with…with…”
He shook his head. “I know. I believe you now. Sometimes things just happen.”
“Yeah, sometimes they do. And for what it’s worth – though it may be of no comfort now – I really do love you!”
“Amber…Don’t!”
“I’m sorry, Paul. I just love him more!”
It was obvious that it was all he could do to hold himself together when the elderly man came up to check out. After the man walked out, Paul turned to Amber. “Why did you come in tonight?”
“I didn’t want to drag this out any longer. I wanted you to know I’d made my decision…I made it today, actually. And…it hasn’t been easy.” She couldn’t hold back her tears any longer.
Seeing her cry wrenched his heart. “I suppose it wasn’t.”
“It was the hardest decision I’ve ever made in my life. I really didn’t want to hurt you! In the beginning I never dreamed it would end this way!”
He lowered his gaze momentarily and then focused back on her. “Okay…I guess if he means that much to you…you can’t help it. I’m just so damn jealous right now, I’m half crazy.” He ran his hands through his hair, and then dropped them to his sides.
“Can you find it in your heart for us to still be friends?”
He responded with a slow nod and looked off.
She gave him a hug, but he just stood there, not quite ready yet to hug her back. She pulled away and noticed the time on the store clock. It was twenty after ten. “Guess you can close up now.”
He looked too. “I didn’t realize it was that late. Judy should be in any minute now.”
“Goodnight, Paul…and please call me if you need me!”
He sighed heavily. “Okay.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
Judy walked in then. Right away she saw Amber and stared at both of them. It was obvious they’d both been crying. She just said, “I’m home…” and hurried into the back.
“I’ll see you later, Paul.” Amber turned and walked out the door. For some reason, the sound of the bell tinkling made her start crying again. She ran off to her car and drove away.
After Amber was gone, Judy came back out to help Paul close up. “You okay?” she inquired, looking compassionately at her brother.
“Not really… but I will be. It’s just going to take time.”
“What did she say?”
He let out a despondent sigh. “She chose Lodovico!” He couldn’t hold back anymore, broke down sobbing.
“Oh…My dear sweet, Paul!” She wrapped her arms around him and held him tight while he cried his heart out.
Amber’s heart ached for what she had done to Paul, hated herself for it. Still, she could not deny what she felt for Dorian. She’d never loved a man the way she loved him. It was a powerful, all-consuming love, a passion that blazed out of control. At the same time, it was the sweetest nectar, the most succulent fruit imaginable. It was beyond her understanding, so much more than physical. And though she supposed that all true love had an element of the spiritual, her love for Dorian was powerfully spiritual. Their very souls had fused. With him, they were one. She missed him so much it was unbearable.
Yet, she had to bear it. He wasn’t there! And now she felt alone. With him not there, there was a huge emptiness in her soul, a crevice that screamed to be fulfilled.
There was something else – She was hungry! It seemed that no matter what she ate, she could not satisfy her appetite. And she was a week late with her monthly cycle. She was beginning to wonder if she was pregnant. She’d never been pregnant, so she wasn’t sure how it felt. If so, which one was the father? Could vampires procreate? What an irony it would be if Paul was the father! “Dear God!” she said as she drove home. “Please don’t let me be pregnant! But if I am, I pray it’s not Paul’s! Please!”
She decided she’d wait a few more days. If she didn’t have her period soon, she’d make an appointment with a doctor. Probably one in Seattle, as she didn’t want to raise any eyebrows in the little community.
She pulled into her drive and was surprised to see Klaus and Sally standing on her front porch. She left her car and went up her steps. Sally looked absolutely stunning. She’d changed from an average, middle-aged woman that didn’t take much notice of how she dressed, to a strikingly handsome woman. She looked ten years younger. Her light brown hair, not quite shoulder length, usually in soft curls, was pulled back in a twist. She had on spike heels, and was dressed in tight black, looked satin, pants and a black long-sleeved top to match. Around her neck, was a beautiful silver necklace of Celtic design. And her brown eyes shone like the stars.
“Hello, Klaus…Sally,” Amber acknowledged. “Sally…you look…absolutely fantastic!”
Klaus smiled proudly. “I knew she had it in her,” he said and affectionately hung his arm around her. “This is Sally’s first night out since her…transformation.”
“I gather you’re not sick…then?”
Sally smiled wryly. “Nope…Just really hungry. And Klaus is going to teach me how to hunt and feed properly…So I won’t mess up.”
“Yeah…One can lose control easy when they first change,” Klaus noted. “Hope to teach her how to feed without necessarily killing her food.”
This surprised Amber. She figured that Klaus wouldn’t really care much one way or the other. “Oh?”
Sally chortled at Amber’s surprise. It was apparent her sense of humor had also blossomed.
“Anyway, just thought we’d drop by…Let you see the new and improved Sally.”
“Glad you did…And again, you look great!”
Studying Amber fixedly, Klaus said, “Besides, I did make a promise to Dorian to keep an eye on you…You doing okay?”
“I guess so.” She didn’t want to tell him she thought she might be pregnant. But she did have one question for Sally. “Sally…Are you going to keep working at Paul’s? He was really busy tonight. I helped him out.”
“Yeah…” she said, looking lovingly up to Klaus. “Klaus seems to think its better to keep up my human appearances…So folks won’t get suspicious.”
“Probably a good idea. I know Paul really misses you.”
“Kind of miss the man myself. He’s a nice guy!”
“Depends on how things go tonight,” Klaus interrupted, “whether she goes back tomorrow night or not. If she gets her hunger sated, then yes. If not, might not be wise…she could lose control, if someone walks in that smells especially tempting.” He wriggled his eyebrows and grinned naughtily, as though the idea amused him.
Amber felt like she was getting a real education in the nature of vampires now. “Well, good luck with your hunting tonight!” she said. “And, Klaus, if you communicate with Dorian…whatever it is you do…you can tell him I made my choice.”
“Oh?” he said, suddenly looking very interested. “And the winner is?” He asked with a slight cock of his head.
“Dorian. Of course!”
A huge, smug smile broke across his face. “Wunderbar! He will be really glad to hear it.”
“Well…I’m really hungry, Amber,” Sally said, taking Klaus by the hand and leading him down the porch steps. “Glad you made the right choice. And it was the right one. I know Pau
l’s a really sweet guy. But once you’ve been with a vampire…there’s no way you can turn back.” She winked then.
Klaus guffawed, and they both shape-shifted into ravens in front of Amber’s eyes and flew off.
Amber stood there thinking. Sally was hungry! Really hungry! “Oh God!” She had a moment of panic, but then she remembered that she’d read that the person had to die before they transformed. She obviously hadn’t died. “Whew!”
She unlocked her front door and was enthusiastically greeted by Star, who’d been amazingly quiet with Klaus and Sally around. She considered that Dorian had had something to do with Star’s not getting excited when vampires were near. Though good for Dorian, it might not be good if any bad vampires came around. She’d have to ask Dorian about that…That is, whenever he decided to come back.
Amber hoped that if Klaus got the message to Dorian that he would come back sooner. Oh how she hoped!
Again, she couldn’t sleep, tossed and turned fretfully, visions of Dorian’s beautiful eyes burning into hers. She finally gave up trying to sleep and went to the bathroom, relieved herself and went to wash her face. Eyes red as blood again! “God!” Surely she had some kind of virus! Being pregnant wouldn’t cause this! She should have asked Klaus about the bloody eyes, but she didn’t think about it at the time, pretty much side-tracked by the astounding difference in Sally.
She stepped back from the sink. She didn’t look so good. And damn she was hungry! She went to the kitchen and flung open her refrigerator. Some raw hamburger was sitting there; tiny pools of blood
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