More Than This

by Alexa Land

  He came up to me and slipped his arms around my waist as he said, “Well, they can stay here then, and we’ll buy some more books for our new home.” He looked up at me and asked, “Have you been crying?”

  “Yeah, but it’s all good. Every object in this house has a memory attached to it, but they’re happy ones.”

  Ari ran a hand over my cheek as Newton tried to hop up onto the couch and failed. We crossed the room and gave him a boost, and then we sat down with him. The first three chapters of my latest attempt at a novel were sitting on the coffee table, and I indicated the papers and asked, “Did you get a chance to read that?”

  He nodded. “I finished right before you came downstairs, and I love it, Griffin.”

  The creative writing workshop my Aunt Glyn had given me for my birthday had been both educational and inspiring. I’d gotten serious about my writing after that, and this was the first time I’d actually let anyone read my work in progress. Ari’s opinion meant everything to me, and I’d asked him to be brutally honest in his feedback.

  “Really?”

  “Yes, really.”

  “Because if it sucks, you can tell me. You won’t crush my soul or anything.”

  Ari grinned at me as he climbed onto my lap and straddled my hips. “There’s no soul crushing required, because it’s wonderful.”

  “I’m so glad you like it.” As he settled in with his head on my shoulder, I asked, “What do we have left to do for the party?” We were hosting our aunts and our vampire family for some holiday festivities in less than an hour.

  “Nothing. All the food is made, including Aunt Roz’s famous enchiladas, which are ready to go into the oven once our guests arrive. That means we can just relax for a few minutes.” Newton was ahead of the game. He’d curled up right beside us and immediately fell asleep.

  When I realized this might be our last private moment for the next several hours, I started to reach for the ring in my pocket. Just then, the front door burst open and Mateo announced, “I think I’m losing my mind.”

  Ari and I both sat up, and I asked, “What’s wrong?”

  He appeared in the doorway and pushed his dark hair back from his face. “I was at that liquor store on Vine, buying some stuff for tonight, and I think I sensed him.”

  “Your mate?”

  He shot me a look. “No, Jon Bon Jovi. Yes, my mate! Who else would I be sensing?”

  “Are you sure that’s what happened?”

  “No, and it’s driving me crazy. I felt something, for just a second, but it wasn’t exactly the way I remember it.”

  I asked, “How was it different?”

  Mateo thought about that before saying, “I guess it felt more urgent and intense than before, and it really freaked me out. I abandoned the booze and ran, and then I drove several miles in the wrong direction to make sure I didn’t lead him here. Since I didn’t sense him again, I guess I lost him. Assuming I even felt him in the first place…”

  “I’m sorry. That must have been really disturbing.”

  Mateo bent over and put his hands on his knees. “I feel nauseous. Since my room’s right off the kitchen, can I use yours to lie down? Your guests are going to start arriving soon, and I’m just not up for socializing right now.”

  When I said, “Of course,” he headed for the stairs.

  I decided to make him some tea, and after I delivered it to him, I returned to the couch. Ari climbed onto my lap again, and I started to reach for the ring. Then someone knocked, and I muttered, “Really?”

  My boyfriend got up and said, “Looks like our guests are early. I’ll uncork the wine and take the appetizers out of the fridge.”

  I watched him go, and then I opened the door for August and said, “I’m pretty sure that’s the first time you’ve ever knocked.”

  “I wouldn’t want to become predictable,” he said, as he stepped over the threshold with a bottle of champagne.

  “Where’s your husband?”

  “In the driveway, admiring your car. You should go talk pistons with him, or whatever gearheads discuss. It’s not really my area of expertise.”

  “Ari’s in the kitchen,” I said, on my way out the door. “He can put that bottle on ice for you.”

  Tinder was circling my black ’61 Thunderbird convertible, and when I joined him, he said, “You and Mateo did an incredible job restoring this. It’s a thing of beauty.”

  “I did about two percent of the work. Mateo has all the experience and talent when it comes to classic car restoration.”

  “He got it done in record time, too.”

  “I think he really needed to throw himself into a project,” I said. “I gave him a vintage Barracuda as an early Christmas present, so he has something else to work on. He’s excited about getting started on it.”

  “I’m glad he’s keeping busy. It must be tough, transitioning back to his old life after all that time as something else entirely.”

  I glanced at Tinder’s profile as he ran a hand over the black leather seat and asked, “How’ve you been these last few months?”

  He turned to me with a grin. “Speaking of restoration projects? I’m doing great. Whatever you did was exactly right.”

  “That’s a relief.” He asked me to pop the hood, and as I did that, I said, “So, how was your trip to Europe?” Their second honeymoon had turned into nearly three months abroad, and this was the first time I’d seen him and his husband since they’d returned.

  “It was great. I’m gonna be honest, we barely left the bedroom for the first few weeks. But after that, we made some great progress with our research.”

  “August mentioned something in passing, but what exactly are you doing?”

  “We’ve been documenting the vampire race’s language, customs, and history,” he said. “A lot of our culture has been lost over time, in part because vampires have always needed to remain hidden, so very little was ever written down. We’ve been compiling all we can find, then publishing it under the guise of fiction, before it’s lost forever.”

  “That’s really cool.”

  “It’s been a lot of fun. I’ve been focusing on documenting the language, and we found an awesome resource when we were in Portugal. That’s also where my mom’s family was from, so it was pretty interesting to explore that part of the world.”

  “Since you come from a long line of vampire hunters,” I said, “how do they feel about the fact that you’re a vampire now?”

  “I’m the last man standing on both sides of my family. People don’t exactly live to a ripe old age in that line of work. As for the hunters I used to team up with here in California, they all think I’m the devil himself and would love to exterminate me, but good luck with that.” He smirked as he rested his hands on the front fender and leaned over, so he could get a better look at the engine.

  “That doesn’t bother you, knowing there are people out there who want to kill you?”

  He looked amused as he straightened up and turned to me. “There have been people who wanted to kill me since the day I was born. I’m used to it.”

  “That’s an interesting perspective.”

  “Speaking of being hunted, how’s it going as heaven’s most wanted? I assume you would have called us if you had any more trouble.”

  “So far, they’ve left us alone. We’re cautiously optimistic that it’s really over.”

  “If not, you know August and I are here for you.”

  “I appreciate that, and you’ll be my first call,” I told him.

  We heard some kind of commotion at the bottom of the hill, and a minute later, an SUV pulled up and parked behind August’s sports car. Ty and Laurie climbed out of the big Ford, and Ty said, “Hi guys. Sorry about your gate, Griffin.”

  I asked, “What happened to it?”

  Laurie muttered, “We put in the code you gave us, but I don’t have that kind of patience.”

  Nate and Nikolai had hopped out of the back seat, and Nate grinned as he said, �
��After about ten seconds of that squealing sound, Laurie ripped the gate off its hinges and threw it like a Frisbee. Nikolai brought it back though, so now it’s leaning against the retaining wall at the foot of your driveway.”

  I just shrugged and said, “It had it coming,” before leading my friends inside.

  Once again, the vampires and my aunts got along spectacularly, and the wine flowed freely. After dinner and dessert, I found Aunt Glyn in the kitchen and handed her a copy of the first three chapters of my work in progress. “Thank you again for that writing workshop,” I said. “This is just a rough draft, but I wanted you to be the second person to read it, after Ari.”

  “I’m so proud of you, kiddo,” she said, as she took the papers and gave me a hug. “Between the writing, the new house, all your new friends, and the cute boyfriend, look how far you’ve come in the last year! I love seeing this new confidence in you, too. It seems like you finally believe in yourself.”

  “I’m about to take another big step.” We were alone in the kitchen, so I pulled the ring out of my pocket and showed it to her as I whispered, “The plan was to ask Ari to marry me on Christmas, but I just can’t wait. I’ve been trying to find the right time to ask him this evening, but I don’t really want to do it in front of everyone. That would make me feel like I was putting him on the spot.”

  A moment later, six vampires appeared in the kitchen. August pulled me aside and said, “You know, Ari’s hearing is probably as good as ours. Luckily, he’s upstairs checking on Mateo, or you would have just blown the surprise.”

  Nancy and Lilian joined us, and Lilian said, “Where did everybody go?” When she spotted the ring in my hand, she exclaimed, “Is that what I think it is?”

  I said, “It is. I’m not quite sure how I should present it to him, though.”

  “Just don’t put it in a glass of champagne,” Nancy told me. “I always thought that was a terrible idea. What if he drinks it? Nobody wants a pooped out ring.”

  “He doesn’t want to propose with an audience,” Glyn said, “so we should clear out and give the boys some privacy.” My friends immediately began escorting the ladies down the hall.

  “I’ll go get Mateo,” Nate called, as he ran for the stairs. “He can spend the night, or better yet the rest of the weekend, at our house.”

  “You don’t have to run off,” I said, as I followed everyone to the door.

  “It was a great party, Griffy,” Lilian told me, “but now you and Ari need some time for just the two of you.”

  “What should I say when I ask him?”

  “Just speak from the heart, and you can’t go wrong,” Glyn advised.

  I stepped onto the porch, and Nancy and Lilian took turns squashing me in a hug. Lilian exclaimed, “Good luck, kiddo! Call us tomorrow because we want all the details, and we’ll see both of you at my house on Christmas Day.”

  “You got this.” Nancy flashed me two thumbs up.

  Nate and Mateo breezed past us. I had no idea what Nate had said to get him to go along, but Mateo shrugged and murmured, “See you in a day or two, apparently.”

  My aunts’ limo and the rest of the cars began to caravan down the driveway, and I went back inside and stood in front of the Christmas tree. As I wiped my sweaty palms on my black pants, Newton stared at me and wagged his tail.

  A minute later, Ari joined me and said, “The party broke up quickly.”

  I took one look at his perfectly innocent poker face and muttered, “You heard all of that.” There was a sparkle in his eyes as he nodded and wrapped his arms around me. “I totally screwed this up. In fact, I’m still screwing it up, because I don’t have the words to tell you how much you mean to me. It’s not nearly enough to say every single day with you feels like an absolute miracle, and that I adore you and want to spend forever with you. “

  “I want the same thing.”

  “Will you please marry me, Ari?”

  It wasn’t the most eloquent proposal, but his smile was radiant as he said, “Of course I will.”

  I let out a whoop and swung him in a circle as he burst out laughing. Then I exclaimed, “Oh wait, I have a ring!” I fished in my pocket and finally produced the platinum band, which was inlaid all around with smooth, square opals. As I slipped it onto his finger, I explained, “I picked those stones because they reminded me of what you’d painted on the walls of your warehouse. You’re always happiest when you’re surrounded with light, so I thought this would be like taking the light with you wherever we go, whether it’s our new house, or Paris when we take that trip we’re planning this spring, or anyplace we end up in the future.”

  His voice broke as he whispered, “It’s perfect. Thank you, Griffin.”

  He led me to the couch, and we got comfortable while Newton sat in front of the hearth and gnawed on one of his toys. Ari kissed me before saying, “Maybe we can get married in the springtime at our new home in the desert. We’ll invite our family and friends, of course. Then the trip we’re planning to Paris can be our honeymoon.”

  “That sounds perfect.”

  He got in his favorite position on my lap and put his head on my shoulder. My hand rested on his thigh, and as he traced my fingers with a light touch, he murmured, “I never expected to be anything but an outsider. After all that time living on the fringes of society, I really believed love, marriage, and family just weren’t meant for me. I’ve never been so happy to be wrong about something.”

  “I totally understand that. I thought I’d have to spend my whole life hiding the things that made me different, and I never expected to find someone who loved and accepted all of me. You feel like a miracle, Ari.”

  When his fingertip grazed mine, we both felt a mild electric shock, and he sat up and met my gaze with wide eyes. “It’s probably just static electricity,” I said.

  “But what if it isn’t?”

  My heart raced as I took a deep breath, and then I rubbed my thumb and index finger together as I muttered, “I hate the fact that I’m getting my hopes up.” When I separated them, a faint blue arc of electricity jumped from my thumb to my fingertip, and I stared at it in amazement.

  Ari exclaimed, “There must have been one tiny seed of magic left, and it managed to take root!”

  To test it out, I concentrated on a book on the shelves across the room and tried to will it to fly into my outstretched hand. Instead, all the books on that shelf hurled themselves at us. I blurted, “Oh shit,” as I rolled off the couch with Ari and shielded him so he wouldn’t get pelted.

  Once they landed all around us, I sat up and murmured, “Oops.” We both started laughing, and Newton jumped up and growled at one of the books. Then Ari grabbed me in a hug, and I grinned as I told him, “I’m back, baby.”

  The End

  The California Obscura Series will continue with Mateo’s story.

  For the story of how Tinder and August met, check out

  The Tinder Chronicles

  Feral is Nate and Nikolai’s story:

  Feral

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