Like the fact that they never ate, their skin temperature was oddly temperate, and they were insanely attractive. Just like me, he had a lot of questions that I couldn’t answer. We had all agreed it would better for Milo if he didn’t know what they really were, so I stuck with it.
Milo continued to try and interrogate me about what my deal with Jack was, so I blew him off and went into my room. Putting Lou Reed in my CD player, I grabbed my copy of Pride and Prejudice and settled into my bed. The window was open, allowing the warm summer breeze to blow over me. Over the music, I could hear Milo straighten up the living room indignantly. But it was a beautiful summer day, and I didn’t want to spend anymore of it arguing about vampires.
Chapter 2
Part of Jack’s work schedule allowed me more time to spend with Jane, my supposed best friend.
Neither Milo nor Jack readily approved of this friendship since Jane tended to be a little self absorbed, and she had actually once ran and hid while I was nearly attacked. Jack ended up saving the day, as was his style, but he didn’t easily forgive her of such a slight. On the other hand, I had very little human consorts as of late, consisting almost solely of Milo and Jane, so I was reluctant to let her go. Besides, we had been friends for ages.
Using her father’s car, Jane drove us down to the Roseville Mall to do a little pre-school shopping, which was approaching all too quickly. She also had the advantage of her father’s credit card, while I had a small allowance garnered from my mother. Jack’s sister-in-law Mae frequently offered to take me clothes shopping, and while I know it would be more of a treat for her than me, it still felt too weird taking their money. So I settled for twenty bucks and an endless afternoon of window shopping.
We were going to spend the entire day in the mall shopping, and it would be the entire day with the way Jane shopped, yet she had worn a pair of stiletto heels. Worst of all, her feet never seemed to hurt her. She could run a marathon in those things easily, and she would look amazing doing it. Her skirt was barely over six inches long, but it probably cost more than my entire outfit.
As we rode up an escalator, Jane pulled out her compact and reapplied her lip gloss, seemingly oblivious to the boys on the opposite escalator, eyeing her up.
The one thing that Jack and Jane had in common: when I was with them, I became some kind of indistinct accessory. Every person of the opposite sex (and some of the same) ogled them constantly, but no one ever really noticed me.
Her phone jingled, and it always amused me that her ringtone was “Fer Sure” by Medic Droid, which essentially described her life to a T. It wasn’t funny that she had it, so much that she was self-aware enough to realize that it was her life. When she didn’t answer her phone, it didn’t surprise me. It just gave people another reason to look at her, and that was just the way she wanted it.
“Aren’t you gonna get that?” I asked when the ringing felt like it had gone on too long. We stepped off the escalator, and she started walking towards the Victoria’s Secret, swishing her hips like she was on a runway. An attractive guy walked past us, smiling appreciatively at her ass, and I groaned inwardly.
“Nah, its just Cole, and I am so over him,” Jane explained as we walked into the store. She said it as if I bothered to keep track of who she was under. I had at one time, but it had gotten to be too much work, and she rarely stayed with a guy for more than a week.
“Maybe you should tell him that,” I muttered when her phone started ringing again.
“He’ll figure it out.” Her heels clacked loudly on the floor as she made her way over to inspect red lingerie, and I couldn’t help but notice the hot pink strap from her thong showing over the top of her skirt. Jane was nothing if she wasn’t classy. “So what about you?”
“What about me what?” I gingerly picked through a bin filled with brightly colored panties, but I had no intention of buying any. Sometimes, when I felt like it, I was that kind of a girl in the lace thong, not that anybody ever saw it. But I was never the kind of girl that spent her entire school shopping money on one pair of panties, especially when they were little more than a string.
“Are you making any progress with Jack?” Jane tried to keep it light, but her voice tightened every time she mentioned Jack.
They’d only met twice, but he had a way of making a lasting impression, especially since he was the first guy that Jane had really wanted that didn’t want her back. The sting had started to wear off, and now she could actually talk about him with me, so at least that was something.
“I’m not exactly trying to make progress with him,” I reminded her for the hundredth time.
“Nonsense.” Jane, like Milo, found it impossible to believe that I wasn’t secretly carrying a torch for Jack. She grabbed nearly transparent bright purple thong and held it out towards me. “You need these. Guys can never resist a whale tale.”
“I’m sure lots of guys do, and I already have thongs, but thanks.” I turned away from her, but she walked over to me, still holding the panties in her hand.
“You need to do this,” Jane whispered fiercely, her blue eyes wide and serious. Taken aback by her intensity, I just stared at her. “For all of womankind, someone needs to have sex with that man, and for some reason, he only seems interested in you. So get in there, so I can start living vicariously through you!”
“It’s not that simple.” I tried walking away from her, but she followed me.
“He’s not gay, is he? Please tell me he’s not gay.” Jane sounded so desperate that I had to stifle a laugh. Briefly, I considered telling her that he was gay just so she’d get off my back, but I was a terrible liar.
“No, he’s not,” I shook my head, and Jane let out a dramatic sigh of relief. I pretended to be really interested in a padded bra, hoping she’d get bored and wander off, but she stayed glued next to me.
“How do you know? Have you guys kissed?” She crossed her arms over her chest, studying my face for clues, so I knew my best bet was not to respond. That gave something away, though, because she gasped.
“Ohemgee! You totally kissed!”
“It was once, like six months. It’s not a big deal,” I tried to brush her off her. It was just once, six months ago, but it was a really big deal. It had been the most amazing, heated, passionate kiss of my entire life. But there was a very good chance that any more kisses like that could lead to our deaths, so we had to stop, and we hadn’t kissed since.
The problem was Peter. My blood was meant for him, and his for me. Something was encrypted in our DNA that made us attracted to each other, and it’s the most intense physical need I’ve ever had. When I can’t breathe and my lungs crave oxygen is nothing compared to what I feel for Peter. He eclipses everything else.
Being away from him leaves a dull ache inside of me that never goes away, but it gets easier to ignore. Peter had already lost someone that he loved and didn’t want to go through that again, so he avoided me. But when it came right down to it, there was something off between us. He’d felt the way this was supposed to feel before, and there’s something missing this time. Everything I feel for Peter is purely physical, and it’s supposed to be more than that. There’s supposed to be love, only more powerful, and there wasn’t.
That doesn’t change the way Peter feels for me, though. Vampires by nature are very possessive, and even though he doesn’t exactly want me, he doesn’t want anyone else to have me. Rather, he can’t let anyone else have me, even Jack, who appears to be far more attracted to me than he should be. If Peter knew that we’re together, if he could smell Jack on my blood, then he’d probably kill Jack, even though he wouldn’t really want to.
Peter knows how Jack feels about me, and he couldn’t find any way around it. Last spring, he told me that he and his family weren’t going to see me anymore, and I had been completely devastated. In the heat of the moment, I had asked him to kill me, and after pleading and drawing my own blood in front of him, he’d finally caved in and bit me. As amazing as m
y kiss with Jack had been, Peter biting me felt a million times better. It was everything I had heard sex was supposed to be, and so much more.
Peter had very nearly killed me when Jack rushed in to stop him. He had been in the basement at the time, trying to avoid me being around Peter because it was too painful for him, but he sensed that something was wrong. We’re connected much more than we’re supposed to be. I can feel what he feels, and he reacts to my blood much more strongly than other vampires would.
Somehow, the bond I was only supposed to create with one vampire managed to crossover into two, and because of it, I can’t really be with either of them. After that, Peter took off, saying it was the best thing for me and the rest of his family. Jack and I still hang out, since it would feel impossible not to, but we’re more careful. There’s a pain at being separated from Peter, but I can live with it. Ezra talks to Peter occasionally, and apparently, he’s doing fine. Jack started busying himself with work, partially because it was time for him to, and partially to create more distance from me. If he had it his way, he’d spend every minute with me, but that is not healthy for us. Or for anyone, for that matter.
“Earth to Alice.” Jane waved her hands in front of my face, pulling from my thoughts. “Yeah, I’m sure that kiss was totally nothing if you get all spacey just thinking about it.”
“Okay, it wasn’t nothing,” I admitted reluctantly. “But it can never happen again.”
“Why the hell not?” Jane looked more appalled then I had ever seen her before, but I just shook my head and stepped away from her. “Alice!”
“Not everything is black and white,” I mumbled lamely. Everyone in the store had turned to look at us, but it wasn’t because of Jane’s inability to put on clothes that actually covered her body. She was stalking after me in her stilettos, this intense expression plastered on her face. “Jane, you’re making a scene.”
“I don’t care. You’re an idiot!” Jane announced, like that solved anything.
“I’m not going to have this conversation with you if you’re going to act like this.”
“You’re not having this conversation anyway,” Jane scoffed.
Rolling my eyes, I turned and walked out of the store. Jane followed behind me, at an incessantly quick pace when considering her footwear in comparison to my simple skimmers. She was still glowering at me, but I was stalling for time. Obviously, she wasn’t going to let this go and I had to find someway to explain it to her.
“Well?” Jane demanded when I had gone some time without speaking. We had made it half-way to the food court, so I relented.
“Remember when I told you about Jack’s brother Peter?” I asked cautiously.
“You’re shagging the foxier brother?” Her eyes widened, and I shook my head quickly.
“No, but he’s sorta into me.” He craved me more than he craved anything else on earth, so sure, he was sorta into me.
“No way!” Jane stopped walking, giving me a look of total disbelief. “There’s no way!”
“What?” I hadn’t even told her anything yet, and already she didn’t believe me.
“You’re in a love triangle with the two incredibly gorgeous guys?” Her hands were on hips, and she just gaped at me. “You?”
“Thanks so much,” I muttered and started walking towards the food court. I knew that I wasn’t the prettiest girl in the world. In fact, especially with Jane around, I was never even the prettiest girl in the room.
Still, it didn’t feel good to know that I was so unbelievably plain that it was inconceivable to imagine that hot guys would be attracted to me.
“No, Alice!” Jane sounded apologetic as she hurried to catch up with me. “I didn’t mean it like that. I’m not even hot enough to be caught in between them. Nobody is.”
“Fair enough.”
For the most part, I tried not to think about how it didn’t make any sense that they wanted anything to do with me. Something inside them compelled them to like me, and it was probably a glitch or some kind of vampire malfunction, so it’d be better if I didn’t question it too much and just went along with it.
“I just can’t believe your luck,” Jane sighed dramatically.
“Who can?” I shrugged.
My attention had turned to the stand selling Mango-Strawberry Smoothies, which is only the greatest drink known to man. Knowing Jane, she would spend an hour talking about what food sounded good and what she wanted to eat, and then just order a bottled water or a diet Coke. But at least she would be diverted from demanding more information about Jack.
Chapter 3
The problem with summer was that the nights were incredibly short. It’s still dusk until after ten at night, and dawn starts kicking in around four. In June, it’s the worst, when there’s only four and a half hours of pure darkness. Obviously, vampires spent more time indoors in the summer, but it was more fitting anyway, since heat didn’t agree with them as much as the cold. All summer long, they had kept their house at 65 degrees, and I had a feeling that was more for my benefit. If I hadn’t been around, it’d probably be in the 50’s.
Jack lived in beautiful house, that was really more of cross between a mansion and a castle.
There was a five stall garage at the end of a short, winding driveway. The house had been done in some kind of pale sandstone, and would have otherwise be a rather conventional square house, if not for the gorgeous black iron balcony coming out of a massive second story window.
The large front door was located in the turret, that connected the house to the garage. As many times as I had been here, it never really stopped being intimidating. Everything in the house was luxurious and perfect. Jack had a massive white Great Pyrenees, but there never even seemed to be any white hair on the furniture.
The house was settled onto a gorgeous lake that swept out back from the stone patio. We had spent a great deal of the summer in the backyard, either lounging on the patio or swimming in the lake or taking out the Jet-Ski’s. In fact, Milo and I had spent so much time on the water that Mae had bought us several swimsuits that she kept at the house for us. Mine consisted of three different kinds of bikini’s, which I wasn’t exactly thrilled about. I felt self-conscious enough around their perfection when I was fully clothed, but she insisted that I was beautiful and there was nothing I should ashamed of. There is nothing weirder in life than being complimented by someone who is clearly so much better than me.
I changed into my suit, carefully keeping the towel wrapped around me when I came out of the bathroom, but Milo had already changed. He was sitting at island in the kitchen, munching on some grapes and drinking water, and talking amicably to Mae. In people years, Mae had been the eldest when she turned, at twenty-eight. Her skin was flawless white porcelain, and her light brown waves of hair had been pulled up into a loose bun. Wearing only her bathing suit and an apron, her warm, honey-colored eyes danced as Milo instructed on her how to make the snack she was preparing. As a vampire, she didn’t eat and had lost all sense of cooking.
My brother, on the hand, was an excellent cook, so he had rapidly become her sous chef, helping her prepare all the meals she made for our benefit. When I had first started coming over, there hadn’t been any food here, but with Milo and I all but living here this summer, the house had been fully stocked. I would’ve protested all the extra work and expense Mae put into it, but it was obvious that she relished this sort of thing. Taking care of a family was all she really wanted to do.
“Where’s Ezra?” I asked, walking over to the island and stealing a grape from the bunch. By the looks of what was laid on the island, Mae appeared to be making some kind of fruit dip with cream cheese and yogurt, and slicing up apples, pears, and strawberries.
“He’s taking a nap, ,” Mae informed me in her warm, British accent. “He’s probably a little jet lagged because he just got back from the trip.”
Out of the three boys, Ezra was probably the most attractive, although I couldn’t help but be more attracted to P
eter, thanks to our mutual bloodlust. Ezra’s eyes were deep mahogany, and like Mae, they were infinitely warm. His skin was the same tanned color as Jack and Peter’s, but his sandy hair had soft blond highlights. Not like a hairstylist had done them, but like someone who has spent a lot of time in the sun and got sun kissed streaks through it. The most powerful thing about him was his voice. It was low and resonated through everything. He had a faded accent that I was told came from being born in England, but he hadn’t lived in Europe in over twohundred years, it had definitely muted over time.
“Now just add a little brown sugar,” Milo instructed Mae as she mixed the fruit dip.
Out the glass French doors that lined the dining room wall, I could see Jack rollicking about with his dog, Matilda. Shirtless, the bright patio lights revealed the taut, tanned muscles of his chest and back, which even I had to admit was rather stunning. He rolled on the stones of the patio without hesitation. The hard surface should’ve left him battered and bruised, but I knew that he’d have nothing to show from his battle with Matilda.
“Alice, do you wanna try it?” Mae asked, pulling me from my thoughts and my gaze away from Jack. She held out an apple slice towards me, covered in dip, but I just shook my head.
“I’m getting pretty chilly. I think I’m gonna head outside.” My arms had started to stand out in goose bumps, and the warm night air would soothe them, but I could tell by the skeptical look that Milo gave me that they didn’t exactly buy that as my reason for wanting to go outside.
“I’ll be out in a minute,” Milo said through a mouthful of the fruit he had sampled.
“Okay,” I murmured and headed out the French doors into the night.
Jack had ventured a little off the patio in his pursuit of Matilda, but I could see him easily in the light of the full moon. Although it was much warmer outside than it had been in the house, I kept the towel wrapped securely around me as I made my way down the patio onto the small lawn that separated the house from the lake.
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