I took my seat next to my lovely girlfriend, Paige. Damn, that sounded good to say.
“Quite the set of bowling skills you have there, Mister Vance,” she noted flirtatiously.
“I try,” I said as suavely as possible.
“You succeed.” She gave me a peck on the lips, caressed my cheek, then stood up to take her turn.
I turned to Malcolm and Classie, hoping they weren’t making out in public. Again. If anyone could empathize with having strong desires, it was me, but even I had limits to the amount of public displays of affection I could handle. Thankfully, they weren’t lip-locked, just whispering cheekily about something.
“Are Celia and Aaron coming?” I interrupted.
“Yeah, but they’re running late as usual. Celia said they were still working on their Big Lebowski outfits,” Malcolm chuckled.
Classic Celia.
“Those two were made for each other,” I laughed and shook my head.
“No kidding,” added Classie. She had recently cut her hair into a cute twenties-style bob.
“I like your hair that way, Classie. Looks nice.”
“Thanks, Noah,” she smiled.
“What was that, Noah? You like my hair too?” Malcolm teasingly ran his hand through his hair and closed his eyes in fake ecstasy.
“Have I told you lately that I hate you?” I asked Malcolm.
Paige, having bowled a spare, jokingly shoved Malcolm in my defense. He just grinned. He sensed me looking at him and our eyes locked for a second.
With every day that passed, his intuition about me had grown stronger. He knew when I was about to show up. He knew where I was at random times. I couldn’t help but guess how much he knew about his own destiny. I knew he suspected something was happening within him. Maybe he even knew he was a hunter, but we hadn’t talked about it yet. I hoped that when we did, nothing would change anything between us. He smiled at me and nudged Classie.
“Your turn,” he said.
Paige took a seat on my lap.
It occurred to me that Haley could come crashing back into my life at any time. That she had threatened my friends, my family. Though an unsettling thought, I was swept with a peaceful sense of resolve. Amid her lies had been a few wispy strands of truth. One was that I had a power. The other was that I had potential.
Maybe this was who I was meant to be all along. Perhaps I was born to be a vampire. That didn’t mean I wasn’t Noah. I was just Noah in a different form. If this was the form I needed in order to gain the courage to win over the love of my life, then I could live with that. If this was the form required to protect everyone I cared about from Haley’s wrath, I wouldn’t dare change back. And there was something comforting about knowing that my dad was out there, in case I ever needed him. But for now, I had everything I needed right here.
I wrapped my strong arms around Paige as she leaned back into me. The warmth of her body permeated my clothes and even heated my skin where her back touched my chest. I closed my eyes for a second and breathed in.
Time slowed.
This was all I wanted in the whole wide world. This moment. These friends. This love. It was simple, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. It wouldn’t last, but that I had it here and now was the important part.
In a quiet moment in a noisy bowling alley in a little town, I suddenly understood a small but significant truth: I had arrived.
About the Author
Kate Feldman is a writer who was born in Seattle, Washington. Growing up in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Northern Virginia gave her an avid thirst for travel. She graduated from the film program at Florida State University in 2007, and currently lives in Los Angeles, California.
To find out more about Siona McCabre, please visit the I ♥ Vampires page at www.take180.com
I Heart Vampires Page 27