Aisline ran a hand through her hair as she watched her friend and her boss chatting animatedly. The girls were as different as night and day. Both of their families were old, of good lineage and aristocratic, and Lana happily filled all of her parents expectations of the perfect daughter - feminine, quiet, agreeable. To be totally honest Ash was, well, none of those things. Sure, she had the attractive thing going on, but those looks were always hidden in clothing that her mother deemed ‘inappropriate’. Honestly? Are jeans really that bad? So what if her favourite pair had a few more holes and rips in them than the designer had intended? Her mother despaired of her. They were just different people, living in different times. Ash knew that they would probably never see eye to eye on most things in life.
That wasn’t to say that her parents weren’t proud of her. They were, just for different reasons. She was strong, independent and determined. Plus, they had her sister to fulfil the role of the prim and proper daughter that Aisline would never be, so they basically just let her get on with it. They had given up the battle. She knew that didn’t mean that her whole family didn’t wish that she would have a sudden change of heart, but they were ready to bide their time with her, hoping that she was just sewing her wild oats and would see reason one day soon. Not that that was likely though. Aisline’s stubborn streak was legendary.
Her mother, bless her cotton socks, had always tried her damnedest to educate her daughter in the ways of feminine pursuits. She had always been encouraging her to take up more genteel pursuits, such as knitting. Knitting? Really? Seriously? All that had happened was that Ash had ended up poking a huge hole in one of her mother’s leather arm chairs with one of the big, awkward needles. Needless to say, her mother didn’t encourage that sort of activity after that.
Any sort of physical activity, like martial arts, or any sport that required physical contact were strictly forbidden. Talk about stunting her growth! She was old enough to do as she pleased. However, while she was still living under their roof, she had to abide by their rules. Blah, blah, blah… Well, she was seventeen and working her way toward a future for herself. That was part of the reason she got this job. Independence.
On the whole, though, they’d learned to accept her for who she was. She was a modern girl living in a modern world. Not that it didn’t stop them wishing or her mother giving her ‘helpful suggestions’, but these days, it was like water off a ducks back. She was a goddamn adult. Well, kind of. She could still act as immature as the next girl, but she had her head screwed on, even if it wasn’t quite the way that her parents wanted. She was stubborn and she knew what she wanted out of life. Tonight had been a momentary lapse in her sane judgement, not that her mother saw it that way.
Aisline hadn’t told her. She never mentioned anything about her love life to her parents. It wasn’t worth the lecture. No, it had been Lana that had spilled the beans on this one. Her mother had been unbearable ever since. They were always giving her grief for hanging around with the ‘wrong boys’. They didn’t understand that there was actually nothing wrong with the guys she chose to date or hang out with; they just weren’t of the pedigree that her parents strived for her to have. Well, if Jordan was the ‘right kind of boy’ for her, her parents were going to be sorely disappointed.
Slowly taking her hands out of her pocket, Ash wondered if she could make a run for it and lock herself in the ladies toilets. Surely being stuck would be a good enough excuse to get out of this date?
Pushing her way through the back doors, she heard Lana shout, “Don’t be long!” in her annoying sing-song voice and Ash felt like growling. There would be no escape.
Ten minutes later, they were all still sat around the Formica counter, sipping on glasses of Pepsi and Jean and Lana nibbling daintily at a shared plate of orange cheesecake. Ash didn’t think that she could stand anything to eat right now.
She had made up her mind that she didn’t really want to go now, anyway, so Jordan being late was not helping matters in the least. It was just dragging out the inevitable. Jean and Lana were both so concerned that she might have been stood up and were throwing her sympathetic looks, which Ash just thought were highly amusing. This was the best thing that could have happened. Another five minutes and she would be able to get the hell out of here and thank her lucky stars.
“Um, I think maybe I’ll get off now.” she said, looking at them hesitantly.
Then the bell over the main door jingled to announce the arrival of another customer. Ash didn’t really want to look. She knew who it was before she even turned around. She couldn’t help but hope that it was some stranger dropping by for a coffee.
Oh, crap.
There was no getting out of it now. Jean was already making her way around the counter, gushing over Jordan and making a ridiculous fuss. On the subject of Aisline’s date, unfortunately Jean was in total agreement with Ash’s mother. In their old school way of thinking, Aisline was finally courting someone who they deemed worthy. Not the usual riff raff she slummed it with.
His stuffy shirt was tucked into his neatly pressed jeans and gaudy tie screamed good breeding to Jean, but it made Aisline want to puke. This wasn’t her kind of man, nowhere close. Give her a dude with muscles and plenty of ink any day. She cringed to think of the kind of conversations that her mother, Jean and Lana would have the moment her back was turned. They were all sure to start in with wedding plans.
Just what she needed. Not.
Pushing her way around her boss, Ash grabbed hold of Jordan’s arm and steered him unceremoniously through the diner and to one of the rear booths, casually waving Jean and Lana away over her shoulder.
Jordan clearly found all of this attention highly amusing, while Ash was only mortified. She may not have liked him in the slightest but she didn’t appreciate being made to look like a desperate fool in front of him. The way Jean and Lana were acting, it made Ash look like she was totally into this date. Surely, he would only see the gushing excitement, not the look of boredom and humiliation in Aisline’s eyes? He was that kind of guy, thinking himself to be able to walk on water. He would only see the positive response to his entrance to the diner.
Looking around her, this place never failed to cheer her up. It never changed. The old Formica tables and spongy red seated chrome chairs were the same as they always had been, and the menu itself had stayed the same for years. Jean and David lived by the motto ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. There was comfort to be had in the familiar.
However, tonight, there was a distinct shadow in the air. Each of the Lamia in the diner wore an expression of collective grief. This wasn’t an ideal night for a first date, not even with someone that you really liked. Let alone someone that you could well despised.
Crawling into the booth and sliding up so that she was sat in the middle of the bench, Jordan gave her a gentlemanly nod and seated himself opposite her. Jean quickly rushed over with a strong coffee for Jordan and Aisline’s milkshake. At least while ever they were drinking, she didn’t have to try and make small talk. It didn’t stop Jordan from trying, though.
“So, have you been working tonight?” he asked her. All Ash could do was raise her eyebrows and ironically glance down at her unflattering uniform.
“Well, I‘m not making a fashion statement here.”
“Have you worked here for long?”
“Yes.”
Silence. Blessed silence for a moment. It didn’t help that Jean and Lana were keeping their eagle eyes peeled on them, making Ash feel like an act in a circus. She just couldn’t bring herself to make an effort. What was the point in leading him on? He already thought that he was God’s gift to women, and one hint from her and he would have been heading straight for her pants. No, thank you very much.
“My parents were pleased to hear that I was seeing you tonight.” Jordan smiled at her, but it looked plastic.
“Yeah, I bet.” she replied before slurping through her straw.
“I’m sure your parents w
ere equally as thrilled.” he sat back with an arm over the back of the foam padded bench and raised his eyebrows smugly. “Hey, don’t worry about it. It makes sense that your parents would be happy to see you with someone like me.”
Aisline looked at him, speechless for a moment. It was all about the breeding. Well, this was a different time that they were living in and she was no bitch on a puppy farm. She narrowed her eyes at him.
“Maybe you should date my mother instead.”
Jordan laughed, too loud for genuine humour, and waved over towards Lana. It was like he could read her mind and see the wedding dress patterns and cake toppers whirling around in Lana’s mind. Ash shook her head in disgust at them all. They were giving Jordan the opposite impression she was aiming for and didn’t appreciate to be made to look a fool. She was no simpering idiot waiting for Prince Charming to whisk her off into their happy ever after. That wasn’t real life.
“You should be pleased.”
“I should?”
“Yes. I picked you instead of your friend. Better breeding.”
Aisline couldn’t help herself - she burst out laughing. What a prick!!
Who the hell was he kidding? Well, the boy sure thought highly of himself and she could only grunt at him, lost for words at his blunt arrogance. At least he thought he was something, because she sure didn’t. And the worst thing about it? He was probably right in a way. He came from a good family with a good name, one that her parents had wholeheartedly approved of.
However, that kind of stuff didn’t matter to Aisline. She was a modern girl growing up in the modern world with modern ideas. She was way too young to be thinking about settling down and all that rubbish. Seventeen was too young for thoughts like that. There was so much that she wanted to do with her life before she got herself tied down to marriage and children. This wasn’t the dark ages.
Glancing at her watch, she tried desperately to think of an excuse to leave but her mind came up blank. Shit!
When she wasn’t able to drag it out any longer, Aisline slurped up the last of her milkshake with an audible unladylike glug and pushed her glass away. Looking around the diner, she realised that all the other people in the place were vampires, just like her. Not that this was surprising really. The place was owned by one of them and their people had been coming here religiously for decades. Sure, occasionally, you got some of the late night humans popping in, but they were none the wiser as to the company that they were keeping. The Matris had perfected the art of blending in with the human community. Making sure that they didn’t stand out, smiling with their lips tightly sealed, unless they kept their fangs retracted, not drawing any undue attention to themselves. After all, what human would expect to see a blood sucking bad ass vampire sipping down a strawberry milkshake?
Jean put a hand on Ash’s shoulder, glancing over at Jordan with a mixed look of awe and apologies, “Honey, your mother has just phoned. She needs you to go home.”
Holy cow - saved by the bell! Sure, it must have been something important for her mother to call her here, while she was on a date, but no matter the reason - she was outta there!
Jordan tried to look suitably upset by the date being cut short, but hey, let’s face it, they both knew that this date blew and were glad that the torture had come to an end.
“Sorry.” was all she could think to say and sounded way too happy and insincere, even to her own ears. “I’ll get my coat.”
She slid out from the booth and tried her hardest to supress a grin as she walked towards the back of the diner. As she headed into the office, Lana stepped out of the ladies bathroom, smiling sheepishly.
“Gotta cut the date short I’m afraid. My mother’s rung and I have to get home. Some big emergency or something.” Ash was trying to keep the jubilant tone out of her voice, but was really struggling. This was the best end to the evening that she could have hoped for.
“Um, no. She didn’t.”
Aisline frowned and looked back out to the diner, where Jean was busy busting around Jordan, packing up a slice of cheesecake for him to take home with him. “But, Jean said…”
“Yeah, that was me. I phoned and said I was your mother.”
Aisline turned to look at Lana in total surprise. What the heck?
Before she could ask, Lana rushed on, “I’m so sorry. I know I helped bully you into this, and I really thought that you’d have fun with him once he got here, but I could see how miserable you were and I couldn’t just stand by and watch.” She paused to take a breath. Lana had a habit of running her words together without pausing to breathe. “I’m sorry.”
Aisline burst out laughing and threw her arms around her friend. She would never in a million years believed that Lana was capable of this. Sure, it was only a minor deception, but this girl never crossed the line.
“I could kiss you, you know? Thank you!”
Lana giggled. “Go on, get out of here. Just make sure your parents never find out what I did.”
As Aisline walked back out, Jordon smiled winningly at her and steered her out of the all night diner with his hand on the small of her back. Even that touch was too intimate for her and she could feel her skin crawl with revulsion.
Crawling into the passenger seat, Aisline felt the blush start to crawl up her skin. The eyes inside the diner were blazing into her back. She just hoped that Jean wouldn’t call her mother to give a report and then find out about the hoax call. Not that anyone would have ever suspected Lana. They would more likely believe that Ash herself had done it. Hell, she would have if she had thought of it.
With a grin, Jordan started up the car and the radio kicked in with a cheesy old ‘N Sync’ song. Without looking at him, Ash pushed the buttons on the console until she found some thrashing guitars to blast out of the speakers, drowning out any chance of conversation. Jordan didn’t comment, but grinned inanely over at her and winked. Ash turned to look out of her window, sighing heavily.
Sitting in the car, all she could feel was relief that the night was finally over. They had absolutely nothing in common. He was arrogant and conceited and there wasn’t a single thing about him that she liked. Even his good looks seemed false to her now. It was like a mask to disguise the ugliness inside. There was nothing to him. No depth. Nothing.
He hadn’t even had any real opinion on the death of their leader. How shallow and insensitive was that? Everyone felt something, but he only felt for himself.
And just when she thought that things couldn’t get any worse, Jordon pulled the car over in a secluded lane and turned the engine off. Unfuckingbelievable. The suggestive leer on his face said it all. Oh my God. Seriously? Did he really think that this was going to happen? She had standards and he was way below them. Dream on, loser.
“Come on, Ash, what’s your problem? You could have a good time with me if you just relaxed a bit.” he said as he leaned over towards her.
Oh crap. This was the last thing she wanted.
“I am relaxed, thank you. My only problem that I have is that I don’t like you and I want to go home.” Hopefully being a bit blunt might get the car moving again.
“You don’t know what you like until you give it a try.” he replied as he started to nuzzle at her neck. “You know what they say, try anything once, twice if you like it.”
This was really not how she had expected the night to end. Giving him the cold shoulder all night should have given him the strong hint that this wasn’t going to work out between them. What did he think was going to happen? A quickie in the back seat? Doubtful. She wasn’t like that.
Trying to push him off of her, she said, “Jordon, quit it, will you? It’s not going to happen. Get off!”
But with his head in the crook of her shoulder and his lips worming their wet way over her skin, he was way too preoccupied to listen. His panting breath was short and hot on her neck and his hand was firm on the inside of her thigh.
Unsure of what to do next, she froze. She had never been put in this sor
t of position before. Her back was pressed into the seat under his weight and with the way that he was laid against her, her arms were pinned up beside her chest. Panic started to set in as she couldn’t see a rational way to get out of it.
Feeling his mouth and hands on her made her skin crawl. She wasn’t this girl. She wasn’t one of the old aristocratic type of women who thought that it was a man’s right to take what he wanted, whether it was taken by force or given willingly. She knew from the way that his hands were moving over her body that he was after way more than just a little fumble. She could feel that he was more than ready for this, and that’s when she snapped.
This couldn’t happen.
This wouldn’t happen.
She was stronger than this.
With a sudden rush of strength, Aisline braced her hands against his chest and pushed with all her might, shocked to see him go sprawling back over to the driver’s seat. She followed that up with a stunner of a right hook that spun his head around.
“What the hell-” he exclaimed. This definitely wouldn’t be a situation that he was too familiar with. Jordon was the sort of guy who constantly had a swarm of girls swooning over him and being turned down was sure to be a new thing for him. He’d probably never been told no, and definitely never been hit by a girl. Sure, her hand was stinging, but the look on his face was well worth it.
Sitting up in her seat a little straighter, she glared over at him, “I told you, asshole. Get off me. I’m not into it.” Aisline was breathing hard with exertion and anger, glaring daggers at Jordon, hoping that the old saying was right - that if looks could kill, he’d be six feet under any second now.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” he said as he held his swelling cheek. The shock on his face was a picture. It made her shudder to think how many times before that this could have happened, to girls who didn’t fight back and get away.
“Get a grip, Jordon. You’re not irresistible and I’m just not that into you. Now, get the hell off of me and take me home.” Aisline said in her most haughty manner and turned to look out of the windshield, refusing to look his way, trying to ignore the seething anger that was radiating from him.
The Sons of Satrina: A Sons of Satrina Novel Page 7