by Kallysten
As hard as he tried to keep his voice level, she could hear a slight wavering that gave away how upset he was. As well he should be, although not with her reaction. Couldn’t he see that everything was about to crash down around them?
“Why are you asking me?” she said. “It’s Brett’s mid-life crisis, not mine.”
“You think he did it on purpose?”
Snickering, she sat up and gave him a hard look. “Do I think he put his dick in that girl on purpose? Hm. Let me think.”
Leo’s eyes flashed golden. “That girl has a name,” he said. “She’s our friend. And you seemed to have no issue with it at the time. I remember you enjoying yourself as well, actually.”
The truth of his words left a bad taste at the back of Lisa’s throat. She remembered, too. She remembered how small that bed had felt, too small for all of them. Maybe it had been a sign.
“If I had known this would happen,” she bit out each word, “I would have put an end to it. Why wasn’t she on the pill, anyway?”
Leo’s laugh took her by surprise, and she frowned at him. What could he possibly think was amusing in this mess?
“Why?” he repeated. “My guess is, for the same reason Brett doesn’t buy condoms. They have vampires for lovers. Why would they even think about the possibility of this happening?”
She glared at him, then turned her back on him. The mattress shifted as he moved behind her. His hand rested on her shoulder, and she tried to shake it off without success.
“It doesn’t change anything,” he said, more softly now.
Lisa snorted and pulled away so she could turn to him again. “Why can’t either of you see that it does? It changes everything.”
“Not about us,” he insisted. “He still loves us. We still love him.”
Despite herself, she grimaced at the word, and Leo rolled his eyes at her.
“And don’t give me that look,” he said. “There’s a ring on your finger, and you put it there yourself. Don’t start pretending it doesn’t mean anything anymore.”
Without thinking, she dropped her gaze to her left hand. The diamonds sparkled, encased in platinum. It was a beautiful ring.
She had loved it from the moment she had seen it, even if at the time her feelings had been too jumbled for her to wear it on the ring finger of her left hand, the way Leo had worn his without a second thought. Today, he was ready to accept what was going on again, it seemed, without any problem. How could they be so different?
She only realized she had twisted the ring off her finger when a sharp intake of breath drew her eyes to the door. Standing on the threshold, Brett was looking at her. His dismay broke her heart.
* * * *
Brett had tried to wait and let Leo talk to her. He really had. But with fear constricting his chest, he was unable to resist very long. Now, as he stood on the threshold, watching Lisa remove the ring from her finger, he was glad he had come closer so he could go to her, sit by her side and take her hand in both of his, her ring pressed between their palms.
“Can we…”
His throat felt parched. He remembered how sure he had been, when Lisa had first refused his ring, that he had broken things beyond repair between them. This felt like the same thing all over again. Swallowing his fears, he pressed on.
“Can we backpedal for a minute?”
Lisa’s expression didn’t change as she waited. Sitting close to them, yet seemingly so far because he touched neither of them, Leo remained still.
“If you’re upset,” Brett said, wondering if anything he could voice would be enough, “then it didn’t happen. Forget I said anything.”
While Lisa’s lips curled up, they held no warmth or amusement. “Forget you’re going to have a child with another woman?” she said. “But of course. Why didn’t I think of that myself?”
Brett wasn’t used to hearing her wield sarcasm as a weapon. He flinched, but did not look away. He hadn’t lied when he said he’d never thought about fathering a child, but it was happening, and there was nothing he could do about it.
The thought of never knowing that child choked him up, but the idea of losing Lisa was even worse. He was ready to spend the rest of eternity with her and Leo. He wouldn’t let anything or anyone stand in the way.
“Yes,” he said in a rough voice. “Forget that. Because I will. If that’s what you want, I will. You two are all that matters to me.” He reached blindly for Leo, and at once Leo took his hand and held it tight. “I don’t need anything or anyone else,” Brett continued. “I don’t want anyone else. Please. Let me show you.”
He could have wept in relief when she let him slip the ring back onto her finger. He drew her closer to him, and she came, hugging him, then kissing him.
Desperate to reassure himself that everything would be fine, everything was already fine, Brett started to tug at her clothes. After a beat, she joined his efforts, and they undressed each other until there was nothing between their bodies but a sliver of hesitation, quickly erased with a thrust of his hips into her welcoming embrace.
As he made love to her, peppering her skin with kisses that were promises, Brett kept expecting Leo to join them, reach for them with his hand, his mouth, or his cock. Leo didn’t move, though. He remained next to them, watching, still and silent—and Brett could only hope he wasn’t on the verge of losing Leo, too, and too blind to recognize the signs.
CHAPTER 12
Out of all the times Anando had come to On The Edge, he couldn’t remember a single night when his nerves had been as close to the surface as they were now. Even when he’d come back from New York he hadn’t felt like this.
The pulsing of the sign as it changed from red to blue and back seemed to echo his wariness as it coursed through him in successive, unending waves.
It had been Virginia’s suggestion to come to the club tonight, and even now she squeezed his hand and smiled at him when he looked at her. He’d almost asked her to stay home instead, put on some music, and dance with nothing but the glow of a few candles and maybe the flames of a fire in the fireplace to light their way.
He didn’t want her to believe he was wary of seeing Brett or that he was having second thoughts about telling him their news. Both things were true, but it was his own problem, and she didn’t need to know that.
“Did I tell you you’re beautiful?” he asked as they crossed the street toward the club’s open door.
Virginia laughed. “Only three times tonight.”
She pressed against his arm, raising her head up in the unmistakable request for a kiss that Anando was all too happy to offer.
They finished crossing the street and entered the club hand in hand, as they had done so many times. The best part, though, was knowing they would leave and go home the same way: together.
Anando would have liked to go down to the dance floor right away. The music playing had a deep, pounding beat that attracted him, and dancing had always been a good way for him to soothe raw nerves. Virginia, however, squeezed his hand and asked, “Should we go say hi to Leo?”
It was still early enough in the evening that the first floor was not too busy, and there were even a few seats open right at the bar. Anando swallowed a sigh.
“Sure. Lead the way.”
He followed her to the bar, resting a hand on her back when they climbed onto high stools. The barmaid started toward them, but Leo said a few quiet words to her, and she left them in Leo’s care.
“Fruit juice?” Leo offered Virginia when he came to them.
So, Brett had told him. That was good to know.
“Something with berries?” she asked with a beaming smile.
Leo nodded, then a second time when Anando asked for dirty blood—a mix of blood and alcohol. He grabbed a shaker and a few bottles, working right in front of them so he could talk to them as he did.
“You look beautiful,” he complimented Virginia, then shot Anando a sideways glance and added, “And you don’t look too bad, either.”
Virginia answered with a small laugh that was lost in the noisy room, while Anando rolled his eyes.
“Do you try that one on all your customers?” he asked. “Or just the ones whose company you enjoy?”
Leo never missed a beat. “Honestly? Usually my customers tell me how good I look.”
He flexed his arms as he shook Virginia’s drink and she let out an appreciative little hum. When Anando shot her a mock-glare, she laughed again, a little louder this time. He loved that sound. It always reminded him of bells over the countryside.
“What?” she told Anando, defensive, as she accepted the drink from Leo. “He does look good. You can’t deny that.”
Anando sniffed. “I’m not denying anything. Just feeling wholly unappreciated.”
“Aw, look at the pouting vampire,” Leo crooned, a wicked smile on his lips. “Quick, Virginia. Give him a nice kiss so he doesn’t feel too inadequate.”
Resting his elbow on the counter and his chin in his hand, he watched them, clearly expecting Virginia to do as he had suggested. She played coy, however, and said in a sweet voice, “You know, I said you look good. I didn’t say you look better than Anando.”
Now she kissed Anando, and while it started as a small peck, Anando deepened the kiss to taste those berries on her tongue. Leo huffed as he pushed away from the counter and finished working on Anando’s drink.
“Clearly someone here needs glasses,” he said. “And I don’t mean the drinking kind.”
They continued to banter for a little while, Leo returning to them in between serving other thirsty patrons, the barmaid throwing them amused looks every now and then.
Anando was itching to go dance, but was waiting for Virginia to finish her drink first. She was still grinning at something Leo had said when her eyes widened in recognition and she started to raise her hand.
Following her gaze to the other side of the bar, Anando saw what she was watching. Brett and Lisa were walking by, hand in hand, headed for the dance floor.
Brett’s eyes flicked toward them along with the smallest of smiles, but Lisa continued to stare straight ahead of her so fixedly that she might as well have shouted ‘I’m ignoring you.’ They didn’t stop and were soon stepping down the metal staircase that led to the lower level.
When Anando turned back to Virginia, her hand had returned to the counter. Her smile was gone.
“I’ll be right back,” she murmured, and climbed off the stool before Anando could help her down.
He watched her walk to the ladies’ room and only looked back at Leo after she had disappeared inside. He didn’t say anything, merely raised an eyebrow at Leo, who, Anando was sure, had noticed the entire byplay. Leo gave an uncomfortable shrug.
“Lisa didn’t take the news well,” he said in explanation.
Frowning, Anando glanced at the staircase, though Lisa and Brett were long gone. He’d known Lisa for a few years and considered her a friend, and this was unexpected behavior from her. Then again, none of them had ever been in a situation such as this one.
“Should I talk to her?”
Leo shook his head. “Leave her be. She’ll get over it.”
His eyes, however, said something else entirely.
“That bad?” Anando said, sotto voce.
Leo sighed and averted his gaze. “Yeah.”
“Should I keep Virginia away from here?”
“I hate to say yes, but maybe it’d be better if you did.”
Anando didn’t reply. Seconds later, Virginia came back. Her face seemed even paler for the redness of her eyes. She didn’t sit again and instead said, “I’m more tired than I thought. Can we go home?”
Her voice broke on the last word. She was close to tears.
Anando stepped down from the stool and enfolded her in his arms. “Of course. Let’s go.”
He set a few bills on the counter and doing so met Leo’s eyes. Leo was upset and wanted to say something. Anando didn’t give him a chance and guided Virginia to the exit. This wasn’t why he hadn’t wanted to come to the club, but now he wished he had spoken up earlier and convinced her to stay home.
* * * *
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Anando’s words were so quiet that the wind playing in the trees all but swallowed them. It would have been easy for Virginia to pretend she hadn’t heard the question, easy to remain curled up against him on the chaise lounge, focused on nothing more than the spoonfuls of white-chocolate-and-macadamia-nut ice cream he was bringing to her mouth at regular intervals.
Despite the bursts of wind above them, it was a quiet, pleasant night. She was the one who had suggested it, but now she wished they had stayed home rather than go to the club. They could have counted the stars together. Earlier that night, the sky had been clear, but now faint clouds drifted over the stars.
“I don’t know what to say,” she answered, swallowing a sigh. “Hormones make me crazy. That’s the only explanation I have.”
The next spoonful took a little longer to rise to her mouth. She wasn’t sure he believed her. She wasn’t sure she believed her own explanation, either. In truth, she found her eyes tearing up for no reason at all of late. That very morning, she’d started crying at the sight of a kitten on a billboard.
But even if it was true that her emotions were all over the place, it was also true that she was upset. She was still surprised at how much it had hurt to see Lisa ignore her. And Brett had not even stopped to say hi. The mere thought of it was threatening to bring forward another flow of tears, and she tried as hard as she could to push it back.
She had no reason to cry, she told herself again. She had Anando at her side. He was all she wanted, and she was lucky enough to have his love. It shouldn’t have mattered what anybody else did or thought.
It shouldn’t, but it did.
“I’m here for you,” Anando said, still as quiet. “I love you. And I’ll be there for that child, and love him or her. Remember what we said? It’s mine. Right?”
The sliver of doubt she could hear in his voice pierced her heart. She shifted in his arms, rolling over to embrace him, her head tucked in under his chin.
“It is your child,” she said fiercely. “It’ll always be.”
He stretched under her, setting the ice cream down, she assumed. One of his hands settled at the center of her back, holding her close, while the other caressed her hair.
“Then what’s wrong?”
“I don’t know,” she said again. “It’s just… When I went to tell him, he was happy. And that was nice. I’d love for everyone to be happy for us. With us. But tonight… They’re our friends, and they acted like they didn’t even know us.”
She broke on the last words, and closed her eyes tight, refusing to let herself cry. Why was she being so stupid, damn it?
For a long moment, Anando rocked her, his hand soothing as it brushed through her hair. Virginia’s tears receded, and she was beginning to drift toward sleep in his arms when he tensed against her.
“What?” she mumbled sleepily.
“There’s someone at the door.”
He shifted until he could slide away and leave her on the chaise lounge. She clung to his arm.
“Don’t go.”
He ducked his head to kiss her. “I’ll be right back, I promise.”
She pouted at him, but he left anyway. She sat up and reached over the edge of the chaise for the ice-cream carton. She twirled the spoon through the melting ice cream but didn’t feel like eating any more. When she looked up, Anando was coming back toward her.
Leo was a step behind him.
Out of nowhere, the same tears Virginia had barely been able to suppress until now rose again. This time, she couldn’t stop them, and through a blurred curtain, she watched Anando take the ice cream from her, sit next to her, and wrap his arm around her to pull her close.
She pressed her face against his shoulder. Leo had stopped a few feet away. She didn’t see him come clos
er, but she did feel him sit down on her other side, his hand stroking her back.
“Hey,” he said. “Am I so ugly to look at that the sight of me makes you cry?”
In spite of herself, Virginia laughed through her tears.
“Maybe it’s the opposite,” Anando said, tongue in cheek. “Maybe you’re so gorgeous you overwhelm her senses. If you stay so close, she just might swoon.”
This time, both Leo and Virginia laughed. Leo’s laugh was no more than a burst, however, and after stroking her back up and down once more, he stood.
“I’d better give you two some space, then,” he said, and looked around. When he saw the second chaise by the side of the pool a few yards away, he went to get it and brought it over to them.
Virginia wiped her tears and looked up at Anando, wondering if Leo had heard something that she hadn’t. Anando’s features gave nothing away, but his arm around her felt tighter, more possessive than usual—or was she only imagining it?
“It’s still pretty early,” Anando said, and as hard as Virginia listened, she didn’t hear more than polite interest in his words. “Short shift tonight?”
“It was a slow night,” Leo replied. “They didn’t really need me.”
Granted, Virginia and Anando hadn’t been in the club very long tonight, but ‘slow’ was not how she would have described the ambiance. Slower than on weekends, yes, but even on weeknights the club was always busy. As for needing him…
There seemed to be an unvoiced corollary. The club hadn’t needed him, but someone else had, and that was why he was there. She reached a hand out toward him. He needed to lean forward to wrap his fingers over hers. She squeezed once, a quiet thank you, before letting go and wrapping both arms around Anando again.
Leo stayed with them for almost four hours. He and Anando shared travel stories, and seemed amused to realize they had visited many of the same places, although at such different times that their experiences were nothing alike.
Virginia was content to listen to them, glad she could enjoy their presence without having to participate other than a few prodding words for one or the other when it sounded like a good story might just be waiting to be revealed.