I smiled in response. Sure, I’d missed Dante, probably not as much as he’d like to believe. But more surprisingly, I’d missed home. Alaska had a certain charm and wild beauty that couldn’t be found anywhere else. It took a wide open expanse of dust and tumbleweeds to make me appreciate the bigger picture.
Dante rolled his window down and pulled up to the ticket booth.
A middle-aged male attendant set a paper down. “That will be five dollars.”
Dante handed the agent a ten and waited for his change.
Guess he’d been at the airport for over an hour. That, or we really had gone into a temporary kissing coma.
Once Dante got his change, I braced myself for his inevitable acceleration down International Airport Road, but he cruised along as though he had nowhere to be.
The last time I’d been down this road, it had been covered in snow. At the moment, the trees were dropping their leaves, but the grass was still green.
“So, my mom’s all settled in with my grandma now,” I said, watching the familiar scenery slide past.
I knew from my mom that Dante had helped her move to my grandmother’s condo, which was another action that had sold me on a potential relationship with him, even more so due to the fact that he hadn’t tried to score points by mentioning it in any of his texts.
“Yep, and she’s become quite the tennis pro.”
I had a difficult time picturing my mom in a short white pleated skirt smacking tennis balls across a net. Last time I saw her, she’d made a fashion statement out of bathrobes.
“Good.”
“It’s going to be a good year, Aurora.”
I turned away from the window to look at Dante. He’d always called me “Sky”. I liked the way “Aurora” rolled off his tongue. He made it sound beautiful.
“I could use a good year,” I said. I wished that meant taking a break from the whole vampire hunting business. Nothing sounded better than putting aside the biting and killing to go to college and have a normal life. But in our line of business, there were always deaths to avenge. And Jared still needed to be dealt with.
Valerie was supposed to be keeping tabs on him while I was gone.
I could still picture his blue bandana tied around his forehead when he ran into my car head-on last November. I hoped he had it on when we took him down. It would be fitting to wrap it around his neck and choke every last immortal breath from his lungs. At least now I had practice.
“Ready to start college?” Dante asked, his thoughts miles away from my own.
I shook Jared from my mind. He didn’t belong in my head during my homecoming. “Yeah.” I’d signed up for my classes online in Oregon and gotten nearly all the courses and times I wanted. It no longer mattered to me that I was going in-state rather than to Notre Dame. College was college, and I was ready to learn at a higher level.
I was also more than ready to leave behind lockers, lunchrooms, and all the social bullshit surrounding high school. I was especially happy I wouldn’t be going to the same school as Noel Harper.
But like Jared, she had no place in my mind tonight.
The first thing I noticed when my mom opened the door to my grandmother’s condo was that she looked about fifty pounds lighter. She had on a pair of slim khakis and a thin V-neck sweater.
“Aurora!” she cried, embracing me tightly.
Once we’d pulled apart, I said, “Dang, Mom, you look incredible.” And I thought I was the one who’d return from boot camp all trim and toned.
“Is that my grandbaby?” Gran called from the living room.
It was impossible to miss her in the bold red top and platinum blond bob with long sweeping bangs. She could have been Helen Mirren’s twin. Grandma always looked good, but tonight she’d really done her generation proud. It looked like she and Mom had done just fine without me.
“Hi, Grandma.”
“Come here and give me a hug. How was your internship?”
I glanced at my mom. Before I left town, we told grandma that I’d been offered an opportunity to intern and work the summer as a camp counselor for troubled teens. At least it had some semblance of truth. It was boot camp and the participating teens were understandably troubled.
But I was no counselor—more like an inmate.
I hugged Gran in the living room.
“It was an interesting experience,” I said. “Very enriching.”
She patted my shoulder. “I’m sure it was, my dear. I just don’t understand why you had to leave before graduation. I don’t have any pictures of you in your cap and gown.”
“You can get those in another four years when I graduate from UAA.”
“When you receive your B.A. in counseling?” Grandma asked, fishing.
The woman was way too keen. I’d never once in my life expressed an interest in counseling, which Gran had quickly pointed out after Mom and I brought up the fake internship.
I shrugged. “Sure.”
“Ladies,” Dante called from the kitchen. “I would like to propose a toast to Aurora’s return.”
He pulled the cork off a bottle of sparkling apple cider with his bare hand. A soft pop followed. Mom set out four glasses, placing them on the kitchen counter beside Dante.
Grandma and I walked over.
Once we’d toasted, Gran announced dinner.
“We made your favorite. Spaghetti with marinara sauce and a side of roasted vegetables and buttered bread, no garlic.”
“Thanks,” Dante and I said simultaneously.
We helped bring all the food to the table, where we began dishing it up immediately. Mom and Gran took seats opposite each other, so Dante and I did the same.
“Was your flight late?” Gran asked.
“What do you mean?” I took a sip of apple cider.
“We were expecting you thirty minutes ago.”
I nearly choked gulping the cider down. “Yeah, there was a slight delay.” I avoided Dante’s eyes to prevent my cheeks from turning fire-hydrant red.
“Tell me about these tennis tournaments,” I said, turning to Mom. “Have you been kicking butt?”
Mom waved the compliment away with a flick of her slender wrist. She really did look great.
“I’ve had fun.”
“And she kicked butt,” Gran threw in. “Your mother beat the Harrison twins a couple weeks ago. Those two didn’t know what hit them.”
“Oh, Mom, stop. They were only thirteen.”
Gran lifted her chin. “Even more reason to be proud.”
“Way to go, Mom,” I said.
“I wish you could have seen your mother’s progression over the summer,” Gran said, recounting the story of Mom’s beginning lessons. When she first started, she had to serve the ball by bouncing it on the court because she couldn’t serve overhand. By the end of summer, she’d moved onto walloping the teeny bopper twins.
Dante laughed along, but I kept catching him sneaking glances at me, eyebrows lifting whenever he caught my attention, as though eye-fucking me in secret at the dinner table.
I twisted spaghetti round and round my fork. Even opening my mouth to chew felt invasive with the way Dante watched my lips. Following the conversation was a bit difficult when all I could think about was sex, sex, and more sex.
We’ll take our time tonight.
I’d only done it once… for all of thirty seconds. I wasn’t sure anything under a minute really counted.
Doing it with Dante was a huge deal. I worked with him, and it was Dante. I wasn’t sure I was ready. I’d only just returned. I still needed to buy textbooks and move into my new place.
Everything was changing so quickly. Everything was different since I’d left.
I cleared my throat. “What else did you guys do this summer?”
I included Dante in the general question I posed to the table, but he was polite enough to give Gran the floor. She and my mom had tried everything from pottery and scrapbooking to water aerobics and Zumba.
Zumba—now that must have been a pretty sight.
“And we’re learning French,” Gran said. “Or should I say,nous apprenons le français.” She laughed.
“Très Bien,” I said. I’d taken three years of high school French, almost four if I’d have finished senior year.
Grandma rubbed her palms together. “Yes, well, it was a lot more fun when the handsome young fellow was teaching.”
“Robert,” Mom supplied with an amused grin.
“Yes, the handsome young fellow.” Gran sighed. “Unfortunately, he was in an accident. Now Madame Vasser instructs us. She’s young as well, though rather aloof for her age if you ask me. She is a native of France so at least she has the pronunciation down.”
“Which is more helpful for our purposes of learning the language,” Mom said, chuckling softly.
My stomach tightened.
They all looked so happy. I hated that I couldn’t smile along with them, but if I’d learned one thing, it was to be cautious.
The fact that my mom and grandmother had a young female French teacher filled me with alarm. Valerie and I had dragged an unconscious vampire to safety in Sitka. Giselle Morrel, and she was a native French girl who collected figurines, stuffed animals… and swords.
Melcher told me letting her live had been a mistake.
Yeah, I’d made a lot of those in a short amount of time, but I hoped to make wiser decisions from here on out. I also planned on being more cautious.
“What does this French teacher look like?” I asked.
Mom and Grandma exchanged a look. Mom shrugged. “She’s young. Maybe around your age or a couple years older.”
Strike one.
“What color is her hair?”
“Blond.”
Strike two. Now I needed visual confirmation. Mom said the teacher’s last name was Vasser, but that didn’t mean Giselle wasn’t using an alias. She could call herself whatever she wanted, and no one would be the wiser.
“What sort of accident did the guy before her have?” I asked.
Grandma’s fork clinked against her plate when she set it down.
“Aurora, is everything okay?” Mom asked.
I glanced at Dante. He looked just as perplexed as my mom and grandma.
Maybe my homecoming dinner wasn’t the best time to get paranoid on everyone, but I needed to know my family would be safe. I’d talk to Mom about it later, ask to go to their next lesson and see for myself.
“Everything’s great,” I said, forcing a smile. “I’m just tired.”
Mom leaned into the table. “They worked you hard?”
I nodded. “Had to cover a lot of miles every day.”
“Sounds more like boot camp than an internship,” Gran said.
The table went silent until Dante said, “This pasta is delicious. Bet you missed your mother’s home cooking while you were gone.”
“That reminds me,” Gran said. “We also took cooking classes this summer. The cake decorating one was my favorite.”
Mom scrunched her nose. “I liked the sushi one.”
“And I liked tasting the extras,” Dante said.
They all laughed, so I pushed myself to laugh along with them.
At the end of dinner, Dante began doing dishes while Mom and I cleared. Grandma dried and put things away.
On the next trip to the table, Mom motioned me inside Gran’s small office. Mom flicked on the light switch, illuminating a couch made up with a pillow and blanket beside Gran’s desk.
“Sorry it’s not your old room,” Mom said. “But I hope you’ll be comfortable before your big move.” She sniffed and touched my face gently. “My little girl is all grown up. I feel like I missed a big chunk of your life. You just got back and now you’re already moving out to start college.”
“Yes, but I’ll only be fifteen minutes away,” I said, giving her a hug. “I’m right here whenever you need me.”
“Same goes for you,” she said. “I’m here if you need me.”
She smiled and blinked back several tears.
The couch looked very appealing after my flight and the ordeal of my training kill. I was ready to crash. And it was a relief to find she and Dante weren’t in collaboration about me staying at his place. Good to know she wasn’t pimping me out like one of Melcher’s undercover vampire informants.
Now I had to break the news to Dante.
4
Cohabitation
While Mom made tea, Dante and I slipped into the living room. I walked over to the large windows overlooking Westchester Lagoon. Grandma’s condo, while smaller than our house, had an unbeatable view.
Dante joined my side. “What time should we head out?”
I glanced sideways at him. “I’m staying with my mom and grandma tonight.”
His face fell, but Dante quickly recovered, all grins when he said, “You’re right. What kind of gentleman would I be if I stole Mrs. Sky’s daughter away from her on her first evening back?”
Gentleman? Yeah, that was pushing it. I had no doubt that the things Dante wanted to do to me were far from honorable.
As he leaned into me, I leaned away.
“I have a lot to do over the next four days,” I said quickly. “School shopping, going through my things to decide what I’ll take with me to my new apartment, packing, moving, unpacking, and settling in. Then school starts and I’ll be even busier with homework and studying.”
Dante’s cheeks dimpled as an amused grin spread over his lips.
“Aurora…”
“And Melcher’s probably going to throw my next assignment at me before I’ve even finished my first week of college.”
“Aurora.”
“What?”
Dante looked like he was holding back a laugh. “Relax. If you want to take things slow, we’ll take them slow.”
I took a deep breath and released it. The problem was I wasn’t sure I wanted to take things anywhere except back to what we used to be: partners. Friends. Dante in the driver’s seat. Me telling him to slow down, certainly not speed up.
“Okay,” I said, nodding. “Thanks for understanding.”
“Hey, I’ve got your back no matter what.” Dante reached his hand over and touched my cheek gently. “And I’ll help you move. Free labor, what do you say?”
“How can I refuse?” I asked.
Dante pulled his hand away and placed it on his hip. “Aurora Sky, you only want me for my body, don’t you?”
I snorted.
“What are you two giggling about over there?” Gran called out.
She and Mom had settled onto the couch with their tea.
“Nothing,” I said. “Dante offered to help me move into my new place.”
“How nice,” Grandma said.
Mom frowned, which surprised me. Maybe it was the idea of me moving out that saddened her. Thank the gods I was moving. Sharing the condo with Mom and Gran while trying to go to college and take down vampires would have driven me right over the edge and into the lagoon.
I loved my mom and grandma to death, but too much of them—Grandma especially—exhausted every ounce of me.
“I should get going,” Dante said, giving my arm a quick pat. “Let Aurora have some time with her family and get some rest.”
“Thank you for picking our little girl up at the airport,” Gran said.
“I’ll walk you to the door,” I said.
Our shoulders brushed against each other as we passed by the living room.
“See you later, Dante,” Mom called after us.
“Bye, Mrs. Sky.”
Dante stopped in front of the door and flashed me one of his deviant smiles. He leaned in closer, kissed me on the cheek and said, “Sleep tight, don’t let the vampires bite.”
“Ha, ha,” I replied. “See you later, Dante.”
“Where are my things?” I asked Mom after Dante left.
The wave of exhaustion that hit me after dinner had broken and now I wanted to go through my b
elongings and decide what would come with me to the new place.
Grandma went to bed, leaving Mom and me in the living room. It was nice to be out of the barracks, but at the same time, I couldn’t get comfortable. This was temporary. I was a guest in my grandmother’s home.
I wanted my own space and privacy. I wanted to get settled in and establish some normalcy as I began a new chapter in my life.
“We put your belongings in a storage unit, honey,” Mom said. “Most everything is boxed up and ready to move into your new place. Agent Melcher sent a courier over with the key last week. He said the place is fully furnished and ready for you to move into.”
Melcher had texted me the address. So far, he hadn’t mentioned anything about me having to come in, which was fine by me.
“Thanks, Mom. Sorry I wasn’t around to help you pack.”
She shrugged. “Your grandma pitched in and Dante helped move everything.”
“That was nice of him.”
The tick from the antique grandfather’s clock against the wall filled the ensuing silence. It hadn’t occurred to me that I was leaving behind my childhood home forever. Even my mom had become a new woman in my absence. She looked healthy, happy… skinny, and she hadn’t mentioned Dad once.
I wasn’t the same, either. Honestly, I wasn’t sure who I was anymore.
Mom cleared her throat. “I made an appointment for you at Planned Parenthood.”
I scrunched up my nose. “Why?”
“I know how these things work, Aurora. You’re about to start college. You’re dating. I want to make sure you have the right protection.”
“Oh my god, Mom!” Speaking of awkward. Why didn’t she book Dante and me a room at the Captain Cook Hotel while she was at it? Maybe throw in a bottle of champagne.
Mom folded her arms. “Oh my god what? This is the kind of thing you have to be smart about.”
If only she knew. I was sterile, so was Dante, and between the two of us we had enough diseases to wipe out the planet. At least they were contained. Melcher had us on a monthly treatment, which prevented us from turning into one of the undead. Other than that, we were like vampires in many ways, including fun side effects like blood cravings. Push-ups and ten mile runs didn’t make the cravings go away.
Bad Blood (Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter, Vol. 3) Page 4