Chapter 18

The next day, I pull up my vanity chair to sit at the window to talk to Chris. The last two days I’ve realized that there’s no arguing with the fact that I enjoy spending time with him. My panic over him being gone yesterday was proof that he’s an essential part of my day, and this, sitting by the window bantering back and forth, makes my otherwise depressing existence brighter. It’s now my routine to talk to him from here, where I’m safe. Safe from him, safe from the world, who knows? Just safe from everything.

At the end of the day, no matter what Chris says, I still can’t trust him. Oliver taught me that lesson well, no matter how pretty someone is, no matter how hot they make me or how many butterflies I feel around them, I can’t trust anybody but me. But I’m so lonely so I might as well talk to him if I’m going to remain holed up in my house every single day. When I put it like that, I almost believe it’s just about talking to somebody rather than talking to Chris specifically.

But all of my actions before going to talk to him make a liar out of me, a fact I really don’t want to process. Like, when I woke up this morning, I showered and got ready again, with makeup and a man-slaying outfit. I never had any interest in any of that in the last few years before Chris, and I’m not sure if the pep in my step is because of Chris’ presence here. I’m assuming it is, but I really don’t want to admit it, even still.

Either way, the feeling isn’t unwelcome. It has felt good to get myself out of bed the past two days and actually make myself look like something—other than a homebody who doesn’t believe in showers. It’s refreshing and makes me feel almost human. Like I’m slowly starting to breathe again, after holding it in for far too long. It’s good to finally exhale the horrors of my past, of my depression, out of my system.

Chris’ teasing voice jars me from my thoughts. “Is your favorite color pink, little kitten? Your wardrobe is filled with a lot of it.” Today, he has taken up residence on the ground underneath—what I’ve taken to calling in my head—his tree. His long legs, encased in torn black jeans, are stretched out in front of him, and he looks good enough to eat.

I lean out the window to get a better look at him. His head rests against the tree’s trunk, his eyes steady on my form. “I bet your wardrobe is just a sea of black. Is it because you’re just a little emo vampire boy?” I raise my eyebrows at him jokingly, but then they raise unnaturally high when he starts laughing. “What are you laughing at, vampire boy?”

His laughter doesn’t stop at my retort. If anything, it makes him laugh harder. “That doesn’t even make sense,” he chokes out.

I lean back in my chair, hoping like hell that the shadows and angle will hide my wide grin, and the blush on my cheeks. When I respond, I’m nearly shouting so my voice is loud enough to carry, still hiding how charmed I am by him. “What are you talking about? It totally makes sense! You made fun of me for liking pink, even though you only wear black. So if I’m a Barbie doll in pink, you’re a little vampire in black. We’re total opposites.”

“Opposites do attract.” I can hear the playfulness in his voice, even without seeing that beautiful face of his. “I know you’re hiding from me. Lean forward and look at me, kitten.”

My cheeks heat at the command in his voice, but I can’t stop myself from following his order. I peek my head out to stare at him, unable to hide my smile as I catch the view of him again. “Yes, puppy?”

His face is practically lit by his wide smile, his cheek dimpled in happiness. Although I’m embarrassed at how easily this man has charmed me, my heart still squeezes with some uncomfortable emotion I can’t name. “Let’s make a deal. I’ll change my wardrobe to only pink if you change yours to all black.”

I’m now leaning fully forward in my chair, head poked completely out the window so he can see my full expression. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“You might be the only person in the world who can get me to wear pink.”

“Maybe I don’t want you to. Maybe I need you to stay the dark, emo vampire to my brightly colored Barbie.” I place my elbow on the window sill and rest my cheek against my palm as I stare at him. “Plus, I don’t hate the emo boy look all that much on you.”

Chris raises his hand to his heart, clutching his chest. “Did… did you just compliment me? I don’t think I heard you right. Can you repeat that, just so I can make sure I didn’t mishear you?”

I tip my head back slightly and let out an inelegant snort. “Never gonna happen again. You missed your shot.” I bat my eyelashes at him, and he shakes his head at me in amusement.

He’s opening his mouth to respond when my phone begins ringing from my nightstand. When I go to grab it, I see that it’s Elijah calling. Shit. I’ve been ignoring his calls because I still can’t figure out a way to explain everything that doesn’t sound crazy and won’t put him in danger, but I can’t avoid him forever. He has been my best friend for way too long for me to let that happen. Letting out a long, exaggerated sigh, I swipe the answer button and place my phone to my ear. “Hey, Eli. What’s up?”

He gasps when I pick up the phone. “Sweet cheeks! I’ve missed your voice. Is everything okay? It feels like you’ve been kinda dodging me lately.”

I can’t keep up this lie. Not to Elijah, who has been with me for every up and down in my life. I’ll give him some of the truth. The believable stuff. “I’m so sorry, Eli. I’m not doing it on purpose, I promise. I’ve just had a lot on my mind. With Oliver showing up, it’s just been a lot.”

Eli scoffs loudly into his speaker. “Well, obviously. He just came out of nowhere and totally blindsided you at a random party.” His tone softens. “Where are you now? Are you home? I want to see you and hear all about it!”

I flick my eyes over to Chris, who’s coming to his feet and wandering closer to the house. The vampire stalker currently living in my yard. I know he’s listening to every word I’m saying, and after the last week of gaining little informational vampire tidbits, I know he can hear every single word Elijah is saying too. Nope. Elijah cannot see him here. That’s just too fucking many questions to deal with. “Yeah, I’m home, but do you wanna maybe go get something to eat instead? I’m kinda hungry.”

Elijah gasps. “Are you asking me to take you out of your house? Like, into society? Who the hell are you, and what have you done with my best friend?” A brief moment of silence and then an explosion of excited noise as Elijah chuckles loudly. “Of course, I’ll come get you, babe. I’ll be there in fifteen, okay? Don’t change your mind while I’m on my way over, alright? We’re gonna have fun!”

I let out a shaky breath. I’m actually going to voluntarily leave the safety of my house, just so I can keep Chris a secret from Elijah. I have to do this. “Okay, I’ll see you soon.”

Elijah blows me a kiss through the phone and hangs up.

I’ve got fifteen minutes to get myself emotionally ready to leave my house and get my vampire stalker out of my front yard. I let out a shudder, my breathing uneven and ragged. Hey, look, it only took me twenty seconds to regret this decision. New record. I haven’t left my house in over a week because I feel safe here, protected by the four walls and roof over my head—and, if I’m being honest with myself, with the vampire living beneath my tree. Stopping where I stand, I force myself to do the breathing exercises Elijah taught me when I first started having my anxiety attacks a few years back. I knew I was going to have to leave my house sooner or later. I was just hoping for later.

Crossing back to the window, I stare down at Chris, who’s watching me intently. Studying me. He clears his throat before speaking. “Where you going, little kitten? Should I take that to mean you want to keep me your little secret from your best friend?” He smirks, but it doesn’t go to his eyes like it usually does. He seems hurt.

No. I can’t let myself get emotionally invested in him. Or at least not more so than I already am. So I try to take the sting out of his hurt expression by being playful. “I’m going out to eat. No vampires allowed,” I tease.

He’s wearing a condescending look, his lips twisted in a wry smirk. “It’s funny you think I won’t be coming along.”

“Excuse me?” My blood begins to heat in irritation. “Elijah cannot know about you. He can’t know what you are. And he’s definitely not going to know that you’re stalking me, and living in my yard. It’s not going to fucking happen. I swear to god, Chris if you follow-”

“He won’t know I’m there. But I’m not letting you out of my sight.” He glances away, biting his lip like he’s considering saying something more, before he turns his gaze back to mine and holds my stare. “I’m happy you’re getting out of the house, Dani.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not. And you’re not coming.” I gesture at him. “Now shoo, puppy. Elijah can’t see you in my yard, so… go away.”

Chris just clicks his tongue at me and shakes his head. “Such a feisty little kitten.”

He is absolutely not coming.

* * *

Once at the restaurant, Elijah and I take our seats at the booth. The waitress passes us two menus and takes our drink orders, but I barely even pay attention to what I ask for because I’m too busy looking around the restaurant for any sign of Chris. I don’t see him anywhere, so I guess we lost him. Good.

“Tell me everything, sweet cheeks.” Elijah flashes his perfect, white teeth at me over the menu he’s barely pretending to look at.

“There isn’t much to tell. Oliver showed up at the party, and I left with him. We talked. We had really angry sex. And then he got mean, so I left.” I shrug, hoping he’ll let it go, but knowing he won’t, as I look toward the waitress approaching us with our drinks.

Elijah’s jaw dropped at my casual mention of “angry sex.” “I’m sorry, I’m gonna need you to back the hell up, Dani. I need so many more fucking details than that!”

“Are you guys ready to order?” I breathe out an inaudible sigh of relief. Thank god the waitress is here. I just don’t want her to leave so maybe I can avoid this conversation. Forever. We place our orders, Elijah rushing to get his out as I lazily drag my eyes over the menu figuring out what to order—I take my sweet time to avoid this conversation as long as possible.

Elijah is staring at me with his elbows on the table, setting his chin on his two closed fists. “Well, go on.” He gestures for me to continue, lips pursed in thought.

“Yeah, so I asked him where he’s been for the last two years, and he gave me some bullshit, vague answers. Honestly, he didn’t tell me much, just that he’s sorry and that he loves me, but that I ‘can’t know the truth.’” I pop my fingers up in air quotes. There. That’s enough truth to maybe get Elijah off my back. I take a large sip of my water.

“Uh huh, do continue.”

“Then, in the heat of the moment, we just kinda, um, had really angry sex. I was mad and confused, and… it just happened. It was fucking hot, I’m not gonna lie. It was rough and passionate. And then he told me he loved me afterward, and I just didn’t know what to do.” I stare down at the table. “And then, he changed. He got really aggressive. Angry. I’d never seen him act like that, at least when I was with him before everything happened, I mean. He’s not the person he used to be.”

Elijah’s face is serious, his voice low enough that it doesn’t carry to everyone else in the restaurant. “Did he hurt you?”

“No, I think he wanted to, but… he didn’t. I’m fine.” At Elijah’s raised eyebrow, I reassure him. “Really. He hasn’t bothered me since I left him, so… I guess that’s the end of that.” I’m trying to avoid Elijah’s worried stare, gazing just past him in the hopes that it will look like I’m making eye contact, when I see someone familiar hiding behind a menu two tables behind us. It’s fucking Chris, just sitting there and listening to everything. My blood chills. Holy shit. He heard everything I said about me having angry sex with Oli.

He looks seriously pissed off, his jaw jutting in a way that makes it look like he’s grinding his teeth. He almost looks… jealous? He can be jealous all he wants, I don’t care, just so long as he doesn’t make a scene in front of Elijah.

“Hello, earth to Dani.” Elijah snaps his fingers in front of my face. “What the hell just happened? Where did you go?”

“Hmm? Oh, sorry. I just got distracted.” I glare at Chris, who glares right back at me, before turning my attention back to Elijah. “Sorry.” I laugh nervously, my palms suddenly clammy where I’m gripping them together under the table.

“Are you sure you’re okay? I know you’re probably dealing with a lot, and I wish you had told me.”

I shake my head at him. “Yeah, I’m fine. Really. It was just a lot to process mentally. I’m all good now. I promise.”

Elijah clicks his tongue, giving me a sassy stare. “Mhm.”

We stare at each other for a few seconds until the waitress arrives with our food. “Can I get you anything else?” she asks. When Elijah and I both smile at her and shake our heads no, she turns on her heel and walks away.

As Eli digs into his wings, I steal a glance at Chris.

He’s lowered the menu so I can see his full face, every sharp, possessive angle focused on me. He holds my gaze as he lifts the tumbler of dark brown liquid sitting at his fingertips and drinks deeply before lowering the glass back to the table and licking his lips, his eyes never leaving mine.

My breath hitches as I stare at his tongue gliding over his lips. My body is betraying me, reacting to even that small action. In frustration, I clench my thighs together against the arousal I can feel pooling between my legs. Chris must sense the change in my demeanor because his eyes glaze in lust as he bites his lower lip. God, he’s fucking me with his eyes like he wants nothing more than to bend me over this table and claim me in front of this entire restaurant.

If I don’t get out of here right now, I might do something that I really regret. Fuck. My entire body is flushed, and I can feel that my cheeks are stained red. Without taking his eyes off mine, Chris fans his face with the menu, bringing a small smile to my lips. He returns the look with a steamy smile of his own.

“What are you doing?” Elijah is now distracted from his wings by my smiling stare over his shoulder. He swivels in his seat just as Chris brings up the menu to cover his face fully. Elijah’s gaze bounces over where Chris is sitting, trying to find what I was smiling at.

“That baby at that table over is just so cute.” I touch Elijah’s hand to draw his attention back to me, so we don’t run the risk of him seeing Chris.

He glances at me in confusion. “You are being so weird, babe. You sure you’re good?” He returns to his wings, lifting one to his lips just as I say, “Actually, can we get this to go? I’m sorry, I’m just starting to not really feel well. I’ll eat at home. Promise.” I give him a shy smile. “Call me tomorrow, and I’ll explain more about Oliver. I love you. I’m sorry.”

“Sure, but no promises of a phone call. You’re telling me on the ride home,” he says through a mouthful of chicken.

“Okay, fine.”

On our way out of the restaurant, I glance over at Chris one last time. He’s becoming a big problem for me. The way he looks at me, the way he talks to me, it does things to my body that I can’t even begin to explain. I’m treading on dangerous ground with him, and the scariest part of it all is that I can’t bring myself to stop playing with him, bantering with him. Despite all of that, though, I’m going to give him hell for following me to the restaurant when I told him not to once I get back home.

* * *

On our ride back to my house, I only give Elijah more vague details about what happened on the tour bus with Oliver. I fucking hate lying to him, but I can’t tell him about what really happened. I’m happy when he accepts my story without too much prying or second-guessing the parts that I choose to reveal. Maybe he’s just giving me time to give him the real story. I don’t really know for sure, and it’s actually killing me. I’m not used to not knowing my best friend’s feelings on any given topic.

Elijah drops me off, giving me a kiss on the cheek and a “you’re calling me tomorrow” instruction before he drives into the night.

I let myself into the house and make my way up to my bedroom. I could have easily confronted Chris in the front yard since he’s probably already there, but I need the safety that the house offers me. Distance. Separation. Finally, in my bedroom, I storm over to the window, shoving it up hard enough that it shakes in the frame. Chris is already in his usual spot, leaning against the tree, staring up at me. “You’re a real asshole for doing that at the restaurant. How did you even catch up to us so fast?”

Chris raises his brows and smirks. “You really underestimate how fast I can be, and that’s dangerous. You shouldn’t underestimate me, and you definitely shouldn’t underestimate Oliver. He’s just as fast, and he could catch you before you even know what’s happening.” His voice lowers slightly, his smirk turning into a wide grin. “But what did I do at the restaurant that made me such an asshole?”

“I don’t know or care how fast you can be. So you’re like the Flash. Whatever. And you know exactly what you were doing. Distracting me.” I bite my lip nervously, my eyes darting away as my cheeks heat under his attention. He’s going to give me so much shit for this.

“Distracting you? I wasn’t the only one staring in that restaurant. You couldn’t take your eyes off of me either, Dani. I intrigue you. Excite you. And you can’t bring yourself to admit it, can you?”

“I’m not admitting something that’s simply not true,” I respond. I can’t let him know how deeply he affects me.

His hooded eyes rake down my body, still framed in the window. “You think I don’t know when you’re aroused, little kitten? Do you think I can’t smell when you’re soaking wet for me? Just like you are right now?”

My lips part in a shocked gasp. He isn’t wrong, but there’s a difference between me knowing it and him knowing it. “Are you saying that you can smell my…arousal?”

“Yes.” He licks his lips, his eyelids sliding down as he inhales deeply. When his eyes open again to meet mine, they’re laced with lust. “God, you’re so fucking wet for me right goddamn now, little kitten. That scent of yours is fucking intoxicating. Fuck, I can’t wait to taste you.”

Desire pours through me, but he can’t just say shit like that. “You are never going to taste me! You’re fucked in the head if you think that I will ever let that happen.”

He hums softly and adjusts his stance. “I wouldn’t be too sure about that. I know you want me, and I think I’ve made it obvious that I want you more than anything else in this damn world.” His whisper is softly seductive. He takes a deep breath and then asks, “Dani?”

“What, Chris?”

“Let me take you to dinner tomorrow. I promise I won’t do anything you don’t want to do. I won’t even touch you.”

My heart is hammering inside my chest. He’s asking me on a date. And I know that I should say no. I can’t do this, can I? “Why would I agree to that?”

“You and I both know that you want to. And I want to take you out. Plus, it was nice to have a change of scenery, see something besides your fucking yard for once. No expectations, little kitten. I’ll keep it family-friendly.”

“Okay,” I whisper under my breath, but, of course, he hears it with his supersonic vampire hearing.

His face splits in a thrilled beam at my muttered response, and I can feel my heart clenching at his excitement. Fuck, I can’t believe I just agreed to a date with the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen. The butterflies in my belly, that are never far away when he’s around, start fluttering again. I know I can always change my mind tomorrow if I want to.