Chapter 22

CHAPTER 22

Amber

T he glorious scent of grease-laden Chinese food filled the air, heralding the arrival of dinner. “Mmm, look at that delicious snack,” Amber teased, choosing bravado to hide her previously conflicted feelings. “The food looks good, too.” She accepted the boxes of food and scooted against the arm of the couch to make sure there was plenty of room for both of them to use the coffee table. The coffee table, which was the instigator of the whole confusing mess.

Amber took her boxes out of the bag and Reuben grabbed his container of mushroom soup and a black plastic spoon. She opened up the noodles, breathed in appreciatively, and plunged her plastic fork into the soy sauce-flavored goodness.

“You sure sounded convincing in the press release, by the way. If I didn’t know better, I would think you were telling the truth up there,” Amber said, then filled her mouth with noodles. A few too many noodles, it turned out, as she looked up at Reuben with large eyes and noodles hanging out of her lips.

It was quite comical; Amber did her best to chew quickly and pull the stragglers in, but Reuben had plenty of time to see her chipmunk-cheeks-and-squiggly-noodles face. He also had plenty of time to reply while her mouth was conveniently busy.

Reuben’s armor cracked and he chuckled, “Good, huh? They always do a great job. I hope you enjoy it. And you didn’t have to watch that boring thing...” He set his soup down on the table and carefully played with the mushrooms floating in the broth to busy his hands. “Thank you, though. I do appreciate it. I have a very skilled team backing me up to help write my speeches so I don’t look like a fool to the public.”

Amber shrugged and pulled the last of the noodles into her mouth. Once she swallowed them, she smiled and shook her head. “I did need to! Had to make sure you announced us properly, didn’t I?” Her voice was cheeky and she managed a small laugh. “And I rather wanted to see your face. It’s rather pleasant to look at, you know. Does that make me a creepy stalker girlfriend?”

Another laugh filled her nostrils and Amber took a second bite of noodles, a smaller one this time. “I don’t know why I’ve never tried this place before. I’ll have to go there again.”

“It’s only creepy if you start cutting out newspaper articles and putting them on the wall. I appreciate it nonetheless and I also love looking at your beautiful face.” Reuben reached for Amber’s hand and carefully laced their fingers together, allowing them to rest their hands on the couch. “Hey. I know you said that dating wasn’t something you’ve done before... but have you ever wanted to? I mean...”

He took a deep breath between his thoughts, met Amber’s gaze, and continued, “You write about romance and create love stories. Did you ever want your own story? Have you ever imagined finding a special person and having an extravagant wedding? You know... settling down and maybe buying a cat or dog? The white picket fence life?”

Amber thought quietly, not entirely sure how to answer. She’d never really considered that she might end up alone. Perhaps it was her constant stream of romantic scenarios that gave her that feeling, but she’d always imagined that someday she’d be swept off her feet and live happily ever after.

“I’ve never really been against it,” she finally started, shifting slightly so she could look Reuben in the eye, “but the last time I allowed myself to actually like someone, they ended up stalking me for over a year, breaking into my bedroom, and stabbing me.” Amber lifted her shirt a few inches to reveal the pink, raised flesh of a long-healed knife wound in her side just below her ribs.

Reuben grew solemn, his eyes darkening. “And that’s why you are so concerned about publicity, isn’t it? You don’t want him to find you.”

Amber’s eyes shimmered and she nodded. “Yeah. He still doesn’t even have his first parole hearing for another year, but even after all these years…I still have nightmares about that night. About feeling like I was being hunted. I never thought something like that could come from just innocently chatting with someone online. Never thought he’d be someone entirely different than the man who told me he loved me and wanted to marry me when I turned 18.”

A curse whistled through Reuben’s teeth. “Oh, Gem…I feel like the world’s biggest jerk for not taking your concerns as seriously as I should. I totally understand why you were so upset and ghosted me, now. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

“No, it’s not fine. ” Reuben reached out and took Amber’s hand, raising it to lift her chin. “It was insensitive of me to not even ask why you were so afraid. But I swear this to you: No harm will come to you on my account. If I have to abuse my power as a politician to make sure that scumbag never gets paroled, I will do it.”

And Amber could tell by the fire in his eyes and words that he meant it. She shivered and decided to change the topic. “What about you, Benji?” she asked instead. “You’ve got a pretty good life, as far as I can tell. But have you considered getting a real partner? You’ve been far and above what I ever imagined to be the perfect boyfriend. You’ve spoiled me for anybody else at this point.”

She didn’t know what answer she hoped Reuben would give. Well, somewhere inside she hoped that he would say something that would clue Amber in on his real feelings. Surely Reuben wouldn’t have gotten so excited during the kissing if he didn’t feel anything for her, right? There was no denying what she’d felt in that short experiment. But was that the excitement of physical contact, or was it the person she was kissing?

Reuben propped himself on his elbow. “I appreciate the compliments, but…” He dragged out the pause, trying to procrastinate the admission dancing on the tip of his tongue. “My job, especially when rising through the ranks to where I am now, has required most of my time. It doesn’t have a great home and work life balance, like I warned you when we met.”

He sighed softly and rested his jaw on the arm holding him up. “I haven’t had the best of luck with partners, either. I’ve told you about the ones that did it for money or ten seconds in the spotlight, but I don’t think I’ve mentioned the assassination attempt.”

Amber stiffened and her wide eyes turned on the vampire. “Assassination attempt? You really have had bad luck with relationships, too. Or perhaps your taste in women is just poor…I mean, look at the slob you’re dating now. That chick is a loser. ” She looked down at herself and giggled, knowing she was only trying to ignore her own demons.

Somehow, he also chuckled at the memory. “Are you questioning my judgment?! My girlfriend is the opposite of a loser!” he teased and tapped Amber’s nose. “It’s fine. I’m fine. He had strong views on the integration of supernaturals, and they were the opposite of mine. I don’t think he ever actually loved me anyway.”

He paused again, his voice lowering and the chuckles subsiding. “I guess when I was a teen, I imagined moving out, going to college, and finding a really hot spouse. I never told my parents that I was bisexual, but that didn’t matter. My brother accidentally let it slip about my first boyfriend and my father immediately disowned me. My mother always followed my father, and that was that. It wasn’t long after that that I had my run-in with a vampire.

“I guess I never thought much of truly settling down after that. I knew my life was different and with my extended lifespan…I guess I’m afraid to lose that special someone I made a life with. And I swore the moment that vampire’s fangs broke my skin that I would never do that to someone I loved.”

Reuben hugged Amber a little tighter. “Having someone to enjoy life with doesn’t sound terrible, though. I’ve been enjoying the time I’ve spent with you. I wanted to ditch work for you and I’m a workaholic. ”

Amber hugged Reuben back and ran her fingers through the vampire’s dark hair. “I can’t believe your family was willing to disown you over something so stupid. It’s not like you chose this life, you know? Mine will probably have a lot to say about it once it sinks in, but I can’t imagine they’ll do anything that drastic. Just, uh. Sounds like I won’t be meeting the in-laws any time soon.” It was a poor attempt at a joke, but the author hoped that it would lighten the mood a little.

“For the time being, I will happily spoil you, Gem. I don’t know how you remained single for so long. Beautiful, intelligent, a little nerdy with delicious lips? You are girlfriend material.” He ran his finger along Amber's jaw and pressed it to her lips.

A tingle followed Reuben’s finger and Amber felt a shiver like static in her spine. “If someone like me is girlfriend material, then someone like you is definitely husband material. Just saying," she insisted. "I’m sorry if this question is totally offensive, but...if you’re afraid of losing the one you’ve built a life with, have you considered maybe there’s another vampire out there for you? I mean, I know the human population is still much, much larger than the supernatural one, but I can’t imagine that no other vampire wants my hot, sweet, funny, kind, lovable, amazing boyfriend for their own."

“It sounds a lot easier than it is...” he mumbled.

Amber paused for a moment, deciding if she really wanted to admit what she was feeling. She didn't wait long before saying, “I guess it doesn’t matter. Now they’d have to fight me for him. Because apparently I’m more than a little bit possessive.”

She gave Reuben the hardest hug she could manage, marveling how someone whose skin felt like fine marble could still be so soft and lovely to hug. “I wouldn’t mind if you ditched work to spend time with me, though. You need it.”

“I suppose so.” Reuben pointed the remote at the TV and pressed play, filling the room with the opening music of Star Wars and effectively cutting off the conversation.

Amber frowned, but Reuben had made such an obvious statement with the action that she didn’t dare continue that thread. Instead she picked up her orange chicken and began shoveling it into her mouth in an attempt to soothe her irritation.

“I didn’t ask your permission before…” Reuben’s voice cut through the chilly silence that had settled into the space between the pair and caught Amber off guard. She turned her head and he clarified, “I should have asked before, you know…kissing you. But I’m not sorry I did it. And I’m surprised you don’t have much experience in the dating field. You’re a great kisser.”

Amber paused, taking a couple of deep breaths while she made her decision and the pieces fell into place. She reached out and pulled Reuben into her embrace. Wrapping her arms around his torso, Amber rested her chin on the vampire’s shoulder and tenderly pressed her lips to his neck.

“I gave you permission when I almost went for it myself,” she whispered, her breath hot on his neck. She wrapped her small, warm hands around his large, chilled ones and gave them a squeeze. “You did nothing wrong. But I’m glad I performed satisfactorily. I have to admit...that was my first kiss. I have no regrets saving it for you.”

She kissed Reuben’s jaw this time and pulled him closer, draping her leg over top of his lap as she settled into a position where Reuben lay against her. Perhaps she was pushing her luck, but it was a push she was happy to make.

If they were going to act like a couple in public, it would be best to find their limits in private first, right? And besides. She was supposed to be writing a convincing romance novel. And convincing romance novels included convincing intimacy.

Reuben didn’t resist the tug. “Your first? I would have made it a little more romantic if I had known. Like a scene out of the movies.” Emboldened by the positive response to his apology, he went a little further. “I’m not expecting an answer right away, but if you wanted to, or if you didn’t mind, or…if you would be okay with casual kissing in public, it might help convince people we’re really dating. And give you more imperial information for your book. Only if you are comfortable with it. And aren’t turned off by kissing, well, me.”

Amber’s response was immediate and visceral. It came accompanied with a small amount of anger, which surprised both of them. “Why would I be turned off kissing you any more than any other person?! You are as worthy of love as anyone else! Condition or no condition, bah. I like you and I wanted to. That should be enough, shouldn’t it? And I’ll do it again!”

Deep crimson spread over her cheeks and she cleared her throat. “So yeah, um...I’m happy to kiss you in public. Or private. Or whenever the fancy strikes.”

Reuben kept his mouth closed as he received his little scolding. “As long as we both enjoy it, then. I would be happy to kiss you whenever or wherever you’d like.” He then turned and placed a kiss on Amber’s cheek.

Silence fell for a little while as Amber allowed the familiar scenes of Star Wars to calm her mind. She ran the fingers of one hand up and down Reuben’s sternum, the light pressure against her fingertips relaxing her while she ate with the other. The vampire's cool skin felt good as it pulled the heat of embarrassment away from Amber’s body until she felt pleasantly chilled.

When her dinner was finished, Amber re-positioned herself so she lay stretched along the back of the couch with plenty of room for Reuben to be the little spoon if he wished. Little by little she found her eyelids drooping and her breathing slowing until she slipped into a light sleep. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this comfortable and content. The fear from earlier had vanished into the void as she snoozed toward the end of the film.

Reuben had no shame as he took the open space in front of Amber. He was a little further down the couch, allowing Amber to watch the movie over his head without obstruction. His attention shifted between the movie and the gorgeous woman behind him.

Before he could drift to sleep, he could feel the soft breath of a sleeping Amber against his hair. With a huge smile on his face, he pulled a blanket over the two of them. The soft rhythm of Amber’s heartbeat lulled Reuben to sleep soon after.

* * *

Amber

T he loud music of the closing credits broke the spell and Amber’s eyes opened slowly with an accompanying yawn. She felt quite good after her nap. But she felt better opening her eyes to a handsome man who had, despite their time together being so short, become important to her. She smiled and brought Reuben’s hand to her lips, brushing each of the vampire’s fingertips. “Sorry I fell asleep...that was rather rude of me.”

A few indistinguishable mumbles escaped Reuben’s lips. He rolled over to bury his head in Amber’s chest. His hands tangled themselves in the band t-shirt and tugged the wearer close. He took a deep, relaxed breath. “Yeah, how dare you fall asleep,” he murmured, voice gravelly.

“I am going to have to be more disappointing, though,” Amber sighed, wrapping her legs around Reuben’s waist. “I should go home. It’s really late.”

Reuben looked up with puppy dog eyes and his arms slipped around Amber’s torso. “What if you didn’t?”

Truthfully, Amber seriously considered the question for a moment before shaking her head. “I should sleep in my own bed. But what if we went on another date on your next day off? Something romantic, like stargazing?” She began disentangling herself from the vampire despite his soft protests. “You’re such a goof.”

“Fine. I’ll let you go, as long as you promise not to make me wait another week to see you.” Reuben released his grip and sat up, his hair sticking up in various directions. “Do you need me to call you a car?”

Amber nodded and began gathering her things while Reuben pulled out his phone. Ten minutes later the car pulled up in front of the house and she gave Reuben a quick kiss on the lips. “Text me your schedule in the morning, okay Benji? I’ll see you again soon!”