Are You Sure This Is My Life We Are Talking About?
chapter 9
I woke up to a feather light caress drifting along my hip. I looked over my shoulder to see Dante` laying behind me, staring absently into the distance. I rolled onto my back to see him better, but he still didn’t look at me, didn’t move, except to lay his hand on his own thigh. My mind was still a foggy, but I could remember what we did, how I drank his blood again, and how good it was, for both of us.
Why is he acting so odd and distant from me now? I wondered. I reached up my hand to touch his cheek, but before I made contact, his fingers gripped my wrist and brought my hand down. I looked at him oddly. Dante` looked at me, a mixture of emotions in his eyes. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, and that drove me crazy, but I didn’t want to break the silence by asking.
“I need to talk to you about some things..” He said quietly, looking down, “and I’m not sure how you’re going to take them.”
I kept waiting for him to say what it was he needed to talk to me about, but he never did. Finally, getting frustrated with waiting, I spoke, “You know, whatever it is Dante`, it probably won’t be much in comparison to, ‘you’re a vampire, and we’re getting married.’”
He grinned slightly, but continued to avoid my eyes. “It has to do with us being mates..” He took a deep breathe and blew it out slowly. “No matter how far away from each other we are, we’ll still be connected. By connected I mean, we can feel what the other is feeling, if we’re sad, happy, aroused, whatever.” He paused and glanced up at me. “And we’ll feel compelled to search out and satisfy each other when we are… Aroused, that is.”
“That’s a nifty little trick, should come in handy, huh?”
Dante` chuckled and sat up. “You think it’s cool?” He said with a smile on his face. “I was terrified of your reaction to that bit of information, and here you think it’s great!” He laughed again.
“I like that,” I said softly.
“What do you like, my love?”
I laughed. “’Love’ is it now?” I teased him. “No, seriously, I like it when your accent gets thicker. You sound so.. sexy and intelligent.” I said, purring the ending.
He chuckled again.
The door swung open, “Hey, we’re ba--” the door quickly shut before I could see the look on my mom’s face. “Oh, wow, ok, um.. We’re back, and you should come out here, alright?”
“We’ll be out in a moment Mrs. McCallen,” Dante` called smoothly.
A few moments later, cleaned up and redressed, we walked out of my room, as separate as can be. I felt like I should be touching him somehow, like I would get ill if I didn’t and Dante` must have known, because at that moment, he reached for my hand, lacing our fingers together. Walking around the corner, I saw my parents sitting at the dining room table, pizza boxes on the counter.
“Oh, goodie! I’m starved!” I exclaimed. I looked back at Dante` to tug him over to the counter, when I ‘felt’ Dante’s thoughts going through my head. I couldn’t help but giggle, he was thinking about how I was so hungry for blood not so long ago. “Whoa, that’s trippy!” I whispered to him. He just nodded his head in response, obviously not wanting to discuss it in front of my parents. I turned back around, walking to the counter to get my dinner before taking a seat at the table where two-liters of soda, along with my parents, were waiting. My mother had a sheepish look on her face, and dad looked confused.
As Dante` took a seat next to me, my parents spoke, “Since you’re leaving in a few days, we decided to throw you a ‘going away’ party so the family can say good-bye to you. Naturally, though, Dante` can’t be there since no one knows why you’re really leaving. We wanted you both to understand that.”
“Of course,” Dante` and I said at the same time. I looked over at him, startled, and noticed he looked the same and we smiled at each other.
My dad cleared his throat. “It will be here, tomorrow, at 12 o’clock. So, are you.. ?” My dad said suggestively, trying to ask if I was a vampire or not.
“Yep!” I said grinning, my fangs sliding loose on their own accord.
My mom gasped, my dad’s jaw dropping. Dante` cursed under his breathe and stood up to get closer to me, putting his palms on either side of my face.
“Keep smiling,” he said. I did as he said, and he slid this thumbs under my top lip, letting the pad of each finger rest on the gum above each fang, putting gentle pressure there. I felt my teeth retracting. He pulled away, smiling softly to let me know it wasn’t a big deal. “The teeth get some taking used to,” he said, addressing my parents.
They didn’t say anything, my mom just nodding her head softly, telling us she understood.
“He didn’t hurt you, did he?” My dad asked quietly.
I rolled my eyes, but Dante` spoke before I could. “I couldn’t if I wanted to Joel, it would kill me. Quite literally. Anything we do to each other is multiplied by 3 to the giver.”
Thoughts going through my head at those words had me choking on my drink. Dante` caught what I was thinking and turned pink. I laughed, trying to think of something to say to my parents. “Did you call the family already for the party?”
My mom nodded. “Your grandma was the one who suggested it, she called everyone, and they all said they will be here.”
I groaned. Great. I thought. I never liked family functioned, I always felt like I didn’t fit in. It didn’t help that Dante` wouldn’t be there to distract me either.
Why is he acting so odd and distant from me now? I wondered. I reached up my hand to touch his cheek, but before I made contact, his fingers gripped my wrist and brought my hand down. I looked at him oddly. Dante` looked at me, a mixture of emotions in his eyes. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, and that drove me crazy, but I didn’t want to break the silence by asking.
“I need to talk to you about some things..” He said quietly, looking down, “and I’m not sure how you’re going to take them.”
I kept waiting for him to say what it was he needed to talk to me about, but he never did. Finally, getting frustrated with waiting, I spoke, “You know, whatever it is Dante`, it probably won’t be much in comparison to, ‘you’re a vampire, and we’re getting married.’”
He grinned slightly, but continued to avoid my eyes. “It has to do with us being mates..” He took a deep breathe and blew it out slowly. “No matter how far away from each other we are, we’ll still be connected. By connected I mean, we can feel what the other is feeling, if we’re sad, happy, aroused, whatever.” He paused and glanced up at me. “And we’ll feel compelled to search out and satisfy each other when we are… Aroused, that is.”
“That’s a nifty little trick, should come in handy, huh?”
Dante` chuckled and sat up. “You think it’s cool?” He said with a smile on his face. “I was terrified of your reaction to that bit of information, and here you think it’s great!” He laughed again.
“I like that,” I said softly.
“What do you like, my love?”
I laughed. “’Love’ is it now?” I teased him. “No, seriously, I like it when your accent gets thicker. You sound so.. sexy and intelligent.” I said, purring the ending.
He chuckled again.
The door swung open, “Hey, we’re ba--” the door quickly shut before I could see the look on my mom’s face. “Oh, wow, ok, um.. We’re back, and you should come out here, alright?”
“We’ll be out in a moment Mrs. McCallen,” Dante` called smoothly.
A few moments later, cleaned up and redressed, we walked out of my room, as separate as can be. I felt like I should be touching him somehow, like I would get ill if I didn’t and Dante` must have known, because at that moment, he reached for my hand, lacing our fingers together. Walking around the corner, I saw my parents sitting at the dining room table, pizza boxes on the counter.
“Oh, goodie! I’m starved!” I exclaimed. I looked back at Dante` to tug him over to the counter, when I ‘felt’ Dante’s thoughts going through my head. I couldn’t help but giggle, he was thinking about how I was so hungry for blood not so long ago. “Whoa, that’s trippy!” I whispered to him. He just nodded his head in response, obviously not wanting to discuss it in front of my parents. I turned back around, walking to the counter to get my dinner before taking a seat at the table where two-liters of soda, along with my parents, were waiting. My mother had a sheepish look on her face, and dad looked confused.
As Dante` took a seat next to me, my parents spoke, “Since you’re leaving in a few days, we decided to throw you a ‘going away’ party so the family can say good-bye to you. Naturally, though, Dante` can’t be there since no one knows why you’re really leaving. We wanted you both to understand that.”
“Of course,” Dante` and I said at the same time. I looked over at him, startled, and noticed he looked the same and we smiled at each other.
My dad cleared his throat. “It will be here, tomorrow, at 12 o’clock. So, are you.. ?” My dad said suggestively, trying to ask if I was a vampire or not.
“Yep!” I said grinning, my fangs sliding loose on their own accord.
My mom gasped, my dad’s jaw dropping. Dante` cursed under his breathe and stood up to get closer to me, putting his palms on either side of my face.
“Keep smiling,” he said. I did as he said, and he slid this thumbs under my top lip, letting the pad of each finger rest on the gum above each fang, putting gentle pressure there. I felt my teeth retracting. He pulled away, smiling softly to let me know it wasn’t a big deal. “The teeth get some taking used to,” he said, addressing my parents.
They didn’t say anything, my mom just nodding her head softly, telling us she understood.
“He didn’t hurt you, did he?” My dad asked quietly.
I rolled my eyes, but Dante` spoke before I could. “I couldn’t if I wanted to Joel, it would kill me. Quite literally. Anything we do to each other is multiplied by 3 to the giver.”
Thoughts going through my head at those words had me choking on my drink. Dante` caught what I was thinking and turned pink. I laughed, trying to think of something to say to my parents. “Did you call the family already for the party?”
My mom nodded. “Your grandma was the one who suggested it, she called everyone, and they all said they will be here.”
I groaned. Great. I thought. I never liked family functioned, I always felt like I didn’t fit in. It didn’t help that Dante` wouldn’t be there to distract me either.