Love Bites

Chapter 7

Three Friday nights later, Alex and Jack were seated at the fanciest restaurant in town, Alex sporting a dress shirt and tie and Jack wearing a button-down white shirt that was open revealing a tight black t-shirt underneath. He felt embarrassed – he was underdressed. Alex had surprised him with the reservations and he wasn’t informed it would be the nicest restaurant around. He ran a hand through his hair nervously, wondering why his lover would suddenly make these dinner plans. Surely he had something up his sleeve.
And that led Jack to another thought. What if Alex had decided tonight was the night he would change the younger boy into one of his own kind? Alex was aware of his longing to become immortal, he just blatantly refused every time Jack so much as hinted towards it. It didn’t occur to him why the vampire was so dead against Jack becoming like him – they could be together forever, and Alex wouldn’t have to protect him so much anymore. Jack craved to be as strong and beautiful as his lover. He yearned to become a creature of the night, to be powerful and graceful and nearly invincible. He didn’t understand why Alex wouldn’t jump at the idea.
But maybe tonight was different. Maybe he had come to his senses, and maybe this was the night Jack’s human life would be traded in for a life of bloodlust and eternal-companionship with his beautiful Alex. Maybe they could finally be equal.
Alex coughed, bringing Jack back to reality as he sat across from him at the dinner table.
“Would you like some champagne to drink, babe?” he asked cheerily.
“Oh, yeah, that’d be great, Lex.”
Alex turned his head sharply toward the waiter that stood a few feet away and gave him a sly wink. The waiter simply nodded and turned on his heels, marching back towards the kitchen.
Jack fiddled with his hands. “So, why did you bring me here, again?”
“What, I can’t treat my boyfriend to a fancy dinner every now and then?” Alex smirked.
“Well, I mean, this is like the nicest restaurant around, Lex. Seriously, what’s the deal?”
Alex rolled his eyes. “Just look at the menu and pick out what you want, Jacko.”
Jack huffed and stood his menu up like a shield between him and Alex, receiving a sound of protest from him but ignoring it. Something was definitely up tonight. Why was he being so shady? Couldn’t he just give a hint? And why was he winking at the waiters and smirking to himself like some kind of incubus? Jack began to jump to conclusions rapidly, throwing down the menu and sighing once more.
“Something wrong?”
“Why the hell can I not know what’s going on? Or is it another secret of yours you’ve been keeping from me?” he demanded, his tone turning nasty.
Alex groaned and took one of Jack’s hands in his own. “Jack-”
“Excuse me, sir,” they heard, Jack jumping slightly at the voice. The waiter stood between them, setting down the glasses of champagne in front of them. Alex mumbled a thank you before pushing out from the table and moving to stand in front of Jack.
He frowned, confused why Alex was getting up. Had he been too harsh? Was Alex just going to leave in the middle of dinner?
“I was going to wait to do this until after we had finished eating, you little snot,” Alex muttered. He cleared his throat, making his voice louder. “But seeing as you’re going to be grumpy until I tell you, I figure I might as well do this now so we don’t have to eat in silence while you pout over there in your seat.”
Jack bit his lip, instantly expecting the worse. He held his breath while Alex shuffled slightly, and then he forgot how to breathe as soon as Alex lowered himself down onto one knee.
The restaurant began to take notice, a hush falling over the crowd of people as they watched the beautiful, kneeling boy in anticipation.
“Jack, I love you. I love you so much that I can’t even think straight when you’re around. When I’m with you, I feel like I can be completely myself and you won’t judge me one bit. You are the most genuine, sincere and beautiful person I have ever come to know. You make my heart pound frantically when you touch me, and when I kiss you I’ve never felt more at home. You are my home. I love your eyes, I love the way your nose crinkles when you laugh, I love the way you stuff your hands in your pockets and chew at your lip when you get nervous. I love your voice, and I love your smile, I love how you’re so comfortable with yourself. You never cease to amaze me, each and every second of every day, and I can’t go another one of those days without knowing you’ll be mine forever. So Jack, you’re a mean little shit in the mornings and you complain more than anyone else on the face of the earth, and I love every little bit of you. Will you marry me?”
Alex finished his speech, drawing out a small, blue velvet box from his pockets and opening it to reveal a plain, antique silver band with a small engraving on the inside of it that had the simple phrase “forever”. Jack’s heart stopped mid-beat, and his eyes were swollen with tears before he could manage to croak out a yes and fly into Alex’s arms. The restaurant clapped warmly, and the two embraced until the cheers died down. Jack took Alex’s face in his hands and whispered an endearing ‘I love you’ before gently kissing his new fiancé’s lips. And suddenly, everything seemed to be perfect.

Alex had to go hunting later that night due to his lack of time because of all the recent arrangements for Jack, so that left the younger man to himself at his small house on the other side of town. He had decided to take a walk, seeing as he used to love midnight walks on his own when he had a lot to think about. And all that was on his mind tonight was the beautiful creature that was Alex.
Jack turned a corner into an alley, shoving his hands into his pockets and letting out a happy sigh as he thought of the return of his fiancé. He wondered what Alex was doing at this very second, and then decided he would probably be better off not knowing.
Something in the air didn’t feel right, however, and that had Jack slowing down in his steps. He heard slight noises coming from behind the wall he was walking next to, and his instincts were practically screaming at him to run and get out of the area. Jack stopped in his tracks when he heard the noises growing, and he began to turn and run the opposite way when he heard a couple of voices.
“Where are you going, pretty boy?”
“The party hasn’t even started!”
Jack tried to resume running again before he was apprehended by a taller man, being yanked back by his shoulders into the second man’s arms.
“Look what we’ve got here, Martin,” his captor noted.
The man called Martin glanced him up and down, pausing for a second before opening his mouth and stating “He’ll do. Hold him down.”
Jack was suddenly being thrown on the ground and receiving a couple swift kicks to the side before there was a pressure holding him to the dirty concrete beneath him.
He watched in horror as the taller man who stood in front of him pulled out a knife and began to unbuckle his own pants.
“Hold still, pretty boy. This will only hurt a bit.”
The only sound Jack could muster was a yelp and a shriek of Alex’s name before a large, sweaty hand was clamping over his mouth.