perfect harmony. You can't have the light without the dark, after all.
"There's that vacant look again," Wayne says to me. He's watching me enjoy my nice cool drink.
I move to take another sip then stop myself. Glass clinks with the movement of the ice cubes in my Etwan juice and soda. Such a tiny sound made big by the silence in the room.
"Stephanie, I'm starting to get worried about you."
I do take a drink this time, a big gulp that feels so good going down my throat. I wish he had his hands around my neck, fucking me hard instead of talking to me about this. "Are you talking about last night again? I don't think we need to go over it for a third time, do you?"
"We never talked about last night properly the first two times," he says.
We're sitting at the kitchen table, having just shared dinner together. The sun's only just starting to go down. That's why I'm enjoying a nice drink with my meal.
"You've been drinking that stuff a lot more these past few days since you've been with me. Am I really that much of a bad influence on you?"
Seeing the guilt in his expression, I do feel some guilt myself. "You're the one who came to my room that night with Dan, aren't you? Who introduced me to this stuff? Oh, don't look at me like that. I can't bear to see you upset with me." I place my hand on the table, reaching for him to meet me with his own hand. He moves to do so but then pulls back.
"Who were those older vampires you were hanging out with when I got back from the bathroom?" he says.
"Are you really going to act jealous of me making new friends? You'd think being in a five-way thing with me and three other men would mean you're comfortable with sharing."
"Those guys didn't seem like good vampires. They seemed like the types who spend a lot of time in the red-light zone. You don't want to get mixed up with those sorts of people."
"Like my father? Are you saying you know what's better for me than my own dad does? He's a vampire just like you. And so were those people."
Shaking his head, Wayne responds in a flat voice. "I'm not like those vampires. They were up to no good. You don't know what some of my kind are willing to do to a gorgeous young human like you. They can practically smell the freshness on your skin, how you've just come from Earth. You don't know much about this place yet. Please don't let yourself find out the bad things by doing it the hard way."
That was quite the little speech, I think to myself. Instead of answering, I sip my drink and maintain eye contact. There is a battle between us, fought through our unblinking gaze. Finally, I'm the one who looks away. "If you really care, I'm flattered I guess. Just stop trying to control me though, okay?"
"You know I care. Why is it always a question of my motives with you? One minute you're wild and carefree. The next you're withdrawn and paranoid. It's the Etwan juice getting to you. This stuff is not meant to be consumed every day like you have been."
"You don't complain when I get drunk on it and let you do whatever you like to my body," I remind him with a cheeky smile.
He ignores that remark, though I can tell he wants me right now. "It's going to get you in trouble."
"I was talking to them because I'm interested in vampires. Don't forget you are one of them too. Isn't it a good thing I like you so much?"
"I don't feel like I'm one of those people," he says.
It's not attractive listening to him complain like this. For some reason I feel myself wanting to be taken away from this situation. Staying with Wayne is beginning to become too much like being stuck in a boring marriage. It's not what being with multiple mates should be like. He stands up, eyes darting left and right, from one window to the next, then the door. If he were hunting dog, I swear he'd have one paw in the air and his tail extended.
"What's wrong?" I ask.
"Shh, I heard something. Who's there?"
Just like that, I'm taken back to my memories of our first time together in the forest. It was a much more innocent time for me