hair and bangs that curved into a point between amber-colored eyes, turned and offered a finger wave. Katherine, her light brown hair piled into a high knot, turned back and smiled.
"Merit," I said, waving back.
"They know who you are, hot shit. And you obviously know Connor and Kelley," Lindsey added when I'd settled myself, a pillow between my back and the wall, legs crossed at the ankles, tiny, glowing reality television show half a dozen feet away.
Connor glanced back and grinned. "Thank God you're here. I was the youngest person in the room by at least fifty years."
"Hate to break it to you, Sweet Tits," Lindsey said, "but you aren't a person anymore."
She called for a piece of pizza, and the box was passed up. Eyes on the television, she grabbed a slice, then handed over the box. I settled it on my lap and tucked into a piece, pausing only long enough to make sure it was covered in meat. Bingo. While it was barely warm, and consisted of an offensive New York hybrid crust that could have used two more inches of dough and sauce and cheese, it was better than a kick in the face.
Malik leaned toward me. "You heard she's been released?"
In the two months that I'd been a Cadogan vampire, this was the first solo conversation I'd had with Malik. And while we were on the subject, it was also the first time I'd seen him in jeans and a polo shirt.
I swallowed a mouthful of Canadian bacon, cheese, and crust. "Yes," I whispered back.
"Ethan told me yesterday."
He nodded, his expression inscrutable, then turned back to the television.
As first conversations went, it wasn't much. But I took it for concern, and decided I was satisfied with it.
A commercial came on and the room erupted in sound, Margot, Lindsey, Connor, Katherine, and Kelley rehashing what they'd seen, who was "winning," and who'd cry first when the results came in. I wasn't entirely sure what the contest was, much less the prize, but since vampires apparently delighted in human drama, I settled in and tried to catch up.
"We're rooting for the bitchy one," Lindsey explained, nibbling the crust on her pizza slice.
"I thought they were all bitchy," I noted.
After a few minutes of commercials, Malik began the process of getting off the bed.
"Is it me?" I asked lightly. "I can shower."
He chuckled as he took to his feet, the glow of the television glinting off the medal around his neck, and something else - a thin silver crucifix that dangled from a thin silver chain. So much for that myth.
"It's not you," Malik said. "I need to get back." He began to step between the vampires, who were completely unmoved by his effort not to step on them.
"Down in front!"
"Out of the way, vampire," Margot said, tossing a handful of popcorn in his direction.
"Let's move it."
He waved them off good-naturedly, then disappeared out the door.
"What did he have to get back to?" I asked Lindsey.
"Hmm?" she absently asked, gaze on the television.
"Malik. He said he had to get back. What did he have to get back to?"
"Oh," Lindsey said. "His wife. She lives here with him. They've got a suite on your floor."
I blinked. "Malik's married?" It wasn't the "Malik" part that surprised me, but the
"married" part. That a vampire was married seemed kind of odd. I mean, from what I'd seen so far, the vampire lifestyle was pretty comparable to dorm life. Living in a would-be vampire frat house didn't seem conducive to a long-term relationship.
"He's always been married," Lindsey said. "They were turned together." She glanced over at me. "You live down the hall from them. It's not real neighborly of you not to say hello."
"I'm not real neighborly," I admitted, recognizing that Malik was the only other vampire that I knew had a room on the second floor, and I'd only learned that four seconds ago.
"We need a mixer," I decided.
Lindsey huffed. "What are we, sophomores? Mixers are excuses to get drunk and make out with people you hardly know." She slowly lowered her gaze to the back of Connor's head and smiled lasciviously. "On the other hand..."
"On the other hand, you'd break Luc's heart. Maybe let's skip the mixer for now."
"You're such a mommy."
I snorted. "Can I ground you?"
"Unlikely," she said, drawing out the word. "Now shut up and watch the bitchy humans."
I stayed until the show was done, until the pizza was done, until the vampires on the floor stood and stretched