face looked cleaner, better, more handsome even, without the hair to distract. He was wearing a blue T-shirt that made his eyes even bluer than they were. The color not of spring, but of summer skies, before the heat has gotten too hot, but you know its not May anymore.
The clothes hid what I knew, thaTHE looked even better out of them. It wasnt for lack of cuteness and desirability that Jason wasnt my sweetie. He was my friend, and I was his.
What about Perdita, Perdy? You and she are going steady, right?
He grinned at me. Going steady, youre so cute.
I frowned at him. What else do you call it?
Nathaniel kissed me on the forehead. You really are cute.
I moved away from him and scowled at them both. Im serious, what else do you call it? You arent just fuck buddies. She isnt a one-night stand. Shes a serious girlfriend. If its not going steady, what do you call it?
You make it sound like I gave her my class ring, Anita. Perdy and I were lovers, and she wanted it to be exclusive.
I thought you were exclusive.
Except for you, I was.
Wait, youre talking past tense. Are you saying you and Perdy broke up?
She gave him an ultimatum, Nathaniel said. He trailed his hand down my arm as he moved away. Ill get you coffee.
I went to the table and took the seat that Nathaniel had started in. What kind of ultimatum? I asked.
Jason stared into his coffee cup while he answered. She wanted me to stop having sex with Jean-Claude and Asher, and you.
Wait, you arent having sex with Jean-Claude and Asher, unless theres something I dont know.
He smiled at me. The look on your face, man. He raised his fingers in the Boy Scout salute. I am not now, nor have I ever been having sex with Jean-Claude or Asher.
Nathaniel set fresh coffee down in front of me and took a chair across the table on the other side of Jason, so wed both be able to look at him. It also meant we wouldnt be able to do more than hold hands, which was probably good; we tended to distract each other.
But she didnt believe you, I said.
Nope, she didnt. He took a sip of coffee.
Why wouldnt she believe you? I asked.
Im not sure.
If my feeding the ardeur off you through sex bugged your steady girl, you should have said something.
I am Jean-Claudes pomme de sang, his apple of blood. I am his blood donor, and I go where my master tells me to go. The ardeur is your version of a blood feed and youre his human servant. Jean-Claude shares me with Asher, his second-in-command, for blood and you for sex, and its his right to share me. I am his. I belong to him. Perdy knows that. She got kicked out of Cape Cod because she wanted to be more than just a blood donor to the master vampire there.
Samuel didnt say anything about that. In fact, his son, Sampson, said that Perdy was here to spy on him for his mother.
Yeah, but Sampson went home, and Perdy didnt.
Sampson had gone home because St. Louis got invaded by some of the scariest vampires in the world. Jean-Claude had thought it was a bad idea to risk getting the eldest son of his friend and ally killed. Besides, Sampson was a merman, and they arent big on offensive abilities, at least not this far inland. Perdy was a mermaid, too. Though Id never seen either of them turn all fishy. They just looked like people to me.
Perdy stayed for you, Nathaniel said.
Jason nodded. She wanted me to be hers. Shes very jealous, very possessive. Im just not into that.
So you have a woman who greets you like Anita greets me, but the rest doesnt work.
No, Nathaniel. She used to greet me sort of like that, but for weeks now its been, Where have you been? Who have you been with? You fucked the master again, didnt you? You fucked Asher, didnt you? You were with Anita again, werent you?
Ive put you on the back burner for feeding me, I said. I got the impression Perdy didnt want to share you that much, but I had no idea she thought you were doing more than just donating blood to the vampires.
Shes like crazy jealous, and she wont believe me when I tell her I havent been with anyone else. Its why I asked Jean-Claude to take me out