the tips.
Becky and I owed more than we came with, and I hadn't had a chance yet to get back to Alexander.
Alexander finally found us at the bar, exhausted and spent.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, shocked. He and Sebastian sat down on two empty stools. I was pouring a cola from the soda gun; my hair was falling in my face and my charcoal-colored eyeliner was smearing in the heat.
"What would you like?" I asked him. "How about a Serial Killer?"
"We were looking everywhere for you," he said, concerned. "You didn't answer your phone."
"Oh, sorry! I didn't hear it ring," I apologized. "It must be in my purse. I had no idea how hard this job can be. There are three of us here, and we still can't keep up.""Why isn't Romeo working?" Sebastian asked.
"He is. Look," I said. Romeo and Luna were lost in each other's gaze. "Isn't that sweet?"
"That's what this is all about?" Alexander said, scrutinizing them.
"I'm glad she has her fangs on someone else," Sebastian said, his blond dreads bobbing as he turned her way. "That girl is cook-a-loo - !"
"She is not," I chimed in. "Well, sort of. I mean, she wanted you," I said to Alexander, "and then you," I said to Sebastian. "And you both rejected her at the altar. How should she feel?"
Both guys thought for a moment before Alexander spoke. "What do you know about Romeo?" he asked me as I wiped off my hands with the bar rag.
"I know he isn't you. And to me that's all he has to be. Besides, why are you worried about who she dates?"
"I know he isn't you. And to me that's all he has to be. Besides, why are you worried about who she dates?" Alexander shot me a look. "I just want you to be matchmaking for the right reason."
"I am," I replied. "I want her to be happy so she doesn't try to steal you away. I think that is the best reason one could have."
"Why would she steal me away?" He leaned in close and took my hand. "Don't I have a choice in this? Don't you trust me?" he asked.
I trusted a lot of things - I was confident with my style, taste, and opinions. And I was secure with my relationship with Alexander. However, Luna, who was sneaky to say the least, had known Alexander before I did and had grown up with his family in Romania. And now that she was inhabiting Dullsville and living in the Crypt, which was only a few miles away from the Mansion, she was too close for comfort. I didn't trust either her or her brother, and without Sebastian as the object of her romantic attentions she would surely aim her affection toward my true love, Alexander, once again.
nt size"I don't trust her," I said.
He pushed my sweaty hair away from my face and took the drink from my hand and placed it on the bar.
"You did all that so we could be together?" he asked, massaging my cola-sticky hand.
"Uh-huh."
"That might be one of the sweetest things in the world," he said. "But don't worry - it will take more than pink eyelashes to keep me away from you." d
Chapter 2 Believe It or Not
I still can't believe Alexander is a real vampire," Becky said the following day at Evans Park. We met at the swings, our usual outdoor hangout. No one was around, and we could talk freely about the Underworld.
Becky had a revulsion to my favorite haunts - cemeteries - and the swings always brought back memories of childhood. And I loved that swinging as high as I could gave me the closest feeling I ever had to flying.
"It's really hard to imagine that it is true," she continued, trying to keep up with me.
"I know," I shouted proudly. "And there's more. Jagger and Luna. Scarlet and Onyx. And Romeo..."
"And Sebastian?" she asked.
"Yes. Cool, isn't it? And to think they are all living here in Dullsville."
"It is so overwhelming. But most of all, Alexander."
Becky was full of questions about the Underworld. And even if I'd already answered them, she wanted me to tell her again.
Becky dragged her white Keds into the dirt, and I followed suit with my untied combat boots. "When did you know?" she asked as I caught my breath. "I mean really know, like I do now?"
"I suspected when I first met him - especially because the people around town were saying his