broken bones. And he had bloodlust and insane noise levels to deal with on top of that. Why would he put himself through all this?
He either truly loved teaching, or he was charging a lot more for these lessons than Jolene would admit. The kids clapped, marking the end of the teacher’s speech. I tried to bolt towards their bags as subtly as possible, but I was sure it still looked like bolting. The twins scampered across the floor to me, their hair plastered across their foreheads.
“Okay, kids, let’s go get in the car,” I said, handing their cases to each of them. I eyed the vampire from across the room as he talked to students, glancing up at me every few seconds.
“We have to pack up our instruments carefully,” Joe told me, his expression solemn. “Dad says if they get damaged, he’ll have to sell a kidney to replace them.”
“I still say he could get more for a lobe of his liver,” Janelyn said, sliding her bow into its compartment.
“Janelyn, that is creepy,” Joe told her. Janelyn shrugged.
“Okay, great, be responsible and respectful of your belongings, but let’s get out of here as quickly as possible. All right?” I said. “First one back gets extra fries!”
I looked back over my shoulder, but couldn’t see the vampire. I’d lost him in the shifting sea of parents and kids.
“Hello, you must be the McClaine twins’ cousin,” that same smooth voice sounded over my other shoulder and it was all I could do to not shriek. It pricked my pride as a predator that he’d been able to sneak up on me. I was having a really off night. “They were very excited you were coming to see them tonight.”
“Tylene McClaine. Just call me Ty. Everybody does,” I said, laughing in a breathless way that made me want to facepalm.
“Alexandre Bonfils,” he said, glancing down at my hand. I remembered something from an old movie my aunt Maybelline loved, some corseted historical romance where the heroine was highly offended that a man reached for her hand, instead of waiting for her to extend it for a kiss across the knuckles. “But you should call me ‘Alex.’”
“Nice to meet you.” Smiling, I extended my right hand and was grateful that he stuck with shaking it. If he’d kissed my knuckles, I’d probably get tackled by a jealous mom in the parking lot. Parking lots could be very dangerous places in the Hollow.
“Truly, I’m glad to see you again,” he said. “I was afraid I might never have the opportunity.”
If he was this charming towards everyone…he was really good at it. I probably deserved to be bitten at this point and I didn’t even care. I was so used to guys my age behaving like, well, guys my age. He didn’t accuse me of running off on him or trying to dodge him. And then, that put me on edge, because that was just not what I was used to from guys I’d interacted with.
“I had to get home, and you seemed determined to finish your conversation with Mrs. Stubblefield,” I said.
He pressed those full lips together into a frown. “Yes, those boys didn’t seem to understand that they’d done anything wrong, or that they should apologize…or at least try not to do it again.”
I scoffed. “Kids today. I blame the video games that should be parenting them.”
He didn’t laugh. Oh, no. How was I making this situation more awkward with stupid dad jokes? That shouldn’t be possible!
“How old are you?” he asked. I lifted an eyebrow and he winced. “That sounded less sinister in my head. I’m asking for ethical reasons, not legal. I can’t tell human ages anymore.”
“Does it matter?” I asked, tilting my head.
He nodded emphatically. “Well, yes, if you’re a teenager, I’m going to have to change the way I speak to you and look at you, not to mention my thoughts around you. I don’t want to be…what do my students call it? A creepster.”
“I can appreciate that, I think. But it’s “creeper,’ if you don’t want the kids to make fun of you,” I told him. “And I’m twenty-four. How old are you?”
“Much older than twenty-four,” he said. “Hmmm, still sounds sinister. Maybe we should avoid age, as a topic?”
“I could do that.” I snickered. “So, what were you doing in the library? It’s not exactly a hot spot for the vampire underworld.”
“The library has a remarkable selection of classical sheet music, believe it or not. Some donation