Almost Lovers (5 page)

"It's a good thing I'm here then, isn't it,"
he said it with a completely straight face, "I won't let anything
happen to you as long as I'm here," and I felt my knees give
slightly.

His arm slipped around my waist and he
pulled me close to him. His mouth was over mine in an instant and
he kissed me with gentle fervor. His other hand cupped my face and
I could feel my heart take off like a horse in a race. He loosened
his hold on me and let me steady myself.

My feet were killing me and now I was
feeling faint. I was a cheating hussy, that's what I was. I hadn't
kissed him back, I told myself. Not willingly. It had been a
reaction like scratching an itch, an itch that hadn't been
scratched in a long time. Oh god, I wonder if he could tell. I
could feel my cheeks flood with color.

"There is something about you, Prussia," he
whispered to me, "Something amazing. I can't even tell what it is
about you. You're …enchanting,"

I don't know if I could have felt any more
self-conscious just then. I tried to remember how it was I came to
be standing outside my apartment building after a date with a man I
barely knew when I had a boyfriend upstairs wondering where I was.
I didn't deserve this man. As wonderful as he was, he was going to
hate me when he found out what I was doing, had been doing all
along. I bit my lip. I looked up at him and tried to think of how I
would begin to tell him. Where would I start?

"Just the beginning," he said.

"Huh?" I asked. Maybe he really could read
my mind.

"This is only just the beginning," he
said.

I looked down and we stood awkwardly for a
moment.

"I should get inside," I said after a
moment.

He nodded his head and waited for me to
begin walking. I ran through scenario after scenario and now I was
about to find out what Robert had been doing while I was out on my
pretend-but-real-date. We rode the elevator to my floor in silence.
We shared awkward glances now and again. My heart only had a
moment's rest.

The bell for the elevator sounded. We were
at my floor and I could see Lydia's apartment door just ahead.
Around the corner was my apartment, and inside Robert would be
waiting. The pounding of my heart was loud in my ears.

It was so loud I could hardly hear anything.
For a minute, I thought about just staying in the elevator. I never
should have gone on this date. I never should have put myself in
this situation. I looked at Sebastian as we began to pass Lydia's
door.

I could hear the typical loud music coming
through her door and walls. If anyone could sleep through that it
was a miracle. She was throwing a party no doubt. I wonder if she
had stopped over to see Robert. By the time we got to my apartment
door I was starting to perspire. The nerves were balled up in my
stomach. Given a moment of privacy I would have hurled. Given a few
more minutes, it wouldn't matter if I was alone - I would hurl
regardless.

What happened next was not what I had
expected. I opened the door to the apartment and saw that it was
spotless. Not a single rose in the entire apartment. Perhaps Robert
had become so angered that he had thrown them all out.

"All the roses are gone," I said.

Even I could hear the sadness in my voice. I
had really liked them. It was kind of neat to have an apartment
stuffed to the point of bursting with fragrant and beautiful
roses.

"Yes," said Sebastian, "They are,"

Sebastian pulled his phone out of his pocket
and it looked like he was sending a text message to someone. I
walked into the living room and couldn't find a single rose petal,
not one. But what stood out to me the most was that something else
completely different was missing too. Robert.

I walked into the kitchen and checked the
counter. There was a note. It was from Robert, of course. It was
short.

"
Thought it was our date night. You
weren't here. Lydia stopped by. Going out. Don't wait up. ~
Robert
"

He didn't even put my name on it this time.
It was a note left for no one in particular. I let the note fall
out of my hand back onto the counter. There wasn't any mention of
the roses.

"Sorry," said Sebastian, "It looks like just
after we left to go to the party, the building manager let the
landscapers back in and they cleaned up the mess. They were trying
to be helpful, they didn't think you wanted to clean up all the
flowers...I hope you're not too disappointed,"

My heart sank even lower when his words
caught up with me. I didn't know what to think.

"How soon after we left?" I asked.

"They waited until we pulled away from the
curb and went right back in," said Sebastian, "I don't think it
took them more than 20 minutes to clean up. They are really
efficient,"

That meant that Robert hadn't even seen the
roses. He didn't know about the roses, my date, nothing. I didn't
know if I should be happy that Robert didn't know or upset that I
went on the date for no reason at all. At least I didn't make
things worse.

I picked the note back up and reread it. And
I read it again. Lydia. He was out with Lydia.

"Did Lydia see me at the party?" I asked
suddenly.

"Um, I'm not sure," said Sebastian, "I don't
think so. Why? What's wrong?"

I slumped over and leaned on my kitchen
counter, resting my forearms on the smooth, cold surface and
placing my face in my hands. I crumpled the note up in my hand. The
night was worse, of course it was. If Lydia had seen me at the
party she would tell Robert. I know she would tell Robert because
she gets her kicks from twisting the knife. Now, instead of using
this date to make Robert jealous I might have to deal with the
possibility that Robert will simply think I'm cheating.

"Prussia?" asked Sebastian, he was standing
next to me rubbing my back gently, "Did you have too much to
drink?"

"I don’t think so," I said, suddenly
realizing this was a perfect way to end the night quickly, “I don't
drink that often. Maybe my tolerance just isn't what it used to
be,"

I rubbed my stomach gently and tried to make
my best 'I'm going to puke on your expensive shoes, get back!' face
that I could. It didn't work, he just looked more concerned.

"You should get in bed and try to sleep it
off," he said, placing a steadying hand under one of my elbows and
trying to lead me to the bedroom, the bedroom where he would
clearly see a man's dirty clothing strewn about. I planted my feet
firmly, like a donkey that didn't want to move. He looked at me
with surprise. Perhaps I was too stubborn; perhaps that's a healthy
donkey level of stubbornness.

"I'm fine, really," I said, "But I should
get some sleep. You don't need to stay though. I just need a couple
of aspirin and some good sleep."

I gave him my best smile, with a side of
sick and a dash of puke face. He looked unsure so I tried a little
harder by adding a yawn.

"Well..." he said, "If you're sure,"

It worked, the yawn did it. I was relieved.
I tried to steer him toward the door as quickly as I could.

"I'm sure, I'm sure," I said, "Thank you so
much for a wonderful evening,"

I got him to the door and he actually put a
hand up to the door frame to stop me from pushing him out. A gentle
push of course.

"Wait," he said.

Perhaps I hadn't been as convincing as I had
thought. My pushing had been too aggressive. I closed my eyes a
moment in disappointment and then looked up at him with my best
not feeling great
look to see why he wasn't leaving.

"I would love to take you out again some
time," he said.

I wasn't expecting that. I had been a really
boring date. I mean, it wasn't like I was trying to impress him or
anything but most of the night I had ignored him and talked with
Victoria. And now I was sick, well pretending to be anyhow.

"Seriously?" I said.

I put my hand over my mouth. I hadn't meant
to sound so surprised. He laughed though. That’s good, laughing is
good.

“Of course,” he said.

Sebastian looked into my eyes, leaning
close, and I stopped trying to push him out the door.

“Oh,” I said, “I hadn’t really thought we
would…”

“No?” said Sebastian, “Not even, say,
coffee?”

I licked my lips and realized that I was
close enough that we shared the same oxygen. It got very warm. I
absentmindedly used my hand to fan my face for a moment. When I
realized I was doing it I gave a nervous giggle.

“Coffee?” I asked, “Well, sure, yeah. Coffee
sounds fine,”

“Great,” said Sebastian, walking out the
door and toward the elevator, “I’ll be by in the morning then,”

“In the morning?” I yelled into the hallway
after him. He was almost to the elevator, right in front of Lydia’s
door.

“9 a.m.,” he said, giving me a wink, “See
you in a wink,”

That was adorable and cheesy. I wasn’t even
mad. He disappeared around the corner and a few seconds later I
heard the elevator doors close and start their journey to the
ground floor. I closed the apartment door and got ready for bed. I
couldn’t keep up the charade, could I? I could always ignore the
door and hope Sebastian would just forget all about me. It’s not
like that wasn’t the norm after a first date, or even a second date
for that matter.

I grabbed a pile of pillows and blankets. I
barricaded myself into the sofa and watched television until I
passed out. The only thing I could think about was wondering how
much Lydia had seen, what she had said, and what was going to
happen to my relationship with Robert. I never should have tried to
go on that date. I shouldn’t have tried to make Robert jealous. I
hoped it was all a bad dream.

I stood at Prussia's kitchen counter,
looking into the cup of coffee with disdain. I didn't need to drink
it. I don't sleep. But I liked the idea of drinking it, even if it
tasted horrible. My human tastes had died some time ago. I still
loved a good steak though not prepared the same way anymore. I was
in Prussia's kitchen only as a precaution.

After this evening, every vampire in the
area would know that a human had been at the gathering tonight.
Anyone looking for her could have easily followed us both to her
apartment. Sneaking back into Prussia's apartment was a precaution.
If anyone recognized her they would strike immediately.

I paced her living room and noticed that
there was an abundance of blankets on the sofa. I just about spit
my bad tasting coffee out of my mouth. The mound of blankets and
pillows was not the result of an overwhelming amount of linens on
laundry day. There was a person in the middle of it, as the pile
shifted revealing a very attractive leg, Prussia's to be exact. I
stepped backwards as slowly as I could and set the mug of coffee on
the counter.

For being one of the stealthiest vampires on
the Queen's guard, I had gotten a little rusty over the years. A
lot rusty considering I had been in her apartment for well over an
hour and just now realized she wasn't actually in bed. I started
walking toward the door to let myself out.

I could easily watch most of the comings and
goings of the apartment building from my car. It would just be a
little cramped. When I reached the door I noticed something odd
about the way the door knob wobbled without actually touching it.
It took a split second to realize that someone was coming in.

I tried to remember if Prussia had mentioned
having a roommate. It was too late for that now. I was about to
find out what was on the other side of the door. Slowly the knob
turned and then the door was thrust open and I was face to face
with a woman holding a knife.

"Lydia," I hissed at her.

Her eyes went completely wide with surprise
as I'm sure mine did but the moment was over instantly and her face
set with determination. Stupid woman just couldn't let things be,
couldn't follow good advice. Here she was rushing straight into her
own death and she didn't even realize it.

Lydia drew her knife up and prepared to
strike. I didn't give her the chance. As soon as her eyes sharpened
into narrow darts I hit her in the middle of the chest with the
whole of my palm. She flew backwards into the hallway, her knife
skidding down the hallway and out of reach. I quickly followed into
the hall, closing the door as quietly as I could. It wouldn't be
much difference if the noise woke up Prussia but better than having
her wake up with two strangers in her apartment.

Lydia recovered quickly and was on me in
less than two seconds. Her nails were piercing and she sank them
into my forearms like a terrified and angry cat. She hissed at me
and let her fangs drop. The saliva on them trickled and for a
moment I thought she looked completely sexy in the
my-lover-is-bat-shit-crazy-and-looks-hot-attacking-me-randomly-to-get-into-a-stranger’s-apartment
kind of way.

She withdrew her nails and sank them in me
again. I stretched my arms out and tried to fling her off of me but
she had sunk them in deep. I winced as the pain rippled through me.
This was not what I had in mind for my evening.