Vampires and Vixens (Psy-Vamp) (7 page)

Hannah tried, unsuccessfully, to stifle
her laughter. “You’re half right,” she called out.

When she finally got her laughter under
control she turned to Nathaniel. He was watching her with a strange look in his
eyes. He shook his head, as if to clear his thoughts, and smiled.

“You’re so full of life,” he said simply.
“I was really hoping we could have lunch and spend the rest of the afternoon
together.”

Hannah looked over her shoulder. Lydia
was already gone, most likely moping in the car again. “I really need to go
after her. I’m sorry.”

“I have to go out of town next weekend.
I’m taking my aunt to the opera. Are you free tomorrow?”

Hannah looked disappointed. “No, I have
a paper to work on and I promised to have lunch with some friends.”

Now he looked disappointed. “Maybe you
could make time one evening in the middle of the week?”

She hesitated. Her schedule was pretty
hectic during week days. “Maybe we could meet for lunch on Monday?”

“Perfect! I’ll call you tomorrow night
to make arrangements.” With that settled he leaned in and brushed his lips
against hers.

With a sigh, Hannah stepped back. At
least this time she only had to wait a couple of days to see Nathaniel again.

It had been a long week, and Hannah was
really looking forward to her girls' night out with Trish and Caitlin. Three
people were out sick at the daycare so she’d been forced to work extra hours.
As a result she’d only had time for a short lunch with Nathaniel on Monday.

Going to see local bands play at a club
in San Francisco was exciting. Hannah had always liked most genres of music so
she hadn’t even asked what type of music the bands would be playing until they
were on their way to the show. They stood in line outside of the club with
about fifty other people. They’d arrived early so they were near the front of
the line.

As more people crowded around outside,
Hannah started to question her choice of clothing. She had opted for a black
tank dress. In retrospect it seemed a little conservative. At least she’d
picked the right color.

Caitlin wore a skin tight black mini-dress
that laced up the back. The spaghetti straps showed off her tiger tattoo. On
her feet, she had a pair of black pumps that wrapped around her ankles and
looked too high to be comfortable. Caitlin was already tall, but she was around
six-feet-tall with the shoes on. Trish wore black jeans, high-heeled
boots, and a black shirt that looked like a large cat had used its claws to
shred the back.

Hannah’s mother had called her four
times since she’d left the house. Each time, Hannah sent the call to voicemail.
After spending so many years hoping that her mother would call, it was strange
to find herself hoping that she would stop calling. Hannah was enjoying her new
life. She felt confident and empowered. She didn’t want to talk to the one
woman who always managed to make her feel like she was doing something wrong.

“Who are you avoiding?” Trish asked.

Hannah gave her an uncomfortable smile.
“My mother.”

Trish and Caitlin both gave her
sympathetic nods.

“My mom called while I was trying to get
ready. I told her I would call her back tomorrow and she hung up on me.” Caitlin
let out an exaggerated sigh. “We talked for nearly an hour yesterday and she’s
mad because I don’t have time to talk today.”

“At least your moms don’t live close
enough to drop by unannounced,” Trish said. “Of course my mom does bring food
every time she stops by, so it’s not too bad.”

“Your mom is a great cook,” Caitlin
agreed. She and Trish were roommates. “She also insists on cleaning when she’s
over. I’m not sure there’s any good reason to complain about your mom.”

Trish smiled. “She is pretty terrific. I
just wish she’d stop worrying about every little thing. She’s afraid I don’t
eat enough, don’t floss enough, don’t lock both locks on the door every time,
and the list goes on.”

“Moms just worry because they love us,”
Caitlin said.

“Not mine,” Hannah said. “I admit that
I’m kind of jealous of your moms.”

“Are you and your mom fighting?’ Trish
asked. “Is she upset about you moving so far away from home?”

Hannah shook her head. “I don’t think my
mom has admitted to her friends that the wedding is off. She keeps calling me
to ask if I’m ready to behave like an adult. Sometimes she calls to talk about
the wedding plans. Some days she calls just to tell me how disappointed she is,
and to tell me that she is ashamed to call me her daughter. That’s always been
her favorite line when she wants me to do something.”

“Wow!” Trish looked like she wanted to
say more, but she just kept shaking her head.

“Didn’t you breakup with your fiancé
months ago?” Caitlin asked.

“I did, but my mother is pretty sure
that if she makes me feel bad enough I’ll come home and marry Scott. The
wedding was a very big social event for my mother and she was getting a lot of
attention because of it. Apparently it was selfish of me to put my happiness
ahead of her social life.” Hannah couldn’t keep the bitterness out of her voice.
“When I was a kid they sent me to boarding schools. I would go months without
hearing from her, and I used to wish that she would call me. Now she calls me
all of the time, and I wish she’d just stop. She never even asks how I’m doing.
What kind of mother doesn’t even ask how her daughter is doing? Lately I feel
like I’m about to snap when I talk to her.”

“I wouldn’t blame you if you did,” Trish
said. “Maybe you should just have it out with her.”

“Let’s talk about something else,”
Hannah suggested. “I’m not letting my mother ruin my night out.”

“What the hell is wrong with Lyd?”
Caitlin asked.

Lydia was back to sulking and sleeping
all day. They’d tried to convince her to come to the show, but she’d refused.

Trish piped in. “She won’t even return
my calls most days. She’s been completely standoffish, and I think she’s going
to get dropped from all of her classes.”

Hannah shrugged. “She sleeps most of the
time. I think she’s taking the breakup with Dominic really hard.” Lydia had
been angry with Hannah, and even angrier with Nathaniel. She hadn’t wanted to
talk about it. Nathaniel had told her later that Dominic had ended their
relationship. Noah had assured her that it was a good thing and Lydia would be
herself again soon.

“Maybe she has mono,” Trish suggested.

“No fever, no mono,” Caitlin said.

“Maybe she’s clinically depressed,” was
Trish’s next suggestion.

“They only dated for a week.” Caitlin
sounded irritated. “Lydia has dated guys for much longer than that and gotten
over them faster than this.”

“She’s right,” Trish agreed. “It’s not
like her to get so into a guy, especially one she barely knows.”

Lydia's behavior didn't make sense to
Hannah either, but she figured that she just didn’t know Lydia as well as she’d
thought. Hearing it from Trish and Caitlin made her worry more. “I wish she
would talk to me about it, but she’s completely shut me out.”

“I feel you sister,” Caitlin grumbled.

“How come you aren’t out with that
hottie you’ve been seeing?” Trish asked.

Hannah felt herself blush and was glad
for the darkness. “Nathaniel had a family obligation. He’s going to the opera
with his aunt.”

Trish shuddered. “Opera?”

“There is nothing wrong with opera,”
Caitlin objected.

When the doors opened, they were lucky
enough to get one of the few tables in the club. Caitlin went off right away to
get drinks for them without asking what anyone wanted.

“Oh my God!” Trish squealed. “Professor
Christiansen!”

When Hannah turned around, she saw Noah
coming in with one of Nathaniel’s cousins. Hannah couldn’t remember his name,
but she was sure she’d seen him before. He was the only one that wore glasses
and he seemed somewhat awkward.

Noah made his way to the table, looking
a little surprised to see them. “Hi, Trish! Hey, Hannah! What are you ladies
doing here? This doesn’t seem like your type of venue.”

“You didn’t tell me you were taking a
class with Professor Christiansen,” Trish said, punching her lightly on the
arm. It was obvious that Trish felt a little nervous in Noah’s presence.

“I’m not. Noah is Nathaniel’s brother,”
Hannah explained. She had to admit that she was just as surprised to see Noah
at the show. “I didn’t take you as a psychobilly fan.”

He looked down at his Tiger Army t-shirt,
and smiled. “I have kind of eclectic tastes. One of my students is playing
stand up base tonight. Have you met Isaiah?” Noah gestured to Nathaniel’s
cousin with the glasses.

Isaiah smiled shyly, and ducked his
head. Isaiah had longish hair that fell over his eyes occasionally. He looked
more out of place in the club than Hannah. Of course she got the impression
that Isaiah felt more comfortable in front of a computer than he did in a club.

“Diet Coke.” Caitlin set a cup in front
of Trish. “Tokyo Tea,” Caitlin added setting a drink in front of Hannah.

Hannah eyed the drink suspiciously. “I’m
not much of a drinker.”

“Just sip it like any other tea,”
Caitlin said as she took her seat. She noticed they had company and gave both
men a curt nod. “Where’s your brother?” she asked Isaiah.

“Parking the car,” he answered.

“Just great,” Caitlin grumbled
sarcastically.

“I didn’t know that you were friends
with any of Nathaniel’s cousins.” Hannah said in genuine surprise.

“Justin is premed too,” Caitlin
explained. “He’s a total prick. No offense,” she said to Isaiah.

“He really is,” Noah agreed with a nod.

“Then why are you here with him?” Hannah
asked.

“My truck wouldn’t start. Isaiah said
he’d drive me, and then Justin ended up in the car too. It all just snowballed.
No offense, Isaiah,” he said with an apologetic smile.

Isaiah was no longer paying attention to
any of them. There were no extra chairs so he leaned against the table and
fiddled with his phone.

Hannah sipped her drink as the first
band began to play. Eventually, Isaiah’s brother made it into the club. Justin
looked like a clean-cut version of Isaiah. He was the same height, same
build, but he had short hair and no glasses. He looked a little uptight for the
club in his black silk shirt, and dress pants. Hannah noticed that he kept
staring at Caitlin. At one point Caitlin noticed too and flipped him off.

Hannah wasn’t sure when her drink was
emptied or replaced, but she was aware that she was feeling more than a little
tipsy. She must not have been the only person feeling more daring, because a
mosh pit had formed at the front of the club. People were slamming into each
other with wild abandon. Caitlin set down her drink, and made her way to the
front.

“Stupid woman is going to get herself
killed,” she heard Justin yell. He followed Caitlin into the mosh pit.

Hannah could just make out Caitlin’s
elbow as it slammed into Justin’s face, knocking him to the ground.

Noah laughed so hard that he spit beer
on Hannah. He tried to stop laughing and apologize, but he just laughed harder.

Hannah was tipsy enough that she was
more amused than annoyed. That didn’t stop her from leaning over, grabbing the
front of his shirt, and threatening him. “If you spit beer at me again, I’ll
take you up there and knock your ass on the floor too.”

A mischievous glint lit Noah’s eyes. “Don’t
tempt me, sweetheart,” he said into her ear. “You aren’t really the mosh pit
type.”

“Is that so?”

He nodded and took another swig of beer.

She got up and walked toward the front.
A stunned Noah followed close behind. She was about to lose her nerve, when
Caitlin spotted her and dragged her in. Hannah felt people slam into her body
from all sides. The music was loud. Strobe lights flashed every once in a
while. At first she felt disoriented. Almost every sense was assaulted. She
smelled the alcohol, sweat, and perfume from the people around her. She heard
the loud music and the shouts of the crowd. The strobe lights combined with the
sheer size of the crowd made it impossible to focus on just one thing. She felt
the people crashing into her from all directions.

The whole experience was like a drug.
Soon she found herself slamming her body into the people around her. She’d
never felt so alive! Adrenaline rushed through her body. Then she felt herself
being lifted by the waist from behind.

Noah was doing his best to drag her out
of the fray. It wasn’t easy. He put her down as soon as they made it out. She
shoved him back in, and then crashed into him hard. Someone hit her hard from
behind and she went down to her knees. Noah lifted her up again, this time over
his shoulder, and carried her all the way back to the table.

“That was amazing!” she shouted. “I want
back in!”

“You’re drunk,” Noah said. It was then
that she noticed blood coming from his nose.

“Oh! You’re hurt.”

He grabbed a drink napkin and put it on
his nose. “Some drunk girl head butted me when I was trying to save her crazy
backside. My brother would never forgive me if you got hurt.”

She ducked her head, feeling a little
guilty. “I’m really sorry about your nose.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it,” he assured
her. “I’ve gotten much worse in a mosh pit.”

Caitlin came back to the table looking
more animated than Hannah had ever seen her. The last band had finished playing
so they could talk without yelling. “That was so awesome! I had no idea you
were such a maniac, Hannah! Trish is too much of a wimp to mosh.”

Trish stuck out her tongue. “I’m not
into pain.”

“I don’t like receiving pain,” Caitlin
explained. Then she pointed a finger at Justin who was scowling from his seat
beside Isaiah. His left eye was bruised and swollen. “I like inflicting pain.”

Justin looked like he couldn’t decide
whether he wanted to strangle Caitlin or kiss her. When Caitlin turned her back
on him, he smacked her ass hard and stormed out of the club. She nearly toppled
over from the impact of his hand.

“Prick!” Caitlin shouted after him.