Vampires and Vixens (Psy-Vamp) (8 page)

Trish had her hand on Isaiah’s arm and
she kept telling various men that she was with someone. Isaiah didn’t seem to
notice the exchanges, or her hand on his arm.

Hannah made a grab for her drink, but
Noah moved it to the other side of the table. She stuck her tongue out at him. He
stared at her. It was easy to see why she fascinated his brother. In some ways
he wished that his brother hadn’t met her first. He turned away, feeling
guilty.

“We should get going before Justin
drives off and leaves us here,” Noah said trying to make a quick getaway.

Hannah looked disappointed. It was
obvious that she didn’t really want the evening to end. “Okay,” she said. “I’m
glad we ran into you.” Her voice was a little slurred.

“How are you ladies getting home?” Noah
asked.

Trish raised a hand. “Designated driver
at your service.”

“Well, then I guess I’ll see you later,”
Noah said a little awkwardly.

Isaiah tucked his phone into his pocket,
mumbled a quick goodbye, and followed Noah out of the club.

Noah answered the door in worn grey
sweat pants and a white t-shirt. His hair was wet and it looked like he
had just taken a shower. “This is a pleasant surprise, but I think you might be
a little overdressed for my humble abode.”

Hannah smiled. Noah always made her
smile. They had lunch together once or twice a week, and he’d helped her raise
her Statistics grade. In the month that she’d known him, Noah had become one of
her closest friends.

“Nathaniel is changing his shirt before
we leave, so I decided to stop by and say hi.” She tried to sound nonchalant
about the visit.

Noah crossed his arms over his chest,
and gave her a suspicious look. “I don’t buy it, so you may as well confess
your real reason for dropping by. Or did you just want to hear me tell you how
beautiful you look in that dress?”

She loved the dress. It looked like the
Marilyn Monroe dress from
The Seven Year Itch
except it was a dark shade
of teal. “Trish loaned it to me.” She gave a little twirl so the skirt
fluttered out.

“What’s the hidden agenda?” he asked
again.

“Why would you think I have a hidden
agenda?” she asked sweetly.

“You have that hand in the cookie jar
expression.”

“Well, there is something I wanted to
talk to you about,” she admitted with a meddlesome twinkle in her eyes.

He smiled triumphantly. “I knew it!”

Her gaze moved from him to the bookshelf
at the back of the living room. “I was just wondering what you thought of my
friend Trish.”

His eyes widened in shock. “Are you
trying to play matchmaker for me?”

“Why not? I know that you don’t have a
girlfriend and Trish is really great. I have Nathaniel and I want you to have
someone too.”

He sighed. “I appreciate what you’re
trying to do, but I don’t like being the victim of matchmaking schemes. Trish
is not the right person for me.”

“I’m just trying to be a good friend to
you.”

He gazed at her with his usual warmth. “I
know, and it’s really sweet of you to worry about me.”

She studied him for a moment. “Are you
gay, Noah?” She placed her hands on his arms which were crossed in front of his
chest, and spoke in a supportive voice. “No matter what, you’re still my
friend.”

He uncrossed his arms, gripped her
shoulders, and stared down at her. “It’s tempting to tell you yes, so you’ll
stop trying to fix me up with your friends, but I get the feeling that you’ll
start trying to find the perfect man for me then.”

Her guilty expression was answer enough.

“I’m not gay. I just prefer to find my
own dates. Can you understand that?”

She sighed, and then nodded. Her face
lit up as an idea came to her. “Hey, Nathaniel has to go out of town next
weekend. Would you like to do something on Friday?”

“Sure,” he said. “Just let me know the
details.”

“You know, I could bring Trish on
Friday,” she said casually at the door.

“That’s a great idea,” he said with
feigned enthusiasm. “Then you won’t need me to go with you.”

“Fine, I won’t try to set you up. It
will be a group thing with Trish, Caitlin and Lydia.”

His lips curled into a devilish grin. “Four
women, and me, that sounds like something from my Christmas list. I may have to
write a letter to Penthouse.”

Hannah placed her hands on her hips and
shook her head. “Very funny, Noah.”

“You said it yourself, I don’t have a
girlfriend so these kinds of fantasies keep me going.” He tweaked her nose. “So
where are you off to tonight?”

“Nathaniel is taking me to dinner in
Monterey.”

“Really?” He sounded surprised. “Have
you and Nathaniel talked about your families?”

“A little. I haven’t told him as much as
I’ve told you, but I will,” she assured him.

“Both of you should really talk about
these things,” he said.

“You’re just like the overprotective big
brother that I never had.” She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.

A sick feeling came over Noah. He did
feel an obligation to protect Hannah, but his feelings for her were far from
brotherly. That realization made him feel like a real jerk. He cleared his
throat. “If things keep going the way they are I’ll be your brother-in-law.”

His casual statement obviously made her
uncomfortable. “I’ve only been dating Nathaniel for a month. I think it’s a
little early to talk about marriage.”

He studied her face. “Things are going
well with my brother?” he asked cautiously.

“Of course,” she said too quickly. “I’m
very happy with Nathaniel. He’s wonderful.”

Nathaniel had come up behind her so
silently that she nearly jumped out of her skin when he put his hand on her
bare shoulder.

She spun around and put her hand over
her heart.

“Sorry,” he said sheepishly. “I didn’t
mean to startle you.”

“If you do that too often, I’ll have to
put a bell on you,” Hannah teased.

Noah laughed, but Nathaniel just looked
confused. “I don’t think I’d like wearing a bell, so I suppose I should avoid
startling you.”

Hannah wrapped her arms around
Nathaniel’s waist and hugged him tightly. “I think you would look very cute
with a bell.”

“Maybe a cow bell,” Noah suggested.

Nathaniel finally caught on to the fact
that they were teasing him. He kissed the top of Hannah’s head. “We should go
soon.”

“I’ll see you on Friday, Noah. Oh, and
don’t forget our lunch date Wednesday,” she said as she turned to walk away.

Nathaniel held her hand as they walked
to his car. He wore a black dinner jacket with a teal shirt. After seeing her
dress, he had insisted that they stop by his house so he could change into the
teal shirt, because it complimented her dress. The man loved clothes. As usual,
dark sunglasses masked his eyes.

He opened the passenger door of the 1966
Shelby Cobra for her. Nathaniel had several cars. He loved cars more than he
loved clothes, and this one was his favorite.

“So what did Noah say?” Nathaniel asked
as he slid behind the wheel.

She didn't look at him. “He wasn’t
thrilled.”

“I tried to warn you,” he gloated
playfully.

“I haven’t given up yet.” Determination
filled her eyes. “We’re going out on Friday and Trish is coming with us. Before
you ask, yes Noah knows.” She smiled proudly.

“How did you manage that?”

She shrugged. “I made it a group thing
with Trish, Caitlin, and Lydia, so it won’t technically be a date. We all met
up at that club so he’s been out with them before.”

“Ah, yes, the night that you nearly
broke Noah’s nose.” He seemed very amused. “You’re a good friend to my brother,
but Trish isn’t right for him.”

She decided not to argue. “I’ve never
been to Monterey before.”

“You’ll love it,” he assured her. “The
restaurant is one of my favorites. It’s so close to the beach that you can hear
the waves breaking most nights.”

Soft music played from the car’s stereo
and filled the silence. Nathaniel liked classical music and some easy
listening, so she knew what to expect in his car. He always preferred to focus
on driving. As a result, they didn’t talk much on the drive there.

It was another way he differed from
Noah. When she climbed into Noah’s truck she never knew what type of music he
might be playing. He listened to everything. On their last lunch date he’d been
playing music from a local band called Limnus. The time before that he’d been
playing The Black Eyed Peas, and changed to John Lennon for the trip back to
the campus. The only time Noah was quiet during a drive was when something was
bothering him. Very little seemed to bother Noah.

The restaurant was very upscale. Nathaniel
always took her to places her parents would approve of. It was probably why she
felt comfortable with him. His world was similar to what she had grown up in.
It was safe and familiar.

Groups of people, dressed in their
finest, stood outside waiting to get in. Older couples held hands and
reminisced. Younger couples talked of the dreams they had for the future. Some
couples spoke, in hushed tones, of guilt and fears of being discovered. Love
was definitely in the air, be it old love, new love, or forbidden love.

A man immediately made his way to the
back of the crowd and shook Nathaniel’s hand.

“It’s good to see you again Mr. Draksel.
I hope that you have been well.”

“Very well, thank you.” Nathaniel’s tone
was formal.

Hannah suddenly remembered Noah’s interaction
with Maggie and it made her smile. She tried to imagine him here and it almost
made her giggle. If she was dating Noah they would be back at his house, eating
pizza and watching really bad movies. That thought made Hannah frown. Why on
Earth was she thinking about what it would be like if she was dating Noah?

“I will show you to your table now.” The
man motioned toward the back of the restaurant, and that snapped Hannah out of
her strange thoughts.

Nathaniel nodded and then turned his
attention to Hannah. His entire demeanor was still stiff, as he held out his
arm.

She took his arm and slipped into the
familiar role.

“Thank you,” Hannah said politely, as
Nathaniel pulled out her chair.

“Would you like your usual wine, Mr.
Draksel?”

“Yes,” he replied as he took his own
seat.

“I will get it now and have the chef
prepare your food immediately.” The man hurried away from the table.

She smiled at Nathaniel. “You must come
here often.”

“My father has a home nearby and this is
his favorite restaurant,” he replied. “The owner always takes good care of us.”

“Is your father in the area now?” she
asked mainly to make conversation.

He thought for a moment. “It’s possible.
I haven’t spoken to him in a couple of weeks and he does travel a lot.”

The owner returned to pour their wine.

When he left, Nathaniel continued. “Perhaps
we can arrange a time when you can meet my father, and I can meet your
parents.”

“Hannah?” At the sound of her mother’s
voice Hannah’s head whipped around. She was certain that she was hearing things,
but no such luck. Her mother stood right behind her, dressed in a conservative
black evening dress with a white bolero jacket. Her purse was tucked tightly
under her arm. As always, every strand of auburn hair was perfectly in place.
Her green eyes held no emotion at all. “I thought you were attending college on
the East Coast. Whatever are you doing in California?” her mother asked in a
passionless voice.

Hannah rolled her eyes. “I’m living with
Lydia in California.”

“Don’t roll your eyes, it’s very
unattractive,” her mother scolded quietly. “Scott asks about you every day.”

“I seriously doubt that,” Hannah
muttered.

“Don’t take that tone with me. Aren’t
you going to introduce me to the young man?”

Hannah did not reply.

Nathaniel stood and bowed. “Nathaniel
Draksel, and it is an honor to meet you, Ma’am.”

“Victoria Montgomery. Are you any
relation to Andrei and Phoebe Draksel?” Hannah could tell her mother had
already guessed the relationship before approaching them. It was likely the
only reason she was speaking to them now.

“Yes, they are my Uncle and Aunt from my
father’s side,” he replied.

Hannah continued to eye her mother
suspiciously. There was no doubt in her mind that the woman had purely selfish
motives.

“Don’t make that face, Hannah,” her
mother ordered harshly and then turned her attention back to Nathaniel. “I
apologize for her behavior. She does know how to behave like a lady. I really
don’t know what gets into her sometimes.”

Nathaniel’s features hardened into a
mask of irritation. “Hannah always behaves like a lady.”

“You don’t need to defend me to her,
Nathaniel,” Hannah said confidently, and turned her attention to her mother. “How
would you know whether or not I can behave like a lady? You’ve made every
attempt to ignore me for as long as I can remember.” There was no way to
disguise the bitterness in her voice.

“Where is this hostility coming from?”
Her mother’s voice was indignant, as she tapped her purse with gloved fingers.

“Why are you here?” Hannah asked.

Her mother looked confused. “I’m having
dinner with a friend.”

“Not in Monterey,” Hannah interrupted. “Why
are you at this table? You have never shown any interest in me, so I assume
this has something to do with Nathaniel’s family.”

Her mother’s icy composure slipped, and
her face flushed slightly. “I am your mother, and you will not use that tone of
voice with me.”

“Can we please skip the games,” Hannah
tried to sound bored. It was hard to pull off. “You sent me away to school as
soon as you could manage it. Even when I was around, you either ignored me or
criticized me. I just don’t want to do this anymore. I will never be the person
you want me to be, and you are never going to care about me the way you care
about your social clubs. Just tell Nathaniel what you want, and leave.”