“It’s ok,” I say quickly. “If you don’t want to talk about it.”
She pauses, and I hope I haven’t ruined the mood. I know I should care more about getting more information from her, but it’s just not inmy heart. I wish I didn’t care so much about this date, I know it’s silly, but I’m enjoying spending time with her and I don’t want it be ruined.
And…I find myself more and more curious about this mysterious vampire boss. She can seem so ruthless at times, and then at other times, something else peeks through. Like when she let me hold her in the hot tub that night. I keep wishing for another moment like that. I know what it’s like to have to be strong, to have to protect others because you’re the only one who can. Everyone needs someone who can hold them, when they need it.
I’m about to start talking about something else, to distract her, when she speaks.
“He’s not my biological brother. But he was turned at around the same time as me. By Tudor, of course. Cedric was his first progeny. He wanted to start building an empire.”
She keeps her eyes on the road ahead, and appears a little stiff. But despite her tenseness, I feel like something’s melted between us.
Emboldened by her vulnerability, I take another risk. “You must have been through so much together. I imagine you care about your brother quite a lot.”
Her eyes cut through the darkness, fixed on something down the road.
She nods ahead. “There’s your hot dog stand.”
I’m a little disappointed that our conversation is cut short, but then I smell the delicious scent of street food waft through the air.
“Ooh!” I squeal, light on my feet as we walk toward it. “I was worried it wouldn’t be open so late!”
“How many would you like?” Celine asks, pulling out a slim leather wallet.
“How many?” I wrinkle my nose at her. “Just one, but I can pay for it.”
“Nonsense. And it’s a fair question,” she says, putting up a single finger to the woman at the hot dog stand, who puts a sausage on the grill. “I saw you eat an entire tub of ice cream the other night. We didn’t even have ice cream, or hot dogs, when I was turned.”
“I really need to educate you in quantities of human food,” I say with a shake of my head. “A tub of ice cream is a perfectly appropriate portion for a night off, especially if it’s rocky road.”
“You’re theexpert,” she concedes, handing a bill over to the woman and giving me the hot dog. “Keep the change.”
“Oh, thank you very much!”
Delighted, I heap my hot dog high with toppings, and realize far too late that it’s going to be quite messy for me to eat. I really need to go on more dates. I’m extremely rusty.
I attempt to eat the hot dog delicately, taking a small bite from the side. Celine notices my awkwardness immediately and raises her eyebrow in my direction. I give up on the act and take a large bite.
“Mm! This is good,” I grin at her. I scarf down the rest quickly, wiping my fingers with a napkin. “Sorry, I’m a messy eater.”
“Go ahead, enjoy yourself,” Celine says. Then she gives me a mischievous look. “I can be a messy eater too.”
I picture her with the girl at the back of the Succumb club, blood trickling down her chin. A warm, almost painful ache rises up inside me. I swallow, wishing that I was better at concealing my emotions. I can tell by the subtle shift in her eyes that she noticed how her words have disarmed me.
But she doesn’t say anything. She just keeps looking at me as though she’s trying to figure me out.
I look away from her. We’ve entered the park now. It’s a bit more sinister than it would be during the day, but I suppose that’s the occupational hazard of dating a vampire.
Sorry…I mean, the occupational hazard of being an undercover witch who’s spying on a family of vampires.
But the park is still beautiful. It’s a sprawling, green haven in the middle of the city, an endless labyrinth of trees and paths, benches and flowerbeds, punctuated with statues and fountains. There aren’t many other people around this late at night, so it’s just the two of us on the path. Glowing yellow lanterns light our way, mirrored by a few twinkling stars in the sky. Not so many as Hemlock Haven, of course. The city lights drown them out.
I wonder what else the city is drowning out. My logical and reasoning capabilities, obviously. I’m going on a walk in a dark park at night, alone, with a terrifying vampire.
She could do anything to me out here.
A shiver runs up by spine. But I don’t know if it’s fear…or a pleasant tingle of anticipation…
“Here,” says Celine, shrugging off her leather jacket. She hands it to me.
