“Another drink?”
“No, I mean, do you want to go out again sometime, or have you discovered that I’m boring?”
He brushes his knuckle over my cheek. “You’re not boring. Am I?”
“Not one bit.”
Stefan smiles. “I’d like to go out with you again, but the evening isn’t over yet. Would you like to go for a walk? There’s a park a few minutes up the main road.” He leans in close. “Don’t worry. This isn’t a ruse to get you alone so I can bite your neck and turn you into a vampire.”
I rake my teeth over my lip.
“Unless you want me to?”
“I’m not into blood play.”
His eyes narrow. I can tell he’s trying to read me and guess what Iaminto.
“Maybe a little pain?” he asks.
“Maybe.”
He finishes his scotch and holds out his hand. “A walk?”
I put my hand in his. “I’d like that.”
4
STEFAN
“Would you tell me more about your family?” I ask.
We’ve just crossed the road and walked into the park. We’re still holding hands. I’m not sure if it’s me who doesn’t want to let go of Quinn or him who doesn’t want to let go of me. His hand is warm. I can feel a callous on his finger where he rests a pen or pencil. I rub my finger over it, feeling the difference between the hard circle of skin and the softness of the rest of his finger.
He looks up. “What do you want to know?”
“Do they live close? Other than Rubin. He must live somewhere nearby.”
Quinn smiles. “He does. I grew up in St Albans. Dad and Sabella still live there.” He stares straight ahead as we stroll along a concrete path.
In the dark, the trees and bushes look eerie. It gets quieter as we walk farther away from the road until the rumble of engines and honks of car horns are replaced by the creak of branches in the breeze. I glance up at the sky. There’s a full moon, which makes the sky around it brighter, and an abundance of clouds.
“Sabella?”
“My stepmum. When they moved in together, they both sold their houses and bought one together. Until then, I’d lived in the same house my whole life.”
“Was it hard to leave it?”
Quinn nods. “I understand why they did it that way, but there were a lot of memories in that house.”
“Of your mum?”
“Yes.” Quinn sucks in a breath. “Can we change the subject?”
“Of course. Does Rubin live with your dad and stepmum?”
“No. He’s got his own place.”
“You didn’t want to move in with him?”
