“What the fuck?”My eyes widened as the words slipped out.“Oops, I meant what the shit? Wait, no, what the hell, heck! Fuck. What in the world?”I pouted as my uncle started laughing.
“Iknow how much you cuss. There’s no need to censor.”He looked at Dennis expectantly.
“Yeah, I’m a vampire,” hesaid.“So is she.”
“Dennis!”
“What? He’d find out eventually.”
“It’s okay. I already knew.”Uncle Tom folded his newspaper and dropped it on the table. He was barely having a reaction, which seemed like the opposite of what should be happening.
“I’m so confused.”I held up my hands for everything to stop.“Why are you so calm about this?”
“We’ll talk when you get home. You too, Dennis. I need to talk to you since you already bound my niece. You are bound, right?”
“How’d you know?”I asked at the same time Dennis calmly confirmed.
“That’s not important,” Uncle Tom said.“How long has it been?”
“It’s been,”I paused to count but I couldn’t. My mind was racing.
“Since Halloween. Almost three weeks,”Dennissaid.“Seventeen days, to be exact.”
“I thought so. Go to work, you’re gonna be late. I need to take care of some things. I might be back a while after you, but we’ll talk when I get home.”
“Wait, but I’m so confused?I’ve never been this confused in my life.”
Dennis took my hand and led me away. Still, I was barely moving. I was too confused to walk. Eventually, he got me through the door and halfway down the drive. I kept stealing glances at him as we walked. Did he know my uncle already knew? Did he plan this? Had they somehow met before and only pretended to be meeting for the first time?
“No. To all of that.”
“Was that out loud again?”
“Yes.”
“Oh. Oops.” I smiledsheepishly, then stopped walking. My eyes widened at a realization. “I’ll be right back!” I was gone before he could answer—in and out of the house before my uncle could notice I’d returned—then back with a new set of keys dangling from my hand. “Wanna go for a ride?”
Dennis considered me before smiling. He gestured for me to lead the way. I squealed and ran to my new baby. Ari was right: it was perfect, beautiful, gorgeous, everything I’d ever wanted. It was the perfect motorcycle. So perfect I’d named her Tuffy 2.0. Tuffy for short.
“Hop on.” I patted the seat behind me.
“Can I drive?”
I laughed so hard, I almost forgot what was funny. Almost. “Of course not. Get on.” I patted the seat again. He sat behind me and a wave of butterflies hit when his arms wrapped around my waist. My top was so small, there was barely a barrier between us. He chuckled—probably because he could feel my horniness, too—as I started the bike and took off.
It was exhilarating. I hadn’t been on one in years. And not needing a helmet made it so much more freeing. My hair was whipping through the wind, probably smacking Dennis the whole time but I didn’t care. This was the best ride I’d ever had.
By the time we parked at the bar, I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face. Disappointment washed through me when Dennis let go, but it wasn’t enough to dim my happiness. I got off and ran a hand through my hair, smoothing it back to perfection. This was the best gift manic me could’ve given. Almost like an apology for fucking things up so often.
“Hi!” I waved as I spotted Benji leaning against his bike.
“Hey, girly.”He smiled at me, but the smile dropped when Dennis’ arm wrapped around my waist.
“Get off. We’re not doing that,”I whispered, pushing him away.
“Why not? You already turned him down for me.”Dennis laughed as I sped up to leave him behind. I would never live that moment down.
The bouncer waved us inside. I was about to go behind the bar to get away from Dennis, but Sean and Ari walked in right after him.I remembered the conversation with Uncle Tom and waved her over.
