“Will you promise not to read my thoughts or pop upall the time the way Dennis does to Emy?”
“The hearing thoughts thing is involuntary, but I promise I won’t purposely eavesdrop. And it’s not constant. It’s occasional.”
I tilted my head. Mine sure didn’t seem occasional.
“I would ask to talk to you alone Emy, but I already know they’ll hear every word we say from out there.” She nodded toward the closed door, where the lively bar would make it impossible for us to hear. The extra noise would make zero difference to them.
“You should do it. Honestly. I would say the same if we were alone. Promise.” I held out a pinky.
She hesitated before linking hers through. We both kissed the other end. To us, this was essentially a promise on a loved one’s grave.
“On a grave? A pinky promise is that serious to you?” Dennis asked.
“Stop doing that!” I snatched an empty bottle from a nearby crate and threw it—he laughed as it missed and broke against the wall.
“See, this is what I don’t want. You just said it’s not bad and now you’re throwing glass at his head.” Ari frowned.
“I won’t be that bad,” Sean said.
She shifted as all eyes fell on her.“Is it gonna hurt?”
“It might for a second,” Sean said. “Only do this if you’re really okay with it. The offer still stands tomorrow. And the next day. And any other day if you need more time to think.”
“If I change my mind down the line, will you undo the bind?” She waited for Sean to give his own promise. It seemed genuine. “I’ll do it.” She pushed her auburn waves back and stood straight.
“Sit down in case you get woozy or anything.” Sean steered her to the couch, where she sat as far from Dennis as possible.“So you agree to be my bind and you’re sharing blood knowing it can’t be broken unless I say it can?”
“Yes.” She closed her eyes and waited, then took a sharp breath when Sean’s fangs cut into her wrist. He sucked the slightest drop of blood before letting it fall.“That’s it?” She opened her eyes.
“That’s it.” He held out a hand and pulled her up.“And now you’re my property.”
“You said you wouldn’t act like Dennis.” Her eyes narrowed as he laughed.
“I’m teasing,” he said lightly.“I won’t say it again if it bothers you.”
“Don’t say it. It bothers me.”
“So I have a question,” I spoke up.“Can I become a vampire?”
“No,” Ari answered so quickly it caught me by surprise. “Absolutely not.”
“You really want to?”Dennis’eyes flashed dangerously. He was watching me with a new interest.
“Yeah. It makes sense.” I turned to Ari. “What if this happens again and no one’s there to help us?”
“Then we’ll have to figure something out,” she said.
“If you wanna become a vampire, it can be arranged.” Dennis slipped the lighter in his pocket and stood.“You can’t reverse it, though. Once it’s done, there’s no going back.”
“I’ve always wanted a more exciting life. And it makes sense with everything that’s apparently going on,” I reasoned. “I’m guessing it’ll only get worse from here?” Dennis shrugged. “I wanna do it.” I gave Ari a pleading look, making her sigh.
“Fine. We’ll think about it. Let’s go home, yeah?” she asked. I readily agreed.
“We’ll come with. At least to make sure you get home safely,” Sean said. We followed them out front and through the lively bar, staying closer than usual.
“My car’s over there.” Ari pointed as we stepped outside.
“Can I drive?”
