“We were sent outside to play a lot,” I replied ruefully. “But my parents didn’t really let us go to other houses. It was different back then.”
“Well, no one knew what you were,” she said reasonably. “Imagine if you fell and should’ve been hurt but weren’t. People would’ve lost their minds.”
“Exactly.”
“What was it like?” she asked, bracing her elbow on the table so she could rest her cheek on her palm. “When you guys went public.”
“Mayhem,” I answered honestly. “Humans were suspicious of anyone, usually other humans. It wasn’t as if they’d noticed us before, so I was never sure why they thought they’d pick us out of a crowd once they knew we existed.”
“People are idiots.”
“They were afraid of what they didn’t understand.”
“So…assholes?”
“Some of them,” I agreed. “And then you had the usual suspects. The ones who acted like they’d known all along thatwe were out there. The ones who pretended like they didn’t care, even though they clearly did. The groupies. The protestors.”
“But it eventually calmed down,” she said as if asking for confirmation.
“When we didn’t jump out of the woodwork and start kidnapping virgins, yes. It took a while, though.”
“That myth always cracked me up,” Rosemary said, sitting back up. “Why would anyone want a virgin? Like, why is the ideal someone who hasn’t done something before? Logically—and for literally anything else—everyone would prefer a partner who had experience.”
“Purity,” I replied.
She made a gagging noise.
“I’m not saying I agree with it,” I said, taking another bite. “But that was the culture when I was young. A hymen was very prized by human men.”
“But not Vampires?”
“I think Vampires have always been a bit more pragmatic, at least the ones I’ve known. A virgin’s first time is always a little shocking. Add in the mating bond and exchanging blood? That seems like a lot to deal with in one go.”
Rosemary chuckled. “Fair point.”
“My first time was with a widow,” I mentioned, enjoying the way her head jerked in my direction.
“Do tell,” she said dryly.
“She was pretty.”
She moved her hand in a circle, gesturing for me to keep going.
“She had blonde hair.”
“A pretty blonde widow,” Rosemary murmured. “That’s all you remember?”
“Of course not.”
“Well?”
“She had two sons. One was around six and the other was four. They were napping inside, and we did it against the outside of the house.”
She grinned.
“She was very concerned about pregnancy,” I said dryly, making her cackle.
“All good there,” Rosemary commented. Vampires could only procreate with their mates.
