Smugness clung to Karim, and Luis tried not to think it was attractive. “Clearly it is, the game took it.”
“The game must be busted. That’s not a word, it’s a name,” Luis defended.
Karim waved the phone at him. “You’re just mad that it was worth forty-six points, and there’s no way for you to recover.”
“I’m mad youcheated–”
“Cheated!” Karim interrupted. “How can I cheat? It’s an app game. I can only do what the game lets me do! It’s not my fault you have the vocabulary of a child.”
“You–!” Luis started to reach for him to take his phone or kiss him, but Julien, who’d been silently reading his book for the last twenty minutes, cleared his throat.
“That’s enough,” he said.
Luis froze. “Uh, sorry. Too loud?”
“A little.” Julien looked between the two of them. “Haven’t seen you two so tense with each other in a while.”
“Wonder whose fault that is,” Karim mumbled, crossing his arms.
Julien ignored that comment. “Luis, have you tested your levels this week? Do you need a bite?” Julien asked.
He had, this morning before he’d gone to bed. He nodded. “Yeah, uh, my levels were getting high,” he said.
Julien nodded. “I’m getting a feel for the time it takes to build back up. Alright, shall we get you both sorted then?” Julien paused. “Luis, how do you feel about doing the bite somewhere more comfortable, like the bedroom?”
Luis felt his heart trip at the suggestion. “The bedroom is fine…?”
“We can sort out a few tensions at the same time.” Julien smiled and turned to look at Karim. “Darling, why don’t you take some juices up to the bedroom for us?”
“Shit, yes,” Karim shot up off the couch and strode from the room with an eagerness Luis had never seen before.
A moment later Julien was above him, hand out. Luis thought he saw a bit of fang in his smile.
“Shall we?” Julien asked.
It felt like more was on offer.
Luis took his hand.
##
In the bedroom Julien directed him to sit at the end of the bed. Karim showed up seconds later with a tray of drinks and snacks that he promptly put on one of the bedside tables.
“Be right back,” Julien said, striding to the bathroom.
Karim took the seat of the chair across from the bed. It was a different chair than last time because Karim had shredded the arms.
Luis swallowed. Karim’s stare was dark and heavy already. Something was happening.
“Before we get started,” Julien said as he came back into the room. He had some items in hand, and came to place them on the tray on the bedside table. “I’d like to ask you a few things, Luis.”
“Okay?” He thought they’d covered everything that needed to be covered about a bite.
Unless tonight there was something different on offer.
“Vampires cannot contract blood infections or STDs, and we cannot spread them,” Julien said, standing before him. “Karim and I don’t use condoms, but we can if that’s your personal preference.”
Oh.Oh.
