But it was clear that they both did. There was no other conclusion to draw.
Luis just wasn’t sure where that left them.
Chapter Seven
Luis went through the rest of the week on autopilot doing chores, ordering groceries, and ignoring the fact that neither Julien nor Karim had texted him yet.
Was that good? Bad? They normally didn’t text him during the week unless there was a venue or scheduling issue for Friday. Was this normal, or was it weird now that he’d given them blood?
He almost googled the social context of sharing blood with a vampire friend a dozen times before chickening out. Instead, he kept his head down, signed into work every day. He did what he always did when shit made him anxious: push it off for Later Luis to deal with.
Then, it was Friday again.
When the phone alarm went off, Luis went about business as usual to get ready, cursing himself for not at least texting them to try and feel out the mood. Karim would’ve given him something to work with over text.
It was typical though, the cowardice. Luis always put stuff off, avoided doing the hard thing, and then had to be dragged later into dealing with it.
As was boiling water for dinner, it occurred to him also that going back to their usual place tonight wasn’t an option. He couldn't go back to Bite Back. Just the thought of it made his palms sweat.
So, what was the plan then?
There were a handful of other vampire bars they cycled through when Julien or Karim were wanting for variety. Luiscould request one of those instead? Make somewhere else their new regular.
Guilt seeped in, but there wasn’t another option. He really, really couldn’t go back to Bite Back.
This was exactly why he should have texted them earlier.
He picked up his phone, but instead of going to his texts, he opened a search browser. If they were going to have to change venues… what if Luis found them somewhere entirely new? Someplace fun and different. Maybe that would make the last-minute change more okay.
While polishing off a box of mac and cheese, Luis continued to research vampire-friendly bars in the area. He knew of and had been to a lot of them, but there were some options they hadn’t tried. One in particular jumped out to him, a place he’d been before with Cassie because they had live music. Luis had never noticed they also served blood.
Hm.
When Luis arrived at Julien and Karim’s house half an hour later, he parked and switched cars, sliding into the cool, leather seats. Then he texted Julien that he was outside.
Karim was the first one out, and Luis’s nerves jumped in a way they hadn’t since the first month of driving them.
“Hey,” Karim said as he slipped into the backseat. Today he was wearing an aged t-shirt with a young Dolly Parton on it, along with black jeans. Luis glanced at him in the rearview mirror to assess. Karim’s dark hair was back in its sleek, messy waves. He didn’t look tired, but slightly apprehensive.
“Hey,” Luis said awkwardly.
There was a gap of silence. This usually would be where Karim would insult him and they’d bicker back and forth.
But maybe that wasn’t a thing anymore. Maybe Luis had ruined it by being too pathetic to joke with anymore.
Great.
His eyes darted to the rearview mirror again, this time catching Karim looking at him, expression purposefully blank. “Hey, so listen,” Karim shifted as though uncomfortable. “I got that guy’s ID from the bar.”
Luis looked away. “Uh, yeah. I don’t–I know I should report it or something, but I just, I can’t.” He’d thought about it a few times during the last week, but come to the same conclusion: it would hurt him and he just–he didn’t want to deal with it.
Coward.
He could feel the weight of Karim’s gaze and braced for the argument that would follow.
“Okay,” Karim said instead. “If you change your mind, just let me know. But I get it.”
Luis wasn’t sure what there was to get out of his stilted excuse, but his shoulders loosened. “Yeah. Um, okay. Thanks.”
