"You would?" A brightness filled her chest. He wanted to say hi to her friends. She pulled him around the side of the black victorian house where fire bushes grew tall along the side and would go from green to fiery red and orange in the fall, the contrast against the black house striking.
They rounded the house and the string lights over the patio and the perfectly wild garden lit up the space. The sound and smell of the bonfire made her smile.
Ursula and Eloise sat in chairs with a bottle of Tilly's newest batch of honey wine, each with half a glass in their hands and an empty one on an empty chair. She knew it was for her, and something inside of her bloomed.
"Hey guys."
"Tilly!" Eloise greeted then her smile morphed from excited to intrigued when she saw who was with her. "Chief Landry, nice to see you. With our friend. Who looks like she's had the hell kissed out of her."
"Eloise!"
Ursula kicked her as she laughed and Tilly, while blushing, shook her head and rolled her eyes at the playful smile Eloise was beaming at them.
"Ladies," he greeted kindly with a dip of his head. She thought of a quiet cowboy whenever he did that, could imagine a cowboy hat on his head. "I've seen what's going on around town. Let me know if you need anything."
"Thank you, chief. Want to join us? We can grab you a glass." Ursula, always the welcoming host, was about to get up when he held his hand out stopping her.
"I appreciate it greatly, but I just wanted to say hello as I dropped Miss Nguyen off."
Eloise's smile grew somehow larger.
He turned to Tilly and pulled her closer by a mere inch, but enough to close off the world.
Ursula and Eloise had the good manners to talk quietly amongst themselves giving them their space.
"It's a rook."
She frowned, confusion on her face.
"The bird, crow, that you named Portia. It's a rook, not a crow. The whitish beak," he explained and she turned to where the object of their discussion perched in the large peach tree that took up a fourth of the backyard, ripe peaches hanging heavy.
"Oh. I suppose I owe her an apology." She looked back up at him and his mouth turned up slightly on one side.
"I'll pick you up for coffee tomorrow. Seven-thirty, yeah?"
"Yeah," she replied, a bubbling sensation at his making plans with her.
He kissed her forehead, the warmth of his lips sending tingles down the sides of her neck and over her shoulders. Before he pulled away, he whispered darkly, "And know that now you've kissed me, your mouth is fair game." He took her lips with a nip and a slow kiss before he pulled away and left her there with her overcharged body and floating mind as she tried to gather herself.
"Well, I guess vampire making out does that whole leaving you fuzzy and unsure of your middle name thing," Eloise called out.
She made her way over to the fire, taking the empty seat and the offered blanket rolled perfectly until she spread it out over her lap.
Amber wine was poured into her glass, the fire glinting off of the golden color.
"Yes, how was Mr. Vampire Police Chief in the kissing department, Tilly Firefly?"
"Ohmygod I forgot your middle name was Firefly!" Eloise shot forward with wide eyes. "Details."
"Well, my sister was incredibly angry that my parents decided to have another child so to appease her they let her give me my middle name and at the time she was obsessed with fireflies."
Eloise and Ursula stared at her in awe.
"Seriously?" Eloise asked.
"The evil sister?"
Tilly nodded, taking a sip of wine, looking into the fire.
