4 Vamp Versus Vamp (9 page)

“Breathe much?” I chuckled. She made a show of taking a big, deep breath and letting it out. “Oh, stop. Let’s go get you dressed.”

Chapter 9

Who knew dressing a person for their last human day could be so grueling? Mel changed at least a hundred times before deciding on gray-washed skinny jeans and a violet oversized sweater that fell off one shoulder; it looked great against her lightly tanned skin and beautiful blonde hair. She paired the ensemble with bright blue ballet flats, threw on a long thin necklace with a decent-sized bird charm on it and chose a pair of pearl earrings, then grabbed a massive purse with a geometric pattern of gray, teal, and pale purple triangles. She looked nineties hip.

“Alright, I’m ready,” she announced.

We were just about to walk out the door when someone knocked. I couldn’t hear anything beyond the door, so I motioned for Mel to stay put. I stood on my tiptoes and peered through the peephole, but saw no one. I gripped the door handle and slowly turned the knob. Abruptly the door flew open. My instincts kicked in and I had the vamp in a headlock in a split second.

“Hell-the-freak-oh! It’s me, Lex!” Gabi yelped.

I immediately let her go. “Sorry.” I felt myself flush.

“Someone’s a little edgy today.” Her brows were near her hairline, as if to emphasize her words with an expression.

“I have a right to be after what happened.”

“True. So what are we doing today?” Gabi did a little dance in place.

“Wait, how did you even know where to go?” I asked, as we walked out the door together.

“I stopped by your place and talked to your aunt.”

“Oh.” That made sense.

“I love how we totally didn’t plan it, but we’re all in matching outfits,” Mel gushed.

I looked at Gabi, dressed in black skinny jeans and an oversized fuchsia and grey striped sweater. Stripes didn’t usually work for plus-size women, but it worked on her. She wore gold ballet flats and a gold necklace with a heart pendant.

Gabi bypassed my car and walked down to the black Corvette parked along the street. The passenger window rolled down, and I saw Jack tilt himself and wave in our direction. I was still a bit uneasy about him, but my friend truly did seem to be in love. She radiated at the sight of him. I waved back but slid into my car so as not to eavesdrop on their heavy flirtation.

“She seems happy.” Mel sounded surprised.

“Yeah.”

“Who would have thought? I mean if I lost Craig because of some a-hole playing games with lives, I can’t say I would turn around and marry him.”

“She’s having a hard time accepting it, but you can’t change your heart. We don’t have a choice in who we love, unfortunately.”

“I guess you’re right.” She nodded, sliding into the back seat.

The next couple hours were filled with lots of laughter and many trips down memory lane. We particularly fell into a fit of laughter when the guys not so discreetly came into the Mexican restaurant shortly after us. We’d suspected they were following us but wanted to see how long they could keep it up. In the end we all filed in together at the grocery store.

“Okay, we need lots of steak and eggs,” I stated, grabbing the cart and heading that way.

We passed multiple aisles of goodness along the way, which resulted in a few detours.

“Chocolate!” Mel yelled. “I definitely need some of every variety.” She proceeded to toss one of every candy bar into the cart, along with a bag of Hershey kisses.

“You’re going to get sick from all that candy.” I scrunched my nose. Chocolate didn’t hold the same appeal it once did for me.

“Yes, Mother,”
Mel
droned.

“She’s right, love. Your bumper will be a brute Salisbury after all that.”

“I don’t care. It’s my last day and I want to gorge myself.” Mel stuck her chin out defiantly and walked ahead of us.

“Oh! Lex, you have to, have to please, please, please make your Christmas treats again! I’ve been describing them to Jack and he’s dying to try them. Plus, I can’t bake worth a darn and have been craving them.” Gabi stuck out her bottom lip to properly plead her case.

I chuckled. “Were they that good?”

“If they’re anything like Gabi says, I will pay you to bake them regularly,” Jack said.

“They were a chockle of delimptious heaven.” Craig shook his head in agreement.

I was taken aback by their sudden enthusiasm. I knew I had no treats left over that night, but I didn’t think anything of it.

“They were amazing, babe. I could go for a batch myself.” Kellan came behind me, pressing his front to my rear, and put his hands on the outside of mine on the cart rail. He turned the buggy down the aisle to the baking supplies. “Grab whatever you need and I’ll pay for it.”

“Really, guys?” I thought back over the recipes I’d invented.

“Yes, really. I want some of everything. Those cupcakes were heaven on earth, so you have to make those again, and the cookies, too. Oh! I want you to try to make a cake. I’m thinking it could be layered, but you can do what you want there.” Gabi’s eyes lit up as she grabbed two of the largest bags of flour available, twenty pounds, before tossing another two into the cart right behind them.

“Um, that’s a lot of flour.”

“I want a lot of those baked treats,” she said. The guys nodded their heads emphatically next to her.

“You know they go bad quickly with the you-know-what in them.”

“We’ll figure it out.” She began loading the buggy with granulated and powdered sugar. “You know, you should think about opening your own bake shop. Do you know how many of us would buy these suckers from you? I know there would be a heavy price for overnight shipping, but truthfully, they’re worth it. We can’t eat the regular ones, and damn if I don’t miss them like crazy.”

“I never really thought about it. Christmas was the only time I did it, and that was really just to keep a family tradition going.”

An older woman raised her brows at our overflowing cart of baking ingredients. “You know, kids, sugar isn’t good for your teeth,” she stated in passing.

We looked around at each other. The joke was definitely on her. I bit my lip to hold back my laughter.

Mel came stomping down the aisle towards us. “There you are. I’ve been
worried
sick that I lost you.” She looked at the cart and then
back
at me. “My chocolate better not
be
damaged. The last thing I want is a Hershey crumble.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I burst into laughter. Between the elderly woman and Mel, I couldn’t hold back anymore.

“Ugh. You can be so immature sometimes.” She rolled her eyes, shaking her head. She grabbed Craig’s arm and dragged him with her towards the meat section.

The rest of the shopping trip was uneventful. The cashier’s eyes widened at the sight of all the flour, sugar,
vanilla
extract, and other ingredients needed for baking. Between the steaks, the supplies, and Mel’s chocolate, the total added up to just over five hundred dollars. My jaw about hit the floor twice; first when the total appeared on the screen, and second when Jack pushed his way through the crowd and swiped a black credit card through the machine like it was no big deal. He didn’t even bat an eyelash.

I knew I had money in the bank, but I hadn’t touched it for anything other than bills and gas. I didn’t know if that was good money management, sheer frugality, or just plain stinginess. I knew that I didn’t have my parents to rely on anymore for it, so I couldn’t be irresponsible with what I had, especially since I didn’t know when I would get paid again. Regardless of the number in the bank, when you know you’ll live forever, you can never have enough.

“Don’t be naïve, babe.”

I cocked my head to the side as I turned towards him. “
I’d rather be safe than sorry.
”

“
Doesn’t mean you have to be a hoarder of pennies.
”

The irritated look on his face said this was a sore subject. I immediately closed my thoughts off to him, unsure of what exactly had set him off. He knew my feelings about money and saving, yet he acted as though it was a fresh, impulsive idea.

I sighed, walking away from him to Mel. It was her last day as a human. It was her day, and I knew I should be focusing on that.

“Now we take this stuff home, somehow squeeze it into the freezer in your garage, and do what?” I prompted.

“First, I want Starbucks on the way home. Then you guys can unload—” She looked at Jack, Craig, and Kellan pointedly. “And we can get the popcorn and movies ready. I already have the ones I want to watch.”

“Sounds good. You know, I think I’m going to try to invent a special Frappuccino for us after tonight.” I linked my arm through hers and we skipped to the car.

“I don’t know quite what to think about that one yet.” She bit the inside of her cheek as she considered the idea. “Not that it’s a bad one. I’m sure I’ll want it, but just the idea of it now, when my stomach is still human, kinda gives me the heebie-jeebies.”

I chuckled. “I get it. I still remember all of that.”

I could tell she was jumpy by the way her grip tightened. Luckily, Craig changed the subject.

“What dopple of an uttfas have you picked for black bugs to see tonight?”

“If by ‘uttfas’ you mean outfit, then I haven’t picked one yet. That’s part of my plan for tonight.”

“Oh! I can’t wait to rip through that closet of yours. I seriously wish I was two hundred pounds lighter to squeeze myself into them.” Gabi shooed Craig out of the way to sit beside Mel in the back seat of his car, which was nearly identical to Kellan’s black BMW.

I tossed Kellan my keys. “Do you mind?”

“What if I do?” He pursed his lips; he loved watching me squirm.

“Please.” I pushed my lower lip out a bit.

“What if I want to be selfish and ravish you on the ride home?”

I sucked my lower lip between my teeth, passing my eyes towards Craig’s car. Gabi and Mel sat in the back seat, talking animatedly over fashion, I was sure. Craig was already behind the wheel, prepared to be the chauffeur. Jack had given Gabi a quick kiss before heading to his car.

“Give me a sec.”

“Babe.” He reached out and snagged me at my waist. “I was just kidding. Go with the girls and have fun. I’ll see you back at Mel’s.”

I turned in his arms to face him; our bodies pressed together. The way his eyes glittered lightly reminded me of green glass, freshly blown and cooling within a tub of water. My lips lifted at the corners as I gazed at him. “Are you sure?”

He nodded but pulled me closer to him. He leaned down and captured my lips. The second he touched me, the millisecond that his tongue swept out to taste me, all of his barriers came crashing down. “
Of course, you’ll have to make it up to me later.
”

“
What do you have in mind?
”

He didn’t reply, merely ran the tip of his fingers down the pulse point on my neck, sending a chill down my spine and all the heat in my body to my center. I groaned, both excited and angry at his torture. He knew what he was doing. The way he angled my head to deepen the kiss as his fingers teased my upper body, he was winding me up to ensure I knew what I would be missing while with the girls.

“
Since when did you become the devil?
” I chided.

“
Since you became irresistible,
” he countered.

“Uh-hum!” Gabi interrupted. “If I wanted to watch a porno, I have a collection at home.”

I jerked away from Kellan, my eyes widening with shock. “Gabi!”

“What?” She shrugged. “I’m way beyond the minimum age to watch those things.”

Mel was blushing and giggling beside her. “Come on, Lex, before she says something else my innocent mind can’t handle.”

“Innocent, my big behind. You can’t tell me you’ve been with Craig for all these months without doing anything,” Gabi said.

I turned back to Kellan. “I, uh, better go run interference in there.” I threw my thumb over my shoulder towards the car.

“Alright, babe. Have fun, stay out of trouble, and I’ll see you later.” He gave me a quick peck on the lips.

I smiled up at him. “You be safe, too. Turn on all the equipment in my car right away.”

“Yes, Mom.” He smirked, winking as he walked away.

I shook my head, racing over to Craig’s car. I forced Mel to scoot over so I could sit in the back with them.

“Seriously, Gab, not that it’s any of your business, but we haven’t done anything. We can’t.” Mel’s shoulders sank down as her eyes glued themselves to the floor of the car.

I’d already talked to Mel about the issue. Craig had been with a vampire. Originally, I’d believed that the whole pick and choose forever was only a female issue, but it turned out male vampeens were faced with the same dilemma. Since he’d been with a vampire, he was predisposed to them. He couldn’t hop around with any other species.