Griff
“You hear that?” Uriah asked as the two approached the stands to look for seats.
“Hear what?”
“Sounds like—I don’t know—screaming.” Uriah shrugged as the marching band began its opening procession. “Perhaps just a testament to the university’s lack of commitment to the arts and specifically the training of these wonderful young musicians.”
“Guess so,” smiled as he pulled Uriah to a stop, adjusting the vampire’s leather jacket on his shoulders and fixing the collar of the burgundy button-down he wore underneath. “I’m glad you care so deeply about the arts. We have auditions tomorrow night, by the way.”
“But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?” Uriah turned dramatically, framing the moon in his outstretched arms. “It is the east, and Juliet is the sun!”
“ Impressive ,” said , a laugh finding its way to his lips. “You think you have what it takes to play Romeo?”
Uriah shrugged before putting his arm around ’s shoulder. “Well, I’m learning lots about this little human emotion called love, so maybe.”
blushed. Love? he thought to himself, trying his best to keep his internal thoughts hidden from their shared telepathic connection. “You used to be human, too, you know,” he replied, leaning into his undead lover as he savored the public display of affection.
Uriah looked down, lost in thought. “Yeah, but for now, that part is still very blurry.”
wanted to ask more, but decided now wasn’t the time.
“Anyway,” continued the vampire as he kissed ’s cheek, “I’m thinking that in this version of the story , Romeo just uses his vampire strength to fly up to Juliet’s balcony and show her he means business.”
The two made their way to the closest section of bleachers, taking a seat directly in front of the Mystic Hollow Devils Den sign. “Oh, yeah?” teased . “One successful vampire flying session and you’re ready to rewrite Shakespeare?”
“It’s you who brings that out in me. You know that, right?” Uriah said as he ran his hand through ’s hair. “Every day, you show me how to be the best version of myself. How to unlock my full potential.”
felt his heart flutter. “You have no idea how much that means to me,” he replied, turning to look into the vampire’s eyes. Uriah’s tattooed fingers moved slowly down ’s cheek, his thumb gently tracing his lover’s lips.
A thoughtful look crossed Uriah’s face before he responded confidently. “Maybe now isn’t the best time to be saying all this, but no matter what happens tonight, I love you, in Eugene Kyler.”
Whoa. A flood of emotions rushed through the witch as he processed his boyfriend’s admission. A warmth blanketed his heart, moving along from his chest to his legs, arms, toes, and fingers. Indescribable at first, realized what he was experiencing—and it felt just like home.
“I love you, too, Uriah Black,” quickly replied before Uriah went in for a passionate kiss. He wished that kiss could last forever, but he knew that was impossible. As their lips parted, he smiled. “But sooner or later, I will find out your middle name—and I’ll use it against you whenever I can.”
The two shared a laugh.
“Believe it or not, I was kinda scared to say that,” the vampire said as he shifted in his seat. “Thank you for handling it so well.”
“Thank you for being honest and open about your feelings with me,” replied . “That’s some big personal growth.”
Uriah squeezed ’s hands tight within his own. “You and Pruitt have my heart, little witch, and I’ll protect both of you with my life tonight. That’s both a promise and—well, also a heads up.”
shot him a stern look. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
“Well, that’s actually my middle name, unfortunately, so…” Uriah chuckled, his arms up in a defensive stance as smacked his chest. “Oh! And I don’t want to forget this bit. If Darcy and Haven are important to you, they’re important to me. I’ll keep them safe, too.”
Somehow, Uriah had swooned even more. He was brand new to serious relationships, let alone dating paranormal beings. On top of that, his journey into a polyamorous dynamic wasn’t even a college semester long yet. All of this love— the lust, too —felt supernatural, but it felt right. And felt so blessed to be on this journey with his cynical, sarcastic, and undead boyfriend.
There was an undeniable sparkle in Uriah’s eye that rarely saw. “Now don’t start thinking of me as the softie of the bunch, little witch.”
Something about that moment triggered ’s necklace to omit a dim, pulsating light. The two shared a surprised look, the witch tucking his necklace away underneath the purple wool sweater he was wearing.
“You sure know what to say to make a witch’s necklace glow,” said as he pulled the satchel that was over his shoulder off and placed it between them.
“To distract from my sappy little speech, I’ll tell you my middle name. However, it’s a secret between you and me, so you’re gonna have to lean in real close.”
did as he was asked, the feeling of his boyfriend’s beard against his ear tickling him.
The vampire whispered his secret before sending a telepathic message. ?We are being watched.?
smiled in response. ?Just as planned.?
The two looked back as Julian and Kale approached from behind; the first vampire taking a seat next to them while the latter continued down the nearby row and disappeared into the growing crowd.
Freddy Fredericks’ voice once again rang out over the stadium speaker system. “The players have just taken to the field, and the crowd is eager for the game to begin!”
Pruitt made eye contact with and Uriah from the field. He held his hand up and waved at them. An excited jumped up and down while waving back before Uriah pulled him back into his seat. Looking around, the witch realized his bag was nowhere to be seen.
Julian smiled down at him. “Don’t worry. Kale’s on it.”