12. Chapter Eleven
Chapter Eleven
Calder
I ’m still standing awkwardly in the doorway with Aiden squinting his eyes at me in suspicion when a throat clears. It must shake him out of his daze because he looks over his shoulder at the woman, “Eve.”
“Oh great, more dead meat,” she says, glaring right at me before turning toward Aiden, “I thought you forgot that I was still here,” she grumbles, rolling her eyes at him before stepping closer.
“This is Calder,” Aiden says before stepping to the side to allow me inside.
“Is this a bad time,” I ask, looking between Eve and Aiden.
“Oh, no. Come in,” Aiden says with a little uncertain smile, but Eve cuts a glare in my direction.
“Eve, stop glaring at Calder,” he grumbles. I step into the house, and Eve lets out a deep growl that has my eyebrows shooting up to my hairline.
“Aiden, I didn’t know you socialize with wolves,” I mumble, not taking my eyes off Eve for a second.
“Yeah, that was a bit of a shock when I found out, too,” he says with a shrug, “but really, who am I to judge when I’m now a vampire.”
“Is this a new development,” I ask, gesturing to Eve.
“No,” she lets out a huff, “I was born this way.” I give a small nod before turning toward Aiden slowly.
“You know, vampires and wolves don’t usually get along right,” I murmur.
“I can hear you, dude,” she snarls, “plus, I’m not some feral animal. I can control my urges, unlike you feral bloodsuckers that turn into beasts at the scent of blood.” From the hostility pouring off her, I can tell there’s more to her story than she’s trying to let on.
“Well, that’s rather uncalled for. Maybe we can all just calm the fuck down,” Aiden asks in a grumpy tone trying to calm the situation.
“I would never hurt a friend of Aiden’s,” I grit out, trying to remain cordial, but it was becoming harder by the second, “I only drink from a bag.”
“How honorable of you,” she snipes, and Aiden rolls his eyes at his snarky friend.
“Don’t mind her,” Aiden says with a wave of his hand, “I think she’s just hungry.”
“Are you?”
“Am I what?”
“Hungry? You haven’t eaten since yesterday,” I huff in irritation.
That was another reason why I needed to come over. I didn’t want Aiden getting sick or starving to the point where he would make a mistake he couldn’t take back. I didn’t like him being by himself, so I rushed Marcus along so I could have an excuse to show up at Aiden’s home unannounced.
I watch Aiden’s gaze dart to Eve quickly and then back to me.
“I’m good,” he mumbles, even as his stomach lets out an obnoxious grumble.
“Umm, are you sure about that?”
“Fucking traitor,” he grumbles down at his stomach. He looks up at me and lets out an irritated growl before turning away from me.
“I’m fine,” he mumbles, and I don’t believe him for a second.
“If you need to feed, Aiden-” I start to say.
“No, I’m fine,” he says again, still refusing to look at me. I don’t even know what the hell I did to cause this level of attitude from him. My palm itches to spank the brat out of him. I bet he’d love it. However, I hold myself back from my impulse, but just barely.
He wanted to leave, so I let him go even though it was against my better judgment. I didn’t actually want him to go, but it’s not like I was about to force him to stay. I made sure he had what he needed, and I was just expressing my concern for him. If he wanted to starve, that was his prerogative, even if it was dangerous.
To my shock, Eve clears her throat before mumbling, “If you need to feed Aiden, then you should.”
“You’re my friend,” he hisses, “you’re supposed to be on my side.”
“I am on your side, dummy, but guess what happens when a vampire gets hungry,” she snarls back before pressing her hand to her mouth. The crestfallen look on Aiden’s face nearly breaks my heart, and all I want to do is wrap him in my arms. I doubt he’ll let me, given how hot and cold he’s being with me.
“I’m fine,” he groans.
“Until you’re not,” Eve shoots back, and I glare over at her but keep my mouth shut.
She’s his friend.
She’s his friend.
She’s his friend.
I keep saying it over and over inside my head like somehow that’ll temper some of this anger starting to boil inside of me.
“Nothing will happen I’ve got it under control,” Aiden mumbles, crossing his arms over his chest. Eve lets out a scoff, “Awe, yes. You’ve got it all under control after what… two whole days of being a vampire?”
“Enough,” I growl, stepping between them both and, in the process, shielding Aiden from Eve’s glare.
“Foolish, stupid idiots,” she snarls and turns on her heel, stalking out of the living room down a hallway.
Aiden’s hand falls to my back, and I jolt from the suddenness of it.
“She means well,” he murmurs.
“And yet, it’s your fucking body,” I grit out through my clenched jaw.
“Am I really putting people in danger,” he whispers, and I can’t find it in me to turn around.
“Yes,” it’s the only truthful answer I can give him. I refuse to sugarcoat something like this. Of course, after that fatal truth bomb, Eve saunters back into the living room with a plate in her hand. She sits down on the sofa and looks between Aiden and me.
I watch Aiden’s eyes become as big as saucers as he stares longingly at the piece of cheesecake slathered in cherries. Eve picks up her fork and takes a small bite. A little hum escapes her throat, and her eyes close in pleasure. Aiden makes a little noise beside me, and he looks about two seconds away from snatching the cake right out of her hands.
“Why don’t you try some, little bat? Your stomach might be fine with it,” I try. His gaze swings towards me, and he blinks up at me.
“Oh, no. I’m fine, really,” he mutters yet again, and I give him a serious look. If he doesn’t drink blood, then maybe food could, at the very least, help. That’s just a theory, though.
I turn fully towards him and grab his hand, heading toward the kitchen as he trails after me, making little weak protests.
“I don’t know, Calder,” he mumbles as he tugs on the sleeve of his hoodie.
“Just try, and we’ll see what happens, okay,” I say, looking back at him, “it’s killing me to see you so upset about not being able to eat what you want. If it doesn’t work, I’ll still be here to hold back your hair when you're vomiting.”
“Oh, wow, how romantic,” he snarks.
“That’s not a no,” I say with a smirk.
“Fine, I’ll try,” he huffs out.
I quickly dish up the dessert before he has a chance to change his mind. He watches me like a hawk as he swivels back and forth near the kitchen counter next to me. I can tell he’s nervous, but this might just be a good thing. Here’s to hoping.
I slide the plate closer to him and hold out a fork. He looks nervous as he takes a small bite of the cheesecake, like he’s already anticipating being sick. A little happy noise escapes him as he takes another bite. I let out a little happy sigh as I watched him eat.
“Slow down, Aiden,” I murmur, not wanting to disturb his happiness with my worry, “maybe wait a moment to see if your stomach can handle it.” He lets out a sigh but gently sets the fork down on the plate.
“How long do you think I need to wait,” he grumbles, crossing his arms over his chest, trying to sound nonchalant, but it comes out sounding more like sadness.
“Just a minute or so,” I say, running my hand along his forearm in hopes of soothing him, “that way, we know if you’ll be able to keep it down.” He gives an absent nod of his head as he stares down at his plate.
“Might not want to stare too hard. It’ll end up feeling like watching paint dry.”
He giggles before rolling his eyes at me, and the knot of worry in my chest slowly begins to loosen. After a few moments, he starts to fidget, and I’m worried that he’s about to be sick.
“Can I have more now,” he huffs irritably, and I chuckle in surprise.
“Yeah, little bat, it seems like it’s safe to eat,” my words aren’t even fully out of my mouth before he has the fork back in his hand and digs into the cake. Before I know it, he’s completely finished and picks up the plate to lick it clean.
“That good, huh?”
“Mmhmm,” he moans before looking up and grinning over at me.
His little tongue darts out to lick the corner of his mouth. He darts around me, opening the fridge excitedly, “Oh, I have leftover Chinese in here!”
“I wouldn’t…”
“Holy fuck,” he shrieks, throwing the carton away from him. The Chinese container splats against the other wall, and I watch the maggots squirming around in the mess that’s now on the floor.
“… open that.” I could smell the decay from here when he pulled the carton out.
“Eww, so gross,” he cringes, wiggling around like something got on him.
“ It’s only noodles, Michael ,” I snicker with a shrug. His head snaps towards me with a glare in place. He looks like he’s ready to murder me on the spot.
“Did you just call me some other guy’s name,” he hisses, and his eyes narrow. A slow smirk kicks up the corner of my mouth.
“Am I detecting a hint of jealousy there, little bat?”
“And possibly some hostility because I’m about to stab you in the eye with this fork,” he grits out, pointing the fork at me, “one minute you were sucking face with me at my front door, and the next you’re calling me by some other guy’s name!”
I hold up my hands in surrender because I have no doubt he’d actually stab me. My Aiden truly wears his emotions on his sleeve.
“First of all, those are maggots, not noodles. Second, who the fuck is Michael,” he hisses, taking an angry step toward me.
“You’re fucking with me, right,” I sputter, and when he continues to glare at me, I let out a sigh, “fuck, I feel old. It’s a line from a movie, Aiden. Nothing else.”
“What movie,” he grits out, tugging on his hoodie sleeve aggressively with his irritation.
“ Lost Boys ,” I huff out, matching his irritation. His eyes narrow at me, and then he throws his fork into the sink, and seconds later, his phone is in his hand. His fingers fly across the screen without acknowledging me. He lets out a little sigh, “Fine, I believe you.”
“You looked it up, didn’t you,” I mutter.
“I don’t know what you mean,” he says, averting his eyes from me, “and even if I did, I should be able to without being judged.”
“I’m not judging you, but you could also… you know, maybe trust me a little,” I mutter as my shoulders drop in defeat.
He quickly notices my mood shift as he glances at me out of the corner of his eye. Pocketing his phone, he steps closer to me with a little pout on his pink lips, “kiss?”
“What’s the magic word,” I ask, pulling him closer to me till there’s almost no space between our bodies.
“I’ll suck your dick if you give me a kiss and tell me everything will be alright,” he murmurs with a smile.
“Fuck,” I groan, “Aiden, all I was looking for was a ‘please.’”
“Please…” he bats his eyelashes up at me, and I shake my head at his nonsense.
I lean down and press my lips to his, and he moans into my mouth before wrapping his arms around my neck. Suddenly he’s jumping up into my arms, and his legs wrap around my hip, and I grab a hand full of his ass to keep him up. His little moans have my cock throbbing against my pants, and I break away. His lips trailed a hot path along my neck.
“Where’s your room,” I gasped.
A throat clears before Aiden can answer, and I let out an irritated huff as I press my forehead against his. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself. Which barely helps.
“Umm, I’m headed to bed… with a pair of earplugs,” Eve mumbles.
Aiden lets out a little snort against my shoulder before muttering, “Good night.” When she disappears, I ask quietly, “So, how about you show me where your bedroom is?” He lifts his head to look at me, and he smiles that cute little smile of his before giving me an excited nod of his head.