Chapter 9 #2
I can’t believe I get to stay here for… well, I don’t know how long I’ll get to stay here. But I’ll treasure each night spent in such a majestic hideaway, just Ru and me.
And Twenty-Four.
And Socks.
“Is it how you remember?” I ask.
“Mostly. A bit different. I’ve never been here in winter. It sure would look pretty in the snow.”
“Ooh, snow! I hope it snows.” I’ve never seen snow, all white and pure and sparkly.
“Honestly, it’s weird that it hasn’t snowed yet, but that’s good. Made the drive easier.” We climb out of the car, me with the animals and Ru with his arms full of Chinese take-out. “Let’s make sure we can get in, then eat before we unload the car. I’m starved.”
Sounds good to me.
Ru punches some numbers into a lock box on the front door. It clicks open to reveal a key. Wow. So neat. Like a tiny secret treasure. He uses the key to turn the lock below the box and shoulders open the door, then he waits for me to walk in first.
I step through the threshold and enjoy a rush of warm air that carries with it the clean resinous scent of pine and old wood with something smoky underneath. The floorboards creak their hellos. A thick wool blanket is thrown over the back of a big, cozy chair. Looks like the perfect spot to read.
Ru flicks on a light, yellow and soft, and the living room gives me a hug. Fireplace along the far wall, bearskin rug in front, rocking chairs at the sides. I’m tempted to pinch myself to be sure this place is real.
Ru shuffles past me, to the right of the den area, and sets the paper bags on a counter. “Food first, tour later, yeah?”
“Yeah,” I echo easily enough. The food smells delicious. And I’ve never had Chinese. So many firsts lately, I can hardly count them all.
We sit. Ru shows me how chopsticks work. We eat right out of the containers, which is genius of him because there will be no dirty dishes that way.
I die a small death of delight as something called General Tso’s Chicken explodes on my tongue. “Oh my god,” I say between bites.
“Like it?”
“Like doesn’t begin to cover how I feel about General Tso and his chicken.”
That does it. Ru laughs. A good, deep belly laugh that sends him reaching for his soda to wash down half-chewed food.
I grin. I’m glad I made him happy, even briefly. It’s the best I can do.
Later, when we’re unloading groceries, Ru laughs some more. Actually, he laughs a lot.
As he pulls item after item from the bag, he calls me a “Carb Goblin,” and though I don’t know what that means, he says it with such affection it warms my chest and flushes my cheeks.
“You must have been craving quick energy, or, I don’t know, do you just love bread this much?” His eyes scan my grocery haul laid out on the counter.
“Bread is very good, yes. So is popcorn.”
He’s still chuckling. “There’s no protein. I would think a vampire would need protein.”
“I still have blood left.”
His lips press tight, but he recovers quickly and starts putting things in cabinets. “Blood and juice. Like, so much juice. And, not that I’m complaining, I did tell you to go wild and this is fine, but four cases of beer? Are you planning on throwing a party?”
“No, it’s just for you and me.”
More laughing. He’s quite handsome grinning like that. “Do me a favor and don’t drink any yet, okay? You want to try beer, that’s totally okay. You’re a grown man, you can have beer, but this is enough alcohol to get an elephant drunk. Let’s wait until I can chaperone.”
“Chaperone?” I don’t love the sound of that. I don’t require supervision. I require companionship.
“Maybe that’s the wrong word, but yeah, you don’t want to be drinking alone the first time. Or ever.”
“Yes, that’s my plan. Drink together. Can we?”
His stare grows playful, eyes glistening. “You’re hard to say no to. We can, but not tonight, okay? Let’s get settled first, cover all the windows, and then I need to have a think about how to sort things out with work.”
“What things?”
“I’m considering taking time off, so we can stop worrying about II Tech for a while. But to do that, I need to go in on Monday like normal. Ask for leave. And after that, we drink beer. To celebrate.”
I nod my agreement. Sounds good. “To celebrate.”
Socks meows from somewhere deeper in the house.
“Can I have my tour now?”
“You bet.” He closes the last of the cabinets and leads me past the kitchen through a hallway with lots of pictures on the walls. I’ll look at those later.
I find out rather quickly that there are, in fact, a regrettable number of bedrooms. I do get my own, no need to share, but it’s right next to Ru’s, so I don’t mind all that much. And Twenty-Four will enjoy a wall and door between himself and Socks, I’m sure.
We collect the rest of our things from the car, unpack a bit, blackout the windows, then settle in the living room into what has become our routine. An episode or two of something on TV. Though it’s mostly me that watches, Ru never seems all that interested.
I catch him glancing at me on the regular, and I’m not sure what to do about it.
Glance back?
Hold his gaze?
I want to flirt, but I don’t know how, so I watch my slutty vampire show and wish I knew how to channel my inner slutty vampire.