Chapter 6 Around Town
Around Town
Rowen
I didn’t like the way Sadie had sucked down her bloody milkshake, like she was starving. There was a gleam of hunger in her eyes that made me uneasy—not that I felt unsafe with her, but I was concerned that she wasn’t getting enough blood.
That was ridiculous. She was a vampire, and certainly capable of taking care of herself. But something itched at the back of my mind like I was missing a crucial piece of information.
As the next few days of baking lessons passed, Sadie grew quieter. She no longer flirted with me. At first, I worried she had lost interest, but there were other concerning signs. Her responses slowed, her hair wasn’t curled in her signature bombshell style, and her enthusiasm all but disappeared.
Every time I asked, she said she had plans to feed after work, but I was convinced she didn’t. Sadie had a gorgeous hourglass figure with ample curves, but she was growing leaner before my eyes. The extra pastries I sent home with her each night didn’t seem to be helping.
As she worked on the cinnamon rolls, I couldn’t help moving closer to her. The nearer I got, the faster my heart raced and my muscles relaxed.
Her back straightened at my proximity. Despite her alluring cherry scent, I forced myself to focus on the pastry, sprinkling flour over the surface to make it easier for her to roll it flat.
As soon as she lifted the rolling pin, I spooned the topping on for her. Sadie gave me a curious look as she reached for the spatula. My eyes trailed over her bare shoulders as she spread the cinnamon-and-brown sugar filling over the surface.
The muscles of her arms and back flexed, moving under her smooth skin as she spread the sugary mixture over the dough. I barely noticed the work she was doing, too transfixed with how her neck arched.
She glanced back at me, her long lashes fluttering as she raised an eyebrow in a silent query. Dark smudges underlined her eyes.
“Sadie?” I asked softly.
“Yes?” She looked up at me, and I could see exhaustion with an edge of desperation there.
“You’re not feeding, are you?”
Her lips pressed between her teeth as she considered her answer.
“Honestly? No. After work there isn’t much time, and I really haven’t wanted to find a random person to bite…” She trailed off, and I noticed her irises were far more blue-purple than fuchsia as she met my gaze.
“I knew it,” I blurted, and then snapped my jaw shut. It wasn’t the right response to her apologetic answer, but she’d been pretending everything was fine and it obviously wasn’t.
She scowled at me.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that,” I said quickly. “Look, we can be done early tonight so you can go get blood, and then we can adjust your schedule.”
Eyes on the dark window, Sadie crossed her arms, curling in on herself defensively.
“I’ll have more time once I move closer. The place I’m staying is a bit of a drive.” She hesitated. “So if I could start a bit later a couple times a week until then, it would be helpful. I’ll make it up somehow.”
It took all of my self-control to not grab her and shake. Was she really that terrified she would lose her job even after all this time I’d spent training her? Aside from her initial disaster, she wasn’t a half-bad baker.
“That’s not necessary,” I said, forcing my features into an approximation of professionalism. “Look, why don’t we take a break right now, maybe for an hour or two? And then we can come back and finish up. We’re ahead of schedule.”
Her brows creased. By now, she knew my routine and that we weren’t ahead. I would have to come back and do more baking in the morning to make it up, or go without some of the more complicated items, but Sadie’s health was more important. She wasn’t moving very fast right now anyway.
“Okay, if you’re sure. Give me a minute and then I’ll finish this up.”
Setting the rolling pin aside, she brushed off her hands and fished her phone out of her pocket. It took all of my self-control to not peek at what she was doing.
With a sigh, she tucked the device away and resumed her work. I gritted my teeth and resumed my own work while she rolled the cinnamon buns and cut them, placing them on the tray for their final rise.
“There. Alright, if you’re serious about us taking a break, I think I’ll head down the road.”
“Back to the bar?” I asked.
Sadie’s brows furrowed. “Yeah.” She set her apron aside and headed to the door. “I’ll see you in like an hour. Is that okay?”
A wave of jealousy hit me, bringing bile to my throat.
I knew she needed to feed, but I hadn’t realized that would include a hookup at the bar.
It was suddenly all too clear. She’d bitten me on the night we’d met.
Why would I think I was special? She’d probably done the same things with who knows how many men before me.
I shouldn’t care. We weren’t together. Couldn’t be.
My teeth ground together hard enough my jaw hurt. Sadie blinked at me, unaware of the chaos going on in my head but sensing something was off.
She set her apron aside and headed for the door. Against my better judgement, I tossed my own apron aside and followed her.
A polite smile flashed across her face, but the lines around her eyes gave away how stressed she was. I held the door open, and she brushed against me, sending my conflicting emotions spiraling with barely a touch.
Without so much as a glance at me, she turned south and began striding down the street. Moving on pure instinct, I muttered a spell and then closed up the bakery before jogging after her.
“Rowen?” she asked, her lips pouting as she frowned at me. “Whatcha doing?”
“Figured I’d head there too,” I said casually, trying to hide the fact that I had no clue what I was doing.
Lines formed around her eyes as she squinted at me. Clearly, I wasn’t fooling her, but she chose to ignore me. Her arms folded over her stomach as she focused on the road ahead of her.
We reached the bar and she pulled out her phone again, and a familiar dating app flashed on her screen. Amelie had once made me an account on the app, but I promptly deleted both the account and the application off of my phone. Maybe I should have kept it so I could’ve matched with Sadie.
“Um, I’ll just go meet my friend,” she said awkwardly, jerking her thumb at the door. A friend from a dating app.
“Wait!” I blurted.
It was so wrong, but I couldn’t let her go out to bite some random guy. I could pretend it was a practical choice. It would be safer for her to stay here with me.
“What, Rowen?” She sounded so tired.
“Bite me.”
Her arm dropped, her phone forgotten in her grip.
“Don’t find someone you don’t know,” I continued, feeling dumber by the moment. “I’m right here, and we know it’s good.”
Too far! Stop talking!
“Or I could buy you some blood,” I said, backtracking.
Her lip curled, her shock melting into irritation. “I don’t need charity. It’s really none of your business.”
“Sadie!” I meant it as a plea, but it came out angry.
“I’ll see you in an hour,” she snapped, yanking the door open.
“Don’t.” The word escaped me without my permission.
“What?” she said, pivoting, her violet eyes wide.
“Don’t come back. Take the rest of the night off.”
That beautiful gaze narrowed. “Are you serious? Are you punishing me? For doing what I need to do to feed?”
“No!” How had this gone so awry? “But I want to be done working tonight. I’ll finish up the last few things in the morning. Your job is secure, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Fine,” she snapped, fangs flashing. With one last scrutinizing glare, she stormed into the bar and let the door slam in my face.
My heart dropped. I’d fucked everything up. She’d probably quit over text and I’d never see her again. The sense of devastation washing over me was unreasonable, unwarranted.
My stomach clenched. It shouldn’t matter to me what Sadie did. She wasn’t mine. She didn’t owe me her attention, her time as my employee, or anything. It was her business, and if she quit, it would be what I deserved.
Demanding she feed from me. What was I thinking?
Mentally berating myself, I stomped back to the bakery. The night felt cold and empty without her, and knowing that she was in the warm bar, touching a stranger, kissing someone else, made me sick.
The bakery light was harsh on my eyes. Gritting my teeth, I set to work, but even the repetitive motions of baking, tasks I’d done a thousand times that always brought me peace, were clumsy and disjointed.
After completing a minimum amount of work so I wouldn’t be screwed in the morning, I shut the kitchen down and headed upstairs. Even my cozy apartment couldn’t cheer me up.
Ralph trilled at me from his spot curled up on my pillow. After a quick, punishingly cold shower, I faceplanted onto the spare pillow, letting the opossum keep mine. He deserved it more than I did.
Little paws scratched my cheek, and I huffed out a heavy sigh as I turned on my side. The little opossum curled up against my collarbone, tucking his cold nose against my neck.
“Hi, buddy. At least you aren’t mad at me,” I muttered, letting the little creature’s quick breaths lull me to sleep.