Chapter 31
THIRTY-ONE
I found Connor outside the Looseclaw Pub, his leather jacket draped casually over his frame.
With a smile spreading across his face, he watched as I hurried across the street to join him.
Before I could say anything, he pulled me close and kissed me.
As his eyes roamed over my long red coat and my hair in loose waves.
“Finally, I’ve missed seeing you. You look good.” Placing his hand on my back, he guided me inside the pub.
The pub’s worn-down appearance, evident in the peeling vinyl seats and carpet stained by years of spilled drinks, was filled with the sound of clinking glasses and lively chatter.
Despite its weathered state, the place buzzed with life on a Thursday night.
As I entered, I spotted Diana and Donovan already there.
Even with her large curly hair, Diana looked small next to Donovan’s imposing figure.
We settled into our seats, and Connor introduced me to Diana and Donovan. “You guys know Rose.” He motioned to me, and I offered them a smile, feeling on edge.
“Only because you talk about her every other second,” Donovan quipped, taking a sip from his beer. I glanced at Connor, who smiled to himself, his cheeks turning a shade of pink.
I turned to Diana, and she greeted me with a polite nod.
However, her gaze kept shifting between Connor and me, leaving me unsure of what she was thinking.
The last time we spoke, she had been sharing details about Connor and Amber’s love life.
I hoped there wasn’t something Connor hadn’t told me about his romantic history.
“Can I get you anything?” Diana asked, motioning to her drink.
“I’m okay for now,” I replied with a smile, glancing around the table at the empty seats still there.
“Are Sam and Ivy coming?” Connor said.
“No, they just called to cancel, it’s date night or something”, Donovan said, and Connor shot a glance at him and Diana. Maybe they knew something about Sam dealing drugs. I had to text Vail to tell her that Sam and Ivy weren’t here like we thought.
Donovan wrapped a large arm around Diana and pulled her close, and she leaned into his touch. “Are you two dating?” I asked them, curious about their dynamic.
“Us?” Diana looked surprised at the question. “No way, I like girls,” she said firmly.
“Yeah, I tried,” Donovan chuckled. “But now I’m just her bodyguard.”
“I don’t need a bodyguard, thank you very much. I’m quite skilled with a knife,” Diana retorted playfully, pushing his arm off her shoulder.
Diana exuded confidence, always seeming comfortable in her environment. I couldn’t help but wonder if she had a knife hidden somewhere on her at that moment.
“I read that book you recommended to me,” Diana told Connor, her voice filled with genuine interest.
Connor’s eyes sparkled with enthusiasm, and a contagious energy laced his words as they delved into a discussion about the book.
I spaced out for a bit, feeling a sense of disconnection at the table.
The music blared from the speakers, and I glanced at Donovan, who looked lost trying to keep up with the book plot, occasionally asking about what happened next.
Suddenly, I felt closed in and alone among the Slayers.
“Excuse me for a second,” I said, feeling the need for a breath of fresh air.
Outside, the cool night air embraced me, offering a moment of solace.
I took a deep breath, attempting to quell the rising tide of stress within me, and fumbled for my phone to text Vail about Ivy and Sam’s absence.
I waited for a minute for her response, but it never came.
I took a moment to compose myself before returning inside.
I settled back into my seat, feeling Connor’s hand gently rest on my thigh. His concerned gaze met mine, silently asking if I was all right. With a subtle nod, I reassured him, squeezing his hand in return.
A round of tequila shots arrived at the table from a waiter.
“We ordered tequila shots when you were gone,” Diana told me.
“Clearly,” I smiled back at her.
Shit.
I knew I had to take a shot, or it would look suspicious.
I was tempted for a moment to tell them that I didn’t drink, but with that and not eating the salad at dinner with Connor, he was bound to get suspicious.
The shot glass stared back at me while I contemplated.
If I drank it, then I would have a few minutes before my body would violently reject the liquid.
As my eyes met Connor’s, he smiled encouragingly, tipping his head back to down the shot.
I followed suit, letting the fiery liquid sear its way down my throat.
It had been years since I’d tasted anything other than blood, and the feeling was overwhelming.
The burning sensation intensified as it travelled down to my stomach, where an immediate unease began.
“So, tell me about Connor,” I asked Diana and Donovan, attempting to divert attention from the churning in my stomach. I felt a small burp escape my throat and quickly swallowed, trying to compose myself. “Any juicy gossip?”
Diana exchanged a knowing look with Donovan before smirking. “Oh, you want the juicy details, huh? Well, Connor has a secret talent for salsa dancing,” she teased, earning a playful shove from Connor.
“I do not,” Connor laughed. The sound of his laughter made me smile. I hated to admit it, but I loved the sound of it.
The banter continued, and my worry from the Slayers surrounding me subsided, but the bubbling in my stomach grew more intense.
“Where is the washroom?” I asked Diana. I could feel my skin getting hot, and I hoped that I wasn’t sweating.
“Over there.” She motioned to a door at the back of the pub. “I’ll come with you,” she added, standing up.
Oh shit.
As Diana followed me to the bathroom, I attempted to maintain a casual pace, not wanting to betray any signs of distress.
Every step felt like an eternity as the realization sank in—I was being trailed to the bathroom by a Slayer skilled with knives.
My mind raced with uncertainty. How was I supposed to discreetly vomit with a Slayer in the bathroom with me?
The bathroom felt cramped, and the low buzz of the fluorescent lights hummed in my ears like a fly.
Diana walked over to the sink, her eyes sharp in the harsh light.
She was fixing her hair and touching nonexistent imperfections in her face.
The stalls lined one side of the room, each door baring scratches of graffiti.
I walked over and opened the stall door; I couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched.
The walls seemed to close in, and the faint music of the pub outside penetrated the thin walls, adding to the irritating noise in my ears.
“I don’t feel so good,” I said out loud. I had to tell Diana to make it seem less abrupt. “I think I might throw up.”
“You do seem pale,” Diana said, making her way over to me. But before she could reach me, I closed the stall door, barely containing the rising panic within me. With a violent lurch, I expelled everything from my stomach, the pure crimson of blood staining the pristine white of the toilet bowl.
“Oh, poor thing. Do you need help in there?” Diana called out.
I took a wad of toilet paper and cleaned up the blood around the toilet and on my lips and mouth. I flushed.
“No, thanks, I’m okay. I feel instantly better.” And I did. With the liquor and blood out of my stomach, I felt normal again.
I composed myself for a moment, straightening my clothes, and when I opened the door, Diana was standing there with a pack of gum in her hand.
“Here, you’ll probably need one.”
I took one, giving her a small smile. In that moment, the lines between Vampire and Slayer blurred, and we were two individuals, briefly connected in a shared act of mutual assistance within the confines of the women’s washroom.
“So, are you and Connor dating now?” Diana asked me as I made my way over to the sink.
“No, we’re just—” I started, then she cut me off.
“Sleeping with each other?” Diana finished for me.
“Kind of? Not really,” I said. “Or not yet. I don’t really know how long I’m going to be in town for, so I don’t want to lead him on.”
“Connor really likes you, you know,” Diana said, crossing her arms and leaning against the counter.
“Yeah. It seems like that,” I told her.
“And do you like Connor?” Diana asked when I was washing my hands, inspecting me.
I looked at myself in the mirror. I smoothed my messy hair as I began to speak, noticing a sparkle in my eyes that I hadn’t seen in a long time.
“I think so,” I told her, and I caught the questioning look on Diana’s face as I continued, “He’s charming.”
“Be honest with him, Rose,” she said. “You owe him that. I’ve seen him get hurt too many times to watch it happen again.”
“Yeah, I’ve been there too,” I told her.
Diana discreetly kept my bathroom incident to herself, sparing me any embarrassment in front of Connor and Donovan.
After we resumed our seats for a while longer, we eventually decided to leave the pub.
Diana and Donovan entertained the idea of continuing with more drinks, but Connor declined.
They left, and Connor and I stood under the tungsten lights of the street.
“Do you want to go back to my place?” he said after a moment of silence. His arm wrapping around my waist.
My phone rang in my pocket, a shrill interruption to the warmth between Connor and me. I shot him an apologetic smile before answering.
“I think they saw me,” Vail said, her voice trembling through the phone, urgency beneath her words.
“What are you talking about?” I asked her sternly and glanced at Connor, who furrowed his brows in concern.
“Ivy,” Vail said in a small voice.
“Why?” I walked down the street from Connor a couple of paces.
“Because I followed them,” Vail confessed. I wanted to strangle her through the phone or yell at her, but with Connor right there, I didn’t.
“Why would you do that?” I said, my voice calmer than it would have been if Connor wasn’t watching me.
“Because I was excited when you told me that Sam and Ivy weren’t at dinner. So, I followed them. Then I got a strange feeling and left. But when I did, I made eye contact with Ivy.”
“You were warded, right?” I said quietly, hoping Connor wasn’t listening.
“No, I didn’t think of it at the time.”
“Vail. You’re a witch,” I said under my breath. “And you didn’t think about it?”
“No. It was the thrill of the chase, you know? And I forgot.” I heard Vail making a lot of noise on the other line.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“I’m warding the house again. I think added protection wouldn’t hurt,” Vail explained, sounding frantic.
“I’m coming home,” I told her, hanging up the phone.
I turned back to Connor. “Sorry, I have to go. Vail needs me.”
“Is she okay?” he asked, looking concerned.
“Yeah, she’s fine. Just eccentric, you know?”
“I’ll see you soon, hopefully?” Connor said.
“If you’re lucky,” I told him, smiling.