Chapter Five #3
We were definitely going to need more alcohol if we were unpacking our pasts and if Isadora was going to tell me more about this “Shadowhaven”. I found myself regretting that I had forgotten most of the stories Agatha had told me. Maybe there was some truth in them after all.
At some point, Isadora took over the jukebox and her bubbly attitude returned.
Her hands were on my hips while mine were on her shoulders, dancing to whatever oldies slow dance she had put on.
Others had even joined on the makeshift dance floor that she had made.
In reality, she just moved some tables to make the space more available.
“Could I ask how old you are?” I asked her just low enough that others couldn’t hear. Isadora chuckled at my nervousness. Honestly, Isadora had won me over almost instantly once she opened up to me. We had a lot of things in common and I felt like I could really call her my friend after today.
“I’m four hundred and three. Ambrose is only a hundred and seventeen years old," she whispered in my ear before giggling in her drunken haze.
The song ended then, causing Isadora to clap just as excitedly as she had for the past five songs.
The others joined, even Bryon at the bar who had kept his eyes on me all evening.
After a few minutes passed, I noticed the others leaving before the bar only contained the three of us.
“Maybe we should head home,” I suggested to Isadora as she swayed against me. “I can drive you b—.”
Bryon vaulted over the bar before I could finish my sentence and snatched the car keys I produced.
I let out a cry of frustration before stretching to grab them from the hand he held out of my reach.
Isadora’s giggling reignited as she saw me struggle to grab my keys back.
Deciding to jump for it, I pushed off the floor, but failed in grabbing them and managed to slip as I landed.
Bryon was quick to catch me, but as he pulled me against him I felt my body grow hotter from the lack of space between us.
“Thanks for the save,” I breathed.
He nodded. “Any time.”
I could feel his heart hammering against my skin, no doubt he was able to feel the same thing from me. Isadora clapped once, startling us apart from one another. “Well, I will walk home. Bartender Bryon, you should definitely drive Mel home for me.”
“Walk? But you’re even drunker than I am,” I slurred. “Can you even walk in a straight line?”
With a brow raised at the challenge, Isadora turned to her right and followed the line of the flooring perfectly straight in her heels. Was this a vampire metabolism thing? Bryon didn’t question it as he led us out of the bar, pausing only to lock up, and helped me into his car.
At some point, I had fallen asleep on the ride home and woke up only briefly to empty the contents of my stomach in a nearby bush while Bryon tried to help me into my house. I should have noted how unfazed Bryon had been of Isa’s soberness, but I couldn’t absorb much in my drunken haze.
“Where’s your dad?” Bryon asked as he led me up to my room. Something stirred in me as we approached my awful pink painted door.
“He might be working on the cattle.”
“I remember when I helped you paint this door before your dad got back from the store,” he mused as I twisted the matching pink door handle. Pink hadn’t been my color since my phase in high school, but I never bothered to change the door or the knob.
“He definitely was pissed about it, but he always had a soft spot for you,” I commented. Bryon watched me intently as I went into my bathroom, but didn’t bother to follow. After showering, brushing my teeth and changing, Bryon was still there. “Are you staying the night?” I teased.
“Depends on your sober level,” he answered honestly. It was that honesty that threw me off. Bryon definitely was attractive and contemplating a night with him was something I had done before, but one thought remained.
“We’re friends. Could I really ruin our friendship for this?”
The words escaped my mouth before I could process what I was thinking aloud.
Bryon took two strides to cross the distance.
His gaze had become so intense that the stirring I had felt earlier had returned even stronger.
I was left motionless as his hand raised to cup my cheek, the warmth of his touch flooding my body.
“This would be worth the risk to me.”
“What if I decide to stay friends?”
“A risk I would gladly take. I’ve been in love with you before I knew the concept of the word. If I don’t make an attempt then I will be as pathetic as the rest of the guys in this town.”
“Then you accept the risk for the reward?” I asked with a frown.
“Gladly,” he replied before his lips fell on mine. That night there were no fireworks or tingles like others had described, but there were also no complaints from me towards his skills or stamina.
When I woke up the next morning, the awkwardness of the situation was not something I wanted to go through again. Even the kiss goodbye felt weird. I had watched him leave, knowing I would most likely avoid the Saddleback for some time. Unless I wanted to trap myself in this town even more.