Chapter 30
Thirty
At two in the morning, the usual time, Claire turned the sign on the door to Closed.
She straightened and cleaned alongside the two servers who hadn’t clocked out yet.
By the time she told them good night, her first guest was tapping on the glass.
Nova peered inside and waved, and Claire hurried to unlock the door.
“Happy seven-month anniversary. I would’ve brought wine, but it seemed pointless given the setting.”
“Do you want anything now?”
Nova tilted her head and studied the bar as if envisioning her options. “Maybe not yet. Unless I need to have an open drink when he gets here?”
“No, no, nothing like that. First priority is hanging out. The setting is supposed to be secondary.”
“It won’t be secondary for Tai,” Nova said.
She wasn’t wrong, but Tai had insisted on this “test” being as low-key as possible, not the focus of their friend time. Not that he wasn’t taking it seriously. He planned to arrive at 2:30, once everyone was settled in, presumably with at least a few drinks.
Over the next half hour, the others arrived—all but Ryker and Leslie, who were in Tennessee for the next week.
Philippa brought a bakery tray of scones, half iced and half not. “Obviously the iced ones are for Tai,” she said as if he might eat half a tray by himself. Claire hugged her, knowing the gesture came from her friend’s love for him.
The bar wasn’t tense as they waited for him, not exactly. They still felt wholly comfortable together. But there was an awareness too of the gravity this night would hold for him if it went badly.
Logan announced upon arrival, “I’m slaked and chill,” to which Nova rolled her eyes.
“Bro, the whole point tonight is to have a drink and see how he does.”
“What?” Logan blinked like an owl. “I thought it was not to have a drink, to make it easier.”
Nova pointed at him with both hands. “Ladies and gentlemen, ADHD strikes again.”
“Oh, speak for yourself, sis.”
“Everybody calm down about Tai,” Claire said. “We are here to celebrate seven months together and to enjoy the company of friends. Don’t y’all stare at him or whatever when he walks in.”
Mackey showed up last of the pre-arrivals at 2:27 and immediately asked for a drink. As Claire poured for him, he leaned over the bar as if holding up a weight on his back.
“Everything okay?” She pushed the glass toward him.
Mackey took a deep drink, and his fangs were down when he answered. “My shift ended at midnight, but I didn’t leave until two. Barely had time to shower.”
His loose auburn curls did look slightly damp. “Tough patient?”
“Emergency surgery. Was expected to take about four hours, took seven.”
“Oh, Mac. Did you lose them?”
He sipped again, and his faint smile showed none of his teeth.
“We pulled him through. Actually…I pulled him through. I saw something on the imaging that human eyes couldn’t spot, and then once we were scrubbed in, it started to go wrong, and I had to…
” He shook his head. “But he’s going to be okay.
He’s got a brand new baby, his first kid, and he’ll get to go home to her. ”
Claire rested her hand on his. Mackey rarely looked anything other than composed, but tonight a hint of strain showed between his eyes, around his mouth. “I’m proud of you.”
He smiled again, and his fangs showed this time. “I’ll take it. Tonight anyway.”
By the time Tai arrived, a few minutes past 2:30, everyone but Logan held a drink, and Mackey had relaxed into his usual nonchalance.
They were perched on the row of stools, chatting and laughing, telling stories of their week and sharing book and movie recommendations, when Tai’s car pulled in and parked.
Nova paused mid-review of her latest cult documentary. She whispered to Claire, “Can we turn around, or…?”
“Do what you’d do if we were meeting at the penthouse,” Claire said.
“At the penthouse, Tai would already be there,” Logan said.
She rolled her eyes. “Or anywhere else. My place. Your place.”
The door opened, and Tai stepped inside. He was wearing blue jeans and a casual black button-down, the sleeves rolled to mid-forearm, the top two buttons open. He looked as gorgeous as always…and he looked terrified.
Claire forgot her instructions to the rest of them. She slid off her stool and went to him, took both his cold hands and held on tight. “Hi, my love.”
“I’m here,” he said quietly.
“You are. How do you feel?”
He looked past her toward their friends, who remained at the bar, in a row, holding open glasses of the thing he sometimes craved beyond reason. He took a slow breath, then let it out.
“Okay so far,” he said.
“Want to come in?” She gave his left hand a gentle tug. He hadn’t moved from the doorway yet.
“I…I think so, yeah. Hey, y’all.”
“Hey, Tai,” Logan said. Nova waved, and Philippa and Mackey nodded to him, Philippa with a smile.
At the end of the bar, Tai slid onto a stool next to Mackey. “Okay,” he said. “I…yeah, I think it’s okay. I need a minute. Just to sit here. If that’s okay.”
“Whatever you need is okay,” Philippa said.
“Hear, hear,” Nova said.
“Nova, go ahead and finish about your documentary. Everybody ignore me while I try to chill out.”
For the next ten minutes, they did. Claire sat on his other side, the only one unable to ignore her eternal, her shoulders tense as long as his were.
Then Mackey took a long drink beside him, and Tai’s entire body went statue-still…
but only for a moment. All at once, the tension drained out of him, and he had to brace his arms on the bar as his shoulders caved.
Mackey set down his glass and put a hand on Tai’s shoulder. “Hey, man. Still okay?”
“I should’ve reacted to that. I mean, I would have before. But…nothing. It’s okay. All y’all sipping, open glasses… I can hardly believe it, but no needles, nothing. I’m fine.”
The twins gave a simultaneous cheer.
Tai swiped a hand under his eyes. “Thank you, all of you. I needed this. I didn’t want to ask for it, but Claire said you’d be glad to help.”
“Always,” Philippa said.
Claire blinked as the old flash of future-sight returned to her. This was the day she’d seen months ago. The black button-down, rolled sleeves and his arms resting on the bar, a single lock of hair over one eyebrow, his eyes shining with relief and gratitude and joy. This was it.
She wrapped him in a hug, and their hearts gave a beat together.
He kissed her, which made the twins cheer again, which made them all laugh.
After a little while, they left the bar and sat around one of the tables, still talking, still laughing, still simply being together.
They shared the scone tray, and two hours in, Tai got his own chilled glass and sipped it, easy and relaxed.
The condition that had gripped him so hard the night of their first date, turned his eyes black, stripped him down to thirst and prey drive—she knew it wasn’t gone, would never be.
But Peter’s treatment plan worked. Her eternal wasn’t only better; he was thriving.
Their friends stayed until almost six. Soon Claire would have to open back up for the breakfast crowd.
Not yet, though. When she and Tai were alone in the bar, they dashed like teenagers to the break room, the first place they’d ever kissed, and there they kissed again.
Tai poured his everything into this kiss, even the rawness that had been with him at the beginning of the night and the sweet calm that had washed it away.
Claire returned it all, gave him her everything too.
Hands and lips, ice and sparks—she held him, kissed him, touched him, felt it all, loved this man more than she’d ever thought she could love anyone.
She pressed her lips to the silver scar that bore the exact shape of her bite.
Tai met her, matched her, his hands in her hair, his mouth hard on hers, and he kissed her silver scar too.
When daybreak began to seep up the horizon, they stepped outside to watch.
Unsatisfied with the view from the ground, they leaped up to the roof and faced east. Downtown streetlights dampened the effect, but the lightening of the sky was still noticeable, especially when the paling gray was shot with beams of pink against clouds that threatened rain.
Tai wove his fingers through hers, and Claire leaned against his arm, her head on his shoulder.
“Tell me something I don’t know,” he said.
“My favorite ice cream flavor is pistachio.”
He gave a mock shudder. “Did not see that one coming. Your palate is usually so on point.”
“Shut up. Pistachio is delicious. Now your turn. Tell me something.”
“My favorite ice cream flavor is not pistachio.” He laughed when she faked trying to shove him off the roof. “I like anything with a caramel swirl.”
“Honestly, Tai, if you were human you’d have a mouth full of fillings and crowns and whatever else they do to their teeth.”
“But I’m not human, and my perfect teeth are immortalized right here.” He lowered his head to kiss her silver scar again, and her bare toes curled against the shingles. “Now tell me something else.”
She tugged his hand, pressed it to her outer thigh. “You might already know this, but in case you don’t. I’m proud of you, Tai Aksel.”
His shoulders gave a little jump of surprise. “Yeah?”
“Extremely proud. Of how hard you fight. Of how far you’ve come. Of how, even though you lost so much and were so hurt so young, you’re still willing to let people know the real you.”
He released her hand and wrapped his arm around her instead, pulling her closer. Quietly he said, “Thank you.” Then, before she could add anything, he said, “In case you don’t know, I’m proud of you too, beautiful.”
“Me? For what?”
“Well, let’s see. I’m proud of how hard you fight, how far you’ve come. And how you’re willing to face fears that make a lot of sense, given what you lost so young. But you face them down instead of letting them win.”
“Oh,” she whispered. Tears sprang to her eyes. “Thanks.”
Pink sunbeams burst upward from where buildings still hid the sun. Tai turned her in his arms, kissed her one fallen tear, and whispered, “Bloodbound dancing?”
Claire laughed away the rest of the tears.
No need for them. His arms were her favorite place to be.
Held not too delicately, because she did fight hard, had come far, could indeed face anything she needed to and win.
But held with care and love, with regard for the wounds that no longer scared her, because Tai would do his best to handle them with care.
And if he ever stepped on her heart, he would make things right, just as she would do for him.
Tai led her in complicated dance steps across the slanted shingled roof where only vampires could possibly keep their footing at all, much less perform a ballroom mashup.
They waltzed, then reprised their salsa with the heat turned up, observed only by a few birds in the tree next door as the pink sunrise brightened to orange.
“Let’s always dance like this. For the rest of our lives,” she said. “I will if you will.”
Tai grinned and dipped her over empty space, past the edge of the roof. He brought her back up, and she spun to the end of his arm and back again, palms coming to rest against his chest.
He took her mouth with his, kissed her with the passion of his promise. Against her lips he whispered, “I will.”
Claire nestled in his arms, her favorite place to be. She hoped they would dance together for a thousand years.