Chapter 10
CHAPTER 10
Amber
A mber’s face and heart were warm as the bus pulled away. Not only had she been on her first on-purpose date in a very long time, but that she had the promise of a second in the near future as well! Even if it was…well, fake.
The word ‘fake’ tasted bad on her tongue, but she did her best to convince herself that this would be beneficial. A trial run, one might say. Practice for when something real came about. A business venture.
Amber did feel quite inadequate, if she were to tell the truth. She was about to thrust herself out of her quiet, peaceful life of cocoa and writing, and into the public eye. Would she be convincing enough? Would Reuben ever see her as more than a pawn in his election?
Did she want that?
But if she did end up dating a public figure, would people start digging into her background and find the link between her and Henry Allen Spencer? A curious mob was as intimidating as an angry mob, and the last thing she wanted was to be outed.
Yet the grin on her face was wide and ridiculous, and Amber couldn’t find it in herself to care. She was too wrapped up in the night and everything that had come from it. She couldn’t help feeling like she was living within one of the romcom storylines that danced constantly through her head.
What kind of story didn’t have a little turbulence, after all? There was certainly a lot to think about tonight while she fought with her insomnia. As she lay in bed, she started wondering how this was really going to work out. Maybe...it would be nice. And tomorrow the real work began.
And work it was. She spent the next two days staring at the computer screen. Amber repeatedly pulled up the old manuscript, remembered Gabriella’s blunt response, and closed it. No, there was no saving that piece of garbage. She would have to start over.
But after a few pages, she’d again repeat the cycle. Anxiety settled in and she continuously deleted entire passages. She was unsure if she had gathered enough information yet to come up with a believable story line without passing into offensive stereotypes and assumptions.
Around 9pm on the second day, she found herself slamming her face into the keyboard and checking her phone every hour. She needed more information from Reuben, but hadn’t gotten any messages since her little attempt at a joke. Had she been offensive and Reuben ghosted? It was quite possible. Maybe she should text him again? No, that might come off as needy...
Why did real life socializing have to be so difficult?
By the third evening, Amber was convinced that she’d screwed everything up. No texts, no calls. Only radio silence. She stared at the new first chapter of Finding the Blood Moon and sighed heavily. “How am I ever supposed to finish this crap knowing that I already failed at interspecies romance? I might as well throw in the towel and find a new career. I’m not cut out for this field!”
She was solidly staring at the trash can icon when the faint buzzing of her phone caught her attention. The screen was lit up with “NOT A BAT MAN” as the name of the caller, and Amber nearly knocked her chair over rushing to grab the phone. Her finger lingered over the answer button, suddenly struck by a case of the nerves. But she managed to work up the courage to press it and answered in a voice far calmer than she expected, “Hello? Yes, this is Amber.”
* * *
Mr. DeVito
E xactly four days had passed since Mr. DeVito attended the singles’ event. His PR team had been circling like a pack of hungry wolves looking for good news and gossip. The vampire, however, seemed to be keeping the information to a minimum. All they had gleaned through their intensive stalking was that the event had been terrible, but their rep had managed to find a decent girl. They had coffee twice and that was it. End of story.
And it wasn’t just the PR department who were sticking their nose into it. Rumors of Mr. DeVito’s current stunt had spread through the office like wildfire, despite every person who heard the tale being sworn to secrecy.
It became apparent, however, that he hadn’t done anything else with this mystery woman when everyone realized he had nothing more to say. That, and the fact he was in the office almost 18 hours a day. That was not going to make the plan successful.
So, ever the one with another scheme between her ears, Stella purchased a set of aquarium tickets. If the first date didn’t satisfy their gossip needs, then maybe a cute second one would.
Mr. DeVito had barely stepped into the office when he was beset by his manager. She had an uncharacteristic smile on her face and Reuben was instantly on his guard. “I know that look. What do you want today, Boss?”
Stella feigned offense and shook her head at the rep. “What do I want? I don’t want anything. I have something for you.” She produced a small envelope and handed it over, watching attentively as he opened it and scanned the tickets inside. “Those are for friends and family. You know, to reward you for working so hard these last few months. The campaign trail has been extra difficult this year, what with the uprisings and protests. We figured somewhere beautiful like the aquarium would give you a place to relax.”
“Not to mention it’s super romantic,” piped up Luna. “The low lights with silent fish slowly swimming their way around their tanks, jellyfish bloop bloop blooping without a care in the world! I’d love it if a cute man would take me to the aquarium.”
One of the interns interjected with, “I prefer a picnic in the park, myself!” while another began prattling on about playing in the rain and camping under the stars. The conversation got everyone distracted enough that Reuben was able to sneak away to his private office. There he slipped the tickets into his pocket and turned on his computer to begin once again chipping away at the mountain that was work.
By the time Reuben pulled into his garage that evening and closed the door behind him, he was spent. He wanted nothing more than to drop onto his couch and stare at the television blankly for a while. He placed his keys on the little shelf by the door and pulled off his suit coat to hang it on the rack. As he did so, the little envelope from earlier fell to the floor.
Reuben picked up the tickets and fanned them apart between his fingertips. Cute little stingrays were swimming in the background, with a group of people enjoying the view. A deep breath entered his lungs and he pulled out his phone. He held it, screen off, for way too long as he debated on inviting Amber. Would she think this was a romantic date? Or was it…too childish?
Then again, he knew why he was being given the tickets by Stella. It was very much a thinly-veiled demand which he would be wise to follow. And he wasn’t doing this for himself, after all. Thousands of supernaturals were relying on him to give them a voice. If he failed now, the likelihood of a supernatural legislator being elected in the near future dropped to almost nothing. At least, that was what he’d been told.
Though he had his own reasons. When he turned in 1986, he’d lost his family, his possessions, his career, and his life as he knew it. And there was no way he was going to risk losing HOME and starting all over again.
Reuben’s thumb tapped ‘call’ on Amber’s name and he took a deep breath. With each passing ring, he became more worried that his girlfriend wouldn’t answer. He’d almost given up when he heard a voice on the other end of the line. “Hello?”
“Hello, Amber?” Reuben asked, a little too formally. He hadn’t been home long enough to shed his politician mask. “I was wondering if you were interested in fish. No! I mean yes, but not just fish. They have sting rays, sharks, tide pools…” He didn’t consider that he’d started to list various attractions he remembered seeing during one of his visits to an aquarium as a child.
Only half-way through did he realize he was attempting to convince Amber this was a fabulous idea without telling her the reason behind the list of sea creatures. It finally struck him that he was the one rambling on about nonsense without asking a question this time. He ran a stressed hand through his hair. He needed to focus. “I’m sorry. What I meant to ask was, would you be willing to go to the aquarium with me? I have this extra ticket…”
Reuben sighed as he paced his kitchen. He should have texted. Three dots at the bottom of his screen were preferable to the awkward silence that would undoubtedly follow the vampire’s insane memory of the aquarium.
“Um, yes, I do like fish,” she stammered, all semblance of cool, calm, and collected disappearing from her tone. “In tanks. And in the actual water I guess, but they’re easier to see when they are in tanks. I mean, yes, the aquarium is cool. And I’d love to go. With you, with you. Not just go. But with you. Like you asked. Sorry, I’m awkward. Yes. I would love to go to the aquarium with you. When did you have in mind?”
Reuben had placed his back against the wall and tilted his head upwards as he waited for a hard no after his utter failure. However, Amber. Wonderful Amber. A huge grin spread across Reuben’s face, teeth and all, knowing that the author was feeling a similar way.
“No, no. Not awkward at all. It’s charming,” he reassured as he rubbed the back of his neck with a free hand. What he wanted to say was ‘adorable,’ but he wasn’t sure he could get away with calling her that. “How about next week? We could meet outside the aquarium at 8AM next Thursday? I’m pretty sure I can get my manager to block out that morning for this. I know we’re not early birds, but it shouldn’t be too busy when they open. ”
Meaning if the place was crowded and one visitor caught wind that Vampire Vito was down there with them…he could already see half the crowd swarming him while the other half dragged their kids in the opposite direction. Cameras would forget the fish and turn on the couple faster than he could blink. Zero out of ten experience all around. “And I hope you won’t be disappointed, but I’ll try to dress down for it. Make it less conspicuous for a greater chance at a peaceful date.”
“8am sounds alright. Just means I have to go to bed early. And don’t worry, it’s not your suit that I agreed to date. Even though it did look quite fine. Oh well, baby steps I suppose. I’ll be sure to wear something inconspicuous as well. I’m looking forward to seeing you again.”
Relief flooded Reuben’s non-working veins that the time and date were favorable. If the wait had to be longer, the anxiety working up to it would kill him. Again. At least he had work to distract him between now and then.
Scenes and scenarios from warm, cute movies began running through his head, replacing any thoughts of cursing Stella for her win. “Perfect. 8AM Thursday it is. I’m looking forward to our aquarium date, too. See you then!”
* * *
Amber
A mber found sleep to be rarer to come by than usual for the next week, even with the sleeping medication. Equal parts excitement and nerves ate away at Amber’s consciousness until she slowly began drifting away each night.
She wasn’t quite sure why she was allowing herself to get so invested in this whole relationship thing, but what could she do? Getting overly wrapped up in the details was such an author thing to do.
The alarm broke through Amber’s troubled dreams Thursday morning and pulled her into reality. Remembering why she actually had an alarm today, the author launched herself out of bed and into a fast shower.
Amber began digging through her closet as soon as she exited the shower, shivering and still slightly damp. What did someone wear to a casual second date? How casual was “casual”? Soon a pile of considered and discarded clothing options covered her bed, and Amber had wandered into the areas of her closet that had been undisturbed for half a decade. Jeans were the obvious choice for pants, but... She frowned in frustration until her eyes fell on a ridiculous camouflage-print polo that her sister had purchased for her once upon a time. She ?did say she’d wear something inconspicuous…
She shaved, applied her favorite perfume, and put on her outfit. She looked a little bit like a military mom in her jeans and camo shirt, but shrugged and put her wallet and keys in her pocket. The taxi she ordered arrived moments later and she found herself standing outside the aquarium at five before eight. It was a beautiful morning; only the lightest and fluffiest clouds dotted the azure sky, and the air had already begun to warm.
Not seeing Reuben right away, Amber sat down on a bench near the entrance and pulled out her phone. She opened the Google docs app and pulled up her most recent draft. It was still only about twenty pages long and not leading anywhere in particular, but at least she didn’t want to delete it anymore. She began focusing on the vampire’s first interaction with the human love interest to pass the time.
* * *
Reuben
R euben rose with the sun, giving him plenty of time to get ready for the date. And ample time for getting distracted. Despite having few casual clothes, deciding what would be appropriate for a public date proved to be a challenge. He dug through all his long sleeved shirts, figuring he would try to cover as much of his pale skin as possible. Dark clothing would make him look more sickly, so the lighter the outfit, the better.
Eventually he stood in front of the mirror in a pale-tangerine, long sleeved shirt. The top two buttons of three remained undone to reveal a plain white tee beneath. For pants he had selected a pair of gray, slim-fit jeans and a plain black belt. A backwards ball cap, white sneakers, and black aviator sunglasses completed the look.
It was perfect.
He drove himself to the aquarium and felt like he was doing quite well on time, until he couldn’t find the entrance to the parking garage. The center of town was a mess of construction cones, detour signs, and groups of pedestrians pedestrian-ing where they should not be.
By the time he pulled into a parking spot, he was decidedly running late. His innate need to be perfect was screaming at his mistake and he flung the car into park when he found a space. Yet he still took a few extra moments to scan his surroundings, paranoia prickling the back of his skull.
The extra shade provided by the concrete structure was a godsend; the day had dawned as brightly as possible with little to no cloud cover. Of course. Reuben slipped on his sunglasses, otherwise unable to withstand the level of sunshine. He walked around to the front of the building, his eyes scanning each person he saw. Yes, he was still technically two minutes early. But it would have been his standard ten if parking hadn’t been an absolute nightmare.
Reuben spotted the woman he was looking for, sitting alone near the entrance of the building. She hadn’t stood him up! Gratitude filled him to the brim and he paused in the shade of a tree to watch her for a moment. Even in her ridiculous outfit, somewhere deep in his brain echoed the word ‘beautiful.’
He couldn’t keep the grin from his face as he strolled up and spoke. “I hope you weren’t waiting long. Here, let’s get inside real quick…” He grabbed the handle of the door and opened it, letting Amber enter first, but following swiftly behind.
The vampire’s sudden appearance startled Amber; Reuben could hear her heart begin to race, though it quickly calmed when she turned and saw who had spoken. “Oh, no, a few minutes is all,” she replied with a cheery grin.
Her eyes lingered on his face; she seemed interested to see that the small exposure to the sun left a soft, pink blush on Reuben’s cheeks and nose. At least, that was his assumption for why she was staring. He tried to hide his face, but it was too late.
For a human, it would have been considered a healthy glow. For vampires? It was a reminder that Reuben really should have put on sunblock. He watched as Amber pulled out her little brown notebook and scribbled a note for later.
Inside and away from the windows, Reuben removed his sunglasses and got a real look at his date. “You almost would have blended in if that shirt didn’t look so great on you,” he teased, giving Amber a shoulder squeeze and a charming smile while looping his sunglasses away on his shirt collar.
Amber’s own cheeks flushed at the compliment and she waved her hand vaguely. “Oh, you know. Just have to look half as good as my other half, while keeping my own brand of humor at the same time.”
The first order of business was to trade their tickets for full-day wristbands. “Would you like me to put those on for you, dear?” the desk attendant asked.
Reuben shook his head with a smile that said ‘I’ve got it, thanks.’ One touch of his clammy skin would give away his ‘I’m a normal human’ ruse. As he walked away from the desk, he began (poorly) attempting to put the wristband on himself. He tried to use his thigh to hold it, leaning over and fumbling with the flimsy piece of paper until he sufficiently looked like an idiot.
Only then did he give in and look up at Amber, a bit embarrassed that he’d declined the employee’s help only to ask for Amber’s. With soft puppy dog eyes he mumbled, “I’m sorry…would you mind helping me? I can’t get the sticker off…”
The friendly ticket lady applied Amber’s wristband with practiced ease, then Amber turned and watched Reuben struggle. Her eyes glittered with amusement. “Of course, sweetheart,” she replied.
Reuben’s eyes had been concentrated on the wristband, but swiftly shot up to Amber’s face when he heard the word ‘sweetheart.’ If he had still possessed a beating heart, it surely would have skipped.