***
After finally accepting his offer to take me out, we chose that following Saturday for our first date. Lance had a huge test to study for that week, and it would be his first Saturday off since he started working. He insisted upon picking me up at my place at six thirty that evening. He claimed he was old fashion and it was only right to meet my parents before taking me out. Isaac of course thought it was funny, and Olivia was walking around on cloud nine waiting to meet him. Christopher was my only worry. I kept track of everything running through his mind. He contemplated telling Lance that I was his girlfriend, and we only told people we were brother and sister, so they would not look down upon my parents for letting my boyfriend live with us. A few times, I caught him contemplating on sneaking into the Grayson’s house to erase Lance’s memory of me. Christopher even tried to persuade me not to go out with Lance. One day, Christopher came to me with a list of reasons why I should not go out with Lance. When I tried to walk away from him, he grabbed my arms and pulled me into a kiss. That was the first and last time he ever did that. I wanted to snap him in half like a twig. Instead, I let my mind wrap around his arms to release them from my body, while slowly detaching his lips from mine. Even though he made me angry, I did not want to hurt him—anymore than I already did. Once I was out of his grasp, I locked his body in place and walked away. I left him stuck like that for more than twenty minutes. I needed to give both of us time to cool down. He did not speak to me for a month after that.
When Saturday finally rolled around, I was a little more excited than I thought I would be. Lance had kept his distance at school, and I had not gone into the store since the night of the accident. It was my first date ever, and with a human. I was not sure what to expect. Over the years I had seen Christopher bring a date home occasionally, but I knew it was not for the right reasons.
That evening I chose to wear a simple light pink with a white collar dress. I accessorized my outfit with a white pearl necklace and a two inch white pair of heels. The front of my hair was pulled back in a clip while the back hung in little waves. I was ready by six twenty-five, and Lance was ringing the doorbell at six thirty on the dot. Christopher had stepped out a few hours before, so there was less stress in the air. Isaac answered the door and invited Lance in. Lance promptly introduced himself to my father. I did not want either one of them to feel too awkward, so I came down stairs once I heard they were done with their greetings. Lance looked more handsome than I had ever seen him. I could hear his heartbeat increase as I made it down the stairs. He stood next to Isaac just inside the doorway and I could tell he was nervous. The closer I got, the more he swayed from side to side.
Lance was dressed in a light blue collared shirt under his high school lettermen jacket. His pants were navy blue and he had on a pair of new patent leather shoes. The light blue shirt made his blue eyes come alive. I had a hard time taking my sight off of them. Once I reached the bottom steps, he handed me a peach rose.
“I picked it from my mother’s garden.”
Before I had a chance to take it, Olivia’s hand reached out, “Here let me put it in water for you.”
She spun to leave a little faster than a human should move. “Slow it down a little, mom.”
“Sorry, I guess you two aren’t the only nervous ones. Are you sure you will be okay? You did eat sometime today, right?”
I chuckled to myself, “Yes, I went out about two hours ago. I’m sure everything will be fine. I’ll contact you if the date doesn’t go well. Now, come back in here so I can introduce you to my date, before we leave.” “ Thank you for the rose, Lance. It’s lovely. As you guessed, that’s my mother placing the rose in water.”
Lance attempted to glance at me, then set his sight back on the floor. He was blushing more than ever.
“The rose is nothing compared to you, Amber.” He swallowed rather loud and cleared his throat before speaking again. “I’m glad you like it.”
When Olivia rejoined us, we made our final introductions and goodbyes before heading out the door.
Lance opened the car door of a white and red Plymouth Belvedere for me. Since this was my first date, I wanted everything he said to be a surprise, so I promised myself I would not read his thoughts. I have to admit, it took everything in me not to sneak a glance as to what he had planned for the evening.
Once we backed out of my driveway, Lance turned to me and said, “I’m glad you finally said ‘yes’. I was really worried I would have to follow you to the ends of the world, to get you to go out with me.”
A nervous laugh escaped from his lips, as an uncomfortable silence settled in the car. We drove this way for a few miles. I was just about to break my promise and read his mind when he spoke again.
“I was thinking we could go to Lucy’s Shoppe for dinner and then the drive-in. Lifeboat is playing tonight. It is a horror movie, but I figured I’ll be there to keep you safe. I hope you like a good scare.”
It was my turn to laugh, if he only knew who he was sitting next too. If he was to have read my mind, he would discern that I was wondering how nice it would feel to have his hot sweet blood flowing down my throat. He would understand that his scent was assaulting me and making my mouth ache. At any minute, I was likely to strike and drain every ounce of his blood. He may have thought he was going to keep me safe, but who was going to keep him safe from the blood thirsty creature, if I could not keep it at bay?
I had to remind myself to act human, “Dinner and a movie will be nice. I don’t scare easily though.”
Lance parked out front of Lucy’s Shoppe and looked at me, “That’s fine if you don’t scare easy. My arm will still be around you just in case you change your mind.”
I was not prepared for him to say that. I liked the fact that he laid his intentions out in the open. His forwardness kept me from breaking my promise. Lance opened the door to the diner for me and all eyes seemed to be trained on us. Like most places, this was standard procedure when my family and I entered a building. My family and I had lived in Johnstown for over a year, but we kept to ourselves. Outside of a few block parties we attended, we did not make many appearances in the town. Once Lance and I were seated and menus placed in front of us, I had the difficult decision of choosing what to pretend to eat. I thought about making him think I ate whatever I ordered, but then I realized that I would have to also make the waitress imagine the same thing. I did not want to use that much energy, given that I would be confined to a car later breathing in only Lance’s scent. “Do you come here often?”
Lance looked up from studying his menu, “I used to come once a week with my parents, but after my father died, my mother and I cut back to once a month. Well, that is until she became sick. This is the first time that I have come here in over a year.”
That was not how I expected that conversation to go. “I’m sorry to hear about your dad, when did he die?”
Lance’s face crumpled as he was remembering a different time in his life. “He died when I was eleven.”
I sensed he would rather not talk about it, so I did not push the subject. “This is my first time coming here. What would you suggest for dinner?”
His face changed to a look of relief. He seemed happy to be off the previous subject. “I always order the Classic Burger.”
With a nod, I put my menu down. “That sounds good. I think I will have the same.” Right on cue the waitress came back with water and took our orders.
I declare, that burger was one of the worst things I have ever put in my mouth. I would have rather drank from a dead corpse than have to suffer through another bite. During dinner we talked about our favorite horror movies, and what we would do if we were ever in a situation like that. Dracula had just come to the movies and that, of course, was Lance’s movie of choice.
‘It’s quite simple, if you knew the Count slept during the day, the only logical solution would be to break into his coffin while he’s resting and stake h
im. I mean, how realistic is it to wait until he’s awake and roaming the streets killing innocent people at night to want to hunt him. Everybody knows all vampire’s have coffins and sleep during the day. Why wouldn’t you just follow him back to his dwellings, and wait for the day light and then stake him? Besides, he really didn’t seem that scary. I think I could do it. I could kill him.’
I had a hard time trying to keep a straight face during the conversation; Lance was much closer to living in his own horror movie than he really knew. I thought it was best to allow him to do most of the talking.
Back in the car, Lance seemed to be a lot more comfortable with me.
“So, Amber, tell me about yourself.”
I really was not looking forward to talking about myself. I figured I should talk as little about me as possible. I did not want to lie to him, and I knew he was not ready for the truth. I was very happy he did not bring up that evening in the grocery store, yet. “Well, there is not much to tell. You met my parents and you have seen my brother at school.” When I mentioned Christopher, a comical look donned Lance’s face. I knew without reading his mind that he thought my brother and I shared a weird relationship. Every time he saw me at school, Christopher was a little too close. “The Harris’ are my adoptive family. I’ve lived with them for such a long time now that I don’t see them any other way than just my family.”
Lance sat quiet, for a moment before he gave me a slight nod. I could tell he was in deep thought, still I went on. “There really isn’t much to say about me. I don’t want to bore you. I would love to hear about you though.” I watched his hand move towards mine sitting on the seat. He lightly brushed the top of my hand with his. Feeling the soft and warmth of his hand sent a chill through my body. If I was still human, I would have had goose bumps.
“There is nothing boring about you, Amber,” he laughed, as if to an inside joke. “If you don’t want to talk about yourself now, that is fine. I will get it out of you sooner or later. I don’t have any siblings, so after my father died it was just me and my mom. Both my parents came from a long line of only children. It’s nice at Christmas and getting all of the attention, although, when people die, there doesn’t leave much family for get-togethers. As of right now, it is just my mother and me.”
His hand stroking mine mesmerized me. I twisted my hand to entangle our fingers together, and then looked at him. “You said your mother is sick. Is it something the doctors can cure?”
“She has Multiple Sclerosis.”
At that time, I did not know much regarding the disease, and Lance seemed reluctant to give up more information. I would have to do research in the coming days to have a better understanding of Lance’s and his mother’s lives.
At the drive-in, Lance offered to get snacks but I declined. That burger was all the people food I could take for one night. He surprised me by pulling a blanket out of the back seat. Well maybe surprised is not the right word. I could smell it back there. I just figured it was for his mom.
He pulled the blanket out and gave me a huge grin.
“I have a blanket just in case you get cold. I know I told you I planned on putting my arm around you, but I don’t want you to think of me as less of a gentleman by moving too fast. Whatever way you feel comfortable is fine with me.”
I did not need the blanket and I was worried that being to close to his blood-filled veins may tempt me; nonetheless, I chose to go with both. “I won’t think of you as any less of a gentleman by you putting your arm around me. I also think we will both fit under the blanket.” I have never seen someone’s face light up the ways his did. We scooted towards the middle of the car and he put the blanket over both of us.
When the movie started, I watched him hesitate a few times before he got the nerve to put his arm around my shoulders.
“Is this okay?”
Meeting those big blue eyes, all I could do was nod. I had inhaled his scent again and I was afraid to open my mouth. In some ways, I wanted his scent to engulf me. I was enjoying being tucked under his arm more than the movie I had already seen ten times. Watching the movie this time with Lance made me appreciate it much more. My favorite part of the movie was when Lance jumped from being scared. In all honesty, I was not watching the movie. I had trouble taking my eyes off of his face. Thankfully, he never noticed. Every time Lance jumped, it brought our bodies closer, which I loved the most. He became aware of my stare and a look of embarrassment settled on his face, until we locked eyes, and he saw that I did not care. Gazing into each other’s eyes, he slowly brought his free hand up to my cheek and stroked it lightly.
“Amber, you are so beautiful. I’m so glad you finally said ‘yes’.”
I brought my hand up to hold the fingers of the arm that was wrapped around my shoulders, and we sat there staring at each other until the movie was over.
After the movie, Lance took me straight home. He explained that he did not want to have me out too late and make a bad impression on my parents. I expressed to him that he should not worry about what my parents would think, still, he made sure I was home at a decent hour. As he walked me to the door, we held hands. When we reached the porch, he grabbed my other hand and stared down into my eyes.
“Thank you, for a wonderful evening, Amber. I hope this will not be the first and last time we go out.”
I wanted so badly to be pulled into his arms and feel his lips on mine, but I knew that he would not ask anything like that of me on the first date. “Thank you. I had a wonderful time as well, and I would love to go out with you again.” As I finished speaking, I heard glass and wood breaking on the second floor, and something heavy fall to the ground in the backyard. I did not have to think too hard about it. I was positive Christopher had thrown something out the window. Wood and clothing smashing to the ground has a distinctive sound. I was pretty sure it was his dresser.
Lance heard it too. “What was that? Did you hear something break?”
“I umm, yes, I think it was my neighbors. They fight a lot.” Satisfied with my answer, Lance drew his attention back to me. He let go of my right hand and he brought his left hand to my face, cupping it. The warmth from his body was intense. I could hear the pulse thumping in his wrist. I wanted to rub my lips across that thick vein in his wrist. I wanted to feel the blood that flowed through his veins as it entered my mouth.
“Amber?”
Lance’s voice snapped me out of my blood trance. I regrettably drew my attention away from his pulsating vein and attempted to listen to him. “The first time I saw you I told myself I had to get to know you. After the other day in the store, I realized that there may be more to you than most girls. Saying that, I just want to let you know that I do not care. Whatever else there is, I can handle it. I could detect that tonight you were holding your true self back from me. Now that I know you want to see me again, I hope that you will feel comfortable enough with me to be yourself. I don’t want you to feel you need to hide anything from me.”
Stepping back from his grasp, all I could do is stare at him. This is not how I wanted my evening to end. Yes, I did want him to know the true me, but I did not want it brought up so quickly. I at least wanted to give him a chance to get to know everything else about me, before he found out I was a monster. “Lance look, I…” Before I could say another word, he placed a warm finger on my lips.
“Shh, I understand.”
He then dropped his hand and turned to leave, calling over his shoulder, “You already said ‘yes’. That’s all I needed to hear for now. I need to go check on my mother, but I will be calling to talk to you tomorrow. We can figure out a good time to go out again. Thank you again, for a lovely evening.”
I was speechless, which does not happen often. I stood there watching him get into his car and pull out the driveway. I am unaware of the amount of time that went by before I finally went inside.