Page 24 of Little Wing
Ah fuck—here we go. Wait… what?
“Oh?”
She bobbed her head as she looked past me. A sly smile crept across her lips, even as her eyes wandered to the noise happening on the stage. “I kissed you back, didn’t I?”
I admit I hoped she would say that, but there were plenty of times where people got lost in the moment and ended up regretting theirdecisions. When I saw her smile hadn’t faded, I allowed myself to believe her.
“Yeah, you sure did,” I responded as confidently as I could while my brain screamed at the possibility of kissing her again.
I longed for another chance to taste her, to show her the kind of tenderness she deserved. Even as Lotus smiled and laughed, there was a pain behind her eyes that couldn't be ignored, that left me to wonder what it was that haunted her.
The need to hold her, kiss her, protect her—this woman was in my head and I was going to lose my mind if I didn’t get more of her. It didn’t help that she no longer looked at me like I was about to ruin her night. Speaking now didn’t feel like an interview. We shared more drinks, switching over to crimson after our third glass of chilled blood. We talked about our experiences living in Fairhaven—how long we’ve lived here, how we liked it, and what we saw for its future. And then we cracked jokes that made her laugh and talk so fast that hints of her Scottish roots slipped out. I didn’t want the night to end. Not when I wanted to see more of her like that, just so damn free.
When I did finally glance at the time on my phone, I hung my head, dreading having to get up from the booth. I admit it did please me to see that Lotus appeared just as disappointed. Guess it wasn’t just me that enjoyed the company. This time when we did settle up at the bar and make our way down what I learned was her favorite path home, there wasn’t a moment of silence between us. Lotus continued to ask questions about Little Wing and how my life was here in Fairhaven, and I shared it all with her. The only thing I didn’t share with her was how much I wanted to be closer to her, and how I wondered if she was feeling the same pull. I believed she did when she swayed into me, her hand gently brushing against mine. At least she wasn’t keeping a rigid distance from me anymore, accident or not, I would take it.
When we made it to her apartment building, I stopped to lean against the metal gate. The not-so-distant memory of what happened there had me shifting my weight to one side. Lotus showed no rush to head upstairs, so we stood together, listening to the swaying of the tree branches around her building. Rather than feeling awkward and tense, I could have stayed there until daylight if it meant having this moment with her. Of course, we didn’t have that luxury anymore, so anything else I wanted to share with her before heading home, I had to say now.
“I’m glad you came out today,” I confessed, breaking the silence between us. “I admit I was worried that I scared you away and you were just trying to be polite when I kept coming in to the store.”
“I wasn’t scared,” she said, looking down at the ground. Her hair draped over her face, but I could see her biting down on her bottom lip. What I wouldn’t do to be the one nipping at her.
I wondered what was going through her head. What was she taking so long to think about? What was she filtering out before speaking to me? And how could I have her uncensored thoughts spoken to me without such calculation?
“Maybe we could do this again sometime?” she finally asked. I could hear it in her voice—the sheepishness that came with taking a chance she wasn’t used to. I fucking loved it.
I pushed off the fence, eager for an excuse to touch her. “Wow, you’d let me take you out on a proper date?”
She gasped softly and I just knew I’d be depositing that sound to my mental library of sounds I’d like to hear her make again.
“I mean—um, maybe just—uh—”
I nodded and leaned forward to touch her cheek before pressing a chaste kiss to it. “No need to get so flustered, Lotus. I’d love to see you again. Now go on upstairs and rest well. We’ll chat real soon.”
The promise was meant for her, but I knew I would cling to it just the same.
Because my dear Lotus, another petal was plucked tonight, and it wouldn’t be long before I get to the center of you. And when that happens, I don’t know if I will have the willpower to stay away.
We got book three in the store today. Just thought I'd let you know. Do you want me to set it aside for your brother?
Midnight! That was my horse's name back then. I thought I would text you since I remembered.
Am I doing this too much? Sorry. Just had a nice time talking to you, now that I know you are not trying to murder me.
Since Lotus and I last saw each other, she began texting me more regularly. Sometimes it was just a greeting or her telling me about something funny at work. Other times it was her apologizing for accidentally calling me. When she did that, I always ended picking up, and we’d talk for a bit. I was taking any chance to speak to her, whether it was texting or speaking on the phone. I was very quickly getting hooked on anything that Lotus shared with me, anything that hinted at what she concealed from everyone else. She was slowly letting me in on who she really was; I could feel it, and I was putting the puzzle together.
In between appointments for Little Wing, I fired back responses to make sure this connection wouldn’t fizzle out.
It got to the point where I was checking my phone every few minutes to see if she sent me anything new, which did eventually start to earn me plenty of eye rolls from Mateo. But did he really have room to talk? When he and Quinn got cell phones after moving to the States, they couldn’t stop texting each other, even while they were in the same room. Then again, they were probably sending nudes to each other. No surprise there.
“So, what’s going on with this chick?” Mateo asked, setting a clipboard down on to the desk I was leaning against. “You’ve been staring at your phone like a lovesick human. She the one you’re bringing to the grand opening?”
I glanced at my phone one more time and slipped it into the pocket of my jeans. When Mateo motioned for me to answer, I groaned wearily. I knew the event was coming up quickly but inviting her still had me feeling conflicted.
“If she’d want to. I mean, Mattie, she’s like us. She’s similar in age, familiar with how things were…” I trailed off. Mateo knew bits and pieces about Lotus. From the beginning, she plagued my mind with questions I couldn't answer, so I confided in him about her.
“But?” Mateo nudged me. “What’s the ‘but’, brother?”
“I don’t know. I’d have to ask her, because I don’t want to shove all this vampire pride and shit down her throat. She’s not pretending to be human, but I don’t think she’s felt pride or acceptance because of everything that she went through.” I exhaled softly and brought my hand to my cheek, itching my palm against my stubbled jaw. “Because she was—”
