Page 65 of My Road Trip with a Vampire: Season One
“Is that the jealousy side-effect cropping up again?” I bump him with my elbow, and he breathes out a short laugh. “It was just kissing, though.” My cheeks feel hot when he licks his lips. I tuck my hair behind my ear. “I wonder if that had anything to do with Martha’s appearance.”
I can tell he knows this is a bullshit suggestion. We both know what it is, but he’s considering it. His eyelashes flutter when he drops his eyelids and parts his lips.
“We could test it out,” he says, and my heart beats wildly, skipping through my veins as we both lean in closer, our palms moving to the pavement. The edges of our fingers brush by each other when his face is positioned right over mine.
“It’s only to make sure,” I say, and our lips press together before I can finish the thought.
He feels cool but softer than I thought he would. His mouth is full and sensual over the sharp edges of his fangs. He keeps the kiss light, moving gently until I get a feel for where I might get grazed by one of his teeth. The thought makes my pulse race higher, then it settles and drops down to a steady beat between my legs.
I tease with my tongue, meeting the soft tip of his, loving the cool and minty taste of him. My skin prickles all over. I want to get closer.
He wraps one hand into my hair, drawing me into him, and the kiss deepens, our mouths parting wide for each other as I try to shift my legs and wrap one over his.
I moan softly against his mouth as he loosens his grip from my hair and feathers his fingers down the back of my neck.
This kiss is supposed to be an experiment, but I feel like it might last forever. I think I might want it to. Dennis’ hand slips further down my back, resting between my shoulders. The gentle pressure is enough to keep me braced against him as I wrap my arms behind his neck and fall with him when he lies back on the patch of grass behind us.
“Dude, look! I think they’re going to bone!”
Our eyes snap open at the same time. I know I must look horrified, but Dennis stays calm as we sit up. He smooths his hair, and I fix the strap of my tank top.
“Sorry, we got lost trying to visit some friends. Took the scenic route and started having too much fun on our own.” Dennis sweeps his eyes over me, then looks back to the group of guys staring with their red plastic cups in hand.
“Can’t blame you, dude,” one of them says, smiling at me. He’s wearing a backward baseball cap and a t-shirt with the sleeves cut off. The makeup smudged beneath his eyes makes him look more like a football player than any sort of ghost. “But uh, if you’re looking for a party…”
He waves for us to join the group of dudes he’s walking with.
“What do you think, Bea? Are you up for more ghost stories?” Dennis asks. I have no other good leads for finding Martha, so talking to more students might be helpful.
“I’m always up for more ghost stories.”
We swap names that are quickly lost to the haze of alcohol and the sound of country music blaring through one of their bluetooth speakers. It’s a song I’ve never heard before, but they all sing along.
“I didn’t know you were a dog person,” I say to Dennis. I glance at Darling, wagging her tail next to him.
“Kind of hard to be when the canine lifespan is so short, and mine is so long.” He says it jokingly, but there’s a twinge of sadness there. I understand completely, even if my lifespan is also comparatively short. “But I’ll make an exception for your poltergeist puppy. She is pretty cute.”
“Wait, I thought you couldn’t see her,” I say in a hushed voice.
“I can now.” He shrugs. “It must be a bond thing.”
We stop when the leader of the group holds his cup between his teeth to mess with his key ring. He bumps the door open with his back and ushers everyone in. I’m trying to think of some way to get him to formally invite Dennis in without being totally awkward about it, but our hesitation prompts him.
“Are you two coming in or what?” he asks, smiling and pulling his cup from his teeth.
It’s enough.
Dennis slides his arm around me, and we head in.
Most of the rooms on the first floor of the residence hall are open, and we break away from our group once we’re inside a suite. The doors are open between the four dorm rooms, allowing everyone to flow through the common space.
“Think we should head out?” I ask Dennis after wandering through the place several times, trying to see if anyone is talking about Martha. Although plenty of people are still wearing costumes in honor of her, the conversations I hear are all about sex or some other party.
“Yeah, this seems like a dead end.” He leans in and brushes my hair back away from my face. “We could try breaking into Pratt Hall again. Unless you’re having fun here.”
The wordfunconjures images of us lying on the grass. This is nowhere near as fun as that.
“This isn’t really my scene,” I tell him. “Let’s go.”
