The Vampire That Loved Me, Chapter 2

Chapter 2

She walked as slowly as possible, not wanting to enter the sea of bodies again. It took her several minutes at the pace she was going to get close enough to feel the heat radiating off of the crowd. She was just about to step across the make-believe line when she stopped. She hadn’t noticed before, but she now heard footsteps coming from behind her. She was about to turn around to see who it was when she felt arms around her waist and a voice in her ear, whispering, “On second thought, I’ll see you now.”

She was so stunned that she didn’t really pay attention to the voice of the person speaking to her. She wanted to believe it was Ricky, but she couldn’t be sure. She asked, “Ricky?”

Instead of answering her question, the person behind her covered her eyes with one hand, while keeping the other wrapped around her waist. “Close your eyes,” she heard, confirming that the person behind her was definitely a man.

She did as told and was picked up into the arms of her kidnapper. He started running and she knew at once, at the speed they were going, it was Ricky. She heard the crashing of undergrowth and realized that they had gone back into the woods.

They stopped suddenly, and he put her down on her feet. “Open your eyes,” he said.

She opened them and her jaw dropped. The scene around her was amazing. They were back in the meadow, but it had changed completely. Everywhere she looked she saw fireflies lighting up the darkness. And in the middle, she saw a circle of small white candles. He heard him move behind her and turned around. He was walking toward the circle, so she followed close behind.

When they got there, he sat down while she just stood there, still amazed. He’d done all this in the few minutes they’d been apart. He looked at her expectantly and then grabbed her hand. He pulled her to the ground, surprising her, but then pulled her into his lap, making her blush.

She tried to avoid looking at him because she was blushing again, so she looked around. The place was amazing. Above her, a black sky, full of tiny white stars and a full moon. Around her, ten or so beautiful white candles, the wicks burning brightly. Below her, a man more gorgeous than her surroundings put together.

She began blushing again at that thought and she heard him laugh behind her. She turned her head around and turned her body as much as the arms around her waist would allow. She looked him in those beautiful eyes of his and asked, “And just what is so funny?”

He laughed again and shook his head from side to side. “If you blush anymore, your cheeks will catch on fire,” he said, smiling at her.

This caused her to blush all over again, making him laugh even more. She decided to change the subject. “How’d you set this up so quickly,” she asked.

“I have a basket hidden in a hole in a tree that I keep the candles and blanket in. On nights like this, I like to come out here to be alone to think,” he replied.

“But you don’t need the candles to see do you,” she asked.

He chuckled. “No, they just add beauty to the scene."

She turned around to look at her surroundings again. She sighed happily. “It is really pretty...”

“Not as pretty as you,” he replied. She looked back at him and became instantly mesmerized by his eyes. She didn’t even notice that his face was close to hers until she felt pressure on her lips.

Her eyes flew open in surprise. He’d kissed her! She couldn’t believe it. But a few seconds later, he pulled back. She opened her eyes and looked at him. Something was wrong.

“What did I do,” she asked.

He shook his head and then lowered it to look at the ground. “I shouldn’t have done that,” he said.

“Why not,” she asked.

“Because...,” he began, but stopped. He looked up at her. She looked upset, not mad at him for pulling away, but sad that he’d done so. He hung his head again.

“That’s not an answer,” she said, hooking her finger under his chin to make him look at her.

“I can’t, and you shouldn’t want to either,” he said.

“And why not,” she asked, sounding snippy.

“Because I’m a freaking vampire for crying out loud,” he shouted. He saw the look of shock on her face and apologized.

“Why would that matter,” she began slowly, trying to find the right words, “If you wanted to hurt me, you would’ve done so already. So why should you being a vampire matter?”

He stared in total awe at her. Anyone else would’ve run away from him the minute they saw him in the state she’d witnessed on their first encounter. But she was still here. He was amazed, but scared for her safety.

“Just because I haven’t already hurt you doesn’t mean I won’t. I have a very short temper. Sometimes the littlest of things set me off. If you ever did that, and I hurt you, I’d never be able to forgive myself,” he said, hanging his head again.

She raised his head with her finger again, keeping it there to prevent him from hanging his head again. They looked into each others’ eyes for a few seconds.

“Well that’s a chance I’m willing to take,” she said. She thought that would’ve ended the discussion.

“Well it’s not one I’m willing to take. Listen, I’ve hurt two people before you. They are the only ones though, so don’t go thinking I’m some cold-blooded killer. But I found out she was cheating on me and I just lost it. I tore into her and her boyfriend, severely injuring them both. The cops thought it was an animal, a wild dog or something. That’s the only reason they never found out who did it. I don’t want that to happen again,” he said.

“I guess I better get going then,” she said, pushing herself up.

He sat there for a few moments, his mind screaming in panic. He knew he shouldn’t get too attached to her. Someone always ended up getting hurt in the end. But even after that realization, he still couldn’t let her leave. He got up quickly, catching up to her in an instant.

“Sit back down. Enjoy the rest of the night. It was nice to meet you Ricky,” she said, trying to hide her tears and disappointment.

He grabbed her arm and spun her around. “Please....don’t leave,” he said.

“And why not,” she asked, her voice rising, her sadness turning to anger. “You obviously don’t want me here.”

“That’s not true,” he said. “Listen. I really like you. I would hate to see you get hurt. I’d never be able to forgive myself. I never really forgave myself the first time. I’d hate myself even more if I let it happen again. But, I just can’t seem to let you leave.”

She looked up at him and smiled faintly. When he looked down at her, he noticed she’d been crying, and he reached up to wipe away what was left of her tears. She grabbed his hands and held them between her own.

“I’d hate for that to happen too. But like I said, I’m willing to take that risk. I don’t usually make people angry, but I’ll try extra hard not to this time,” she said. She looked up to find him smiling.

She smiled back and he leaned forward, touching his lips to hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck, becoming totally lost in his kiss. It felt so good. But then she remembered Emma and she gasped. He pulled back.

“What’s wrong,” he asked.

“I forgot all about Emma,” she said, “I’m supposed to drive her home!”

“Call her and tell her you’re on your way. I’ll take you,” he said.

Isabelle quickly dialed Emma’s number on her cell phone. After a few rings, Emma picked up and immediately began screaming. Isabelle assured her that she was all right and would be there shortly and then hung up before waiting for a reply. Ricky picked Isabelle up, placing her on his back, and ran into the woods.

In a few short moments, they’d reached the empty lot again. Isabelle dropped off Ricky’s back and onto the ground. She noticed Emma standing on top of a chair, looking around for her. Ricky lowered his head and gave Isabelle a quick kiss on the lips before taking off in the direction from which they’d just come.

Isabelle ran as fast as she could in the direction she’d seen Emma. It was so late that there weren’t a lot of people left, so she found her easily. Emma’s face was red with anger, but before she could say anything, Isabelle waved her hand in front of Emma’s face, cutting off any sentence she was about to start.

“Please, not now. Let’s just go to the car,” Isabelle said.

“You expect me to just listen to you and go off to the car without you explaining where you’ve been for the past couple hours,” Emma said, her nostrils flaring with anger.

Isabelle turned toward her friend, getting angry herself. “Yes, I do. Listen, I’m not in the mood. I’ll explain everything later,” she said. She didn’t want Emma to ruin her good mood. She turned around and began walking towards the parking lot.