Riding the Storm

by Candace Blevins

  When she arrived at the marina Eric was standing below the parking lot at the water’s edge, throwing what looked like dog food to the ducks. She got out and went to him, and he handed her the bag. She took it and looked at it questioningly, “Dog food?”

  “No, it’s duck food. I buy it at a farm supply store. Most people feed them crackers or bread, but human food isn’t good for them.” He beamed his warm, magical smile, and her knees threatened to go weak. “Toss the rest of the bag and we’ll walk up the hill.”

  They made small talk as they walked up the hill. She told him she was looking for a place to put a small bar in town by the University, he told her the whole vampire thing had given him a great idea for a project, and he’d asked Abbott for permission to write vampires into a video game. Abbott had given him tentative consent, as well as a list of things to make wrong, and another list of abilities he couldn’t include. The Master Vampire wanted people to continue to think stakes through the heart killed them, for instance, and he didn’t want anyone to know how to successfully restrain a vampire with rappelling rope.

  “During the dark ages,” she explained, “a friend was about to be killed by hunters. However, when she started crying watery tears, they decided maybe she wasn’t a vampire, since the myth says we cry tears of blood. Instead of taking her head and heart, they decided to stake her outside, to see if she burned in the sun when it rose the next morning. We managed to rescue her before dawn, so the blood-tears myth saved her life.”

  “Apparently, he has to go to someone higher than him for official authorization, since it’ll sell outside his territory?”

  Kendra nodded, but didn’t give details. Going to the Vampire Media Council was a big deal, and she’d rather they not be introduced to Eric. She’d need to talk to Abbott about it, later.

  When they reached the top of the hill he laid the blanket out, and she took her boots off and sat with him. Eric pulled her to him, tucking her under his arm as they both looked out over the river. Against her better judgement, she let him hold her, let his warmth soak into her until their hearts beat in rhythm, because it felt so, damned, good.

  Of course, if he wasn’t prepared to tell her he was good with her being a vampire, then pulling away again would hurt, but she was willing to give herself a few more luxurious, decadent minutes in his arms, and hoped the fact he was holding her meant he’d come to terms with everything.

  “Kendra, I missed you.”

  She didn’t say anything, and after a few moments, he said, “Now you’re supposed to tell me you missed me, too.”

  “Eric, I told you how I felt. I told you I wanted a relationship with you, and that whatever kind of relationship you’re interested in, we’ll find a way to make it work. I told you I like you, and I want to spend time with you. You make me feel alive, and it’s been a long time since someone made me feel like this. Knowing that, it should be obvious I’ve missed you, shouldn’t it? The ball is in your court, now. Do something with it.”

  He pulled away, taking away his warmth. “You sound angry.”

  She realized he was right. She was angry. She liked him, and he didn’t know what to do, and that put her out of control and made her heart hurt.

  But being angry with him wouldn’t solve anything.

  She hugged her knees to her chest, wrapped her arms around her legs, and looked out at the water. “I’m sorry. I’m angry at the situation, I guess, but not you. Sometimes it sucks to be a vampire.”

  He spoke in short sentences, as if he wasn’t really sure of himself, or wasn’t sure of what he was saying. “I want to see you, do things with you. I want to date you. But, I can’t be exclusive. We should both continue to date other people. I don’t know where we’ll end up, but this is as good as I can do, for now. I can’t stand the idea of saying goodbye to you, but I’m also not ready to say goodbye to the idea of a traditional wife and family. This is the best I can come up with that lets me be true to how I feel.”

  She couldn’t fault him for being true to his own wants and needs, but she also couldn’t fault herself for doing what was necessary to protect her heart. She took a breath, slid her emotions to the side, and fell back into the logical place in her mind that’d served her so well. “Fair enough, I guess. Thanks for being honest with me. The Realtor thinks a place about to become available will work for my project. Once we find the location, I’ll be busy for the next couple of months from sundown until around eleven o’clock as I deal with decorators, contractors, the application for a liquor license, hiring people, ordering supplies, coming up with a menu, and, well, there’s a lot to do. I’ve also put myself on the on-call list, to fill in when Abbott has someone call in sick somewhere, but on the nights I don’t get called to help, I should have free time from probably midnight until dawn most nights, so call or email me if you want to see me, I guess.”

  “No, Kendra, I’m not going to let you leave it like that.”

  “What do you mean you aren’t going to let me leave it like that? You are the one who’s still unsure about a relationship. I absolutely will not push you into something you aren’t certain of, so yes, you’re going to have to come up with date ideas and then ask me out. I need to know you’re at least invested enough in our rela—” No, not a relationship. Without missing a beat she continued, “…whatever this is to do that much.”

  Dammit, she was getting emotional. What was it with this man? She hugged her legs harder and thought about disappearing on him again. They’d probably said everything they needed to say — he knew he needed to call her and ask her out on a date, what more was there to say?

  “Kendra, here, let go of your legs and let me hold you.” He touched her shoulder, stroked her hair, caressed her arm. She didn’t move, though. Couldn’t move.

  “I seem to have hurt you by taking so long to try to figure things out,” he continued, his hand at the back of her shoulder now, his body turned towards her as she looked out on the Tennessee River without seeing it. “I’m sorry. I should’ve called you sooner. I worked on the proposal and tried to give myself time to think. I figured I’d see you when I got the proposal put together and met Abbott and Josef at the house with it, but then you weren’t there. I’m sorry, you’re so strong, so confident, so... worldly, I never imagined I could hurt you. Please don’t shut down on me.”

  Finally, he sounded as if he wanted her. Everything he’d said up until then had been spoken as if he wasn’t sure of what he was saying, and now he sounded certain. But, for how long? Just until something freaked him out again? Stupid mortal man. She should just walk away from him, save herself the heartache. Sure, he could make her feel alive now, but what happened when he met some cute hang glider and they started dating and decided to get married? There was no way to compete with that, and the cute hang glider would be what he really wanted, so Kendra shouldn’t even try to come between them. She’d be as pathetic as Jake, thinking Angel would be his if only Kye would go the fuck away. She felt her eyes threatening to water, and no way was she going to let Eric see her cry. She needed to go.

  “I need to get to TBC. Call me if you want to do something and I’ll have to see how busy I am.”

  And she disappeared on him. It’d taken them five minutes to walk up the hill, and she was in her car with the key in the ignition in less than fifteen seconds. Her cellphone rang as she pulled out of the marina onto the street.

  “Dammit Kendra, stop doing that!”

  “Are you just calling to give me orders, Eric? Because if you are then I’m not interested.”

  “Please stop disappearing on me. I said I was sorry I hurt you, and then you were just gone. I didn’t even get to kiss you. Come back, please, and let me kiss you goodbye, at least, before you go to work.”

  “No, Eric, I’m not coming back to kiss you. Like I said before I left, if you want to ask me out then call me.”

  “I’m calling you now. Come back here after you get off tonight. Please.”

  “No.” />
  “No?”

  “Eric, we’re open until three in the morning, and then I’ll have to stay and lock up. I told you to call when you want to ask me out. On a date. Showing up on your boat at four in the morning for a booty call isn’t a date. Sorry, not interested.”

  “If you aren’t going to be available until after midnight for maybe months, then how am I supposed to ask you out on an official date? I can’t take you to a movie after midnight, or to the theater. And you don’t eat food so I can’t even take you to a restaurant. You aren’t leaving me many options here, Kendra.”

  He was right, time to give a little. “My Friday and Saturday nights will probably be open. While I might meet with the decorator or the Realtor on a weekend night, I won’t be meeting with the contractor or attorneys. So, come up with something on the weekend we can do after sundown.”

  “Okay. I miss you. I wanted to hold you, kiss you. Please stop disappearing on me.”

  If he missed her so damned bad why the hell had he taken so long to want to see her again? But instead of saying that, she told him, “Goodnight, Eric.”

  “Goodnight, Kendra. I hope to see you again soon.”

  She hung up, drove home, went straight to the workout room, and took her anger out on the punching bag before changing clothes, touching up her hair and makeup, and driving to TBC.

  Luckily, it was a pretty uneventful night. As she was driving home, her phone rang — Eric again. Shit. Days without hearing from him, and suddenly he wouldn’t go away.

  “Hello again, Eric.”

  “The community theater is doing a production of Lost in Yonkers, the show starts at eight. I’m online now and can get us good seats for either Friday or Saturday night. Which is better for you?”

  “Saturday.”

  “Okay, I’ll knock on your door a few minutes after sundown to pick you up.”

  “Great, I’ll see you then.”

  “Kendra, that’s almost a week away. If you have some time between now and then and you’d like to see me, let me know. Okay?”

  She didn’t point out the fact he’d gone six days without contacting her while he figured things out, as it would sound too much like she was trying to punish him for making her wait. She wasn’t punishing him, she was just busy. She didn’t get why it was suddenly an emergency to see her now, when it hadn’t been before. Had he thought she’d just drop everything and come running when he finally made up his mind?

  “Goodnight, Eric. I’ll see you Saturday night.”

  She’d known Abbott was busy earlier tonight, but figured he should be through with his business by now.

  Abbott? Are you free to talk?

  Yes, what’s up?

  Eric says you gave him tentative permission to put vampires in a video game?

  Yes. I’ve filled out the appropriate forms and made a few phone calls, to try to pave the way.

  I don’t want him exposed to them.

  Neither do I, but at present time the Media Council is only checking to be sure no one gets everything right about us in books, television, and movies. They aren’t looking at video games, and they need to be, which means they’re likely going to need to interview him, and spend some time learning about this particular market.

  He was right, of course, but exposure to this group put Eric in danger. Abbott could work politically to try to keep the group reined in, but if they decided to keep Eric — locking him away to work for them indefinitely — there wasn’t much she or Abbott could do.

  Are you handling this yourself, or assigning someone?

  For now, I’m handling it.

  Can I ask to be kept apprised? Many Master Vampires didn’t allow such questions, and even with Abbott, she had to be careful how she phrased the request.

  No promises, Kendra.

  Thank you, Sir. No matter how close of a friend he was, she couldn’t assume their friendship would alter the way he handled his responsibilities to the vampires and humans in his territory. Sometimes, it did, but it wasn’t a given, and she respected him too much to make demands. Not to mention, few people had the balls to make demands of The Abbott.

  I value your trust, so thank you, as well.

  Chapter Seven

  Abbott’s inner circle approved Eric’s proposal, and plans were made for Eric to meet with Josef and the contractor to begin finalizing the security system plans on Wednesday.

  When Kendra rose Wednesday, she left the house as soon as the sun went down, and had nearly an hour at the mall to shop before heading to TBC to work for the night.

  It was a stormy night, and not too many people braved the weather to go play pool. She talked with the bartenders and waitresses, and even accepted an invitation to play a game of pool with what she assumed were some college guys, and later found out were part of the local university’s football team. They were hunks. Self-centered, overly macho jocks with egos bigger than their shoulders and chests, but still gorgeous.

  And so when Eric walked in a little after midnight, he saw her cutting up with them as she played pool with their small group. She didn’t see him at first, but she smelled him as he walked behind her on his way to the bar. She turned things up just a notch with the college guys, not really flirting, as that wasn’t her style, but having fun with them. She pretended to notice Eric about five minutes later, giving him a smile but not going to him yet. When her game with the football players was over, she told the boys she had to get back to work.

  She walked to the bar, stepped behind it, and poured herself a glass of bourbon on the rocks. It wouldn’t get her drunk, but three or four of these would at least help her chill out a little. She tossed the drink back, poured another, and looked at Eric, waiting for him to say something first.

  “I didn’t realize filling in for the manager meant fraternizing with the customers.”

  She shrugged her shoulders. “It’s a slow night, and they asked me to join them for a game. You’re the one who said we aren’t exclusive. Why are you here? Are you stalking me now?”

  He shook his head and looked down, uncertain for a moment, but then looked up with more confidence. “No, Josef told me you were working here tonight and I thought I’d come in and say hi. And… I’m sorry for saying anything. You’re right, I did say we wouldn’t be exclusive, and I have to remember it goes both ways. If I don’t want you flirting with other guys then I have to agree not to flirt with girls, too. I keep screwing up, Kendra. I’m sorry.”

  Yeah, she could see and smell his regret, but she was working and just couldn’t deal with him right now. She downed the drink she’d already poured, dumped the ice, and put the glass in the bin to be washed as she told him, “I need to check on the kitchen, and walk through the other rooms to make sure everything’s still okay. I’ll tell Ace your drinks are on the house, sit here as long as you want.”

  She walked to the other side of the bar to let the bartender know she’d take care of Eric’s tab, and then headed to the kitchen before making her way to check on the hidden vampire room. She ordered six ounces of blood while she was back there — just smelling of Eric had made her hungry. Then she strolled through the nearly empty party room, as well as the smoker’s room, and a few others, before heading back to the main pool room. Eric was still sitting at the bar, still nursing a beer, and he was eating some cheese fries.

  When she stepped into the room, the biggest football player walked to her and asked, “Doll, is that guy bothering you? You looked sad when you were talking to him. I can get rid of him if you want me to.”

  “Thanks Ben, that’s sweet, but I don’t want you to get rid of him.” She grinned as she added, “Not in the way you’d probably do it, anyway. He and I were trying to make a relationship work and now... I don’t know. Sometimes real life just gets in the way, and you have to think maybe it wasn’t meant to be.”

  He hugged her. “Sorry you’re hurting, doll. If you want someone to take your mind off him, help heal your broken heart, I’m the guy for the j
ob.”

  She laughed as she hugged him and then pushed him away. “You big goof, thanks for making me laugh. Now, go play pool with your friends.”

  As she walked back to the bar, Eric looked pissed. Kendra raised herself up on a barstool, leaving an empty one between the two of them. “How are the fries?”

  “Not being exclusive doesn’t mean flirting with other people in front of each other, Kendra.”

  She kept her voice low. The other supernaturals would hear, but the humans wouldn’t. “You’re beginning to piss me off. In the first place, what you saw when you walked in was good natured interaction with customers. I’d have played pool with them even if you and I’d been exclusive. And what you just saw was the macho football player telling me I looked sad when I was talking to you, and asking if I was okay. We weren’t flirting.”

  She looked away a few seconds, took in the room, and then met Eric’s gaze again as she continued. “I told him you and I’d been trying to make a relationship work but now it wasn’t looking so good, sometimes real life fucks things up and some things just aren’t meant to be. That was why he hugged me. If you weren’t here, he’d have never seen me get emotional and I could’ve kept things good natured with them. And while I’m at it, it took you six fucking days to make up your mind whether or not you wanted to see me anymore, and then suddenly you can’t stand to go another night without seeing me? You didn’t miss me those six days, why the emergency all of a sudden? You say you want to date me, but want to hedge your bets, don’t want to take yourself off the market. Fine, we can do it your way, but don’t you dare say a word to me when you walk in on me working when you weren’t invited, and happen to see me playing a game of pool with customers on a slow night.”

  “You don’t think a relationship can work between us? What’s changed? You said we’d make it work if we both wanted it, and I want it to work.”

  “Oh, a relationship could work just fine if you’d get out of the way and let it. Right now, I’m just waiting on the next thing to come along and freak you out and make you take another six days to decide whether or not you can live with it.”