Taste For Blood: Stir (Nephil-Vamp Series Book 1)

by Jenna Bernel

  "Thanks, Mrs. Harring," I said automatically as she set them down on the dresser. Kate called earlier and asked me to come over to get ready for Dale's party at her house. That way, I could help her run interference with her mom before she got stuck couch surfing again. Apparently, Mr. Harring was out of town covering some important game all weekend.

  "Now, are you girls sure you don't want to stay here tonight? We could have a Julia Roberts marathon!" Mrs. Harring said hopefully, as she sat down next to me on the bed like she was just one of the girls. I gave her a polite smile, not wanting to disappoint her with a big NO. Geez, she worked quickly too, since I’d only been here for about five minutes.

  "No, Mom. I already told you we’re going out tonight," Kate said, exasperated, as she started to put on eyeliner in front of the mirror.

  "Come on; it'll be fun," she urged, not giving up so easily.

  "We would love to stay, Mrs. Harring, but there's this new student, Alec, at Mapleton Prep who's going to the party. He doesn't really know anyone yet, and Kate and I promised to be there so he wouldn't feel left out," I said, trying to turn on some guilt of my own, like she always did to Kate.

  "Oh, is that that nice boy who's been picking you up for school?" She asked, redirecting her attention to Kate.

  "Yes, so I need to return the favor and make him feel welcome in our group," Kate explained, catching on to our prison break plan fast.

  "I suppose you’re right. You girls are so sweet," she said, getting up from the bed to give Kate a proud, motherly kiss on the cheek. For a former model who trotted the globe and partied all night long, Mrs. Harring really transitioned into the overbearing parent role quite smoothly. I thought it was possibly owing to the eighteen years of Xanax.

  "Alec is lucky to have you two as friends. Do you think he has potential?" She asked, looking at Kate in the mirror with insinuating eyes, and I smiled. That was definitely where Kate got it from. Suddenly, I felt an unexpected hot streak of jealousy ripping through me when I ran down the question in my mind.

  "Actually, I'm kinda seeing Alec." I was quick to correct, being so unfamiliar with this need to claim someone as mine. What was happening to me?

  "What?!" Kate spun around to look at me with shock in her eyes. I was going to tell her, but her mom barged in before I could.

  Mrs. Harring clasped her hands together gleefully. "Good for you, Dani. It's about time you had a nice boyfriend. Now you'll just have to help me find someone for Kate. How's it been going? Make sure he's treating you well. Do you think… "

  "Okay, Mom, time to go now. I need to talk to Dani alone," Kate said, cutting off her interrogation, and pulling her toward the door.

  "All right, all right, I get the picture," she said with an eyebrow raised, like we wanted to talk about sex or something, another classic Kate move. As politely as she could, Kate pushed her Mom out the door.

  "Have fun, and be safe," she called out, getting her last words in before Kate clicked the door shut in her face.

  "Wow," I said to Kate, who was leaning against the door, in case her mom wanted to barge in to add a few more choice words.

  "I know, right?" Kate said, exhausted by this routine of theirs. She ran over, jumping on the bed next to me, because she was actually one of the girls.

  "Oh my God, you’re dating Alec? I knew it!" She said with self-satisfaction at the confirmation of what she'd been implying all week.

  "I don't know if you'd call it dating. We haven't been out on a date yet, but we both realized we had… feelings for each other last night," I explained, unless you count kicking some criminal butt in a bad neighborhood as a date?

  "Eeee! Tell me everything." Kate fastened her hands over my arm, shaking me excitedly, and I couldn't help but laugh. I never gushed over a guy before, and she was clearly dying for the details, now four years in the making of my lackluster love life, but I didn't know how to have this conversation. I couldn't really tell her much, because a lot of the particulars were for vamp ears only.

  "Well, after I caught my dad making out with Missy in the restaurant last night," I began…

  "Shut up!" Kate exclaimed.

  "Yeah, I know. My eyes are still burning. I didn't want to go home and deal with them, so I ended up sleeping at Alec's, and we… " I trailed off.

  "Had sex!" Kate's voice was borderline shrill, and I was afraid even her mom heard that downstairs.

  "What?! No! We just kissed," I said, offended, like I would really sleep with him after only one night.

  "Good, I didn't want to be the only virgin left at school," she said with relief, and I rolled my eyes.

  "Does Evan know?" Kate asked, the worry showing in her voice. Even she knew how protective Evan got when it came to me. Great, I'm done for if even Kate was concerned.

  "Nope," I said, as a matter of fact.

  "Well, this should make for an interesting evening." You could see all the possible scenarios flashing though her mind. Why was it such a big deal to tell Evan I liked a guy? He had girlfriends all the time, and I didn't say anything about it, in fact I tried to help him through his relationship dramas. Why should I feel guilty? Despite trying to convince myself this shouldn't bother him, deep down I knew it would. He was likely to react poorly, especially since he thought Alec was a player, which I couldn't discount as a possibility, even though I didn't believe it. His raw words last night before we kissed were too genuine to fake, right?

  "Just do me a favor, and help me run interference. It's been tense enough between them at lunch," I said in a sigh, wondering if I should just skip this all together. Kate nodded like she had me covered before a huge smile slid across her face.

  "What?" I asked, trying to figure out the mischief behind her smile.

  "Since we’re sharing, a certain sexy substitute called me yesterday," she said, looking very gratified. Great, like my life wasn't complicated enough.

  "Mr. Powell, seriously, Kate?" I said judgmentally. Not that I was one to talk, since I was trusting Alec purely on his word, without any proof, but still, this had bad idea written all over it.

  "Ewww, don't call him that. It makes him sound old. His name is Eli," she corrected me, and I had to nod along like it was news to me.

  "You're still going to have to call him Mr. Powell," I pointed out.

  "Yeah, but only in school. Anyway, Eli's taking me to lunch in the city tomorrow, so if my mom asks, I was with you," Kate explained. I guessed this wasn't the kind of nice boyfriend Mrs. Harring had in mind for her only daughter; but then again, I was sure my mom wouldn't be thrilled if I told her I was dating a vampire. At least, Kate had the sense to pick the lesser of two evils in this poorly conceived game of “dating dangerously.”

  "Done," I said, and she squealed with excitement, giving me a hug. I decided to take this as a sign to hold off on telling Eli about Alec and me. After all, what kind of friend would I be if I ruined his date?

  Chapter 20: Beaches & Blowouts

  Saturday night in Mapleton. It had been a while since I was home for one of Dale's parties. I was usually in the city with Eli, researching a mission, or trying to complete one at The Basement. I'd much rather be doing that right now, but at least, this was a chance for me to have some of that senior year fun I was hoping for. It was a crisp, cloudless night, and the air had cooled slightly as it approached October. The leaves would be turning soon, waving goodbye to summer.

  I liked living in Mapleton. There was a quiet to it that helped relax me from the stress of the city. I didn't often think about what I was going to do when I graduated, because I hoped to continue my life-changing work with Eli. Now everything was up in the air, and even if I lived through this, it was finally setting in that I would never get back my old life. Now with Alec here, I didn't know if I even wanted it back, but it all still felt so unclear. I needed to make him understand that I trusted him, but that didn't mean I'd tolerate being kept in the dark forever, even another week. I couldn't take this unknown state much longer. But ton
ight? Tonight, I just want to have fun with my friends and snuggle up with my hot vamp by the bonfire.

  I turned down the street to Dale's house, where all the estates backed up to Lake Michigan. In general, Mapleton is an affluent suburb with clean streets, good schools, and nice neighborhoods, but Dale's particular stretch of road definitely out-luxed them all. His parents practically led the neighborhood parade down Escapees Lane into the city on weekends, effectively leaving their pyromaniac son to reign free in this ghost town. It's a wonder he hadn't burned down the whole block yet. I pulled up to his gate, and Kate turned down the radio as I buzzed the call button. The video screen flipped on, and Jake appeared on the monitor. It was obvious the party was already going strong. The music was blaring through the speaker, and people were running behind him, hootin' and hollerin' at us on the screen as they passed.

  "Hey ladies," Jake said over the pounding of the music, holding up his plastic cup in a mock toast.

  "Hey Jake, it looks like you've managed to keep your clothes on so far," Kate said jokingly, looking over my shoulder.

  "Don't be disappointed, Kate. It's not midnight yet," he winked, and we both looked at each other, rolling our eyes.

  "Just try to remember where you stash them this time. No one wants to see your naked butt running down the beach tonight," I interjected, facing Jake again.

  "I respectfully disagree," he said defensively.

  "Are you going to let us in or what?" Kate asked.

  "What's the password?" Jake asked, enjoying his little gatekeeper power trip.

  "Jinkle shrinkle?" I offered.

  "Huh?" Jake squinted into the monitor, looking confused.

  "That's what the girls have been calling you all week in the locker room. I guess that water must be awfully cold," I teased while shrugging, like it was a good guess, and Kate broke into laughter, sitting back in her seat. Jake pressed the buzzer, opening the gate as he busted out into an over exaggerated fake laugh, ridiculing my suggestion of his shrunken password, and clearly not as amused as Kate. Hey, I took a shot.

  I parked at the end of the long driveway, next to the other twenty or so cars on the side lawn. We hopped out and made our way to the front entrance. As we approached the house, you might think it was picked up from the Hamptons and shipped to this lot. It's gray, slatted shingles, huge grill-worked windows, and white trim accents made me instinctively listen for a seagull’s call. I suppose this street was Illinois’ closest match to the dream of an oceanfront mansion. It looked so pretty at night, all lit up, and I could hear the water on the other side, just barely, since it was muffled by the thumpin' of the bass.

  Good thing this neighborhood was deserted on the weekend, or the cops would have already been here. I followed Kate inside, and an explosion of music and laughter hit us as soon as she opened the door. Kate navigated us through the crowd, and we made our way into the kitchen. I stood next to her at the entrance, and we both smiled at each other, shaking our heads. The first thing we walked in on was Bennet in the middle of a keg stand, his legs graciously being held in the air by our host. Dale saw us and immediately dropped Bennet's legs to walk over. Lacking any warning, upon his hard landing, Bennet sprayed whatever liquid was left in his mouth all over the people in front of him who were cheering him on.

  "Ahhh!" "Dude!" "Dale!" And a choir of profanities followed, as the defiled party-goers threw their empty cups at him.

  "Hey!" Dale approached us, ignoring the red plastic being chucked at his head. He used his tree trunk arms to pick both Kate and me up in a simultaneous hug.

  "Evan said you guys were coming, but I didn't know if Mrs. Harring would bolt the doors shut on you," Dale joked. Apparently, Kate's mom had become notorious. I hated to think what would happen if she found out about her date with the new AP History sub. No doubt, Kate would end up a permanent prisoner in her own home. We had better make sure we came up with a good cover story, for her and Eli's sakes.

  "Dani helped me flee the scene," Kate explained.

  "Come on, I'll get you a drink," Dale said, waving for us to follow him deeper into the kitchen.

  "What'll it be?" He asked gesturing his arms over the keg and the array of bottles on the island. Alcohol didn't affect me. My blood burned it off before it could be absorbed, so it didn't matter if it was liquor or water in my cup. The only thing that could get me tipsy was the toxin from a vamp bite. I flashed back to last night, and my stomach dipped with magical flutters as I thought of Alec's lips pressed onto mine. Correction, now there were two things in the world that could make me tipsy.

  "I'll have whatever," Kate said with a shrug, and I nodded along. It was easy to give into the peer pressure, without any consequential effects. Dale grabbed two cups and started concocting something for us from the island’s offering, before handing them over. Kate and I tapped our glasses, and I took a sip, immediately scrunching my face. Just because the booze wouldn't affect me didn't mean it tasted any better.

  "Heyoh!" Bennet said from behind, slumping his arm over Kate. Judging by the looks of him, I doubted that was his first keg stand of the night.

  "What's with him?" I asked Dale, like Bennet wasn’t standing right next to me.

  "He's celebrating," Dale said, reaching past me to shake Bennet's shoulder joyfully.

  "Celebrating what?" Kate inquired.

  "Coach moved him to the outfield now that we have a decent catcher, and he's celebrating the fact that we'll stop giving him shit all time." Dale smiled, high-fiving Bennet.

  "Yeah, that Alec's all right, for a flightaho. Is he coming?" Bennet asked with slurred words.

  "I think so," I said casually, like I hadn't talked to him already today even though he dropped me off just this morning. Kate gave me a knowing smile at my little downplay.

  "Is Evan here yet?" I asked just as casually, hoping that he decided to bail and stay in with Harper instead.

  "Yep, most the crew's out back by the bonfire," Dale said, pointing the way.

  "’Kay, see you out there," I said to Dale, starting to walk away, and Kate removed Bennet's dead-weighted arm from her shoulder to join me.

  "Okay, how do you want to do this?" Kate asked as we both stood on the back patio, looking out at the gathering around the bonfire.

  "I don't know, it's awkward. Alec made a comment about me being off the market this morning, but we haven't even talked about things yet, and I don't know how he'll act in front of me with everyone around," I shrugged, suddenly feeling unsure.

  I was so out of my element with all this relationship game-playing nonsense, I didn't know what the hell I was doing. Maybe this was all just in my head. Maybe I was blowing the whole thing out of proportion with Alec. Maybe he just said all that stuff last night to gain my trust and get a little action. Maybe he somehow Tranced me into feeling this instant pull and connection with him whenever he was near, all the while laughing behind my back. My brain was drained, asking me to give it a break.

  I didn't know how people did this. It'd been two days, and I was already emotionally exhausted. I was starting to wonder if letting someone in was even worth it, especially a dangerous vampire who could easily break my heart, or worse. Kate put a comforting hand on my shoulder. She could see the anxiety-riddled dialog running through my head, because I was having trouble hiding it from my face.

  "We'll just go over and play it cool until Alec gets here, and leave it up to him to set the tone between you. And either way, if Alec and Evan start in on each other, I'll try to do a subject change," Kate said like a seasoned pro, and it felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. She was right. Alec started it, so I'd let him deal with the next step. I didn't need the extra stress right now. Kate didn't have a ton of experience, but certainly much more than I, and she definitely knew how to play the politics when it came to Mapleton Prep.

  In order not to sink down with every step, I took off my high heels as soon as we hit the grass and let my now too long jeans drag along. I could see the fr
esh patch of grass where Dale replaced the sod from his lawn blaze, because it already looked like a giant rectangle of brownish yellow. I knew his parents were trying to punish him, for a change, but I think their plan only landed them a hefty landscaping bill, since they would probably be forced to hire someone to dig it up again and do it right.

  It was cooler by the water with my feet in the sand, and I was glad I decided to wear a cashmere sweater. It was the same sweater I was mulling over the day Alec approached me in the clothing boutique. I bought it after he walked away, leaving nothing but a token in my hand, and the memory of his intoxicating cologne. I would never admit it out loud, but I wore it tonight because a little piece of me hoped he recognized the sweater. Like that would be proof he replayed every single second of that moment until it was forever imprinted in his mind, just as I did. How sick was that? I didn't feel comfortable in this new crazy skin.

  A round of "Heys" greeted Kate and me when we reached the fire, and I waved. Evan found my eyes and ticked his head, silently telling me to sit by him. I worked around the huge, roaring fire to meet him, immediately noticing Harper's absence. I sat down next to Evan in the sand, and he gave me a one-armed side hug in greeting. Kate sat on the other side of Jake in case I wanted to talk privately to Evan. I wanted to talk to him about Alec, but not with Alicia and Sienna sitting right next to him. Those two were Harper's first tier pipeline when it came to starting the phone tree of false rumors, and I didn't want to give them any fuel to feed the fire.

  "Where's Harper?" I asked, still trying to find her in the crowd along the beach.

  "Blah, blah, something shopping, blah, blah, blah," Evan said, obviously caring a great deal about her absence.

  "She's shopping with her mom in the city this weekend to replenish her wardrobe, because someone thought it'd be funny to throw a snowball made of clay at her in Senior Sculptures," Alicia said with an aggressive, catty edge, like her whole weekend was ruined because Harper couldn't be here to make everyone else miserable. And good God, it was one stupid top amidst an entire walk-in closet of designer digs. That really didn't constitute the destruction of an entire wardrobe. How long did we have to keep pretending like this was some sort of Greek tragedy? I saw the muscles spring to life along Evan's strong jaw as he clenched his teeth in irritation. He was obviously sick of Harper's whining over her top, or of her altogether, I didn't know which. It was just a ploy for her to suck up all the attention, as per usual. I didn't even respond to Alicia. It wasn’t worth it.