by Lari Smythe
* * *
The pulsing neon light was slowly replaced by the warm glow of the sun. The room grew warmer with each passing hour. Jason had kicked off the remaining covers, and his chest now glistened with perspiration. All my attention bore down on his throbbing, cerotic artery. Jason would be a magnificent vampire, a partner for all eternity, nothing would ever separate us. I drew closer, his sweet breath washing over my face. I kissed the soft, translucent layer of skin that stood between me and the sweetest blood any vampire could ever taste.
"Go ahead." Jason whispered. "Take my breath away."
I reared back, but when I did, he locked his hand behind my head and I pulled him up with me. He gently pushed back my hair and nuzzled his lips against my throat.
"You know it's what I want."
I pulled away, sliding off the bed, putting a safe distance between us. "No, never. You'll have to be content with the rest of your life—or whenever you tire of me," I added.
"Tire of you?" Jason laughed. "Like that could ever happen." He glanced at the drapes. "What time is it?"
I nodded toward the clock radio on the nightstand.
"Whoa, noon already? Why didn't you wake me?"
I just smiled.
"Oh, I see, enjoying your little peep show were you?" He reached over his head and tossed a pillow at me. I caught it and threw it back—too hard—the impact knocked Jason back down on the bed in a cloud of feathers. True to his competitive nature, he launched the other pillow at me. This time I ripped it in two and showered the room in a squall of down. We laughed and threw feathers at each other until Jason got some in his mouth and started coughing.
Jason came out of the bathroom, after rinsing out his mouth, and burst out laughing.
"What?" I said.
He pointed—still laughing mind you—toward the wall mirror over the dresser.
My curly hair was laced with feathers to the point my actual hair was almost invisible. "Oh my God, I'll have to take a shower to get all that out."
Jason's smile lit up his face as he leaned back against the bathroom doorframe and bobbed his brow. "Now there's an idea."
It wasn't fair, he kept teasing me like that and though I would have loved to do what he suggested, it wasn't possible on so many levels. Still—it wasn't fair for him to tease. My turn—
I zipped up next to him and then slowly stroked his chest. A little puff of air in his ear and I felt his knees wobble. "You'd really help me with the feathers?" I cooed. Before he could answer, I pressed up against his side and kissed him. His chest was pounding erratically.
"Ohhh," he moaned, molding his body to mine. His breath was searing.
I felt a pang of guilt—I'd gone too far.
Suddenly he pushed away with a hoot of laughter. "Nice try, but I'm not falling for that naughty vamp thing—not even close!"
"Ahh!" I huffed.
"Go on, get cleaned up. I'm not taking you to see Elizabeth looking like the Ice Princess of Narnia."
"Cute." I slipped into the bathroom, turned my back to him and pulled my shirt off over my head. In the mirror over the sink, his eyes were bugging out of their sockets. "Not even close? Right." I winked and kicked the door closed.
I needed the shower, not just because of the feathers. My little tease had been a little too much for me as well. It took longer to get the feathers out of my hair than I thought. I'd forgotten how my hair reacted with water and the tiny ringlets made it almost impossible to pick out all the feathers. By the time I'd gotten most of them out, I'd completely forgotten our little competition. I wanted to wear something a little nicer to meet Elizabeth, so I wrapped myself in a towel and opened the door. A billow of steam from the hot shower enveloped me as I stepped into the bedroom.
"Wow," Jason breathed from behind me. As I turned toward him, he scooped me up into his arms. "You are totally hot."
"Jason Whitaker," I cautioned.
"No, seriously, your skin is totally hot." He set me down. "I hope you didn't use all the hot water."
I kissed his ear and then ran the bridge of my nose up and down his throat. "I'm thinking you probably need a cold shower."
"Ain't that the truth." Jason grabbed his toiletry bag and disappeared into the bathroom.
I bent over to grab my backpack, but noticed Jason peeking out from behind the partially closed door. "Stop that," I yelled, spinning around to catch him. In doing so, my towel came loose, but I caught it before it dropped to the floor. Even so, it opened on one side exposing my leg all the way up to my ribs.
"Nice, very nice." Jason beamed and then closed the door.
I dressed quickly and went out front—I really did need some air. Truth is—it was just playful flirting—but I'm not really sure who would have won. Even tough the parking lot was deserted, I lingered in the shadows, avoiding contact with the sun. We were somewhere in South Carolina—the western part of the state, in the mountains. The air was clean, crisp—refreshing—just what I needed.
"There you are," Jason said, sticking his head out through the doorway. He looked around intensely. "We alone?"
"Yes."
He opened the door the rest of the way and stepped outside wearing only a towel wrapped around his waist. "I can't believe we made it this far in that thing." he said, peering over the railing.
"Hey, it's not the cars fault I crashed."
"And went through the windshield." He shook his head.
"Yeah, well that's what happens when you don't wear your seatbelt—don't forget it."
"So, you coming back inside?"
"Not till you're dressed."
"You sure?"
"I'm sure." I placed my palm on his chest and gently pushed him back into the room and then closed the door. "Get dressed."
