by S. J. West
Most of the women are feeling envy and lust. I can’t say that I blame them one bit. Julian is playing his role of the besotted lover to the hilt. He almost has me fooled into believing he truly cares, considering the way he’s looking at me with his smoldering hazel eyes. The emotions of the men in the room come as no surprise to me either. I remember hearing about a study that says men think about sex at least 34 times a day. I quickly put my wall back up, not wanting to know what the people around us are feeling anymore. I begin to feel a little conspicuous. Maybe I should have rethought the tight- fitting dress I’m wearing.
“You look lovely this evening, Sarah,” Julian says, bringing my hand up to his mouth and brushing his warm lips against the back of it.
“Thank you,” I whisper back, feeling a bit shy and completely out of my element. For the most part, the guys I’ve dated in the past never took me out on fancy dates like this. The most extravagant we got was the Olive Garden or Red Lobster.
“Is something wrong?” Julian asks. “Your cheeks have that red hue they get when you’re feeling embarrassed about something.”
“Do they?” I put my free hand up to my face and notice that my cheeks are indeed warm to the touch. I lean forward slightly and whisper, “I’m a little uncomfortable with the feelings of the men in the room. I’m thinking I shouldn’t have worn this dress.”
Julian smiles. “Well, of course they want you, Sarah. You’re beautiful. I’m a very lucky man.”
If only he meant the words he just said. But I know the truth of his feelings for me. I’m sure having to be so intimate with me is annoying him a great deal. He’s a good actor, though. I have to give him props for being so convincing. He almost has me believing he means what he’s saying.
Our waitress comes over and takes our orders. I request the steak and lobster platter. Julian does the same.
“Can you eat real food?” I whisper, trying my best not to be overheard by those around us.
“I could but I won’t be. Just wait and see. We’ll both be leaving here with empty plates.”
I’m curious as to how he plans to pull that one off.
“Sarah?”
I look up at the calling of my name, and see Janine from work standing beside our table. She’s the vice-principal at Pecan Acres Junior High School.
“Hey, Janine, how are you doing?”
“Oh, just fine.” I see her look over at Julian as if she’s waiting for a formal introduction.
“Janine, this is Julian Movila. He just moved into town.”
Julian stands up and bows slightly to Janine before shaking her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
I fear Janine is going to swoon on the spot after she hears Julian speak. I can’t deny his accent is attractive.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, too,” she breathes out, completely taken with my date. “So, how long have the two of you been dating?”
“Only recently,” Julian answers smoothly. “Sarah has become the reason my heart beats so quickly nowadays, though.”
I can’t keep from smirking at that remark. It’s certainly true but not for the reason Janine is surely thinking.
“Well you’re a very lucky woman, Sarah.” Janine eyes Julian up and down, right and left, every which way she can. Her open ogling of my companion begins to annoy me.
“I guess I’ll be seeing you at work in a couple of months,” I say to her, hoping she’ll take the hint and skedaddle.
“You betcha.” She turns to Julian and smiles coyly. “Hope you like it here in Pecan Acres. We could defiantly use more men like you in our town.”
“I’m flattered you think so,” Julian says, bowing slightly to her again. Now he’s irritating me. Can’t he see what kind of woman she is?
“Y’all enjoy your meal. I hope I see you later.”
Finally, Janine walks past our table to return to her own in the corner of the room where her date is impatiently awaiting her return.
“Everyone in town will know about us now,” I say confidently. “Janine will make sure of that.”
“Good; the sooner the better.”
I don’t appreciate the subtle reminder that we need to have a relationship and breakup as quickly as possible so I can find a suitable sperm donor for the next heir. That’s all Julian really wants from me, right? I attempt to let go of my anger before it has a chance to take root. We’re supposed to be acting like two people falling in love. I don’t think having an argument during a romantic supper will do much to foster that illusion.
When our meals arrive I quickly dig into mine, being mindful not to eat too fast. I don’t need to start any more rumors about me in town. Plus, I don’t want to get my new dress dirty by splashing lobster juice all over it. Julian slowly cuts his steak up into cubes and goes through the motions of cracking open his lobster. Halfway through my meal, he does something so fast I’m not even sure if he actually did it or if my plate magically refilled itself. Somehow, he switches our plates.
I look up at him and see my half-eaten plate on his side of the table now.
“How did you do that?” I ask, astounded by his trick.
“Super agility, remember?” he says, grinning at me as he enjoys the fact he was able to surprise me.
When I’m almost done with his plate, he switches them back again so I can finish my original meal.
Our waitress takes our empty plates and brings around the dessert cart. I spy a chocolate croissant bread pudding with vanilla ice cream and bourbon sauce begging me to devour it. Julian passes on dessert but he takes my bowl and spoon away from me as soon as the waitress leaves our table.
“What are you doing?” I whisper, not understanding his motives. He certainly doesn’t want to eat it, and I most definitely do.
He scoots his chair closer to mine and uses the spoon to scoop up some of the bread, sauce, and ice cream before bringing it up to my mouth. I look in his eyes and feel my blood course through my veins a little bit faster. When his gaze drops to my throat, I wonder if he senses the increased beating of my heart.
I allow Julian to feed me the dessert and wish for a second time that evening that the moment could have been real. I find myself wishing he really cared for me as much as he’s pretending to.
Wait. What is wrong with me? Am I actually falling for my obstinate vampire companion? No. Absolutely not! I refuse to. He is a heartless cad who doesn’t care about anything but getting his daily meal out of me and an heir to carry on my family’s tradition. I positively, unequivocally, refuse to allow myself to fall in love with someone like Julian. Sure, he’s gorgeous, but he knows it. When he makes an effort he can also be completely charming. But he isn’t suitable boyfriend material. Besides, that type of thinking can only lead to heartache on my part. He’s only around me because he has to be, not because he wants to be. I know that for a fact now. I heard him say it just that morning.
“You’re very good at this,” I tell him between spoon feedings.
Julian looks up from the bowl he’s scooping from and asks, “Good at what exactly?”
The way his eyes sparkle in the dim light of the room makes me completely forget what I was going to say. It takes me a few seconds before I can think coherently again.
“At pretending,” I finally answer.
“Hmm,” is all the response I get back from him before he feeds me the last of the bread pudding.
Ok, what in the Sam hill was that supposed to mean? It was a totally unsatisfactory response.
After I eat dessert, our waitress brings us the check and we leave the restaurant. I see Janine wave bye to us and, only because it’s the polite thing to do, I wave back.
We get into Julian’s car and head home. We’re almost there when Julian glances in my direction and asks, “Would you like to do something with me?”
My guard immediately goes up. “Like what?”
He gives me one of his rare genuine smiles. “It’s a surprise, but I think you’ll enjoy it.”
“Ok,” I answer, silently wondering what I’ve just agreed to do.
When we get back to the house and out of the car, Julian takes my hand and heads directly towards the backyard. I quickly take my shoes off, not wanting to ruin them by walking through the dewy grass. Once we reach the middle of the yard, Julian takes my shoes from my hands and gently lays them on the ground beside him.
“I want to show you something that not many people get the chance to see,” he tells me as he begins to take his tie off.
I stand there in silence wondering if he’s about to do a striptease for me. He tosses his tie to the ground and then proceeds to unbutton his shirt.
“Just how naked do you intend to get?” I ask, feeling a bit uncomfortable with the situation.
“I’m just taking my shirt off so it doesn’t get ripped open in the back,” he assures me with an amused smile. “Don’t worry, Sarah Marcel. I promise to keep my pants on… this time.”
I feel my eyes widen in shock after his little add-on, which causes Julian to chuckle. I’m glad I can amuse him so much with my uncomfortableness, not.
“You’re going to hear and see some things that might cause you alarm,” he warns me. “I don’t want you to worry, though. It doesn’t hurt me as much as you might think from all the blood.”
“Ok,” I say, becoming frightened as I take a couple of steps backward, “what the hell is about to happen? You’re starting to freak me out, Julian.”
“I want to show you how I can fly,” he says, looking truly worried over my reaction. “I don’t want there to be any secrets between us, and this is something that I’ve only shared with a select few.”
I begin to feel bad. I can tell whatever Julian is about to do is important to him, and sharing it with me is his way of letting me know how much he trusts me with his secrets. Cautiously, I inch back two steps.
“Ok,” I tell him, bracing myself for whatever it is I’m about to see, “how do you fly? To be honest, I just thought you flew around like Superman.”
Julian smiles. “Close, but not quite. Are you ready?”
I take in a large gulp of air and nod my head. “Go ahead.”
It happens so fast it takes my mind a moment to catch up with what my eyes just witnessed. In less than a second, a pair of wings appear to sprout out of Julian’s back. I know I heard a ripping sound just before I saw them, and that there was a splatter of blood that sprayed out onto the ground behind him. As I study his new wings, I realize they remind me of the way artists draw dragon wings. Julian spreads them out and I notice that they’re semi-transparent. While I watch, they begin to turn red in color from the top down, almost like…
“Are they filling up with blood?” I ask in amazement and, I’ll admit, slight disgust.
“Yes,” he tells me, watching my reaction closely. He doesn’t say as much, but I can see how important it is to Julian for me to accept this part of him.
I study the wings for a moment more before I ask, “Can I touch them?”
Julian seems to breathe out a sigh of relief, but it’s so imperceptible it would probably go unnoticed to anyone who wasn’t paying close attention.
“Yes,” he says in a soft voice. “You’re free to touch me anywhere you want, Sarah.”
His statement causes me to drag my eyes away from his wings and look at his face.
He looks amused. Typical.
I just shake my head at him in exasperation and take a few steps closer.
Tentatively, I stretch my right arm out and run the tips of my fingers along the membrane of his wing to discover what it’s made of.
“It feels like skin,” I say, “but it’s baby soft.”
“It is skin,” he confirms. “My skin.”
“And why does it feel so soft?”
“I can heal incredibly fast,” he begins to explain. “When the bones erupt from my back to form the wings, the newly-formed skin that my back regenerates is pulled by the bones and stretched out to make the wings.”
“That’s kind of cool, actually,” I say, unable to stop myself from rubbing my full hand down the length of his wing. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Julian shudder slightly. I immediately drop my hand back to my side.
“Am I hurting you?” I ask, worried he allowed me to touch his wing even though he knew it would cause him pain.
“No,” he tells me, staring into my eyes without a hint of humor. “It wasn’t pain that I felt when you touched me.”
If it wasn’t pain he felt, then did he feel pleasure? I decide the best course of action is not to delve too deeply into the subject.
“Would you like to fly with me?” Julian asks unexpectedly.
“Are you kidding?” I ask excitedly. “I would love to! What do I need to do?”
“Just stand still,” he instructs, coming to stand behind me. He wraps one of his arms snuggly around my waist. “I need to place one hand on your chest. Is that all right with you?”
“I…guess,” I say hesitantly, unsure if Julian is taking advantage of the situation just to feel me up. I quickly decide that isn’t his motive. Julian has too much class to stoop to such a low level. Besides, I doubt he’s ever needed to make up such a lame excuse to feel a woman’s breasts.
I’m not sure if I’m relieved or disappointed when Julian places his right hand directly on my breastbone.
“Are you sure you’ll be able to hold onto me?” I ask. “You know how much I’ve been eating lately.”
When he chuckles, I can feel his chest move against my back. It’s a nice feeling and promptly puts me at ease.
“Don’t worry,” he tells me “I’m pretty strong.” He tightens his hold on me and warns, “Here we go.”
At first, I only feel a slight breeze as his wings begin to flap and he propels us into the air with his legs. I can’t help the giggle that escapes from between my lips as we become airborne. It’s a lot like when you’re on a trampoline with a friend and can’t stop giggling as you jump up and down together. As we fly higher and higher into the air, I notice a change in the temperature and feel thankful for the coolness.
The city looks so different from this altitude: all lights and no sound. I can see the high school I work at in the distance, all lit up. Particular landmarks, such as the mall and Super Wal-Mart, aren’t difficult to find either. I look for Kaylee’s house but can’t quite make it out, but I do see the street she lives on.
There’s a brisk breeze at our elevation, but it feels wonderful compared to the stale humidity hovering near ground-level.
“Do you like it?” Julian whispers into my ear as the wind whistles around us.
I turn my head slightly to look at him behind me. He has an expectant look on his face as he watches my reaction to flying with him.
“It’s beautiful up here,” I say, not even trying to hide the awe I feel. “How do you not spend all of your time just flying around like this?”
He smiles. “I do it a lot at night. You’ll be asleep most of the time so you won’t miss me.”
“Don’t you sleep?”
“Yes, but I only need an hour or two each day.”
“Do you dream?”
“Sometimes.” He stares at me for a moment before saying, “I’ve been having a lot of dreams about you lately.”
“Really?” I ask, shocked by this revelation. I’m not only surprised that he dreams about me, but I’m also surprised he’s admitting it. “Are they nice dreams?”
His smile turns into a sly grin. “Some are nicer than others.”
I’m not quite sure what to say, so I decide it’s better not to say anything at all. I don’t want to ruin the moment.
“We should probably be getting back,” he tells me, tightening his hold on my body.
I’m not sure if he does it because we’re making our descent and he’s concerned about losing his grip on me when we land, or if he simply wants to hold me closer. I would like to think it’s the latter.
I feel a slight jolt when we land. I slowly start to take a step forward when I feel Julian’s arms tighten around me, holding me in place. I wait to see what he’ll do next.
“I’m sorry you heard what Helen and I were discussing this morning. I didn’t even think about you being able to hear our conversation until it was too late.”
I don’t say anything because I get the distinct impression that he’s not through telling me what’s on his mind.
“I won’t lie to you, Sarah. I do find it hard to be around you.”
“Why?” I have to ask before it drives me crazy.
“You make me… feel too much.”
“And that’s a bad thing?”
“Sometimes it’s unbearable, but it’s nothing you can control. I just need some more time to learn how to deal with it. I don’t want you to feel like you have to stay away from me, though, like you did today. I tried to run from you last night, but it only caused us both a lot of pain. I won’t do that again. All I ask is that you be patient with me for a little while longer. I promise that I’ll try to be a better man for you.”
I look back at Julian to see an earnest expression on his face. Even though I can’t tap into his feelings, I know he’ll do his best to keep the promise he just made.
Julian reaches down to the grass and retrieves my shoes. Before I can react, he sweeps me off my feet and begins to carry me back to the house. I don’t make a protest. In fact, I don’t say a single word.
I lay my head against his shoulder, allowing myself to forget I am an independent woman of the modern age as I let the man I’m with take care of me.
When we walk through the French doors of the kitchen, Julian sets me back onto my feet. I can see Daniel bent over as he looks through the refrigerator. I assume he’s searching for something to snack on.
