The Touch Series: Initiation

by Cecilia Lonski

  CHAPTER fourteen

  Sitting in Richmond's most popular cafe, Rosy Cosey, was everything but the tranquil environment it usually promised to give its customers. Instead of relaxing in one of the burgundy plush arm chairs while sipping a peach n' raspberry iced tea shake and enjoying the serene atmosphere, I was more tense and irritated than anything. Everywhere I turned, there was a couple enjoying their afternoon coffee together or young teens out and about with their new loves.

  The owner of the cafe came up to me with a cheery smile as I began to annoyingly bite on my straw. “Hi, there. Would you like to try our new special of the day?”

  “Sure.”

  She beamed as she lowered a tray to my eye level. “We are planning to call it Love a' Tart if it's a hit.” I looked down at the heart shaped pecan tarts that were drizzled with a pink syrup. “The raspberry syrup really gives it a nice kick. You know, like that moment you fall even further in love with the person you love.” She turned to blow her husband a kiss who was managing the cafe from behind the main counter. He blew her a kiss back.

  Normally I would have wanted to puck at a cheesy scene like this but instead I really wanted to pour my tea on the tray and cry. “Thank you.” I picked up one of the tarts and bit into it. Damn, it was good.

  When I finished it, I picked up my iced tea and once again began to sip my sorrows away. I couldn't have been angrier and more sad at the same time. Josef not only shunned my romantic advances but he completely lied to me. The rumors of him having a girlfriend were true whether he openly admitted it or not. But that didn't stop him from flirting with me and making me feel as if my feelings were reciprocated. And worst of all, I wouldn't listen to my friends Ivy, Janel and Artie. Especially, Artie. I got mad at him in Hawaii and gave him a major cold shoulder when he was actually right the whole time.

  I spoke to Ivy and Janel after last night's party and told them that I was no longer in the Club and no longer wanted to be involved with trying to figure out with what happened to Cassie. I felt for Lisa and wanted to help her, but I couldn't be around Josef anymore. It was toxic and I had enough issues in my life as it was. They didn't argue with me since they both agreed that Josef messed with my head and knew exactly what he was doing.

  But I wasn't going to be one of those girls whose life was going to be completely affected by a guy like that. No. I was going to move on. My plan was to start looking into college majors today and slowly make a list of schools. I was also planing to look for another job to have on the side of my dance job. I really needed to save up a lot of money if I was serious about moving and starting a life somewhere new. Josef wouldn't allow me not to accept his money, so we had the money ready to pay for the new therapist for Nicholas. And I hoped that things would be different for all of us....

  For the better.

  ***

  “We have an opening for the Event Planning position.”

  “So?” I was sitting in the dressing room getting ready for work when the head of the Human Resource department of the hotel was trying to persuade me to take on more work at the hotel. She was afraid that if I found work elsewhere then I would not be able to work there anymore. “Mary, I'm not qualified to do event planning and you know that. My skills run from dancing to vintage clothing shopping extraordinaire. Not really a great resume.”

  “You don't need any type of skills to do the job. Quinn, you know this town and you're a people person. You're charming and people like you. And you're hard working. And that's all that is needed. You plan events that you think the town people and the hotel guests would like to be apart of and you plan and advertise them. Simple. Plus, you'll have an actual title and it will look good on your resume.”

  She was right, it would look good on my resume. Plus, secretly I did love getting involved in town events. They might have been a little cheesy but I still loved them. And my passion for vintage stalking across town and on the web created an organized, researching freak out of me. And it would make my parents really happy. It would also help keep my mind off certain things. “Are you sure? You don't have any other candidates you have to interview first?”

  “I've only had two applicants who expressed interest in the position. Charles from church, who would make everything dreadfully rated-G. And then there is Peggy.”

  I knew most of the people in town but Peggy didn't ring a bell. “Who?”

  “You know. That woman who sits at Dean's Diner from time to time and always tries to get people to invest in her cougar online dating site.”

  “Oh, her.”

  “Exactly. So, you are the one and only person I am willing to give this position to.”

  I finished zipping up my purple dress when I turned to her. “When do I start?”

  ***

  “Thank you all for coming today. We have a lot of planning and work to do for the upcoming summer soiree benefiting the local animal shelter. And I would like to hear of any ideas that you may have that might be incorporated. I am open to anything.” I smiled at the seven people who sat in front of me in a round table. From the town's lawyer to the owner of the biggest supermarket, these seven members represented the town itself and I had no choice but to incorporate them in the planning.

  I decided to raise funds for the local animal shelter by having a massive outdoor picnic at the town's center. I already had donations from local bakeries and eateries for the event. Now, I desperately sought entertainment for the day.

  Susan Watt, one of the teachers from Richmond Elementary, put her hand up in the air. I smiled and nodded at her. “I just wanted to let you know that the eighth grade class are in the process of putting together a short play that can be acted out on the day for the town.”

  “Oh, how lovely.”

  “It's a modern take on Romeo and Juliet.”

  Oh, hell no. No romance, absolutely none! “Really? I feel like that's been ...overdone.”

  “Well, it's actually a modern take on it.” Susan leaned in further towards all of us and looked as if she couldn't contain her own excitement. “It's actually a question on society and politics. See, instead of poison, Romeo and Juliet kill themselves by shooting each other. See it's about questioning the loose gun laws.”

  “I like it! Let's talk more about that later.” I smiled at her. “Anything else?”

  Peggy, the town's biggest cougar, was the next one to raise her hand. “I was wondering whether we could raise funds by auctioning off picnic baskets. You know, the boys and men could put together picnic baskets and the women bet on them and you go on a date with the basket's owner.”

  I used to love that idea. “You know. I don't think having such romantic-based stuff is appropriate especially given what's been going on with the Church minister and his wife.”

  Several of the six members started fanning themselves while some shook their head in disbelief. “I just think it's best to keep this event as neutral and anti-romance as possible.”

  “We agree,” blurted out a red-faced Susan.

  Peggy sat back in her seat in bitter disappointment.

  I immediately changed the subject. “How about music?”

  Dean, the owner of Dean's Diner, spoke up. “My cousin has a band that is pretty good. And I'm pretty sure they would love to play for us.”

  “Great. How much would they charge?”

  “Oh, nothing. See, this would be their first gig.”

  “Nice. And what kind of music do they play?”

  “It's really experimental. One day their a rock band the next they are a Kanye West tribute act.”

  “I'll keep them in mind. Thanks.” I tried to hide my disappointment with today's meeting by smiling sweetly. But this was going to be my first event that I would be responsible for. I wanted it to be perfect. I wanted to make my parents proud. I also wanted to do well on the job so I could keep it and be distracted. It had been a few days since I left The Club and the new job was the only thing that had kept my mind off it, Cassie, Lisa, and Josef. �
�Let's have a five minute break and we'll continue afterward.”

  A few of them got up to grab some coffee near the corner of the room when they started whispering to one another.

  “Did you hear about what happened to that girl last night at the Movitent Apartments?”

  “My husband works at the hospital and mentioned something about it. It was some type of animal attack.”

  “An animal attack at an apartment. How?”

  “I don't know. She had what looked like animal marks all over her body.”

  “The landlord said he'd never seen so much blood before. He's not sure some of the stains will come off.”

  “Is she okay?”

  “She's alive but barely.”

  “Awful. Poor girl.”

  “What is she doing in Richmond?”

  “I don't know. Apparently she has some type of freelance job or something and she needs to be around here. Her name is Lizzie... no Lisa something.”

  “Lisa Falcorn.”

  My heart stopped at what Dean said. Lisa was attacked. Just like Cassie.

  CHAPTER fifteen

  “What happened?” I flew, in a rage, right inside Josef's home as Artie opened the front door. “What is going on?” I couldn't control the volume in my voice or the apparent fear in it.

  For a vampire, Artie looked like he hadn't slept in days with his disheveled hair and big eyes. “I don't know. It happened all so fast. We don't know what's going on.”

  “Did you go to her apartment?”

  “Yes... I had to, unfortunately.” He looked down at the floor shaking his head. I felt for him. He had to deal with all of this and try to put the pieces together.

  “And there was no scent, just like last time?”

  He turned and sat on a couch with his head in his hands. “We don't know what to do. How can we find something or someone that has made it impossible to find?”

  I took a few seconds to compose myself and then finally sat across from Artie. I didn't want to make him feel worse but this was all too much. First Cassie then Lisa. It was no longer a coincidence. Something was definitely wrong. “But she's going to be okay, right?”

  “Yeah. A few neighbors heard her scream so they all went and pounded on her door. It must have scared off the attacker. When she got to the hospital, we were contacted since we were her emergency contact here. And when we got there, Josef gave some of his blood to heal her and it helped. Thankfully.”

  “He did?”

  “Yeah. Jacob refused and my blood would have been too weak because of my diet.” Artie didn't drink blood straight from a person. He didn't even drink from animals. He always used blood bags from the hospital which made him weaker than most other vampires who took on a more traditional way of getting blood. “Good thing, Josef was there.” He gave me a small smile but it didn't reach his eyes which were completely sad. “You know, a lot of people think of him as some bad guy. Only thinking about power and money. A womanizer. One of those traditional sadistic vampires... Some of it is true but he can't help it sometimes. He was raised that way... And he never lets them see his good side.”

  I tried to hold back the overwhelming emotion that was threatening to burst out of me. “I've seen it. And I see it in you, too – all the time.”

  His smiled finally began to reach his eyes and he began to look slightly embarrassed. “Can you tell Janel that next time you see her?”

  “That won't be breaking the rules, Artie?”

  He shrugged. “The Club is over. Josef said he won't ever do it again. It no longer seems like a coincidence. He thinks an old enemy is out for him or something.”

  “Could that really be it?”

  “I don't know. He's had a lot over the past few centuries.”

  “Is there some type of a plan? Anything?”

  “Right now... not much. Josef wants to contact some older vampires who might have some contact with witches and from there... who knows.”

  “Where is he, right now?”

  “He likes to stay at his apartment to be alone.”

  “He has an apartment here, too?”

  “Yeah, it's not too far from here and no human is allowed to go in except the cleaner. That way, he is in a more stable environment for himself for a little while.”

  “I thought he had really good self-control for a vampire.”

  “He does. But now that he has lost some of his blood, he's slightly weaker.”

  I couldn't imagine Josef ever being weak. He was always strong and powerful in every way. I always thought of him as completely invincible. “So, vampires are not all that different from humans, huh?”

  “We like to tell ourselves that we are, just like it's written in fairy tales.”

  ***

  It didn't take much to get Artie to tell me where Josef was staying. At this point, he was getting used to the idea of me and Josef becoming actual “friends” – or that's what he believed we were becoming...

  I didn't know why I went there or what I was going to say when I saw him but I just needed to see him. If an enemy of his had really done this then I couldn't imagine how he must have been feeling. Artie believed that Josef blamed himself for what had happened and I couldn't let him believe that. I felt my stomach drop and my heart wanting to explode just thinking of Josef suffering in any way. Yes, just recently I wanted nothing more but revenge on him for what he did. But I simply couldn't hold it all against him anymore. How could I? If I pushed him away, or allowed him to push me, then I was going to lose something that I never had before. I couldn't quite place my finger on what it was or how to exactly explain it. He made me feel something that I had never felt before...

  My eyes lingered on the elevator buttons lightning up with every elevation. I was getting closer to the top floor. My mouth became so dry that I was no longer confident that any words would come out of my mouth when I would need them to.

  I slowly came out of the elevator and walked up to his front door. I took in a deep breathe and then knocked. He opened the door and my heart stopped.

  He stood there with untidy hair in black slacks and a gray sweater. His physical appearance matched his face and eyes. He looked like he lacked sleep. But then I remembered that vampires didn't really need to sleep but they needed blood to be energized. Especially, after they lost some themselves.

  “Quinn, what are you doing here?”

  “I was just with Artie and he told me everything.”

  He sighed and looked down to the ground as one of his hands began to massage his neck. I really wanted to do it for him. I wanted to do something to comfort him.

  “I guess things don't always just happen. Huh?”

  “Josef, you couldn't have known. It wasn't your fault. And she's okay.”

  “Yeah, barely. If I had gotten to her a few minutes later she wouldn't have made it.”

  “Artie told me you gave her your blood.” He looked up at me in shock as if Artie betrayed him by sharing such information. “Josef, what you did was brave. You said you wanted the best for the group. And you did just that. You kept your word and now... hopefully, it's all over.”

  “Quinn, we talked about this before. I'm not a nice guy.”

  I walked past him and into the hall of his penthouse and put my tote bag against one of the walls and stepped out of my heels. “You're very harsh on yourself, Mr. Constane.”

  When he saw me unbuttoning my coat, he quickly closed the front door behind him in panic. “What are you doing?”

  I slowly began to take me scarf off but kept my eyes completely on his the whole time. “You're weak and you need blood.” I dropped the scarf on the floor next to my bag. “You can have mine.”

  I had never seen him so on edge. It was unlike him; he was always so composed even when he was angry. His eyes looked like they wanted to pop out of their sockets as his neck tensed. “You don't know what you're saying. Are you okay?”

  “Have my blood.”

  “Quinn, please put everyt
hing back on.” He waved his hand over my coat, scarf and shoes. “I'm fine. I can get blood elsewhere.”

  “I know it's better straight from the source. So, have mine.”

  “Quinn!” he yelled out of frustration.

  “Josef!”

  Using his vampire speed, he gently gripped my head with his hands and pressed his mouth against mine. It was unexpected and caused me to lose my balance. He noticed and quickly caught me by my waist with one of his arms. But his lips never left mine.

  My body needed to catch a single breath. But I needed this more.

  My pulse escalated and it was felt everywhere from my chest to my ears.

  My hands shook with an electrifying feeling.

  The heat and tingle on my lips spread throughout my body causing me to completely lose it. I was extremely thankful for his support on my waist. We both smiled at each other for a second before merging our mouths again.

  I felt as if I were in some 80's film where I finally got the guy I was hopelessly chasing. And the endgame was better than I ever could have imagined. No film or novel could ever recreate those feelings and emotions.

  I felt myself blush but didn't hide it from him. My blushes were his. My lips were his. My touch was his.

  My heart was his.

  CHAPTER sixteen

  Walking towards the front door to my house was an experience in itself. With each step I took on the cobble-stoned path, I felt as if my feet touched upon a mist of cloud. I would lie if I said my smile had faded since I left Josef's penthouse. And as cheesy or crazy as I might have looked to passersby I simply didn't care.

  It felt as if time had flown by in an unimaginable way. But it stood still at the same time. It was just us. Just us in a crazy world that didn't always provide answers or explanations. Perhaps, we would never accept the difference between a vampire and human, but we could accept what we were right at that moment.