by C M Thorne
The click of a door down the hall made Caleb startle a little. He placed his feet on the floor as Rainer slowly walked down the hallway. The vampire moved out from the hallway at a leisurely pace. Caleb wondered if moving like that was difficult for vampires when they had the ability to move so quickly. It probably required a great amount of concentration. Caleb could not imagine how impossibly slow moving like a regular human must have felt like.
“Everything fine?” Rainer asked as he stopped behind the chair Caleb had been using as a shield earlier. His expression still gave nothing away, blank, but not empty. It was stern, yet calm. Perhaps, Caleb looked at him, his expression was even placid. Caleb could not quite put his finger on it, but it continued to intrigue him and put him slightly on edge.
“Oh, yes,” he answered after a moment. “Everything is alright. Thank you.” He broke a small smile and nodded, glancing away from the amber gaze of the sensuous vampire.
“Do you need anything, Caleb?” Rainer asked softly.
His breath caught for a moment as the vampire said his name. He had never thought anything of his name, but when Rainer said it, it sounded somehow beautiful. He wished he could hear him say it again. “Other than a place to stay until I have to go meet my sisters later?” Caleb answered, laughing lightly.
Rainer took a step forward, froze, and looked around as if searching for something. “I am not used to being around humans any longer.” He looked up into his eyes, “Do you need to sleep? Eat? I can’t quite remember what is appropriate.”
Caleb smirked, “I am not sure. I feel alright.”
“Do not be afraid to ask for something,” Rainer asked.
The idea of Cal asking for the vampire to kiss him popped up, but he looked away and tried to banish the thought from his mind. He did not want to blush, and he could feel his heart pounding harder in his chest. He was feeling alright other than his unchecked emotions, perhaps a little tired. It was awkward wanting to go sleep however, given the present situation.
“I swear,” Rainer spoke again, gripping the back of the chair as he leaned forward slightly, “anything you want. I am quite curious about some human things of today’s world. Consider whatever you want in exchange for information.”
“You want to ask me things about being human?” Caleb asked.
“Yes and no,” Rainer answered. “I remember being human.” He looked into Caleb’s grey eyes with his own unique golden eyes. “I do not know what it means to be human in the modern world. Would you share some things with me?”
Caleb smirked, blushing against his will and casting his eyes downward. “Sure,” he answered. “Some coffee and a bit of food doesn’t sound like a bad idea, especially if I am going to be awake enough later for brunch with the sister interrogation.”
Rainer pushed away from the chair. “Perfect,” he responded. “Your shoes are by the door. Where would you like to go?” The vampire looked back at Caleb.
He scrambled off the couch and ran his hands down his sides, answering, “I don’t really know about places here on the island. Do you know of any good places?”
“Not really,” Rainer answered earnestly. Caleb swore he saw a small smirk pull the vampire’s full lips before he continued speaking. “We can find somewhere to go nevertheless.”
Caleb smiled and followed the vampire through the kitchen and won a long hall to the front doors. His shoes were sitting near a large wooden hall tree. He slipped into them as Rainer put shoes on as well. He looked the vampire over and sighed, “Ready?”
Rainer nodded and opened the door to the little lobby outside his penthouse before the elevator doors. He looked away from his warm gaze and slid past him. “Let’s go,” Rainer said and closed the door behind them.
CHAPTER 4
Caleb looked across the street, waiting for the light to turn so he could join his sisters. He could see them through the window of the cafe across the street. It was owned by some French witch that apparently made all sorts of sweets, enchanted and otherwise. It was one of Becca’s favorite places in South Isle apparently. Caleb wasn’t overly hungry, since he and Rainer had gone to a twenty-four hour diner after Cal had called Dinah. He had eaten a stack of pancakes, but felt weird being the only one eating. They had sat there all morning chatting mostly, but he had practically drunk an entire pot of coffee to himself.
The light finally changed and Caleb hurried across the street. He looked through the window of the cafe as he moved, noticing his sisters sitting at a table along the wall opposite the door. Strangely, Lizzie was sitting with Becca and Dinah. He did not know that she was coming and he resisted the urge to turn around and walk away. He grit his teeth as he walked toward the blue painted doors with glass set in the middle. Caleb hoped they weren’t all gathered to reprimand him for disappearing on Dinah last night. He wanted to tell her the truth, but he knew it would only cause a worse freak out. And there was no way Lizzie could even be there to hear a fraction of the truth.
He pushed one of the doors inward and inhaled the warm scents of fresh pastries, baked chocolate, and coffee. His mouth watered and he made his way to the counter, glancing at his sisters, who had yet to notice him. He looked over the cases on either side of the register. The left housed all manners of baked goods like euphoria lemon squares, courage granting croissants, and new love eclairs. He did not have the nerve to try something laced with magic, but it was enticing.
“Welcome to Annora’s Baked Confections, Magical Concoctions, and Enchanted Goods,” the purple haired girl behind the counter looked up at him with a look of utter boredom. She smacked the gum she was chewing. “What’ll it be?”
“Uh,” Caleb looked up at the chalkboard menu behind the girl, “I guess I’ll take a large hot hazelnut latte.”
“You guess?” the girl glanced up at him with a bored expression. “Anything else?” She asked, writing his order down on a paper ticket.
Caleb looked at the case to the right, eyes slowly trailing over the various pastries. “And a ham and cheese croissant, please.”
“Okay,” she smacked her gum and punched the numbers into the register. “That’ll be ten dollars and twenty-three cents.”
“Is card alright?” Caleb grabbed his wallet and pulled out his card.
The purple haired girl rolled her eyes, “Yeah, it’s fine.” She held her hand out impatiently. Cal handed her the card, which she inserted into a chip reader behind the register and stood there, hip popped and smacking her gum. The reader finally beeped and she handed him back his card, “I’ll bring everything to your table when it’s ready. You want the croissant warmed, right?”
“Um, yes, thank you,” Caleb looked at the girl skeptically. He hoped their food and coffee was better than the service the annoyed girl was giving. He turned and walked up to his sisters slowly, bracing for what he was sure would be an onslaught from his sister. Becca waved to him as they made eye contact, ushering him over. As he got closer, she pulled out the free seat between her and Dinah, standing up tp wrap one arm around Cal and kiss his cheek. “Hello there,” she wriggled her eyebrows. “Heard you had, what did Di call it, an interesting night.” She sniggered a little.
Caleb huffed as he sat down hard, rolling his eyes. “What did Di tell you guys?” he asked exasperated.
Dinah cleared her throat, “I just told them about the hell you put me through for most of the night, because you were off hooking up with some guy that you picked up at a Sip of Life.”
“Yes, a very interesting tale,” Becca laughed. “I want to hear all the details from you though. What’s his name? What happened exactly?”
“Doesn’t sound like you took what I told you to heart,” Lizzie sighed.
“What does that mean?” Becca turned to their sister.
Lizzie rolled her eyes, taking a sip of her black tea and setting it back on the table. “I just told him to be careful going to that club.”
“You could try to sound a little more morally superior, Liz,” Dinah spa
t back at Lizzie. “You really could do better after all.”
“Really?” Lizzie’s voice went cold. “You can be so petty. I am just saying that I warned him and look what happened!”
“Well, he was fine,” Becca put her hand up and turned to Cal, “right?”
“Yeah, I was totally fine,” Caleb answered, hoping he sounded believable.
Lizzie leaned back against her chair, “What did happen then?”
The purple haired girl came up with his coffee and croissant on a small white plate with a blue lacy pattern painted around the edge. “Your latte and croissant,” she sounded inconvenienced as she set everything down and disappeared back to behind the counter before Caleb could even register if he needed anything else.
“Well,” Dinah chimed in expectantly.
“Uh,” Caleb sipped his latte. It was delicious and the perfect temperature so that it warmed him, but did not burn his tongue. “Well, I know of saw this guy when we all went out.” He grabbed a dork from a small basket at the center of the table filled with napkins and utensils. “I got the opportunity to talk to him when you guys went to the bathroom. We kind of hit it off,” he watched his food as he cut into it, not wanting to look any of his sisters in the eye, in case it betrayed his lie. His fork slid through the flaky crust of the croissant easily and he hoped he didn’t look like he was avoiding them.
“But it was so loud at Sip,” he continued, “so we decided to go somewhere quiet, then my phone died, went to his place to charge it, I called Di back, and we spent the rest of the morning talking at some diner.” He shrugged and popped a bite into his mouth. It was warm, light, and buttery. The ham was baked perfectly with a slight taste of brown sugar, which paired with the creamy white cheese quite perfectly. Caleb melted a little as he swallowed the bite and reached for his coffee.
“That’s it?” Becca asked. “So, not a hookup?” She sounded disappointed.
“If he’s telling the truth,” Lizzie arched an eyebrow. Dinah shot her a look and she raised her hands innocently, “What? Maybe he is embarrassed talking about this with us?”
“Ha!” Becca snorted. “We are far too close to be embarrassed over the fact that we all have sex.”
“Some of us,” Dinah amended, shooting another look at Lizzie.
Lizzie rolled her eyes, “Think what you want about me.”
“Anyway,” Becca turned her attention back to Caleb, “tell us about this guy! What’s his name? Where does he live? He must be here on the island, huh?”
He nodded, chewing on another bite of croissant and trying not to smile at Becca’s questioning. Her and Dinah were so similar. “Yeah, he does live here actually.” He lifted his mug and hesitated, debating lying further or just telling the truth. “And his name is Rainer,” he added and took a drink.
Becca choked on the drink of coffee she had been sipping. She grabbed a napkin, sputtering and coughing. “What?!” She choked out.
Lizzie hopped up and headed to the counter while Becca coughed and turned beet red. She returned a minute later with a glass of water. Becca snatched the water and gulped it down, “Rainer?!” Her eyes seemed to bug out. “As in, the vampire Rainer?!”
Shit. Of course Becca would know of him. He was probably friends with her fiance.
“As in,” she continued, “one of the owners of the club?”
“What?!” Dinah smacked the table and leaned in toward Cal.
Caleb felt his ears go hot as he flushed scarlet with embarrassment, “Maybe.”
“How did that happen?!” Becca whispered loudly. “That’s so wild!” She grinned. “I mean, Rainer! Holy hotness! And seriously badass vampire.”
“I don’t know,” Caleb shrugged. “I bumped into him and we started talking.”
“What did you even talk about?” Becca asked, scooting in closer.
“Me, mostly,” Caleb answered. “I wanted to ask him things about him, but he seemed very curious about my life and how I experienced things.” He shrugged and absently stabbed another bite of his croissant, “He hasn’t been a human in a long time, I guess.”
“Probably trying to connect,” Dinah responded. “I mean, he is a vampire. He was probably assessing human life now. Looking for a connection, or something.” She wiggled her eyebrows.
“Wonderful,” Lizzie sighed. “A vampire is an excellent person to go after, Caleb.”
“He isn’t going after anyone, you prude,” Dinah barked.
Lizzie rolled her eyes and took a sip of her tea. “I am just saying that vampires are not safe to become involved with, that’s all.” She gave Caleb a look over her tea, filled with judgment and feigned worry.
“Oh, that’s all, huh?” Dinah responded mockingly. “Okay, father. Just like how all witches and warlocks are agents of evil, even though Becca is clearly engaged to one.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Caleb interjected, looking down at the table. He wanted his sisters to stop bickering, something that Lizzie and Dinah always did when together. “I doubt he’s interested in anything like dating, anyway.”
“That’s why you spent all night together, right?” Becca teased.
Caleb blushed. There was a reason why Rainer had taken him home and spent so much time with him, but he couldn’t tell his sisters. Even Becca would freak about him practically being assaulted by a vampire. Cal assured himself that Rainer was simply worried about a human being attacked in his club and the potential legal issues that could be rained down on him. That was it. Even the talk about his humanity, Caleb was sure came from a place of Rainer trying to come off as concerned and kind, thus lowering the chance that he would retaliate against the club.
Dinah laughed a little, “I think you should see if he’s interested.” She grinned wickedly, “A handsome and apparently rich vampire? Sounds like a wonderful first boyfriend!” She laughed, clearly poking fun at Lizzie more than him, as she only seemed to laugh harder at Lizzie’s uncomfortable face.
“Just be careful,” Becca said casually.
“Exactly!” Lizzie triumphantly rang out.
“Not that I think a vampire is a bad person to get to know,” Becca shot Lizzie a withering look. “I just want Cal to be careful with anyone he’s interested in.” She glanced back to him, brown eyes soft and sincere as he reached over and patted the back of his arm.
Lizzie rolled her eyes once more and shook her head, reaching for her black tea. Dinah huffed at Lizzie’s self-righteous behavior and crossed her arms. Lizzie pretended not to notice, looking around the cafe with feigned interest. She was holding back whatever snide comment she had ready thankfully.
Becca shook her head with a bemused look on her face. “So, how’s school finishing up?”
Caleb swallowed a bite he had just taken, covering his mouth with the back of his hand, “Fine. I really just have finals left and the last projects to wrap up. Two papers to turn in, since I already them done. Nothing huge, I guess. Just need to get through it.”
“And then your degree!” Becca cheered. “I am so proud of you.”
“That reminds me,” Dinah set her coffee down. “Are you coming back to my place for now? How are you feeling? I figured you wouldn’t want to deal with the fallout of going back.”
“Why would he do that?” Becca asked, looking between the two of them.
“Dad got a little angry the other night is all,” Lizzie answered.
“A little?” Dinah asked sounding annoyed.
“Everything is fine,” Lizzie replied defensively. “He just wasn’t happy last night.” She turned to Cal, looking him in the eyes, “You’re to come home. He isn’t upset.”
Becca scoffed, “I doubt that.”
Lizzie went to say something, but Dinah spoke first, “Lizzie, just let it go. You weren’t outside for it all. You don’t know how he acted. We can’t all excuse father the way you can. We don’t have to deal with it.”
“Fine,” Lizzie waved a hand. “Do whatever you want, Cal.” She looked away, crossing he
r arms and looking disappointed. She had their father’ s mannerisms down to a tee. It made him shudder.
Becca widened her eyes, looking between her sisters before clearing her throat. “Well, I need to run. Why don’t we all say goodbye and we will set something up for next week for us to all get together?”
“Fine,” Lizzie replied dryly.
Becca and Dinah stood up first, gathering their purses. Dinah looked down at Cal as he plopped the rest of his croissant in his mouth. “Are you coming with me?” She asked.
Caleb chewed quickly, glancing at Lizzie, who was visibly upset or agitated as she stood up and grabbed her sheer cardigan from the back of her chair. He nodded, finally looking back to Dinah. “Yes, I want to go with you.”
Dinah smiled slightly, “Great. Let’s go then.” She moved around and gave Becca a side hug before making a beeline for the door.
Cal looked at Lizzie and waved at her nervously. She nodded to him and escaped the cafe just as quickly as Dinah had. Becca lopped her arm through Cal’s and moved him toward the door. “It’ll be fine. Those two are just as protective as me, but they can never get along for more than five minutes. Everything will be back to normal once they’re away from each other.”
“I know, I know,” Caleb said hesitantly, no sure he believed that everything would be alright, especially with their father. He hated a lot of aspects of living with him, but he was the only parent they had. Becca hadn’t spoken to him in over two years. Caleb wasn’t sure he could cut the pastor off like that. He still cared for him and about his opinion. He didn’t want his father to hate or resent him. Not that the pastor would be very accepting of Cal being gay, much less potentially being interested in vampires. But that was another thing entirely to worry about.
