Title: Lovers of the Night
Author: ArthurAllen
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters Kerry or Ethan. They belong respectively to Vivian Vande Velde who quite honestly should have gotten to a sequel by now.
Notes: Well this is getting interesting.
(heavily edited after writing it last night plus being tired makes me cringe at the ending so here we go again..)
CHAPTER 3
The dump of a building turned out to be a rather fabulous two story apartment on the upper two levels but before that she was sure it was just another abandoned fish factory of some sort. The neighborhood they were in was supposed to be one of the "up and coming" new neighborhoods of the city. And right now Kerry was realizing she really should have paid attention to what Allie was saying when she read it out loud out from the newspaper last week. The elevator ride up was tension building at best and besides from staring at Ethan all Kerry could do was put her hood on because it was as cold inside as it was outside. Ethan to his affect just stared and smiled at her as he leaned against the wall and Kerry immediately realized that she was looking at him face to face in almost 3 years. He hadn't aged at all(duh) but looking at him she realized that she didn't know how old he was but if she had to guess at that moment he was her age if not a tad younger?. Before she could actually ask the lift door opened and Ethan gestured her inside. The place was dark but a few shuffles later proved that he had found the light switch.
Kerry never thought about what kind of apartment or house she wanted but when the lights came on, she knew this is what she wanted. She gasped before moving a few steps forward and Ethan chuckled behind her before moving past her.
"well I guess the speechlessness proves that it was an alright purchase"
Kerry nodded before lowering her hood and she sat on the white couch as Ethan lit up the small fireplace behind glass. She stood up immediately realizing that she still had her heels on and the carpet she was standing on could probably pay a months wages if not more. Ethan stood up and removed his coat throwing it on the couch beside her.
"Don't worry dearest Kerry, I think the carpet can stand up against a couple minutes of heel impressions"
He smiled before going into the next room and Kerry tentatively sat down looking at the room around her. Yep this place definitely was in the millions in decorations and renovations. She felt very out of place and not very comfortable at the moment but she was pushing it all down because she had questions and this place was just adding to that list. She felt herself yawn and she looked at her watch and it was almost 4 in the morning. Usually she would be cozying up in her room with a hot cup of tea and a book hoping to fall asleep by 5.
Ethan suddenly reappeared with a wine bottle and two glasses. He handed one to her and then sat down and stared. He wrinkled his eyebrows and she suddenly found herself laughing at his expression.
"Well dearest Kerry that's the first sound I've gotten out of you since we entered the place"
Kerry smiled at him and put the wineglass down on the coffee table before sitting back.
She felt uncomfortable but she wasn't going to show it and to be honest she was just to tired to beat around the bush.
"I'm sorry I don't understand what your doing here all of a sudden"
"I haven't seen you in almost 3 years and then you suddenly turn up at my Birthday party and I was beginning to think it was all a figment of grey goose"
He smirked a bit before grabbing her wineglass and filled it, handing it to her.
"Well truth be told dearest Kerry I wasn't here for you this time but I'm in town for another reason. Something I cannot explain fully at the moment but just know that running into you is just a highlight of the trip."
Kerry took a drink of the wine and grimaced, it was strong.
"This is really uncomfortable for me Ethan, I know what you are and what you can do and it scares me. I mean the last time I saw you, I almost died and my family was put in danger."
"Now suddenly you show up here like nothing has happened and jump back into my life again like it's going to be okay"
At this proclamation Ethan didn't respond right away but instead chuckled before putting his empty wineglass down.
"Know this Kerry."
"Before your birthday I never had any intention of coming to see you again nor looking you up as they say these days. Instead I went on my merry way and the night you did see me well I was having a bit of fun with ahem business"
The way he enunciated "business" suddenly made Kerry feel like he was telling her something she should catch onto but she realized that she didn't want to know so instead she ignored it and continued on.
"So...the night I saw you at my birthday party you didn't expect to run into me?"
Ethan nodded before grinning.
"And let me say Dearest Kerry that you sure know how to make the boys run after you, in fact I wasn't actually going to say hi to you but I had to make sure one of those funboys who was hugging onto you didn't make a move past the dancefloor."
"One of whose intentions were not actually pure and I saw that when I seen how inebriated you were so I simply stepped in"
"Afterwards I saw how you left alone and your so-called-friend called a taxi, I made sure you got home okay and imagine how surprised I was when I found out you are a college student now, gosh I feel old"
He raised his eyebrows a couple times and she felt herself laughing again. How did he make her feel so at ease?.
Kerry took the wineglass and set it down before putting her hands in her pockets. She suddenly felt very cold. Ethan in a move that surprised her grabbed one of her hands and put it on his leg. She gulped and pulled it away before looking at him at him fully. He was staring intently at her but it wasn't in a frightening way but more of a concerned way. He grabbed her hand again and put it on his leg and this time she didn't take it back.
"I know what I am Kerry and I'm not here to turn your life upside down but I am not one to tempt fate. I was just as surprised as you were when I walked into the bar tonight and I realized that I should just say hi and see how you are doing"
"Though truth be told my partner was not happy to see you again and I had to console her with the fact that you were completely harmless."
He put his hand on her cheek and pushed a strand of hair back before moving closer.
"Look at you Dearest Kerry, you have surprised me in more ways than one and one of them is how much you have grown..."
He leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips and she felt herself kissing him back. Upon realizing what she was doing she pulled back and moved away.
"Don't do that Ethan, it isn't right and you know it"
He made a disappointed face and gave her wineglass back to her. Before making a gesture with his hands.
"Ah well I did try, well Dearest Kerry we must make a decision it'll soon be the time for me to leave you and I want to make sure that your going to be okay."
"I being the gentleman I am"
He put his hand on his chest.
"Offer up the fact you can stay here for the night or I can escort you home before the sun rises in.."
He looked at his watch.
"In about 45 minutes"
Kerry looked at her watch as well before taking a big drink of her wine and this time it went down easier than before. She looked at him fully before taking her jacket off. The decision came a lot easier than it should have Kerry realized but she realized that she wanted answers. This whole evening had been unreal and up until this point she felt very uncomfortable but right now she was tired and she couldn't possibly drive even if she wanted to. She rubbed her temples and felt a small headache coming on, this whole creature of the night business was exhausting.
"I want to stay..with you.. but..."
"I think we need to have a long talk about all this tomorrow morn...I mean evening.."
He smiled at her words before taking her wineglass away and standing up. He held out his hand and she looked it before placing hers in his.
"Dearest Kerry we shall have a long talk about everything tomorrow but I cannot stay up any longer and I fear you are dead on your feet as well"
She smiled at the joke and she let him lead her upstairs. The room he led her into was as big as two dorm rooms put together plus the hallway. She stared at the immaculate room, even down to the black and white furnishings it was decorated perfectly.
"So how much did you spend on this place again?"
He sat her down on the bed and kneeled before her and smiled. He proceeded to take her heels off and pushed her back onto the bed. He kissed her nose lightly stared into her eyes. All Kerry could do in that moment was stare at him and she was rendered speechless by what just happened. This was something she wasn't expecting and up until this point she didn't know if she was prepared for it but then Ethan surprised her. He jumped off and she sat up immediately.
"Ethan..I..I really think.."
Ethan put this hands to his lips and stepped back before putting his hands on the light switch.
"We have a lot to talk about but I think we both need some sleep, you shall have this room and I'll be down the hallway."
"The fridge is stocked and well goodnight dearest Kerry"
He flicked the switch and moved down the hallway. All Kerry could do in that moment was sit in stunned silence and stare at the doorway. She heard a door close and it was suddenly very quiet except for the sounds outside. This whole night was very surreal and she couldn't quite grasp the fact that she was somewhat? falling for a vampire or was this all a dream?. Up until this point she was sure she was losing her mind to this whole fantasy of Ethan because most of the time she couldn't believe that it actually happened to her. She had made a choice and at the time it was the most relevant one but now something was pushing her towards making a different choice and she didn't know if she was ready for that. She stood up and walked into the hallway and made her way downstairs. The wine bottle and glasses were still on the coffee table so she sat down and grabbed her glass. The fireplace was still going but was dying now, but the room seemed warmer than it had been before. She downed her wine and poured herself another drink before standing before the window. Ethan did have good taste she would give him that, the window was pointed out towards the bay and the sun was rising.
She didn't remember when she laid down but it was sometime after the sun had risen and she had finished half the wine bottle. She did remember hearing a strange whirring sound but she was to tired to even get up and see what it was.
