Almost two weeks had passed since Alexandra's outburst and the mysterious telegram. She kept it in her pocket at all time, rereading its odd message over and over again. An odd kind of peace had broken out between her and her parents, they were pleasant to one another and always waited for her to eat dinner. It was nearing the three week mark when Alexandra began to grow restless; she had seen all the sights, shopped in all the stores and listened to all the stories she could about catfish.
It was a sultry Tuesday morning when she heard a knock on the door, she had just finished pinning up her hair when she walked over to open it. She let out an excited squeal and leapt towards the man on the other side of the door. "Are you really that bored" laughed Peter as wrapped his arms around her tiny waist. "Almost" she giggled back as she nuzzled into him, they parted when they heard a loud cough coming from behind them. Alexandra's father stood their disapproving of such an embrace, Peter moved towards him. "Hello allow me to introduce myself, I'm Peter Volkov, Alexandra's dance partner."
Rather than return Peter's greeting, Alexandra's father looked at her, sneering "You still using that god awful name we gave you when you started all this nonsense?" Alexandra wanted to yell at him that it was because of "all this nonsense" that he had a roof over his head. She was mortified that he had revealed that her name was a fake in front of Peter and she was upset that he had been so rude to her friend. But she kept it all inside and simply laughed and asked Peter did he want anything to drink.
Her father noticing where he was not wanted left them to it but tut-tuted as he made his departure.
"So why did you come down here?" Alexandra asked while pouring his drink.
"To see you of course. That and New York is rife with tourists at the moment, making it impossible to enjoy the city." Peter glanced around the room, gathering it all in.
"You snob" Alexandra laughed as she handed him his drink "you're just as much a tourist in that city as anyone else. Where is it you're from again, Texas?"
"So what is there to do in this place" Peter asked dodging the question.
"Well there's fishing, shopping, swimming and whole lot of catfish."
"Swimming eh? Not a bad idea, how bout you and I take a little road trip. Make a day of it, pack a lunch and everything."
Alexandra asked him to give her five minutes and they could leave. She ran upstairs throwing a few things into a small bag. She slipped her swimming costume on under light dress, pulled on a pair on shoes and was ready to go. She stopped to check her reflection in the mirror. She could here more whispering coming from her parents bedroom and she swore she heard one of them utter "cheap hussy."
She fought back the tears, put on her brightest smile and ran down to Peter.
Peter had rented a great big Ford while he stayed in Biloxi, within an hour he and Alexandra arrived at the aptly named Big Lake. They wandered along the water's edge until the found a nice spot to rest, Peter set a blanket down and began to unpack the lunch he had brought with him. They sat in a comfortable silence, the only noise the clanging of their forks and sips from their cups. The uneasy tension that had been building up in Alexandra for the past few weeks disappeared in Peter's presence, as she finished her lunch she lay down on the blanket and let out a quiet sigh. The sun was soft on her face gently warming it, she felt Peter move the dishes back into the basket and lay down next to her. They lay like that for a while; hearing one another's breathing, in out, in out. The steady rhythm lulling Alexandra to sleep, she scooted closer to Peter as she felt a light breeze. Peter stared down at his sleepy companion unsure of how to act, he wrapped an arm around her to the test the water. When she did not protest he placed his other arm around her, pulling her towards his chest.
Alexandra felt his heart beat , combined with the steady breathing she went from half-sleep to fully asleep.
Alexandra woke with a start, she didn't know how long she had been asleep but Peter was no longer by her side. She looked around hoping to see his tall figure in the distance, twenty minutes had passed and still no sign of him. She began to grow worried, what could she do? Where was there to go? She looked towards the water…
She walked towards the edge, her eyes straining to see any form of life out on the water. Twice she mistakenly recognised branches and other floating debris as Peter. She hadn't noticed that she had walked into the water, it was getting closer and closer to her waist.
"ALEXANDRA!" she had never been so relieved to hear his voice, she turned to face him, then realising how far she had waded into the lake. Her face was a bright red colour as she walked towards his laughter, "here" he said "a strawberry for my strawberry." In his hands he had several large juicy strawberries, he gave the largest of them to Alexandra.
"Had I known my leaving would upset you this much I would have left a note" he mocked.
"It wasn't the leaving, it was the waking up alone" Alexandra flushed an even brighter red at what had just come from her mouth.
"I mean, one minute you were here and the next gone!" she hastily explained.
"Well an elderly couple walked by earlier and described such beautiful fruit that I had to go and see for myself, I thought you might like some after your nap." it was his turn now to turn red.
"Thanks" Alexandra replied taking a bite from the juiciest looking one, "but technically strawberries aren't a fruit, they're a member of the rose family" What am I babbling on about? She thought to herself.
"I would prefer a bouquet of strawberries over a dozen roses" she added unable to prevent the babble.
Peter laughed at her unusual preferences but continued to eat, unsure of which he was enjoying more the food or the company.
"I think it's time to swim" he said eyeing the lake.
This was the moment Alexandra had been dreading, she was wearing a flimsy swimming costume under this and was not prepared to be this exposed. Sure she had worn leotards and the like in front of him hundreds of times before, but this was different. They were alone and semi-clad. Peter did the gentlemanly thing and left her while she changed, he came back with eyes closed asking if it was alright to look. It took Alexandra a moment to reply but eventually said it was fine. He tried not to stare at her shapely legs and small waist, he did his best not to gaze too long at her creamy skin. He failed however when she walked towards the water, not to notice how her beautiful long hair gently curled at the ends exposing the bare white skin underneath. Her dance-like walk entranced him to the water, he followed helplessly. She submerged herself in the water and when she surfaced her skin glistened with moisture, Peter felt himself falling deeper and deeper. Brace yourself, he thought to himself.
Alexandra had to walk in front of Peter, if she hadn't she was sure she would have spent to long gazing at his upper body. His back was long and his shoulder blades jutted out in a quite muscular way, his shoulders were broad and strong without being beefy and heavy. That would have slowed his dancing career. His truly spectacular feature though, were his arms. His arms were a little too long but they were perfectly defined, each muscle rippled under the sunlight. These were muscles built from labour and necessity rather than vanity, Alexandra was reminded of all the times these arms had lifted her and caught her. She dove under the water and thought, get a hold of yourself.
They swam in uneasy tension for awhile until Peter unable to take it anymore splashed Alexandra with a large amount of water. She floated there, shocked for a moment before she let out a giggle and splashed him back. They began a light hearted water fight for every splash he gave her she would drench him back, he dove under the water swimming beneath her. Alexandra was unsure of his tactics but soon she felt a hand wrap around her ankle he tickled her feet. What a dirty trick, she thought to herself, when he surfaced she placed both her arms around his head and dunked him back under the water. She playfully held him there until she felt him gently pinch her arms. She let him rise to catch his breath, it took a moment for her to realise her arms had slid from his head and were now wrapped around his neck, resting gently on his shoulders. She felt his hands rise to her waist, they were now embracing but couldn't understand why. Alexandra didn't know what to do so she went with her gut instinct, she removed her arms and gently pushed herself off his chest. She floated a few feet away from him unable to look him in the eye.
Why did she do that, Peter thought to himself. He had felt that was the moment, just lean in he had been thinking. Just kiss her! But his fear got the best of him and he just about managed to put his hands on her waist. He looked at her avoiding him and felt the embarrassment grow inside, he swam towards a large rock that jutted out of the water and climbed on top of it. He needed a moment to be alone and process what had almost not happened. He looked down at the cold water, how tempting it looked.
Oh just say something, Alexandra thought to herself. You can explain it, at least try to fix it. She snorted at her own thoughts, she couldn't explain that moment. What did she want from Peter? She had to stop getting into these types of situations with him. She looked over at his lonely figure sitting on the rock, there was something so familiar about this image. Alexandra lay down in the water gently bobbing up and down. She tried to think rationally about the entire situation, but as she soon came to realise there is nothing rational when it comes to love. No that can't be it, she thought, I can't be in love with him. I would know wouldn't I?
How can she not know how I feel? Peter thought to himself as he picked away at the rock. He wanted to yell at her that he wasn't coming down till she saw sense and decided to fall madly in love with him too, don't be silly he thought. He could still taste the strawberries he had picked especially for her.
The sun gently brushed across Alexandra's face as she replayed the day's events in her head; the nice lunch, the pleasant nap, the delicious strawberries she could still taste.
She bolted upright as she thought of the strawberries, like her vision their smell lingered in the air. Floating above her, taunting her.
The sun was slowly burning Peter's back, "Damn it" he cussed, looked like he was going to have to go back in the water. Back to her. He stood up to plunge himself into the refreshing water, longing to be hidden if only for a moment.
Alexandra saw Peter stand and prepare himself to dive, she knew what was going to happen. She had seen the bloody water and felt the scream rise in her throat. Her mouth was now parched, she mustered a scream. Nothing came out except a desperate rasp, oh please God she thought, let him see the rocks at the bottom.
Peter cast his face toward heaven, feeling the warmth and trying not to think of Alexandra. He took a deep breath.
There was nothing for it, she began to swim nearer to him to warn him. She reached the shallow water before she expected and was easily able to run to him. Look down you fool, she screamed on the inside.
She tried once more to raise the alarm but nothing came out.
Peter stretched his arms out, loosening the tight muscles in his back and dove finger first into the ocean.
He felt himself collide with a soft body, he opened his eyes just in time to see Alexandra's head beneath him. There was a light splash as the two bodies hit the water. Peter stood up realising how shallow the water was, it barely reached his hips. He realised Alexandra hadn't surfaced yet, he frantically searched the water for her. "Alexandra!" he screamed as he thrashed about, desperately grabbing at the water. Finally he felt her small hand, he pulled it towards him. Alexandra's head lolled back and her entire body was limp. He pulled her closer to him to carry her. He scooped her up and ran towards the water's edge, he yelled to people in the distance for help. He lay her down on the picnic blanket, her face was rapidly changing colour. He pulled his hand from under her head, it was covered in a scarlet liquid. Blood. His screams intensified as he pleaded for help. Everyone rushed towards him to see what had happened to the pretty girl. All that is, except the unusual looking man hiding under the shade of a tree, trying desperately to control his hunger.
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A/N: Ok I promise it will get really interesting soon enough. Not just filler but actual vampire stuff and FIRE!! And a love scene that will knock your socks off!! Hopefully. Remember though that I studied at the Stephenie Meyer school of seduction, its frustrating and long-winded but ultimately worth it! LOL
Ok let me know what you think, if you'd like me to pick up the pace or add more of anything ie. Love, action, Jasper, magic, sex, star wars. Anything.
