I'm back. And with some treats and tricks (is that the other way around?). I'm exaggerating obviously but, I am here with a new, hopefully good chapter for my loyal readers. And hey, guess what? This will indeed include some Josh/Nora cuteness and some good ol' Sally/Aidan banter, as you like it. I'm also loving the reaction to the Aidan/Anna centered last chapter. This will begin with more of that and then flesh out with the other characters (I have not forgotten my promise to make it longer, okay).
P.S. Oh! And I just wanted to recommend a Sally/Aidan story that I read the other day and really enjoyed: 'Eternity' by bergamotsoul (it's a small, character piece but, it's woth the read).
P.S.S. Just enjoy and keep in mind, I own not a damn thing here.
...
"Are you sure your okay?"
Anna smiled at the vampire's concern. Yes, she was feeling better. Much, much better. All thanks to Aidan. Although, she knew the momentary peace from her breakdown wouldn't last, that the second she was alone her strength would crumble again, she kept those thoughts small and in the back of her mind as she and Aidan got back to his car.
She caught a surprised expression on his handsome face as she reached for the handle on the passenger's seat door. "You don't mind if I join you in the front, right? I mean, I'm not gonna throw up again." Anna shrugged a shoulder behind, pointing thumb towards the spot she was at not five minutes ago. "I pretty much lost all my stomach content in that bush over there, so..."
"It's fine." He gave her a half-smile and a weird flutter quivoured in her heart. "Come on."
He got into his side and she slid into the passenger's side.
Once they were back on the road, Aidan inquired again. "So, are you okay? I mean, do you want me to call Josh or-"
"No, no, no. The last thing I need is for him to worry. I'm a big girl. I got this." When Anna glanced and saw the slightly dejected look on his face, she felt compelled to add. "You've helped plenty already."
She made certain he felt her sincerity because his lips formed into a breathtaking, full smile in her direction before looking back at the road. "Any friend of Josh is a friend of mine." He tried sounding as casual and nonchalant as he could muster, but for the first time in the few encounters she's had with him, Anna saw right through him.
"Good."
A comfortable silence followed and Anna took that time to look over at her driver.
She could scarcely suppress a sigh as she let herself drink him in. He was such a handsome man.
Again, Anna had spent most of her adolensence and now bergeoning young adulthood both passively and actively avoiding any kind of male interaction (her childhood was different; she only payed attention to boys that she wanted to beat the crap out of and there were a lot), so she honestly had no handle on what her type was anyway. She was 21 now and a half-way grown woman who'd never even kissed a man before (well, once, but that was 'spin the bottle' and the freckled, spectacled idiot had slobbered all over her face before attempting to stick his nasty tongue in her mouth before she knocked him out silly).
But, Aidan sure was something. She wanted to run her fingers through his black hair and that strong jaw of his just called for lips to trail on it. She next let her eyes travel to the large arms encased in an extremely fitted, long-sleeved back sweater. Arms she imagined hugging her in comfort and maybe cradling her nude body as they lay in post-coital...
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Where the hell did that come from, lady?
The booming, critical voice in her head snapped her out of her imaginative thoughts. Yeah, sure Aidan had made no secret of his attraction to her. An attraction that surprised the hell out of her, to be honest. Anna didn't think herself ugly. Nor did she think she was the most beautiful thing in the room at any given moment. She was kinda short and very curvy (she was thinkful for that; Anna wasn't cut out to be a waif) with brown hair and pale skin. The only thing she actually liked on herself were her blue eyes. That was the only outstanding feature she saw on an otherwise unextroardinary looking appearance.
Anna had no clue what Aidan saw in her. But, she did like the way her insecurities evaporated briefly when his eyes focused on her like she was the only one in the room. Eyes that looked dark and hungry in her direction. Eyes that made her feel both nervous and excited all at once.
"What?"
His voice snapped her suddenly out of her thoughts. "Hmm?"
"You've been staring at me for the past 10 minutes? Do I have something on my face or something?" Well, damn. She forgot she had been doing that.
Even so, his voice didn't sound aggitated or annoyed, just amused and... something that made heat burst through her lower regions.
"We're here."
They pulled up to her partment building.
They looked at each other for a moment and she barely registered the question as it stupidly spilled forth. "Do you wanna come up?"
Oh god. What the hell, Anna?
What? He was nice and he helped me...
What are you gonna do? Give him your first time as a reward? Get real!
Even so, Anna had already asked and she froze in fear as she waited for his answer. And as she watched him, it seemed the relaxed, gentle man who had comforted her had all but disappeared. She could see the muscles in his arm tighten visibly and his pale knuckles grip his steering wheel tensely. Alarm bells rang in her head as she considered the predictament she had put herself in.
Bad idea. Backtrack, backtrack, backtrack-
"Yes."
"What?"
The look he levelled her with was damn near smoldering and she gulped. "I wanna come up."
"Oh, okay-"
"But, I'm not going to." He looked at the steering whell he was gripping so tightly.
And again, she couldn't stop herself. "Why?"
Her voice came out smaller than she wanted it to and his eyes flashed back to her.
"Because, right now, I can feel how afraid you are." His gaze travelled her shamelessly. "And I know it's not because you think I'll kill you."
His voice had lowered significantly by the end of his sentence and she fought a shiver. She knew now she had get out of his car because she was starting to have trouble breathing when he looked at her like that.
Not knowing what else to say, Anna said what she should have said the minute he had parked. "Okay, bye then." She winced at the chirpy, fake sound of her own voice.
She didn't even look back back at Aidan to know he watching her as she walked away.
...
Josh sighed as he held his face in his hands, fighting off his headache.
He'd been thinking about Anna since he had gotten to the hospital. Last night had been her first transformation with him and he just hoped she was okay. She had looked so pale and sick when he'd left her in Aidan's car. And sad, too. So terribly sad it hurt his heart to think about it.
God, poor thing.
He knew Anna didn't deserve this. She was a smart, beautiful girl who just did not deserve what this monster had done to her.
But, nothing could be done now. All he could was help her through it and hope that their friendship would be enough to heal her somehow.
Oh, did he hope so.
"Penny for your thoughts?"
The familiar, female voice made up him look up .
Nora.
"What?"
The blonde surgeon smiled wryly before continuing. "You okay? You just look a bout of depression short of a bottle of Xanax. What happened?"
She sat down across from him without preamble.
He smiled widely. Her very presense seemed to immediately brighten his day. "I'm fine. Just had to... help a friend with something last night and I hope she's okay."
"She?" He looked at her and saw an eyebrow cocked. It took him to realize the unspoken implication in her question.
"Oh, no. No, no, no, no. Nothing like that. She's just a f-friend. You introduced us actually. Or you mentioned her to me." He bumped his head on the table. "God, I am making no sense."
He heard her chuckle as she reached out and patted him on the hand. "Easy, doe-eyes. I was just kidding."
Josh lifted his head and looked at the attractive woman across from him.
She smiled beautifically at him and leaned forward in her seat. "Actually, I am here with a purpose."
He grinned. "Really, do tell."
She grinned flirtatiously.
"I was thinking dinner at my place tonight?" She fake stage-whispered, leaning more into him.
He smiled.
It seemed his night was brightened, too.
...
Aidan slammed the door behind him as he got home.
As he moved to the staircase, Sally misted in front of him. "Hey-"
"Not now, Sally." He grunted heading up the stairs for a cold shower that proabably wouldn't work anyway. The racy, highly graphic thoughts of would have probably happened had he just gone up to Anna's apartment, consequences be damned, were making him irritable and horny as hell.
And he hoped, no, prayed that the images in his mind would go away along with his present hard-on.
Aidan was being entirely truthful with what he had said to Anna in the car. He had wanted to desperately go up to her apartment and just... just show her what had been on his mind from the second they met. And he knew that she wanted it, too. He could smell her delicious, potent arousal in his car and could almost taste it on his tongue.
But, along with her heat, he could sense something else.
Something pure. Something... untouched.
She was a virgin.
And despite the sexual marathon in his head, the other part of his mind. The nurturing part that felt concern for this woman would not simply allow him to take from her what he, right now, didn't deserve.
And Aidan knew right then that he was already starting to care for her.
"Well, aren't you in a mood." He heard Sally tell him snippily as he got half-way up the stairs only to turn around and head back down.
"No, no. Actually, we gotta talk. We gotta talk now." He said urgently before sitting on the spot near the window.
The ghost frowned a little but, walked over and sat next to him. "Okay."
And then, after Sally folded her legs beneath her, Aidan began talking.
Oh, this is gonna be hell.
...
A/N: Odd ending, I know. But, the second part of their actual talk will be in the next chapter, I promise you. In any case, hoped you enjoyed the first Anna/Aidan part, then the following cuteness that is Nora/Josh along with some good Sally/Aidan ender.
Now you know what makes mama happy (review, review, review!).