"Let me get this straight. You think that owning a little bar is a better position to have than a lawyer?"
"Of course. Anyone I ask would agree with me."
"Yeah, anyone you ask. I have a ton of people who would definitely disagree."
"How do you figure?"
"Well, I make more money than you, I have a bigger house than you, a better car than you, more notoriety. I pretty much have it all."
"Yeah, okay. But my job is less stress, less work, I can still support myself pretty well and I have more friends than you do."
"I'm sort of an introvert, so I don't need that many friends to begin with. I'm fine with my tight, close knit group of friends. And my job may be a lot of work, but at the end of the day, it's very rewarding. And I can more than take care of myself and my brother."
"Whatever you say."
"Just face it, Sam. My job is better than yours," Anna said as she patted him on the shoulder.
"Fine. You may have all of those things, but I'm my own boss. I control everything, and I don't have some jackass giving me orders and telling me what to do."
Anna opened her mouth to retort, but couldn't come up with a clever one. She put her hands up in defeat. "Touché. I give you that one. But that makes you the jackass then, doesn't it?" she smirked as she leaned her elbow on the top of the couch and rested her chin in her palm.
"I guess, but I'm not a jackass to my employees. I treat them with the utmost respect."
"I'm sure you do," she said sarcastically, a smile playing on her lips. "But even though my job is more stressful, you have a lot more responsibility. I mean, you had to fight off three vampires to make sure everyone else in your bar stayed safe. Which, I'm still mad about, by the way."
"Why are you still mad?" he chuckled.
"Because, Sam, you were stupid enough to think that you could take on three vampires, that's why I'm mad," Anna explained. She had come over to see him that night, and upon noticing that he was out of it, she questioned him and found out what had occurred. Sam thought that she would be worried and scared for his safety and offer him some kind of comfort. Instead, she started yelling and screaming at him, calling him an idiot for risking his life so carelessly. He tried to let her see his side of things, but she would always counter it with something better and more logical. He wasn't surprised though. She was a lawyer after all.
"Well, I'm sorry for making you worry. But they were threatening my friends. I couldn't let that slide."
"I suppose. Despite everything else, I have to admit that it must be nice having all the control for yourself. No one to take orders from, no one to work for. You work for yourself and no one else."
"So you like control, huh?" he smirked, and she watched as he leaned closer to her.
"Of course. If you have all the control, you're always the one on top," she smiled as their noses brushed against each other.
"Is that so," he whispered, leaving only a few centimeters between their faces.
"Of course," she whispered against his lips before he pressed his lips firmly against hers. She laughed a bit before she grabbed onto his arms, pulling him closer to her.
It was around eleven in the night, and she was sitting on a beige sofa with Sam at his trailer, which was located close to his bar. They had been there for about two hours, just talking and fooling around, relaxing and enjoying each other's company. She had been doing that a lot recently, and neither one of them had any problem with the arrangement. So far, they haven't gotten into any arguments or fights. Well, they would argue about their different standpoints on certain topics, but it would never lead to any real altercation between the two. When the argument was over, they would switch topics and start talking like crazy again. She had found herself coming over more and more recently. Sam was the highlight of her day. He was like an energetic little puppy that would lift her spirits instantly. After working long hours in the office, she would come to his house for a few hours to unwind and relax. There was only one time when she stayed later than she had expected, and ended up sleeping over at his house. She panicked like crazy, because she didn't want Sam to get the wrong idea, but he insisted that they would simply be sleeping in the same bed and nothing more. He even woke her up and drove her home the next morning. She was beyond happy when he didn't try anything, and it made her respect him even more than she already did. She was just worried how long it would stay that way. She really liked him, and he made it clear plenty of times that he liked her a lot as well, but she wasn't ready to sleep with him just yet.
Sam had taken it upon himself to softly push Anna back the couch, so now she was laying flat on her back as he hovered over her. Anna's hands released their hold of Sam's arms, and instead traveled up to sink her fingers into his brown hair as the other grabbed onto his shirt, pulling him closer to her. His tongue traced the bottom of her lip, and she opened her mouth for him, her hand raking through his hair deliciously, causing him to let out a throaty moan. His tongue slid into her mouth, and her own glided against his eagerly.
His hand slipped under her purple camisole, leaving a trial of heat as his fingers ghosted over her stomach and slowly traveled around to her waist. They traced her curves sweetly before his hands simply rested on her hips. Anna pulled away from the kiss, out of breath and panting heavily as Sam kissed down her jaw painfully slow. He nipped at her skin, his stubble tickling her face as he traveled down her neck, trailing back up with hot, wet kisses.
His mouth found hers again, this time more passionate and hungry than before. He nipped at her bottom lip, causing her to let out a soft moan, but he captured it within the next kiss. Anna was lost. She was enjoying this way too much, and she wasn't thinking rationally. There were so many bad outcomes that could have resulted from this, and none of them were making their way into Anna's head at the moment. All she could focus on was Sam's lips and his touch. The sane part of her would have been scolding her by now, but the insane part couldn't care less.
It wasn't until Sam's hand had returned under her shirt and had brushed against the wire of her bra that Anna's senses came back. She broke the kiss, turning her head to the side and trying to catch her breath. Sam was doing the same, and she could feel his breath hitting her cheek. She closed her eyes and tried to compose herself.
"What's wrong?" Sam whispered breathily, causing her to reopen her eyes and turn around to face him. She could see his blue eyes filled with desire and lust, and she swallowed and took a deep breath before she answered.
"Nothing's wrong. It's just that," she said as she gently pushed his chest so that he could get off of her and she could sit up, and he reluctantly moved himself from on top of her and leaned back against the couch. "I have a court hearing tomorrow and I would rather not show up with a hickey on my neck," she joked as she got off of the couch and took a seat in front of him on the coffee table. She combed her fingers through her hair a few times, making it presentable again.
"You could always wear a scarf, you know."
"Yeah, well scarves don't work when it's eighty-plus degrees," she smiled as she lifted her hands raked then through Sam's locks, trying to remedy the mess she made of his hair. While she was focused on him, he was focused on her. He stared at her, confused. It wasn't the first time that they had gotten so worked up and she had stopped it before things had gotten too far. He wanted her, so badly, and she made it seem as if she felt the same way, but now, he wasn't so sure anymore.
Anna's hands fell after she was done fixing Sam's hair, but he caught her wrists before they had a chance to fall back on her lap. She looked at him questioningly, watching as his eyes darted over her face.
"What's wrong Anna?"
"What do you mean?"
"Every time we're together, you always stop before anything happens. I mean, I don't want to sound like an asshole, and I don't want it to sound like I'm pressuring you, because I'm not, but we've been going out for two months and…"
"I know," she said, looking down and momentarily closing her eyes.
"I want you, Anna," he stated firmly, and it caused an involuntary shiver to run up her spine. "I mean, if you're worried that I'm gonna be rough or anything, I won't, I swear. I'll take it slow and easy."
"That's the least of my worries, Sam," she smiled, shaking her head slowly.
"What is it, Anna? I know you want me just as much as I want you, so what's the problem?"
"Nothing. It's just… I'm not ready to… go that far with you yet."
"Why? I mean it's not like you're a virgin or anything, so what's the problem?"
Anna squeezed her eyes shut when she heard the word virgin, scrunching up her face and slowly looking back up at him. She slowly opened one eye, watching as his face changed from confusion to one of awareness. The cat was out of the bag.
"You're a virgin?" he asked in disbelief.
"Well, damn, you don't have to sound to surprised about it. It makes me think that you thought I was some kind of whore or something," she said, pulling her hands away from his own.
"No, I didn't mean it like that," he said, grabbing hold of her hands again. "It's just that around these parts, hardly any of the girls are virgins, so it just came as a shock. I mean, that sounds bad, but it's the truth."
"Well, I'm not any girl, Sam," she stated firmly.
"I know. That's probably why I like you so damn much," he sighed, and she couldn't help but chuckle at that. "You're different from the rest, and I love that about you."
"So now what? Do we break up?" Anna asked, causing Sam's eyes to go wide.
"Hell no! Why would we do that?"
"Because that's usually the response to guys finding out that I'm a virgin," she answered. "They can't stand the wait so they break up and find some easy girl to be with."
"Well then those guys were fucking stupid and clearly didn't realize what an amazing girl they had," he said softly, brushing some hair out of her face. Anna smiled, leaning into his touch.
"So you're okay with this?" she asked. If he said yes, he was a liar. If he said no, he was telling the truth. No guy- scratch that, no straight guy is okay with not being able to have sex.
"Well, I'm not exactly okay with it, but I'm not gonna pressure you or anything, and I don't want this to ruin what we have. And we have a really good thing going here, Anna. I'll wait. Until you're ready."
'Damn, that was a good answer,' Anna thought to herself. Yes, Sam was definitely a keeper. "Okay," she said simply.
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure," Anna nodded.
"What made you hold out this long?"
"Well," she began, "I mean, it wasn't intentional. I didn't plan to be a to be in my twenties and still a virgin. But I was going to wait until I was married, but that was only because I was going to get married after college, when I was 21."
"What happened?"
"I thought I was in love with the guy, but the truth was that I had just moved to an unknown place after living most of my life with people that didn't give me the love and affection that a child needed, and I was naïve, lonely and scared. I met a gut in one of my classes, and I fell for him, hard. He just seemed so nice and honest, and he was m first boyfriend ever, meaning I was inexperienced in that field, so he took advantage of that."
"Really?"
"Yeah. We planned to graduate with our bachelors and then celebrate by getting married. Lucky for me I found out a few months prior to said wedding that he was cheating on me with someone who was a good friend, and he had only wanted to marry me because of my name."
"Coletti?"
"No. Coletti is my birth parents' last name, and that's the name I chose to live by. My adoptive parents' last name was 'Walton,' and once he found out that they were my legal guardians and that they were loaded with cash, he planned the whole thing and took advantage of my former stupid self. Ever since then, my relationships have been shit, to say the least. I blame him for the reason I have relationship issues now. Like, it takes a lot for me to trust anyone now. Like, a real lot."
"Well, do you trust me yet?"
"Well…" Anna drawled, and Sam gave her a playful push on the shoulder, causing her to laugh. "Pretty much. You're getting there," she smirked.
Before anything else could be said, Anna's cell phone began vibrating from where it sat inside her bag, and she stood up and crossed the room to retrieve it. Fishing it out, she glanced at the screen and sighed when she saw the name. She pressed the talk button and held the phone up to her ear.
"Yes?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. Am I interrupting something?"
"Kind of, yeah," she replied snippily.
"Well, sorry to cut your night short, but I need you at Fangtasia now." She could hear the sound of muffled music in the background.
"Why do you need me? Your bar's open tonight. I can hear the music."
"They'll be gone in a few minutes," he answered quickly, and she sighed.
"Do you really need me, Eric? I'm pretty sure if it's not too serious, you can do without me tonight," she replied in a hushed tone, looking back quickly and making sure Sam was out of earshot.
"Yes. The future of my bar depends on your presence here tonight," Anna couldn't help but roll her eyes at that, "so get here as soon as you can. Unless of course, you'd rather me come and get you. That would be a lot more fun."
She could hear the smile in his voice, and it caused her to let out a scoff. "I'll be there soon," she said simply. She could hear his chuckle before she hung up the phone. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair before grabbing her bag and returning to where Sam was seated on the couch.
"Everything alright?"
"Yes, and no. My friend just called and asked if I could meet her at her house. Something about her boyfriend and another woman. I would have said I was busy, but she sounded really distraught."
"Oh," Sam replied quietly.
"What?"
"Nothing. It's okay, I understand," he said instantly. "Do you want me to give you a ride over there?"
"No, I'll just drive there by myself," Anna said as she grabbed her leather jacket off the back of the couch. "I'll call you tomorrow, and I'm sorry again," she said as she crouched down in front of him.
"Don't be sorry. It's fine," he smiled, and she couldn't help the smile that found her lips as well. How did she manage to find someone as good as Sam?
She leaned forward and placed a soft kiss against his lips before standing back up and walking towards the front door. She opened the door and turned around, giving Sam one last wave before leaking and closing the door behind her.
It scared Anna how easy it had gotten to lie to people about her situation with Eric. She lied to everyone except Chris and Deandra, and she felt like she was becoming an expert at it. She did it so easily and on the spot, and it made her feel horrible. But it was the only way she could think of protecting the people she cared about. If it meant keeping everyone out of the loop, then that's what she would have to do. She didn't like it-hell, she damn near despised it- but it was what she had to do.
"Son of a bitch," Anna muttered to herself when she got to Fangtasia. From outside in the parking lot, she could still hear music playing, but she just thought that the speakers were left on or something. But as soon as she walked in, she was surrounded by a slew of vampires and humans.
'He said that it would be empty by the time I got here,' she thought to herself as she made her way through the crowd of people, trying to steer clear of all the vampires that had stopped paying attention to what they were doing before and had started staring at her. She walked towards the back and expected to see Eric sitting in his chair like he usually was, but he wasn't there tonight. Her eyes darted around the area, but he was no where in sight.
"Are you Anastasia?"
Anna turned around to find the source of the voice, and came face to face with a short, skinny blonde woman. Her hair was between wavy and curly and reached just above her shoulders. She wore a pair of thin jeans shorts and a silver spandex bra top. Anna's eyes narrowed as she overlooked the woman standing in front of her.
"Yes," she said cautiously.
"Okay, good. That was a lot easier than I thought it was gonna be," she laughed. Anna's face had remained serious, waiting for some explanation. "Oh, right, you don't know me. My name is Ginger. I work for Eric here at Fangtasia."
"Oh," she said simply. "Where's Eric?"
"He left a little while ago with Pam. Said he had some things to take care of."
"So that asshole asked me to come and he's gone?" Anna asked incredulously.
"Yeah. But he told me to take you into his office so you could wait here until he gets back. He doesn't want any of the other vampires trying anything with you," she explained, whispering the last part.
Shaking her head, Anna pinched the bridge of her nose before dropping her hand back to her side. "Lead the way," she sighed, frustrated. Ginger nodded before walking and leading Anna to a door in the back. Ginger walked ahead and pushed the door open, stepping inside to allow Anna to walk through. She stepped in slowly, looking around the office and she was actually surprised. She didn't think this was what a vampire's office would look like. She didn't really have any idea in mind, but she didn't expect it to look so basic. There was a black leather chair behind the desk, which held a PC and had papers and envelopes scattered over it. There were a few file cabinets located here and there, and there were two more chairs at the front of the desk.
'This is a vampire office?' she thought to herself, raising an eyebrow.
"So, you could just sit in here until Long Shadow and I clear out the bar, then you can come out. Just don't touch anything and don't go through Eric's papers. He'll get mad."
"Okay. I won't," Anna smiled.
"Good. Is there anything I can get you? Maybe a drink or something? Eric said to make sure you were comfortable until he returned."
"Did he really?" Anna asked, raising an eyebrow. "Okay then. Can you get me a long island iced tea?"
"Coming right up," Ginger smiled before she left the room and closed the door, blocking out most of the music.
As soon as she was gone, Anna quickly walked behind the desk, careful not to knock any papers over. Her eyes wandered over the titles of the pages, but most of then were just information sheets about shipments and things for the bar. She caught sight of a few papers that looked strange, but only because they were in some other language that she didn't quite recognize. She narrowed her eyes, disappointed. She wasn't looking for anything in particular, but her curiosity got the better of her.
"Eric won't like you looking through his things."
Anna spun around, and she saw Long Shadow standing there, a glass cup in his hand. He had a smirk on his face, and she knew that he wasn't going to tell Eric that she was snooping around. Ever since Eric and Anna's arrangement, she had been to Fangtasia a lot more, and when she needed to kill time, she would talk to Long Shadow while she had a drink. She wouldn't say that he was a friend, per say, but he was a close acquaintance. He had told her on few occasions that he had enjoyed her presence as well.
"So don't tell him. It's not hurting anybody," Anna shrugged.
"I suppose not. I guess I can let you off the hook this time," he smirked, and she smiled as she walked back around the desk and towards Long Shadow, holding her hand out for her drink.
"Thank you," she said, referring to both the drink and him agreeing to keep quiet about her snooping around.
"No problem," he replied, handing her the glass cup. She took a sip through the straw before he spoke again. "What were you looking for, anyway?"
"Nothing," she shrugged. "Just curious. Wanted to know what exactly a vampire's office consisted of."
"It's nothing exciting, trust me. It's pretty boring around here."
"Yeah… but you're a vampire. When you're surrounded by tourists and other vampires all night, it's gonna get pretty boring, considering the fact that you've probably experienced life changing events before."
Long Shadow smirked, giving her a long look before he began walking back out of the office. "You can come back out, now. Everyone's gone, so you won't have anyone to worry about."
"Already? That was quick," Anna said as she walked back out and into the now very empty bar. Her eyebrows raised, and Long Shadow answered her question before it was asked.
"We work really fast," he said over the still blaring music.
"Huh," Anna said thoughtfully as she walked over to one of the metal tables and took a seat. Long Shadow had kept the music on for her to enjoy, but at a lower level than what the bar was used to receiving. She sat and watched as Long Shadow cleared off the bar and as Ginger began cleaning up the place. She didn't know how long she waited there, but the next thing she knew, she had gone through three long island iced teas and was now a bit tipsy. She folded her hands on the table and rested her head, falling into a momentary nap.