"You're going to be OK to get home?"
Elizabeth smiled, shutting the door carefully.
Grandpa had used his big, rusty and somewhat dirty red monster of a car but she still thought it best to treat it with some respect, even if it was kind of an old beater. Sammy had been admonished for playing with the radio, not using the seatbelt properly and for trying to use the mirror in the sun shade to check his hair and Elizabeth was quite happy being on the old man's good side.
"I'll be fine. I'm an old hand at getting back from the library by now" she told him with a wide and bright smile.
"Nerd"
"You know, you could do with reading a book or two instead of spending time with those Frog Brothers, kiddo" Grandpa told him before revving his engine once, "alright, well just be safe. Your mother would go spare if I lost you"
Elizabeth laughed as he pulled away, hearing Sammy's joke comment of "oh I wish!" and a quick little yelp of discomfort coming from him.
She loved them both but, as the car slowly disappeared into the distance, she was glad to be away from them.
She had a date with Paul and from there, she had an evening with Dwayne.
Though the drizzle was still uncomfortably strong, the night itself wasn't terribly cold and Grandpa had promised them that a sunny day would be on its way. He said he hadn't seen a storm like yesterday's in quite a few years and Elizabeth couldn't help herself, she'd smiled widely.
Her night with Dwayne just felt all the more special.
In the end she had swapped the turtleneck sweater Sammy had laughed so hard about for a simple white tee and jacket. She had been right, the mark was there on her neck, clear as day but apparently invisible to everyone but her. She had observed it in the mirror, staring at it in numb shock before making her way into Grandpa's work room for their breakfast. Sammy had actually scratched her a little in his quest to find a secret hickey or whatever he was hoping to find, so she knew for sure that he had touched her mark...yet he didn't react. Even when she had changed her clothes - much to Sammy's chagrin, for apparently it made him feel guilty - nobody had mentioned, looked at or noticed the bite.
It had given her confidence that her mark was a secret, something sacred meant only for her and Dwayne to know.
It had lifted her spirits infinitely and while she still had felt a little weak, she'd managed to stomach breakfast and hold down a conversation with both of her dining partners. The salmon was, as Sammy had predicted...simply not good. It didn't match well with the bacon and maple syrup but she'd kept it down and eaten ratatouille from a can for her lunch. It looked quite disgusting and it should have been gross but she'd paired it with a good hunk of bread and felt wildly better for eating it. Sammy had phoned the Frog Brothers to confirm their presence at dinner tomorrow and from there, he'd sheepishly asked Elizabeth if he could have a look at the sweater she'd discarded. She gave it to him without question, complaint or comment because he did look like he felt bad for harassing her into changing though excitement soon washed over him as Grandpa told them he was heading out to one of the bigger mega markets to buy ingredients for Lucy's dinner. Apparently, she hadn't had the time to shop and, as a good father, he volunteered to purchase her fairly extensive shopping list.
Sammy had been desperate to go with him, eager to buy junk food, snacks and browse the magazine aisle and Elizabeth had managed to snag a ride into town with them under the pretense of visiting the library.
It had worked perfectly, as she had known it would. It hadn't always been smooth sailing but she was learning that with the boys, things always seemed to work out as they should.
She pushed a strand of hair behind her ears, finding it a little annoying that it kept falling forward past her face, and looked around. She wasn't getting wet but the drizzle was annoying. There was nowhere to shelter from it and she didn't quite know where to start looking for Paul. She doubted it would take her long to find him, he usually made himself known pretty sharpish but she kind of hoped he would hurry up. She also hoped that their dinner date would be a marginally fast one. She loved him and loved his company but she wanted to see Dwayne, too.
She needed to see him.
She knew he was safe, that he was happy and content but such a momentous thing had happened between them and she was passing time with his packmate instead? It didn't feel wrong, as such, but she knew that it should have done.
"Elizabeth, you're far too pretty to be wandering alone at night in Santa Carla, you know that?"
She jumped on the spot and turned, unable to stop the grin from spreading across her face when she saw the speaker, "Marko! Hey! What are you doing around here?"
"Could ask you the same thing?" he replied with a grin of his own, coming to a stand still before her, "Santa Carla's not the safest place..."
"I'm meeting Paul. We're getting dinner...even if he was annoyed with me, I don't think he'd let me get hurt. Anyway, why are you alone? Don't you guys always travel in a pack?" she was only half teasing.
He spread his hands wide, "yeah but my best friend had dinner plans"
She laughed, "oh. Sorry"
He shrugged, "no big deal. So you and Paul smoothed everything out?"
"I think he enjoyed being sulky if I'm honest with you" she told him with a wry smile, "but I'm humoring him. Dinner tonight is me 'making it up to him..' though I know I don't need to.."
"I dunno, I don't think dinner is enough, chica. I'm still pretty salty and with that kinda attitude..."
As Paul joined them, he and Marko gave each other a brief sort of friendly tussle.
"No, we're good" Elizabeth told Paul insistently.
She was done with all drama, all worries.
"You think so?" his eyes were glittering.
"Yes"
Marko laughed.
"You gonna join?" Paul asked him, "doin' this buffet place if you're down-what?"
He directed his last question at Elizabeth and she blinked at him, drawn out of her thoughts.
"What?"
"You pulled a face"
"No I didn't?"
"Yeah, you did"
Elizabeth looked between Marko and Paul, "I swear, I did not-"
"-what's wrong with Marko joining us?"
She laughed awkwardly, brushing some hair behind her ear again, "nothing, nothing!" she looked directly at Marko, "I would love for you to join it's...it's just you know...women aren't so nice to me when I'm around you guys...it's bad with just one of you and getting dinner with two of you? I feel like I'm gonna get pounded on and I can't really be bothered dealing with it..."
"You think women aren't nice to you?"
She frowned at Paul, "you know your girl was being mean yesterday..."
He gave an innocent shrug, "I didn't notice anything?"
Elizabeth rolled her eyes but she guessed she shouldn't have been surprised. Guys were dense, she'd seen it with Michael and Sammy many times before so she thought it was understandable that Paul didn't get what she was saying.
"Nobody will be mean to you, Elizabeth" Marko promised and she looked over at him with a smile.
If she'd been looking between him and Paul in the first place, however, she would have seen the devilish little smirks dancing over their features as they had a silent conversation and she would have known better than to trust them. Oblivious as she was, she nodded instead, "OK. Yeah, you're right"
"It's probably all in your head, babe"
"Thanks"
Marko laughed, "I'll meet you guys there, my bike's that way"
"Cool, mine's this way, girl"
Paul jerked his head a little and slung his arm over Elizabeth's shoulders as Marko separated from them.
"You feelin' OK this dreary and somewhat wet evening?"
"...fine" she replied cautiously, "why?"
"You look weird"
She laughed, "you know you could just give me a slap, Paul? Quicker than the jibes but just as effective-"
"-not jibing!" he insisted, "you just look a little weird. Kinda pasty and you have circles under your eyes"
"I should have put more makeup on?"
"Oh..you're wearing some?"
She laughed, "seriously! Just slap me, it'll be quicker!"
"I'm worried about you, you're kind of pale" he told her with a grin, "and I'm a vampire, remember? A slap from me would cripple you, pumpkin"
"Good to know"
"I'm glad we're close to being friends again, Liz. I've missed you"
He gave her a goofy grin and she smiled tightly, "I swear to God, Paul.."
He merely laughed but there was a spark of joy in his eyes that Elizabeth didn't quite understand. It wasn't amiss coming from Paul, the man who generally seemed to be in a perpetually good and happy mood, but nothing had really happened to cause it. They'd had a little bit of light banter, he was still enjoying annoying her about forgiveness, they'd seen Marko but that flash of happiness, that glint of glee unsettled her just a little.
She didn't have time to dwell on it though because Paul was an absolute speed demon on his bike. She'd been too focused on clinging to him to think about anything. He helped her slide on behind him without making a single joke or crude comment, apparently concentrating on giving her the scariest bike ride yet. He took corners far too late and far too sharp, he went faster than she'd ever known Dwayne to go, he seemed to love going from the sidewalk to the road to the sidewalk again, easily maneuvering the bike up and over the curbs. He whooped and yelled and by the time he pulled into a fairly empty but giant parking lot, Elizabeth was flushed pink from the wind whipping her face, she knew her hair was matted from the wind and drizzle and her eyes were watery from the sting of rushing air.
She was exhilarated and she giggled joyously, feeling a little disoriented.
"Who's more fun on the bike? Me or Dwayne?"
Elizabeth laughed breathlessly, stumbling off the bike "no comment...but God, that was fun!"
"It's a rush, right?"
She nodded, "I'll never get tired of the bike rides. You guys are wild!"
He winked, kicking off the bike himself and once again taking her under his arm, "so you're happy to be one of us?"
"For sure"
"Pleased to be in the inner circle?"
"Wildly so"
"Proud to be in the arms of the most handsome men in Santa Carla?"
She grinned as Marko joined them, opening the large glass door to the restaurant.
"Proud to be Dwayne's mate, yes" she clarified, "but very happy to be in your company, too"
"You hear that, man?"
"Proud to be Dwayne's but only happy to be around us?" the curly haired blonde summarized, "I'm a little stung. Feels like we're second best"
He stood close to Elizabeth on her free side as they approached the hostess desk and Elizabeth gave a little laugh. She was feeling a little punch drunk and happy after the bike ride and she couldn't stop the smile from pasting itself over her flushed but somewhat pallid face, "don't be stupid. I love you guys, too"
"But you're not proud to be with us?"
"I'm super proud to be with you two, OK?"
"Honored?"
Elizabeth laughed again, "Jesus! I'm so honored and proud and awed to be stood between two handsome men, in fact, it's a priv-"
"-table for three?"
Elizabeth immediately shut her mouth.
They had arrived at the hostess stand and the woman standing there was staring at Elizabeth, having obviously heard everything she'd said about being proud and honored to be with the two men.
"Please" Paul answered in his most charming voice.
"Table or booth?" the hostess asked, eyes flickering between the two men and a polite, increasingly charming smile playing about her lips.
"Booth" Marko replied, "something intimate, if you have it?"
He was stood hip to hip with Elizabeth and Paul's arm was still around her shoulder.
Intimate?
She blinked at him in confusion, the happy joy she'd been feeling slowly but surely being replaced with a sinking feeling.
The two men were up to something.
She could tell.
"Yeah, somewhere quiet, you know...discreet" Paul added.
"You can take any of the booths" the hostess replied, looking between the two men with a small, flirtatious smile now, "they're all free and I'll keep the ones around you that way, if you want?"
"I-I'm good with a table" Elizabeth protested, not knowing what the hell the two men were playing at.
"No way baby girl" Paul demurred, his thumb brushing her cheek and chin in an incredibly sexual way.
She jerked away from him, embarrassed, giving a hushed "would you not?"
"Don't be shy, baby" Marko purred, his usual brotherly smile replaced by a sexy little smirk.
"I'm not-what are you doing?" she whispered, glancing at the silently watching hostess in increasing discomfort.
When she was addressing the guys the unpleasant sneer was definitely not on the woman's face yet Elizabeth found herself right in the line of fire of one of the snidest little lip curls she'd ever seen.
"She's just shy. We'll grab one of the booths"
Paul's fingers were now running through her hair.
"Any drinks for you tonight? There's an unlimited soda fountain included but alcoholic beverages are extra"
She was speaking only to Marko and Paul and Elizabeth grimaced, trying to move away but stuck, firmly wedged between the two men. Paul's arm tightened around her shoulder and in that moment, she knew it was deliberate.
They were actually keeping her pinned between them.
"You wouldn't be so kind as to drop off a drinks menu?"
Elizabeth almost did a double take.
Where did this charming, gallant sounding Marko come from?
"Of course" the girl replied eagerly, beaming at Marko, looking a little pink in the face herself now.
"You can have whatever you want" Marko told Elizabeth, "nothing is off limits for you tonight, baby"
Elizabeth felt her face flame, feeling insulted as well as embarrassed by their strange display. Nothing off limits? It was a buffet restaurant! How cheap were they making her out to be? She was worth whatever she wanted at an all you can eat place!?
She opened her mouth to protest just as Marko bit his lip through a smile.
Paul's words, however, really made her stomach drop, "nothing's off limits for us, either..."
He gave her bottom a quick pat and she gasped, wanting to hit him.
Nothing was off limits for them?
They were being so sexual, so..so..obviously horny and she was sandwiched right between them. She knew exactly what they were hinting at and she was mortified.
She looked desperately at the hostess but the girl was already glaring daggers at her, apparently having decided she also knew what was going on with the trio of customers before her.
"Oh yeah" Marko smirked in agreement, his eyes - usually so angelic, so soft and gentle when cast towards her - were filled with a subtle, passionate fire that promised a long, equally passionate night ahead. The man who had acted like a brother almost from the very start had transformed. There was nothing brotherly about him in that moment.
Glancing briefly between Elizabeth, the hostess and Paul, he gently grazed his gloved hand over Elizabeth's chin, nibbling his lip as he did so. The gesture should have been simple one but it was breathtaking coming from him and though she was stunned into silence, she heard an audible little intake of breath from the hostess.
Elizabeth understood that reaction.
She had never seen Marko look so sexy.
There was no other way to describe it.
"Let's go, huh? Satiate your appetite?"
His voice was a low rumble and as he spoke, he gave her a wink. It was a challenging and confident gesture but before she could really process it, he was carefully and deliberately brushing his body against hers as he headed out into the open floor of the restaurant.
"Yeah, c'mon, baby girl.." Paul cooed in a murmur, his lips dangerously close to her ear.
She jumped on the spot.
She had been so immersed in Marko that she'd almost forgotten Paul. The way his fingers drummed against her hip, the way his hand was dangling dangerously close to her chest and with the way he pressed his body against hers softly...she didn't know how she could have forgotten him.
He was matching Marko perfectly and Elizabeth could only gape like a fish.
Mortified at the implications of their words, taken aback by their sheer sexuality, horrified that she was on the receiving end of it Elizabeth felt the heat radiating from her face.
It was too much to handle and she could feel the embarrassment flood through her.
"-uh-" she stuttered, feeling her face flame more than she thought possible.
She glanced at the hostess, wanting to protest that it wasn't what it looked like at all, but the girl was pretty flushed herself, staring at the scene with obvious and unhidden jealousy, longing and need all of her own.
Elizabeth half wondered if the girl even knew her reaction was so visible but Paul's words halted her thoughts.
"Let's fill your stomach up before we..." he chuckled, his voice no longer the quiet, sultry murmur. The tip of his nose nudged her ear before he crudely smacked her butt once more, propelling her a step forward, "..well..before we fill you up"
He had said the words in a loud whisper but it was clear he intended for the hostess to hear too and when Elizabeth glanced at her, feeling thoroughly mortified beyond all human belief, there was a very unkind sort of gleam in her eyes.
The blonde pushed away from her with a smirk, following Marko's path. He had already seated himself in the most isolated booth and despite sitting alone, he looked like a King surveying his kingdom.
The confidence that radiated from them both was insane and Elizabeth turned desperately to the hostess.
"We-I'm not-I have a boy-" Elizabeth fumbled, trying to still her racing heart and cool herself off.
"Uh-huh..." the girl drawled, folding her arms and staring Elizabeth down.
"No, really it's-they..." she took a breath, trying to laugh, "..it's just a joke, they uh. Um...yeah..we're not actually gonna..."
As the hostess raised one artfully brushed out eyebrow, Elizabeth decided there was no point in trying to save her reputation or image and took a step back.
She was going to kill them.
Absolutely kill them.
She had been influenced by Star the other night, there was no way this punishment was fitting of her crime. She hadn't even committed a crime. If anything, Star had! She'd apologized to Paul and she had meant it - this was just him being cruel. Imaginative but cruel all the same and to have suckered Marko into it?! She was going to absolutely murder them. She shook her head, bemused and frustrated by the sheer cheekiness Paul had shown. As she took a breath and headed towards the two men she was feeling distinctively unfriendly towards, she could have sworn she heard a hissed little curse of, "slut" from the woman behind her.
Elizabeth pursed her lips before taking another breath.
She didn't know if she was always going to have the patience to deal with cattiness in Santa Carla.
It was already wearing thin.
"You fuckers!" she hissed, when she reached the booth.
Standing over the table as Marko and Paul descended into laughter, she couldn't help but smile and laugh as she repeated, "absolute fuckers!"
She was never really one to swear but in that moment, she couldn't think what else to call them.
"What did we do?!" Paul asked her gleefully, not even trying to play innocent.
"You-you-God! You made her think you were gonna-gonna..." she glanced over her shoulders before looking down at the both, "...spit-roast me or something!"
That got them.
If they were enjoying themselves before, her use of the word spit-roast certainly added a new element of delight to their evening.
Paul threw his head back and laughed heartily, "Lizzie?! How do you know that word?!"
"She thinks I'm a total skank, you guys! That's not funny!"
Paul hit the table with his fist, still chortling and having the time of his life at her expense, "yeah, she hates you, girl"
"Why would you do that to me?!"
Marko gave another chuckle, calming himself down and looking over at her with a grin, "aww come on Elizabeth"
"No!" she held out her finger towards him, knowing that he could talk her down in a second if he wanted to, "that was so embarrassing! Oh my God, you were planning on doing that all along weren't you?!"
Paul grinned, "no..but when you mentioned girls being mean to you, I was inspired"
"Agh! You said it was all in my head"
Paul chortled, "I lied"
"You're the worst!"
Marko laughed, holding up his hands and despite his words, looking very unapologetic, "sorry. Sorry...but..." he glanced at Paul before grinning up at her, "that was too easy..you really walked right into it. You set us up for that one, Elizabeth"
"You're easily riled up, chica"
"Never seen you look so red"
"Yeah well you've never been...sexy like that"
"Ouch, bro!" Paul hollered, laughing even harder and at Marko's expense this time.
The restaurant was pretty dead but the boys clearly thought they had it all to themselves and Elizabeth wished they would be quieter. She didn't need the few other patrons to think she was going to be the middle slice in a Paul and Marko sandwich.
"No, I just meant.." Elizabeth took a breath, "I swear, Paul I'm going to hit you. I just meant, you know.." she looked at Marko, "you're like a brother. You've always been wholesomely nice to me and that was...that was..."
"Pretty good, huh?"
There was a cocky confidence in Marko's words and it suited him. She'd never thought of him as sexy before but there was no denying that's exactly what he was.
Elizabeth sighed, shoulders slumping as she slid into the booth, "I hate you both"
"No you don't" Paul chortled as Marko gave her a playful nudge.
She shook her head, giving him a reproachful look, "I swear to God..."
"C'mon, that was funny"
She shook her head again, folding her arms over her chest and just about managing to keep her smile down.
Now that they were sat away from the judgmental hostess, laughing and relaxing, she could see the funny side but she'd be damned before she admitted it.
"Yeah, that's what I thought" Paul grinned at her, "God that was fucking classic! You were so flustered..that worked out so well"
Marko snorted a laugh again and Elizabeth shot him a look, "I expected better from you"
"What about me?" Paul asked and chuckled again when she gave him an indulgent look, he waved his hand, "ahh fuck it. That was awesome. So, c'mon Skanky McSkank Skank. Are we eatin' or what?"
"You are literally the polar opposite of funny, you know that?"
"Why so sensitive?" Paul pretended to look affronted and if Elizabeth had a plate of food in front of her, she may very well have lobbed something at him.
"Because that girl is literally thinking I'm a...a..." she didn't want to say the word, she didn't like shaming people but she had to come out with it, "...a big old easy ho bag and you totally encouraged it. You wanted her to think that!"
Marko laughed, "does that bother you?"
"Uh, yeah?"
"You care what she thinks?" he asked, speaking over her when she opened her mouth, "you really care what she thinks?"
"...I mean...I guess I don't but it..that kind of sucks, guys. I'm new here, what if she goes to my school?"
Marko gave her an amused frown, "seriously? She's like twenty three years old, Liz?"
Paul leaned back in his seat, the biggest shit eating grin still there on his face and his next words distracted Elizabeth completely. She didn't realize she was so off the mark with ages, "you wanna know the best part, chica?"
Elizabeth exhaled a laugh and shook her head again, disbelief washing over her as she looked at how relaxed and happy he was, "there is no best part, Paul"
"Yeah there is" he insisted, "she's judging you, right?"
"Vocally, yeah. She called me a slut!"
"Well, what she thinks we're gonna do to you?" Paul began.
"She's desperate for us to do to her" Marko finished, leaning back in the booth himself. He gave Elizabeth a sexy, sly smile, "she's jealous of you...she wants to be you"
"...because she thinks we're gonna..you know...?" Elizabeth asked in disbelief.
"Fuck?"
She glanced at Paul with a nod and he nodded right back at her in return, "yup. Right now she's thinkin' about you, all wrapped up in our arms and she's tryin' to picture herself there instead...pretty hot stuff, actually"
"That's so gross" Elizabeth sighed, slouching a little, "you're both evil, you know that?"
"Yeah"
"Pretty much but now we're even, girl. I totally and utterly forgive you-"
"-oh, bite me" Elizabeth interrupted, "you had already forgiven me-wait, no. I didn't need forgiveness, I wasn't myself. You just wanted to fight with someone, you sulky grump"
Paul grinned at her, his eyes bright and she slouched back in the booth with a bark of a laugh. She grinned, knowing that they had gotten her good. The one good thing about growing up with brothers was that she was used to being teased like that. Well, not like that. Never had she been on the receiving end of a joke so crude or crass but Michael and Sam had pranked Elizabeth a fair few times. Just like her brothers, Marko and Paul were a team, that was for sure.
She could tell that being part of their pack didn't mean she no longer had to deal with goofy brothers and it was actually a comforting thought.
The future was looking bright.
"...so, OK" she took a breath and folded her arms, "since you did that and embarrassed me in front of that girl, I'd say you owe me some answers" she looked between both men, "since coming here I've noticed that women are pretty damn hostile towards me and you can't deny it! You know it's not 'in my head'..so tell me..what's up with it?"
"Women be bitches, girl" Paul supplied.
"Ha-ha" she stared at him, "I'm serious"
"Jealousy" Marko replied instead with a shrug, his eyes still glittering and still obviously pleased with the joke he had partaken in but now speaking with a degree of seriousness.
"Jealousy? Like...they're jealous of me?"
He nodded, opened his mouth to speak but closed it when Paul spoke over him, "let's fuckin' eat first. This is gonna take forever"
"It's that complicated?"
"No, actually but you're gonna ask a bajillion questions, so I wanna have my fuckin' fried rice ready to go, you dig?" he looked at Marko, "want me to make you a plate?"
Elizabeth wanted to protest that she wouldn't ask a million questions and what would be the harm if she did but the curly haired blonde nodded at Paul before turning to address her, "you drinking beer tonight, Liz?"
"...I'm underage?"
"You're with us?" he replied, matching her tone as if his reply was obvious.
She smiled, "...just one. I want a clear head"
"For when you go cryin' to Dwayne?" Paul asked with another big old grin, sliding out of the booth and hauling himself up. He held his hand out towards her and she took it, letting him help her stand, "oh yeah, buddy. You bet. I'm gonna cry to him big time. You're in trouble"
"I look forward to it"
Elizabeth didn't doubt it.
"Elizabeth?"
She turned to look at Marko.
"Get something meaty or filling. I hope you don't mind me saying but you look kind of peaky, even before we embarrassed you"
"Yeah, I thought that. Didn't I say you looked a bit pale?" Paul said with a firm nod, jerking his head towards the rows and islands filled with warm food.
She smiled at Marko and nodded, appreciating his concern before walking alongside and telling Paul, "nooooo you said I looked weird"
"Weird, peaky. Same same" he scooped up three plates, balancing two on one arm and holding the third out to Elizabeth. She took it and observed the food before her. Spring rolls, noodles, crispy noodles, noodles in soup, chicken, chicken skewers, chicken nuggets, rice, fried rice, brown rice, mini corn dogs. There was so much and they were only on the first island, "are you feeling OK? Jokes and furious humiliation aside, I mean"
"Yes, I'm feeling fine" she replied, watching in mild horror as he loaded both the plates in his arm with the worst array of foods, "there's no order to this place"
"What do you mean?"
"Well...I thought there would be like, sections? A Chinese area, an Italian area..."
Paul shrugged, "you think too much. This place is fucking A, look at all the food"
"You'd eat from a trough, wouldn't you?" she asked him, plopping some fried rice and spring rolls onto her plate.
"Didn't we tell you that I'm a pig? First night we met? Ringing a bell?"
"Yeah, you oinked" she laughed.
"But you love me, right?"
She said nothing.
"Right?"
She grinned.
"C'mon girl, say it! Say that you love me, say that you-"
"-hi?"
Elizabeth felt her shoulder move as someone all but barged into her. As some of the crispy noodles fell from the giant serving spoon she was holding, she looked over her shoulder.
It was the hostess.
She was simpering up at Paul with the most interesting expression of wide eyed, helpful innocence and a sexy, breathless smile, "we closed it for the evening because it's a slow night and we usually keep it for the weekend rush" she began, eyes trained fully on Paul, "but I spoke to the manager and he's agreed to open the chocolate fondue station for you"
She spoke as if she was bestowing a great honor upon him, as if she was rolling out the VIP treatment.
"That so?"
"Oh yeah" the girl replied, her feet twitching a little in nervous anticipation. She sounded excited, "chocolate fondue's gonna the next big trend...or so the manager says. I mean, it's pretty awesome. This is just a bowl with a tap that literally pours chocolate. It's real popular"
Elizabeth rolled her eyes and deposited what remained of the noodles onto her plate.
This girl was gushing over a chocolate fondue? And since when did fondue include taps?
Jesus.
That was her play?
"And you did that? Got him to open it for us?" Paul asked and Elizabeth almost choked on air.
He was flirting!
He was being obvious and stupid about it, kind of matching the girl's tone and Elizabeth knew it wasn't his usual style. He was keeping his silly little joke going and she couldn't help but think he was doing it purposely to annoy her.
It was working.
This woman had called her a slut and he was flirting with her? She really, really wanted to throw one of the spring rolls at him but knew it would be the height of bad manners.
Paul must have guessed what she was thinking, too, for she knew the gleam in his eye wasn't only directed at the girl before him.
She turned and rolled her eyes at him, knowing full well that the hostess - with her back facing her - couldn't see but Paul very well could.
"Of course..." the hostess reached out and touched Paul's free arm, "not every day a girl..." she coughed lightly, "a restaurant..gets such uh...special...customers"
"Oh barf" Elizabeth mouthed to herself, cringing as she headed back to the table.
As she slid into the booth, depositing her plate first, she saw Marko smiling up at her and a huge pitcher of beer resting on the table, "you see that display?" she asked him.
"It's Paul. He'll bone anything with a pulse" Marko informed easily enough, pouring her a small sized drink before making one for himself, "are we toasting?"
"No" she replied with a smile, clinking her glass against his, "I'm still mad at you both"
He laughed and nodded, taking a healthy swig of his drink.
"So..come on, Marko. You might as well start, talk some sense while Romeo's off doing his thing"
"Talk some sense?"
"Straight facts. What's up with the women in Santa Carla and don't say they're jealous of me because the other day, you two had some stunners on your arms and there's no way I could compete with them"
"You noticed their attitude, too?"
"Of course" she told him, "I'm not completely dense. I was um, you know...preoccupied with Dwayne but I'd have to have a pretty thick skull not to have noticed it"
"Huh"
She laughed and nudged him, "hey! You know I'm not that thick"
"Sometimes, I wonder" he teased lightly and she laughed again, "Jesus, what is this? Pile on Liz night? So come on. Seriously, what's up with it? They were rude, that hostess was incredibly rude and yesterday, Paul was with another girl and she was the same. Like I said, I couldn't compete with any of them...well..." she gave a considered look over at Paul and the hostess, "maybe I could compete with her but the others? No way. I've been thinking on it for a while and I've never, ever encountered anything like it..it's just not real.."
"Yeah you could compete" he told her with a dismissive wave of his hand.
"No, I'm not being coy or fishing for compliments here. They were gorgeous. So why were they so mean? I'm serious, it's not real life, you know? I've never experienced anything like it and I definitely wasn't a threat to them...plus, it only ever seems to happen when I'm with you guys. I met a super nice waitress yesterday..."
"Of course you were"
She looked at him in confusion.
"A threat to them, I mean. You're one of us, Liz. You're in, they're not"
"...but it's not like I have a tattoo of it on my forehead, you know? And they were all over you and you guys were playing right along with them, it's not like...I mean come on, I was in no way a threat to them. I don't get it..."
Marko grinned, "not thick but you are kind of simple sometimes"
She snorted, "thanks"
"Elizabeth, we're hunters. We're predators, right?"
She nodded.
"We have inherent skills-"
"-yeah, you told me this already. Like you can do mind stuff better than the others?"
Marko smiled, "yes but I'm talking generally now" he reached over to a long, plastic box nestled in the corner of the table and opened it, passing her a fork, "a cheetah wouldn't be a good predator if it couldn't run fast, right?"
Elizabeth accepted the fork but shrugged, "I mean, yeah...I guess but it's still got sharp teeth and claws?"
"Cheetahs actually have pretty small jaws, they're not that all that powerful" Marko said, grinning and shaking his head, "but that's not the point. All predators have skills that help them compensate for weaknesses or flaws, OK?"
She nodded.
"We have a lot of flaws"
"You do?"
"Sunlight. A nice sharp stake to the heart. Mirrors-"
"-but not garlic?"
He grinned, "so you do listen to some things. The point is, we should stand out"
"But you don't" she stopped, "well..I mean, you guys do but..you stand out in a..."
"...in a...?"
"...not weird way" she said with a shrug, not knowing how else to describe it, "it's like..I see you and I think, 'damn, I wanna be like them. I want them to like me, I want to be in their group', you know? Not, 'hmmm why do I only see these guys at night?""
"Exactly" Marko said, "if we didn't have that appeal, that charm? We would be these weird kids that were only ever seen at night and that would be a problem. All vampires have that level of appeal because they need it. This appeal helps us stand out for the right reasons"
"You sure it doesn't help that you four are handsome?"
Marko grinned widely, "that helps but even an ugly vampire would still be charming, would still be engaging, enticing..."
"So..what? These women..essentially they..they want to be your...?"
"Victims" he supplied with a nod and a shrug, "until, of course, they don't. They see us and they want us to see them, they want us to want them"
"...alright..." she frowned a little, looking down at her plate before looking over at Paul, seeing how he was now pretty disengaged with the hostess and still piling a ridiculous amount of food onto his two plates, but she seemed to be following him and speaking with him and trying her hardest to be noticed by him, "...but why be mean to me?"
"Because you're where they want to be. Star had it pretty bad too and her situation was different to yours"
"She did?" Elizabeth looked at him sharply, surprised to hear the name so soon.
Marko nodded once, "not as obvious as you but she struggled with it"
"...Marko, that's sexist"
He laughed once, looking at her with a bemused grin, "what?"
"Who's sexy?" she looked over as Paul slid an obscene plate over to Marko before plopping himself into the booth, "can I get a spoon, bro?"
Marko dutifully passed him one.
"Sexist" Elizabeth reaffirmed, "why is it that the women turn all mean and crazy towards me in an attempt get with you guys? Why don't the men do it?"
"Well, some do, if they swing that way" Paul shrugged easily, "what you been tellin' her, man?"
"Marko has been very helpfully explaining why women here haven't been so kind to me when they're around you, actually" Elizabeth told him primly.
"Oh-hoh, lar-de-da" Paul laughed, wiggling his eyebrows as he shoved a full spoon of what looked like sweet and sour chicken into his mouth.
His pinky finger was extended and Elizabeth couldn't help but smile.
She loved his playful sass.
"He's right. Some guys do" Marko shrugged, flicking away a spring roll that was topping a mountain of fried rice. He didn't look too enthused about dinner, "but generally men aren't sexually attracted to us. Guys...well, they're the ones who tend to want to be like us, they sort of...they imitate our style-"
"-oh! Remember when Dwayne constantly kept his pocket watch in his hand? Would never clip it to his jacket?"
Marko laughed once at the memory, "yeah...always just cupping it in his palm with the chain loose between his fingers, sometimes swinging it. And those guys in the gentleman's club started doing it, too-"
"-but they kept dropping them and couldn't balance their drinks?"
By now, both men were laughing lightly and brightly to themselves, shaking their heads as they reminisced.
It was a nice, pleasant sort of laughter and it was clear they were taking a trip down memory lane together. It was pretty sweet to witness and while Elizabeth was intrigued by the idea of Dwayne and a pocket watch, she couldn't help but pause for a sobering moment.
Michael had changed his style in the early days.
He was attracted to Star, he wanted to be with her but obviously something about the pack had compelled him too because hadn't he pierced his ear? Bought a leather jacket? There was no denying he was imitating them.
"So, sometimes guys imitate you in the hopes of being accepted by you?"
Both men nodded, Paul still grinning.
"They see us and they want to be with us. A vampire's charm. Means we always have a supply of food, means we can live our lives in the open to a degree"
"...so...alright, would the men be assholes to me? The same way the women are?"
Marko shrugged as if he'd never really thought about it and didn't really care to, "uh..no. No, probably not?"
"Nah" Paul said.
"Sexist! If the girls became rabidly mean, so should the guys"
Paul licked some grease from his lips, "don't forget, the girls are rude to you because they want to be with us. They want us to want them, remember? But they know on whatever level that we want you and have accepted you, ergo the jealousy. Men usually want to be like us. They're not lookin' for our dicks. They want our acceptance, to be like us"
Elizabeth shook her head and took her first forkful of crispy noodles, "still. That's sexist"
"How?"
"Men try to steal your style-"
"-sometimes they get aggressive. That's pretty fun-"
"-alright, that or they try to fight you but the women turn into bitches?"
"Not bitches towards each other. They're perfectly pleasant girls if I'm bein' honest.." Paul said, "..it's just nastiness towards you, because you're where they think they wanna be"
"Well that's a great comfort"
Paul looked at Marko, "didn't we just circle back to your original point? Told you this would take forever"
Marko laughed before looking at Elizabeth with a shrug, "it is what it is but it's nothing personal. It's just the way it goes...and if it didn't go that way, like we said - vampires would be the weirdos only ever seen at night. We'd have to be secretive, furtive...but with this charm, the appeal? The way women want us and men want to be us? It means we don't have to hide so much"
"And that we got a willin' food supply" Paul added, an oily spring roll in his hand, "I swear we're just repeating ourselves now? Come on Liz, listen, girl!"
"So...if I'm one of you-"
"-oh wow, we're still goin' on. I told you this would take ages-" Paul interrupted.
"-and I found, hey? Shush!" she looked at Marko, "OK, so I'm one of you and I'm walking around the boardwalk with you guys and this beautiful lesbian appears-"
"-hey, this got good-"
"-then does that mean she would be hostile towards you guys?"
Marko smiled and nodded, "...probably, yes. If we're following established patterns"
"Happy?"
She grinned at Paul, "yeah, actually I am. That's fair"
"..so describe your dream lesbian to me"
Elizabeth laughed "you are such a fly!"
"Buzz buzz"
"Shouldn't you be buzzing back to the hostess already?"
"Salty" Paul's eyes were bright, "she's offered me some dessert, actually"
"Yeah, I heard. Chocolate fondue, how sixties, though who heard of fondue set with a tap on it? Just gonna clog and-"
Paul laughed before he interrupted, "-girl, she's dessert. She offered me something better than chocolate"
"Ohhhhhh" Elizabeth laughed, feeling a bit embarrassed that she hadn't twigged before giving an indignant, "wait, what? That's so rude!"
"What is?"
"She thinks that the three of us are spending the night together and she just swoops in?"
Marko and Paul laughed.
"Oh my God, Lizzie! Are you offended we made her think we're gonna gang bang you or are you offended that she cock blocked you?"
"Just...I'm offended by everything" she laughed, shaking her head, "I don't even know"
She took a breath and rubbed her face lightly.
She was still feeling a little tired but it was undeniably nice to be with her friends.
She couldn't wait to see Dwayne.
Flinging herself into his arms out make the evening perfect.
"It's nice to hang out with you again, Liz. You know, when we're all a bit..happier. No drama" Marko said, looking down at his plate, "you're good to be around"
She noted that Paul had loaded his own plate with everything available on the first station they stopped at but Marko's contained only what would pass for Chinese food.
He really was picky about human food.
"It's nice to hang out with you guys, too" she told them with a smile, "even though that was a cruel joke"
Still, she meant it. It was nice to be with them.
Pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, she took a sip of her drink.
"So are you gonna try the fondue?" Paul asked her, "got strawberries and marshmallows and shit to dip in it"
"I'm good. I don't want anything to do with whatever that girl is offering" Elizabeth said with a shake of her head as she pushed some of the hair back behind her ear again.
"Good because she's closin' up alone tonight and said we could spread it-"
Marko laughed as Elizabeth held up her hand, "-I don't need to know. God, Paul. The stuff you get up to"
"What's the point of living if you don't live?"
"I'm sure that's very deep" she smiled at him, "but could I have one of your bands before you start philosophizing? My hair's annoying me.."
"It's gonna snag and you'll get split ends but have at it" Paul warned her, easily slipping off a shiny, stretchy plastic bracelet from his wrist.
He began to shovel his food once again.
Scooping her hair into a sloppy but high pony tail, intending to properly dig into her food now that her questions had been answered, Elizabeth jumped as the sound of Paul's spoon banging loudly against his plate rang out through the restaurant.
"Jesus!" she gasped, her heart thudding at the shock as she looked behind her, checking to see if his noise had garnered any attention in their direction.
Thankfully Marko had indeed directed them to a quiet spot. Nobody was peering at them, craning their necks to see the source of the commotion.
"Holy fuck?"
"Don't worry, it's fine" she said, turning back to her table, "nobody heard it. You're lucky you didn't crack the plate, don't you have super strength or something?"
"Christ, Liz?"
Marko sound disbelieving, his voice faint and somewhat breathless, even though he didn't breathe.
"What?" she asked him, frowning as she picked up her fork once more.
"Fuuuuuccccck me"
Paul sounded almost reverently amazed.
"Liz?"
Marko's voice was faint.
She looked between the two, completely not understanding their hushed tones, their weird sense of almost disbelieving awe.
"What's wrong with you two?"
"Elizabeth, your neck"
She gaped at Marko for a moment before touching her exposed neck, feeling the bite that the two men could apparently see.
Her hair had been down so it had remained covered but she'd just assumed that since Sammy hadn't seen it that nobody else would either. She'd decided it was something only she could see, only Dwayne. She'd almost forgotten about it, feeling so sure it was for her eyes only.
Suddenly she felt shy and embarrassed all over again.
They were staring at her in shocked amazement and she couldn't help but realize, under their intense scrutiny, just how personal, how intimate the bite really was.
"You-when?"
"Last night" she told them in a whisper, feeling utterly exposed before them.
It was such a turn of events. They had gone from laughing and joking to this.
She thought it would be possible to cut through the air with a knife, everything was so intense, their shock palpable.
"You...fucking hell, Elizabeth you..you did it? You're-you did it?"
Paul sounded amazed but shocked.
"Did what?"
"You let him claim you, girl"
"I..yeah" she said quietly, not sure what else there was to say, "yeah, I did"
"Explains last night" Marko murmured.
"I just assumed she gave him the good stuff"
"What?"
Paul waved his hand towards Elizabeth, his plate forgotten infront of him, "I just thought you brought your sexual A-game or gave him a little backdoor or somethin', you know? For him to be out so late, I thought it had to be somethin' big but-"
"-never this"
"He was out late?"
"Literally came back with minutes to sunrise" Paul said, still staring at her covered neck.
"Isn't that dangerous?"
"Incredibly so" Marko agreed, "David was furious-"
"-why?"
"David and Dwayne are the OGs, girl" Paul told her softly, "probably can't imagine it but David was worried"
"But Dwayne is OK?"
"Can't you feel it?" Marko asked her and Elizabeth paused.
She knew Dwayne was alright. It was strange because while she didn't feel anything supernatural as such, there was a certain knowledge that she had. She just knew that Dwayne was fine. He was safe. She knew that there was nothing to worry about regarding him and that was partly why she'd been able to spend time with Marko and Paul rather than immediately seeking him out.
She just knew.
"I can but..it doesn't feel vampiry..." she told them both quietly, "I just know he's fine"
"Just this inherent knowledge that you have?" Marko queried, "you just know your mate is safe?"
"Yeah"
"The past few days were such a trip I would never, ever have imagined...I mean, Lizzie I knew you're gonna be one of us but recently...I dunno, I figured it was gonna take a while..things have been kinda-"
"-shitty" she interrupted with a nod, "I know but it actually...it actually helped me, if that makes sense? When everything..." she took a breath, "when you and David did, you know-"
Paul grimaced.
"-the thing, Dwayne was there. When I asked Dwayne to tell me everything, he did. He opened his whole life to me, his memories. When Star came, Dwayne was there again and I just...he's a constant..and my feelings for him? They never changed, they never even..there was never even a flicker of doubt and then last night I realized that...that no matter what gets thrown at me, I'm never going to want anyone but him..." she shrugged, "and I knew that I needed to tell him that...I needed him to know that I was his"
"You intended for him to claim you?"
"No" she said gently, "not at all..I just wanted to tell him that I was his, that he didn't need to worry about me. Everything up until then was about me and I felt like the worst person because it was kind of like..a realization, you know? He's doing everything for me but what am I doing for him?"
Marko opened his mouth to protest and she smiled at him, letting her hand fall from her neck.
"It's true and I know he'd have it no other way but it's not fair. I love him and I want to support him the same way he does me and..well, that's all I was going to say but..one thing led to another and I realized it was what I wanted. In the moment, there with him...I just knew..."
"And so he bit you?"
Elizabeth nodded.
There was a lot more to it than that but Paul's simple words were apt enough.
"Jesus"
She nodded.
That was also apt.
Both men were looking at her neck, staring and exploring the mark and while she felt a creep of embarrassment, as if they were seeing her naked, she allowed them. The bite was a mark, it was a claim and so it was intimate and private but she understood their interest.
"...it doesn't look like I thought it would" she told them shyly.
"No?"
Both men were looking at her now, though their eyes did keep flickering back to the mark, and she was thankful for their discretion and understanding.
"I thought it would be like..you know.."
"Like in the movies?"
"Two pin pricks?"
"Yeah" she smiled softly.
Marko nodded, "that would be a pretty big weakness on our part, no?"
"What do you mean?"
Paul smiled, "two dainty pin little pricks on the neck? I'd say that's a pretty big indicator of a not so natural death, girl. Pretty indiscreet?"
"So this mark...it's not like I imagined because...that's how..that's how it's designed to be?"
"Exactly. A vampire's bite looks nothing like you think it would..that helps keep us protected, if it looked like what you thought it would, that would be a pretty big weakness on our part"
"But we're not sloppy enough to go doling them out, anyway" Paul said, his voice low and lacking its usual humor and pep.
"Bites like that? Claims like yours? They're deliberate. They're special"
"...but this isn't the first you've seen?"
They seemed in awe that she'd allowed Dwayne to claim her but not surprised at the bite itself.
Both men shook their head and Elizabeth wondered who else had been claimed in such a way, "but I thought I was the only mate?"
"You don't need to be a mate to be claimed" Marko said quietly, "being completely drained and then given the blood of the one who bit you is the only way to become a full vampire. That leaves a mark just like yours but it's not nice. With a mate, it's special but being bitten just to be turned? It's violating"
"What?"
Paul nodded.
"But..then how is Star a half vampire?"
"You drink the blood of a vampire" Marko explained, "and you become a half. You make a kill and you become one of us for real. Star never got around to making the kill"
Elizabeth frowned softly.
Being claimed by Dwayne, being bitten by him was liberating, it was freeing and it was what she wanted. She wanted to be his, she was his mate and it was something she was proud of but being drained and scarred to become a vampire sounded different. She couldn't imagine having someone else, some other vampire bite her. She couldn't imagine having a scar from someone else's bite on her neck.
She grimaced at the thought.
What if David had bitten her, drained her and given her his blood? She would be a vampire and forever carry his bite?
It wasn't a pleasant thought.
What if some random vampire decided he wanted a new pack mate and drained her? She couldn't imagine the shame, the invasive knowledge that the scar was from someone turning her.
With Dwayne it was right, it was perfect but to be claimed by someone who wasn't her mate?
Marko was right: it didn't sound nice, "that...it sounds like ownership...being bitten like that...like you're the property of whichever vampire turned you..."
Paul nodded in agreement, "agreed. It's not..it's jacked up. We all took David's blood and then made our kills. None of us have been bitten"
"Being a mate means you're an equal. In the future, you can claim Dwayne too...I mean, your scar...it's kind of like a wedding band"
"But more permanent"
"And if you chose to become a full vampire through Dwayne's bite and blood alone, it would be special..but being turned into a vampire that way otherwise is..it's violating.." he shook his head, "that's all I can say..it's pretty fucked up...what you've got is special, Liz..that's so damn rare..."
She trusted Marko's words. She felt that it was special but something was niggling at her.
"So if I'm the first mate and you've seen a bite before...who have you known that's been bitten?" she asked quietly, curious.
"Did it hurt?"
She looked over at Paul, "sorry?"
"Did it hurt when Dwayne claimed you?
"If you don't mind us asking" Marko added.
"No..no, it's fine" she told them, not minding and forgetting that her own question had been ignored by the two men.
"I feel like it would hurt"
"Can't imagine it not being painful"
"No, not at all..it was..I mean yeah, it was painful but it was more than pain" she said quietly, trying to think how to articulate herself, "it wasn't even pain in the usual sense it was...God, it was everything..."
"Would you tell us?"
She leaned back in the booth, drawing her finger over the table in loose, senseless patterns. The thing was, while she wanted to tell them, while she wanted to explain just how amazing, how shattering it had been, she just couldn't.
Words would never be enough. There was just no chance, no way she would ever be able to accurately express what she had felt.
The bite had been hot, searingly so, as if she was being burned and frozen at the same time. It was so sharp, so deep, so absolutely penetrating that it had been difficult to breathe, difficult to think. All she could do was cling to Dwayne, focus on him, pull him close. It was transformative, so all encompassing that after the immediate, devastating sting, there was nothing but pure pleasure.
"It um.." she shrugged, "it was...it went beyond pain, you know?"
"No" Paul replied, his voice simple and kind of quiet.
"It was just...I can't even tell you, it was pure pleasure...it was.." she shook her head again, "it was painful, there was...it did hurt, I can't say that it didn't but it was so deep, so...so...so penetrating that it became nothing but pleasure...it was pain but it wasn't like any pain I've ever felt...it was pain but it wasn't, at the same time.."
"Holy shit..."
"Yeah.." she said with a small, ghost of a smile, "it was everything"
"Did you cum?"
She felt herself blush a little at Paul's question. It was matter of fact and direct as always but he didn't deliver it in his usual carefree and easy, sort of flirty but salacious way.
He was genuinely curious and the soft tone of his voice, the way he wasn't joking was such a departure from his usual self.
For the first time, she had more knowledge and experience than him and their dynamic had shifted because of it. She'd never actually talked about sex in front of Marko before either. Paul felt like her best friend but Marko? He really, really and truly felt like her brother and as such, she couldn't deny that it was a little uncomfortable to discuss it with him.
She nodded.
"You came? Just from the bite?"
She bit her lip and nodded again, wondering how to explain it.
It hadn't been just one climax, it hadn't been a sort of rolling wave either.
It had been the most indescribable experience.
The pain had built but at the same time, mingling with it, encouraging it, merging with it was the pleasure.
It had overtaken everything and she had broken.
Completely and utterly shattered.
She didn't know when it had started. She had come undone, she had she had come undone and she couldn't remember when she had come down from it all.
There was no timeline, it just was.
"Yes but it was...it was so...so...fluid it was like...almost a constant? A constant but not a constant, at the same time. Just, pleasure with no discernible start, no real end and this...this reminder of the pain that wasn't pain..." she bit her lip, "I can't even begin to tell you"
Marko raised his eyebrows for a second, taking in her words and seeming pretty stunned by them.
She understood it.
She was still pretty stunned by it all herself.
"Did you two fuck?"
She nodded again, looking away from the quieter man. She had nodded the affirmative though Paul's choice of words were far too harsh to describe it. His voice was soft and there was no crude joke in his tone but it still felt wrong.
They hadn't fucked but they hadn't made love, either. It had been...primal but romantic, slow yet frantic, almost like they were clinging to each other, drowning in each other and for the first time she had seen Dwayne really lose himself.
The image of him above her, his damp hair falling over his face, the furrowing of his brow, the groans, the way he kissed her. He had panted into her shoulder, the muscles of his back rippling, his legs cramping and tensing against hers.
It had been so mortal, almost.
She had never seen him like it.
"While he was biting you?"
"Hm?"
She looked at Paul, having missed his question.
"Did he fuck you-" Paul repeated, pointing his ringed index finger briefly towards her crotch, covered by the table as it was, before gesturing to her neck, "-while he was biting you?"
He was speaking slowly and Elizabeth half wanted to hit him but it was obvious that he wasn't being comical or crass. His words and actions were typical Paul but the tone of his voice was still intent, curious and disbelieving.
"Way to ruin the moment" Marko muttered, sitting back and crossing his arms over his chest. He shot Elizabeth a knowing look, as if he knew perfectly well that she had been absorbed in her memories, "read the air man"
"Sorry, I'm shit at this"
"...I think it happened at the same time, yes" Elizabeth told them both, smiling softly at their interaction and once more at the memory.
It was a memory, it was there but it was hazy.
"You think?"
"We definitely had sex" she told them quietly, looking at her plate, "I just...I don't remember if he was biting me when we started..." she bit her lip, "...or if he was biting me when we finished. It was just..it happened. I can't pin down when, it was like...sudden, almost, but not sudden at all"
"How was it?"
"Slow"
Truthfully, she didn't know sex could even be that slow.
"Fuck"
She nodded.
"I kinda want a mate now"
Marko snorted at Paul's words but it seemed almost perfunctory. He still looked like he'd been blown away.
"Did you speak with him last night?" she asked them both.
"No"
"He got in just on time, by the skin of his teeth" Paul shrugged before smiling at the unintentional pun of his words, "and pretty much crashed out"
"Crashed out?"
"In a good way. He seemed content"
"Content?" Elizabeth knew she was being a parrot but she couldn't help it.
Marko nodded, "he seemed exhausted but it was a good kind of exhaustion, we weren't worried about him. He literally went straight into a deep sleep..he was still sleeping when we left, actually"
"I guess he's with David now?"
Both men nodded.
"I can't believe it, girl"
She smiled.
"I mean..shit..this is it. You let him..fuck..." Paul imitated a gunshot with his finger, using his free hand to mimic brain spatter.
"It's crazy, huh?"
"This seals it then" she looked at Marko and he clarified, "you're in...you've been claimed"
"But now I know why he stopped. He said I was weak..."
Paul nodded, "and that's why you look kind of off today"
"Yeah" she agreed with a little nod, "I felt it, when I woke up. I was...it was exhaustion on another level. If Dwayne had...if he'd drank more..."
Marko shook his head, "you'd have to have taken his blood, too. There wasn't a risk of you turning last night"
"I pushed him though" Elizabeth admitted, "I wanted him to take more, to drink more. I wanted him to feed from me"
Paul whistled.
"I had no idea..."
"Dwayne is strong"
"...I was really pushing him" she said, feeling a little guilty.
Had he suffered? Had it been difficult to pull away from her? Had he wanted to drain her, to turn her?
"Don't worry about it" Marko advised, "Dwayne is strong"
"But Liz...you've been claimed..that means you're in, in. It's gonna happen..you're gonna be one of us"
"Yeah...yeah...I am" she smiled tentatively, looking between the two men, "I uh..I have a timeframe, actually"
"You do?"
Both men were staring at her.
She nodded, "I wanna graduate..that's important to me"
"And then...?"
She nodded again and Paul's face split into a wide grin.
It felt weirdly liberating to actually say it.
She was going to do it after graduation.
She was going to be a vampire, a mate, part of the pack.
She was going to die.
There was literally a clock, a pendulum, a countdown tick-tocking away in the back of her mind.
"But don't tell Dwayne, OK?"
"Why?"
"You didn't tell him yet?"
"Well, we were kind of busy last night" she smiled.
"I'll say"
"I want to see his face when I tell him" she bit her lip, "I want to see his reaction"
"How do you feel?"
"About?"
"About having a plan. After graduation, you're done for..."
"I feel weird" she admitted, nodding at Paul's words, "weird about...I mean, I'll be leaving my family.."
"Not leaving. You'll have to die" Marko told her frankly and she nodded, "you can't just disappear, Elizabeth. You know that, right?"
"You have to leave everything"
"I do..but I don't want to think about it so much right now" she said, "I want to think about the good stuff..not how the good stuff comes with some bad"
Both men nodded.
It wasn't just some bad.
Choosing Dwayne meant leaving her family and to do that..well, it would hurt them. They would have to think of her as dead and the pain it would cause Lucy..well, it hurt to think about.
It wasn't going to be pretty.
"Fucking hell" Paul said finally, pushing his plate away.
All three of them had barely eaten.
"Well, good job Elizabeth. You won in the end" Marko smiled at her, "I'm done for the night"
"Me too" Paul said, "fuckin' blew me away with that" he pointed to her neck.
"Guys?"
They both looked at her.
"I wore this..this sweater today, this fashionable monstrosity and Sammy kinda..you know, younger brother stuff but he managed to pull the turtle neck down and..this is going to sound wild but..he couldn't see it..."
Neither man reacted.
"I mean, he touched the bite. I felt it, he definitely touched it but he didn't see it or acknowledge it or anything. What-what's up with that?"
She faltered as she asked the question because both men were smiling at her.
"You had your mark for less than a day and you let your brother look?" Paul grinned.
"Sloppy"
"God, I know. I wanted to die" Elizabeth told them, "plus I felt so weak, it was such a horrible feeling of panic..."
"Well, that's why he couldn't see it" Paul told her.
"What do you mean?"
"Mortals are sloppy" Marko said, giving her a little smirk, "can't trust them. Even if the bite doesn't look like what they'd imagine, it's not enough protection for us. Vampires can see marks, mortals can't. It's nothing like the movies or books"
"Seriously?"
Paul nodded, "you couldn't hide that for even a few hours, Liz. If a vampire's bite was actually visible, we'd all be fucked. It's like Marko was saying, predators have their little tricks to make up for their weaknesses"
"Only in this case, the weakness is on the part of the prey"
"So..my Mom? Grandpa? None of them will see this?"
Both men nodded.
"But you can"
"Kinda sexy, huh?"
Elizabeth looked at Paul in confusion and he leaned forward on the table a little, "you have this serious piece of commitment, right there on your neck..this mark, this undeniable, tangible proof that you have a mate, that you're special enough to be a goddamn mate, that you have a love that's everlasting and a fuckin' life that's gonna be everlasting...but it's yours. Only you can see it...only people like us can see it...it's the most intimate secret ever..."
A love that was everlasting?
She couldn't help but smile, taken aback by the sincerity in Paul's words.
"I'd say that's pretty sexy, girl..."
"Paul, you're right-"
For all his jokes and cracks and crassness, that was surprisingly honest and pure and she wanted nothing more than to throw her arms around Dwayne and just hold him.
"-god, it's the vampire equivalent of you walkin' around with his cum in your panties and only you knowin' about it. Pretty damn hot"
Elizabeth slumped in her seat as Paul laughed at her reaction.
He was back to his usual self.
"You want to head out?" Marko asked and Elizabeth nodded straight away.
She wanted to see Dwayne and Paul had simultaneously amazed and disgusted her.
"Paul?"
"Nah, I got my dessert all lined up and I'll tell you both this for free, after hearing that story? I'm fuckin' ready for some action..." he shook his head, "fuckin' hell, girl. You don't half know how to lay down a surprise"
She smiled at him and laughed, "tell me about it. I surprised myself"
"Look at you..." he was smiling at her, a proud and happy smile, "goin' for a threesome and gettin' bitten by your mate...you're a woman of surprises"
She grinned, half wanting to tell him that he'd managed to surprise her with his crudeness but half wanting to simply not encourage him, "...that threesome was never on the cards"
Elizabeth edged herself out of the booth, watching as Marko followed.
"But Dwayne always was?"
She nodded at Paul, smiling widely at his words.
"C'mon, I'll drop you off at the cave" Marko offered and Elizabeth knew he wouldn't be entering with her. She had a feeling that like Paul, he would be off into the night, finding his own willing victim.
"Bye" she waved her hand at Paul and headed out towards the doors with Marko at her side.
"I'll get the check then?"
As Paul's voice called out to them, Marko merely laughed.