His hands are all over her, groping her, squeezing her. Kate tells herself to relax, to go with the flow, but it's impossible when nothing about this feels good. Too much, too soon, too hard. And nothing like it did with Richie. Richie. His name flows over her like a tidal wave, bringing with it all kinds of feelings and desires she'd rather not think about. Once again she orders herself to forget him and focus on the task at hand. Andrew. Blond-haired blue-eyed boy next door type she met at the bar a few days ago, a college freshman the old Kate would have crushed on hard. Here for spring break, he asked her out earlier today and now here they are in her car, his lips on her neck, his hands mauling her breasts. She wants to be swept away and feel the brightening burning intensity her body craves after the last encounter with Richie, but with Andrew it's not the same, not even close, and, frankly, she's done trying. His hands are on her shorts, struggling to undo the buttons when she finally speaks up. "Andrew, stop."

He ignores her, his fingers starting to pull down on her zipper. "You're so hot."

She pushes him away firmly, taking him by surprise. "I said stop."

"You're a fucking tease, you know that?"

"Get out of my car!"

"I don't think so. You don't just get to change your mind after you've been teasing me all night." Suddenly he shifts forward and tries to grab her arm but thanks to a few tricks she's picked up from Seth, her gun is out and pointed at him in a matter of seconds.

"Psycho bitch!" Andrew yells, frightened and angry as he cowers against the door.

"Really? You're going to insult me when I have a gun on you? Are you really that much of an idiot?"

Muttering something under his breath, he scurries out of the car and quickly runs away.

Resting the gun on the passenger seat, she leans back and closes her eyes. It's not about virginity. It's about purity of the soul. She scoffs, thinking back to the words Richie said to her a few weeks ago. Bullcrap, all of it. The sooner she has sex with someone and gets rid of this virgin tag hanging over her head, the quicker other hunters will stop trying to make a human sacrifice out of her, and then maybe she and Seth can stop fighting everyone else and just focus on the vampires.

Her phone rings; she doesn't need to glance at the screen to know who it is. "Hello?"

"Where are you?" Seth barks from the other end.

"In the park."

"By yourself?"

"I am now."

"What the fuck are you doing there?"

"Trying to get laid."

"Preppie Andie wouldn't splurge on a motel room for you?"

"Yeah well, I didn't want it to feel cheap."

"So naturally you picked the park to be devirginised. Good call."

"Shut up," she mutters, kicking herself for telling Seth about her plans.

"You could've just used our room," he points out.

"With you there? Watching us like a hawk? No thanks."

"Don't flatter yourself, sweetheart. I have better things to do than watch some kid spear your Britney."

"Ew." Disgusted, she shudders. "What do you want? Why are you calling me?"

"Is the deed done?"

She exhales a deep sigh. There is something so deeply wrong about Seth interrogating her about her sex life, but she knows there is no point in getting mad at him. It's not his fault. It's not even hers. If there's anyone to blame, it's Carlos. And that stupid Santanico. And Richie. "No. I am, unfortunately, still prime sacrifice material." She waits for the inevitable disappointment in his tone but there isn't any.

"Whatever. Get back here. We have to pack up and leave by tonight."

"Why? What's the rush?"

"I got wind of some news. Something big is going down a few towns over."

The hesitancy in his tone is enough for her to know he's lying through his teeth. "More hunters are here, aren't they? They're looking for me."

"Kate, I don't have time for this shit."

"For what, telling me the truth? So we're lying to each other now?"

"What the fuck is going on with you? Are you PMSing or something?"

"You're such a jerk!"

"I'm a lot more than that, princess. Now pop a few goddamn Midols and get your ass back here. Pronto."

The phone goes dead. She contemplates throwing it against the door but realises the satisfaction will only last a minute; it isn't worth losing a phone over. Taking a deep breath, she starts the car.


She pulls into the motel parking lot, grabs her bag, and slips out of the car. Their room is on the fourth floor, the very top, and she's about to make the climb up when she feels someone's eyes on her. Instinctively she grabs the gun and turns around.

Once again, he's managed to catch her by surprise. Richie. Standing a few feet away, he's watching her intently, like always.

"You really need to stop pointing guns at me," he remarks, a sardonic expression on his face.

"Then stop sneaking up on me." Tearing her gaze away from him, she slips the gun back in the bag. Breathe. Just breathe. Her insides ache from looking at him, her body suddenly a taut live wire, and she chastises herself for being an idiot. "If it makes you feel any better, you're the second guy I threatened to kill tonight."

There seems to be a sudden shift in his demeanor but his face is half-hidden in shadows, causing her to wonder if it's simply a figment of her imagination.

"Who was the first?"

"Don't worry. I took care of him."

"Leaving a trail of bodies behind you now?"

She shrugs her shoulders. "Live like a Gecko, kill like a Gecko."

There is a brief pause, maybe even a hint of smile before he continues. "You didn't answer my question. Who's your latest victim?"

"Andrew. He goes to NYU. He's here for spring break."

"Sounds like a loser."

"You don't even know him."

"I know he likes to bathe in cologne. I can smell him all over you."

She takes a step forward, despite knowing it's a bad idea. From the very beginning there's been something undeniable between them, a mystifying bond that propels her towards him. Even after everything that's happened, that connection still exists.

His voice is restrained when he speaks again. "Do you like him?"

"Maybe."

"You should go out with him."

"I did. Tonight."

"How did it go?"

"Extremely well," she fires back, trying to goad a reaction out of him. The thought of Richie with that stupid vampire queen makes her blood boil but he doesn't appear to be even remotely bothered by the idea of her with someone else.

He steps out of the shadows, blank mask in place. "Am I to infer then you're no longer a virgin?"

"I'm getting real sick of you and your brother asking me that question."

"Sleeping around won't get you off the hunters' radars. I told you, it has nothing to do with virginity."

"I think you're full of shit. I bet the second I sleep with someone those jerks will leave me alone and find someone else to chase." She closes her eyes, exhausted. Is it too much to ask that not every bit of her life is up for discussion? Her first time is supposed to be special, private, but these days it's the elephant in the room, the one thing that's constantly on both her and Seth's mind even if they don't speak about it. And it's not like she can even blame Seth for worrying. They're partners now, they're supposed to protect each other, but with the human sacrifice label hanging over her head his life is also constantly being threatened and she has to live with that burden.

"I'm sorry."

The sincerity in Richie's tone catches her by surprise and she looks up to find him studying her with a keen gaze.

"Kate, I wouldn't lie to you. If you want to sleep with someone, fine, go ahead. But it's not going to change anything. The hunters will still come after you, and so will Carlos."

"But why?" Her voice cracks. "Why me?"

"Because there's something in you that's... magical. I saw it the first time I met you."

Rage flows over her, white-hot and potent. "I know you think I'm naive but I'm not stupid. The only thing special about me was that my dad had a trailer you could use. So you can stop spouting the Twilight dialogue because I'm not falling for that!"

She turns around and storms towards the stairs when, suddenly, a gust of wind swirls around her and she feels Richie grabbing her from behind. His body is pressed up tightly against hers, his arms circling around her to lock her in.

"What the fuck do you want from me?" he whispers in her ear, his voice filled with quiet menace as he clings to her from behind. "I'm trying to be nice, and patient. I told you, you don't need to rush into anything but you still won't stop bitching."

"Nice? This is you being nice?" she bites out through clenched teeth, struggling against him. "Fuck you!"

"Don't piss me off, Kate. You won't like me when I'm pissed."

"Or what? You'll bite me? Kill me?"

"Don't tempt me."

"You know what I think? I think you're bored." Using all her strength, she turns around to face him. His eyes are burning with emotion, apathetic expression long gone. "You're bored of being a vampire, you're bored of your stupid vampire girlfriend. You keep saying you want to finish this out but you're lying. The only reason you're still with her is because you're too much of a pussy to ask Seth for forgiveness." She shoves him hard. "Why don't you run back to your girlfriend and be miserable with her? Because Seth and I, we're doing just fine without you. We don't need you!"

Suddenly his mouth closes over hers, his lips snaring hers in a rough, brutal kiss.