That same raw sensation had me stretching my jaw as my teeth seemed to shift outward. My lip scraped across something sharp, and the taste of my own blood filled my mouth. I pressed my fingertip against the long, sharp canine poking out over my bottom lip and winced.
Oh, no.
Suddenly, memories of what had happened the night before came flooding into my brain.
I'd enjoyed dancing with Ben so much I hadn't wanted to walk away from him. Something about him made me feel like he saw me, not body parts that happened to have a personality attached or a chance to brag to his friends. But me, as a person. And for a female undergrad at a state college, that was a pretty rare thing.
After the party, I'd walked Ben downstairs to the lobby, and we'd sat on a little bench outside the dorm, far from the smokers, enjoying the cool evening air. To my surprise, some vampires in the courtyard in front of New Dawn were playing Ultimate Frisbee. I kind of thought the undead were beyond Ultimate Frisbee, but I suppose teenage vampire boys are the textbook definition of arrested development.
///
We talked about our favorite foods. (Be breakfast food, or be nothing.) We talked about our fandoms. (I was a Ravenclaw, and he was a Hufflepuff, which almost ended the conversation right there.) We talked about our favorite obscure gummy candy. (I didn't even realize there was such a thing as gummy bacon strips. I was thoroughly ashamed.)
It was almost two when he finally had to go home, but he grinned kind of sheepishly and said, "So, I was thinking that we'd skip the whole ‘will he call or won't he' drama by my just asking you out now. You know, cut out the middleman. And I'm not going to play around with some silly coffee date, either. I'm going straight to dinner. Maybe even a place with actual metal silverware."
"A true gentleman draws the line at plastic sporks," I told him, my lips quirking as I fought a smile. It was a charming, if wordy, way to ask me out, and I could appreciate that. "And just to take the pressure off, if you were to ask me out, there's a pretty good chance I would say yes."
The smile that broke over his face was blinding. "That's good to know."
I waited, in silence, while he stared at me.
"Oh, you want me to ask now?" he said. I pursed my lips and waggled my hand back and forth as he leaned closer. "Man, you're pushy."
I burst out laughing, even as his arms slipped around my waist. This was what girls my age were supposed to do. Flirt with nice boys and stay out late, not worry about bills and my hours getting cut. "I thought Hufflepuffs were supposed to be all forthright. This whole conversation reeks of Slytherin sass."
"Oh, wow," he said, his lips barely brushing against my own. "You are a nerd."
"Still better than being a Hufflepuff," I murmured against his mouth.
"You're gonna have to let that go," he said, his mouth closing over mine. As far as first kisses went, it was . . . pretty amazing. Sweet and slow and warm, with just a hint of tongue. I felt it all the way down to my toes, which were curling in my cute little black boots. We only broke apart when kids leaving the party came filtering out of the lobby and catcalled us.
"It's not likely," I said, when he pulled away.
"So . . . dinner," he said. "In a place without sporks. When would be a good time for you?"
"Saturday would be good."
"Six?" he asked. When I nodded, he gave me another quick peck on the lips. "Awesome. I will call you. And if I don't call, you text me, call me a dumbass, and I will send apology cookies."
"Cookies?" I asked as he backed away.
"Flowers are overdone," he called back.
I giggled-honest to God giggled-but I managed not to do the awkward little wave my arm ached to give.
Suddenly, I heard a quick bark of warning, but before I could even respond, I felt a crushing blow against my chest. I was knocked off my feet and thrown into the wall behind me. I felt my head collide against the stone with a sick crack before I collapsed to the ground like a broken doll.
Ben screamed my name, but I couldn't even lift my head. His voice grew closer, but I couldn't make out what he was saying. I had never known pain like this in my life. My chest felt hot and wet, on the inside and the outside. I couldn't feel anything below my waist. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move enough air through my throat to produce words. People gathered around me, staring down at my twisted body with expressions of horror on their faces.
Ben lifted something off my chest. It appeared to be a forty-five-pound barbell weight. The vampires were playing Ultimate Frisbee with a forty-five-pound weight. And they'd missed.