I waited for him to say more.
“Tomorrow I’ll start making arrangements with the college so I can take time off from teaching my classes to accompany you to see Abernathy. It shouldn’t be longer than a month before we go. Can you take the GED test? Get high school out of way?”
“Of course,” I agreed. Anything I could do to appease him, help him to see I wanted what he wanted.
“Good.” He opened the door. I opened mine. As I got out he said, “Your mother would be so proud of you.”
I stopped, falling back in the leather seat. Was he saying he knew my mother? And why hadn’t he mentioned her before? Apprehension filled my stomach, making me queasy.
After several minutes I got out of the car and followed Professor Pops in. I wanted to ask him more. What he knew? But he was nowhere to be found. Not in his office, the kitchen, or the piano room. His bedroom door was closed so I figured he went to bed. We’d all been up more than twenty-four hours. I’d ask him more about my mother later.
Chapter 6
Time was a flighty fiend. Its seconds seemingly flickered in slow motion until the special moment. It arrived and an instant later was gone, passing by without a backward glance.
That was how the next couple of weeks went.
I tried several times to bring up my mother to Professor Pops, but he was always running an errand, talking secretly to Gabe, or off somewhere. I could never get him alone. And perhaps I didn’t try as hard as I should have.
I took my GED the next day. Aced it, of course. Pops and the brother’s were right. The human part of my life became an afterthought. Something I’d once been. No longer who I was, only a reflection. About a week later my diploma came in the mail. It paid, in more ways than one, to have Harvard’s Professor of Religions as a guardian.
Cindy came over several times, and we hung out. I told her that Professor Pops and I were going to see Abernathy. The prospect thrilled her. She wanted to come. Meet the first dragon in person. I was okay with the idea if her mom and dad agreed.
Sometimes things got awkward when she came to see Gabe. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be. The worst was when they kissed while I was around. A strange pang entered my heart. I told myself it wasn’t because I wanted to be with him, but because it was hard to see him with someone else. I wondered if Gabe felt the same when I kissed Christopher, so I tried to avoid any public displays of affection.
Then there was Dorian.
I didn’t know what to make of him. He acted as though I hadn’t bit his neck, and sucked his blood, as though we hadn’t shared a moment when I first woke. A few times I thought about going to his new room, once the other brothers were asleep, but then Christopher would show up at my window, and nothing and no one else mattered.
He was my sun, my moon, each planet, and stars. And those rare moments he wasn’t around, my body ached at his absence.
One day, Christopher came by. Instead of heading straight for me, he went into Professor Pops study. I followed, listening to his low voice speak, though I wasn’t able to hear what he said. Professor Pop’s response was less than cordial.
“Fine, but if anything happens to her, I will hunt you down and finish what the Vampire Queen started.”
I felt my eyes grow wide, and contentment filled my heart. I was loved. It was a feeling I cherished beyond belief.
“If anything happens to her, I’ll expect nothing less,” Christopher answered.
Those two, and their testosterone filled bullheadedness. Sheesh!
Christopher left the study, nearly running me over. When he saw me, his face lit up. “Hey,” he whispered, placing my hand in his. “I want to take you away for a few days—just the two of us. What do you think?”
Him and I alone? For a few days? The idea sounded like heaven, but it also made me nervous. Christopher and I spent several nights together, his body snuggled next to mine as we slept, but we didn’t go further than kissing. Did he want us alone so we could go all the way? I knew I was eighteen, and I knew I loved him more than my own life. But sex, making love, it felt like the final gift. Once he possessed me in every way, would he want me anymore? I needed to speak with Cindy.
“Snow?” Christopher lifted my chin with a finger, his beautiful eyes searching my face. “If you don’t want to go, we don’t have to. I just thought…” he trailed off, and drew me to his chest, his perfect arms encircling me. “I love you, Snow. More than I believed possible, more than I’ve ever loved anyone. If you need time, you can have it.”
My stomach fluttered at his words. I looked up. “I love you too. And, I do want to go away with you.” His eyes lit up. I traced the outline of his chest muscles through his black button up shirt. “But not yet. I need one more day. Can we go tomorrow?”