My phone rang, and I snatched it up.
“Hey, I’m downstairs,” Caleb said.
“Great, see you soon.” I grabbed my purse and a coat and dashed past Oliver, who was sprawled out on Leanne’s bed. He had moved on to eating Leanne’s guacamole-flavored chips—specially shipped from the U.S.—and was watching some romantic comedy on her laptop.
“Bye!” he shouted, mouth full.
***
I found Caleb leaning against the building when I came outside. He straightened up once he saw me. “Wow. You look … amazing.”
He might’ve been involved in my attempted murder. His charm was so disarming that I had to repeat this to myself.
“You clean up pretty well yourself.” He managed to look both angelic and masculine—a tough combo to pull off—with his tan skin, blond hair, and those blue eyes.
“Well, I try.” He smiled wide, his eyes crinkling. So misleading. Two, however, could play that game.
I smiled back eagerly. “I haven’t seen you all week!” Because you were missing school to learn how to kill me. “I was worried you were going to cancel our plans.” I pouted.
“Never!” He held out a hand. “Ready?”
“Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.”
“Fantastic.” Just what my life was missing, surprises.
Not.
***
For once the surprise was actually something I enjoyed. Caleb took me to a zany fondue restaurant. Graffiti covered the walls, and all drinks came in glass baby bottles. We chatted about our boring professor, liking our classes, and living on the Isle of Man.
I remained suspicious of his true intentions, but talking to him was easy. And sadly enough, I liked the guy; it was too bad he and his family probably wanted me dead.
“So,” he said after a lull in the conversation, “what’s it like being a vampire?”
I looked up. “What do you mean?” Warning bells were going off inside my head.
He took in my expression. “Sorry, I wasn’t trying to offend. The thing is, most of us grew up being told vampires were evil, bad—that if they weren’t trying to steal your soul, they were trying to steal your blood and your life. It’s a superstitious belief. We know that vampires do have souls and a code of ethics, but that fear has been passed down generation after generation. But you—you don’t strike me as the ‘evil’ type.”
“Whew,” I said. “One down, only several thousand more to go.”
He smiled, still waiting for my response.
I looked around the room. The noisy atmosphere covered up our conversation. I leaned in. “Being a vampire, or at least becoming one, doesn’t feel like anything special. I have some heightened abilities, which make me feel like I’ve been colorblind my whole life. The sun has started to irritate my eyes and skin, so there’s some discomfort. But other than that, I feel no different.” I thought it best to hold back on the fact that fear and blood excited me, and that my new best “friend” was the king of vampires.
Caleb nodded, as if he had suspected this the entire time. He seemed so understanding. And then I thought back to the man who attacked me. It could’ve been Caleb or his father.
I interrupted his thoughts. “If I don’t strike you as evil, then what do you think of me?”
I watched him closely, listening for an increased heart rate and any smells that would indicate he was lying.
“Honestly?”
I nodded.
“I think you’re mysterious and sexy as hell.”
My eyebrows shot up. Definitely not what I was expecting. His heart rate picked up, but he smelled normal—he wasn’t lying. I looked at Caleb skeptically.
Because I didn’t know how to respond to his statement, I turned his original question back on him. “What’s it like being a shapeshifter?”
Now it was his turn to look surprised. “You know I’m a shapeshifter?”
“What, trying to keep it a secret?” The edge was back in my voice. We were finally getting somewhere.
“No, it’s not a secret. I just haven’t told all that many people, and I didn’t expect you to know.”
“Oh I know all about shapeshifters—one tried to kill me a few nights ago.” Technically, no one had officially said it was a shapeshifter, but I had to see his reaction.
His face went pale. “What did you say?”
I just stared at him.
His heart rate increased, and I could smell his nervous sweat. He was worried. Andre would be so proud of my sleuthing.
Caleb stood up. “I’m sorry, I have to go.”
I opened my mouth, not sure if I had something to say.
He threw some bills on the table. “I’m sorry.” He apologized one final time and left.
Well, I guess that explained that.
Chapter 16