I’m quickly lost in the sensation of deft fingers working through the knots in my back. The push and pull lulls my eyes shut. Of course, all I can see is Roman, and it makes me wonder if he’s put me under some spell. I know nothing about the… man? And yet I can’t seem to stop thinking about him.
When I moan aloud, Lana hollers at me.
“Sorry,” I mumble.
“Who’s Roman?” she asks.
“Is he the reason you have bags under your eyes, Fiona, because I have to tell you, it’s very unfitting, especially for a place like this,” Leslie says so matter-of-factly. My God, this woman drives me insane. Please, someone, tell me why we’re friends.
I turn my head to find both of them staring at me. Well, mostly Lana because she’s right next to me, but I can feel Leslie’s fiery gaze. “Where did you hear that name?”
“You were having a sex dream about him,” Lana tells me.
“I was not.” I rise up on my elbows and look at my masseuse. “Was I?”
She shrugs and starts working on my calves.
“Spill.”
I look at Lana and lie back down. “I have nothing to say because nothing happened between us.”
“But who is he?” she asks.
“He showed up at my party last night, uninvited.”
“But who is he? Is he someone we know?” Leslie asks.
I look at Lana and silently plead for her help. Her eyes go wide, and I shake my head, but it’s too late. Her mouth is already opening. “He’s a vampire?”
“What?” Leslie screeches as she sits up. “Not you too, Fi.”
“I didn’t do anything. I swear. I asked him to leave, but now I can’t get him off my mind.”
Leslie hops down from the table and stalks over to me. She grabs my neck, rubbing up and down. “I said I wasn’t with him.”
“But you’re having impure thoughts about him. He planted something on you.”
“He never touched me,” I tell her. My dreams don’t count.
Leslie stands back; her towel is barely hanging on. “How would you know? They’re lightning fast. He could’ve been super quick, and you would’ve never known it.”
She’s right, but there’s something about Roman that makes me believe he’s different, that he’s not like the others we’ve read about or seen on the streets.
7
Roman
I contemplated what Selene said; explore what draws you. It was the perfect description of how I am feeling. Drawn to Fiona. She is a woman of many layers, who seems to be playing a part, most likely for her father. What I could sense of her when she was near me was more than just physical attraction, and I decide not to waste any time; I am going to find her and speak to her again. I’d intentionally left things open-ended between us so that this door was open to an extent, but I’d not had a plan until now.
I look in the usual spots my research has led me to, without much luck until finally, I can sense her. I can actually smell her. The scent reminds me of lilacs in the warm summer sun, and I try to recall where I smelled that before. As I follow the scent, my connection to her presence becomes stronger, and I can now hear her heartbeat. It?
?s calm as if she’s sleeping. When I realize that she is at a spa, I pick up the sounds of her annoying friends as well.
The ones named Lana and Leslie are with her, and from the sounds of it, they are having another conversation about vampires, which brings a broad grin to my face. If the topic is once again vampires then it seems I left an impression. I feel Fiona’s heart rate increase, and I use my gifts to listen in on the ladies’ conversation, which is now turning to be about me. This is far better than I’d imagined it would be. Once again, Leslie is lecturing everyone about how bad vampires are, and judging everyone’s life choices. Such a trivial human experience.
I certainly cannot go talk to Fiona in the spa, with her friends around, that isn’t the point of seeking her out today, so I find a spot nearby where I can focus, and hear what’s being said. Listening to her speak, her voice like a smooth song, she talks of meeting me, and I cannot help but feel a sense of relief at the impression that I’ve left. Part of me had been nervous that she wouldn’t have been taken with me at all, and I’d be back to square one with my business dealings, but even worse than that now was that I want her to like me. I want her to understand who I am, who my people are, and what we are about. Without the propaganda that’s been planted into her head of course.
The ladies spend the entire day at the spa, and while some would say I could make better use of my time, this is the only thing I want to be doing. Once they finally finish their day of leisure, I wait to find out where she is going next so that I can finally talk to her. Because I listen to her all day, it almost feels as though we are having a conversation in some ways; I get to hear her voice what is on her mind, but she doesn’t get to be privy my thoughts, which is almost unfair. Such is the plight of mortal man I suppose. Being a vampire is quite wonderful, except for those moments you’re trying to convince a human you’re not going to murder them. I could do without those moments.