“Isn’t this one?”
“It’s a cheeseboard. They look the same, but they’re different.”
“If you say so.” He goes to the sink and washes his hands. My cutting board is in the same crammed cabinet the cheeseboard is in, and I have to maneuver it around several other items before I can get it out.
Ethan cuts up the cheese while I add the salami and crackers to the board. I finished the last of my artichoke dip a few days ago and haven’t been grocery shopping since. The rest of the board is a little hodgepodge, but at least it’ll all taste good.
“This is supposed to be good,” I tell Ethan, reaching way back in a cabinet for a bottle of red wine. “It’s from a vineyard in Michigan, not far from where my aunt lived. Do you want a glass? I’m just going to have a little. It goes with the whole cheese-theme.”
“I’m not much of a wine drinker, but sure.”
I open the bottle and pour two glasses. “I like wine, but I don’t have expensive taste,” I tell him as we carry everything into the living room.
“My dad’s going to pull together some resources about the Pricolici,” Ethan starts, sitting on the couch and taking his glass of wine from me. “If we can call them off it’ll give us more time to find the demon who marked you in the first place.”
“Yeah, that would be nice.”
“You said you have to work tomorrow, right?”
“I do. Six AM to six PM at the clinic and then I have to teach a riding lesson at six-thirty.”
“Damn, that’s a long day.”
I take a small sip of wine and set the glass down, trading it for some cheese and crackers. “I don’t normally give lessons after work. I had to reschedule from last weekend, and I’m honestly surprised my student was able to come in the evening. Her mom is terrified of vampires.” I roll my eyes.
“And you’re not?”
I shrug. “I’d like to say I’m not any more scared of them than I am of other humans. A human can kill me just as fast as a vampire.”
“Yeah, but they’re undead. That’s not right, you have to agree about that.”
“I don’t know what’s right or wrong, only that most didn’t have a choice in becoming a vampire. I watch that special on CNN a few months ago,” I add and eat my cheese.
“You should call off work tomorrow. When I talked to my dad a bit ago, he said from what he knows, the Pricolici run in packs and the others won’t be happy that one of their own was killed. They could retaliate if their demon-master allows them to.”
“Well, shit.” I reach for the wine again. “I hate calling off when I’m not sick. I feel bad lying.”
“You’d feel worse if you were attacked.”
“That’s probably true.” I wrinkle my nose. “I’ll text my boss and say…say…”
“Say you got food poisoning.”
“I can roll with that.” Taking another drink of wine, I set the glass back down and open a text to send to Tammy.
Me: Hey, I got food poisoning and don’t think I’ll be able to come in to work in the morning. I feel so awful right now. I’m so sorry!
“Take out the ‘don’t think’ part,” Ethan says, looking at my phone. “That leaves it open for you to come in tomorrow.”
“I know,” I groan. “I’ve never lied about being sick before.”
“Never?”
“Not here, I should say.” I fix the text and hit send before I have a chance to chicken out. “What about giving a lesson tomorrow? I can’t say I’m too sick to give a lesson and then show up at the barn to check on Mystery. Can we just play that one by ear?”
“Yeah, and if anything, I can go with you and keep watch.”
“Thanks. I can introduce you to my horse.” I smile and pick up the remote, turning on the TV. “You like Friends?”
“I do. It’s one of those shows I watch over and over.”
“Me too,” I say and play the episode Ethan was watching before we went out for dinner. We finish the charcuterie board all within one episode, and I bring the bottle of wine into the living room, refilling both our glasses.
I sit close to Ethan, and he drapes his arm around my shoulders. It’s really nice, just sitting here with him, though I’m a little worried my willpower is going to fail, and I’ll be dragging him into the bedroom.
“This is one of the best episodes,” he comments, making me smile. I finish my wine and scoot a little closer to Ethan, resting my head against his shoulder. I love wine but don’t drink it too often mostly because it makes it hard to keep my mental shields up, but also because it makes me tired. Given everything that’s happened today, it shouldn’t surprise me that I end up falling asleep.