Vampire 01 - Daughter of Darkness

today.” No one could have put it better. I didn’t know why Ava had told Marla she was the best at quoting him. I knew I was the best. I was confident that among the three of us, I clung to his every word the most.
    “I take it you’re no longer worried about Ava seeing us together or anything,” he said as we crossed the street.
    “No. I told her about my seeing you, how determined I was. She was the one who said I’d have to bring you to meet Daddy.”
    “Really? That’s great.”
    We entered the coffee shop, and I ordered a tall chai tea. He got a coffee, and we sat at one of the tables outside.
    “So, what’s the plan?” he asked immediately.
    “I can see you Saturday. In fact, Ava will bring me to meet you.”
    “Why can’t I just pick you up? That way, I can see your father before we go out.”
    “He won’t be there. He’s returning between nine-thirty and ten, and the plan is that you’ll bring me home and we’ll spend some time with him.”
    “But I could do both. Why involve Ava?”
    “She wants it this way,” I said. “She likes to be in charge, and right now, I don’t want to upset her.”
    “Oh.” He thought a moment and then shrugged. “Well, that’s great, actually. We’ll get something to eat, spend some time at my uncle’s, and then I’ll take you home. I wish I could see you Friday night, too.”
    “I have something with my sisters.”
    “How come you’ve changed your mind about Ava and us? I mean, you were warning me off her as if she had the plague or something, and now—”
    “I told you. I had a long talk with her. She understands now that you’re not just any guy and that I’m going to see you no matter what she thinks or even what my father thinks. However, she likes playing the older sister looking out for the younger. It doesn’t do us any harm to let her think what she wants, does it?” I tried sounding annoyed with him for asking so many questions, but he didn’t pick up on it.
    “No, I guess not.” He nodded and smiled.
    Why can’t he see the deception in my face?
I wondered. I was secretly hoping he would and that it would end there, but I guessed I was underestimating my skills at deception, or maybe his love for me simply blinded him.
    “Where will we meet? Where should I tell you to have Ava bring you? My uncle’s house?”
    “That’s fine,” I said.
    Finally, he looked a bit surprised, even skeptical. “That’s fine? How much did you tell her?”
    “I don’t have to tell Ava much. She gets the idea,” I said. “You’ve spent only a little time with Ava, but I think you know she’s pretty worldly.”
    “Yeah, that’s a good word for it. Worldly. Okay, you know what we can do then?” he asked, excited again. “I’ll order in some food for us. For a little while at least, we can pretend we’re living together. How’s that?”
    “Fine,” I said.
    “Wow, things are really changed. You don’t seem nervous about anything anymore.”
    “Does that worry you?”
Please say yes
, I thought.
Find a reason to back out of this.
    “Hell, no. It makes me happier, happier than ever. What would you like me to order, Chinese, pizza?”
    “It doesn’t matter. Whatever you want,” I said.
    “Okay. I’ll take care of it. What time should we meet? Can we meet at six? I’d like us to have some time together before I have to take you home and behave myself,” he said, laughing.
    “Six is fine,” I said.
    Ordinarily, if I had been in any way an ordinary girl, this would all have been exciting to me. I’d be as happy ashe was. I’d do all sorts of things to prepare for the special night. I might have my hair and nails done and maybe buy a new outfit. I’d have a close friend in whom I could confide, and we’d giggle about what we knew would happen. If she didn’t have a boyfriend of her own, she’d be terribly jealous, but she would also be happy for me and live vicariously through my revelations. If she had a boyfriend, we’d grow even closer, because we’d be sharing the passions we felt and the experiences we had. We’d talk forever on the phone, comparing kisses and sex and things we said to our boyfriends and they said to us. We’d spend hours talking and annoy our parents. We’d walk through the hallways between classes as if we had been chained together. Other girls would envy us and, because of that envy, compete for our attention, in the hope that we would tell them something secret, share a little of the