She swallows, shivering.
“Please, little saint?” I draw back, just enough to meet her eyes. “I’m starved. Just one taste of your lotus nectar…”
Half-lidded, she watches me, gaze shifting to my lips. Heart thundering, I swipe my thumb across hers, lean in, and—
The front door swinging open at that exact moment, I am convinced, is a paid actor.
My head drops as August regains lucidity, rakes in a breath, and looks over me, toward a gasping voice.
“No, no, no, no, no,” December declares. “Don’t evenmindme!” She tromps through the house, drags a seat away from the kitchen table, and plops into it—staring at us. “Go on.” She flaps her fingers in acontinuemotion. “I’m not even here.”
Dryly, August pulls her hand from mine and looks at her best friend. “Is it ten already?”
Dark hair bouncing, December nods, offering her palms. “You may feed me now.”
“Hmmm…” August ponders. “I suppose Icould.”
December’s eyes turn weepy. “No, please don’t punish me for barging in at the wrong time. I’ve been ever so good. All morning. At least!”
August taps a finger to her chin. “Well…maybe… Off to your enclosure, then.” She shoos her. “I’ll bring you your drugs in a moment.”
Jumping, December claps her hands and whirls. “Yay!” Skipping, she disappears down the hall and into the office-slash-guest-room-slash-casket-storage-area.
Forcing myself to sit up straight, I shift my attention back to the slip of precious paper offering me some slender amount of hope. No boundaries. No rules. Her preferred type might mingleperfectwithrelentless, but I do wonder if I might be able to concoct a few tricks to manage a facade of perfection over my natural inclination for teasing her.
Standing, August says, “Sorry about theinterrupted whatever-that-was-because-it-certainly-wouldn’t-have-been-a-kisstrope. I invited her over to read the first half of my vampire story draft. It’s tradition. If I make it halfway through a story, December gets to decide whether it lives or dies and offer insight on what she’d like to happen next. She’s yet to condemn a single soul, and I’ve yet to listen to a single suggestion.”
I smile in the understanding that wedidalmost kiss, and she almost let me. “Very well, sweet lotus. I’ll review the information you’ve benevolently provided and craft plots that might see to your heart’s swift undoing.”
Elated, August lingers. “Would you really do such a thing for me?”
“What wouldn’t I do for you, darling?” I peer up at her in time to see her push her hair over one red ear.
“You know,” she says, “it’s kind of stupid to sequester your plots to the weekends since we both seem to have flexible work schedules.”
“Are you challenging me to a duel of some kind as early as this evening, little saint?”
Her smile blossoms. “An evening duel? How dangerous. Vampires gain strength as the sun goes down.”
That is news to me. I arch a brow. “Perhaps it may be prudent of you to feed me alongside your friend, that I might more perfectly embrace this character I’ve been assigned.”
Her gaze drifts, but she shakes her head. “Nah. I like your interpretations the way they are, and you’ve already got plenty of content to catch up on. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you working your way through the rest of my stories.”
Whenever I finish one, I nudge it to the other side of its shelf, like an abacus. I find myself chuckling. “Yes, well. I suppose I should pace myself. It might be hard to go back to your older work when your new stories are sure to taste of me.”
She bites her lip.
I fix my gaze on it. “Tease me more, why don’t you? See what happens.”
“Ack.” She covers her face with her hands. “You’re too good at this. If you didn’t blush so easily, I’d assume you were a professional host club member.”
Like Tamaki Suoh fromOuran High School Host Club? No thanks.
From up the hall, a pitiful wailing rises. “Oh… I languish. I hunger. The night draws nigh. The stars go dark… Portgas D. Ace?” December gasps, tearfully. “Is that you? Is there a flame at the end of this tunnel?”
August snaps out of my spell and drops her hands, marching away from me, toward her friend. “That’s playingdirty.”
I agree. Mentioning a beloved character inOne Piecethat may or may not have perished too soonisplaying a little bit dirty.
