Page 53 of Fall into Place

Well, if Joni had ever wondered whether her vampire crush liked her back, she certainly didn’t need to wonder anymore!

Joni never legitimately thought anything would happen between her and Octavia, obviously. Octavia was intimidatingly glamorous, and kind of mean besides, and clearly had no interest in some scrubby grad student. And it’s not like Joni was trying to sleep with a deadly vampire per se. So it didn’t even matter. It was just—the thing that bothered Joni was how normal that Ruby girl had seemed. She was hot for sure, but she also just seemed like any girl Joni might know from school, some friend of her roommates or whatever. Not that there was anything wrong with Octavia being into a normal girl like that. Joni just couldn’t help but wonder why Octavia was so attracted to Ruby and not at all attracted to Joni.

“Hello?” Octavia prodded. “Didn’t you have some big idea you wanted to tell me?”

“Oh, right, sorry.” Joni flushed. “I was rereading scenes in Blood Feud that take place in the graveyard, and I was thinking about how a cemetery is like, a transitional place. Like a place where the veil is thin between one world and another.”

“You think that’s why the portal appeared there?” Octavia pursed her lips in concentration. “That’s an interesting idea. Some location spells require objects from the person you’re trying to locate, so I suppose it’s not a complete leap to think a portal spell could make use of a location itself.”

“I’d say my thoughts exactly, but I don’t really understand what you just said.” Joni shrugged. “Anyway, I know it’s not much to go on. But since Bethesda Fountain isn’t a transitional place, I was trying to think of what might fit the bill here in New York.”

“A graveyard in Manhattan doesn’t seem right.” Octavia set down her cocktail. “It would need to be more of a landmark—what about a bridge?”

“I had the same idea!” Joni gasped. “I was thinking maybe the Brooklyn Bridge? Because it matches up with the crystal bridge on the Isle, right? And it connects the Isle to Bar Between—it’s kind of a gateway in both places. What do you think?”

Octavia drained her drink and put the glass down on the bar. “I think it’s brilliant. Let’s go.”

Joni called a rideshare as soon as the sun set, and they arrived at the foot of the bridge not long after. The breeze over the water was cool and refreshing as they walked through the night air toward the glittering Manhattan skyline.

“Why don’t I do this more?” Joni mused.

“Walk over random bridges?” Octavia frowned. “Why would you?”

“I don’t know.” Joni smiled. “It’s romantic, isn’t it?”

“You could bring your boyfriend,” Octavia said agreeably.

“Uhhhh, what?” Joni laughed uncomfortably. “I don’t have a boyfriend. I’m gay. Oh god, I don’t look straight, do I?”

Octavia shrugged. “Bring your girlfriend then.”

Joni peered at Octavia. She was breezier than the damn wind over the bridge—but was Joni crazy, or was Octavia trying to suss out whether Joni was single?

“I don’t have a girlfriend either,” Joni said.

“Probably because all the dykes think you’re straight.”

“Hey!” Joni gave Octavia’s arm a playful slap.

“Just kidding.” Octavia grinned. “No straight girl would wear sweats out of the house as much as you do.”

“What about you?” Joni asked.

“The whole world knows I’m not straight. As you may recall, there’s a series of highly popular novels about it.”

“No, I mean—do you have a girlfriend?” Joni suddenly felt shy. “Like, back on the Isle or something?”

“Never been my thing.” Octavia wrinkled her nose. “Everyone on the Isle was so incestuous, I didn’t want any part of that. And Callum and I have always felt it was simpler if our primary loyalties were to each other—even when we were human, Konstantin forbid us to marry. Of course, it turned out that was because he wanted to make it easier to turn us into vampires. But it really didn’t matter to me, since, you know.”

“Being gay in the 1900s wasn’t really an out and proud kind of time?”

“To put it mildly. If anyone had found out what I was back then…” Octavia shook her head. “But I suppose that’s still true for some. For you, maybe?”

“Oh, me? No—well, actually I thought my parents might have a problem, but they were really cool about it.” She smiled at the memory. “I was so stressed to tell them, senior year of high school, I sat them down all serious. When I said I was gay, my mom let out this huge sigh of relief and goes, ‘I thought you were going to say you totaled the car.’ ”

Octavia laughed appreciatively. “You’re close with your parents?”

“Oh definitely, super tight. With my little brothers too, even though they’re assholes who always steal my shit.” She grinned.