Page 41 of Into The Light

She challenged me as she arched a brow and propped a hand on her hip. “Why not?”

“Men don’t share trunks. It’s just not right.”

“Don’t be such a prude. I’ll ask him.”

Prude? That was a word I’d never heard myself called before.

She continued the stare down. “Well?”

Go. Live. Enjoy your life. Isobel’s voice flashed again in my mind.

“Okay.”

“What?” Her voice echoed the shock I felt in saying the words. “You will? You’re coming swimming?”

I nodded, and before I could change my mind, Emilia popped open the front door and stepped inside. “Mark! Where are you?”

“In here!” he called back from the den. He appeared a moment later, his eyes searching us both for some description of the ride. “Well? How was it?”

“Wonderful,” Emilia said before I could respond. “The evening is still going. Aiden here would like to borrow a pair of swim trunks and join me in the pool.”

Mark’s eyes grew to rival the China plates that sat in the hutch behind him. “Aiden? Swimming? I must have bumped my head. I’m passed out somewhere on the property hallucinating while I slowly bleed to death, aren’t I? Damn it! NO! I can’t die before I become a vampire!”

Emilia giggled and shook her head. “Nope. He agreed to swim, didn’t you Aiden?”

Both sets of eyes turned expectedly to me. A heavy sigh and a slow nod answered them both.

“Holy shit,” Mark said. “Let’s go pick out a suit. I only have a few clean ones, but they are all yours!”

Emilia turned back to me and her eyes danced with excitement. It seemed I was going swimming, because being the one to take away that joy on her face wasn’t something I ever wanted to do. “Let’s go before I change my mind.”

Mark gestured for me to follow him.

I can’t believe I’m going swimming. For fun.

I followed Mark to his room. Coming to this part of the house seemed odd as I didn’t make it into this wing often. He pushed open the door to his room and I followed him in, realizing I’d never been in here before. It looked very different from the rest of my house, with modern lines and bright colors splashed throughout the fabrics and paintings on the wall.

The vibrant décor screamed Mark.

He opened a drawer in the mahogany dresser and pulled out a stack of folded swim trunks in a rainbow of colors.

“You can wear any of these.” Before I could open my mouth, he lifted a hand. “I know, I know... before you say it, they aren’t your style. But they will work, and I will head out first thing tomorrow and get you a pair that are ‘Aideny’. AKA black and dowdy.”

I ignored his jab and picked through the pile trying to find the least offensive fabric.

“I’m proud of you, Aiden. This is a good thing.”

“What?” His words and his brazenness stunned me.

“You like her. I can tell.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but again he lifted a hand to silence me. “Now before you go saying something cold and mean, just hear me out.”

I narrowed my eyes but stood silently in front of him.

“She makes you happy, Aiden. I can see it. You laugh. You smile. You light up when she’s around. I’ve known you going on seven years and I have never seen you like this. So just try not to get in your own way. She likes you, too. The energy buzzing between you two is enough to cause this house to explode. Go have fun. Try, for once in your eternal existence, to just let go and enjoy yourself. You deserve it. Now choose a pair of fabulous shorts and go out there and change your life.”

He didn’t give me a chance to respond. He held up his hand until he had safely backed out the door. My jaw hurt from clenching it so tight but, hard as it was to admit, he was right. So was she.