Page 79 of Into The Light

Closing my eyes to appreciate the incredible flavor, I took another sip. “So, this is chocolate?” I said, savoring the way it tasted on my tongue. “It’s better than the burger if that’s even possible.”

“Our baby is all growed up and drinking a milkshake,” Mark teased and touched my shoulder.

“Shut up, Mark. You should try this. It’s incredible.”

He shook his head violently and sat back in his seat. “Hell. No. I’ve worked too hard to get my body in ‘Forever Vampire Mark’ shape before I change. And I won’t throw it all away for a taste of that sludge.”

I took another sip of my milkshake and turned to face him. “So, you’ve decided?”

He nodded his head. “I want it. I want to be a vampire.”

I don’t know why it shocked me as much as it did. This was something he had wanted for so long I shouldn’t have been surprised he hadn’t changed his mind based on my decision.

“If that’s what you want, I’ll see to it that it happens.”

“Thank you, Aiden.”

Emilia’s lip trembled, and I saw the pain flash through her eyes. “I don’t want you to die, Mark. I just got you both all to myself now. Alive. And now you’re going to leave us.”

Mark shook his head and leaned forward, touching her shoulder. “I’m going to change, yes. I’m going to be forever frozen in this impressive body with this perfect face.” He waved a hand over himself with a smile. “But I’m coming back, Emilia. If Aiden will have me, I don’t see any reason he and I can’t just swap bedrooms and I’ll take the light-tight one and spend weekends and summers with you guys. It will be like summer camp! But with only really cool kids!”

Emilia nodded and took his hand. “You’d better. I will miss you if you’re gone too long.”

“Oh, I’ll be back often. Between compelling people to give me their riches, seducing supermodels and actors, and basically living like a rock star, I’m going to need lots of R&R. And pool time.”

“If you leave us, who says I’m letting you come back?” I arched an eyebrow.

Mark lowered his sunglasses and leveled me with a stare. “Oh, you’ll let me back in when I use my new vampire superpowers to compel your human ass to do whatever I say.”

“You wouldn’t dare.” I lowered my own sunglasses. We held each other in a frozen stare before letting our fake glares soften into matching smiles.

“Of course not.” He pushed his sunglasses back into place. “But you’re not kicking me out, though, right?”

Taking another pull off my milkshake I shook my head. “Not a chance. You’re stuck with us. And we definitely expect you to push us around in our wheelchairs and change our diapers when we’re all old and gray.”

Mark’s face pulled into a sour pucker. “Eww. For the first time since I met you, I’m not attracted to you. That image will be burned into my brain for eternity.” He shuddered.

Plucking a French fry from the brown bag, I popped it into my mouth and smiled while I chewed. Chewing itself was a strange sensation. It was something I’d done countless times as a human without thought. Now I paid attention to every movement of my jaw while I savored the flavors the action produced. “The French certainly do know food it seems.”

“These are not French food, Aiden.” Mark groaned. “We’ll go to France and then you can find out what real French food tastes like.”

“First, we’re going to Wisconsin for fried cheese curds,” Emilia said with a huge grin.

“Fried cheese curds?” Mark’s voice hit that high note again. “Are you trying to give him a heart attack? You do know he’s human again and can die?”

“A few cheese curds won’t kill him.” She rolled her eyes. “We’ll head up to Milwaukee where I grew up. There is this restaurant called Sobelman’s that has the best cheese curds ever! They even wrap them in bacon!”

“Bacon?” I tipped my head.

“Yes. And they put them in the Bloody Marys along with like a whole assortment of crazy garnishes. Like little cheeseburgers, meat sticks, and you can even get one with a whole rotisserie chicken. So good, Aiden. So good.”

“A whole chicken? In a drink?”

Mark faked a gag. “I’m going to be sick.”

Emilia spun in her seat. “Don’t knock it ‘til you try it! Sobelman’s is famous for their crazy... and delicious creations. I can’t wait to take you guys there.”

“I vote for France,” Mark argued.