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And, um, if I happen to contact you while you’re doing something weird or embarrassing, just don’t tell me, okay? I don’t need to know.
What could possibly be so weird or embarrassing that you wouldn’t want to know about it? Peter questioned.
Many things, I responded. For a start, you could be with a girlfriend.
I could be … he trailed off, and a long moment of silence elapsed before he continued, You don’t need to worry about that.
A male or gender-fluid friend? I queried, entirely too curious.
No.
Oh. Okay, good. Great. What are you saying? I mean, not that it’s any of my business either way. I just thought that with us having such easy access to each other’s heads, it would be beneficial to, you know, keep our personal lives private.
What about you, though? Peter said as I stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel.
What do you mean?
Are there any close personal friends of yours that I should avoid—
No, there aren’t any, I interrupted. So, you don’t need to, um, worry about that either.
He didn’t respond for a long moment as I dried myself off and put on my PJs. I thought maybe he’d gone, cut off communication as such, then he finally spoke, So, two p.m. to eight p.m. unless there’s an emergency? Agreed?
Yes, agreed.
Good. I better go. I have a shift at Indigo.
Wait, I said. Was there something you wanted to tell me?
Tell you?
I just thought that since you were the one to make contact that maybe you needed to tell me something.
Oh. Right. Yes, he answered, and I heard a slight awkwardness in his tone. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Today at the market can’t have been the most pleasant experience for you.
Just like that, my stomach erupted into tingles. I liked that he’d been worried about me, taken the time to check in. That’s very thoughtful of you, but I’m fine. With everything that’s been going on lately, I’m getting used to the craziness.
It has been a very eventful few days, he agreed, his voice soft. Well, have a good evening.
You, too, Peter.
My mind went quiet, and I knew he’d cut off the connection.
When I emerged from the bathroom, Grace was sprawled out on my bed, flicking through TV shows on my large flat screen. “Hey, what do you think about watching this one?” she asked, motioning to a popular period drama. “There are rumours that the lead actor is a dhampir.”
“Really?” I said, my interest piqued. We dhampirs were a rare breed, so it was always exciting to discover a famous person might be one of us.
“No one knows for sure, but he certainly has the look.”
I arched an eyebrow at her. “What’s the look?”
Grace shrugged, hitting play on the show without waiting for my approval. “Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about. You dhampirs have the perfect balance of supernatural beauty and strength mixed with human fragility and softness. It makes you alluring in a way that’s hard to resist.”
“Are you talking about Rebecca or me?”
Grace made a face. “Shut up.”
My voice softened. “Is it painful to love someone you can’t have?”
Her eyebrows rose. “You tell me.”
“I don’t love Peter. I just have a silly crush.”
“Well, that’s a relief. And to answer your question, who says I can’t have her?” A steely look came into Grace’s eyes. It was very … vampiric. When a vampire wanted someone, they could become singularly focused.
I plumped up a pillow before putting it behind me and sitting back on the bed. “I just always thought Rebecca might not be interested in romantic relationships. She’s twenty-nine and, as far as I know, has never been with anyone.”
“That’s because she’s closeted as fuck,” Grace replied, matter of fact.
I blinked at her. “What makes you so sure?”
She tapped the side of her head. “I’ve got a sense for these things. A radar, if you will.”
I shot her a cynical look. “Hmm.”
Grace sighed. “Fine. So, remember when your dad’s vampire friend came to visit? What was her name? Drusilla?”
“I think she goes by Dru.”
“Right, well, I’ve seen men try to flirt with Rebecca from time to time, and she literally glazes over. But this Dru lady paid her a compliment about the dress she was wearing, and I swear I’ve never seen your sister blush so hard. It would’ve been cute if it didn’t make me so furiously jealous.”
“That Dru was a good-looking woman,” I agreed, wondering if Grace was right. Were we all so blind that we couldn’t see Rebecca was hiding a vital part of herself?
“What’s wrong?” Grace asked. “You have your upset face on.”
“I just feel bad that Rebecca isn’t comfortable enough to tell us. If it’s true, I mean.”
“Don’t feel bad. You have to let people come out in their own time. Not everyone had the situation I did. I mean, being the lesbian daughter of two gay dads was pretty much an ideal environment to come out early.” She put the remote down and turned to look me in the eye. “Promise me you won’t start talking to Rebecca and trying to lure her out of the closet. It isn’t something you can rush.”
