What Happens in the Dark

Chapter Twenty-Six

I knocked on Genevieve's door then opened it slowly. She was spread out on her stomach on the bed, her head lifted sluggishly in my direction. "Hey, sorry to wake you. I know you're probably jet lagged. But I'm hungry and wanted to see if you were too."

She murmured something unintelligible, her head dropping back to the bed, then lifting again with more than a drop of reluctance. I stifled a giggle at her exhaustion, but felt sympathy for it. I should probably leave her be, I thought. Jet lag is a total bitch.

"I could eat." She finally uttered in a sleep-thickened voice.

Laughing softly, I said, "Alright. I'm going to go scavenge the kitchen for some food. If I can't find something, I'll probably order in."

"Mmmfhh."

Stifling another laugh, I shut her door silently behind me and shuffled along to the kitchen. A swift shifting through the cabinets informed me that ordering in was a requirement. I sighed and did an expeditious scan of the drawers for any semblance of a take-out menu. Luckily, the last drawer I searched had what I was looking for.

"Ha." I said aloud to nothing in particular about my miniscule victory, if it could even be called one.

A pair of sinewy arms wrapped around the middle of my torso and brought me back into a rough chest. I smiled but didn't look up from the stack I was browsing through. "Did you want to order in or go out?" Draven asked me as he buried his face in the crook of my neck.

It was a sensitive area, and I was shivering almost instantaneously. "Unless you plan to take me up against this counter, I suggest you stop."

"Stop what?" His mouth pulled into a smile against my skin. It was a soft smile, and I felt my knees wobble.

"You know. What is it you used to say to me? 'Don't play coy?' Take your own advice, hot rod."

"Hot rod? I kind of like that, Darling."

"More than Master or Sir?"

"Nothing tops Master or Sir. But a little nickname never hurt anyone."

"I'll take that into consideration, then."

"You do that."

He detached from me and went over to the full sized refrigerator. "Good luck with that," I said as I settled on a menu for Gyros at a hole in the wall Greek place downtown. "Those shelves are as empty as my stomach."

"You never gave me an answer on whether you wanted to go out or stay in." He said as he shut the doors of the refrigerator. "How about we go for a date? It would be our first."

"I thought our first date was going to be skydiving."

"We can make it our second. It's too late to skydive now."

"Sure it is, but I was still looking forward to it being our first."

A curious look was shot my way and he walked over to me, crowding me into the counter. "Why don't you want to go on a date with me tonight?"

I pursed my lips, only slightly dismayed at his uncanny ability to read me. "Because I just carved a rift in my mother's marriage. The last thing I should be doing is celebrating."

I marvelled at the fact that not even five minutes ago I was telling him that I didn't want to talk about it, and here I am, talking about it. Did he plan this? I wondered briefly.

"It's still your birthday, you know. I think that's cause enough for a celebration."

"I don't want to ditch Genevieve; she just got into town."