Escaping Christian

3: It's Just Business

She watched me warily as I moved toward the window Christian had been peeking out of. "And what if he has?"

A group of kids crossed the road and headed inside the house opposite my building. Around this time the street was quietening down; most families readying for dinner. It was a nice homely neighbourhood and not much out of the ordinary happened around these parts. But something was niggling at me. Something was off and I felt it as soon as I felt those eyes on me in the market.

I rolled my shoulders forward, glancing up and down the street. "Then he better not have dropped me into that crazy cake mix."

**

From the corner of my eye I could see Callum holding in his laughter when I lifted my head to swallow my shot. The tequila ran smoothly down the columns of my throat and the lemon I sucked on afterward soothed its bitter bite. "I mean, he's lying right? This isn't any different to the numerous other times he's followed me to another country. But then again it still feels a bit weird, you know? A bit different this time. We'll have one more please." I added when a server passed.

"This is the third time you've gravitated the subject back to Christian." Katherine mocked surprise.

"Fourth." Cal rectified.

It was later, much, much later, in the evening. Friday night was the liveliest. The river Nile sat undisturbed beside our restaurant and bar which was a total contrast to the busy roads. You couldn't go ten whole seconds without hearing a car horn here. It took a long while before I got used to it but now it was nothing but a music to my ears.

"Look, until one of you can provide me with a good enough answer I'm going to carry on asking it."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Here's a thought. Ask him yourself instead of continually taunting one another."

Through squinted eyes I contemplated that for all of five seconds. "I don't understand that sentence."

"Funny. But I don't think I've ever heard you both have a normal conversation."

"Well we have."

"About what?"

"Well," I tapped my finger to my forearm and smiled. "My dietary needs."

"That doesn't count."

"And none of this even matters," I waved my hand to dismiss the subject. "Enough about him. I want to know about you, Callum. Especially your new flavour of the month, Grace-something."

Callum clapped his hands together excitedly and I silently thanked him for welcoming the change in conversation although it was my fault the conversation went that way in the first place... I shook my head, the little pessimist in my mind fell to her ass with a thump and I smiled.

"Oh, Grace. My older and very experienced woman. I met her when I was taking Anna and Amelia," - Amy's little girl - "to the park. Those two got up to no good and the next thing I knew, a stunning woman about thirty in human years, four oh-eight in vampire years, was leading the two of them toward me with open intrigue, you know because they're half and half. Next thing I know, she's typing in her number in my phone and after dropping off the girls, she met me at the bar and we were barely talking for ten minutes before her hand was on my leg-"

"Censorship please."

I glared at Kate. "No, he is a grown man and we are grown women, we deserve to know the ins and outs - pun intended - of Callum's new GF."

"Why? Is someone lacking in that same department?"

"Oh, Kate I wouldn't." Cal grimaced into his pint glass. "Last time Evie and I teased her about that, she had me in a headlock and Evie under her arse."