Blood rushing out of his face, Ben ran for Nino, reaching for his phone. He whispered yelled, hoping he could shout at Nino without sounding like a crazy person in front of Tim. "Give me back my phone!"
"Uh, this is Tim?" Tim said. "Who's Nino?"
"I'm staying with Ben this summer. He's busy tonight, so he won't be able to join you."
"I think I'd like to hear that from Ben. Thank you."
"Give me that!" Ben grabbed his phone, even though it seemed like Nino was giving it back anyway. "Sorry about him. He's..." Ben glanced at Nino who did that sullen arm crossed thing again. "He's an old friend and—"
"We're busy," Nino whispered.
"And," Ben restated, gripping his phone tighter. "Nino is staying with me with his niece. He's sort of down on his luck and needs a place to crash."
"Oh, that's terrible."
"Yeah, there was a scandal, and he lost sponsors and he got kicked out of his house..." Ben barely glanced at Nino, and he saw it. He noticed his jaw tightened and Ben couldn't keep the shit-eating grin off his face, and he couldn't stop. "I think the guy's great, but he's a bit of a deadbeat. Like you can ask Lincoln, he always crashes on my couch when he visits."
"Wow, it sounds like he's lucky to have you to help."
"He is." Ben couldn't agree more.
"Well, if Saint Ben can find the time, I'd like to see him."
Tim did it again.
He pulled the rug right out from under Ben.
Flustered, Ben turned away from Nino so he couldn't see him blush. "He'll have time. I promise."
"Alright."
"I'll talk to you later."
"Talk to you later." Ben hung up and smiled at his phone until Tim's picture disappeared. It was a selfie he sent Ben when he somehow got ink all over his face. Tim had that boy next door kind of look with floppy dirty blonde hair and kind brown eyes. Maybe not a super model, but he certainly made Ben do a double take when they first met.
"Who's Tim?" Nino asked.
"Just a guy."
"I don't trust him, and you can't trust him either. Anyone could be working for Gabriel."
Ben grimaced. "I was talking to Tim and dating him before I met Evie."
"So, you're dating him?"
"Kind of," Ben said, just to annoy Nino. He wasn't sure if it was working, but he was certainly annoying himself. "And Lincoln was the one who introduced us."
"I don't trust Lincoln either."
Ben rolled his eyes. "Now you're just being ridiculous."
A light bulb flashed over Nino's head as the realization dawned on him. "It's the Tim guy! Tim must be the reason my guy called me. It's all his fault."
"I feel like ignoring you," Ben said and left Nino to sit with these thoughts. He glanced around the living room. "Evie?" He called out, swearing he heard the bathroom door open. "Evie?"
"In my room!" She called.
"Your room?" Ben said to himself. He walked up the stairs with Nino tailing him this time.
"How often have you brought that guy over?"
"You mean Tim?"
"I already forgot his name."
Ben snorted. "Okay, well, we've been going on dates for about a month."
"I don't trust it."
"He's human, Nino."
"How do you know? You thought I was human when we first met."
"It's not the same. Tim's an accountant." Ben shook his head, unsure where to even begin with how ridiculous he was being, but before they could keep arguing, Evie sighed. Ben turned, dipping his head into the guest bedroom. Well, it was half a bedroom and more so a storage room. Evie sat in the middle, holding a pillow to her chest as she looked up with her big doe eyes.
She asked, "Are you guys going to break up too?"
"We're not together," Nino said a little too quickly and Ben was promptly humbled like a kick to the chest.
"Exactly," Ben said, putting on a show. He forced a smile as every inch of his skin caught on fire with angry itchy flames licking his cheeks. "And I'll be home alone at the end of the summer. You—" He referred to Nino "—will be gone. My life doesn't end when you leave."
"I am here this summer and while we work together, I expect you to listen to me."
Ben laughed right in his beautiful, dumb face. He was done being sad over Nino's secrets, his lies, and his surprise fiancé. The next step in the mourning process of Ben's dead crush was anger. He snapped, "No."
And just that little two letter word might as well smack the hell out of Nino. His eyes almost popped out of his skull, but Ben wasn't finished yelling at him. He snapped, "You just said it. We're working together. We are partners in this, or this isn't going to work."
"I might as well be home," Evie groaned and threw herself back on the guest bed that creaked with a death groan.
"Nino, you might own this apartment." Ben could feel his resolve crumble slightly. Nino's lip even quirked, apparently amused by Ben's fury. Ben stood his ground and declared, "But you don't own me. I still have my free will and I'll use it to see any other guy I want."
"You really are so lucky you met me first and not some other beast." Nino took a step forward as if to walk right through Ben, who had no choice but to step back. "In the past, if a vampire found a feast..." Another step and then another step until Ben's back hit the wall and Nino became an impenetrable cage, blocking Ben in. He explained, a sick humor lacing every word. "They would kidnap them, take them to their coven, and pass that Feast around until they were on the brink of death."
Ben's stomach turned in on itself. Nino's eyes flashed red, and it reminded Ben this was not just a guy. Not just a man crashes on his couch. This was a vampire, smiling at Ben like taking a bite out of his neck would just make his day. Nino said, "Then, they'd let the feast heal, so they could do it all over again. The only way they lost their feast was if the feast took themselves out."
Taking a sharp breath, Ben snapped out of it and shoved Nino as hard as possible. It was enough to make Nino move out of the way. Maybe it was because he looked like was going to burst into flames. "I'm not about to thank you for being a decent person."
"Don't. Because I'm not a person."
The spare bedroom door snapped shut, and Ben jumped. Evie sighed from the other side and a twinge of guilt made Ben drop it. He knocked on the door. "Oh, Evie. I'm sorry. We're done fighting."
"Is all summer going to be like this?"
"That's a good question. Is it?" Ben turned his attention to Nino, who dropped his arms with a sigh.
"It's not," Nino said, joining Ben on the other side of the door. Speaking to Evie, Nino's eyes were solely on Ben. "We're all going to be living together, so we might as well get along."
"We'll have fun," Ben promised. "Hey, come on out. Let us make it up to you. How can we make your summer just a little better?"
The door opened and Evie had this crazed smile Ben hadn't seen yet. Maybe this was just how she smiled, like she was a cat with a mouse in its mouth. Eyes wide, lips twitching. "I want this room."
"It is your room," Ben said.
"No. I want to make it mine."
Ben leaned into the room, looking at it for the first time in a long time. There was a bed in the corner and to get to it, you had traverse tubs of stuff, scattered books, a couch covered in clothes Ben had to sort through and all his luggage for traveling.
"Um..." Ben's stomach twisted, knowing he was going to have to give up more for this summer. Still, Ben asked her, "What do you need for that?"
And that was the magic question. Evie smiled wider, and Ben knew he was just in more trouble.
***
Walking the street with Nino was like being an actor cast in the wrong movie. Nino was the hunk A-List star who was going to spend half the movie shirtless for some reason, and Ben was in a buddy comedy as a nameless side character that got most of his dialogue cut. He was the type in the movies to die first. The type that was just the cab driver taking the romantic leads to the airport to catch their soulmate before they were gone forever.
Maybe Ben had been watching too many movies lately.
Thankfully, the street style photographers only stopped them once. They only looked at Nino in his designer clothes and was nearly seven-foot stature. Wearing clearance, Old Navy made Ben virtually invisible. Nino insisted, "No thank you. I don't want my daughter photographed."
Evie looked model ready, too. She wore large sunglasses and a wide brim hat. Ben was worried about the sun, but Nino insisted the sun was setting and she fed so recently she'd make it tonight.
"Blood is everything to us," Nino said, with Evie holding his hand. She grabbed Ben's hand too, placing herself as a sweet center. People were taking second glances and Ben let himself be delusional and assumed people thought they were a lovely couple and their stunning daughter. Nino explained, "It keeps us alive and fuels our magic."
"Does that mean after you drink from me—"
"Oh, baby," Nino leaned over Evie and wiggled his brows. His face looked even more beautiful this closely. It was all about the details. The mole above his eyebrow. The flecks of gold in his eyes. That lopsided smile and perfect teeth. "I could fly to the moon and back."
Ben snorted and rolled his eyes, pushing Nino's face away. Nino took out his phone and made another call. "Hello, Guinevere, we're a few minutes away..." He paused, listening for her answer, and he smiled. "Thank you. That sounds good. See you soon."
He hung up the phone and said, "We'll hang back a moment and, in the meantime..." He took out a pair of sunglasses and a medical mask, handing it to Ben. "Put these on. You're a vampire and my assistant."
"Seriously?" Ben asked, but he put it all on.
"If they think you're on the Ventura payroll, they won't mess with you. No matter how sweet you smell. And you," he pointed at Evie and instructed, "You'll hang back and hide, until we tell you the coast is clear. The fewer vampires that see you, the better."
Evie nodded.
Leaning down, he whispered loud enough to Evie, so Nino could hear, "He's bossy, huh?"
Evie bit down a smile, but Nino full grinned and tugged on them to move. They turned the corner and started heading to a store Ben never thought about breathing near just in case their oxygen came at a high price. "No way. Aren't we just getting kid's furniture?"
"Yeah," Nino confirmed.
"For the summer?"
"Correct again. Come on," Nino laughed and reached back for Ben's arm, tugging him along. "They're a vampire run store and I'm not taking a chance anywhere that isn't terrified of Dante Ventura."
"Fine, but stop holding your assistant's hand," Ben said and shook Nino off. He was annoyed with himself for being annoyed with Nino so easily.
Evie swallowed nervously. "I can get whatever I want?"
"Oh, yeah. Your mother is reimbursing me."
"Don't just get furniture though," Ben insisted. "Get little stuff you like too, like if they have toys or books or something. I don't know."
Before they reached the store, Evie disappeared behind a collection of overflowing trashcans and bags of garbage. Nino looked around and Ben couldn't guess what he was looking for, but his eyes eventually landed on Ben. He smiled. "Ready?"
"No," Ben said.
With a snort, Nino took it as a yes and walked up to the store. A beautiful woman was already at the entrance with two men opening the doors for our arrival. "Nino Ventura, it is a pleasure to meet you." She offered her well-manicured hand.
Up close, she was even more beautiful, with cool black skin and a shiny, slicked back ponytail that trailed down her back. She wore a plum pants suit tailored to perfection and heels that could stab through Ben's chest. She smiled. A flash of fangs made Ben's blood run cold. These vampires have been so close. So close this whole time and he was one wrong turn towards what could be the end of his life. Or worse.
"The pleasure is mine," Nino said in a voice Ben didn't recognize. His posture was different, more regal, and his voice was devoid of all his normal charisma. It was so distant, untouchable, and unknowable. It didn't sit right in Ben's stomach. Nino continued, "I've heard wonderful things. I appreciate you clearing the shop for me."
"Anything for the Ventura Coven."
Ben glanced at the men by the door, keeping their eyes averted. They seemed so tense; Ben could probably brush against them, and they'd topple over. When Nino spoke, they flinched, and it made Ben realize they must be afraid of him. "My assistant here will write an order for everything we need and leave the rest to you."
The man closest to Ben glanced up. He looked Ben up and down. Ben turned his eyes forward and held his breath. Staying as close to Nino as possible, Ben tried to ignore the feeling of being picked apart. He hated Nino being right almost as much as he hated being wrong.
Ben held his breath and went to take a step towards Nino. If he was close to Nino, he would be safer there. A cold hand with a vice grip cut the circulation off in his hand immediately.
"Your highness, it seems you're being tricked. There's a human among us."
His grip tightened and Ben was seized by the pain, a curse jumping off his lips. Bites, stitches, hurt feelings, and now what could be a broken wrist. Ben really would not make it out of this summer in one piece.