Eunomia

Chapter 20 "Phoenix"

~Sebastian~

I had to focus on the road so I could see Lizbeth's reaction when I confessed our destination with the corner of my eye. It was priceless. She blinked a couple of times trying to process the information, her pretty eyes were fixed on me trying to understand why was I still driving. I knew deep down she wished everything was a bad joke and her house was around the corner, but it wasn't.

"Phoenix? What have you lost there? Your sense of humor? This isn't funny."

"What part of 'it's a surprise' don't you understand? The pronoun it, the verb to be, the article a or the noun surprise." I didn't take my eyes off the road but I smiled either way. For some reason that situation seemed very funny at my eyes. It's clear Lizbeth didn't like it a bit.

"Sebastian, Phoenix is five hours away from San Bernardino. Are you aware I have a father who has the right to know where I am?"

Lizbeth had good arguments but I couldn't stop being... me.

"And if we have spent two hours and forty minutes in the car then there are just two hours and twenty minutes left!"

Lizbeth got mad and started to glare at me. I, still smiling, took off my sunglasses to look at her better when I faced her.

"I'm joking... Grab your phone and tell your father you will be home late. I will personally make sure you arrive safe and sound."

I thought Lizbeth was going to complain again —she liked that a lot— but she just took her phone out from her backpack and made what I said. Seeing her there, so concentrated in finding a good excuse her father could believe, made me want to cut the tension accumulated in her phone while she waited for a respond from her father.

"You can't complain about your kidnapper, he lets you chit chat with your dad."

Lizbeth turned to me rolling her eyes, she wasn't happy with my joke. Before she could express her disagreement I put on my sun glasses, turned up the volume on the radio and I stepped on the gas, taking advantage of the fact that the road was straight.

✯ ✯ ✯

We arrived to Phoenix around 8:30 p.m. We didn't stop during the trip so as soon as I turned off the car engine Lizbeth opened the car door and went to stretch her legs. I exited the car after her, the afternoon sun of Arizona allowed me to take off the sunglasses without the sunlight disturbing me.

Sunlight and vampires, a very antiquated myth that just made humans more careless at daytime. Sun just doesn't let us vampire use all our potential.

I went around the car but stopped before I could reach Lizbeth. She was stretching, her hands pointed to the sun making her T-shirt rise a little showing her belly button. Her outfit was basic but cute, she was wearing a white tight T-shirt, short-sleeved with the collar in light blue and a small butterfly in the same color engraved on her chest, together with some wide leg jeans and a cotton gray jacket that she left in the car. Seeing her so distracted gave me an idea.

I approached Lizbeth from behind, being careful with her not hearing me. I startled her holding her waist while she still had her arms raised to the sky.

Lizbeth's body trembled like jelly when she felt my cold hands on her bare skin, a shiver ran through her giving her goosebumps. Then she quickly lowered her arms and turned around to see who was holding her. We both got surprised when she finally faced me, I never stopped holding her waist and when she turned around we found each other closer than any time I remembered.