Children of the Fallen: In Cold Blood (BOOK #2)

Chapter 27: I Heard You Like Champagne

Chloe Whitlock

The party for Morgan's birthday was much tamer than I thought but tonight is going to be a different story I'm sure. I continue straightening my hair, just to touch it up before my... I don't know what to call it- date? I think it's a date. It's definitely a date; it's only the two of us and when I asked what I should wear she said something nice. I don't know why I'm questioning whether or not it'd be a date when all signs point to yes. I'm just nervous. I haven't been on a date in years and first date in 136 years so I'm a little out of practice.

Oh God wait where are we going? I can't go to a bar, or a club, or a restaurant. Anywhere crowded, or with people in general. Fuck me, why didn't I ask any of this before?

A knock at the door startles me more than it should have. I turn off and unplug my iron before heading over and opening the bedrooms door greeted by Sterling standing in a stunning long black dress with gold accents, holding a small black clutch in her hand. Her eyes look me up and down in my shimmery light blue dress. "You look beautiful." She smiles. "Are you ready?"

"Yes." I say, holding up one finger and quickly getting across the room to grab my clutch purse and also hide what I know is visible blushing. "Ready now." I smile but then it drops. "Um... where are we going? I definitely should've asked before hand but... I don't know if I should or can be out in public"

"We're going from the car to the restaurant." She says.

"Right but also the restaurant, I can't be around that many humans."

"I know." She nods, "That's why I rented the whole restaurant out. It'll just be the two of us." She explains.

"Oh okay."

We spent the car ride talking about anything. It was generally surface level conversations but one thing kept flowing into the next, it was nice I hadn't even realized the hour passed when we arrived at the restaurant in Manhattan. She gets out of the car and holds out her hand for me. I grasp it getting out of the car with what I'm sure to be a stupid smile on my face. She adjusts her grip on my hand, interlacing her fingers in mine as we walk into the restaurant together.

The hostess- a human, greets us and involuntarily I tense, tightening my grip on her hand. She does nothing but grip hard in response. I zone out on whatever was said but the hostess escorts us to our table.

I let go of her hand and sit down in my chair across from her as I bite my cheek aggressively. "I'm sorry for squeezing your hand like that."

She waves her hand off. "It's not problem but your eyes are red right now."

"Fuck." I say in a whisper closing my eyes and attempt to breathe normally focusing on anything other scent than blood and any sound other than a heart pumping. I feel my fangs pinch in my gums and that burning hunger rampages throughout my body. This was all a mistake.

"Chloe, focus on my voice." Sterling dictates and I open my eyes to look at her. "Reid told me that he and Bash somehow got Xanax from Cyrus of all people and ecstasy from some dealer on the FIT campus after they wandered there last night." She continues and I intently focus on her voice, her lips as they move, and the smell of her perfume. "They said they're both and I quote 'dying tonight.' Ascension week makes their normal idiocy amplify. Expect to see two dumbasses on the news tonight probably climbing the damn Statue of Liberty or something." I laugh and her lips curve into a smile. "Reds gone, so are your fangs." I run my tongue along my teeth, they are gone.

"Thank you." I say.

She nods at me, moving on from my almost breakdown unfazed. "So I heard you like champagne and this place has a lot. I was't sure which one you'd like the best so I got the three most expensive bottles here." She motions her hand to the champagne bucket and stand next to us. Someone must've brought it over while I was trying to not commit homicide.