The Vampire And Her Human Mate

5| An old crush

"Hi Beau."

"Jennifer. Hi." He gave her a small smile. "I haven't seen you here in a while."

"Yeah, I've been mainly working weekdays lately. I just had to drop off some supplies for Julie."

"Cool," he said as he tidied up the reading corner. He had just finished the final reading for the day. The kids abuzz with where the wild things are now. A few kids mimicked the roaring noises he had made as he read it to them, as they roamed wprind the library. He loved to punctuate a story with sound effects and the kids really got into it.

Jennifer was fidgeting. She came forward to help him rearrange a couple of the tables. The next day there was a craftanoon so he always tried to get it ready as well even though he didn't run it.

"You look different," she said, looking at him from the side of her eyes.

"Yeah?" He asked absentmindedly. A few days ago he would have been howling with joy for Jennifer to be anywhere near him. He'd had a crush on her for over a year - since he started to work here, but she had a boyfriend and it seemed to be serious.

She reached out and brushed her hand against the stubble on his cheek. He was so surprised by the touch he actually jerked back from her.

She blinked, surprised and a little hurt at his reaction.

"Oh right," he said, brushing his cheek himself. He gave a light laugh, trying to soften his reaction. "Just had a bit of a full on weekend." He was usually a little less wooly than this.

"Wanna tell me about it?" She asked. "We could go grab a coffee- you still finish at three, yeah?"

"Uh yeah..." He said. He'd asked her to non-committal drink based non-dates before. She had always been staunchly against it.

"Great." Her smile grew. "I'll collect you then."

He wasn't sure how he felt about this. He was not okay. That woman had really wrecked him. He knew it was dumb. He didn't know her.

She wasn't the type of woman he ever thought of himself with. Jennifer, yeah. She was pretty and sweet. Her auburn hair was unruly and she always had it up in a messy bun. She looked effortlessly put together, though he was sure that was just the look. She wanted to get married and have kids. He wanted that too. But his mystery woman - she didn't look the maternal type. But there was something. He recalled that look on her face, like she was lost - for just a moment. And her mouth when she kissed him.

He sighed and finished up the last of his duties- returning books to their place. Tidying up the notice board. He scanned the items, trying to see if there was anything obviously outdated he could remove - a few yard sales, a grassroots music festival - damn, he meant to go to that one.

When it came time for Jennifer to collect him, he tried not to drag his feet.

They went to a local cafe, one of the few open this late in the day. After he got some coffee in him he relaxed and they chatted easily like they always did. He noticed she was a lot more touchy. Her hand frequently rested on his forearm as she relayed information or as part of her reaction to something he said.

He didn't say anything about his mystery woman or what his weekend had been.

When it was time to wrap up, he could tell she wanted to say something.

"It was great seeing you Jennifer. It's been too long, we should do this again."

Her eyes lit up at that. "That'd be great. Maybe dinner next time?"

Beau hesitated. He brushed his hair back. "I thought-"

"We broke up," she said with a blush.

Oh shit, he thought, right. Yeah. Okay. Cool.

And then he said that all out loud. She laughed in a really pretty way, a blush still creeping across her cheeks. "I always liked you Beau..."

"A date then?"

She blushed harder. "If you want to, too."

"Yeah. Of course." No. No, he didn't. But he knew he should.

~*~

"Stupid mother fucker! Who does he think he is?" Bianca roared. Her crew just sat in silence. They knew better than to say anything at a time like this.

Cordon had deducted a penalty from their fee - saying she went too off script. The job was done and it was done neater. But apparently these types of surprises weren't acceptable. He was just flexing and she wanted to cut his balls off. Goddess she missed his brother. Now that had been a leader - a capable and charming one at that.

Bianca stalked the room, her hands opening and closing. She'd never let anyone outside of this circle see her lose it like this.

Rose came forward first. Her small stature made her look like a cute little doll. She was slightly plump but in the best way. She picked up the tablet that showed the bank transfer. She winced. The deduction had been huge. They only received a third of what they had agreed.

"We don't really need the money-" She tried.

Bianca turned on her. "He does it once he will do it again."

"It's the thin edge of the wedge," Raven called from their work station.

Rose nodded in agreement. "What do you want to do?"

"We haven't handed the idol over yet have we?"

Rose shook her head.

"Great." Bianca smiled her very cruel smile. "Raven, get ready to take over his comms network - I want to send him a very big message."

This was going to delay her return to the States, and she so desperately needed to be rid of her mate. She could barely sleep since meeting him. She hadn't told any of her crew she found him, not sure what their reaction would be. None of them had found theirs, but they were all pretty young still. Her and Rose were almost nineteen and Bronson and Raven were twenty.

Bronson sat forward with his elbows on the table. "You need to be careful, boo." His large frame didn't suit his soft voice. His accent was largely British with a Nigerian edge. "You fuck with that oath and you'll be a world of pain and that's not something any of us can help share the burden."

Bianca exhaled, willing to see reason. But only just. She needed a way to wipe the board clean of that imbecile.

"Fine." She puffed. "But we're holding that idol hostage." She turned to the Japanese vampire at the computer console. "Raven change of plans - get me everything you've got on this thing. Let's see if we can't get even more for it."

Bronson's face crinkled with a smile. The idol was something Cordon wanted personally - it had nothing to do with the council. That there, was fair game.