The Vampire's Assistant

Chapter Eleven

It wasn't soon. I didn't see Eric again for weeks. He called nightly, but he was paranoid about meeting in public and neither of us were eager for him to stop by my parents' house. I'd made no mention to them that my relationship with my boss had gone well beyond the professional. In all honesty, I was more than a little ashamed about it. Not of Eric, exactly, but of the situation itself. My family was the wholesome, all-American type and while they had been forgiving of my teenage antics, I didn't expect them to accept their only daughter, the baby of family, engaging in a romance with a vampire who also happened to be her boss.

They had already grown apprehensive about my job after hearing about the Shreveport teenagers. It was my life, my choice, and they respected that, but my mother never missed an opportunity to drop a not-so-subtle hint that I should find employment with a human-run company. I tried to ignore her, but her constant comments started to take their toll and I began to question the sanity of my actions.

Whenever that happened though, I went out, met with friends, had a drink, whatever I needed to do to avoid those thoughts. My friends provided a welcome relief from the stifling atmosphere of my parents' house. They also distracted me from the lack of Eric, which bothered me more than I cared to admit.

It was especially hard feeling him every night without being able to actually lay eyes on him. He'd explained to me that with the distance between Shreveport and New Orleans, I hadn't been able to sense him as keenly before but now, being in the same city, I felt everything. It was maddening. Eric, on the other hand, made no secret of the fact that he enjoyed it immensely. Late at night when I'd wake from one of my dreams, wet and aching, my phone would ring and he would be on the other end just as frustrated and eager as I was. He'd ask me to describe my dream to him and I would whisper every detail. He'd tell me to touch myself and how, and I knew he was doing the same.

I knew from our conversations that the Fellowship had caught wind of the New Orleans Fangtasia. Eric had started advertising the Grand Opening and since then the club had been vandalized twice. He was beefing up security but was not happy about the added expense. I wished I could be there to help him. He was utterly swamped and Pam had returned to her duties in Baton Rouge. Several times I tried to convince him to let me come back to work but he wouldn't hear of it. One of the new waitresses had been accosted one night after training. The incident made Eric even more stubborn in his decision to keep me away. And so I spent my nights out with friends, trying to enjoy my forced vacation and ignore the hole Eric's absence left in my chest.

Halloween night finally came and with it the Grand Opening of Fangtasia, New Orleans. I, however, was set to attend a venetian masquerade ball at Josh's club. As disappointed as I was to be missing the opening of Fangtasia, I was excited about my evening. I'd put a lot of preparation into my costume and I spent the better part of the afternoon doing my hair and makeup. I hadn't had the opportunity to really enjoy a Halloween in years and the prospect of a Halloween masquerade at a gay bar was thrilling.

I was putting a few extra pins in my chignon and freshening a couple curls when Eric's presence became an anxious charge in my mind. I focused on my excitement for the night and the feeling slowly waned. My cell rang.

"What has you so happy tonight, lover?" his smooth voice purred over the line.

"I'm actually going out on Halloween night for once. I have a costume and everything." I balanced the phone between my ear and my shoulder as I slipped into said costume, a lovely blue velvet gown I'd found at a thrift store. I'd bought elbow-length ivory gloves and a blue and gold filigree mask to match.

"And what are you going as?"

I smiled mischievously to myself. "Buffy."

"Liar." He chuckled.