Edge of the Ravine

44

Chapter Forty-Four

      I was greatly surprised and gratified to learn that Vlad would be traveling with us. It was agreed that he would go as far as their parent's with us before heading off on his own again. Such a situation was highly agreeable to all three of us, but I felt benefitted from this increasing intimacy more than anyone else.

      The night before we left California, the younger man formed a party he somehow managed to involves Layla and I in. Since he's been staying at a friend's beach house for the past week, it didn't seem to occur to him that inviting a bunch of near-strangers was a sign of disrespect. When he informed us that the owner of the house bought it for the specific purpose of constant partying, however, I found my censure diminishing. He was too... enigmatic to be disappointed with for long.

      At one point during the night, Layla and I found ourselves resting in a corner of the room, watching as everyone around us danced with energy as music blasted through the speakers. A smile pulled up my lips as my eyes irrevocably sought out Vlad. I'd become used to the inevitable search throughout the night and had long since stopped breathing myself for checking out Layla's brother. Even when she was standing right next to me, I couldn't help myself.

      He was dancing with one of his friends at that point in time. A girl with highlighted, straight, blonde hair and falsely green eyes. Vlad threw his head back and chuckled loudly; a sound only I might have heard over the drowning bass of the music. In the next instant, he went back to head-banging to the pounding drumbeat. I couldn't stop myself from chuckling.

      Just as I was taking a drink of the vitamin water Layla handed to me, I choked when she said, "Vlad likes you."

      My face turned beet red and I coughed for a minute straight before I could even begin to respond. I was glad Layla couldn't distinguish my state. It was bad enough she was looking at me strangely.

     "Good," I managed to spit out. "It would... suck if your... brother didn't like me." There were so many separate meanings to that statement, even my mind couldn't distinguish them all.

      Thankfully, Layla never mentioned it again. That night continued as expected—with my best friend playing the polite babysitter and keeping me firmly away from any and all alcoholic beverages, despite the fact that I had no urge at all to return to my former lifestyle. And come the next morning, after a slightly-familiar speed-cleaning we were soon on the road.

      It felt incredibly weird to be so normal, to be perfectly honest. Just like anyone else in the world, we stopped at any and all possible tourist destinations along our route. The first place we wound up was the Grand Canyon. Layla got to take the least professional photos of her life there and they still turned out fantastic. Mine were obviously the work of an amateur, though they weren't all that bad. And Vlad insisted on giving us both a heart attack as he trotted along the very edge.

      A couple of days later, however, saw us all safely arrived on their parent's doorstep. I could hardly focus on anything that was said as we drove through New Orleans. Before we even were set to arrive, Layla made it a point to drive through the French quarter causing me to drool and become envious over where they'd grown up. Of course, I had to hide a blush when Vlad offered to show me around the next day.

      All of the trip with him had proved to be a test of my moderate self-control. Layla knew of my preferences already, but her brother was unaware. And even though I didn't hide what I was, it also wasn't the best idea to make him uncomfortable throughout the trip. So I had not yet admitted that I was gay to Vlad. Which mean that I kept my eyes carefully averted whenever his appearance was too much for my willpower and I most definitely not join them when they went swimming in the evenings wherever we had settled ourselves. That boy was more of a tease than any alcoholic beverage could possibly be.