The Thirst In Me

Twenty-Seven

"Keep your face always toward the sunshine and shadows will fall behind you."- Walt Whitman

Veron's POV

I sat in the living room waiting for Keisha to get ready. Malik left about twenty minutes ago and if we don't hurry we might miss our reservation at Le Feu Sacrè.

Keisha emerged wearing a tight-fitting aqua dress and she looked stunning. The dress hugged her body like a second skin and I couldn't stare my focus away from her.

"Are we ready?" She asked and I nodded.

"Hhmmmm yes. The car is parked out front." I opened the door for her and she stepped outside.

I flashed toward the car in the blink of an eye and opened the door. She didn't look impressed. I guess since she lives in a house filled with vampires it will be hard to impress her.

She sat gingerly in the car and then put her seatbelt on. She looked.....scared.

I pulled out of the driveway and into the road. Keisha gripped her seat and took deep breaths.
"Are you OK? I won't drive fast." I assured her and she nodded.

"What if Malik comes back and finds me missing?" She looked out the window and behind us every few minutes.

"I told you already. He's in Halifax and he won't be back for the night." She was getting more nervous as we drove.

I turned the radio on and I watched her relax a bit.

She gazed out the window at all the tall buildings and she seemed fascinated by them. I wondered if she doesn't have tall buildings where she is from. I don't even know where that is. I made a mental note to ask her once we started eating.

"We are here," I announced as we pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant.

As we walked to our seats, men's eyes raked over Keisha's body and I felt a pang of jealousy.

Once we got to our table, I pulled out a chair for her just like a gentleman should. We ordered and were waiting for our food when Keisha started questioning me.

"Do you have any siblings?" She asked.

"Not that I know of," I answered her truthfully.

"Hhmmmm." She nodded. "And how old are you?"

I laughed at her question. "I'm old enough to drive a car and I'm old enough to take a beautiful girl on a date."

She blushed at my words. "Never have I ever been on a date to a restaurant before."

"You seem to have a very long list of never have I ever." I smiled at her innocence. Now more than ever I want to know where she is from but I decided not to ask just yet.

"I hope you will enjoy this date," I said instead as the waitress arrived with our food.

Keisha dived right in, cutting her steak frantically and closing her eyes as she chewed. I really love watching her eat.

"This is delicious." She beamed. "How did you find this place?"

I chuckled at her. "I used to come here with Abby," I told her and she looked up at me, surprised.

"That name sounds familiar. Who is she?"

"She is- was my girlfriend that died in the fire," I told her and she seemed to be considering a bit.

"Are you sure?" She asked and I smiled.

"Yes, I'm sure I had a girlfriend by that name." I rolled my eyes and she smiled.

"I'm sorry for sticking my nose into your business." She apologized and we continued eating in silence for a while.

"So what are your hobbies?" I asked her.

She smiled. "If you cannot tell by now I enjoy writing and I love reading romance stories." Her face lit up as she told me about her favorite books.

We talked about random things and I felt like I could listen to her voice forever.

As hard as I tried I couldn't stop reading the thoughts of the people around me.

"Her dress looks great."

"What is she doing with him?"

"Her blood smells so nice. I wonder if I can taste it."

The last comment made me flinch. I looked around to see who it came from.

"Is everything OK?" Keisha asked and I nodded.

I didn't want to scare her by telling her that someone in this restaurant wants to bite her.

The scent of this blood is making me crazy. I have to taste it.
This time it was a female voice.

"Veron?" Keisha looked at me. "What's wrong? Why are you gripping the fork so hard?" She asked and I let the fork fall from my hand onto the table.

"It's OK," I told her but the thoughts in the room seem to have multiplied. I had no idea there were so many vampires living in this area. Now I wished I had taken her out in the day since only a few vampires have daylight rings.

"I think we should leave now," I told her and she began to protest.

"But we just got here. I haven't even finished eating yet."

I didn't want to leave because I was scared or anything, but the thought of taking on so many vampires at once was terrifying. I haven't even finished my training yet.

I lowered my voice. "We have to leave because your blood is too enticing," I told her but she didn't seem to understand what I was saying.

"There are other vampires here and they want to taste your blood," I told her and her eyes went wide.

"Why didn't you say so?" She hurriedly packed up her leftovers and started getting up.

I placed my hand on the small of her back, leading her toward the exit and once we made it outside I glanced behind us to see if we were being followed.

We passed two men having drinks on our way to my car and I saw one of them sniffing Keisha as she passed them. I started walking faster pulling Keisha along with me.

"Hey there." One of the men walked behind us. "Stop!" He shouted and we both stopped.
I pushed Keisha behind me in case they try to attack.

"What have we here?" The other man walked over to us with his fangs elongated.

I got into my stance, and they did as well, getting ready to pounce.

"Look we don't want to cause any problems. We just want to get into my car and get out of here." I tried to reason with them.

"Yes, you can do that." The first man said. "Right after I taste her blood."

I heard Keisha gasp and the first man pounced at me. I blocked his first few punches but he was stronger than me.

I grunted as he pinned me down on the cold pavement.

"Help!" I heard Keisha scream. The second man held her hands over her head and I could almost feel her pain.

"Let her go now!" I demanded and they both laughed.

"Just one taste." The second man said as his fangs elongated and he smirked at Keisha.