Forbidden Desires

Chapter Ten: Ivan

It was Monday and I've been working at the shop for about three hours now. It was a slow day as Mondays usually are and Patty had wandered off to do some work in the basement. I never asked her what it consisted of or what she was doing during her spare time there.

My thoughts drifted onto Dante and his sudden disappearance. It's been two weeks since I've seen him and today marks the beginning of the third week.

It's not like I was keeping track.

I often felt someone staring at me during the weirdest of times but I always attributed it to my growing paranoia. I could be walking to my car or down the street to grab lunch and I'd feel someone burning holes into the back of my head. I wonder if Dante has been missing because of the conversation we had in the hallway or personal reasons. As much as I didn't want to I couldn't help but feel bad that he was missing school because of me. Vampire or not.

I thought I caught a glimpse of his tall frame today while gazing out of the window during english. The broad shoulders and shoulder length raven locks were undeniably him but when I took a second glance I just saw the trees in the distance softly swaying in the light breeze. I had to rub my eyes and grab a drink of water because I thought I was hallucinating.

I was pissed that he had the power to make me feel so nervous without even being present. I was distracted from my thoughts as the bell above the entrance chimed signaling someone had arrived. I looked over to see a short guy walk into the shop. I thought he was going to head straight to the shelves but to my surprise he veered in my direction while staring straight into my eyes.

His light blue eyes matched his pale complexion and the blonde military buzz cut he wore proudly.

"Hello, I'm looking for Patricia Reynolds," He said formally once he reached me. His voice was as smooth as honey and his blue eyes pierced mine with such an intensity that I had to look away, pretending to busy myself with the non important papers littering the desk.

"Yeah, one second while I give her a call," I glanced up at him and looked away as I reached for the phone Patty kept by the computer. I dialed the extension to the phone in the basement and waited patiently for her to answer.

"Hey Patty, we have a customer up here requesting your presence." I said as soon as she answered while twirling the phones cord in between my fingers.

"Did they say what they needed or leave a name," I heard the frown in Patty's voice as plastic crinkled loudly in the background.

"No ma'am," She groaned.

"Solange please don't call me ma'am ever again," I laughed as I heard the dial tone from where she hung up. I looked up with a smile on my lips to find the guy staring directly at them and my smile immediately dropped.

"She'll be right up," I forced a smile as I went to turn away from him but his outstretched hand stopped me.

"Wait I didn't catch your name," I almost told him to get lost but he was a customer after all so taking a deep breath I told him against my will.

"I'm Solange, is there anything else I could help you with today?" I questioned with a single raised eyebrow hoping that it didn't come across as being too rude. The way he was looking at me right now was definitely not appropriate.

"I'm Ivan, yes you could grab a cup of coffee with me whenever you're free," He smiled at me showing perfectly aligned teeth and a smile so bright that I was almost blinded.

If Dante was the Devil, this guy was the epitome of what a modern day angel would look like. I wouldn't go as far as to call him a God.

"Hm, I don't think that's part of my job description, sorry." I frowned as I turned my attention to the scattered desk and began organizing the mess thinking he would get the hint.