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“Okay.” Esther waved her on. “Get to the romantic part then.”

“I’m working on it.” So bossy. “Anyway, she’s a vampire, and she had this guy she liked a couple hundred years ago—a human. And she knew he would die, so being the true goth girl she was, she collected some of his blood and keeps it in a vial around her neck.”

“So, you mean to woo me with your vampire blood?” Esther turned her head and touched a fist to her chin in a thinking pose. “Yes, I think I’m wooed. Good work. A quality Valentine’s gift.” She unlatched the necklace to put it on.

But Ashley grabbed her wrist and stopped her. “There’s still a bit more to this story.”

“Continue,” said Esther, setting the necklace back in her lap.

Ashley opened her mouth to continue then registered what Esther had said. “Wait? That’s it? Someone gives you a vial of their blood, and you are wooed?”

“Yeah,” said Esther—rather firmly, in fact. “It’s kind of hot.”

“You’re kind of a creep. Did you know that?” She nudged Esther’s shoulder.

“Takes one to know one.” They both laughed.

“I’m falling for you, Esther. Like, hard, and it scares me, but not as much as the idea of losing you.” She swallowed.Here goes nothing.“Part of becoming a vampire is to drink a vampire’s blood, so that’s what this is—a vial of my blood. And I don’t expect any final decisions now. I don’t want that. This is a symbol of how serious I am. I just hoped you’d consider it. Because I want to spend forever with you.”

“Ashley.” Water pooled at the corner of Esther’s eyes.

Ashley was dying. Not literally, obviously. But emotionally, Ashley was falling apart waiting on some clear answer from Esther.

Finally, Esther handed the necklace back to her. “Will you help me put it on?”

27

Ashley

“It’s cozy.” Ashley rested a pensive fist under her chin.

“And conveniently close to groceries.” August joined with additional praise. Ashley gave him a look of thanks.

“Are we seriously staying here for a week?” Uther received an elbow in the side from August and a glare from Ashley. “What? Esther, I love you, but this place is a dump.”

Uther wasn’t wrong, but Ashley was so proud of Esther for speaking up and suggesting a place for their spring break trip. She didn’t want to ruin it by pointing out that to get to the beach they had to cross two highways, a mall, and a parking lot that was strictly mall parking only. Not to mention that the proximity of said highway meant that they had the unique challenge of yelling to be heard over semi-engines and the wailing of horns while pretending they weren’t yelling. Maybe it was just the evening rush hour, at eight pm in a beach town.

The house itself was on a sandy, grass-speckled lot—the entire yard flooded by the white LED light of a neighboringstreetlight—with a chipped, cement path leading to a gray-paneled box of a structure that looked as though a swift breeze would end it.

“We haven’t even seen inside yet,” said Ashley in a voice she hoped was both audible and passed as a casual register. “I’m sure it’s nice inside.”

“Did you say there are lice inside?” yelled Uther.

“Nice,” repeated Ashley.

“Rice?”

August pushed past both of them and walked up the path to the door. He jiggled the knob, and the door opened.

“Was it not locked?” asked Esther. “I have the key here.”

“I guess not—” August froze in the doorway, and Ashley put herself between the door and Esther.

“Wait there,” August yelled back at them. “Let me get a light first.”

He disappeared through the doorway, and Ashley waited, acting as a human—vampire—barrier between Esther and the door. A yellow light streaked through the yard from the open doorway, then several loud thuds interspersed with a string of curses.

Uther pulled out his phone. “There has to be a hotel open in the area.”