Page 36 of The Good Vampire’s Guide to Blood & Boyfriends

“I’m realizing now that’s a huge assumption and it just kind of came out,” Cole said, words flowing out in an anxious flood, “and well, over break, my mom kept pestering me about whether I was seeing anyone, and I guess you came up and I’m realizing that I probably really jumped the gun on that so we can totally take this as slow as you want, obviously you have a lot going on—”

“Cole,” Brennan shushed. “I’d love to be your boyfriend.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, then, after Bachelorette Night, we go to Pike’s Point. Together.”

Brennan sighed in frustration, but knew he would give in. He would do anything Cole asked of him, really.

“Okay,” Brennan said. “We go together.”

Bachelorette Night came and went in a warm blur.

It was nice, weirdly. All four of them squeezed onto the couch instead of Brennan being banished to the floor, which resulted in Cole sitting half in Brennan’s lap.

He sure wasn’t complaining. Mari was still cold to Brennan, but she wasn’t threatening him with violence and reluctantly allowed his presence.

They watched the actual Bachelorette this time, not Love Island, and everyone seemed avidly invested except for Brennan, who’d grown steadily interested in watching the others’ reactions.

How Mari privately swooned at some of the more romantic lines, how Tony got weepy any time someone mentioned their mom or grandma, how Cole found a couple to root for in episode one who somehow ended up the strongest of the season.

To be honest, Brennan was pretty happy to be there while it lasted.

But when the show ended, and Mari corked the remnants of a red wine bottle, giving Brennan some sort of meaningful look as she left, reality kicked back in.

Tony said his good nights, whether to go to bed or to stay up playing Call of Duty until 3 a.m., they didn’t know.

But as campus went to sleep, Brennan and Cole geared up for a nighttime hike.

“Wow,” Cole said, aiming his phone’s flashlight in sweeping motions across the clearing at the top of the hill, panting slightly with exertion from the incline of the last mile. “This place is a dump.”

It was dark, but Brennan didn’t need vampiric night vision to see that was an understatement.

Pike’s Point was an empty clearing with an old junker car rusting with half its tires missing, grass littered with bottles and cans and red plastic cups, condom wrappers and used condoms, the odd sock or shoe.

In the center of the field, a dirt patch housed a pile of wood encircled by stones—a makeshift firepit—and an abandoned cooler and lawn chair set up next to it.

“Yeah, in terms of haunted murder spots, definitely not one of the nicer ones I’ve been to.”

Cole reached for Brennan’s hand. “We can do better for our next date.”

“Um, this totally doesn’t count as a date,” Brennan said. “Our first date can’t be all vampire stuff, and I wasn’t prepared, so—it doesn’t count.”

Cole’s laugh was bright and contagious and Brennan found himself smiling.

“You don’t get to call it not a date. A date is two people who are romantically involved spending time together and doing an activity. Look at us. Spending time together, doing an activity.”

“And this is an ideal first date for you?”

“It seems pretty us, ” Cole said. “Besides, the pool was our first date. Or when you came over and listened to records.”

Brennan warmed thinking of it. He’d never listen to ABBA the same way again.

“Hm,” Brennan said. “I could be okay with that.”

“Yeah? Is that acceptable?” Cole teased. Then, “Come on, let’s look around.”

He popped up on his toes to peck a quick kiss on Brennan’s lips before whirling around to investigate further, and Brennan let himself revel in the bubble of affection before following.

“Have you ever been up here before?” Brennan asked. He scanned piles of trash, trees with initials carved into them, fallen branches and rocks. Nothing of interest, nothing that screamed scene of a murder, but there had to be something.

“I had some friends freshman year who threw a party here once, but other than that, I think it’s too far out for people to bother. You?”

“Nah, not up here,” Brennan said, and hesitated before adding, “But… the bridge we passed on the way—that’s where the crash was. Where I turned, or whatever, and Dom killed her sister.”

It was also where he tried to kill himself last year, but that seemed a bit much.

“Oh,” Cole said. “Shit. Do we think that’s a coincidence?”

The bridge was at the base of the hill, a long, winding, steadily inclining path between there and Pike’s Point. Close enough that it had reasonable connections to Dom.

“Unfortunately, probably not.”

They fell into quiet as they continued searching, but the more trash Brennan rifled through, the more he was convinced that Nellie and Sunny had already buried any evidence. That, or there was no evidence to begin with. A clean kill.

“Are you guys looking for something in particular?”

The voice came from right over Brennan’s shoulder and he jolted so hard he nearly headbutted the person, twisting to see—

“Travis?”

Before he could say anything else, like, You scared the living shit out of me, fifty pounds of excited dog barreled into Brennan in a blur of motion. Vampire instincts or not, he tumbled to the ground as Rosie the vampire dog slobbered all over his face.

“Rosie! Down!”

Rosie backed away so Brennan could sit up, wipe his face, and greet the dog more civilly, petting her all over as she wiggled and pressed closer.

“Aw, she likes you, mate!”

“What are you doing out here?” Brennan asked.

“My domain’s just downhill,” Travis said, Australian accent as aggressively thick as ever. “I heard voices, and with everything I’ve heard about this place recently, I wanted to make sure everything was okay.”

“Yeah, that’s why we’re here,” Brennan said. “We’re checking it out.”

“Playing detective, eh?” Travis crooned. “Reminds me of Nellie when she was your age.”

Cole came from across the clearing and cooed at the dog, immediately dropping next to Brennan to pet her. Brennan tensed, unsure if Rosie would be as calm and sweet around a human, but she preened under Cole’s attention and offered him a polite sniff.

“My goodness!” Cole’s Southern lilt was dialed up to a ten. “And who might this be?”

Brennan cleared his throat. “The dog is Rosie,” he said. “And, uh.”

Travis was bare-chested under a pair of denim overalls and a heavy, worn parka.

His blond mess of dreadlock-adjacent tendrils poked out from under a cowboy hat.

He looked unhinged. Brennan wanted to melt into the ground to avoid having to make this introduction, but despite his best efforts, he remained solid, and had to deal with the consequences.

“Uh, this is Travis, I think I’ve mentioned him,” Brennan said, rubbing at the back of his neck. “And, Travis, this is Cole. My, uh. Boyfriend.”

His face was burning. If Cole was to be believed, he was bright blue.

“Ah, young love,” Travis said. “There’s nothing like it. Nice to meet ya!”

He offered a fist bump in lieu of a handshake. Brennan glanced at Cole, worried he might have noticed Travis casually dropping the L-word as if this thing wasn’t new and fucking fragile, but Cole was wide-eyed and delighted, attention completely on Travis.

“Yeah, you, too,” Cole said, starstruck. “You’re really thousands of years old?”

Travis took it in stride, easy grin never wavering. “That I am! And you’re really just, what, eighteen?”

“Twenty,” Cole corrected.

“Not bad,” Travis said. “When I was a kid, living past eighteen was an achievement.”

Brennan forced a laugh. “Haha, yeah, anyway,” Brennan said, “we should really get back to our thing, but thanks for checking in.”

There wasn’t really anything left to do—he’d been about to give up either way. But the strange, weird sadness of Travis felt like something that should be kept far away from the warmth that was Cole.

“Oh, well, whenever you guys finish up your investigation, you should come on down and join me for some tea! I have a kettle on, joints rolled—”

“Oh, I don’t know—” Brennan started.

“That sounds amazing,” Cole was saying. “It’s kind of a long hike.”

As if Brennan hadn’t carried him on his back up the hill.

“Maybe let’s do a rain check on that?” Brennan said, voice going higher-pitched. He tried to catch Cole’s eye to convey some sort of message, but Cole was all eyes on Travis.

Brennan wasn’t jealous because that would be ridiculous. However, Travis did crash what they had established was a date, so if he were jealous, which he wasn’t, it would be justified.

“Alright, alright, at least sit with me for a bit?” Travis said. “I get lonely out here, it’s rare I see a friendly face.”

And that was kind of pathetic. Brennan deflated. Was it Dom who had said Travis didn’t leave the woods? Which could be helpful, actually. He lived near here, and he’d been friends with Dom. He could know something—but it might be difficult to get a straight answer out of him.

“Okay, we’ll rest for a little bit,” Brennan said.

Travis cheered and went to the firepit at the center of the clearing, a sad pile of rain-damp wood. He waved his hands and, in a crackling burst of light, started a roaring fire.

“Cool,” Cole breathed.

“Oi, I like that enthusiasm! This is a good one, little Brennan.”

For the record, Brennan resented that.

They settled around the fire, Travis cross-legged on the ground, Cole in the lawn chair, Brennan between them sitting on the cooler. Rosie circled them, stopping to sniff at each of them in turn before resuming her pacing.

“So, you heard about the murders,” Brennan said. Sure, fuck it, right to business. “I’m guessing you heard about Dom?”

“Right, the poor kid. Can’t say I didn’t know she had it in her.” He sighed. “It’s a brutal life out there, but it’s hard to see people you care about choose a path you don’t agree with.”