CHAPTER 12. A PLEASANT STROLL
It’s another hot night, dry and windless. Indian summer, Cali had called it. Not something Leesa was familiar with in San Diego, where it was like summer most of the year, and not all that cold the rest of the time. But here in Connecticut, the near-eighty degree temperatures were fifteen degrees warmer than normal for the second week of October. For three days now, the kids at Weston had been sporting shorts and T-shirts, or even bathing suits, spending as much time outside as they could, tossing Frisbees and footballs or lounging on colorful towels and blankets spread out on the grass.
Definitely not vampire weather, Leesa thought as she strolled home from the library, the night air feeling especially warm after her stint in the air-conditioned building. She made a mental note to ask Dr. Clerval about that in class tomorrow. Did vampires really hate the sun, or was that just part of the legend that had grown up around them? If they existed at all, she reminded herself. Rave certainly spoke as if they did.
She hadn’t seen Rave since last week’s party, or Stefan, either, for that matter. She thought she’d sensed Rave’s presence a couple of times, but never spotted him. Maybe it was simply wishful thinking. As if on cue, she felt that same strange warm feeling again, but decided it was just her imagination. She smiled—he’d certainly made an impression on her, considering she’d only seen him twice, and not for very long at that. If only his folk used phones, she could at least have given him her number. Then if she didn’t hear from him, she’d know his interest was not as keen as hers. She resisted the urge to turn around and look for him.
“Hi, Leesa.”
And there he was, walking next to her, as handsome as she remembered, somehow materializing out of the night without a sound. Was he really there, or had she conjured him up like some guardian genie out of a fairy tale? He sure looked real—if someone so gorgeous could be real. She kept walking, trying to hide her surprise. Stay calm, she told herself. Act nonchalant.
“Hi, Rave. How’ve you been?”
He grinned that wide grin of his, and Leesa felt her heart flutter. So much for staying calm, she thought.
“Feeling pretty good right now, I have to say,” he replied. “It’s a beautiful night for a stroll.” He casually looked her up and down. “You look really good in red.”
Leesa was wearing a dark red Weston T-shirt and white shorts. She felt herself begin to blush and hoped he couldn’t see it in the darkness. “Thanks.”
“How was the library?”
She stopped and turned to face him. How long had he been around tonight?
“You been stalking me?” she asked teasingly.
“I wouldn’t call it stalking,” he said, still smiling. “More like keeping an eye on you now and then. Making sure you’re safe.”
“Safe from Stefan?” she asked. “You jealous?”
Rave’s face turned serious. “I meant it when I told you how dangerous he is. Please trust me on that.”
Leesa was struck by the seriousness of his tone and discovered she liked his concern. “I believe you,” she said. “I haven’t seen or heard from him.”
“I’m glad to hear that. But stay careful, please.”
They resumed walking. Leesa could feel his attention focused on her, but also noticed how aware he seemed of everything around them. She wasn’t sure how she knew it, but she was certain no sound or movement anywhere nearby escaped his notice. In addition to myriad other feelings, some of which she still didn’t understand, she felt safe with him nearby.
“It must be strange not to have a phone,” she said after a few moments.
A bemused expression appeared on his handsome face. “Is it strange not to have wings?” he asked.
His question confused her. She was certain her puzzlement showed on her face.
“You don’t miss what you’ve never had,” he explained. “It’s just the way things are.”
Leesa guessed that was true, at least partially. “But what about a car? How do you get anywhere?”
Rave stopped and lifted his foot off the ground. “With these,” he said, smiling. “I walk, like we are now. Only a bit faster.” He started forward again, seeing no need to add that his kind could cover fifty miles in a matter of hours, if necessary.
“Can you at least take a bus or a cab if you need to?”
He shook his head. “Nope. We walk. Run if we’re in a hurry,” he added with a grin.
Leesa wasn’t satisfied. She wanted to know more about him—wanted to know everything about him, in fact. “Why don’t your people use any modern stuff? Is it a religious thing?”
“No, it’s not religious. It’s just the way we are, the way we’ve always been. Change comes slowly to us. My people and modern technology don’t seem to get along, for some reason.” The reason was simple, but he wasn’t ready to reveal it. The heat and energy within a volkaane’s body did not mix with electrical or battery-operated appliances.
They were approaching Leesa’s dorm. She didn’t want the evening to end and tried to think of a way to keep it going. Maybe she should continue walking, pretending this was not her dorm. But if he’d been keeping an eye on her the way he said, he might already know this was where she lived, and she would look foolish.
Rave halted at the walkway to the dorm. Leesa’s heart sank. He did know.
“You in a hurry to get home?” he asked. “Or can you walk a bit longer?”
Leesa felt her heart skip a beat. She smiled—this was getting to be almost like a date. “I’d love to walk some more. Like you said, it’s a beautiful night.”
They strolled past her dorm, continuing up the sidewalk toward the athletic fields. The campus was noisier than usual—music, television and voices rode out through windows thrown open to the warm night. The first fallen leaves crackled now and then under Leesa’s feet, and she wondered why Rave never seemed to step on any. She listened carefully for a few steps but heard no sound at all from his footfalls. His soft-bottomed moccasin-style shoes were silent. What must he think of her as she limped along, crunching every dead leaf in sight?
But he didn’t appear to notice, or at least not to care. The farther they walked, the more conscious she became of the feeling of heat between them. Take my hand, she thought as they walked, trying to will him to show his interest. Please, take my hand. If only she knew what he was thinking…
Leesa would have been thrilled to know what was going on in Rave’s head, for he felt happier strolling beside her than he’d been in a long, long time. He wondered what it was about her that drew him so strongly. It was more than her looks, more than her smile, more than the soft tones of her voice. He suddenly felt an almost irresistible urge to hold her hand, but touching her would raise questions he was not prepared to answer, so he forced the urge down.
The night grew quieter as they strolled past the ball fields, empty and dark tonight, then much louder when they passed near Fraternity Row. Lost in the thrill of Rave’s company, Leesa noticed neither. Their conversation flowed easily, and their few silences were equally comfortable. An hour flew by, feeling like mere minutes. They walked all the way to the main campus entrance before turning and heading back.
Rave bid her goodnight in front of her dorm. For a moment, Leesa hoped he might kiss her, but somehow knew he wouldn’t. Most guys would have been all over her given half a chance, and probably would have tried to inveigle their way up to her room, too. But Rave was different from other guys in every way imaginable, so why shouldn’t he be different in this as well? She would have to trust what her heart was telling her—that he liked her a lot, maybe as much as she liked him. And he had promised he would see her again soon. She could hardly wait.
“You did what?” Cali exclaimed.
“It was just a walk,” Leesa said defensively.
Needing to share her excitement with someone, she’d gone straight to Cali’s room after her walk with Rave. Cali sat cross-legged on the bed, wearing a camouflage tank top and tan shorts, a textbook open
on her lap. She’d painted her toes in rainbow hues, Leesa noticed. The room’s lone window was open, and she could smell the night air. “Use Somebody” by the Kings of Leon rumbled from Cali’s iPod Dock.
“Just a walk,” Cali mimicked. “All alone in the dark with a guy from some cult that does human sacrifices, for all we know.”
Leesa hopped onto the bed beside Cali. “Oh, come on. You don’t believe that stuff.”
“Well, maybe not that,” Cali admitted. “But those people are weird. You should be careful.” She shook her head and grinned. “Imagine, me being the voice of reason. What’s the world coming to?”
They both laughed.
“He’s really nice,” Leesa said. “We had a lot of fun. He didn’t even try to kiss me goodnight. Heck, he didn’t even hold my hand. I wanted to so bad I almost reached out and grabbed his.” She felt her heart begin to quicken at the thought.
Cali laughed again. “See, I told you he was weird. Any normal guy would’ve tried to get a little tongue, at least. Just be careful, okay? I don’t want to have to find a new best friend.”
Leesa wondered why everyone was telling her to be careful. Was Middletown, Connecticut, really such a dangerous place? Rave said be careful of Stefan; Cali said be careful of Rave…. Who would Stefan tell her to be careful of? Cali?
Cali thumped her book closed and dropped it onto the bed beside her. “I’m tired of studying. Let’s go see if Caitlin and Stacie are up for some Guitar Hero.”
Leesa got up from the bed. She could use a little distraction—was it starting to get warm again?