Of Necks and Hickeys

- One-shot -

I'm not scared of many things, and I guess that stems from having a father who owns and actively operates the most popular haunted house in our town.

After running around in that place since I was a wee girl of three, there's no way I'm scared of spiders or bats or zombies.

Unfortunately, there is one 'monster' that I'm still scared off...and that would be the big, bad...no, not wolf. Rather, I'm afraid of vampires.

Yeah, odd, I know.

(Especially since they don't exist.)

But really, I have a deep-rooted fear of vampires, and I make sure to avoid that corner of the house whenever I help my father out in the summer season.

"What's going on around here, daddy?" My eyes were wide as I took in the room full of props.

He looked proud as he joined me in surveying the room. "I wanted it to be a surprise," he told me. "I finally decided to take your advice and change all the costumes."

I beamed up at him. It has been two years since I had begun nagging my father to change the costumes in the Hill-House from tacky masks and body suits to more realistic and modern props. "This is great! Business is definitely going to be booming now..." I trailed off as I dug through a pile of high-quality wigs. "Wow daddy, you went all-out!"

"Yup!" he declared proudly. "See if you can pick out something for yourself...I'm going to go give Barry his new outfit."

I frowned at the clown suit - the scary kind, mind you! - that my father picked up. "That's a clown suit," I told him. "Is your head in the clouds?"

He looked down at the costume and smiled up at me. "No, didn't I mention it honey? Barry is no longer the resident vampire."

My eyes widened as I took in the implications of that. I had given Barry a wide berth - even when he was out of costume - because his...err...'vampireness' creeped me out. "That's great!" I declared. "Now I can finally have a decent conversation with him!"

A loud burst of laughter came from my father. He knew all about my phobia. "I'm sure Barry would appreciate it! The man feels a little neglected since you spend so much time with every other employee and run screaming when you even catch a glimpse of him." He grinned widely. "The poor new guy though...I'll have to let him know you're not doing it to be mean."

"New guy? What?" I asked, confused. "You made Barry an evil clown when the vampire position still exists?"

My father sighed. "Well, honey...it was after I ordered the new props that I realized the new vampire 'look' requires someone more...um...'fit'."

I chuckled. My father was too nice to say it out loud, but he was pretty much referring to the fact that Barry closely resembled the Pillsbury Doughboy in terms of body-shape. The previous vampire costume pretty much consisted of a full-face mask and an extra-billowy cloak - which did wonders to a person's figure. (Note to self: Buy extra-billowy cloak if I decide to eat my way to obesity.)

"So who's the 'new guy'?"

My father started walking towards the door. "His name is Riordan Erins - he should be in on Saturday." He pushed through the door and it swung back and forth as I continued toying with the new props.

"Come on sweetie, you have to give it a try!" Mona waved the book in front of my face, dangerously close to squashing in my nose.

I shuddered as I watched the cover image move back and forth in front of me. "No Mona, you know how I don't-"

"You're a book worm, for God's sake!" she yelled. "You should be ashamed of yourself for not reading this series when it's the most popular one out there right now!"

"But...but it's a vampire series," I muttered. "Give me a break!"

"No 'buts'!" Mona screeched. "You're going to stop arguing and read the damn books! You have no choice - you're going to overcome your fear of vampires, or I will...I will...I will paint your room orange...with green polka dots!"

Oddly-painted rooms are a pet peeve of mine. Yeah, don't ask where that comes from...it just is. And orange just happens to be my least favourite colour, so... "YOU WOULD NOT DARE!"

"WOULD TOO!"

"WOULD NOT!"

"WOULD TOO!" Mona dragged her cell phone out and hit zero. "Operator, can you give me the number for a home decor store?"

I grabbed the phone and flipped it closed, cutting off the poor operator mid-sentence. "I'll read it."

"Good girl. Here." She passed me the first book and I took it gingerly, as if it would reach out and suck my veins dry.

I opened the book to the first page and began reading out loud, because I felt it would help decrease my fear.

"Jenna peered up at the roof of the building, where a dark shape was huddled. It looked to be a male, probably in his 20s. A male who was currently looking straight down at where she stood. She couldn't bring herself to walk away - his eyes were just that..." I huffed and tossed the book down on the table. "How can she see his eyes from all the way at the bottom of a building, when he's on the roof?"

"Shut up with your logic and read!" Mona shouted. Obviously she was obsessed with the book.

"Fine!" I shouted back, picking the book up again and flipping a few pages ahead to skip the boring introduction. "He was the epitome of grace, and not just because she was a clumsy oaf. 'Who are you?' Jenna demanded. When he spoke, his voice was deep and soothing. 'I am Kenneth,' he told her, smiling. The smile, however, was the opposite of soothing...his teeth were a bright white, but what stood out were the two large canines that gleamed in the dark..." I threw the book down again, this time because I was freaked out of my mind. "I can't do this!" I told Mona, pulling my knees into my chest to control the shudders passing through me. "Please Mona..."

She looked concerned as she put her arms around me. "Okay, okay...I'm sorry," she mumbled into my shoulder. "I didn't realize you would lose control like this...breathe...breathe, girl..."

It took over an hour for me to stop shuddering, and much longer than that for my mind to relax and focus on other things. Mona had to leave after three hours, and I thought things through in the time between her departure and my bedtime.

I, Vinesha Gerald, was no coward. I was going to face my fear and overcome it.

I need a vampire...and isn't it just convenient that my father has one in his hire?

Because I wanted to do things on my own, I hadn't told anybody - not even Mona or my father - of my plan. I entered the Hill-House while business was in full swing and snuck past my father to get to the corner where the vampire was located.

I saw him when I turned the corner of the hallway that led into his hide-out. He was wearing a blood-red silk button-shirt, dress pants with faint red lines running vertically, and a red belt looped through the pants. I could only see the back of him, but his hair was black and waved down, loose, to barely graze his shoulders. His eyes were...okay, I couldn't see them yet.

Terror tried to grip me as I stood at the end of the hallway and stared at the man at the other end of the room. I fought it back and flattened myself against the wall - for support and for camouflage - and took a tiny step towards him.

A dozen groups of people passed by in the time it took me to gradually cover most of the 10 meter distance to him. They shot me odd looks when they noticed me practically glued to the wall, but shrugged and passed by. It's highly possible they thought I was part of the house's theme - I could be the wallflower attraction. Yes, I am a wallflower...scream in fear (growl)!

I was only a meter behind Riordan - that's what my father said his name was, right? - when a curious teenager waved a hand in front the vampire's face and pointed at me. "What's she supposed to be, a wallflower?"

The vampire whirled around and I had enough time to gasp at his deep black eyes before I found myself dipped in his arms, his fangs pressing lightly against the pulse in my neck.

"She's an innocent maiden," he said to the teenager, who was - according to my upside-down view - watching the scene with awe. "Their blood tastes the sweetest," he added, in the whisper, as if confiding something of secrecy and importance. "Now, if you'll excuse me..."

Before I could let out another gasp, his mouth closed over the sensitive skin on my neck and he began sucking at the spot as if truly drinking my blood.

"That's, like, so cool man!" the kid cried out. "How does she taste?"

My eyes were practically glazed over with the sensation of his lips suckling my neck, but I was coherent enough to think to myself what a geek the teenager was to believe in our - Riordan's, rather - act.

Yeah yeah, says the girl who is scared of vampires.

Riordan did not respond. Rather, he shifted to lift me into his arm's and - his mouth still fused to my neck - backed through the door behind him that led to the employee's lounge, which was thankfully empty.

Once there, he unceremoniously dropped me onto a table.

"What was that all about?" he demanded. "Who the hell trained you?" I guess my t-shirt with the Hill-House emblem told him I worked there.

"What was...what was...ahh!" I screamed in frustration. "Who are you?" Yeah, let's ignore the fact that I already knew.

"Riordan. And you?"

"I...I'm Vinesha." It was hard to concentrate with his dark eyes piercing mine. My tongue felt like rubber and my neck was throbbing. Holy cow...my neck! I dragged my butt off the table, shoved him aside, and ran to the tiny mirror nailed above the sink in the corner. Sure enough, there was a dark red mark on my neck - exactly where Riordan lips had been. "OH MY GOD!" I shouted, rubbing at the mark as if it would peel off and disappear.

"What? What's wrong?" he demanded, appearing at my side.

"You...you...youyouyou..." I sputtered. "YOU GAVE ME A HICKEY!"

Riordan smirked. "Really? Let's see it." He reached over to tilt my chin to the left, so that he had a better view. "It looks pretty good actually," he told me, sounding a little smug.

"I...my dad's going to murder you!" I threatened.

"I'm very scared," he assured me, sounding utterly bored. "Should I hire 24-hour protection?"

"My dad just so happens to be your boss," I told him. "Not exactly the best way to keep a job."

Both his brows went up. "You're Mr. Gerald's daughter?"

"Riordan? Why are you not at your post? " My father stuck his head into the room. "Oh, hey Vinesha...what are you doing here today, honey?"

I shot Riordan a smug look and turned to my father. "Nothing daddy...I just thought I'd come by and see how the new props and costumes are working out."

"Oh, they're being welcomed fantastically by the guests!" my father gushed. "Especially the vampire act with Riordan here..." he trailed off, probably thinking I was going to run away screaming at the mention of vampires. "Um...I don't think I've introduced the two of you, have I?"

I shook my head. "We've met, actually." I turned to glare at Riordan.

"Oh, that's good, Vinesha," my father said, sounding relieved and a little confused. "I'll just get back to the admissions booth...honey, what's that on your neck?" He walked closer to peer at it.

My eyes widened and I slapped a hand over the mark. "Ahh...that's nothing, daddy. I think a mosquito attacked me on my way here."

My father took a step back. "Oh, that's fine...put some ointment on it then. I have a bottle in my office - why don't you go apply it now?"

"Er...sure." I hurried out of the room, but paused outside the door - just out of line of sight from the two inside.

"Was that what I think it was, Riordan?" my father asked him.

I wish I could have seen Riordan's face - even I was a bit scared at the tone my father was using. "What do you think it is, sir?" The guy's got guts, I have to admit.

"It was a...a...a...love bite!" my father spat out.

"I believe you're looking for the term 'hickey'. Sir."

My jaw dropped at the audacity of the guy, and then dropped even further when my father chuckled.

"You're a good kid, Riordan - very honest and direct. I like that in a man. I don't know what happened a little while ago with you and my daughter, but I can guess..." There was a pause in which I imagined he shook his head to clear out any image that had popped into his head. "Just be careful with her because I will have your head on a platter if you hurt her in any way."

"I'm sure the guests would enjoy seeing such an attraction, sir." Riordan's voice was amused. "But point taken."

When my father's laughter became louder it became clear he was heading towards the door, and I sprinted down the hallway so I would not be caught eavesdropping.

"Do any of these places serve vegetarian meals?" Riordan asked, seating himself beside me on the bench. Somehow I was able to resist the temptation to run away, screaming, from this sometimes-vampire.

I blinked at him. "You're vegetarian?"

"Yeah."

I continued blinking.

"Why do you look so shocked?"

I shrugged and went back to watching the basketball game stand. "It's kind of ironic that you're working as a blood-sucker when you don't chew on meat in real life."

"Well I chewed on you last weekend, so I guess I broke my pledge." He grinned when I glared at him. "Come, let's find something to eat."

Not giving me much of a choice, he pulled me along to one of the hot dog stands.

"What do you want?" he asked.

I pulled my hand out of his and leaned against the counter. "Hey Donna!"

Donna, the old vendor, looked up and smiled at me in a motherly way. "Hello sweetheart, how are you doing?"

"Good, and you?"

"I'm doing very well. Are you helping your dear father again this summer?"

"That I am. I'm glad to see you here again." The previous summer, Donna had made noises about closing up shop and retiring.

She smiled sadly. "I thought it over and realized that I would just be alone at home if I retired...and I didn't want to be another crazy old lady with cats, so here I am."

I reached over the counter and squeezed her hand. "Well I'm definitely glad you're around - you've been the mother I never had."

Donna's eyes teared up slightly and then she sniffed. "Okay, enough sentimental nonsense...it's been great seeing you, but you should get back to work."

"Haha, okay Donna. But first, can I get a chicken hot dog?" I looked at Riordan. "This is Riordan, our new vampire. Can I get another hot dog for him, veggie this time?"

Riordan waved at Donna. "Make that two chicken hot dog's, Donna. Thanks."

Donna mumbled under her breath about children not eating healthy - ironic, since she ran a hot dog stand - and got to work on frying the rolls of meat.

"Chicken?" I hissed at Riordan.

He shrugged and grinned. "I just needed an excuse to talk to you...not to mention bring up that bit about chewing on you."

"You're impossible!" I bit out.

"I know." He began whistling a tune that I recognized to be the music that played in his corner of the Hill-House.

"Can you stop that?" I begged him.

Riordan raised an eyebrow at me. "Why? It's a nice tune...depressing, but nice."

"I know...I chose it...but your corner of the house creeps me out."

"And why's that?" he wanted to know.

"Why'd I choose it?"

He rolled his eyes. "Why does it creep you out?"

"Iamafraidofvampires." It came out in a jumble, and I was grateful for the incoherent mess because I hadn't meant to tell him the truth in the first place.

Unfortunately, the divine beings of speech and hearing were against me. "You're afraid of vampires?" I don't know how he managed to decipher that bit of code. Stupid vampire.

"Yes, do you have a problem with that?"

Before he could retort, we were interrupted by Donna, who took our money and handed us our food. After thanking her, I sped off in the direction of the Hill-House. His longer legs, however, caught up to me in no time.

"You're afraid of vampires?" he asked again, and then took a bite out of his hot dog. "Mmm, this is good."

"Yeah, so?"

"So what were you doing in my neck of the woods the other day?"

I silently bit into my hot dog as we walked.

"Let me guess...you were conditioning yourself to not be afraid?" What was he, a flippin' shrink?

"Maybe..."

He laughed. "You know what, I'll join in your cause," he offered. "You can hang out with me when I'm working and you'll eventually get over your fear."

"And why would you do that?" I asked him. "What's the catch?"

"The catch..." he trailed off and stepped in front of me, effectively making me stop in my tracks. "The catch is that you owe me a favour in the near future."

I was wary. "What favour?"

He shrugged and pulled on my arm to start walking again. "I don't know yet...it won't be anything unreasonable though. In fact, you can veto it if you have a good enough reason to do so."

I thought about it and nodded. It would be really hard for me to find another vampire in the vicinity, never mind one that worked for my father, knew of my fear, and was willing to help me out by letting me hang around him. "Okay...that sounds fine...when can we start?"

Riordan bumped my shoulder with his arm. "Well you're here, I'm here...so why not today?"

"Sure, but we still need a vampire," I teased, and chewed the last piece of my hot dog.

He grinned and wagged his eyebrows up and down. "Well then, you can help me get dressed."

"Creep!"

"You bring it out in me, darling." He threw an arm over my shoulders and I let it lie there as we entered the Hill-House to begin my 'treatment'.

"My belt's missing," he said, a few minutes later, coming out of one of the two employee changing rooms. "Did you see it?"

"Nope." I went back to grinning at my reflection in the mirror, taking in the outfit I had decided on for my shift. It consisted of a simple white dress that ended exactly at my knees; the pureness of the white contrasted nicely with my summer tan and black hair. To add an element of creativity and intrigue, I had applied bright red lipstick and accessorized with a subtle red jewelry set (consisting of earrings and a necklace) and a belt tightened around my waist - also in red.

I saw Riordan behind me in the mirror. "You look nice," he commented, and then his eyes quickly flickered back to me and narrowed. "Is that my belt?"

"No." I looked down after the denial and realized that it, indeed, was his belt.

He came closer - so close that his front was almost touching my back - and peered into the mirror. "It definitely is my belt!" he announced. "Give it back."

I pouted at him in the mirror. "But it looks good on me."

"It looks better on me."

I glared at his reflection and put a protective hand over the belt buckle. "Mine."

Before I could react (no wonder the guy was a vampire - he had superb reflexes!) his hands darted around my waist to grab onto the buckle, my hands trapped in between. The motion brought our bodies flush together, and the mirror was merciless in letting me see the redness overtaking my face.

"Leggo!" I protested feebly, trying to shake him off without relinquishing my hold on the belt. "I put it on first."

Riordan's breath was hot in my ear. "It doesn't matter who is first, darling...it only matters who comes out first at the end." His fingers of one hand were tracing lazy circles on my hands, while the other one tried to sneak its way under to unhook the buckle.

"You can't make me take it off." And then I moaned - not because he was irritating, but because I was becoming undeniably turned on by his proximity. "Let go, Riordan."

"No..." His voice was low as his fingers tightened over mine, and his mouth moved from my ear to trail a path down to my neck. "You have such an elegant neck," he whispered before pressing his lips to a spot.

I was distressed to realize that I had moaned again at his action. "Riordan..."

Riordan ignored me and continued his persistent, yet gentle, sucking. It felt to me like hours had passed before he finally lifted his head. I moaned for a third time when I noticed the brand new hickey that was darkening on my neck.

"You did it again," I complained weakly. "What's your fixation with necks?"

His eyes darkened as he grinned at me in the mirror. "Just yours, darling." He pressed an open mouth kiss to the hickey spot and then released his arms from around me to back away.

I continued staring at the hickey in my reflection, and jolted when his arms slid around my waist again.

"Here, you can have this one," he said, and I looked down to realize he was wrapping a heart-patterned red belt around my waist.

I frowned. "Where's-?"

Riordan finished buckling and backed away to show me the red belt that was now sitting on his waist, looped through his pants. "I think I won this round," he grinned over at me. "Come on, we need to plan our act," he called over his shoulder as he left the room.

My brows furrowed after he left the room. Had he only held me to steal the belt? Was I mistaken in assuming he felt the way I was starting to feel?

"You coming?" Riordan's head peered back into the room.

I nodded slowly and walked towards him. "Yeah...yeah, I'm coming..."

"So what are we doing today?" I asked Riordan. It had been two weeks since I had begun hanging around him to get over my fear. We had come up with an "act", of sorts, to justify my being in the same room of the Hill-House as him; it was a variation of our first meeting, a more elaborate version of the vampire/innocent maiden concept.

He pulled out a pair of fangs from his pocket and held out his hand to me. "Here, take this."

I stared at it and then up at him. "Why do I need that?"

"You're going to take it and clip it into my mouth." Riordan grinned to show me his [normal] white teeth.

I continued staring at the fangs, not interested in the least to touch them. "And that's going to help me how?"

"Just do it, Vinesha." The hand crept closer to me. "Take the fangs."

Focusing on not letting out a shriek of fear, I forced my hand to reach out and close over the fangs. Riordan's fingers closed over my fingers briefly and squeezed before he withdrew his hand.

"Good. Fangs are the most 'obvious' symbols of a vampire, and you need to learn how to deal with that before you have any hope of dealing with the entire concept." He edged closer to me. "So now...clip them in for me." He bared his teeth in a grin and leaned forward.

Actually, the notion of clipping the fangs in was less scary to me - I guess it was because I'd rather not hold them in my hand.

I reached up to cup his chin in my left palm, and could have sworn he tensed at the contact. However, his eyes were still direct and focused on me, so I shrugged off the thought and gently slid the prop over his real teeth.

"What are you doing?" A voice demanded. I recognized it as my father.

I jolted in shock and whirled around, crying out as the sudden movement slid my finger against his teeth and sliced it open.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?" my father demanded, striding up to me and grabbing my hand to examine it. "Ouch, that looks painful."

Riordan moved closer to peer over my shoulder at the hand my father still held. "We should get some antiseptic on that."

"Yeah, we never know where your mouth has been," my father grumbled.

"Daddy!" I admonished, staring wide-eyed at Riordan, who looked amused.

"Sorry, sorry...." he said. "I'm just a little frustrated right now, Riordan. Jenina called to say she's running late and we're due to open soon."

I jumped at the opportunity. "I can cover, daddy!" Jenina was a zombie, but...well, anything to get me some time away from the vampire!

"But you're all prettied up..." my father trailed off.

"Don't worry about it - I'll just go get changed quickly. Which is her locker?"

After getting the details from my father, I hurried off towards the changing room to grab and change into Jenina's costume.

"Coward," I heard, before my hand was grabbed in a death-grip. "How's your finger feeling?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," I lied. "And it's fine."

He looked at it closely. "Doesn't look too fine to me - it's still bleeding."

I joined him in the perusal of my finger and realized that he was right - blood was pouring out of the small wound. "Damn. I should probably get a band-aid for that."

Riordan nodded. "But first...can I kiss it better?" He lifted the finger so that it was right beside his lips.

I blushed and tugged on my hand. "It was your mouth that started this all off, and your mouth that created the wound in the first place...I think my hands have had enough of your mouth."

"Your hands, huh?" Suddenly I found his face perilously close to mine. "What about your mouth?"

And then he went and captured my lips in a searing kiss that made time stop, penguins fly, and...a whole bunch of clichéd nonsense to happen.

And when it was over, I held on to his shoulders for dear life - and balance, mostly - and focused on remembering how to breathe.

"What...was...that...?" I was still breathless.

He shook his head in exasperation and huffed at the ceiling. "That, darling," he said slowly, "was me kissing you senseless."

"Why?" I demanded, desperately needing to know.

Riordan rolled his eyes. "Let's just call it an experiment of my own, shall we?"

I felt something in me shrivel up and die, and I could tell my eyes had gone cold. "Okay," I told him, shoving myself out of his embrace. "I hope your experiment is over, because I don't want you to touch me again."

"Vinesha-"

"No." I held up a hand to stop his protests. "I don't want to hear it. This is not the first time somebody played with my emotions, and I know it probably won't be the last." I sighed. "Let's just agree to coexist, for the sake of the Hill-House."

"Vinesha, you're misunderstanding me. I'm actually-"

I shook my head. "Don't. I really don't want to hear it. I don't blame you at all, actually...I've only known you for a little while, so it's my fault for getting attached so quickly."

He moved towards me. "Vinesha-"

"Don't." I backed away from his advances. "Riordan, just forget I said anything..."

"Vinesha?" I heard my father call from down the hallway. "Where are you, honey? I'm about to open."

I quickly grabbed the zombie costume and ran into the changing room.

"Mona," I whispered hoarsely into the phone.

I heard rustling. "Vinesha? What's wrong?"

"I...I finished reading."

She paused. "I'm sorry, honey. You didn't have to...I was just kidding...do you want me to come over?"

I shook my head and then realized she wouldn't be able to see it over the phone. "No. I just wanted to tell you I was done."

"How'd you manage? I mean...you were so upset last time, and now you're done the book."

"I'm done the series," I corrected her softly.

Mona gasped. "All five books?"

"Yes." Tears stung the back of my eyes. "I think I love him. It doesn't make sense, but I think I really do."

"Kenneth?" she sounded confused. "I think every teenage girl is in love with his character..."

I shook my head again. "No...Riordan. I couldn't care less about Kenneth - he's a vague, obvious, and shallow character."

"Honey, are you sure you read the right books? There was no Riordan in any of them..."

"No...no...Riordan is not a book character." I choked out some laughter and then proceeded to tell Mona about my resolution to overcome my fear of vampires.

I went on to tell her how I had met Riordan, how we had interacted, and how he had offered to help me out.

I told her how he managed to steal his way into my mind to cure my irrational fear.

I concluded by telling her how he had also stolen his way into my heart...and then carelessly shattered it into pieces.

"I'm going to grab a pair of pliers and yank out his canines," Mona vowed when I finished. "How dare he hurt my friend!"

We giggled at her creative threat and then I sighed. "I haven't been by the Hill-House in a week - since that day, actually. Daddy is worried about me, and I'm sure he harassed Riordan about it too."

"Serves him right. I hope your dad nails him to the entrance of the Hill-House."

After listening to more of Mona's creative rants and threats, I finally had to hang up when her mother told her to get off the phone.

I checked the time and then flopped back onto my bed. Since I was avoiding the Hill-House, I had nothing better to do than sleep.

"Hello?" I breathed into the phone, having finally found it under the cushions of the living room sofa.

"Sweetie, it's Donna. How are you?"

I smiled. "Hey Donna! I'm good, how about you?"

"All's fine with me, honey." I heard coughing. "Okay, maybe not."

"What's wrong?"

She laughed, and then launched into a new fit of coughs. "I'm a 73-year-old lady," Donna said when she caught her breath. "Everything's wrong. Anyway, I called to ask you for a favour."

"What is it?"

"I can't drag myself to the stall today because I'd just be coughing on everything if I did. If you don't mind...can you cover for me until I'm better?"

I blanched. Avoiding the fair-ground had become a goal of mine, and working at Donna's stall would not be helping in the least. "Um...can't you close for the day?" I asked, quite selfishly.

"I closed for the last two days," she told me sadly. "Lawrence called me a little while ago to find out what was wrong and to tell me that I couldn't go on like this because I'm the main source of food on the grounds." Lawrence was the fairground manager.

"Oh no, Donna...that's horrible!" I gasped. "I...I guess I can substitute for you today." I already had the experience from helping her out in the past.

"You're a life-saver, doll! You can pick up the keys to open up the stall from Lawrence - I'll give him a call to let him know you're helping me out."

"Okay, I'll get ready."

"Vinesha? Thank you."

I sighed. "No need to thank me...you're family."

"But still...I know you've been avoiding the grounds to keep away from a certain vampire. No, don't try to deny it!" she added, cutting off my protests. "Just accept the thanks and keep my customers happy."

"Yes, Donna. I'll come by and see you when I have time. Get well soon."

"Thanks, sweetie. Bye for now."

"Bye." I hung up and stared at the phone for a minute before getting up to rush into the shower.

"I'm sorry sir, we use a different brand of sausages." It was getting extremely hard to argue with the man, who was insisting on me magically procuring a specific brand of the meat.

He continued ranting and raving and I decided to tune him out.

Suddenly a new voice joined in the conversation. "Sir, if I may interrupt?"

I glared at Riordan.

"Yes boy, what is it?" the man demanded.

"Am I correct in assuming you prefer another brand of sausages over the ones served here?"

The customer nodded. "Yes, but this young lady," he pointed at me, "refuses to cooperate."

Riordan's eyes flickered to mine and back again. "I'm sure she doesn't have too much control over the inventory," he assured the man, "but have you tried the particular brand they serve?"

"No, I have not. I am a person of habit."

"Sir, if I may be so bold...why not try a little of the sausage this young lady has to offer, and then reconsider?" Charm was oozing out of each and every one of his pores. Young lady, indeed.

I decided I had been silent for long enough and jumped into the conversation. "I am willing to offer you a free sample," I said to the man. "That way, you can try out our famous sausages, and won't be at a loss should you not like it."

The man look pleased with the idea, so I threw the meat onto the grill without waiting for his consent. By the time he finished 'pondering' and agreed, the meat was cooked and I shoved it in a bun and handed it to him.

"Enjoy."

Riordan and I watched the man's movements as he went through the process of adding his selection of toppings, and I couldn't help but grin at the look of amazement that appeared on the customer's face when he took his first bite.

"Thank you," I told Riordan when the man disappeared out of sight. With those words, I turned to clean up the area.

"How are you?" he asked softly.

"Good. Thanks."

He leaned into the stall. "Where have you been?"

"I- I've been busy," I told him.

"Busy moping around the house?" he asked incredulously. "Your father has been complaining and worrying about you since you stopped coming by."

I tossed my rag into the sink behind me. "What I do is none of your business," I told Riordan angrily. "If my father has an issue with me, then he can - and will - tell me directly."

"I hurt you."

It was not a question, but I felt it warranted a [false] denial. "No."

"Vinesha." There was a warning in his tone.

"No," I repeated, "I hurt myself. It wasn't your fault."

"For God's sake Vinesha-"

There was a family with small children approaching the stall. "I have to take and fill orders...and I'm sure your break is over." The 'please leave' was clearly implied.

"I'll drop you off tonight, after the grounds close."

"That's not necess-"

"Shut up," he said sternly. "If you're not around at closing, I will come to your house and we'll fight it out in front of your father. I'll see you at 10:30pm."

He was leaning against the side of his car, scrolling through his phone, when I finally reached the parking lot. I eyed the black BMW he was leaning on with a bit of confusion and finally came to the conclusion that it must not be his - he was probably just leaning on it while waiting for me.

A car approached me from behind and the headlights made my shadow long and deep on the ground. Riordan's head shifted to peer at the contorted shadow - which managed to reach past his feet - and then, I guess recognizing it to be me, he looked over at me.

"Hi."

I nodded in response and made myself walk over to him. "Where's your car?"

He raised an eyebrow and jerked his thumb behind him...at the BMW.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny," I said dryly. "Can you find your car so we can leave and get this over with?"

Riordan pulled out a set of keys from his pants pocket and dangled them in front of me so I could see the BMW logo etched onto the remote. "Get in," he said, pressing one of the buttons, and I did so mutely. I was now more confused than ever.

Once inside, he turned the air conditioning on and I had to hold in my sigh of relief. The summer night was overly humid, and the cold air coming out of the vents was deeply welcomed by my parched skin.

"Confused?" Riordan asked, changing the gear and pulling out of the lot.

"About?"

He spared me a grin before focusing on the road. "About why a guy who drives the latest model BMW works at a minimum wage job at a fairground."

"Oh, is this the latest model BMW?" I asked nonchalantly, although my googly eyes may have overpowered my nonchalance. Maybe.

Riordan's light laughter spread through the car and I shivered. He noticed immediately - I don't know how he noticed, since he was supposed to watch the road - but immediately reached over to turn down the power of the air conditioner. "You're adorable when you're trying to act oblivious," he said to me, a grin plastered on his face.

"I'm not adorable," I returned. And then I blinked in confusion as I wondered if I had just insulted myself. "Did I just-"

"Insult yourself?" he cut in. "Why yes, I do believe you did."

Maybe he really is a vampire - he can do the whole mind-reading thing quite well. "I wasn't going to say that," I lied, turning to my right to look out the window. "Um, you're going the wrong way."

"No, I don't think so," he said.

I turned back to glare at him. "Buddy, I think I know where my house is, and there is definitely no wooded area on the way to it. You're going the wrong way."

Riordan was silent for a few seconds, and then groaned. "You're a spoilsport," he complained.

"...because I told you we're going the wrong way?"

He snorted. "Because this is supposed to be the point where you realize my hidden intentions and panic."

"...you have hidden intentions?"

Suddenly an arm shot out in front of me, pinning my body against the seat as Riordan slammed on the brakes. My eyes frantically sought into the night to identify the need to brake so suddenly, but it turned out I was looking in the wrong direction entirely - it turned out Riordan had suddenly felt an irresistible urge to ravish me.

Because while I gasped at the sudden stop and peered through the windshield, he slid the gear into park, shrugged off his seat-belt, and crossed the center of the car to climb on top of me. With one smooth motion, he had my seat flattened horizontally, and was pressed against me - also horizontally.

"What the-" was all I managed to get out before his mouth found its target and began sucking at my neck.

It was so very tempting to look around for another source but, since we were undeniably alone in the middle of...I don't even know where...it was safe - and mortifying on many levels - to learn that all the sounds, except the sucking, originated from me.

"Leave my neck alone," I managed to weakly say. "Riordan-"

"Fine," he groaned, pulling his mouth away. Of course, he immediately shifted his attention to my mouth.

"Wait-" But I was too late - his mouth had already possessed my own.

It didn't take long for my hands to remember their purpose, and they wrapped around Riordan's head so that my fingers could play with his hair.

And then I realized what was happening, and my playful fingers became weapons. Yes, you read that right - I yanked on his beautiful hair.

"Ow!" he shouted, removing his lips from their suction-like grip on my own. "Why'd you do that?"

"Why'd you do this?" I demanded, tugging on my bruised lips. "And don't even go there," I quickly added when his eyes settled on my lips in a hungry manner. "Or there," I finished with a sigh when those telltale eyes traveled to my neck.

He groaned and crawled back into his own seat. "Do you know how long I've been wanting to do that?"

"Since...the last time?" I ventured.

Riordan shot me a dirty look. No, not that dirty - the irritated dirty. "Since last year."

I snorted. "I didn't even know you last year!"

"Yes, you did."

"Did not."

"You did."

I became very frustrated because he ruined the fun behind the "did too/did not" game by phrasing his sentence differently. "Then why don't I remember you?" I asked, willing to humour his delusions for a little while longer. Hey, I was kind of in the middle of the woods with him.

"I don't know." He pouted, and somehow made it look manly. Go figure. "I used to come by the Hill-House all the time last year."

"They why don't I remember you?" I repeated wryly.

He, naturally, ignored my question. "You were the Bride of Frankenstein when I first visited," he mused. "You had no patience whatsoever, and threw a plastic bone at my head when I laughed at your cheesy outfit."

The story was very familiar to me, but I frowned at him. "That couldn't have been you," I argued. "I would know that guy anywhere!"

"Are you sure?" he arched a brow at me.

"Of course I am! I mean, he came by almost daily just to torment me!"

Riordan laughed. "And here I thought I was doing a good job of flirting."

"It wasn't you," I corrected him.

He snorted and lifted his body off the seat so that he could dig through his jeans pocket. "Here," he said, pulling out a wallet and flipping it open. "Tell me if this picture rings a bell."

I hesitantly took the small photograph and slowly ran my eyes over it. "That's him," I announced after I finished my perusal. "I would recognize those green eyes anywhere."

"Is that so?" Riordan said, grabbing my wrist.

"Hey, let go!" I cried out, lifting my eyes to glare at him...and then I paused and gasped.

He let go of my wrist and chuckled. "Like what you see?"

I leaned in to verify my eyesight...and then gasped again. "Your eyes...they're green!" I blinked rapidly as if that would change his eyes back to black. "How'd you do that?" I was in reluctant awe.

"There was this amazing invention in the last century," he said slowly. "It's called 'contact lenses'." And then he laughed at me again.

"Nah-uh," I said. "Besides, that guy was blond." I pointed at the picture as proof.

"There was this other amazing invention-" he began.

I cut him off. "Let me guess: hallucinogens?"

Riordan looked at me as if I were some odd little creature. "Hair dye?"

"Ah." I was an odd little creature.

"Ah," he repeated, settling back comfortably in his seat.

A thought occurred to me. "Hey, so what's your real hair and eye colour?" I quite liked the black and black combination.

"Black and black," he answered. "And I think you're missing the entire point here."

"Which is?"

"I've practically stalked you for a year."

I giggled. Don't ask me why, but that was kind of funny. "Really?"

"Well, not really," he admitted. "I lost track of you when the summer ended and you guys moved off to...wherever amusement park people move in the off-season."

I looked at him smugly. "Daddy and I don't move. He works odd jobs during off-season - he's good at fixing things - and I go to school. Leslie Macbeth High School." Vinesha Gerald, stalkee extraordinaire. My motto could be "I make stalking easy".

Riordan looked irritated. "I go to Hearth Lake - why haven't I seen you around?" Hearth Lake was only about two blocks away from Leslie Macbeth.

"Um...because you're a gazillionaire and your kind never go by Leslie Macbeth?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" he snapped.

I shrugged. "The girls are our school are WAY out of Hearth Lake guys' leagues...none of them ever come by to check us out."

"That's not true-"

"When was the last time you went after anybody from Leslie Macbeth?"

"I'm doing it now, aren't I?" Riordan muttered. "You know, you're the weirdest girl ever."

Gee thanks, you shouldn't have. I glared at him instead of verbalizing my sarcastic gratitude.

He continued on anyway. "I mean, we're in the middle of the woods, it's almost midnight, I just kissed you senseless and then announced that I stalked you for a year...and you're sitting here and telling me my place in the social hierarchy?"

"You attempted to stalk me for a year," I corrected impishly.

Riordan threw up his arms. "See! That's what I mean...you're so disgustingly unmoved!"

I was finally properly offended. "Well excuseeee me for being disgusting," I snarled. "Take me home if you can't stand me."

"I didn't say you were disgusting!"

"Well you said the word."

He dropped his head onto the steering wheel and I squealed when the car honked loudly.

"Take your head off that thing!" I snapped, yanking on his hair again.

He complied, but probably only because of my hair-pulling skills. "Stop that!"

"Take me home," I demanded again.

He grinned at me. "I see you're finally realizing you can't go anywhere without me."

"I could, if you'd switch seats with me." I tried to put on my most angelic face, but apparently I don't have one because he snorted in response.

"Nice try Vinny."

Wow, my first nickname. Yes, that sounds a little pathetic, but nobody had ever bother to give me one. Well, except for Mona, who called me 'Retard', and Mr. Suthe (my former geography teacher) who called me 'Amy' for some reason. (Maybe because 'A' looks a little like an upside-down 'V'?)

"Are you okay?" he asked.

I must have zoned out. "Ah...yeah, I'm fine. Can we go now? Daddy's going to be worrying."

"I told your dad that you're staying the night at my place," he assured me. "He's not going to worry."

"At your place?" I repeated, my mind boggled. "And he said yes?"

"Yep."

I really had to have the birds and bees talk with that man...seriously, letting his teenage daughter sleep over at a guy's house? Especially when the guy looked like Riordan? "Jesus Christ."

"Yeah, I was surprised too," he admitted.

"So...can we leave these woods? I'm feeling a little claustrophobic."

"Only if you do one thing for me," Riordan said agreeably. "You can even consider it that favour you owe me."

I was instantly suspicious. What could I do for him in the middle of the woods? Down, dirty mind of mine! "Which is?" I said tentatively.

His answer took me by surprise. "Agree to be my girlfriend."

So, naturally, I began laughing uncontrollably. "That's funny," I told him when I forced myself to stop. My sides were hurting.

"Is that a yes?"

I looked at him, prepared to laugh again, and realized his lips were squeezed together and he looked rather serious. "Seriously?" I asked.

"No Vinny, I kidnap teenage girls all the time and hold them hostage in the woods so that I could ask them amusing questions for my own entertainment." He glared at me. "Of course I'm serious!"

"Any...um....particular reason?"

"You threw a bone at my head the first time we met," he said with a smile. "The second time you threw a roll of toilet paper...and then a shoe on our third meeting-"

"-which you refused to give back for hours!" I pointed out.

He chuckled. "At which point you threw the other shoe at me," he reminded me.

"True." I sounded smug...maybe because I was.

Riordan shook his head at my tone. "Well, I actually decided to work this summer because my dad decided I needed to gain some responsibility. I could have easily gotten a job at our own company, or at my friends' parents companies, but I decided that money wasn't an issue so I could afford to work minimum wage. And that's when I thought of you." His eyes were very direct as they met mine. "I didn't start working here with any intention other than to continue annoying you but, after that kiss, I realized I want more." His finger traced his way down my cheek. "Vinny, be my girlfriend."

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Our grandchildren are going to be highly amused that you held me hostage in the woods to get me to date you," I finally said. (Maybe, just maybe, I was getting a bit ahead of myself?)

His face brightened up. "Is that a-"

"Yes." I blushed and leaned over to press my lips to his. And when I pulled away, I noticed his eyes immediately ventured to my neck. "Seriously, what's your fixation with-"

Riordan grinned at me and then said the words that I'm sure my life is soon going to revolve around.

"I gave you another hickey."

A/N: Hiding hickey's is such hard work...seriously, I need to invest in scarves!

Review s'il vous plaît? Rebekah will love you for ever and ever!

P.S. Check out the link I put up on my profile (right next to the "Complete" beside the entry for this one-shot).