Page 86 of Vampires and Violas

I’m nervous. Why am I nervous? This is Noah. We live together, for goodness’ sake.

“It is,” he agrees.

“Maybe we should keep doing this.” I poke a piece of broccoli with my chopsticks.

He contemplates me. “Go on impromptu picnics?”

“Yeah, and you know. Other things. Together.”

He leans forward, his focus intent now. “Together…like dating?”

I nod, my heart beginning to race. “Maybe we should try us. I won’t go out with other guys, and you won’t go out with other women.”

Noah sets his box on the picnic table. “Piper, to make sure I have this right…are you unlocking the friend-zone gate?”

I nod. “If you want.”

“If I want,” he mutters, and then he laughs. “Yes, I want.”

I finally work up the nerve to look at him. “So…I guess this is our Day One?”

“Finally.” He grins as he looks back at his takeout box, claiming the last piece of pork.

Finished as well, I look for a trash can. “Now what?”

Noah stands, collecting the boxes, napkins, and unused pouches of soy sauce for the trash. Then he comes around the picnic table and takes my hand. “Now we should probably head home because we work tomorrow.”

We head toward the parking area, and I imagine we look like a proper couple…just a couple of vampires enjoying the summer evening.

When my nerves try to get the best of me, I ignore them. Noah is a vampire, yes, but so am I. Kind of.

And yes, we have some hurdles to overcome—but we’ll take it one step at a time. For now, I’m just going to enjoy being together.

18

You knowhow I didn’t want to spend my second day as Noah’s girlfriend? Going to a support group. But it’s Tuesday, and my royal conservator is dedicated to his self-appointed job. So here we are.

“Here’s an idea,” I say to Cassian as I reluctantly follow him into Dylan’s small apartment elevator. “What if we drop off the cupcakes and leave? You can say you accidentally ate one and are now in major gastric distress.”

Looking highly amused, Cassian says, “If I ate a cupcake, I would be lying on the floor whimpering, not walking into a support group meeting. So that probably won’t work.”

“Fine, we’ll just leave the cupcakes outside Dylan’s door and make a run for it.”

“It won’t be that bad.”

“Noah is already on his way home, waiting for dinner.”

“Noah is a grown man and can make his own dinner.”

“I didn’t say he was waiting for me to cook.” I pause, feeling a little giddy. “He just wants to eat together.”

“The three of us? That’s so considerate of him.”

I haven’t told Cassian that Noah and I are together yet, but I suppose now is the time. “No…just me and him.”

“Oh, really?” The vampire doesn’t sound terribly surprised, probably because of what he interrupted in Noah’s office. “I suppose that’s why Ashlyn looked heartbroken when I passed her in the administration office hall yesterday.”

The thought of seeing her tonight ties my stomach into knots. “Yeah, Noah didn’t handle that super well—which is another reason to ditch the meeting.”

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