Page 62 of Thirsty
“Why are you doing that,” he panted, “if you want me to answer?”
“Maybe I want a straight answer,” Lorenzo said. “I want your mind elsewhere so you won’t lie.”
The wordliesent a chill through him that chased off his lust. “Hey,” Charlie said, sitting up and pushing Lorenzo back. “I wouldn’t—”
Lorenzo was just staring at him, waiting for him to finish his sentence, and Charlie cursed, covering his eyes with his hand. “I didn’t mean to—you’re a very scary vampire,” he said. “Very cool, and tough.”
Lorenzo frowned. “Of course I am. What does that have to do with anything?”
Charlie hugged a knee to his chest. “I thought you were mad because you thought I was saying that you’re not like what I thought a vampire would—or should—be like. Which—you are!” he added. “Or—I guess I was...there’s obviously no onerightway for a vampire to be, and...” He cleared his throat andlowered his voice. “When you...when you’re gentle, and sweet, and silly, it’s...”
He trailed off when he realized the shaking of Lorenzo’s shoulders was laughter. “It’s nice,” he finished sharply. “What?!”
“I wasn’t mad at you for impugning my scary vampire nature,” Lorenzo said. He had a very, very nice smile that came out when they were like this—just the two of them in bed, talking shit and getting lost in roundabout conversations.
“Then what?” Charlie demanded.
The smile faded somewhat. “I was just...I was surprised to hear you say something like—that you had thought about what it would be like,” Lorenzo said, not meeting his eye. “To be with a vampire.”
“Oh. Really?” he asked. He was surprised Lorenzo was surprised—there must have been dozens of vampire groupies in his past. It wasn’t exactly a rare fetish. “Hasn’t everyone?”
Lorenzo didn’t say anything, and as the silence stretched out, so did Charlie’s anxiety. They’d started this whole thing with the understanding that it waseducational. That was for the best—it kept everything simpler. More straightforward.
But Lorenzo had a look on his face that was anything but simple. Charlie wanted to reassure him, but what would he say?
He glanced at Lorenzo’s ceiling again, thinking of the beautiful glass peaks underneath. It worried him more than he wanted to admit, thinking about how much sunlight must pour into Lorenzo’s bedroom every morning, held at bay only by tarps and plywood.
But he couldn’t ask about the skylight any more than he could ask about everything else unspoken in Lorenzo’s life and past—any more than he could tell Lorenzo the truth about himself.
So instead he said, casually, “I’ve already learned so much about vampires from you.”
He crawled into Lorenzo’s lap, ignoring the way Lorenzo’s eyes cut off to the side rather than look at him. “Like, the fact that vampires are ticklish.”
He dug his fingers into Lorenzo’s ribs, and Lorenzo huffed out a laugh as he wrestled Charlie’s wrists away. There was still something dull and preoccupied in his smile, though.
“Or that vampires have very sensitive ears,” he said, leaning forward to breathe hotly into the tender shell of Lorenzo’s.
He shivered, running his hands over Charlie’s hips and the small of his back.“Charlie.”
“Or that vampires are allergic to cinnamon,” Charlie said, pulling back to smile at him.
“That’s not all vampires,” Lorenzo said, scowling.
“I know,” Charlie said, as his smile grew. “It’s just you.”
“And I’m not allergic. I just hate it.”
A giggle burst up out of Charlie’s throat. “That’s so weird!”
“Why is it weird?” Lorenzo demanded.
“Because!” Charlie said. “Vampires, fall, Halloween? It’s supposed to all be, y’know, connected.”
“It’s a stupid spice,” Lorenzo muttered. “I hate PSL season.”
“Hm,” Charlie said, running his fingers through Lorenzo’s hair and onto the back of his neck. “So.”
He leaned forward and caught Lorenzo’s lips in a soft, clinging kiss. “Thank you for educating me,” he whispered.
