Page 80 of Thirsty
Holy water, he thought. Maybe this was where the myth came from—vampires could be burned, not by religious faith, but by sorrow, or regret, or vulnerability.
“It’s kind of...beautiful,” Charlie said.
Lorenzo shrugged.
“I know no one wants to hear that they look good crying, but...you really do look hot crying,” Charlie added.
Lorenzo hiccupped out a laugh, and Charlie kissed him to chase it.
Chapter 24
Saturday night Charlie took Lorenzo out to dinner. It wasn’t a supernatural-affiliated restaurant, and he didn’t bring up a single harebrained scheme to befriend some huldra or a flock of selkie. By all appearances, it seemed to just be a date.
Lorenzo tried not to let on how much it pleased him, but he felt fizzy all evening. He’d thought Charlie might pull back a little after everything Lorenzo had told him about his past and the house—he wouldn’t have blamed him if he’d needed some space. But Charlie didn’t seem distant at all; they weren’t exactly baring their souls over dinner, but Charlie had been warm and funny and seductive all evening. Lorenzo was acutely conscious of trying not to grasp on to it too firmly, worried he might startle it away.
Once they’d paid the check and were standing on the cobblestone street outside, and he realized they had the whole night ahead of them, he had to physically fight a wide grin.
“So what next?” he asked, leaning closer to Charlie. “There’sthis art house movie theater around the corner. Or if you want to rest for a bit we could go back to my place, and then—”
“Actually, I was thinking,” Charlie said, and he paused to flash Lorenzo an apologetic look for jumping in. “I mean, I was just thinking—if you wanted, you could come over to my place.”
Lorenzo knew he hadn’t hidden his excitement quickly enough, because Charlie was already smiling, small and relieved. “Really?”
“Yeah. If you want,” Charlie said, glancing down at his shoes, like he was nervous. “I mean, it’s not as nice as yours. But. If you want.”
“Yes,” Lorenzo said. “I want.”
Charlie’s apartment was on the second floor of a small, squat building. The door jammed a little as Charlie opened it—the building was newer than Lorenzo’s, but it was neglected and dim, and smelled of mildew.
Charlie rubbed a hand on the back of his neck as Lorenzo took in the foyer in its dark, dusty glory. The place was barely decorated, and most of the furniture was utilitarian. It might even have been IKEA.
Lorenzo whistled. “Wow. It’s...”
“Like I said, it’s not as nice as your place.”
“No, it’s not,” Lorenzo said, poking around Charlie’s coffee table with great interest. “Why do you have so little furniture?”
“I dunno,” Charlie said after a moment. “Just not much of a decorator, I guess.”
“Clearly not,” Lorenzo said, disgusted and fascinated as he explored what constituted the kitchen.
Eventually they reached the bedroom. The bed was made, the final clue that Charlie’s offer hadn’t been spontaneous, butLorenzo said nothing. The furniture was just as awful and sparse in there as in the rest of the house, but the bed was a queen, and it looked sturdy.
Charlie was looking like he’d put up with Lorenzo’s insults for the rest of the apartment just so he could lure him in here. “Oh, is that your bed?” he asked, wandering around the other side.
“Yes it is,” Charlie said, following him.
He leaned in for a kiss, and Lorenzo stopped him with a finger to his lips, nodding at the nearby window, which was covered in cheap aluminum blinds. Charlie followed his gaze and winced.
“I forgot,” he breathed, staring up at Lorenzo’s lips and biting his own.
“Well, I can’t spend the day here,” Lorenzo said. “Not with it like this.”
“We can be done before daybreak,” Charlie said, pulling Lorenzo closer.
“Wow,” Lorenzo said, acting utterly appalled as Charlie leaned up to press kisses to his neck. “You don’t want to make your apartment vampire-safe so we can...”
He took Charlie’s face in his, leaned down, and whispered against Charlie’s lips: “...take our time?”
