Page 31 of Overexposed

“We didn’t do all that much running, and I was not really little. My hair may have been braided sometimes, so not as much shampoo commercial billowing as you might expect.”

“I’m having trouble imagining it. I think what would really help would be if you went ahead and braided your hair.”

Auris lifted one eyebrow. “Oh, that would help, would it? A nice little waterfall braid? You know what I think? You should finish your food and come back here so I can hold you while you watch the snow fall and dream of winter and the holidays.”

“Mmmmh.” I considered the last muffin. Three of those were not exactly a balanced meal, but it had been a day. I broke it apart and slowly ate one piece, then another. “When I get my cult, you’ll have to show some braids.”

“My sweet, we talked about the things you are not allowed. A cult is one of those things. You must give up on it. You must move on.”

“Oh, I must, must I?”

“Yes.”

“It’s not very nice of you to ruin this hobby for me, Auris. It’s the one thing I ask, one tiny cult.”

“Building model trains is a hobby, my sweet, planning your future as a cult leader is not. I forbid it.”

I finished the last bit of muffin. “I think you are just mad I thought of it first, and now the idea is all mine,” I said, put the plate aside, and lay down next to him again.

He pulled me close, kissed me, gathered a blanket over me, and made sure I had a comfortable pillow in the shape of his arm. “And you are all mine,” he whispered to me.

The words spread through me like fuzzy warmth, settled in my limbs. After a while when my eyes were growing heavy, I turned to him and said, “I love you.”

And perhaps he had doubted that or feared that his story would deteriorate what he felt keenly, what was new to me, this shared thing between us. Either way, I felt a tension go out of him that had been there ever since we’d settled in. I watched the snow for a little while longer, but the melody of the crackling fire drew me under eventually.

* * *

December came quickly, and with it a cold, white winter. Prague turned into an icy jewel under the light gray sky, the Vltava half frozen and glistening in ice, the buildings and people wrapped in warm coats and walking through a city that looked overexposed under the cool winter sun.

Festive Christmas markets sprung up on most of the squares, and they were decidedly touristy. Eva forced me and Auris to join her for a drink, and her goal was to make me try mulled beer, which came heated, spiced, and in fancy tankards. We stood next to the stall that sold it, the smell of warm spices in the air, the wind somewhat kept at bay.

“I think this is Eva’s revenge for Charlie,” I mumbled to Auris. Eva was distracted by a group of friends passing by, and she’d headed over to them to chat in rapid Czech.

He gave the tankard in my gloved hands a speculative look. “You could accidentally drop it.”

“She’d get me another.”

“If you wait until nightfall, I’ll entrance her so she doesn’t notice you’re not drinking it.”

“Auris. Nightfall is an hour away.”

He nodded and cupped my hands with his. “In that case, your sacrifice will not be forgotten, my sweet. Bottoms up.”

I snorted. “At least in fiction, there’s a rule that all vampires have to be decidedly tortured and not funny. How come no one told you about that rule?”

“I am a maverick. Rules are naught but flies I feel the need to swat. Enjoy your beer, my sweet.”

Eva came back then, and I sipped some of the brew. I gave the concoction a surprised look and sipped some more. “Okay, this is weird, but surprisingly not bad.”

“See? I said to you, it’s good. It’s good.” She pulled her cherry red cap deeper into her forehead and rubbed her hands. It was snowing again.

“Eva, if you want to go and hang out with your friends, that’s perfectly fine,” Auris said. “Ethan brought his camera, and when he gets in the artistic mindspace, I suspect it’ll be a lot of standing around in the cold for us normal people.”

She puckered her mouth. “You sure? I haven’t stayed out together with my friends for the pandemic.”

He nodded. “Very sure. Go. Make up for lost lockdown time.”

“Yeah, and have fun. Have some mulled beer,” I added and gulped down more of my own.

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