The Ordinary Vampire, part 2
~*****~
It was dumb to be over the moon because someone put an ugly hat on his head. It really was. It probably made his big ugly head look even bigger with the brim, but Ben couldn’t help but run a finger along it and smile to himself as he headed into the kitchen. He knew Jacob was trailing in after him, if only because he could hear Spot’s toenails on the floor as she scrambled to follow him. Maybe it was a werewolf thing. Spot hadn’t liked any man Ben had brought home with the exception of Tim and George, but Jacob? She wouldn’t leave him alone.
And he was not going to get jealous of the dog. He just wasn’t. Even he wasn’t that pathetic. Maybe.
“So, how’d the job interview go?” he asked cautiously, putting his blood away as fast as he could. Yes, he was a vampire. Yes, he drank blood. That didn’t mean he wanted to dwell on it. Especially in front of a cute sort-of stranger.
“Got the job.” Jacob moved closer, reaching for the cupboard behind Ben to grab a glass. Kyle had done that too, Ben tried to remind himself. Kyle had been a master at making himself at home in Ben’s house. Hell, he’d been a master at making himself at home in anyone’s house, which was probably why it had been so easy for him to sleep with half the town while he’d been with Ben.
Moving away, Ben absently patted Spot on the head as he went out to the living room and plopped down on the couch. Moments later, Jacob appeared in the doorway, looking a little sheepish.
“Hey, sorry about that. My mom gets on my case all the time about it. I just have no sense of personal space,” Jacob shrugged awkwardly, moving to plop down on the opposite end of the couch.
And for the life of him, Ben couldn’t figure out if he was relieved or disappointed that it wasn’t anything personal. “Most werewolves don’t,” he offered softly. “Are you the only in your family?”
“Yeah,” Jacob scratched his nose, laughing a little. “I’m a bit of a throw back to older generations. My parents, I think, were seriously over protective because of it. So, when I was old enough, I took off. The first year was a little rough, but you know,” he shrugged as Spot put her massive head on his knee, “when you’re the thing that most people are scared of, it’s easy to feel a little over confident about your ability to defend yourself. Had to get into a couple of fights before I learned not to pick ‘em.”
“How old are you?” First year? Just how long had Jacob been homeless?
“Nineteen.”
Ben tried to remember to breathe. “Really? Nineteen. That’s great.” Tim and George had tied-for all intents and purposes-jailbait to his front porch.
“You okay, there?” Jacob laughed, tapping the hat Ben was still wearing. “C’mon, you can’t be that much older than me.”
Right. Sure. He gingerly took off the hat and handed it back to Jacob who easily threw it back on his own head. “I’m thirty.” And officially too old for Jacob. There was no way someone like him would be interested in Ben’s sad, baggy bones. “Don’t your parents worry? Do you ever talk to them?” Could he expect them turning up on his doorstep long after Jacob had left for greener pastures?
Jacob scratched his nose again, and Ben raised an inquisitive eyebrow. “Yeah, not really. They just don’t understand and don’t seem too keen on attempting to try.” Jacob scooted closer as Spot attempted to climb onto him, taking up half the couch in the process. “I suppose being thirty, your parents aren’t forever trying to make you come home and conform.”
“Nah, my parents pretty much showed me the door at eighteen and said to come back when I was ready to drink like a real vamp.”
“Ouch,” Jacob winced, leaning back on the sofa and once again getting in Ben’s personal space. He liked it better when he thought Jacob was in his late twenties. Made it so much easier to fantasize that he might actually be hitting on him. Of course, who was he kidding. If anything, learning Jacob’s age only showed how deluded Ben had allowed himself to be. “How does a real vamp drink?”
“Straight from the throat,” Ben managed wryly. Stretching out, he put his feet up on the coffee table and relaxed. “Zahn, one of my exes, used to get so pissed that I wouldn’t join him in his drinking sprees.”
“Ew,” Jacob made a face, and Ben couldn’t help but laugh. Which was actually nice for a change. He’d been devastated when Zahn had left. Tim and George had assured him that the problem had belonged with Zahn, and not with him, but it was hard to believe. “Well, for the record, I’m glad you don’t go on drinking sprees. Do all vampires do that?”
“Nah, just the purists.” He let his eyes drift shut. The couch was comfy, and since it was freezing inside, it felt nice to have Jacob so close, giving off body heat. Work had been a bitch and he was ready to relax a little.
“Feelin’ a little sleepy there?” Jacob teased, and Ben tried desperately to pry his eyes back open. “I suppose it is getting late for you. I just had something I wanted to run by you before you drifted off to la-la land.”
“Oh?” he mumbled sleepily.
“I tried looking for a place to live, but there aren’t any vacancies in town. I was wondering, do you think I could rent a room from you?” Jacob asked hesitantly, and Ben made the extra effort to sit up and pay attention. “It wouldn’t be for very long. Just until I can find a place that’s close enough to work that I can walk, and then I’ll be out of your hair all together.”
Yeah, that was better, wasn’t it? Best to think of Jacob as a renter instead of an imaginary love interest. And if he was paying, then Ben wouldn’t have to worry about him freeloading and then robbing him blind like David had. “How much were you thinking?”
“Fifty a week?”
“Sixty,” he blurted out automatically before wincing. He’d always been tight with money, but after David, he’d probably gone off the miserly deep end. He couldn’t help it though. He hated the feeling of helplessness that came with not having enough to make ends meet.
“Fifty five, and you turn the thermostat up two degrees,” Jacob shot back with a dimpled grin.
“Fifty,” Ben offered in return, a wry smile finding its way to his lips, “and you pay half the energy bill.”
“Done,” Jacob offered a hand to shake, and gingerly, Ben accepted it before almost jumping out of his skin as Jacob pulled him forward into an excited hug. “You won’t regret it, I swear.”
Too late, Ben couldn’t help but think.
~*****~
Two week had gone by incredibly fast, Jacob decided, as he let himself into the house. He barely stepped out of the way in time to avoid getting knocked over by Spot as she bolted out the front door barking at a squirrel that only she could see.
“Ben? You home?” he hollered, pulling off his cowboy hat and leaving it on the cheap table in the entry way. He left the door wide open-it wasn’t like any of the heat was going to get out, it was already warmer outside than it was inside and it was practically December. Spot would come in when she got sick of chasing the imaginary squirrel.
“Living room,” Ben called back, and Jacob grinned, shucking his coat as and throwing it on the coat rack. Sure enough, Ben was sitting barefoot on the couch in the living room in a pair of jeans and a sweater. He had a mystery thriller in one hand and his other was tugging absently at his auburn hair. There were reading glasses perched on his nose, and Jacob wanted to take a picture and frame it.
George had made a huge deal of Ben’s hair, the last time he’d forced ten bucks into Jacob’s hands oblivious to Jacob’s protests, saying that most vampires were brunettes. And Tim had chimed in with the fact that they all wore black except for Ben and had perfect eyesight. George had pinched his ass next, drawing that conversation to a quick end, but he could see their point.
Ben was one of a kind.
“So, what’re you reading tonight?” He plucked the book out of Ben’s protesting hands, sighing to himself as Ben whipped off the glasses and tossed them on the coffee table. For someone who didn’t seem to care that Jacob was red-green colorblind and wore some of the most hideously clashing outfits known to man, he was incredibly judgmental of himself. Jacob suspected he knew the source too, having heard more than a few little slipped remarks about the exes.
He’d never really thought of himself as the protective type. After all, having parents that had kittens when he so much as stubbed a toe hadn’t really lent itself to situations in which he was viewed as the stronger person. But Ben? Was it bad that if given five minutes, he wouldn’t have minded ripping the exes’ heads off their shoulders with his bare hands?
Still, he wasn’t going to think of them right now. Right now, he was making sure to hold the thriller high enough so that Ben couldn’t reach as he climbed off the couch and stood on his tip toes in an attempt to grab it back. That his shirt climbed up and Jacob got a peek at his lean stomach? Well, that had been the whole point, but it was best not to let on too much that he harassed Ben because he was over the moon for him.
Ben seemed to think that Jacob was too young and too hot for an oldster like him. Jacob, however, thought that anyone with two eyeballs in their head could see what a catch Ben was. Getting tied to Ben’s front porch? Quite possibly the best thing that had ever happened to him in his entire life.
He’d even made it a point to thank Tim and George for doing just that in a note he’d enclosed with all the stupid money he’d mailed back to them a couple of days ago.
“You’re home early,” Ben commented, distracting him long enough to jump up and grab the book back.
“Slow day. Russell said I could take off a half hour early if I wanted.” He flopped down on the couch beside Ben, who had resettled against an arm. The best part of being a werewolf in this scenario? He squirmed a little, until he was practically touching Ben. Granted, he invaded personal space unconsciously a lot, but he mostly slipped when he was nervous. He hadn’t told Ben that, and maybe one of these days, he’d come clean, but right now it was just a nice excuse to get close enough to smell Ben’s unique clean vampire scent.
Truth be told, it was a bit addicting.
“What did you want for dinner tonight?” Ben asked, fidgeting like mad. Frowning, Jacob backed off a little and gave him some space. Ben had been getting increasingly antsy these last couple of days. Jacob half wanted to ask him if the moon phases affected vampires too, as next week was the full.
As far as Jacob could tell, Ben did a couple days on at the hospital and then had a couple off. This week, he’d worked five days and he had four off. He had one more day off before he had to go back on Monday, and Jacob would have thought that he’d have spent them being happy not to have to drive in and deal with work, but if anything, Ben had just gotten more and more cranky.
“Doughnut pizza?” He’d finally managed to convince Ed of the pizzeria down the street that glazed dounghnut halves on a pepperoni pizza was heaven on a slice. Of course, he was pretty much the only one who thought so, but Ben could have whatever he wanted on his half.
“Delivery’s expensive,” Ben snapped back, startling Jacob as he pushed up off the couch and went towards the kitchen.
“Okay,” he returned softly, watching as Ben pulled open the fridge, rifling through its contents. And actually, in the fluorescent lighting of the kitchen, Ben looked awfully pale. Or, really, paler than normal. “Are you feeling all right?”
Ben stopped in mid grab and turned to look at Jacob, shocked. “Huh? Me? Oh, I’m perfectly fine. It’s nothing to worry about. I’m sorry I snapped. I’ve just been feeling a little out of sorts,” Ben shrugged awkwardly. “Too much time on my hands, I think.”
“Sure,” Jacob nodded gently, offering a small smile at the miserable expression on Ben’s face.
“You wanna go grab Spot for me? She has a tendency to dig up George’s voodoo patch.”
“No problem,” Jacob agreed easily, before slowly turning to walk out of the kitchen.
In the corner of his eye, he saw Ben grab a bag of blood and make a disgusted face as he pulled it out of the fridge.
~*****~
Good god, he was starving. Ben tried not to whimper as Jacob left the kitchen. It wasn’t fair, really. The bags he’d brought home had gone sour faster than he’d thought, and then Jacob had hung around, tempting him.
Flipping the one bag he had left over in his hand, he sighed. He was pretty sure it was sour too, but it was all he had left. Sighing, he put his mouth to the bag, his fangs growing automatically and puncturing the plastic.
Two sips and he had to put it down as his mouth turned inside out. Sour didn’t even begin to cover it. Putridly disgusting might have been more accurate. Trashing the bag, he turned only to find Jacob leaning against the door frame to the kitchen, a secretive smile on his face.
Ben did not scream. Vampires did not scream.
But he might have squeaked as he quickly covered his mouth with his hand. Dammit, as if it weren’t bad enough that he was having fantasies about doing more than hanging out with his cute renter, said cute renter was seeing his pathetic non-purist attempts to stay alive. Then there was the tiny matter of his fangs.
“I kinda figured you were hungry when you sent me to go get Spot.”
“Where is she?” In spite of all attempts not to, he lisped. It was virtually impossible to speak normally with his fangs extended.
“Cruising the neighborhood, I imagine. I tried calling, but you know how she gets. She’ll come back when she wants to,” Jacob shrugged easily, walking further into the kitchen and leaning against the counter beside Ben. “So, can I see ‘em?” he teased, mischief in his eyes.
“See what?” Ben tried evading.
Jacob rolled his eyes and pointed. “Your fangs, what else? I’ve never seen a vampire in fang form. Well, not unless you count a couple B rated movies I saw as a kid. And I doubt those fangs were real.”
“I’d rather not,” Ben mumbled, feeling his face heat up. What a stupid time to blush.
“C’mon, just let me see,” Jacob wheedled, looking all cute and young and yummy.
And he was entirely out of Ben’s league. This wasn’t going to happen. Ever. And the sooner he got that through his abnormally big-but stupid-head, the better. Kyle had been older than him, and Ben hadn’t been enough to satisfy him. Zahn had been the same age, and had pointed out just how repulsive Ben could be. David, well, sometimes he didn’t even think David counted because all David had wanted was a free ride and sex. Both of which Ben had unwittingly managed to provide in spades.
To someone like Jacob? Hell, half the time he wondered if it wouldn’t be a good idea to walk around with a bag on his head so he didn’t have to subject the kid to his longing glances and hideous appearance. He was old and ugly and dull. There couldn’t possibly be anything about him that might even remotely appeal to Jacob.
And yet, in spite of that, he’d still managed to ferret away some tiny little hope that maybe, just maybe, Jacob might come to like him. Just a little.
Which was stupid. Then again, if nothing else, Ben had proven time and again that he wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed when it came to love. As for his fangs? Well, according to Zahn, they were pretty much the epitome of what was wrong with him. They were pathetic, weak, and unimpressive. Not to mention slightly deformed.
“They’re not all that interesting. You don’t want to see them, really,” he tried convincing again. Jacob, however, stubborn ass that he was, seemed completely unfazed by the assurance.
“Now you’re just making me curious. Let me see? Please? Pretty please?” Jacob reached up, and Ben jerked away.
“No,” he growled, keeping his hand in front of his mouth.
“There have got to be more embarrassing things in the world than having grown fangs.”
“Wanna bet?”
“Seriously, let me look.”
“Hell no.”
“Why not?”
“They’re curly,” he finally admitted. Well, why the hell not. It was stupid to hold out hope that Jacob might find him attractive-someday in the distant future-if only he kept all his flaws hidden.
“They’re what?” Jacob raised an eyebrow in confusion.
“My fangs. They’re curly.”
“You’re demented, just let me see,” Jacob laughed, reaching up with one long arm and curling his fingers around Ben’s and pulling down. Reluctantly, Ben let him, exposing his fangs.
And then Jacob laughed. Well, maybe not so much laughed as snickered, but still, the damage was done. Jerking away, Ben turned around to storm back into his bedroom. He’d known this would be the outcome, hadn’t he? Who the hell had he thought he’d be fooling? So George and Tim had tied him to the porch. That didn’t mean that they were meant to be or that Jacob would be the one to see all him in all his disgustingness and still like what he saw?
And really, was there anyone in the world who was going to do that? If he couldn’t see it himself, it stood to reason that no one else was going to. He was an idiot. And he’d brought this on himself, he really had.
“Ben,” Jacob hollered after him.
“Just leave it alone. I knew you wouldn’t understand,” he accused softly, whirling around to stare Jacob down.
“Understand what?” Jacob had the gall to look perplexed. “Your fangs are adorable.”
Adorable? Adorable? What, had the idiot been sniffing glue? “They’re hideous,” he growled, lisping as said teeth got in the way. “I look like a deranged cartoon.”
“You look nothing of the sort. You’re being over sensitive about it,” Jacob chided softly, drawing closer. Wary, Ben let him come near. Jacob reached up with one hand to cup the side of his face and draw a thumb over one long fang. “They’re cute. The way you were going on about it, I’d have thought they would have been pointing the wrong way entirely.” He stroked and then pricked his thumb on the tip, drawing blood.
Shivering, Ben had to remind himself to not let it go to his head. “They’re deformed. Zahn used to say that I should get them surgically altered.”
“Zahn was an ass,” Jacob informed him curtly, drawing closer. His other hand came up to caress a cheek. “In fact, all your exes were asses.”
“You didn’t know them,” Ben sighed, bringing his hand up to pull Jacob’s down, but losing his nerve as his fingers gripped Jacob’s wrist. “They were good guys in their own right. The problem was me,” he explained patiently. It was about time Jacob came to terms with it. Ben didn’t know what kind of rose colored glasses the kid had to look at the world, but it was time to take them off.
“Not likely,” Jacob snorted, startling him, as he gently pulled Ben closer. “Everything I’ve heard about those three idiots has only made me want to bash their heads in. They weren’t good guys, Ben.”
“It takes two people to argue, I’m not blameless,” he pointed out. “I let them. I let them in, I bought into their bullshit. I mean, let’s face it, I’m not good at relationships,” he managed with a self deprecating laugh. “Hell, my neighbors tied you to the porch in an attempt to set me up. It doesn’t get much worse than that.”
“Look,” Jacob ran both thumbs down his fangs, “there are a lot of people out there in the world who don’t deserve your trust or your faith or your affection. But you shouldn’t include yourself in that group.” Jacob drew closer; their noses practically touching as Jacob drew his thumbs down Ben’s fangs once more, impaling the pads on the tips. Ben’s eyes rolled back in his head and he tried not to turn into a pathetic, drooling puddle at Jacob’s feet.
“But--” he started, only to have Jacob cut him off.
“But nothing.” Jacob grinned at him a little uncertainly before closing the gap between them and brushing his lips against Ben’s in a light kiss. “You’re worth it.” He wrapped his arms around Ben’s shoulders, forcibly pulling him in close and up against his chest.
Of course, their differences in height put Ben’s head hovering around the crook of Jacob’s neck. He could practically feel Jacob’s pulse beating against his teeth. “I can’t do this,” he muttered miserably, trying to shove Jacob back.
“Of course you can,” Jacob returned simply with a laugh. “I trust you.” And then Jacob bent down and nuzzled Ben’s neck.
Almost in spite of himself, Ben hesitantly reached up to grab Jacob’s shoulders. Jacob was worth trusting, wasn’t he? It was so hard to tell. There were so many people that weren’t, himself included as Jacob had inadvertently pointed out. Still, he was so very hungry.
And Jacob was offering.
Slowly, he gave Jacob’s neck a tentative lick, almost pushing himself out of Jacob’s arms completely as Jacob giggled and squirmed slightly.
“Sorry. Tickled,” Jacob murmured in his ear, amused.
“Are you sure? I mean, I’ll live without blood for another day or two. You don’t have to do this to save my life or anything,” he tried backpedaling.
Jacob’s hands ran down his sides, before grabbing the belt loops of his jeans and pulling Ben fully up against him. There was no mistaking the lump in Jacob’s pants, although the very fact that it was there floored Ben. “I want you to,” Jacob muttered before kissing his neck. His hands were wandering up under Ben’s shirt, and really? What was he waiting for? An engraved invitation?
Cautiously, he opened his mouth and squeezed his eyes shut as he gingerly put his fangs up against the soft skin of Jacob’s throat. It felt weird. And kinda gross. But then Jacob’s wet thumbs brushed over his chest, and Ben started drinking.
And then it was anything but disgusting.
~*****~
Ben woke the next night to the weight of Jacob’s arm on his waist. Squirming, he all but bolted from the bed once he was out from under the weight. Making a beeline for the bathroom, he ducked around the doorframe to get a peak as Jacob lazily mumbled and stole Ben’s pillow to hug tight in his sleep.
Jacob was in his bed.
Naked. Because they’d done more than play purist last night. The blood had gone straight to his head.
Ben felt the heat rush to his face as he blushed. Jacob hadn’t picked on him for his puny physique or commented on his entire lack of natural pigmentation. Hell, he was as white as a ghost, and yet Jacob hadn’t seemed to even care.
Ben had slept with his renter. He’d slept with Jacob.
Okay, it was time to panic now. And get clothed. Grabbing his jeans from last night, he hurriedly got into them and then quietly slipped out of the room, shutting the door behind him.
Spot was conked out on the couch, a thin stream of drool running from her jowls. Shaking his head, Ben walked past her to the foyer, only to see that they’d left the front door open last night. Lovely. Even when he was trying to be smart, he was blindingly stupid. Really? It was amazing that an axe murderer hadn’t killed him in his sleep yet. Sighing, he stepped out onto the front porch and shut the door behind him. It was frigidly cold out, and he was certain he smelled snow on the wind.
And while Spot had indeed managed to find her way home sometime in the daytime hours, she’d left the paper on the step. Ben bent down to get it, but as he was coming back up, he felt something cold and metal against the nape of his neck.
“Where is he?” a low voice growled.
“Who?” He didn’t dare turn around to look. As dangerous as vampires could be, they weren’t bullet proof. Was anyone really? Besides that, as far as dangerous vampires went, it wasn’t like he ranked high on the scale. Jacob’s neck was the first that he’d sucked on since he’d been a little kid feeding off his mother.
“My son! I know you’re holding him,” the man grunted, sending Ben stumbling slightly as he jabbed the gun against his neck again.
“Yoohoo! Benny boy! Looks like you’ve got company,” George called from across the way in a peignoir that in no way was keeping out the cold. Or leaving anything to the imagination. “Care to introduce us?”
“Call them off!” the man snapped, sounding a little panicked. The door behind Ben opened though, as George cheerfully made his way across the lawn.
“Dad? What the hell are you doing here?”
The gun dropped and Ben took the opportunity to whirl around and stare. On his front porch was a middle aged man in an expensive tux. He had a small pistol in one hand and a pissed expression plastered on his face as he glared at a sleepy Jacob.
“Jacob! Do you have any idea what your mother and I have gone through looking for you?!”
Jacob blinked, and only then did Ben realize that all he was wearing was a bath towel around his waist. “Do you have any idea what I’ve gone through trying to get you off my tail?” Jacob retorted back, leaning back against the doorframe.
“Um,” Ben stammered, his face turning red as they both turned to look at him.
“Benny boy!” George saved him from replying as he all but leaped up the step and swung his arms around Ben, practically choking him. “I’m impressed. I didn’t think you were ready for a threesome.”
Okay, where was a hole in the ground to swallow you up when you needed one?
“Threesome!” Jacob’s father looked close to having a heart attack. “What the hell have you done to my son?” The gun flew up, and of course, it was pointed at Ben’s head.
“Dad, put that damned thing away,” Jacob snapped angrily, storming to Ben’s other side and wrapping his arms around Ben’s waist. It would have been lovely. If it weren’t for the fact that they were all out on the porch in broad moonlight, Jacob’s father was watching, and Ben could see George ogling Jacob’s chest from the corner of his eye.
Thankfully, though, Jacob’s father put the gun down just as Tim started making his way across the yard in his usual bondage gear.
“Lovey, what have I told you about leaving the house in your sleepwear?” Tim all put purred in George’s ear as he got up the step and peeled George off Ben. “Ooh, is Ben having a threesome?”
“No!” he snapped back, frustrated that the two would make that assumption. “This is Jacob’s father.” Not that they’d been formally introduced, what with Ben being held at gunpoint and all.
“Oh, well, hello Jacob’s father,” Tim greeted cordially. “Your son’s been a good companion to our Benny here.”
He was going to hide in his house and never ever come out again. He’d die of blood loss after a couple of days, but it was a small sacrifice to make for his shattered dignity.
“Arnold,” Jacob’s father managed between clenched teeth. “Jacob, I insist that you leave this place immediately. Your mother and I have given you ample time to pursue your frivolousness. But it’s time you came home and found direction in your life. You can’t wander like a hobo forever.”
“I know,” Jacob told him, pulling Ben closer. “And I’ve found direction. I live in this house, I have a job. I’m happy,” he stated simply, quietly.
Turning to look up at him, Ben knew his eyes were growing big. And okay, it wasn’t like he was professing his undying love for Ben. Still, it was nice to know that Jacob wasn’t miserable living with him. Kyle, Zahn, and David had never been happy. Nothing that Ben had done or not done had managed to make them happy. And yet, he’d barely done anything for Jacob and he was happy?
“Whatever those weirdos are paying you, Jacob,” Arnold flicked a hand in Tim and George’s direction, “your mother and I can give you more. You don’t want to be a part of the family business, all right. It’s not as we’d have preferred it, but obviously it’s what you want. Just come home.”
“What’s this about paying?” Ben asked, a niggling sense of dread developing in his stomach. He looked at Jacob, who rolled his eyes, before glancing over at Tim and George.
“Benny boy, we know how lonely you’ve been. And Russell giving Jacob that pay advance his first day, we just wanted to make sure that he stuck around long enough to fall for you,” George murmured apologetically.
The dread multiplied a thousand times, and he stood stock still in Jacob’s embrace.
“Honestly, Jacob. You didn’t have to run to the middle of nowhere and shack up with a vampire just to get even with us,” Arnold added.
Ben shook off Jacob’s embrace. Maybe before the exes, he would have denied it all and naively hoped for the best, but not now. He should have known better. He had known better. Trust in himself. What a load of crap.
“Ben,” Jacob tugged on an arm, but Ben angrily shook it off, his throat getting tight.
“I think it’s time for everyone to leave,” he told them quietly, not looking any of them in the eye. They’d had their fun at his expense. He brushed past a miffed Arnold and stepped through his door.
Slamming it shut, he made sure to throw the lock.
~******~
Of all the morning afters in the history of morning afters, this had to be one of the worst, Jacob decided. He’d never had a morning after, but he’d had a cheery idea of what it would be like when he’d finally drifted off to sleep last night. There’d be cuddling, an exchange of comforting words, and maybe if he’d woken up in time, dinner in bed.
But no. Instead his insane father was on the front porch in a tux, standing next to the insane neighbors.
And he’d just heard the lock click.
“What are you doing here?” he snarled, turning on his father. “And why the hell are you dressed like that?”
“The private investigator just got me the information he’d gathered on you this evening. I was on my way to a charity event with your mother, but we both decided that this took precedence.”
“So, where the hell is she?” Jacob hiked the towel up as his father made yet another disapproving cough.
“She’s waiting with the helicopter just outside of town. Come on, Jacob, we’re going to be late for this event.”
Oh, and that just did it. “Look, I appreciate the concern, and if I weren’t so pissed at you right now, I’d go say hello to Mom and reassure her that I’m all right and apologize for not speaking to you two for the last couple of years. But let’s get one thing straight. My life is here. This is the way it is, and this is the way I like it. That vampire? Is the guy I fell for, and if you don’t like it, tough shit. I’ve found direction, and he’s a part of that. And you’ve hurt him. Now, I’m going to go in there and try and undo some of what you three have managed to inflict, but for now, none of you is welcome within a mile of this house,” he leveled a disgusted look at his father before turning on George and Tim. That George eeped slightly and Tim took him by the arm and escorted him back across the yard only gave him a small sense of satisfaction.
Reaching down, he picked up the fake dog poo, ignoring his father’s indignant gasp. Taking the key, he unlocked the door, and then quickly shut it, throwing the lock again. There would be no interruptions.
Now to find Ben. Which was easy enough, he realized as he gingerly made his way into the master bedroom. On the bed, under the comforter, was Ben curled in a ball.
“Spare key,” he said dully before Jacob had the chance to say anything. “I forgot that I showed you where that was.”
“Ben,” Jacob murmured, sitting down on the bed and tentatively brushing Ben’s hair out of his eyes.
“Just go away, Jacob,” Ben looked up at him.
“No.” Silly little vampire. Like Jacob was just going to give up? Not in this lifetime. He stood briefly, watching Ben’s face crumple slightly before it closed off, and then he pounced.
“Oof!” Ben yelped as he landed half on top of him. “What the hell are you doing?!”
“Tackling you,” Jacob told him smugly, grabbing his wrists and pinning them above Ben’s head before grinning down at him mischievously. “Look, there are a lot of idiots in the world. The vast majority of the time? I’m one of ‘em. This time however, I think the prize goes to my father and the neighbors,” and he paused, bending down until their noses almost touched just to make sure that he had Ben’s full attention, “and you.”
“I know,” Ben managed, looking miserable.
“No, see, you don’t,” Jacob told him, letting go of his wrists and sliding until he was on his side beside Ben. “You think I’m here because of some stupid payment thing that Tim and George had going. Which is not true at all, because I gave it all back. And however much a nutcase my father might be, I have too much self respect to resort to using people just to get back at him. ‘Sides, he’s too dense to get it most times anyway”
“You don’t love me.”
“And why on earth would you think that?” Jacob tugged on a strand of Ben’s hair, frowning.
“Cause you don’t,” Ben shrugged. “It’s all right, I understand. You don’t have to keep humoring me.”
And okay, so maybe that made him a little mad. “You’re being an idiot.”
“What?” Ben looked startled.
“Of course I love you. What, you think I sleep with everyone who offers room and board?”
“B-but,” Ben stammered uncertainly.
“No, look at me, Ben.” Jacob pulled Ben’s face towards him, squishing Ben’s cheeks together slightly in the process. “Now, you’re going to repeat after me, okay?”
“What?”
“No, repeat,” Jacob laughed. “‘I am a kickass vampire.’”
“This is stupid.”
“Repeat.”
“I,” Ben sighed, before mumbling, “am a kickass vampire.”
“Good. Now, ‘Any guy would be damn lucky to have me, because I’m quite the catch.’”
“You’ve got to be joking. Are you blind?”
“Repeat.” Jacob insisted.
“Any guy would be damn lucky to have me, because I’m quite the catch,” Ben rattled off before raising an eyebrow at Jacob.
“‘And Jacob loves me, because I’m a sweet, lovable and generous guy. It’s not surprising that Jacob fell for a studmuffin like me, because let’s face it, I’m pretty damn hot. Plus, I have this kickass cute birthmark on my ass that looks like--”
“Shut up,” Ben tried, and failed, to suppress a snicker as he pushed Jacob’s face away. “I’m not repeating that.”
Jacob grinned, grabbing Ben’s middle and pulling him closer. “Okay,” he acquiesced. “We’ll work on it.”
“But,” Ben tried to interrupt, looking all cute and pretty and hesitant. Was it any wonder that Jacob couldn’t resist tweaking his nose and making him yelp?
“No buts. I love you, and I’m going to keep telling you that I love you until you believe it.”
Ben was silent for a long moment, and Jacob was half afraid that he’d pushed too hard, too fast, and too long. Finally, Ben offered him a shaky smile. “I love you back.”
Grinning, Jacob leaned in for a kiss.