Page 43 of Only Fangs

“You, young sir, are a fucking genius,” she tells me and I blush with pride. “Take me somewhere that serves prosecco. But the cheap stuff, that loan might just save us, but I still can’t afford to be too flashy.”

It’s only when we’re five minutes down the road that I realise the awkwardness between us has gone, like nothing happened in Wales at all. Perhaps it’s for the best to forget all about it.

Chapter 23

Ari

He takes me to The King’s Head, a human pub with a clientele who appear to be almost predominately students. At least there’s a doorman to let me in, but I don’t think he’s there as a curtesy, I think he’s there to break up any fights that occur and to check the IDs of the children who are trying to buy alcohol.

It’s a well-known phenomenon that as you get older, people start to look younger and it becomes more and more difficult to tell how old people are. “Is that person old enough to even be out without their parents?” I ask Brody under my breath as I look around the pub and spot someone who seriously looks twelve.

Brody squints in the murky light. “I’d guess he’s a fresher,” he says. “That means he’s in the first year of uni, so probably eighteen or nineteen.”

“Looks twelve,” I mutter.

But despite the apparent children all around me, I cannot fault the King’s Head’s selection of sparkling wine – both normal sized bottles and those mini ones that pricks drink with a straw – or their prices which are cheap even by my paltry standards. Especially after the cost of last night. I feel stupid for the hot tub and the wine and the… well, it’s obvious he doesn’t really like me. Not that I want him to… it’s just hard not to take it personally.

We slosh the wine into two slightly grimy flutes and for a second I think of the face Ivan would pull if I tried to bring him here. I think he’d have a heart attack if he had a heart to beat.

“Here’s to our new loan,” Brody says with a smile that lights up his entire face.

“Can it really be that easy?” I ask.

“Yes. You heard what that dude said. It’s a done deal.”

I’ve always wished I was more positive, more prone to assume the best instead of the worst. It must be so much nicer. So much less stressful to spend your life assuming that everything is going to fall into place and only having to worry when things actually go wrong.

An hour later and we’ve drunk two bottles of prosecco between us. The edges are starting to blur a little and I’m starting to feel giddy, like a young kid taking their first sips of Sanguis.

“We should get some food,” Brody tells me. “Mop up some of this fizz.”

The cold air hits us as we leave the pub and Brody shivers next to me.

“That wind is bracing,” he tells me with an exaggerated grimace.

“Definite perk of being a vampire that I don’t mind it.”

We walk past the restaurant we went to on our fake date. “We could…” I begin, before letting the rest of the question trail off.

“The Castle Brasserie? I didn’t think you liked it last time.”

“It was alright,” I say. But in truth, it was better than OK. Anywhere with Brody is always better than I’m expecting, like I’ve conditioned myself not to have fun but I can’t help myself when I’m with him. “But let’s go someplace else.” I’ve remembered how much money I don’t have right now. “It’s pretty pricey.” Plus, I don’t want him to think it’s a date. Not after last night. I don’t want to make things more awkward.

Brody looks a little shifty and runs his hand through his hair. “I actually have a voucher. Two for one on mains, plus a free glass of dessert wine. But I don’t want you to think I’m cheap if I use it.”

I frown. “Why would I think you were cheap?”

“I dated a girl once who thought it was gauche to use a voucher.” He shrugs.

“Was it Yetty?” I wouldn’t be surprised, it’s the kind of thing I can imagine her doing.

“No. Her name was Heather and she wanted me to build a crypto portfolio so I could afford to take her to all the best places.”

“She sounds delightful.” I don’t think Brody has very good taste in women but I don’t say it out loud.

“She dumped me after nine months when she met someone with a trust fund.”

I just can’t believe he wasted that long on her. “Well, I think the Castle Brasserie with a voucher sounds perfect,” I tell him. He beams back at me.