"Wow!" I exclaim after Ulric shows me another clip of the many different medical practices he is working and studying through. My eyes glance at him, "That's incredible!"
He chuckles. It's nice hearing this instead of how he was treating me before. Ulric asks as the clip ends, "So, you don't attend Paramount Conservatory...why are you here then?"
"I... I don't get to explore much, my life is pretty much planned out or controlled for me?" I shrug my shoulders as I see the shift in his demeanor. A half-smile makes its way onto my lips as I sigh, "I live across the street so I thought this would be an attainable adventure."
His fingers tab slightly on the table before Ulric replies, "That must be difficult."
"How come you attend night classes? Don't you like the day?" I ask with curiosity.
Ulric shakes his head, "I work during the day, so this is the only time I can further continue my studies on my own time."
"Oh..." I didn't realize.
"You don't have a job from what I've gathered," he tells me after analyzing our conversation. I nod my head slightly. Ulric then says, "I'm glad you are pursuing what you want though. Despite everything happening around you, you're able to control this."
"Hardly but thank you," I tilt my head from side to side.
It's getting late and the campus will close down soon, the last of the night classes almost over. While I get to my feet, Ulric asks me, "Would you like to join me for dinner tomorrow night?"
My eyes widen in shock.
"It's Saturday, so I don't have classes and work half a day," Ulric has a genuine smile on his lips as he tells me, "I'd like to apologize for how I treated you as well."
"Oh...thank you, that's...that's really nice," I've never really had someone treat me this kindly before, so genuine. I knew it was all a misunderstanding between us and I'm glad we can start fresh to see where this friendship cultivates
Ulric is very sincere.
Though...will Odette let me? She'll want to know for sure what I'm doing for me to ask for a Saturday night.
I nod back though, telling him, "I-yeah."
"I'll meet you at the campus entrance tomorrow at nine in the evening," Ulric tells me and I'm still a little speechless. I'm quick to nod my head, feeling some weird embarrassment wash over me that I don't understand why.
I'm quick to leave, heading home and restoring into the safety of my room. The second I land inside and close the window, Odette is lying on her stomach in my bed, asking, "Did you have a nice time?"
"Yeah!" I'm a little too eager though and I'm quick to ask her, "D-Do you think you could cover for me tomorrow night?"
Odette questions, "Paramount Conservatory doesn't have night classes on Saturdays...what is this about?"
"I... got asked out for dinner," I smile, and her features immediately turn into joy and excitement for me.
"That's what I'm talking about!" Odette is in my corner, lifting off the bed and cheering, "I wonder where this vampire will take you to feed, and now you're going to also add another feed to your parents' schedule! You are so becoming like one of us," she's still laughing a bit as I'm hesitant.
I swallow hard and tell her, "It's...well, he's not a vampire."
"Come again?" Odette grows silent, halting her movements as I pick at the fabric on my pants.
"H-He's a human," I tell her, though quickly add, "he's just becoming a good friend! It's nice to see the world for what they do, and experience its mystery alongside them."
Odette stares at me hard.
I shake my head, "I promise! I won't cross into forbidden territory. Please...I'm actually enjoying myself and found someone I can talk about my interests to." I pause watching her features shift a little. I beg Odette once again, "Please."
She tilts her head from side to side and then releases a sigh, "Alright. How about you tell me how you are going to explain to the human you aren't hungry the second you're in a restaurant."
Oh...
...that's a good point I didn't think about that.
I nod my head, wanting sleep to come that much quicker. My voice is even as she leaves, "I'll figure something out."
"You better," Odette arches her brow once more before she's gone.
The dreams I experience today, are quite different from my normal. It's Ulric that I find somewhere in the depths, showing me things, I've never known and finding pure joy in the little things. A smile is on my lips when I wake, the daylight fading away behind the drapes.
I'm not sure what to wear, so I grab just a pair of jeans and a nice lace top, throwing my leather jacket on top. Brushing my hair, I lift it away from my face, feeling exposed to the world now as I don't have the curtain to hide behind. I really want to enjoy his company though; it was nice being able to just talk about anything last night.
Odette knocks on my bedroom door and...
...oh, Eli.
"Don't you look...nice?" He tilts his head to the side, "I'm not sure what the right word is here."
Shrugging my shoulders, I reply, "I just finally got caught up on sleep."
Eli just stares at me, analyzing my demeanor. It's a few moments before he states, "You need to start preparing. You know—"
"We already picked my dress out," I cut him off, telling him, "everything is just fine." Another knock comes from my door and it opens, thinking a little quicker as I say, "Odette was going to help prepare proper etiquette and things like that."
She said I suck at lying, please let that have been convincing enough. Please!
"That's right, no boys allowed," Odette narrows her eyes on Eli, and my brother just chuckles, nodding before he understands. He quickly leaves my room, Odette closing the door behind him and locking it. She glances at me as she says quietly, "I sure hope this is worth all the trouble."
I nod silently, shaking slightly at how nervous I am. The weekend draws more vampires out anyway, most choose to feed while they can get lost in the chaos of the weekend.
Odette releases a sigh and nods her head, "Get going."
"Thank you," I smile before heading out my side window. Double-checking that no one can see me as the streets are a bit more crowded than normal due to it being the weekend, I fall to the sideyard. I'm quiet as I don't clear the ivory gate this time, keeping my heart calm and silently opening the gate. If I just jump over the hurdle, I might land in front of someone on the sidewalk.
I'm excited as I blend in with a crowd heading to the heart of downtown. With my jacket hood up, my hands stuffed in my pockets, I halt briefly at the light a street down. I can't just willy-nilly move across at any point with the amount of traffic and I'm slightly afraid I might get caught. The walk sign turns on and I move across the street, walking briskly toward Paramount Conservatory's main entrance.
Looking around, I don't see Ulric anywhere. After a few minutes, I lower myself onto a bench and gaze up toward the observatory. It's the perfect night for seeing stars, as there are hardly any clouds in the sky.
"Well," Ulric's voice startles me as I had been completely zoned out, merely attributing the heartbeats in the distance as just that…distant. I turn around on the bench and look up at him, a soft look in his eyes as he admits, "I must say, the chocolate was delicious and…I'll give you credit for the soap, it was a rather unexpected gift."
My lips curl into a slight smile as I reply, "I'm glad you liked them."
Ulric motions with his head, telling me, "How about we get going? I've got reservations for the two of us and they might give our table away if we aren't there shortly." While he walks around the bench and halts in front of me, he offers me his hand. I can feel his heart beating fast, and I wonder if he's actually just as nervous as I am, despite the way he carries himself all other times I've encountered him.
My arm extends, my hand touching his while Ulric helps me to my feet. On our short walk to wherever it is he's taking me out, he asks me, "You mentioned that your life is pretty much under the guise of your parents', so…I'm just wondering, how have you been able to get away?"
"Oh…I, well, I have a friend who's covering for me," it's not a lie…they all know I'm terrible at lying and I really don't want to show that to him as well.
"Adamant and driven, aren't you?" Ulric questions as we approach the corner of a street.
I laugh nervously and reply, "Not really…I mean, it's not like my opinion matters nor the choices I'm asked to make at times. So, I kind of have fallen within myself to figure out what I want, not exactly what my parents want for me."
My gaze lifts as I see a really pretty sign that tells me the name of the restaurant: Crafty Plate. Ulric holds the door open for me, and I walk inside, standing off to the side while he enters after me. He walks up to a man standing behind a high-top desk, the man asking, "Do you have a reservation?"
Ulric nods while I walk up slowly, still standing slightly behind him, He replies, "Ulric Cox."
Cocks?
I keep the heat away from my cheeks as I realize how childish I feel. The man looks over his list and then lifts his chin, taking two leather-bound brown menus, motioning, and stating, "Follow me, I can seat you now."
Ulric looks back at me and I keep my gaze on the floor, following behind him as we're led to our table. The man seats us, offering the menus while Ulric and I sit across from one another. He informs us, "Your waiter will be with you shortly."
"Thank you," Ulric replies, opening the menu while the man leaves. I don't even think I can touch mine. It's a few minutes before his gaze lifts and he asks me, "Have you been here before?"
"No, it's nice though," I take in my surroundings, enjoying the lighting and the way they've used the space for seating guests.
Ulric nods and it's a few more minutes before a man comes to the side of our table. He introduces himself, "I'm Cannon, and I'll be your waiter this evening." He's wearing a pristine button-up white shirt that I'm sure stains easily yet shows his skills as a waiter. A dark apron over dark pants covers his lower half, watching as he removes a pad and pen before he asks, "What can I get you two started with for drinks?"
"I'll get the Barrel-Aged Abraxas," Ulric orders his drink, though I see him glance at me, tilting his head to the side for a moment.
"Water is just fine," I pipe up quietly. We might not be able to eat their food, though we can drink their beverages. However, my parents will not let me drink until I'm over the technical legal age, even though that rule is more of a mortal one…just another way they can control me I suppose.
The waiter nods and asks, "Any appetizers I can get started for you?"
Ulric looks at me and asks, "Is there anything you're interested in?"
"I'm okay, I don't really have that big of an appetite," I reply, wanting just to have to worry about the dinner portion than adding layer upon layer of food.
The waiter nods while he clicks his pen and heads away from our table. Ulric clears his throat and I bring my gaze to look across the table at him. He then asks me, "Don't take this the wrong way." He pauses just a moment, almost contemplating if he should ask to begin with, and I understand why when he questions, "You are of legal age, right…? After you said that you don't attend the college, I want to be sure…"
Oh…
…is it because he's so much older it seems?
I nod my head and reply, "Yeah, I turned eighteen a few months ago actually."
Ulric's demeanor shifts again, and he nods, asking me, "What were you thinking of getting for dinner?"
I haven't even touched the menu.
"Oh, uh…umm," I quickly pick it up, fumbling my way through it.
He then goes on to state, "This place is the best steakhouse in town…" as his voice trails off, I glance up over the menu and he finishes with, "…you can even order it rare. The cow is still mooing…so long as you don't mind handling a little…blood. It's a great selection."
Ah! Cool! I might be able to get away with this a bit then.
I smile and nod, "Okie, I'll get that then, it sounds good. Have you had it before?"
"Once or twice," Ulric tilts his head to the side slightly.
When the waiter returns with our drinks, he then asks, "Are we ready to order?"
"Yes," Ulric speaks first as I part my lips, feeling a sense of relief off my chest when he orders for me as well as himself, telling the waiter, "I'll get the steak skillet and she'll have the steak dinner rare."
"Excellent choices," the waiter nods and takes our menus, informing us, "your food will be out shortly."
While silence gathers, I take the glass of water and sip it, asking, "So…where do you work? Are you stationed at one of the hospitals?"
Ulric takes a drink of his own, seeing the muscles tense slightly in his neck. He shakes his head and replies, "No, I provide more of a…home-based medical care."
"Oh, so people who can't go to a hospital?" I ask curiously. That's really nice if he does home visits and calls, that's nice of him.
"Yeah, you could say that," he nods and there's a few minutes of silence between us. I'm staring all around, fascinated by everything happening and I do catch Ulric glancing at me every so often until our food arrives.
I smell the blood from the steak right as it enters onto the floor. While the waiter places our meals in front of each of us, he tells us, "Enjoy!"
"Thank you," Ulric and I both reply, though my response is slightly quieter. I'm focusing on allowing for the shift in my eyes to not surface. I don't need blood right now, so it should be okay…I'd hate to scare him off because I…Ulric takes a bite of his food and admires, "Delicious."
Hmm…how am I going to do this…
…I slowly take the fork and knife, carefully cutting a piece and seeing the blood oozing from the meat. Instead of using the fork though, I opt to take hold of the spoon now, scooping a good amount of blood along with the meat onto the utensil, being discreet as possible. When Ulric glances to the side, I quickly set the piece back down, trying to hide it among the mashed potatoes and green beans on the plate.
It's challenging, though I manage to make it appear as if I've eaten enough to seem full, though I'm careful with the blood.
"I hope everything was good?" The waiter asks as our meal ends, seeing how Ulric has pretty much cleared his plate.
He replies, "Your food is always divine." While Ulric withdraws a card from his wallet, he pays for our dinner, the two of us leaving the Crafty Plate a few minutes later.
As we step out onto the sidewalk, it's a little chill, turning to him once we're out of people's way walking by, "Thank you, this was a really nice night and I had a good time."
"Well, perhaps we can go out on another date sometime," Ulric suggests to me, and my heart skips a beat.
"Another date?" I ask with slight confusion, and I see the way his features alter, my voice quiet as I say, "I thought this was an apology dinner?"
Ulric is quick to correct himself, "Yes, sorry. Poor choice of words or lack thereof."
As he turns away slightly, I reach my hand out and touch his upper arm, calling, "Ulr—I mean…I," his eyes look down at me, a slight fear returning for the way he'd been so outraged that I'd said his name. I swallow hard and tell him, "I'd like to do this again sometime," a small smile works its way onto my lips.
Ulric's smile is a little surprising that graces his lips, nodding as he tells me, "I'd like that as well," he pauses just for a moment before addressing what I'd felt so cautiously about, relief when he says, "Ulric is just fine...Wren."