Teething Pains, Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Jake's red sweatshirt and blue jeans made a riotous pool of living color in the monochrome sterility of Adrian's living room. Even the vampiric professor was a study in black and white -- white skin, black hair, white shirt, black vest and pants -- as he lounged too casually against the white cushions on his couch. Only his remarkable blue-green eyes offered any contrast to this monotony: and they were currently narrowed.

The grad student sighed and turned away from that disconcerting gaze, fighting an urge to blush. Damn it, what right did Adrian have to judge him?

None, of course, came the familiar, steely mental voice. I'm only your friend and protector, not your conscience, Jake.

Do friends read other friends' minds? Jake shot back bitterly.

They do when certain friends are projecting thoughts so loudly that they echo, yes, Adrian replied. "Look," he said out loud, "I am sorry about your door. All I could sense is that you were with another, unknown vampire. I thought I was saving your life, or at least sparing you from making a major blood donation." He stared off into space. "I had no idea you were just getting laid," he said dismally.

Despite his best effort, Jake went beet red. Shit, Adrian....

"What would you prefer to call it? Making love? She doesn't love you." It was Adrian's turn to not be able to hide his emotions.

You're jealous! Jake blurted mentally.

Yes, he admitted. Adrian flowed off the couch and went to stare out the front window, struggling with a deep hurt. If that bothers you, too bad. I told you before, I can't help what I feel. I don't expect you to ever reciprocate my feelings, you know, but I have very little control over how I react when they're aroused. Yes, I am jealous. Grace I can deal with--she's a known quantity, and you profess to love her. But, Jacob... a strange vampire? Who IS she? Where did you meet her? What do you know about her? She could have killed you! He turned the full effect of his gaze on Jake. "If you're going to go around fucking every goddam vampire you meet, I can't be responsible for the consequences," he stated flatly. Every other vampire, he thought, being careful not to project that.

"I don't..." Jake began to protest, then choked as he remembered Melantha. "It wasn't like that," he continued sullenly. "She's really sexy and pretty, and I wanted to be with her. I knew she wasn't going to hurt me, and I knew it was just a one-night stand. What's wrong with that?"

Adrian didn't answer right away, but Jake heard him humming softly. The tune was "Amazing Grace." Jake flushed yet again.

"Grace is never around when I need her," he said, knowing he sounded petulant and petty.

"You and she have an agreement. If she found out about this..."

"Well, she won't. If you tell her, I swear I'll..."

Adrian held up a finely-shaped hand and Jake stopped just short of uttering a threat to a very dangerous vampire.

Careful, boy, Adrian said, though there was a trace of dark humor bubbling under the surface of his words. Don't bite off more than you can chew. Speaking of which, how are the fangs?

Don't call me 'boy', Jake sulked. I'm older than you, for crying out loud. In a sense, it was true -- Jake was 25 and Adrian had been turned at not quite 22.

And I found out how to control them, mostly. They still hurt when they come in, though.

The actor sighed, feeling the weight of four centuries on top of 21 and a half years. You will never be older than I am, Jake. The words carried a sadness that made Jake flinch a little. Not even when the changes are fully made and you have become what I am. The teething pains will pass, like any baby's.

"Whoa! Back up, Talbot--'become what you are'? You said I wasn't going to become a vampire, that I didn't get enough blood!"

"I didn't think you had--but you have fangs, Jake. That's much more than Sofi ever developed. But I think we'd best leave this for another time. We've got this strange vampire on my turf to consider."

I thought T'Beth knocked that stupid notion out of you, Jake replied hotly.

An elegant eyebrow was raised, but Adrian surprisingly let the comment go by. What is she doing here, Jake? Where did you meet her? Why did she pick you? He had to fight another surge of jealousy.

Really, it was ridiculous--Jake wasn't that good- looking; yet every vampire who came along seemed to want him. Adrian's own feelings were so horribly entangled in a mix of lust/love/possessiveness/loneliness that he never quite knew what hit him every time he was with Jake. He knew and understood what Grace saw in her boyfriend--that solidity and quirky charm. But why did every vamp want to jump Jake's bones?

As for Evelyn--what little he'd seen of her--she was lovely and sexy. He wouldn't mind finding out first-hand what she was like as a lover. But first he needed to know what the hell she was doing in Toronto, muscling in on his territory.

If Adrian had been a member of most wild animal packs, he'd have been lifting his leg against the boundaries of Toronto.

"She picked me up 'cause she thought I was a meal, okay? It was at the Arch/Anthro party that you missed."

"I want to meet her," he said imperiously. "Bring her to me."

"Only if you're nice to her," Jake dared to stipulate.

WHAT?

Play nice, Adrian, I won't have you bullying her.

That is the most bloody.... He saw the look on Jake's face. Oh, all right. I won't beat her up. Just get her here, I need to talk to her.

"Okay, then, I'm supposed to meet her later," said Jake, heading for the hall.

"To do what?" Adrian demanded, the words coming out before he could stop them. "I thought this was only a one-night stand."

Jake stopped with a sigh. "She asked me to show her around campus. The bars. Places she can hunt," he admitted reluctantly.

In my territory!?

Jake shrugged. "I'll bring her by here first, okay?" He let himself out into the wilds of the Annex while Adrian stood at the window and fumed.