章節 27: The Picnic
Was all of this a sham to earn my trust? How to know if I could trust Dave after what I had seen? And the way he seemed to know things which he was not sharing.
As soon as he sat in the car and changed the gear, he looked at me and his expression changed. He exhaled loudly, 'We'll talk after eating.' Of course he would have know what I was thinking. This was my weakness, I couldn't hide anything from him. I crossed my arms over my chest and squared my shoulders, looking staright ahead through the windshield. We were driving past the forest again and the majestic trees seemed to be watching over us. After a few seconds I started to feel the heat of his gaze and turning to his direction, I saw that his eyes were on my chest. I hadn't noticed it. but crossing my arms had thrust my breasts higher and given that my blouse was low cut, my cleavage was very prominent. I blushed and quickly adjusted my blouse again. When I peeked at Dave again his focus was back on the road, and I was half-deceived. I liked having his attention focusing on me. Even though I was still debating whether to trust it or not, I was still attracted by him and his gaze made me feel more feminine.
After a few minutes we reached a clearing of sort. There was a large meadow which gave way to a small river ahead. We alighted from the car and Dave took the basket while I took the blanket.
'Let's choose a good spot to eat.'
We walked to the tranquil field where the rays of the afternoon sun were caressng the open spaces of fine short grass. There were some patches of withered brown grass and some dried mud too and I tried to avoid those. The area was quite flat, with very little slopes. To the left there were some rocks and big boulders which seemed to have been piled up, naturally or through the hand of hmans, I didn't know. I finally saw an appropriate place behind this big pile, which offered some shade while still allowing some rays of sun to filter through. I set down the blanket, opening it wide enough to suit two persons and sat down. Dave set down the basket next to me and sat down as well. I leaned back until I was resting on my elbows, gazing at the blue sky. The temperature was still warm and it made me feel relaxed. Nature had always had this innate ability to heal me and make me feel better.
I turned to Dave and he also was in a similar posture but hs eyes were closed. I seized that opportunity to look at his cheekbones and proud jawline which were prominent in such a position, with his head thrown back. It also exposed his neck to my sight and I could see his pulse beating. It held an almost unnatural appeal and I found myself leaning towards him, trying to get a taste of that neck. I could almost visualize my lips touching his neck, my tongue darting out to caress the soft skin, then...'
Dave was looking at me and I felt embarrassed at being caught gawking like a star-struck teenager. I wondered what else I would have done if my focus had not been broken.
'Shall we eat?'
I wasn't very hungry even though my last meal was hours ago, but I nodded. There were chicken ham, tomatoes and lettuce sandwiches, some cornish pastries filled with cheese, corn and tuna and some savoury pancakes with coriander chutney. As drink there was a bottle of red wine and orange juice. You're the dessert. Huh? I raised my eyes to look at Dave, perplexed. He looked back at me innocently and passed me the sandwiches.
Even though I thought that I was not hungry, once I got the first bite, I polished 2 sandwiches and a pastry within minutes. They were so delicious.
'What will you drink?'
My first instinct was to mention the orange juice, but then I thought that I needed some courage, albeit false bravado to muster the courage to get the answers to my questions.
'Some red wine please.'
We were both behaving so formally, like strangers and it made me feel pained. He handed me a flute filled with red wine. The red fluid moved about in the glass so seductively when I swirled it around and when I lifted it to the sun, the rays made it look almost amber-rich in colour. The first sip was a bit bitter, but the second one passed more easily and naturally. within less than one minute, I had drunk the entire flute. I must have been thirsty. I handed my glass to Dave and he poured me some more wine. He had chosen the orange juice, I could see.
'Tell me the truth now,' I stated.
'I knew that I had smelled you, your expression in the car confirmed it.'
So he already knew I was there, yet he did not stop the conversation. Does that mean there was nothing for him to hide? Or was that just wishful thnking? I took another sip of the wine, it had started to make me feel warmer and the pain, of what I saw as his betrayal, was starting to dull.
'Why did you have the meeting with Mr Loup?'
'He owns part of the restaurant.'
'So you already knew him before you met him at the Academy?' I had guessed the answer but I wanted him to confirm it.
'Yes. And I didn't tell you because our connection is supposedto remain a secret.'
'Why?' I gulped down the rest of my wine and turned to face Dave, this time leaning on my side.
'He's my informer.'
Even in my muddled state of mind, the puzzle was starting to fall into place. Dave had not been meting the enemy, he was trying to get information. A wave of relief washed over me and I felt as if a huge weight had been taken off me. Dave was not betraying me, from the beginning he had been looking after my interests.
The wine was starting to make me feel hazy, but I welcomed it. I felt as if I was floating on a soft cottony cloud, aperfumed citrus cloud that was so warm. I was lifted high in the air before landing on a soft surface, smelling of lavender this time.
'Am I in heaven?
'Not yet sweetheart. We're in the car going back hope. You've had just a tad too much wine to drink.'
'Are you calling me drunk?' I slurred, squinting at Dave who seemed to have grown a second head which was just as cute as the first one.
'Yes.'
'Let me tell you mister that I can drink one full bottle of wine without being tipsy.'
'But that wasn't an ordinary wine Ash. It was a special wine designed to celebrate you turning into a vampire.'
'Uh?' But my thoughts were too jumbled by then to make sense of what Dave was talking. I only remembered the soft caressing hand holding mine during the entire trip. It would feel so great to have it touching me all over instead of just my hand.
I woke up groggy to the sound of sirens blazing. The glaring blue and red lights of the vehicle next to ours forced me to close my eyes again. I had such a monster migraine. Holding my pounding head in my left hand, I opened the car door and stepped out. A wave of cold air brushed over me and I lifted my eyes to the sight of my house ablaze, with big flames reaching up to the sky. Orange flames were blowing out the windows and I could feel the heat radiating on my face. The firefighters were focusing on stoping the flames from reaching Nadia's house. My house was a torch and smoke was billowing thickly to the sky. There was no way that it cold be saved now and the pain of this loss was so hard that I felt darkness claim me and I felt the pavement rushing towards me before colliding with a warm surface.
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