Xenia
I watch him walk away while I stand there confused. "Demetrius," I repeat aloud in a whisper. I kind of like that name. The way he kissed my hand, it was different. No one had ever done anything like that to me before. Usually, I would find that kind of gesture cheesy, but from him it was just sexy. The way he took up for me and the fact he walked me home and didn’t expect anything also added to my confusion. Was he really just a gentleman? Maybe the bar for men was set so low I didn't know what it was like to be around someone who wasn’t a dick.It was weird I even let him walk me. I didn’t let just anybody know where I lived, and he was a complete stranger, but there was something about him, something in his eyes that made me think I could trust him. I don’t know. Honestly, in my current state, if he would have tried anything, I would have probably had sex with him just to make me feel better. There was no denying he was really attractive. Way more than just attractive. He was a whole snack. Nothing like getting under a new man to get over an old one. Yeah, right. That never actually works. I sigh thinking about my life situation and turn to walk into my house.Something is irking me though. He knew my name. I was almost positive I hadn’t given it to him, and I don’t remember Aiden saying it either. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just drunk. I don’t even like to drink that much, but for some reason I let Aiden talk me into going to a bar with him. I should have known better especially with his wandering eyes. That was one of the reasons we broke up. Stupid Aiden.I strip out of my clothes that now reek of alcohol then climb into bed feeling sorry for myself as a tear falls down my nose to the side of my cheek. Another night alone feeling like nobody cares about me.* * * * *The sun peeks through the window screaming at me to wake up. I groan feeling the headache and other hangover symptoms that accompany it. And this is exactly why I don’t drink. Another reminder that Aiden is no good for me. I check the group chat and see some messages from my girls asking how my night was. They knew I was going out with him and of course they want all the details. I message them back saying we should meet at the local coffee shop not wanting to discuss anything over the phone. I don’t want to go back and forth with them. I just want to get it all out, one and done.I roll over and pop some pain meds after chugging a bottle of water and hop into the shower. After putting on sunscreen and moisturizer on my face, I decide to keep it fresh with no makeup. I throw on a crop tee, sweatpants, and Converses before giving myself a once over. I guess I look okay.I slither into a booth and sit there for a few minutes when I see my two friends walk by through the window. My heartbeat quickens thinking about telling them what happened. They didn’t like Aiden or want me to be with him, so I have a feeling an “I told you so,” moment is about to take place and I’m dreading it.“Hey, girl! So tell us how was it,” Brittania questions me wriggling her brows. Jezebel stares at me with a grin on her face, elbows on the table and her chin resting on her hands as if she's so interested. They both sit across from me anxious to hear about my night and I’m feeling irritated now. I wish I hadn’t even told them. I should have known that would have solidified my doom.“It was how you expected it to be. At first everything was fine, but a couple drinks in and I walk out from the bathroom to find some whore all over him. Of course he says she was just drunk and he didn't do anything, but he had his freaking hand basically on her ass and she was whispering in his ear. I guess he thought I was drunk too, and he would just be able to talk his way out of it, but I'm done with him. He wasted my time once again. I hate him.” I’m barely able to get the last part out as I’m starting to get emotional thinking about how much he's hurt me. Brittania jumps out of her seat squeezing into my side of the booth embracing me.“Don’t you dare cry over that asshole! You are too good for him, Xee.” I know I am, but still... it hurts.“Yeah, seriously, fuck him.” Jezebel chimes in, but her words don’t sound as sincere.I don’t have time to ponder it much because suddenly I hear the door open, and my eyes widen at the sight before me. My heart skips a beat as I see Demetrius walking in. We were sitting in the corner in the back so I’m not sure that he notices us, but I can’t take my eyes off him as he walks up smoothly to the counter picking up his order. I know I shouldn’t be thinking about another guy so soon, but damn, he looks good. He’s wearing jogger pants and a tight t-shirt that’s clearly damp from sweat. With his physique, there's no question he was working out or something. I can see his bulging arms and chest in the tight tee, something that wasn't as visible last night. His dark wavy hair is tousled and messy, but that only adds to the appeal. Just when I think he’s about to walk off, he turns his gaze to my table, and I immediately look down as my cheeks start to blush.Jezebel turns around following my eyes. “Damn, who is that?” She asks with a smirk.“I don’t know, but he’s coming our way.” Brittania adds and my heartbeat picks up again. I hadn’t been able to tell them about my interaction with him, and I wasn’t planning on it. I wasn’t expecting to see him again, but why am I so worked up? Now I’m regretting coming out without an ounce of makeup on looking as if I don’t care about my appearance at all.My head tilts up automatically as I hear him approaching and I force myself to play it cool even though my heart’s beating out of my chest for some reason.“Xenia, how lovely to see you again,” he smirks and even though my cheeks flush, something about his words calm me down. It’s like no one else is in the room but me and him.“You too,” I reply as I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. His eyes follow my movement. “What are you having?” I ask nodding to his cup.“My usual, a quad latte.” He takes a sip, and my eyes go to his Adams apple when he swallows. I feel Jezebel staring at me and I look to see her giving me a look that says, ‘introduce us.’“Oh, sorry. These are my friends, Brittania and Jezebel. Guys, this is Demetrius. He basically saved me from Aiden last night.”“Oh, really? How so?” Jezebel asks looking up to him flirtatiously. I roll my eyes feeling a bit territorial. This girl wants everyone. I feel a little bad for thinking that way. It’s not like I have dibs on Demetrius or anything. In fact, I’m done with men. Maybe I should set them up together just to prove a point. But just thinking about that made my stomach tighten.Demetrius nods smugly as if he’s proud of his actions before the waitress comes up to take our order.“Well, I must take my leave. It was nice to meet you ladies. And Xenia, always a pleasure to see you.” He turns to the waitress putting a hand on his shoulder as he speaks to her. “Steph, put their order on my tab, please.” My eyes widen and he turns away without another word.We order coffee and breakfast and as soon as Stephanie walks away the girls flood me with questions.“Um, hello. Leave a bit of the story out from last night?” Jezebel asks and I smile looking into my cup of coffee.“Yeah. I guess I hadn’t gotten to that part yet.”“Okay. So, what the hell happened? You said he saved you. What did he do?” Brittania asks curiously and I sigh. I guess there’s no keeping it from them now, so I tell them about what happened leaving nothing out.“Xee, you’re dangerous. How could you let a stranger walk you home? Even if he is a freaking hot one,” Brittania asks worriedly, and I know she's right.“I know. I know. I just had a good feeling about him. Plus, he was no more dangerous than Aiden in that moment. I don’t know what his problem was. Anyways, it doesn’t matter. I’m done with Aiden, and Demetrius is no one to me, just a cute stranger that I probably won't ever see again.” Saying the words didn’t even sound right, but I couldn’t just come out and say I was crushing on some random guy. This town wasn't that small, and even though it was weird running into him two days in a row, the chances of me seeing him again were slim. Honestly, I wasn’t really sure what I was feeling. If I was to analyze myself, I’d say I was just hyper-focusing on someone new. But I tried not to do that to myself. Being a psychology major will have you thinking you’re crazy.“Well, he doesn’t seem like he’s nothing to you. He barely even looked at us. I think he’s into you, but if you don’t want him…” Jezebel trailed off, but I knew what she was saying.“Sure, go ahead,” I shrug wanting to sell my disinterest. “He’s all yours.” Her big grin annoys me in that moment, but I push those feelings aside. I shouldn’t be jealous of my friend.We eat our food and finish our coffee before parting ways. Today was day one. Day one of me officially cutting Aiden off, day one of me starting over, and day one of no men. I would at least give myself a month or something. Start small.But the whole way back I can’t help but think about Demetrius and how we just happened to run into each other in the way that we had, and also even though I had just sworn off men, how I wanted to see him again.DemetriusThe hot liquid burns my throat slightly making its way down, but I welcome the pain. I quickly leave the area now feeling the need to get as far away from her as possible. Last night, my interactions with her were all I could think about, something I scolded myself for. I have never been so intrigued by someone before, not vampire or human. Especially not human. The thought alone disgusts me. I despise humans typically, but for whatever reason, not her. Did I pity her that much? It was possible the connection I felt was because I was seeing her experience a heartbreak firsthand, and I knew how that felt. That may be all well and true, but it does nothing to explain the physical attraction. Sure, I found some human women attractive enough to take them to bed, but nothing more. No. This was different. I had shown her kindness and grace, something I had only done to one other, something I had promised myself I would never do again.I shake my head at the thought. I don’t like w
Demetrius“Brother, I’m so glad you came!” Avalon runs towards me and I embrace her small frame. “I can’t believe you left me here.” I look down at her and can see the emotions in her eyes. She’s upset with me, but I can’t blame her. She probably feels like I abandoned her, and in a way, I guess I have. I feel bad about that. She’s the only one who I really care about. The only one deserving of that. A little bit of light to my darkness.“I’m sorry, little angel.” I say as I rub her head lovingly knowing my words will annoy her. She frowns up at me and pouts. “Don’t call me that. I’m no angel.” That makes me laugh. I guess she’s right. She can be pretty feisty, but still she has a good heart even when she tries to hide it feeling the need to live up to the vampire name. She hasn’t had to harden it yet, and I hope she never does. As much as I want her to remain pure, I worry for her and her soft heart. I never want to see it get broken as mine has. Because I will crush the head of who
XeniaI was seriously regretting some of my life choices lately. Why had I decided to get my master’s in child psychology again? Yes, I loved the field, and working with special needs children was so rewarding, but the study itself was challenging, not to mention the class schedule was completely outrageous. I’m barely able to stay afloat. I guess in order to obtain your degree, you aren’t allowed to have any type of social life. I shouldn’t even be complaining about it, though, because this is exactly what I need to be doing, throwing myself into my studies completely. With everything that has been happening, I need a distraction. Thankfully, Mom and Dad take care of all my financials, so I don’t have to work. They know how important this is to me and I am so grateful for them. I know everyone doesn’t have it as easy.Sitting in class, I can’t help the way my mind wanders as I stare out the window. Professor Richardson’s lecture is barely audible in the background as I drift off int
XeniaI’m still in shock and fuming mad as I walk back to my car. What a complete dick. I can’t believe men like that actually exist. The girls will lose it when I tell them. Brittania would have slapped him for sure. Jezebel was fearless when it came to situations like this too. I only wish I had the balls they did. Neither of them gave too much thought about consequences, where I was more of the rational, calculated person in the friend group, you know, the one that usually ends up being the designated driver taking care of her drunk girls. There’s always that one responsible friend. I think things through and play it safe, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but sometimes it just made me feel like I couldn’t put myself out really. Being the chief’s daughter didn’t help. I felt the need to carry myself in a certain way. I would never want to embarrass my dad.I’m in such deep thought reeling about my recent encounter with Professor Dickman -- that’s his new nickname -
DemetriusI detach his head from his body without even thinking twice. Low-level scum. Luckily he was not one of mine, and had we not been in a parking lot where eyes could be on us at any moment, he would have been tortured and put through extreme pain before he lost his head. But I didn’t have time for that, so a quick death it was.Somehow, she did a number on him and I’m pleasantly surprised. My initial thoughts about her were right. She’s not the average woman. She has a depth to her that I want to explore in many ways. But seeing her laying there slumped over like that, I almost lose it, not even caring how worked up I am and why or the fact that I just killed a fellow vampire because of a human. All that matters in that moment is her safety. Thankfully I made Avalon stay in the car when I sensed her, unsure if the two meeting would be a good idea. If I had doubts before, I knew now it was no mere coincidence that I was being drawn to her once again. What was this unknown force
XeniaShit. Did I really just ask him out? This is so unlike me. I’ve never done anything like this in my life. I’m not old school and I’m all about equality, but I just feel like a man should be the one asking me. My one caveat in being an equalitarian or whatever. I don’t know. Maybe it’s backwards to think that way. If a woman can do anything a man can, why shouldn’t we be able to ask them to go on a date or propose for that matter? Not that I’m thinking about proposing. I don’t even know if I want to get married at all. My mind is all over the place. It’s just he’s giving me weird vibes now. One second, I think he’s into me, the next he’s frowning and being kind of standoffish or making me feel like something’s up. I don’t know him well enough to ask and I don’t want to seem pushy, so I just let it go, but it does bother me a little. How I’d love to be in his head right now. But the simple fact is I’m here in his house, with his little sister, and he saved me… again. There’s no
Xenia I thank the driver and tip him, not sure exactly how that works, because I think he’s actually employed by Demetrius by the way he spoke of him. But he was a sweet older gentleman opening the doors for me and waiting until I got inside before he pulling off, so he deserves a tip.I dive into my bed immediately sending a message to the group chat I have with Jez and Brittania. Britt is a night hawk, and sure enough she video calls me seconds later and I give her a recap of everything.“Holy shit, Xee. What the hell? Are you sure you’re okay?”“Yeah. I feel great now, actually. I mean, I was a little groggy at first and had a headache, but now I feel super energized. I guess I was out for a few hours.”“Hmm. And Demetrius was there again?” She asks sounding skeptical. “Yeah. Thank God for him.”“Yeah. I guess… it’s just kind of weird how he keeps showing up, don’t you think?” “I don’t know, Britt. I kind of feel like maybe he’s my guardian angel or something. I know it sounds w
DemetriusIt was as if my mouth had a mind of its own. I was meant to turn off the charm, but instead I had actually turned it up a notch. What was with this word vomit I was experiencing and why could I not control myself when it came to this human woman? It was more than disturbing, and yet instead of distancing myself from her I had agreed to a date. Yes, I promised myself this would be the last night, but I had also done more than I thought I would have already. As expected, as soon as Xenia leaves, Avalon bombards me with questions, most of which I have no answers to. Her curious young mind is so excited to be involved in human matters. Even though she’s witnessed enough, I will not reveal the dark thoughts I harbor for Xenia to her, the things I think about doing to her if I ever had her alone. No one could ever know, partially for her own safety, yes, but also, I had a reputation to withhold. I could not be associated with the likes of a human in this way. That was yet another