Taking the Leap

Chapter 5 Part one

~Achilles~

"Have you ever had a...A—uh— partner?" I fumbled not too badly. We'd been on the road for an hour and Xander had barely said a word to me so far on the drive. It was infuriating.

When I came to pick him up he declared that we were taking his car, instead of mine. When I argued he'd muttered something under his breath in French and then snapped at me in English about how my car wasn't travel-ready.

He'd already packed his things into the sleek red Range Rover. I had to be honest in thinking that he had a really nice car. And it was better than mine for long distance travel. He even had two extra tires, an extensive first aid kit, and he'd packed two coolers along with two suitcases. He had a Supreme fanny pack strung across his shoulder, wearing a baseball cap that hid the most of his luxurious curls. He was dressed casually in pants and a long sleeve top with a windbreaker. Xander had snapped at me all morning, telling me to hurry up, and complaining that I'd been late —which I admittedly was— until falling eerily silent.

And now we were in the car at 9:15am stuck bumper to bumper on the freeway. The silence was actually becoming defeaning. I fidgeted in my seat terribly aware of the fact I was in a car with my totally-not soulmate. Xander had sheafs of sheet music propped up on the dash that he was scribbling furiously on. He was also humming and tapping his foot.

I wanted to be annoyed, but I really did love the sound of his voice. That rasp would never get old on me. Suddenly, he stopped humming and turned to me, fixing those stunning green eyes on me. "Did you say something?" Xander said, tapping his pencil lightly on the dash.

"Uh—" I stammered, feeling my cheeks grow hot. "Have you ever had a partner?"

Xander blinked, his face softening slightly. "A boyfriend?" He chewed his full lower lip. "Yeah, of course. I'm gay, not a monk." His voice soured on the end. "What about you? Any nice girls?"

I thought about the few women I'd dated and the one I'd felt a real connection to had been Vivian. Sexy, intelligent Vivian. I think she was the first woman I loved. Her moving to Canada to attend medical school was when I knew we'd outgrown each other. She'd been perfect, just not perfect for me. That was around the time I noticed that although I was bi, I was far more attracted to men. So, Xander was a nightmare come to life.

I had to remember to answer. "No one who was the love of my life."

Xander hummed thoughtfully. "Being single definitely has its perks. I have more time to spend composing, and to spend with my family."

"Your family?" Did vampires even have family?

Xander answered in a dry voice. "I popped out of a womb the same way as you. My people are born like all mammals. Some of our scientists just think we have a few different genes that" he made an odd gesture with his hands, showing me the empty palms "make us have certain needs."

"So the sunlight thing is a myth?" I asked.

It was only for a moment, but Xander stilled, before eliciting a laugh that seemed forced. "In a way. Let's not talk about this. Tell me, Achilles, why do you have a Greek name?"

"My mom and dad met in Greece and my dad was Greek. She said he always liked the name." I said slowly, trying to see when the traffic would ease. "This fucking traffic."

Xander's voice became cool. "Well, if someone was on time we would've beat this traffic."

"Seriously?!" I raised my voice. "Can you just get off my case with that shit?! Like, fuck. I wasn't late on purpose."