Chapter 21: The Vampire Pirate's Daughter by Lynette Ferreira
I hear him say, “You can hold onto me, you know.”
“I know. I am not dense – you know.”
He starts the motorbike and the thunderous vibration under me make me feel nervously excited. I have been on a motorbike before, but it has been such a long time, and now being on one with Andrew excites me more than I thought possible.
He pulls away suddenly and I automatically lean into him. The crash helmet makes it awkward and I cannot hold my head against his back, but I wrap my arms around his waist.
We drive out of the estate slowly and then through the streets, but when we get to the old Johannesburg Road, he throttles the gears and suddenly the motorbike speeds up dramatically. We lean with the bike as we go around the corners and for a short moment, very briefly, I imagine being mortal.
Later, when Andrew drops me off at home, I feel invigorated.
He gets down from his bike as well and laughs softly. “Now I am going to have to push this heavy thing up the hill.”
“Leave it here. I promise I won’t use it and it would be safe in the garage.”
“I would love to, but when Mr van Heerden does not see it tomorrow in his garage, he will be asking a million questions. He is already not impressed with me.” He smiles amused. “Besides, it’s four in the morning and I do not want to discuss anything other than you.”
He takes my hand and pull me closer to him. I go willingly. He wraps his arms around my waist. His legs are apart as he leans back against the motorbike and I stand in the space between his legs, his face is level with mine.
With a small smile playing on his lips, he moves his head closer to mine and then I feel his lips on mine. He kisses me gently and then I slowly part my lips. His hand around my waist moves up to the back of my head and then holding my head close to his, he kisses me single-mindedly. I close my eyes and I get lost in him.
Much later, he clears his throat and say softly, “I better go. It is almost time for you to go in.”
I say hurriedly, “I never told you, but I like you too.” I feel mortified, but it is burning inside of me and I need to say it.
He laughs softly. “Susie, I have moved on from like already.”
I look down and softly he takes my chin in his hand and he lifts my face to look up at him. He looks at me and his deep, dark eyes look pensively into mine. He smiles slowly. “Susie, I love you.”
I lean into him and wrapping my arms tightly around his neck, I kiss him until I hear Amanda call my name.
Pulling away from him reluctantly, I see the clouds in the sky have an orange tint. I say hurriedly, smiling coyly, “As much as I enjoy kissing you, I have to go now.”
“Good night, Susie.” He smiles forlornly.
I watch him as he pushes the heavy bike up the hill and then I hear Amanda’s urgent calls.
When I rush into the house, she reprimands me, walking behind me while I rush to the basement.
The next night I wait for Andrew impatiently and when the doorbell rings, I walk to the front door hurriedly.
I open the door with a smile on my face and I cannot help it when the smile fades. Carmine looks apologetic when she steps forward and explains, “Andrew can’t come tonight. He fell asleep in class today, so he is in serious trouble.”
I am disappointed because I had organised with Amanda to get movies, crisps, and chocolates, but now resignedly I enjoy the evening I planned with Andrew, with Carmine.
WHEN MY TWO-WEEK sentence is complete, and I tentatively walk out into the breaking dawn. I feel the warmth of the sun on my skin and I can feel the faint, euphoric harmony in my body. Thankfully, I do not burst into flames.
Standing behind me, Amanda asks nervously, “Are you okay?”
I turn to her, and as the heavens turn blue, and vanilla clouds are scattered in the sky above me, I decide to tell her, “Amanda, I think I love Andrew.” I see her take a step backwards in shock and her mouth opens to speak, but I say hurriedly, “Do not say anything because I know how stupid it is and I will live far longer than he ever will, but I feel helpless, though, wanting to know everything about him, wanting to know all the little things nobody else knows. I need love and I have this strong desire to be loved by someone unreservedly.”
She steps closer to me and I see the pity in her eyes.
I step away and I continue, “They say there is someone for everyone and all these years I have never found it until I saw Andrew. Why would that be? I know you are going to say it is a harmless crush and it will go away, but I do not think it will, though. You told him about us, and he said he accepted it.”
Softly Amanda says, “Come inside.”
“No, I don’t want to. I want to stay out here for a while.” I know she is going to try to convince me not to love Andrew. She is going to tell me if I am looking for hope and love, I will not find it in Andrew. I did not want to hear the truth. I just want to imagine for a little while there could be a chance.
Silently she turns around slowly, away from me, and then she walks back into the house.
I sit down on the lawn and I let the first rays of sun dance over my skin. Looking up at the sky, my eyes follow a pair of birds swooping through the air.
Much later, I walk into the house and I find her sitting in the lounge, paging through a magazine.
“Where is Shayne?” I ask casually as I sit down in a chair opposite hers. “I haven’t seen him in ages.”
Continue reading Chapter 22/23
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