Reggie’s Reasons

“Not intimately, if that’s what you’re worried about.” The blond sat up, back against the headboard, a pint-sized pout emphasizing his full lips. “I’m Donny, Fox’s cousin. From Alabama. You promised to show me a good time.”

“Er…” Reggie didn’t remember anything after he’d started throwing back home brews with Kyle. “You agreed to come home with me when I was legless?” I am in my own bed, right? Peering blearily over the blond’s tight body, he saw his desk and laptop sitting under the window.

“Who do you think drove your drunk ass home? You were all hands and promises until I got you inside, then bam, you hit the bed and started snoring.”

Thank the Fates for that home brew. Reggie did not do one-night stands, and while he had a typical vampire desire for blood and sex, blood bags took care of his basic needs. Sex was something he was saving for… “Fuck, what’s the time?”

“A little after eight.” Donny frowned as he glanced at his watch. “You clearly forgot I was here. Is this the part where you offer to get me a cab without even making a coffee first?”

Damn. That was exactly what Reggie was going to do. “I’ll take you out for coffee. There’s a great little diner two blocks down,” he said, rolling out of bed and heading for the bathroom. It wasn’t that he was ashamed of being seen with Donny. The man was drop dead gorgeous if you liked perky little blond twinks. But today was Reggie’s twenty fifth birthday. The day he officially became an adult in vampire society.

Surely, there’ll be something special for me today. But as Reggie scanned his large bathroom mirror, while taking care of business and then tucking himself away, the expected card was nowhere to be seen. His heart sank. Why did I have to get Donny to bring me home last night? He must have gotten the wrong idea.

The “he” was Reggie’s secret admirer. At least, that’s how Reggie thought of him. It started just after Reggie turned fifteen. As with any vampire his age, he went through the awakening. His need for blood became a raging thirst, and after draining five blood bags in the space of an hour, he’d suffered twenty-four hours of agony as his fangs came in and his body changed – typical vampire puberty in other words.

It was after he’d received the blessings of his coven leader, Bevan, who’d raised him since his parents died not long after his birth, and Reggie was struggling to cope with his new reality – heightened senses, a nagging fiery feeling in his gut, and his hugely improved height and muscles - he’d found a card taped to his bathroom mirror.

All it said was “I’m so proud of you.” There was no name, no signature, nothing to indicate where the card came from. But simply holding the thick, expensive looking paper gave Reggie a sense of peace. Putting it safely away, he thought no more of it, until another card and a small gift appeared the following year. And the year after, and the year after that.

At first, Reggie thought it was someone in the coven, sending notes on his parent’s behalf, but when he hit eighteen, the notes took a decidedly flirty approach and no one at the coven ever showed any sexual interest in him. Vampires didn’t mate with other vampires. At nineteen, Reggie didn’t expect to receive anything, he’d left the coven by then, and was living in his own apartment. But on the morning of his birthday, another card was there, on his bathroom mirror.

Reggie hadn’t been able to forget the card he’d received the year before – his twenty fourth birthday. “One more year until I can hold my heart’s desire.” At the time, Reggie had been seriously flirting with the manager’s son at the club he worked at, but something about that written desire made Reggie feel special, and he broke off the flirting and concentrated on being the best damn bouncer he could be.

“It was meant to be today,” he groaned, thumping his bathroom counter. A whole fucking year he’d been waiting for that hint of a promise, to meet the person who’d kept his distance until he was an adult. And now I’ve gone and fucked it up.

“Looking for something?” Donny was leaning against the door frame, waving a familiar looking card in his hand. “You know, it’s really bad form to flirt with someone when you’re already partnered with someone else.”

“Are you sure it wasn’t you that was doing all the flirting?” Reggie reached over and snapped the card from Donny’s hand. Just holding it made his heart lighter. He hadn’t been forgotten. “I vaguely remember meeting you when we got to the pub, but I’m pretty sure I spent most of the night drinking with Kyle and Fox.”

Donny huffed and tapped his foot on the tiles. “You’re the virgin vampire, right?”

Reggie was so glad of his genetics in that moment – vampires did not blush. “What of it?” He folded his arms across his broad chest, tucking the card under his arm where it couldn’t be seen.

“Fox was busy telling me it’s unnatural. Twenty-five years old and never been kissed.” Donny’s eyes raked over his body. Reggie felt self-conscious although he refused to squirm under the attention. “It’s a travesty. Any man or woman would happily climb that huge body of yours and offer their neck. What are you waiting for?”

Reggie wasn’t sure if he should feel flattered or annoyed. “It’s really not any of your business, is it?” Or Fox’s for that matter. No one knew about the drawer where he kept the previous ten cards, and the small gifts that often accompanied them. Nothing big or expensive. Just little things showing his admirer had been keeping an eye on him. The year he bought his first car, the gift was a key ring. When he graduated college two years earlier than most, a beautifully engraved gold pen sat on his bathroom bench. The stuffed green frog from the local fair he’d been to with his friends, a smart watch with a triple alarm function when he got his first job.

“Look,” Reggie said when Donny’s pout deepened. “I appreciate you bringing me home. I’m sorry my snoring kept you awake. I’ll happily buy you a coffee, or breakfast if you’re hungry and drop you off at your cousin’s afterward, but who I sleep with, or don’t is my choice. Making me feel as if there’s something wrong with me because I don’t sleep around isn’t making me feel any better about you. Some of us still believe in fated mates, you know.”

“I’d make a vampire like you a very satisfying mate.” Donny purred as he ran his hand down his fine chest. “Cats are very flexible, and our blood is like catnip to bloodsuckers like you.”

Reggie would like to say he wasn’t affected, but truth was, holding onto his virginity had been a struggle at times. Only the rough texture of the card he still gripped in his hand reminded him he was hoping for better things.

“You’ll find your own fated mate one day,” he said roughly, because damn it, his cock was waking up and his fangs itched. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll change my shirt and take you out for that coffee you wanted.”

“Your body wants me, even if your mouth is saying no.” A cunning look came over Donny’s face as he eyed Reggie’s crotch. “No one needs to know about it,” he said, slinking closer. “I won’t even tell Fox if you don’t want me to.”

Reggie didn’t realize he was squeezing his card until he felt the prick of a paper cut. “What part of no don’t you understand?” he growled, frustrated and embarrassed all at once. “Get the hell out of my bathroom before I pick you up and throw you out.”

“Oooh, I do love it when I get manhandled.” Donny shimmied as his hands roved down his thighs. “All that raw passion….”

“Get. The. Fuck. Out.” Reggie’s roar shook the mirror and his tooth cup fell off the counter. He didn’t dare put his hands on the little guy – that was not the type of thing he ever did. Even when he was bouncing, he was careful with anyone smaller than himself.

Whether it was his tone of voice, or the claws he’d suddenly developed, Donny finally got the hint and moved away. “Fine,” he said, peering over his shoulder. “I’ll let you change your shirt in peace but stuff the coffee. You owe me a bloody steak meal for yelling at me like that.” The slamming door did nothing for Reggie’s headache.

Fucking Fox. But Reggie didn’t want to think about his so-called friend right now. Carefully, smoothing out the creases on the card, he read it once, twice and then again to make sure he was reading it correctly.

It’s finally time and the wait is over. I’ll see you tomorrow. Be ready for me.

Tomorrow. “Tomorrow!” Reggie slapped his hand over his mouth to stifle his yell. He searched the card front and back. There was nothing else. No time, no place, no hint of who this person was. But he was coming, tomorrow.  Oh, my fucking gods.

Reggie’s mind was flooded with questions. What if the admirer was ugly? What if he was a she? What if the past ten years had been nothing but an elaborate ruse, and this guy was coming to kill him? Nah, Reggie dismissed the last idea. Clearly, the guy had skills – Reggie never knew how he gained access to his apartment. Okay, last night, Reggie had been plastered, but other years he’d been sober and would have noticed someone breaking in. But regardless, this person, whoever it was, had had ample opportunity to kill him over the years and hadn’t done it yet.

He’s coming, tomorrow. Reggie did a soft shoe shuffle across the floor in his socks. Finally, he’d come face to face with the person who’d been watching him for so long. A huge smile graced his face and Reggie let himself feel excited. Not long to go now.

An angry banging on the door startled him. “Asshole, are you done in there yet? You still owe me a damn meal.”

Donny. Fuck. Reggie had forgotten all about him. “Be there in a minute,” he said, turning on the tap. He’d give the boy breakfast, because Donny had driven him home. Then he’d drop the nuisance off at Fox’s house and head into work. He wasn’t rostered on, given that it was his birthday, but the club always had work for him. Keep busy. That’s all I have to do is keep busy and that way tomorrow will come even faster.