Chapter 18: Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Differences

Anaya’s P.O.V:

“Lancelot Eustis sure lives up to his reputation, doesn’t he?” Keith mused as we watched Lance and Trevina walk away.

“He’s not that bad…just-“

“Cranky?” he asked. “Don’t get defensive over them Anna, they don’t deserve it.”

“Why do you say that?” I asked as Keith led me to the nearest door that happened to be the ground floor restaurant.

“You know who they are and what they feed on, so there’s no need to ask.” Keith deliberately lowered his voice so no one else could hear us. Since the hotel hadn’t been decorated yet, this was the only restaurant open right and all the staff members had their meals here.

“I understand that, Keith and I’m not being defensive. I can never understand or accept how they ‘feed’ but it’s not like humans don’t butcher animals to get food onto their plates.” I shrugged, a little worried that I was starting to sound exactly like Lance.

Keith shook his head and once we reached an empty table right at the back of the room, he helped me into my seat. “Let’s not talk about them, shall we? It’s been ages since we last met and that brief reunion at Trevina’s office didn’t help. I feel like there’s so much I need to ask you, but I don’t know where to start.”

“How about we start with how you met Trevina and ended up becoming her Scribt.” I told him. When we last met, he told me he’d only been back in New York for a year. How long had he been Trevina’s Scribt for?

Keith laughed and the sound washing over me in a wave of nostalgia. But while his laugh had once made me feel all giddy and flustered, now it merely brought back a few distant memories. “It all comes back to them doesn’t it? Well, I met Trevina back when I was still working in my old company. She was impressed by my ideas and hired me as soon as I was freed from my contract. So I’ve only been working for her over a year now, but I’ve become her Scribt only recently…say, two months.” Keith ordered for us both when a waiter came over to our table. Since not all the staff members have arrived yet, the number of items on the menu was limited.

Keith went for the club sandwich while I ordered a chicken and vegetable roast for lunch. “So how are you dealing with the whole Scribt thing? I heard you got yourself into a bit of trouble with Lancelot and his women.” Keith asked once the waiter had left us in private.

My cheeks colored. “You heard about that?” I shook my head to clear the flashback images from that fateful day. “I guess I’m learning something new every day. But you’re right. As much as the topic of supernatural creatures intrigues me, I think I’ve had enough for a while.”

“See? Now you get my point!” He pointed out.

We spent the rest of our lunch discussing about our lives and how everything has changed. There was a time when I could spend hours just talking to Keith and not get bored, but today wasn’t one of those days. For some reason, I wanted to get back to Lance as soon as possible. He’d had a strange look on his face when I’d told him I wanted to stay back with Keith, and I found that utterly disturbing.

Or was I just feeling uncomfortable because his very beautiful ex-girlfriend of six years had gone along with him?

But then I looked up at Keith when he asked me about the food and realized that I was doing the exact same thing. Lance might have dated Trevina for six years, but Keith and I had dated for three whole years too.

I stood up suddenly, making Keith jump in surprise.

“Anna?” he asked frowning.

“I’m sorry; I forgot something in my bag. I just need to go get it.” I said before making a hasty exit, leaving my half-eaten lunch and a confused looking Keith behind.

Lancelot’s P.O.V:

“You look restless.” Melinda swirled the wine in her glass, the dark red color matching the shade of her lips. “Wondering what those two are up to?”

I took a sip of the whiskey in my glass and looked up from my tablet where I’d been reading reviews from the Reefwood official website. “Pardon?”

“Oh, come now, Lancelot!” She leaned forward with her elbows braced on one raised knee, exposing the curve of her breasts. “We both know you’ve got a thing for your little Scribt…”

He left it at that on purpose. It made me want to laugh. In our world, age doesn’t matter much while choosing sexual or life partners, but that didn’t change the fact that Melinda was a good one and a half century older than me. Did she really think she could get me to have a heartfelt conversation, with her of all people, by playing such lame tricks? Melinda had lost all those rights the minute she’d betrayed me and Ace. She’ll pay for her deeds, there’s no doubt about that, but I’ll have to wait for the right opportunity.

“How long are you going to sit here?” I asked getting back to my work. “You have exactly one month to get this building into top shape.”

“I know that!” Her voice had taken an angry edge as she stood up from the sofa and banged her empty wine glass on the coffee table. “Fine! Be that way. It’ll be interesting to see the outcome of this little inconvenience.” Melinda slanted away with those parting words, her hips swaying in blatant invitation as she walked out the door.

I switched off the tablet and placed it on the coffee table and then finished off my whiskey in one go. I needed answers from Anaya and even though I knew she didn’t have to report to me about everything that goes on in her life, I found it annoying that she had kept things from me.

The door slammed open at the instant and Anaya walked in quickly, closing the door behind her and leaning against it as he got her breathing under control. It seems like she’d run all the way here.

“What are you doing here?” I was surprised by the harshness in my voice. “I thought you were catching up with your ex-fiancé.”

Anaya winced at that comment. “We never got engaged.” She said in a small voice. ”We were only dating.”

“For three years.” I said. Melinda had been eager to share all the details while I’d come up to my room, and while I wouldn’t have believed her in any other case, I did believe her this time. Over the centuries, Melinda has spoken many lies, but this time she had spoken the truth because she wanted to get a reaction out of me. I doubt she’d have made up everything when she knew I had both Keith and Anna in the vicinity to enquire about the truth.

I watched as color crept up Anna’s cheeks and her eyes turned hard. “You dated Trevina for six years! That’s twice the time I’ve been with Keith!”

“You forget Anna,” I got up from the couch and faced her. “I’m immortal. Six years for me is hardly a month’s time in my two hundred years of existence. But for a human with such limited years, spending three of them with the same man is a big deal.”

Anna lowered her head, the anger draining from her face as she contemplated my words. “You say it like fidelity is a bad thing.”

“For a human, yes, but for an Incubus….we still need to feed regardless of our relationship status.” I left it at that as I walked away from her.

As I closed the door to my room and took off my clothes, getting ready for a shower, I found myself reminiscing on my own words for a change. Yes, I was well aware of how different our worlds were, but for the first time in a long while, I found myself craving the simplicity of a human life.