Bedding My Vampire Mate

"Have you ever seen me joke around with such a serious face?" Joanna asked a bit more seriously.

"If you think I bought the laptop because I pitied you or whatever...,"

"You, pity me?" Joanna chuckled as she pointed her index finger at Audrey.

"I am aware that even though everyone in the world was to pity me, you are the last person to do that," Joanna said with so much confidence that Audrey was shocked at how high esteem her best friend thought of her.

"You have already been bewitched by me ever since we were children which is why everything you do for me is from the heart...,"

"If that is the case then shouldn\'t you take responsibility for bewitching me by accepting every good thing I get for you hmm?" Audrey pouted her lips.

She tried to hop onto Joanna\'s body but she moved away in time thereby escaping whatever tricks Audrey was trying to pull.

"This is exactly why I want to break the spell for you. You know you can\'t stay bewitched by me all your life...,"

"And why can\'t I huh?" Audrey challenged.

"In a few years, I won\'t have to rely on my parents\' allowances anymore. I will make tons of money that will be enough to pamper you for a lifetime," Audrey declared while beating her chest with her right hand.

"Aww... that is so nice to hear. I wonder what would have been Kyle\'s reaction if he were here to listen to his girlfriend make such a confession...,"

"Hey, why did you bring him up?" Audrey growled, displeasure written all over her face.

"About Kyle, there is something I have been wanting to ask you...," Joanna let her words linger.

She held Audrey\'s hand and together they moved to the medium size bed.

"Why do you look so serious hmm?" Audrey questioned. She removed the hands Joanna had placed on her lap and shifted a bit away from her.

"Don\'t tell me you wanna say I should break up with him because you don\'t like him...,"

"Actually, that is the opposite of what I want to say," Joanna cut in. She moved closer so that the gap between the two of them no longer existed.

"Drey, I can still recall that you were there for me when I didn\'t know what love between a man and woman was. You guided, coaxed and encouraged me at the time I needed someone to talk to," Joanna started in a cool tone. 

She held Audrey\'s hands and guided them to her lap.

"I remembered a few times when you even cried along with me...," Joanna chuckled at her own statement.

Recalling the silly things she did in the past brought a smile to her face when back then she was miserable that she forgot that such a thing like laughter existed.

"I am happy to see that there are many things that bring a smile to your face," Audrey mumbled, her gaze fixed on Joanna\'s glistening eyeballs.

"I want to be that kind of friend to you. Someone you can rely on. Your number one backer and cheerleader...,"

"Aren\'t you already that right now? Also, what does this have to do with Kyle?" Audrey, who was curious about where the discussion was heading interrupted calmly.

"Do you love Kyle?" Joanna asked without giving Audrey a heads-up.

"W-w-what...," Audrey so much wanted to slap her mouth for messing up at such an important moment but she held herself back.

"Are you both serious about each other?" Joanna added, her eyes glued on Audrey\'s wavering eyeballs.

Seeing how Audrey tried to avoid her eyes she couldn\'t see the reason why she would act that way but she decided to ignore it.

"If you are serious about him, I promise to constantly keep him in check to prevent him from hurting you...,"

"Life itself is unpredictable so how could you be so sure that he won\'t misbehave even though you tried to keep him in check?" Audrey quizzed. 

She brushed Joanna\'s hands off, stood up and strolled a few steps away.

"Drey...,"

"Anna, I know exactly what I am doing so you don\'t have to worry about me. I promise I can take care of myself...,"

"But...,"

"I thought you had a meeting with your group members this morning. Aren\'t you gonna get ready before Raymond gets here?" Audrey quickly changed the discussion to stop Joanna from pursuing the topic any further.

"You are right about that but...,"

"Go on into the bathroom now. I will help you pick an outfit," Audrey interrupted. She strolled to the wardrobe without taking a second look at her surprised best friend.

[It\'s her boyfriend we are talking about for crying out loud so why is she acting this way?... Is she not in love with him or what?]

Joanna stared at Audrey\'s back in silence. She had no choice but to head into the bathroom when Audrey refused to look in her direction.

Some minutes after Joanna entered the bathroom, a knock at the front door made Audrey pause what she was doing. 

She dropped her cell phone on the bed and approached the sitting room and then the entrance.

"Raymond!" Audrey exclaimed, pretending as if she hadn\'t known he was the one before she even opened the door.

"Miss Butterfly...,"

"Sorry to disappoint you but she is not done. She is still in the bathroom...," Audrey let her words linger. She tilted her head and looked towards the bedroom door.

"This is not because she didn\'t wake up early. But the truth is that she was trying to sort out your performances to make things easier for your group members," Audrey explained. 

For a minute she forgot to invite him into the house so they could talk over a cup of coffee or tea.

"We haven\'t started yet and I am already feeling guilty. I feel like I am gonna owe her way too much before D-Day...,"

"What is the problem?" Audrey cut in and beckoned him into her home at last.

"Wait, you are not planning to abandon everything for her to hand right? Tell me I guessed it all wrong?" Audrey asked. Her expression turned stern as she waited for Raymond\'s reply.