the first morning

Chapter 7

Dimitri woke in his own bed his blankets and sheets seemed to have gravitated to the other side of the bed. Annabelle had all the blankets and pillows around her. Her red hair was a tangled mess and one of her legs was hanging over the edge of the bed. Dimitri looked at his alarm clock and was tempted to wake her. He didn’t though she looked so cute and Dimitri knew how much Annabelle needed her sleep.

Dimitri carefully got out of bed without disturbing the sleeping cat. He stretched and walked quietly into the kitchen. He looked at the clock on the stove. It red 7:45. Dimitri knew that Annabelle would be up soon so he grabbed a book from its shelf and sat on the couch waiting for the cat to wake.

Annabelle woke up tangled in sheets. She never liked sheets they always seemed to be getting in the way. Annabelle untangled herself as gracefully as possible. She walked through the hall as silently as she could. Annabelle wanted to sneak up on Dimitri. “How did you sleep?” Dimitri asked not looking up from his book.

“I will never sneak up on you will I?” Annabelle asked.

“Why would you want to sneak up on me? I am a vampire what do you think I would be doing?”

“I don’t know I just want you to not know I’m coming for you.”

“Remind me to never truly piss you off, I think even I wouldn’t be able to survive that.” Dimitri said with a smile.

“I don’t want to kill you, relax I just don’t like the fact that you can hear me coming, and why are we even having this conversation?” Annabelle asked.

“I’m not sure why but I will almost always hear you coming and there is coffee in the kitchen, and by that I claim victory in this argument.” Dimitri said as he put aside his book.

Annabelle opened her mouth to say something but instead she inhaled the sweet scent of coffee and headed into the kitchen. She didn’t like that Dimitri had won the argument but she did like that there was someone else that understood her. As she poured a cup of coffee she totally thought that she could get very comfortable here. She walked back into the living room where Dimitri had picked up his book again.

“What are you reading, Twilight?” Annabelle asked as she sat on the arm of his chair and sipped her coffee.

Dimitri chuckled. “Now why would I be reading Twilight? Just because I am a vampire doesn’t mean that I want to live up to any moral or sexual obligations set down by a human. Oh, and I do not sparkle like diamonds in the sun, and if I did I would be more homicidal than Hitler.”

“I thought it was a good book, not that I would want you to sparkle or act like Edward Cullen.” Annabelle said and leaned almost dangerously over his shoulder to read his book. “Wow that is some seriously old poetry. Is it Alfred Lord Tennyson? I was never that great at poetry.”

“For someone that isn’t that great at poetry you got the author right. How did you know?” Dimitri asked as he took the steaming cup of coffee out of Annabelle’s hands before she spilled it down his shirt.

“I suppose I know the answer because you know the answer. If it is in your head then it is in my head. I learned more last night than I did my entire life at school.” Annabelle said and leaned over his shoulder further to get a better view of the words. 

Dimitri turned a page and Annabelle lost her balance on the arm of the chair. She crashed rather ungracefully into Dimitri’s lap. Annabelle sat there stunned and a little unsure of what would happen. Dimitri laughed and pulled Annabelle’s face in closer to his. He brushed a few strands of her blood red hair out of her eyes. He grinned as she awkwardly tried to get into a more comfortable position in his lap. “Not the most graceful and balanced cat are you?” He asked playfully.

Annabelle playfully smacked at him only for Dimitri to catch her hand before any blow could land. Dimitri pulled her hand towards his face to kiss her hand. That made Annabelle fall again. This time right into Dimitri’s face. Dimitri took advantage and pulled the cat in for a kiss. She giggled but did not resist the warmth of his mouth.

Dimitri didn’t intentionally pull her in for the kiss but he did and he did enjoy it. He could taste the bitterness of her coffee while at the same time he could taste the sweetness of the creamer and sugar she had added to her coffee. The taste almost made him wish that he were human to be able to drink it. He could also taste a tingly sour-ish taste that was the taste of Annabelle herself. Dimitri lost himself in the kiss he was so intent on tasting and exploring her entire mouth that if it weren’t for his new incredible sense of hearing he would have not noticed when there was a knock on the door. Both froze in place wondering if what they had heard was for real.