“Close your eyes,” he said softly. “I have a surprise.”
Scarlet smiled as she closed her eyes. She could hear Blake approaching, his footsteps crunching the rocks and driftwood.
“Hold out your hand,” he said.
She opened her palm, waiting, curious.
After a moment, he placed something cold and damp in her palm. She opened her eyes and looked.
She gasped. He’d inserted into her hand the most beautiful piece of sea glass she had ever seen, completely smooth, worn by the waves of the Hudson. It was a vibrant rose color, and seemed to glow in the fading sun.
Sea glass. Somehow, it felt meaningful to Scarlet, like it brought back memories. Although of what, she didn’t know.
Before she could thank him, he’d already taken her hand and was leading her down the shore.
“This way,” he said.
They twisted and turned along the shoreline, down a narrow path, weaving in and out of the tall marsh. After a few minutes, they turned a bend, and Scarlet was amazed at what lay before them: there sat a small grove of trees, clustered at the shore, their branches leaning over the river. Fruit hung from the branches.
Apples. She couldn’t believe it. An apple orchard, here, in all places, right up against the water.
“The best picking in town,” Blake said with a smile, as he turned to her. “No one else knows about it. They just grow wild and fall into the water. Might as well enjoy it, right?” Smiling, he took her hand and led her to the first tree. The trees were small, only about twelve feet high, with old, wide branches arching low to the ground. Blake easily stepped up onto one of the branches, then another, and took a seat on a wide branch. He turned and held out a hand for Scarlet.
It looked like fun, and she loved climbing trees.
“I got it,” she said with a smile, and quickly and easily climbed up the branches, until she was sitting beside him.
He looked back at her, impressed by her dexterity.
She reached up and picked a huge, green apple hanging over her head. She had to yank hard to get it off, and as she did, a cluster of apples came falling off their branches, a mini avalanche bouncing all around them. She raised her hand to her head, as one bounced off it. Several landed in the water, bobbing, immediately carried away by the strong tides of the Hudson.
She turned to Blake, in shock, and he looked back at her, equally shocked. At the same time, they both burst into laughter.
“I think you just discovered gravity,” he joked.
They laughed together, as Scarlet watched the apples drift further and further out into the Hudson. As she watched, a large fish suddenly surfaced and took a bite out of one of them.
“Oh my God, did you see that?” she said excitedly, pointing.
Another fish came up and took a bite out of another one. They laughed in amazement.
Blake turned back to the tree, reaching up and carefully picking an apple himself. Scarlet bit into hers. It was the biggest apple she’d ever had, the size of a grapefruit, and the most crisp, too. It was delicious, and she realized how hungry she was. In no time, she ate nearly half the apple, its juice running down her chin.
She suddenly felt self-conscious, wiping her chin with the back of her hand.
“Sorry,” she said, her mouth full.
“For what?” Blake asked, his own mouth full, and with twice as much juice dripping down his chin.
They both laughed.
They finished their apples and both sat there, looking out at the sunset, watching the fading sun over the river.
After a while, strong breezes picked up, whistling through, and she began to feel cold. She was trembling, and buttoned the highest button of her jacket.
Blake reached out and draped an arm around her shoulder.
As he did, Scarlet’s heart started to beat faster. She had never been touched by Blake before, not like that, and the feel of it was electrifying. She was scared; yet she didn’t want him to back away.
She leaned slightly into him, and he kept his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close to him.
They sat side-by-side, their shoulders touching. He slowly ran his hand up and down her arm, warming her.
Then he reached out with his other hand, and laid it gently on top of hers.
“My God, you’re freezing,” he said.
Scarlet quickly retracted her hand, self-conscious. She’d also noticed recently that her hands seemed colder than usual.
“Sorry,” she said.
“It doesn’t bother me,” he said. “Your hands—they’re beautiful.” Blake reached down, and slowly pulled her hand back, and held it in his.
Her heart was pounding as he slowly caressed her hand. She was trembling again, but this time it wasn’t from the cold. It was from nervousness. She felt sure he was about to kiss her. A part of her wanted him to. But another part still wasn’t sure.
Her heart pounded in her throat as Blake slowly turned from the river, facing her. She turned her chin just the slightest bit towards his, to see if he was looking at her.
She could see out of the corner of her eye that he was, and she turned to him a bit more.
That was all he needed. He reached up with his free hand and held her cheek in his palm. She turned more to him, and for a moment, they looked deeply into each other’s eyes.
He leaned in, and a moment later, she felt his soft lips on hers. It was a gentle kiss, and her heart was pounding as their lips met.
The kiss lasted for an eternity.
As she closed her eyes, she felt transported to another world.
She kissed him back. He reached up and ran his hand through her hair, then slowly across her neck. She leaned in a bit more, and they kissed more passionately.
Suddenly, something began to rise up within her. It was a feeling, something she did not recognize. Her heart suddenly started to slam, to pound out of her chest. It felt like she was having a heart attack. Then she felt an intense heat, a burning, rising up her legs, through her torso, down her arms, to her fingertips. She felt an awful stab of hunger, of pain, deep in her solar plexus. For a moment, it felt as if she’d been stabbed. It took her breath away.
She did not understand what was happening to her. She thought maybe she was dying.
And then she found herself staring right at Blake’s neck. She zoomed in, watched the tiny heartbeat pulsing in his veins. His scent filled every pore of her body. She felt an unquenchable desire to be close to him.
But not to kiss him. To her own horror, she found her body screaming at her, begging her, to sink her teeth into his neck. To feed on him. To drink his blood.