Trust

'My life seems to get weirder by the fuckin' second.' He thought briefly, as the girl turned back around to the sink and continued tending to her face. Ian stood facing her but at a sudden loss for words.

"I'm Vaness by the way."

"Just Vaness-"

She cut him off in explanation, "Yeah I know; 'where's the 'a'?' But that's what it says on my birth certificate. My parents were hippies. Ha."

"Oh. Well, um, my name is Ian. Nice to meet you Vaness, I'm assuming you're a vampire too?"

"Nope."

"No?"

Vaness went to the closet and grabbed a towel then returned to the sink and began applying some make-up. "That's right. I'm human. You are too huh?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Well that's great! Would you like to be friends then?"

"Sure that'd be great," Ian paused to smile; not feeling all that lonely since this girl did seem really nice. "Do you live here too?"

"I'm Val's girlfriend. All my stuff is in her room, and I never leave the house, so yeah, I guess you could say that I live here too."

"Val is a le-"

"-Lesbian?" Vaness finished for him. "No, but she is bi; I'm the lesbian." She smiled to herself.

"Oh. Um, when you said 'never leave the house', were you serious?"

"Yup, I usually stay in Val's room all day and night. Sometimes I go out in the living room to watch some TV to catch up with the outside world. But I always get Jamie to bring me a newspaper. Or sometimes I hang out in the kitchen. Oh! Or the occasional party downstairs."

At the mention of the kitchen Ian suddenly felt hungry. He had totally ignored it yesterday.

"Well I am starving for some breakfast. Want some cereal?" She said picking up her belongings and leading him to the kitchen.

"Yes, please. How long have you been here?"

"I've been here a little over a year." She answered pouring milk into two bowls of Honey Bunches of Oats.

"And Val still doesn't trust you enough to let you leave?"

"Ugh yeah," She sat at the table after handing Ian his bowl then took the first bite of hers. "I'm still trying to figure out what I'm supposed say. It's like a phrase or something that she wants to hear from me. I just have no idea what it is. Hopefully, now that you're here, we can both put our heads together and figure it out."

"Sounds like a deal. How old are you, if you don't mind me asking." Ian blushed, looking down at his cereal.

"Not a problem. I'm 19; you?"

"24. You're so young. How did meet Val anyway?"

"Full of questions aren't ya? I'm just kidding. Well a year ago, after my birthday, a bunch of friends and I got into a bar, with the help of some fake ID might I add, and we split up after getting drinks. I was mingling with a few people, and then Val caught my eye. We were talking and she convinced me to come back here. She gave me a glass of wine with something in it, to make me sleepy. Then I woke up the next morning." Vaness looked off remembering something then smiled to herself and looked back to Ian as he asked her another question.

"Did you ever try to leave?"

"I wanted to but then Val gave me a choice before tried to escape. Either I could've left and I'd never see her again, or I could've stayed and possibly not leave for a very long time. It made me think about the life I had and what I could have. To put it simply: I had no life. All I had was school. I had a few friends but not close friends that I could truly confide in. I didn't have family. My parents had no siblings and their parents died early. I was an only child too, so I didn't have siblings.

So to sum it up, I was pretty fucking lonely. Then I met Val at the bar and she was so...so interesting. From the moment I laid my eyes on her something in me was just drawn to her, and I couldn't bring myself to back away. I don't wanna say 'it was love at first sight' but I guess I have to." Vaness smiled again. "I know sitting in an apartment all day isn't that glamorous but the sex is amazing so I don't mind."

Ian laughed then went back to eating his cereal. Thoughts of Nelson penetrated his mind and his expression slowly turned into a forlorn one. Vaness noticed his changing of moods and would have none of that!

"Hey, you okay? Caught you daydreaming, or shall I say nightmare. What's wrong?"

"Nah, I was just remembering something."

Vaness brought both their empty bowls to the sink and went to Ian's side. "What is it? I won't tell anyone. I promise."

"Well two nights ago I went to this party and to put it short and sweet: I was deceived by this guy I liked and we ended up having sex. Turns out I was just a quickie for him. He took my virginity and threw it away like trash. I can't believe I trusted him." Tears spilled over Ian's cheeks while he felt a wave a disappointment come over him. How could he be that stupid? It was Nelson. Was he blind? Ian felt so ashamed of himself. He was an adult not a pathetic stupid teenager. What was he thinking!?

Vaness cut through his mantra of degrading comments by hugging him tightly. "Don't cry honey," She soothed and handed him a tissue. "Every thing's all right. I know how it feels to regret the things we do but there isn't much you can do about it now; no sense in feeling ashamed or humiliated about it. The best thing to do, honey, is to move on. I know that seems pretty impossible but you have to keep your head up and forget all about that stuff. It will just eat away at you. So start with Jamie. He is a great guy and will treat you right. You gotta just let yourself like him though."

She was right. Ian knew she was. He had to forget about all that happened with Nelson and move on. Before he fell off the swing that night, he had wished to disappear. Well this is about as close as it's gonna get. He has been given a second chance; a chance to love and be loved by Jamie. "Thank you Vaness. I'll try."

Vaness kissed his cheek and gave him another squeeze before releasing him. The front door opened and Val walked into the kitchen with groceries.

"Well, well hello... I'm sorry, what's your name again?"

"That's okay, I'm Ian."

"That's right. Ian. I'm sorry Ian. I know I was shit-faced last night. I apologize." Val turned to Vaness and caressed her cheek with her hand. "Hi baby, how are you?"

"I'm fine, welcome home." Val hugged her then turned them towards Ian.

"So are you two getting along well?"

"Yup," Ian answered cheerily, "We were just talking and getting to be friends."

"Good," Val smiled, "But I'll let you know now that I'm very protective and territorial of Vaness." She disclosed, hugging her love closer to her.

"Fuck yeah you are..." Vaness mumbled under her breath.

"What was that?" Val asked with a smirk.

"Oh, it was nothing." Vaness smiled, feigning innocence.

"I thought I heard you say something."

"Me? Say something? Nooo."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Oh you're gonna get it. So gonna get it." She tickled Vaness to the floor. Ian laughed as he watched them play on the floor, so in love. Vaness said truce and they both got up, sharing a few sexy and dirty looks.

"So are you and Jamie getting along okay?" Val queried.

"We're getting better." Ian smiled to Vaness. She smiled back.

"Good, I'll tell you a little secret about Jamie then. He may come off or try to come off as a tough guy but he is actually just a really sweet, soft-hearted kind of guy. Don't be afraid of him." Val winked to Ian.

The door opened again, and Jamie walked in. Ian turned and smiled at him. Jamie smiled back seeing how cute Ian's smile was, and it was just for him. Then he told himself not to get too carried away and took of his sneakers. "Hey." He said walking over to Ian. He pecked his cheek without thinking and tried to distract him by quickly asking "How are you? Did you sleep well?"

Ian blushed when he realized Jamie had just kissed his cheek. But he hurriedly composed himself and replied, "I'm great. And I slept well thank you." He heard snickering coming from the ladies across the kitchen.

"Good." Jamie struggled to find words, so he just grinned. 'Perfect. When all else fails, just look creepy! Nice going Jamie.' He scolded himself.

Ian took a deep breath and pecked Jamie's cheek then quickly looked down at the floor. "H-how was your, uh, day?" 'Great now he probably thinks I'm afraid of him. Ugh, I'm such a loser. Nice job Ian.' After a moment of silence, Ian looked back up to Jamie who had a light dusting of pink across his cheeks.

"It was okay." He replied and the shade pink got darker.

The hushed laughter returned at the other side of the kitchen.

~*~

A few days had passed. Ian was sitting on the bed in Jamie's room, and Jamie was over at the window slider having a cigarette. After a lot of thinking, Ian couldn't help but to wonder about where the hell he was- who wouldn't?

"Hey, Jamie?" He asked quietly.

"Hm?" Jamie hummed blowing smoke out through his nose and looking over to his dearest.

"Uh, where exactly am I? Like, what's the name of the city?"

"This small, conveniently, overlooked city is called Millbury. Just a few miles away from the park we met in. Anything else de-, err, Ian?"

Ian smiled at the "tough guy's" stammer. "Yeah. Where do you work?"

Jamie smiled inwardly at the younger man's cute face. "A few blocks away at the grocery store. It's a 24-hour store. I'm an extra for all the shifts that need to be covered so my boss doesn't have to pay anybody overtime. He thinks he is saving money. Murphy is an idiot, but he's a cool dude." He chuckles then takes another drag of his cig.

"Thank you Jamie." 'For making disappear, and... a second chance.'

"For what? I thought you hated me."

"I don't hate you. There were just some things I was frustrated about. But I'm over them now. So I'm okay." He had a hint of dejection in his voice that Jamie easily picked up on.

He flicked his cigarette to the street below and closed the slider before making his way over to the bed and sitting next to Ian. "You wanna tell me about what was bothering you?"

Ian looked over to Jamie and couldn't help but to blush at the site of him. His hair was gently tousled from rolling around in his sleep, light stubble covered his jaw and most of his cheeks, and then he looked into his eyes full of concern and adoration. Ian looked away before he lost his train of thought.

"The night we met at the park, I had just come from a party. That guy Nelson sweet-talked me into believing he actually liked me. I had a crush on him already so it was pretty easy for him to fool me into bed. As you can probably guess we had sex and afterwards he got up right away and got dressed. He then explained to me how easy I was, how I was a great piece of ass, and left the room.

I remember sitting there and feeling like getting sick. It was my virginity that we both threw away. I pulled myself together, made an excuse to leave, and ended up at the park."

Jamie hugged Ian into his lap and squeezed him tightly. He didn't know his night had gone so dreadful. "Are you okay though? Did you get hurt?" He asked upset with himself.

"No, I'm Fine." He replied into Jamie's warm chest. He definitely felt comforted.

"Oh thank god," He paused knowing he had to make it up to Ian the best way he knew. "Ian, I am truly sorry about all of this. I shouldn't have taken you. If you want to leave, then I won't stop you." He looked down to the sheets on his bed, thoroughly inspecting the fabric while waiting for Ian to reply.

Ian was shocked to hear this offering but said the first thing that came to his mind. "I don't wanna leave, Jamie." He looked up into Jamie's face, which was now looking down at his. "Ya know what else about that night? Before I fell off the swing I wished to disappear. I got my wish. This a nice place with two very nice ladies and a very nice man that I don't wanna leave. I like you Jamie. I like you better than the life I had. So I don't wanna leave."

Jamie felt tears welling up in his eyes. He smashed his lips into Ian's. He had never heard someone say something so sincere and loving like that to him. All the emotion he had held over time from being neglected of love from another went into that breath taking kiss they shared.

Ian felt wetness on his cheeks and kissed the man harder with the emotion he has bottled up for days, weeks, and years.

Jamie, reluctantly, broke the kiss for some much needed air, and smiled down at Ian.

"Thank you." Ian said hugging Jamie tight and feeling like never letting go.

~*~

A few more days passed rather uneventfully. Val and Vaness had been down stairs at a friend's house, and Aiden hasn't been home at all. So Ian and Jamie have been hanging out together a lot. They watched TV and movies holding hands, shared a few chaste kisses when Jamie left for work or when he came home, and plenty of talking, laughing and sharing. Taking the friendship slow and steady made both of them feel reassured and safe.

###

Both men were sitting in Jamie's room reading books in the late afternoon. Jamie was sitting next to the slider having just finished a cigarette, and, seemingly, reading 'Great Expectations' for the 36th time. Ian was on the bed reading 'The Memory Palace'. Jamie closes his book and goes over to Ian and sits next to him. The sun was finally below the horizon but there was a faint pink light still in the sky, and the pinkish hue illuminated the room, making the atmosphere cozy.

"Something wrong?" Ian asked, looking up from his book.

"I just wanted to talk to you about something. You mind?"

"No, of course not." He set his book down then looked back to Jamie.

"So do you remember when I told you I haven't had human blood in a long time?"

"Uh, yeah. I do."

"Well I've been thinking a lot so I was wondering if... if you'd give me the pleasure of tasting you?"

Ian blushed at the wording of Jamie's request. Then he immediately mentally kicked himself in the butt for thinking so perverted. "I-I don't know."

"You'll only feel a little sting at first. It won't be unbearable at all really." He reassured Ian.

"Okay. If you say so." He sighed giving up easily.

Jamie smiled and looked back out the window, seeing the sun was completely gone from the sky. Perfect. "Okay. Sit up straight and relax." Ian nodded and did as he was instructed. Jamie tilted his head back for better neck access then leaned into him. "Breathe. I promise not to hurt you more than the inevitable." Ian nodded slightly and wrapped his arms around Jamie's waist.

Jamie quickly punctured the tender and supple flesh of Ian's neck and sipped until he was full; which wasn't much at all. Jamie, and all other vampires, doesn't have the stomach strength to take too much blood. It can only handle a pint of blood at one time. He detached himself from Ian's neck and licked the two little wounds until they were non-existent. He kissed that very spot, and he felt his lover's body shiver.

Jamie pulled himself away from Ian's body. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it didn't hurt that bad." He got up from the bed and went to examine his neck in the mirror. He was confused when he didn't find any bite marks, and turned to Jamie with a questioning look.

"I licked them until they were gone." He answered not needing the obvious question on Ian's mind, "So that was okay?"

"Yeah, it was. You know, if you ever need a drink...just ask."

"Oh, thank you." Jamie looked down at the floor awkwardly.

"Is something wrong Jamie? You're acting really weird."

"Oh. That."

"Yes, that. So what's wrong?"

"Uh, well I don't think- I mean I shouldn't but if you, uh-"

"Jamie," Ian placed his hand on Jamie's shoulder to try to calm him from babbling like an idiot. "Just spit it out."

"I like you." He blurted right out. "I'm, just- well, very attracted to you Ian, and I was wondering if you'd like to be my boyfriend."

"Oh." Ian muttered as felt the familiar heat creep up his neck and face.

"I was going to ask you sooner but then you told me about what happened between you and that Nelson guy, so I just thought we should take things slow. And I do so very much enjoy the sweet kisses we share every once in a while. But we are more like friends than partners. And through this friendship that we've been growing has made me more interested in you, as a potential lover, not just a friend."

Ian smiled softly and thought, 'Wow, I thought he'd never ask...' "I'd love to be your boyfriend Jamie, I feel the same way; truth be told."

Jamie smile couldn't have been wider. It spread across his face, he felt the luckiest man in the world. He pressed his lips to Ian's, feeling words could do his emotions no justice at this point.

~*~

A few weeks passed and during that time Jamie and Ian grew closer, as lovers and friends. He and Vaness also became good friends. They often talked about how to gain the trust of their lovers...but the brainstorming always fell short.

###

Val and Vaness were getting ready to go to a party up on the 5th floor in their room while Jamie takes a shower and Ian sat on the closed toilet talking. "So you can't drink my blood to the point of killing me, you can go out during the day perfectly fine, and what other cliches can you do?"

"Well, during the day I have none of my vampire qualities. Like, I can't drink blood, my upper canines won't grow into fangs, I can't teleport 100 feet, and I can't heal wounds by licking them. But when the sun goes down, I get them all back."

"Wow. So there are no coffins, super strength, super speed, insomnia, or mind reading?"

"Nope, absolutely not."

"Hm, I learn something new about you every day."

"I am a wonder; aren't I? Oh, I'm done. Can you pass me a towel?" Jamie turned off the water and Ian tossed a towel over to him, who then stepped out of the steamy shower with it hanging dangerously low on his hips.

Ian took in the sight of the dripping, slender, god- looking man standing in front of him as he bent down and planted a firm kiss on Ian's lips then went to the sink and shaved. Jamie felt his lover's hungry gaze on him, and smiled to himself.

Ian's cheeks flushed and there was a stirring in in his pants as his stare fell to Jamie's round ass. He ripped his gaze away before he popped a boner that would've been impossible conceal without being obvious.

Upon entering his room, Jamie's phone started ringing, he answered it, "Hello?... Hey Murphy... Yeah... Uh, I was scheduled in for 3pm to 11pm today... Really? What happened?... Mhm, oh?... Mhm... Well that really bites...Yeah sure... Okay, see ya tomorrow Murphy. Bye." Jamie thrrew the phone on the bed side table and changed into some sweatpants and a t-shirt.

"Everything all right?" Ian asked, ignoring the brief view of Jamie's ass.

"Yeah. The electricity is down because the maintenance guy fucked up the wires. Everything should be good by tomorrow so I have the day off today."

"Well that's great! Uh, but unfortunate of course." Ian blushed at his excitement to have Jamie all to himself.

"Hell yeah it is. I love working but a day off is great every once in a while. Oh, that reminds me, I've been meaning to ask you what you used to do."

"I worked at home as a website coder." Ian said remember his home office where he would worked hours end before taking a break. Maya always said he spent too much time working on the amateur websites his boss saddled him with all the time. But it was what paid the bills so he did the best job to earn every buck.

Jamie sat on the bed next to Ian and gazed over at him, Ian stared right back. "So, we have the house to ourselves for once. What do you want to do?"

"I-" Ian was cut off by Val and Vaness bursting through the door. "Hey guys! We're leaving! You two sure you don't want to come?" Val queried for the millionth time that day.

"No thanks, Val. We'll be find here by ourselves. But say hi to Tim for me please?"