The President nodded in Rissa’s direction, and caught her sly wink as he moved away. Alec pretended to sip at his drink before turning to Rissa.
"That was successful, I hope?"
She spun on her heels toward him, sliding her hand down his chiseled cheek. "You expected anything less?”
Chuckling, Rissa knew she had this in the bag. "Like a small boy in a candy store, eyeing up the candy. This will be easy." Kissing him on the cheek, she took his hand, as they strolled casually amongst the powerful and beautiful. Rissa could already envision herself in the White House, and not as a visitor.
26
Marcello had been keeping an eye on Cory. He seemed happy enough, but he never left the damn estate. He kept to his room in the house, more than likely eating pizza and playing those video games. Marcello felt guilty leaving him behind. He occasionally took advantage of his freedom to hunt and sought out the young coeds on Fraternity Row in C’ville, and he thought maybe it was time for Cory to tag along. After all, he had Medici blood in him. He needed to experience the world outside of Bel Rosso.
Charlottesville wasn’t exactly the world, but it was a world Medici now ruled and protected, and Cory needed to see more of it, vampire style.
Cory reluctantly joined him as they teleported onto Rugby Road. They walked the street of stately old homes that had been converted to fraternities, looking for one where the party had spilled out onto the street. Marcello zeroed in on his target and pushed ahead. Cory didn’t look thrilled. Marcello shook his head. The kid was always so quiet in public. He knew Cory relied on the feeders for food and sex, but it was time he learned how to really get laid.
They entered the frat house with its wall to wall people. Marcello nudged Cory’s shoulder. "Grab a drink. Settle in, brother, plenty of eye candy here and a good feeding ground. Music isn’t half bad either. You look like you are scared out of your mind. Relax, they’re just women."
Cory felt uncomfortable, not scared as Marcello claimed. He wasn’t a big party person. He’d been in this scene a million times in California, in the underground clubs where, for him, it was a matter of survival. He had a hard time associating this crowd with fun. The place was jammed with college kids his own age, and he wished he could be more like Marcello and just come here, enjoy the bounty, and leave.
"Not scared, just not my thing, Marcello. I prefer a more intimate group. This reminds me of a sex den in the underground clubs, been there done that. But don’t hold back ’cause I’m here."
Cory grabbed a cold beer and popped it open. He watched Marcello go to work, and he was amused. It was so easy for him. His good looks and confidence drew the females to him, and Marcello knew how to use his looks like a weapon. Cory knew he didn’t exactly have that look, or the charm. He found himself a quiet spot along the wall and leaned against it, keeping his eyes peeled. Why in the hell did he come here?
***
Madison pushed her way through the throng of drunken students. She was annoyed with herself that she’d let some of her friends talk her into coming. She’d made the rounds of the frat parties her freshman year, and quickly determined this wasn't for her. The object of these parties seemed to be to get as drunk as possible, as fast as possible. The beer bong was flowing freely as the crowd lined up to guzzle beer from the funnel. The floor felt sticky under her feet as another drunken frat boy stumbled into her, almost knocking her over. Madison pushed him away as she made her way for the door. The music was so loud everyone must shout over it to be heard and she’d had enough. She had almost reached the door when another couple, dancing frantically, smashed into her, knocking her off balance. She threw out both hands, looking for anything to break her fall when she felt strong hands reach out and grab her, pulling her to safety. She looked up to see a boy with long, dark brown hair and soulful brown eyes. She’d seen him earlier, standing near the door, his back to the wall, clearly feeling as out of his element as she did. He asked if she was okay and she nodded yes, the music making any conversation impossible.
Madison motioned for them to go outside, and the sweet faced boy followed. They stepped out onto the wide porch, and even from here, the smell of beer and weed followed them. Madison turned to the boy. “Thanks for breaking my fall. I'm afraid I'm just not frat party material. I'm heading out. You want to join me?"
***
Cory watched the girl as she tried to get to the door. He was captivated by her, despite the fact he could see how annoyed she was with the crowd. He could see she was as uncomfortable here as he was. As fate would have it, she almost landed on top of him, but he was quick to respond and caught her before she could fall. Being a half-breed vampire did have some advantages.
When she stumbled forward, her face was covered by her long, dark blonde hair. Once she regained her balance, she brushed her hair back from her face and looked up at him with her large blue eyes. Cory was reluctant to let her go, but slowly let his hands glide from her shoulders to her hands, under the pretext of steadying her.
She looked nothing like the other students here. Her hair was almost to her waist, with a single braid secured with beads and a feather. Each finger bore a ring, lots of silver and turquoise. She was wearing a white lace tank and a tie-dyed skirt with soft calf-skin moccasins on her feet. She looked like a throwback hippie from the 60’s, not a college preppy. He even wondered if she was a student here. As they screamed at each other over the music, she nodded toward the door and he followed.
"No problem, it’s not easy maneuvering in that crowd. Came with a friend myself, not of my own choice, believe me. What exactly did you have in mind?" Cory pushed his long hair from his face and shuffled his feet as he looked back at her. "My name is Cory Medici, by the way."
Madison smiled up at him. He was tall and slender, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt with a faded logo of The Clash, and an unusual brown leather vest. "Cory. Nice name. It suits you. My name is Madison. Madison Barnes. There's a nice coffee house down on the mall. It's quiet there. Want to join me?"
"Thanks, nice to meet you, Madison. Coffee sounds good, but I didn’t drive, so I have uh, no ride. You have wheels, or do you mind walking?"
He was already telling Marcello telepathically he was out for the night and would find his own way home. But he left out the detail he was leaving with a female. He didn’t know yet if there would be any more details to share, but he liked Madison Barnes already.
Madison pushed the mop of hair back from her face, her long earrings dangling, catching the light. She slung the fabric purse with the Moroccan design over her shoulder as she headed away from the frat house. "It's a bit of a hike, but I don't mind the walk. Java Java. Do you know where that is?"
Cory didn’t take long to follow her, watching her petite figure move ahead of him, not bothering to wait to see if he was joining her or not. Picking up the pace, he was quickly at her side and liked her style, she owned it. He liked how she decided in a moment what she was going to do, and would do it with or without him.
"I’m rather new to the area, I live in White Hall. But I know there are a lot of shops there. Do you live close to here? Go to school here?" They continued to walk, reaching an intersection and Cory placed his hand on the small of her back and led her safely across. She didn’t shrug him off, and Cory took that as a good sign.