The Vampire Pirate's Daughter by Lynette Ferreira Page B

bar behind me.
    I hear him say, “You can hold onto me, you
know.”
    “I know. I am not dense - you know.”
    He starts the motorbike and the thunderous
vibration under me makes me feel nervously excited. I have been on
a motorbike before, but it has been such a long time, and now being
on one with Andrew excites me more than I thought possible.
    He pulls away suddenly and I automatically
lean into him. The crash helmet makes it awkward and I cannot hold
my head against his back, but I wrap my arms around his waist.
    We drive out of the estate slowly and then
through the streets, but when we get to the old Johannesburg Road,
he throttles the gears and suddenly the motorbike speeds up
dramatically. We lean with the bike as we go around the corners and
for a short moment, very briefly, I imagine being mortal.
    Later, when Andrew drops me off at home, I
feel invigorated and he gets down from his bike as well. He laughs
softly. “Now I am going to have to push this heavy thing up the
hill.”
    “Leave it here. I promise I won’t use it and
it would be safe in the garage.”
    “ I would love to, but when Mr. van Heerden
does not see it tomorrow in his garage, he will be asking a million
questions. He is already not impressed with me.” He smiles amused.
“Besides, it’s four in the morning and I do not want to discuss
anything other than you.”
    He takes my hand and he pulls me closer to
him. I go willingly. He wraps his arms around my waist. His legs
are apart as he leans back against the motorbike and I stand in the
space between his legs, his face is level with mine.
    With a small smile playing on his lips, he
moves his head closer to mine and then I feel his lips on mine. He
kisses me gently and then I slowly part my lips. His hand around my
waist moves up to the back of my head and then holding my head
close to his, he kisses me single-mindedly. I close my eyes and I
get lost in him.
    Much later, he clears his throat and he
says softly, “I better go. It is almost time for you to go
in.”
    I say hurriedly, “I never told you, but I
like you too.” I feel mortified, but it is burning inside of me and
I need to say it.
    He laughs softly. “Susie, I have moved on
from like already.”
    I look down and softly he takes my chin in
his hand and he lifts my face to look up at him. He looks into my
eyes and his deep, dark eyes look pensively into mine. He smiles
slowly. “Susie, I love you.”
    I lean toward him and wrapping my arms
tightly around his neck, I kiss him until I hear Amanda call my
name.
    Pulling away from him reluctantly, I see that the clouds
in the sky have an orange tint. I say hurriedly, smiling coyly, “As
much as I enjoy kissing you, I have to go now.”
    “Good night, Susie.” He smiles forlornly.
    I watch him as he pushes the heavy bike up
the hill and then I hear Amanda’s urgent calls.
    When I rush into the house, she reprimands
me, walking behind me, while I rush to the basement.
    The next night I wait for Andrew impatiently
and when the doorbell rings, I walk toward the front door
hurriedly.
    I open the door with a smile on my face and I
cannot help it when the smile fades. Carmine looks apologetic, when
she steps forward and explains, “Andrew can’t come tonight. He fell
asleep in class today, so he is in serious trouble.”
    I am disappointed, because I had organized
with Amanda to get movies, crisps and chocolates, but now
resignedly I enjoy the evening I planned with Andrew, with
Carmine.

Chapter Eleven

    When my two-week ‘sentence’ is complete
and I tentatively walk out into the breaking day. I feel the warmth
of the sun on my skin and I can feel the faint, euphoric harmony in
my body. Thankfully, I do not burst into flames.
    Standing behind me, Amanda asks nervously,
“Are you okay?”
    I turn toward her, and as the heavens turn
blue, and vanilla clouds are scattered in the sky above me, I
decide to tell her, “Amanda, I think I love Andrew.” I see her take
a step