Vampire Beach: Legacy Page 2

  His dad must have checked only the current total, because down a few statements it was clear that Jason had taken out the cash – right when Tyler had rolled into town from Michigan. Tyler had owed his drug dealer some serious cash, so when he had gone to a party at Zach Lafrenière’s place – Lafrenière, as in French ancestry, as in vampire – he hadn’t been able to resist picking up a silver chalice that looked like it was worth enough to save his butt.

  It was. But the chalice was also an heirloom used in sacred vampire rituals, and the vampires were not at all happy that it was gone. In fact, they had planned to kill Tyler in retribution. Jason had managed to save his friend’s life. And then he’d bought back the chalice in a gesture of good will. In the end, the only thing that had got hurt was his college fund.

  ‘Somebody put the money back,’ Jason told Adam. ‘There’s a statement – a statement I’m going to, um, disappear,’ he added, folding the statement and putting it in his pocket, ‘that shows me taking seven thousand out. Then, three weeks later, it shows that there was a deposit for seven thousand going back in.’

  ‘Hmm. Looks like you were the recipient of a special grant,’ Adam said. He tore open the bag of wasabi peas and popped a handful in his mouth. ‘Dr Pepper! Now!’ He stuck out his tongue and fanned it with his free hand.

  Jason handed him a soda, and Adam drank it down. ‘I love those things, but I always forget how insanely hot they are,’ he explained.

  ‘You’re not supposed to scarf them,’ Jason laughed.

  Adam coughed a couple of times, then cleared his throat. ‘As I was saying, it seems like someone made a contribution to the Jason Freeman Needy Boy Foundation.’

  ‘Who would do something like that?’ Jason asked. ‘Not that I don’t appreciate it, but I can’t think of anyone who—’

  A car horn cut him off.

  ‘That’s for me!’ Jason’s sister Danielle called from upstairs. ‘Wave or blink the lights or something to let them know I’m coming.’

  ‘Remember when Dani didn’t think she’d have any friends at her new school?’ Adam asked.

  ‘Yeah, for that whole day and a half,’ Jason replied as they walked over to the front door. He flipped the porch light on and off.

  ‘Who’s out there, anyway?’ Adam said, peering through the long narrow window next to the door.

  ‘Kristy, of course,’ Jason said, taking a look. ‘She and Dani start to wither if they are apart for more than eight hours. And that’s Maria, Billy . . . and I think Ryan Patrick from down the block is driving.’ Jason turned to Adam. ‘So what’s our thinking on Ryan? He spent last semester in Paris as an exchange student. He lives in DeVere Heights. But Patrick is not a French last name.’

  ‘True. But he’s always been a member of the V-crowd, ever since we were kids,’ Adam answered. ‘I think odds are that he’s a Friend of Dracula.’

  ‘Where are you off to?’ Jason asked as Dani rushed toward the door. The heels of her leopard-print Stella McCartney shoes – the ones she ‘love, love, loved and could not live without’ – were clicking on the tile of the entryway and her auburn hair was flying around her face.

  ‘Big date?’ Adam chimed in.

  ‘No, just the movies. No parties on Wednesday night. Nothing juicy,’ Dani explained.

  ‘Just the movies,’ Adam repeated, shaking his head sadly as Dani hurried out to the car. ‘Even a bad movie is better than pretty much anything else the world has to offer.’

  ‘You need to get out more,’ Jason told Adam as he watched his sister and her friends drive off. He didn’t think he’d ever seen Ryan in the mix before. But at this point Dani had even more friends in Malibu than she’d had in Michigan. And that was saying something. He could only really keep track of the key players.

  ‘So you want to hang by the pool for a while?’ Jason asked his friend. ‘Oh wait. No, you have all that chemistry homework to get to.’

  ‘Smart ass,’ Adam answered. He headed back through the kitchen and straight out the French doors to the pool. ‘Although I really do have homework. I’ve been spending too much time on my extra-curricular project.’

  ‘Still?’ Jason asked.

  ‘Still!’ Adam repeated, sitting down on the diving board. ‘Excuse me for wanting to make sure another vampire hunter doesn’t slide into town. I want us to be prepared next time.’

  ‘Tamburo was the first one since the Renaissance,’ Jason pointed out. Like he’d pointed out several times before.

  ‘That doesn’t mean it will be centuries until another one shows,’ Adam argued, as he always did. ‘The bad thing is, I’m having a hard time finding any solid info on the web. It’s all Van Helsing and Buffy and Blade and the Belmont clan.’

  ‘The who?’ Jason asked.

  ‘It’s from this Japanese video game series, Castlevania,’ Adam told him. ‘It’s fun, but not useful. I—’

  The French doors swung open. ‘Guys, what, no Godfather marathon?’ Mr Freeman called. ‘I got my second wind. And I made popcorn!’

  Adam turned his head to hide his laughter.

  ‘We’re there,’ Jason called back. He glanced at his friend. ‘It was your idea. Looks like you’re stuck watching a mafia-fest.’

  ‘Oh, like I’m going to complain about that,’ Adam said, getting up. ‘You really dodged a bullet tonight, you know.’

  ‘I know.’ Jason grinned, still feeling a little heliumed out. ‘I’ve got good friends, a truly amazing girlfriend, Dani is happy, the parents are happy, there’s an actual swimming pool in the backyard, and since my dad is ignorant of the seven grand I spent on non-college related expenses, I can live to enjoy it all!’

  ‘And we’re about to watch The Godfather,’ Adam added as they headed inside.

  ‘And that,’ Jason agreed. ‘Life is good.’

  Three

  THE LIFE-LOVING FEELING was still there the next day at lunch, when Jason and Adam headed out to the huge balcony overlooking the ocean. Sometimes Jason still had trouble wrapping his head around the fact that this was part of his school cafeteria.

  He spotted Sienna and Belle at one of the larger tables, and his pace automatically picked up. He slid onto the bench next to Sienna, put down his tray of food, and gave her a quick hello kind of kiss. As he started to pull away, Sienna wrapped her fingers in his hair and pulled him back, keeping the kiss going. ‘Not in front of the children,’ Jason finally said, jerking his chin toward Adam and Belle.

  Sienna laughed. Jason couldn’t get enough of that laugh!

  ‘We have our own Romeo and Juliet at the table,’ Belle said to Adam.

  ‘Are we talking the Baz Luhrmann or the Franco Zeffirelli variety?’ Adam asked.

  Belle looked helplessly at Jason. ‘Translation?’

  ‘Can’t help you,’ Jason told her. ‘I’m pretty sure he’s slipped into film speak.’

  ‘OK, I’ll forgive you for not knowing Zeffirelli,’ Adam said. ‘But Baz? He’s one of the greatest directors of our time. Moulin Rouge! anyone?’

  ‘Sorry,’ Belle answered, shaking her head.

  ‘Wasn’t there singing in it?’ Jason asked. ‘I don’t do movies with singing.’

  Adam turned to Sienna. ‘You’re my last hope. Tell me you saw Moulin Rouge!’

  ‘I think I was, like, twelve when that came out,’ Sienna protested.

  Adam leaned across the table toward her as if he were imparting a great secret. ‘There’s this new invention. A machine that lets you play movies on your TV screen whenever you want to!’ he told her. ‘The movies come on these cool little discs – they look like crêpes, but smaller, and thinner, and metallic. With this machine, you can watch movies that were made before you were even born!’

  ‘Maybe I’ll check it out sometime,’ Sienna laughed.

  ‘Not with me,’ Jason teased.

  Brad Moreau dropped his tray onto the table and sat down next to Jason. ‘What’s the topic?’ he asked. Ryan Patrick and Maggie Roy were with him.

 
‘Please tell me one of you knows who Baz Luhrmann is,’ Adam pleaded.

  ‘Can’t help you,’ Brad said.

  ‘Didn’t he direct those Chanel commercials with Nicole Kidman?’ Maggie asked.

  ‘Yes!’ Adam cried. ‘They show some of his trademark Italian operatic influences.’

  ‘Like in Moulin Rouge!,’ Ryan added.

  ‘Thank God!’ Adam exclaimed. ‘I thought I’d entered some unholy dimension where I would never be able to communicate with the natives.’

  ‘I’ll watch anything that’s set in Paris,’ Ryan said. ‘It’s hands down my favorite city. I hated coming back after living there last semester – although it was almost worth leaving just for the going-away party. It was wild; we snuck down into the catacombs. I was having so much fun I lost track of time. Almost missed my flight.’

  Maggie ran her fingers through Ryan’s curly blond hair. ‘Well, we’re all glad to have you back.’

  ‘You’re going to be extra glad, because I’m throwing a Valentine’s Day party that will be extreme,’ Ryan continued. ‘It’s a week from Friday and you’re all invited to come and make complete fools of yourselves.’

  ‘Too bad Zach’s still going to be in Australia,’ Maggie commented.

  ‘Yeah, it’s so horrible that he has to be out of school, spending days on the beach, hanging out with all the actors in his mom’s movie,’ Sienna joked.

  ‘My party is going to be wilder than any movie set,’ Ryan said. He turned to Jason. ‘Think you can be there?’

  Why is Ryan singling me out? Jason thought. He hardly knows me. But a Valentine’s Day party – with his new Valentine, Sienna? He wasn’t going to pass that up. ‘Absolutely,’ Jason told Ryan. ‘Thanks.’

  ‘Cool. Bring your sister. If she wants to invite some of her friends, that’s cool too,’ Ryan said.

  ‘Oh. OK.’ Jason frowned as he took a swig of his Coke. He had the strangest feeling that Ryan was really just trying to make sure Dani would show.

  Sienna pulled him out of his thoughts by leaning close and whispering into his ear. ‘There are no parties this weekend. But I have an idea,’ she breathed.

  The bell rang. Jason stood up, grabbing his tray and Sienna’s. ‘So what is it?’ he asked as they walked back inside together.

  ‘Gotta go,’ Sienna teased. ‘I’ll have to tell you later. Just make sure you have Sunday free. All day.’

  Jason dumped their trash and stacked the trays on top of the garbage can as Sienna headed off to class. ‘A hint. I need a hint,’ he called after her.

  ‘I’ll be there,’ Sienna threw back over her shoulder. ‘Do you need to know more?’

  Actually, he didn’t.

  It was Sunday morning, and Jason was driving toward the marina with Adam.

  ‘I’m definitely not complaining about an invitation to spend the day on a yacht,’ Adam said. ‘But wouldn’t you and Sienna prefer to be alone?’

  ‘Sienna likes to make sure Belle has plans every weekend since she’s still so ripped up about Dominic. And she didn’t have anything going for today,’ Jason answered. ‘Besides, it’s not like the yacht is so small that we all have to be on top of each other.’

  He pulled into one of the parking spots in the marina’s lot. Sienna’s Spider was parked a few cars away. ‘They beat us here.’

  ‘Well, I hope they waited for us,’ Adam joked. ‘Otherwise I’ll have to go home and watch Titanic just to console myself.’

  Jason led the way over to the Devereux berth, slowing as they approached the gigantic boat anchored there. ‘That’s the yacht?’ he asked, disbelieving. ‘I mean, it’s beautiful, but it looks more like a paper airplane than a yacht.’

  ‘I heard that,’ Sienna called from the top of the gangplank. ‘I’ll have you know this is a WallyPower one-one-eight. There are only three of these in existence.’

  ‘Wait. This is the yacht from The Island? The Renovatio!’ Adam exclaimed.

  ‘Not this exact one. But one of them, yeah,’ Sienna told him as they walked up the gangplank toward her.

  ‘Hardcore,’ Adam said approvingly. ‘This day is going to be even better than I thought!’

  When they reached the top, Sienna took Jason’s hand. ‘This is Lee Osbourne, our captain for the day,’ she announced, smiling at a tanned, thirty-something guy who’d appeared next to her. His dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and he wore an easy grin.

  ‘Call me Oz,’ he said. ‘You guys ready for your first Wally ride?’

  ‘Absolutely,’ Jason replied.

  ‘Head on into the lounge then, folks,’ Oz instructed. ‘Lunch will be served later. Until then, there are some drinks and snacks to hold you.’

  ‘Come on, guys,’ Sienna said. ‘Belle’s already in there.’

  Sienna led the way into a vast combination lounge/dining area/cockpit. Jason stopped at the top of the stairs and took it all in. Windows wrapped around the whole enormous area, so it felt like you were outside, even though you were inside. The view was breathtaking.

  Belle was already in full-on relaxation mode, clad in a tiny bikini and lying on her back on one of the cushy sofas. The diamond of her belly ring sparkled in the morning sunlight. ‘Do you think Captain Oz has some lemons on board?’ she asked. ‘I want to squeeze some juice into my hair.’

  ‘I don’t think Oz is in charge of lemons, but I’ll check with the chef,’ Sienna promised. ‘Be right back.’ She disappeared down the stairs.

  ‘The chef? This is all a little too much for the child of the poor, humble Chief of Police,’ Adam joked. ‘How am I ever going to be content when you return me to my hovel, now that I’ve seen how the other half lives?’ He stretched out on one of the sofas and gave a sigh of contentment.

  Jason took a seat across from his friend. ‘We’ll start a fund for you,’ he answered.

  ‘I’ll contribute,’ Belle volunteered.

  ‘Really?’ Adam asked. ‘Will you hock that sparkly you’ve got stuck in your belly button, because that’d go a long way toward—’ He stumbled to a stop, and Jason could see why: Belle’s eyes had filled with tears.

  ‘Hey, are you OK?’ Jason asked.

  ‘Yeah. Sorry,’ Belle said, wiping away her tears. ‘It’s just that Dominic gave me this.’ She pointed to her belly ring.

  ‘I didn’t . . . Sorry, I didn’t mean to remind you of . . .’ Adam’s voice trailed off. He looked miserable.

  ‘It’s OK,’ Belle told him. ‘Really. It’s not your fault. I think about him all the time anyway.’

  She’s so torn up, Jason thought. He tried to imagine how he’d feel if anything ever happened to Sienna. But his brain refused to go there.

  ‘Lemons!’ Sienna called as she ran back up the stairs. ‘I scored a whole bag!’ She hesitated on the top step. ‘What’s up?’ she asked, clearly sensing the change in mood.

  ‘What’s up is that we want our lemons,’ Jason answered, his voice coming out a little too loud and jolly, like somebody on a low-budget TV commercial.

  ‘Jason decided he needs some highlights,’ Adam added. ‘He’s going to juice his hair too.’

  Sienna laughed and tossed one of the lemon halves at Jason. ‘You should. I think you could use some streaks, don’t you, Belle?’ She dropped onto the couch next to her friend and put a CD in the player.

  ‘Absolutely,’ Belle answered, managing a smile. She took one of the lemon halves and squeezed some juice onto her short blond hair, then used her fingers to comb it through.

  ‘How about a game of "I never" before lunch?’ Sienna asked. ‘Belle rules at that game.’

  Jason and Adam exchanged a huh? look. ‘Never heard of it,’ Jason told her.

  ‘I guess it’s more of a slumber party thing,’ Sienna said. ‘We haven’t played it in forever.’

  ‘Ooooh, I’m in,’ Adam said immediately. ‘I’ve always wanted to know what goes on at a slumber party.’

  ‘OK, here’s how it works. We all start out with, like, ten Tic Tacs eac
h.’ Sienna pulled a plastic container of the mints from her bag and shook ten out into her palm, then handed the container to Belle. ‘Then we go around in the circle, and—You know what, it’s easier just to start. I’ll go first. I never ate an artichoke. Now, if you have eaten an artichoke, you have to give me one of your Tic Tacs,’ Sienna announced.

  ‘Wait,’ Adam said. ‘Are you telling me you’ve never eaten an artichoke?’

  ‘They smell like feet,’ Sienna told him, wrinkling her nose. ‘But if you’ve eaten them anyway, you owe me a mint. That’s how it works.’

  ‘Bor-ing,’ Belle teased. Everyone gave Sienna a mint. ‘My turn,’ Belle said. She glanced from Sienna to Adam to Jason, an actual smile on her face now. ‘I never made out on a first date.’

  ‘You’re not supposed to lie in this game, by the way,’ Sienna pointed out.

  ‘I’m not lying!’ Belle protested. ‘Although maybe it depends on how you define "date". Or "making out". By my definition, I haven’t. Now give me a Tic Tac, wench.’

  Sienna flicked one of the little mints at Belle. Jason handed one over too. We definitely made out on our first date, he thought. Hell, we made out when Sienna was still with Brad. But was she thinking of me when she gave Belle that Tic Tac, or somebody else?

  Adam sighed loudly and hung onto all of his mints. Belle winked at him. ‘Now we know who the hos are,’ she joked. Then she turned to Jason. ‘You’re up.’

  ‘I never went on Jerry Springer with my two girlfriends and my chimp,’ Jason said.

  Jason didn’t get any Tic Tacs, but everybody laughed, which was all he was going for. Sienna still needed to up her daily laugh quota. And Belle needed a quota, period.

  By the time lunch – cajun chicken and a mesclun field greens salad with champagne dressing – was served up, Adam was ahead by seven or eight mints.

  ‘Time for you to go down,’ Jason warned his friend, forking a bite of salad into his mouth. ‘I never saw Citizen Kane.’

  Adam threw a Tic Tac into Jason’s salad. Belle and Sienna didn’t have to pay up. They hadn’t seen it, either.

  ‘What’s that movie even about?’ Belle asked.