Shane finally pressed the power button on the TV and dropped his left arm over her shoulders. She felt the chill ease a little. "Thanks," he said. "If you hadn't been here when she said all that, I probably would have done something pretty dumb. Or said something even dumber."
"No, you wouldn't. You're a survivor."
He kissed her on the forehead. "Takes one to know one."
"So, no drive-in?"
"It's a zombie movie."
"Well, there are good points about zombie movies. There're usually smart girls in them, for some reason. And the smart girls hardly ever get killed." Claire kissed him back, on the cheek. "Besides, I know how much you like zombie movies. Especially with chain saws and everything."
Shane flipped channels for a few seconds, then shut the TV off, got up, and held out his hand. "Chain saws," he repeated. "You're right. It's probably just what I need." He didn't let go of her hand after he'd helped her to her feet; instead, he put it on his chest, over his heart. She felt the strong, steady beat beneath. "You look great. You probably already know that."
She kissed him, and they stood together, rocking slightly from side to side, until Shane broke the kiss and smiled down at her. "Save it for the drive-in," he said, and touched her lips with one finger. "I'll drive fast."
"You'd better."
FOUR
Shane drove the hearse--Eve's, a huge, black, vaguely old-fashioned monster, with the fringed funeral curtains still in the back--down Morganville's poorly lit streets, winding through backstreets Claire had never visited even in daylight. She saw glints of eyes in the darkness, and if there were any street-lights in this part of town, they were broken or turned off. She felt relieved when he made a turn that took them onto a broader avenue . . . until she took a good look. Lots of people walking around in the shadows.
Not normal for Morganville. But normal for vampires in Morganville.
"Yeah, it's Vamp Central Station," Shane said. "Not like Founder's Square--that's where the upper-class bloodsuckers hang out. This is where the rest of them come. There's another blood bank down here, and nothing around gets much human business after dark. Don't worry; we're not stopping."
And they didn't, not even for a light that was shifting from yellow to red; Shane just gunned right through it.
Claire was glad he did. Heads were turning to watch the car go by. Maybe Amelie's Protection extended out here. But she didn't want to risk her neck--literally--on that.
Two more turns and all of a sudden there was a giant white screen looming up out of the darkness ahead, surrounded by a fence. It looked like a parking lot inside, with some kind of vending stand at the back.
Just like in the old movies.
"Amazing," Claire said. Shane pulled up to the ticket stand at the entrance and handed over a couple of dollars--it didn't cost much, apparently. Then he drove on in. The lot was about half-full, mostly with battered old cars and trucks that matched up with what the humans of Morganville drove. There were also a few heavily tinted late-model sedans--vampmobiles. Well, she supposed even vampires loved the movies. Who didn't?
"So how does this work?" Claire asked. "How do we hear the sound?"
For an answer, Shane flipped on the radio and tuned it to an AM channel. Immediately she was treated to a burst of static, followed by extremely cheesy music that had probably annoyed people even back when her grandmother was young.
"Fantastic," Claire said, in a way that meant it wasn't. "You know, Eve went to a rave."
"By herself?"
"With a friend. She's sort of doing the mother-hen thing."
"Are you wishing we'd gone, too?"
"No," Claire said, although secretly she thought it might not have been terrible. "This is great." Shane looked over at her. "Bullshit. You think it sucks."
"I don't! "
"Just wait," he said, and smiled. "You'll see. You want a Coke? Popcorn?"
"Sure." She sighed. Shane bailed out and set off for the refreshment stand at the back. Claire got out her cell and texted Eve. R u ok? She got a reply back in seconds. Death by boring. College poseurs. Yak.
Eve always made her laugh. B safe, Claire texted back. Eve sent a picture of herself with her friend, who looked intimidated and scared and very much as if she was wishing herself gone. Eve was winking. The message with it said, Half an hour more tops. C u home.
The car door opened, and Shane climbed in, handing her a cup of Coke and a giant bag of popcorn, which she tried to figure out how to balance in her lap. The Cokes went into cup holders, at least, and before she could take a handful of the steaming popcorn, there was a sudden flicker of color out the front window, and the coming attractions started up.
Shane took the bag of popcorn from her, set it carefully in the backseat, and turned the radio down. "Hey," Claire protested. "How can we hear if--"
He leaned over and kissed her, and kept kissing her, and his lips were so hot and sweet and strong that she just felt herself melting against him. He eased her jacket off, and she didn't even think about objecting, because even though it was cold she felt warm, so warm, and then his hands were . . . Oh, that was good. Very good.
She wasn't thinking, not at all, not about anything except how incredible it felt to be with him, here, in the dark. When she finally came up for a gasping breath, most of her buttons were undone. All of his were undone. Did I do that? she wondered with a shock, because it really wasn't like her to be doing this out in public, where people could see.