I took Wil’s hand and turned the silver rings on his fingers. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to overreact. But, Wil, I assure you, you’re safe from possessive boyfriends. As for the blood, I’m not a born vamp, and sex and blood … It gets too confusing for me.”

“I’d wager that you let Ducharme drink from you. If I was the jealous type … but I’m not,” he said with a smile. “Are you?”

“Maybe a little,” I lied.

“Do keep it in check, cutie,” Wil said. “I am what I am.”

We stayed out especially late on the night before I left. On the way to Wil’s flat, we played on a dark empty street, chasing and tickling each other.

He ran into the street to get away. “Can’t catch me!”

“Yes, I can!” When I reached him, he took me in his arms and swung me around in a waltz, singing, “Tah, dum-dum, tah, dum-dum!”

We were laughing so much that it took me a moment to notice a black sedan speeding down the street. There was no time to do anything but grab Wil like a sack of potting soil and run to the sidewalk. But the driver was driving so recklessly that his car veered toward us, jumping the curb, and I shoved Wil against a wall and flattened myself over him.

The car sped off and Wil said, “Shit, shit, shit,” and I said, “Are you all right?”

“You just saved my life. You’re like a superhero!”

I went on tiptoe to kiss his forehead and inhaled his scent of ale, white musk aftershave, sunblock, hash, and sweat. He was lovely and so I said, “You’re lovely. That guy drove like a maniac.”

“Probably as drunk as a lord,” Wil said. “Or maybe it was a lord—Ducharme.”

I’d wondered that for a moment as well, but I said, “One, Ian drives luxury cars, and two, he wouldn’t have missed.”

Wil borrowed a car and drove me to the airport. We kissed good-bye and kissed again, his mouth tasting like the peppermint he’d just eaten.

“I’m going to come see you as soon as I can,” he said.

“Come soon. You can stay with me. I have to spend some time writing, but I want to show you my favorite places in the City.”

“Next week. I’ll come next week.”

We kissed again, and then parted. I turned back to look at Wil and his long, skinny body, and he waved to me. I’d found someone who was trying to make the world a better place, and who also knew how to have fun.

As I pulled my chartreuse zebra suitcase toward the check-in counter, I knew that now I had to face reality, and that included telling Ian that things between us were over for good.