The Bourbon Diaries ✢ The Vampire Diaries Spin Off

Chapter Forty-Six - Zara Ali

Present day

Outskirts of Albemarle, NC

"Twenty minutes," Adam proclaimed, storming down the stairs into the living area, where Zara was seated at the dining table. "Twenty minutes. Not a second longer." At this point he didn't know if he was referring to the time limit imposed before Raid had to be downstairs, or the amount of time he and Zara had been back at the house after collecting blood bags from the nearby hospitals. Probably both. "Why's everyone in this household Muslim all of a sudden? Where's Winifred? Can't she occupy Stef?"

"Not like that she can't," Zara grinned, but Adam's mood didn't lighten. Her eyes swirled upwards in their sockets. Raid hadn't once prayed while he was in the house and yet now Adam was bothered by it? She rested her elbow on the table, one leg crossed over the other, her fingers propped against her temple. "Winifred's spending the day with her daughter. What's up with you? Why are you getting so worked up about this?"

Adam dragged back the chair opposite her and sat down on it. He wasn't just worked up about this; he'd been worked up before he'd even got back. This just pushed him over the edge. He jabbed a finger upwards towards Raid's bedroom that overlooked the mezzanine. "The guy prays once---once, Zara---and instantly gets what he wants."

"Oh, so you're jealous that he's getting what he wants?"

"Damn right I am." Adam slouched down in unashamed sulkiness, staring moodily at the floor. Raid had been in love with Stef for years. He knew he should be happy for him---deep down he was---but it was just reminding him of what he didn't have---of what he couldn't do.

Of what he wanted to do.

Zara slapped her palm against the table, leaning forward in her seat. "And what exactly do you want?"

It was like she'd read his mind. His eyes instantly darted up at her. Firm. Searing. Every muscle in his body tense. She wanted him to say it. She was playing a game with him that he didn't know how to win because he forgot all the rules whenever he was around her.

He hadn't been in a bad mood all day. They'd actually had a lot of fun this morning. Sneaking around the hospitals, compelling staff, stealing uniforms, pretending to be people they weren't. It made him forget who he was; this time without the cameras and crew of the TV studio. It was just the two of them playing make-believe. For a moment, he was Dr Adam Ali, cardiologist with a striking, unrelated resemblance to Adam Vaziri, and irresistible to a newly-encountered, red-headed nurse that Zara immediately compelled to stop flirting with him. Her jealousy had given Adam's hope a boost. Then, when Zara donned a lab coat and jokingly referred to herself as Dr Zara Vaziri to receptionists, Adam felt his hope shoot skywards to unrealistic levels. He liked that name on her tongue, and he didn't want that to be the last time he heard it. But his hope fell further and further back down to earth each time he deliberately brushed his hand against hers, yearning to interlace their fingers, and she'd recoiled from his touch. It landed a serious hit to his pride and, yes, he knew he was acting like a child about it.

Adam's darkened eyes made Zara's back straighten. There was an answer in his stare that made her nervous. And she didn't get nervous.

Now it was Adam who leaned forwards. "What I want," he said slowly, throwing the rule book out the window, "is to get fucking drunk." He stood from the chair, rounded the table, and headed towards the bar, leaving Zara flabbergasted.

"What?!" she snapped.

"You heard me!" He passed the library door, out of sight.

It took Zara a fraction of a second to catch up with him with her vampire speed, but he was already taking out a drinking glass. "You're not going to do this."