the mercer had been oliver's idea. he'd nixed schuyler's room or his, thinking it would be too weird to do "it" in the same place where they had spent so many innocent hours reading magazines and watching television. so he'd booked a suite at the downtown hotel.

he had convinced her to have a few drinks with him in the library bar before they went up to the room. "you might not need a drink, but i definitely do," he'd said. schuyler watched patiently as oliver downed one manhattan after another. neither of them said much. the library bar was off-limits to non-hotel guests, and the two of them sat in a private corner. the only other patron was a movie star giving a magazine interview across the room. the movie star had her feet on the couch and she was laughing too loudly, while the reporter looked nervous and starstruck. a small silver recorder sat on the cocktail table between them.

"all right, let's do it," oliver said, pushing away his half- finished third drink.

"god, you look like i've asked you to go to war," schuyler said, as they walked toward the elevator.

the one-bedroom suite had a stunning view of downtown, and was decorated with a hip modern edge: dark makassar ebony furniture, lamb's wool throw pillows, black epoxy floors polished to a high gloss, an onyx bar that glowed from within, a flat-screen television, and stainless steel walls that looked cold to the touch but actually felt smooth and warm, like butter.

"cool," schuyler said as she sat on one edge of the king- size bed, while oliver sat on the other.

"are you sure you want to do this?" oliver asked, sitting forward and putting his face on his hand.

"ollie, if i don't, i'll pass out in a coma and i won't ever wake up. this morning i couldn't even get out of bed."

he gulped.

"i hate to ask you this--but it's just, i don't know, i don't want my first time to be with someone i don't even know, you know?" she'd told him about what had happened to bliss in montserrat. "and you're my best friend."

"sky, you know i'd do anything for you. but this is against the code. conduits aren't allowed to be familiars to their vampires. we are supposed to be objective. it's not part of the relationship. things like the caerimonia, it complicates things, you know," oliver explained. when schuyler had first asked oliver a week ago if he would consider becoming her human familiar, he had told her he would think about it. the next day, he hadn't brought it up, and schuyler assumed he was too polite to tell her no, so he was just going to act like she'd never asked him at all. several days went by, and neither of them mentioned it. schuyler was beginning to think she would have to find an alternate solution. but that morning, she had found an envelope stuffed into her locker. it was from the mercer hotel, and held a plastic door key for their suite. "see you there tonight," oliver had written. "chomp! chomp!"

it wasn't as if schuyler didn't have mixed feelings of her own she hated putting oliver in this position--but she felt she had no choice. if she had to take a familiar, at least she would take one who was, forgive the pun, already familiar to her. and she'd felt drawn to oliver since venice. maybe that was a sign it was going to be all right. that this was something that was supposed to happen.

"just say the word, ollie, and we won't do it, okay?" she offered, her hands gripping the edge of the bed, pulling out the sheets from their corners.

"okay. let's not do it," he said promptly. he sighed and lay down on the bed, waving his arms over the downy comforter. his long legs dangled from the edge but his torso was totally horizontal. he closed his eyes, as if the prospect was simply too much to bear, and put his hands on his face again, as if to shield himself from something.

"do you mean it?" schuyler asked a little fearfully.

"i don't know," oliver groaned behind his hands, which were now folded over his mouth.

"it's just, you know, i'll be really careful, if you're scared, i mean. you have to trust me." she was still sitting upright so that her words were spoken to the wall of windows, while oliver seemed to be talking to the ceiling.

"i trust you," oliver said in a strained, sad voice. "i trust you with my life."

"i know it'll change our relationship, but we're best friends. it can't change that much, can it? i mean, i already love you," schuyler said. every word she said was true, she was very fond of oliver. she couldn't imagine life without him.

she turned around to look at him. oliver had removed his hands from his face and opened his eyes. she noticed how his chestnut hair framed his handsome face, and how his neck looked inviting under his stiff oxford collar. "don't you love me?" she knew she was being manipulative, but she couldn't help it. she needed oliver to say yes. otherwise...who would she do it with?

oliver tried not to blush and couldn't quite meet schuyler's eyes. he lifted himself to a sitting position once again. "all right," he said, almost more to himself than to her.

schuyler moved closer to him and leaned against his body, and with a few small movements, she was sitting on his lap. "okay?"

"you're heavy," he teased, but he was smiling.

"am not."

"all right, you're not."

"you're cute, you know? i mean, really cute. why do you spend all your time with me? you should date," she said matter-of- factly as she brushed the hair out of his hazel eyes. they were the kindest eyes she had ever seen, she thought. she would always feel safe with oliver.

"yeah, me, date." oliver laughed. he put his arms around her waist.

"why not? it's not unheard of."

"yeah?" oliver asked.

"uh--" but schuyler didn't finish, because oliver was putting a warm hand on her chin and drawing her toward him, and soon they were kissing. soft, tentative kisses that turned more vigorous as they opened their mouths to each other.

"mmm..." she sighed. so this was what it was like. kissing oliver. it wasn't anything like she'd imagined. it was better. it was as if they were made for each other. schuyler pressed herself against him, and oliver put his hand through her hair. this was new. this was a turning point. then she started kissing his chin and his neck.

"sky..."

"mmmm?"

suddenly, oliver pushed her away, took her hands from behind his back, and abruptly shoved her off his lap.

"no," he said, panting heavily. his cheeks were aflame with embarrassment.

"no?" schuyler asked, not understanding. it seemed like it was going well--this was what was meant to happen, wasn't it?

"no." oliver stood up and started pacing. "the sacred kiss means something. it did to your mom. and you know what? you'll have to find another guinea pig. i'm not going to do it out of obligation."

"ollie."

"don't, schuyler."

he never called her schuyler unless he was really mad. schuyler shut up.

"i'm going. i can't be with you...you're not yourself."

oliver said, putting his coat on and slamming the door of the hotel room as he stormed out into the night.