“What about you?” Naomi asked, still all smiles. I took that to mean that I was maintaining my cover well enough.
“Hmm, I’m not sure.” I wasn’t craving anything, but I knew Ididn’twant wine. I swear that was all the coven ever had, and they’d constantly mix blood into it so they could swirl it in their truly staggering collection of ornate glasses instead of actually contributing to conversation or developing a personality.
Huh. Apparently interacting with humans was making me a bit spicy. Fine enough by me. People sometimes mistook my kindness or amiable nature for weakness, but that certainly wasn’t the case.
“Something wrong?” Naomi asked, tilting her face so she was looking up at me through those enticingly thick lashes of hers. She reminded me a bit of the pinup girls from the forties and fifties, just a bit… shorter.
“No,” I answered honestly. “Just a bit in my head.” It was a habit that came from being alone so often. Even when Ibrahim changed me, he had often teased me about how much time I spent in my mind.
“Wanna share?”
Did I?
Yeah, why not?
“I just… Well, I had a… theater group that I was in. And I thought I was a part of it, but I recently found out that no, they were just pretending because of things they could get out of me.”
Naomi clicked her tongue, and I braced for her to tell me to man up, or that I was being too sensitive. “Ihateshit like that!” she said with a surprising amount of vehemence. Apparently, Ilikedthat a lot because my teeth started to itch. I’d always had a thing for passionate women. Some said it was something about the chase, but if I was honest with myself, it was probably something about thefight.
“Lemme guess, it’s a LARP group?”
If we’d been served already, I would have choked on my drink. But as it were, I just made only aslightlystrangled sound. “How’d you know?”
“I went to theater camp when I was a kid,” she said, and I loved the way her cheeks flushed ever so slightly. She was already beautiful, but that light dusting of color over her skin made her look like a painting. “I was one of the ugly stepsisters in our Cinderella production, and let me tell you, watching all the leads was a lesson in all sorts of drama thatwasn’twritten by Rogers and Hammerstein.”
Who was this witty, insightful woman before me, and how had I gone over a century without meeting anyone like her? Ibrahim had been right; I needed to get out more. I’d thought all I needed was him after the last of my adoptive human family had passed, but clearly, I’d been missing out by focusing so much of my attention solely on trying to find a vampire coven.
“I suppose those tropes exist for a reason. I have to admit, I prefer supporting performances rather than being in them.”
“God, I am right there with you. The last thing I want is to be center stage.”
Which was just about the opposite of most vampires. For all that we were beings of the night and photophobic, we certainly did like the spotlight.
I didn’t realize how many minutes had passed with our conversation, and the tavern keep approached us, his voice as deep and broad as his shoulders.
“Happy travels, folks! What can I do you for?”
“Do you have any recommendations?” I asked, because while I had quite a few years of experience drinking in terms of how long I had been alive, I didn’t actually indulge all that much.
“If you want something sweeter, our Sex on the Beach or Long Island iced teas are pretty popular.” Not exactly what I would call tavern fare considering the kitschy decor of the semi-outdoor establishment. “But if you want a little less froufrou, I suggest our Werewolf Whiskey Howler.”
A truly strange sound emanated from Naomi, and I looked over at her to make sure that she was okay.
“Sorry,” she said, her face a flaming red as she wiped out her mouth. “Swallowed a bug, I think.”
Been there, done that. An unfortunate side effect of sleeping in a coffin that permanently stayed in a sunless place. “Let’s get you something to wash that down, shall we?”
“Yes, please!”
“She’ll take the Bloody Mary, and I’ll take the Werewolf Whiskey Howler you suggested. I have cash.”
We finished the transaction, and despite the fact that he pretty much had to be constantly moving and was no doubt exhausted, we had our drinks in hand a moment later. I made sure to give him a hearty tip, then the two of us returned to the band.
I was surprised to see that two of the band members were no longer there, however four others had taken their place, complete with two new instruments. I couldn’t believe it whenI saw the tall, unmistakable silver column of a bass clarinet and was pleasantly surprised by the addition of a bass guitar complete with a portable amp.
Oh, so this was ashowshow.
Naomi and I sipped at our drinks as we made small talk, and it really was just that easy. There were no stilted silences, and the laughs just piled up all on top of each other. I learned so many interesting things about canines, but also about the day of a dog walker’s life in general. It had been a long time since I had traversed under the sun, and while I wasn’t completely ignorant of it, I had forgotten about certain little quirks.
