“Likely.”
“Should I buy one…to fake it?”
“I don’t know how long it will take Tony to get you registered, so…it probably would be a good idea. Though, even after that… To be honest, if a vampire realizes what you are, it may possibly bring out some violent reactions, so having it a suit to fake it would be for the best. Maybe once you get a better handle on pretending to be human, you won’t need it, but until then…”
“I am not dressing as a bear,” Harlow huffed.
Foxx giggled. “You don’t have to. But like, what about a black bear sunsuit? Could be cute!”
“No,” the man growled, before sighing again. “Fast food drive through it is then, I guess…”
“Yep.”
“Burgers?”
“What? You don't want anything healthy, old man?” he teased.
Harlow snorted. “Brat.”
Harlow tossedthe last bite of his burger into his mouth. It had been greasy, unhealthy, and…delicious.
Food in general tasted better than before. Not that he hadn’t enjoyed burgers before this, but his taste buds had definitely been enhanced in some way.
At the sound of a yawn, he eyed Foxx. The vampire was munching on French fries, which he was dipping into his vanilla shake before eating. Having gone back and forth from fake cheer to sadness the whole drive, Foxx currently looked both sad and half awake.
The vampire must have noticed him staring as he glanced over. “Are you thirsty? I put the blood bags I managed to fill for you in the fridge, and marked them with your name.”
Harlow couldn’t remember the last time someone had written his name on food. Was it middle school? Ugh—probably…
“How much have you managed to fill?”
“We just got back to the house the other day…so only three.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to save those for now?” Harlow quickly added, “And this isn’t me asking to bite you. I know you are tired. But…I can wait.”
Foxx’s eyes narrowed. “How thirsty are you feeling?”
“Normal,” he said slowly.
He did feel normal. Well, normal, as in, how he usually felt when ‘human’. Dehydrated, but not the worst he’d ever felt.
The man’s eyes narrowed further. “Normal, as in, how you felt daily before your change?”
Harlow cleared his throat, he slowly glanced away, avoiding the vampire’s stare. “Umm, how I felt before when it hadn’t been hours between drinking water?”
“Harlow,” Foxx admonished. “There is no waiting anymore. When you are thirsty, you are supposed to drink as soon as you can. When you were ‘human’, you always felt dehydrated. The most you should ever let yourself feel is thirsty. Reaching the point of feeling dehydrated means you have waited too long, and now are at risk of accidentally attacking me, since I am the nearest vampire.
“As far as I know, you can’t go into a deep sleep like vampires can. Now that we are on the subject, even vampires will risk attacking the nearest blood source if they walk around while trying to enter deep sleep. While it’s possible you can hold off without hurting someone for longer than most, due to the years you spent dealing with the thirst, it’s not a risk you can afford.”
“If I drink from the bags, will it make you happy?”
Foxx rolled his eyes. “It’s not about making me happy, it’s about making sure you don’t do something that will result in a death warrant.”
Harlow smirked. “I’ll do it if it’ll make you happy.”
“AndI’mthe brat?!” The vampire glared. “Drink the damn blood, Harlow. Nothing right now is going to make me happy. I just want to eat my French fries, then go to our hotel and have you cuddle me as I drink blood and sulk about how fucked up the world is.”
He chuckled. “Will sulking make it better?”
