Page 54 of Vameer

I really try to forget about the massive vampire in my bathroom mirror.

Try to repress the memory of the heat of his palm against mine. And the way his voice danced over my skin.

I try as hard as I can to ignore the heat simmering in my veins.

A heat that’s no longer content to linger in my core, driving me mad with desire. No. That wasn’t enough. Now it’s everywhere.

I pull the string to draw the blinds open on the large picture window looking out at the street, but I pull it a little too hard. And the blinds fly up, startling a woman walking past on the sidewalk.

She jolts as her head snaps over to look at the window.

Then she jolts again when she notices me standing there.

I lift a hand.

She hurries away.

Running this store is part of my monthly rental agreement, but thankfully, the deal is for me to open and occupy the store. No part of the contract mentions a certain number of actual sales.

I watch until the woman disappears out of view, in her jeans, turtleneck sweater, and open rain jacket.

The day is dull. Overcast. Cold and damp. A dozen degrees away from the potential rain turning into snow.

And I’m in a pair of navy-blue shorts and a white tank top so thin it shows the color of my pink bra beneath it. I have a pale blue cardigan tied around my waist, just in case, but no real intentions of wearing it. And I’m just waiting for my hair to air dry, then I’m putting it up to get it off my neck.

I look down at my left wrist and the nine colorful bracelets I have on.

Reaching across my body, I drag my finger over the one farthest up my forearm. The first one I put on.

The onyx beads are perfectly round. Perfectly smooth.

I’ve hardly worn the bracelet since I purchased it last summer. Black isn’t usually my thing, but there was just something that told me I needed it.

As my finger bumps from one bead to the next, I think about my vampire’s eyes.

I’ve seen pictures. Of course I have. So even though I’ve never met a vampire in person, I know what their eyes look like.

Except in photos, I’ve never paid attention to where they were looking. And thinking back, I’m not sure if I could even tell.

But today… He…

I could feel him looking at me.

I could feel where his eyes were focused.

My skin tingles, like he’s looking at me now.

I drop my hands to my sides.

People have known about vampires since before my parents were born. Alts mostly keep to themselves, but since they basically live forever and they’re rarer than humans, they’re practically famous. So, their faces are recognizable.

But I don’t recognize the vampire from the mirror.

The man from the cave.

And he’s not a kid. He’s a man. An attractive man. I feel like I would’ve seen him before.

I mean, sure, there are probably many vampires in existence that I wouldn’t recognize. But something just feels different about this one.