Page 82 of Blood Lovers

“Do you want to come with me?” Why did I just say that? I wasn’t even thinking those words.

“You bet. Just let me grab a shirt.” He throws the towel in the bathroom, finger-combs his hair with one sweep back—making him look even more unnaturally sexy than he already is—and then pulls a t-shirt out of a drawer and tugs it over his head. “All right. I’m good. Where’s my coat?” He looks around, spies it hanging on the back of the chair, then shrugs it on.

He pats his pockets for his keys as I sling my purse over my shoulder and we leave.

Together.

Vampire and food.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN - RYET

Tortured angst.

Syrsee and I get in her truck and as she drives us down the street to the hardware shop I find myself absently thinking about the church guy I met yesterday.

Was it yesterday?

“Hey, what day is this?”

“Fuck if I know,” Syrsee mumbles. Then she looks over at me, a little apologetic. “Sunday? You were out almost all of yesterday, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“Really? Damn. I have no memory of that.”

Her smile is there, but weak. “You were pretty sick.”

“I’m feeling good now though. That aspirin must’ve done the trick.”

“Oh. Yeah. So you remember that, huh?”

I grimace. “They tasted like shit.”

“Do you remember anything else?”

“Like… what? Was I talking in my sleep, or something? Did I hallucinate and say weird shit?”

“No.” She smiles for real now, then pulls into an alley that dumps us out in a small parking lot behind the hardware store. “This is me.” She turns the engine off and we sit there for a moment, just looking at each other.

“Look, if you just want me to bail, I’ll do that.” I have to get this out because the first night it was clearly a sex thing. I mean, it was more, but… it was sex. And we both know that. Day two? I dunno. That went sideways. And now we’re on day three and I can tell she’s… not backing out because there’s nothing to back out from, but she’s starting to wonder what this is.

And so am I.

“Do you want to bail?” There’s no playful banter in her tone. And this is what’s different, I think. Somehow things have gone serious between us.

“No.”

“How come? I mean, I get it. You could ask me the same thing. But I asked first so… I call firsties.”

“You know what they say about firsties?” She can’t hide the giggle. So maybe I was just imagining things? Maybe she’s not trying to back out? “They come first.”

“They do. And… now you might be deflecting.”

“Why do I want to hang out with you? Aside from the fact that you’re the only woman in town that I know?”

“Aside from that.”

“You’re…” I’m about to say something throwaway. Something like ‘you’re pretty.’ Or ‘sexy.’ Or whatever. But that’s not it. So I take a moment to figure out what it is I feel when she’s near me.

She doesn’t push me. Just gives me this time. Even when the silence between us gets awkward. Finally, I say, “Did you ever see that movie Stand By Me?”