Page 43 of My Roommate Is a Vampire

“He’ll have a largeWe Are Vivacious,” I blurted out before Katie had a chance to answer. This conversation needed to end as soon as possible. “Sorry—I mean, he’ll have a Galaxy-sizedWe Are Vivacious. I’ll have a Moon-sizedWe Are Empowered, with extra foam.”

I dug into my wallet to pull out my credit card, but Frederick put his hand on my arm.

“I will pay for the drinks,” he said, his tone brooking no opposition. Out of nowhere, he pulled out a neon-purple bag that looked a lot like the fanny pack my grandpa used to wear on our family vacations to Disney World. He unzipped its front pouch, and a motley assortment of coins—dozens,hundredsof them—spilled out of it and all over the counter in front of us.

I stared down at the pile in complete bafflement. There must have been at least fifteen different currencies on the counter. Some sort of looked like gold doubloons. Were those actually athing?

Katie, to her credit, didn’t even bat an eye. “Sorry. We’re cashless.” She pointed to the credit card reader in front of us.

Frederick stared first at it, then at her, with an utterly blank expression. “What is that?”

“I’ll pay for the drinks,” I said, hurriedly. Frederick allowed me to elbow him out of the way, still staring at the credit card reader in abject confusion.

“But—”

“You can pay me back later,” I said, inserting my credit card in the machine. “With your gold doubloons.”

Frederick glanced at me over the rim of hisWe Are Vivacious. He sniffed its contents with obvious distaste.

“I remember loving coffee,” he mused, setting it back down on the table. It was still full, and still steaming hot. “Now it just smells like dirt water to me.”

He sounded sad. How much of his old self had he lost when he’d changed into what he was now? But there’d be time for exploring that question later. I needed other answers first.

I cleared my throat.

“So,” I began. “Before I ran out the other night, you said you could explain everything. That you had more to tell me.”

If Frederick was surprised by my sudden change of subject, he showed no sign of it. “Yes. It... is a long story,” Frederick said. His eyes were sad and distant. “And one I should have shared with you from the outset. I apologize again for not telling yousooner, but if you are willing to listen, I would like to share it with you now.”

“It’s what I’m here for,” I said. “I hope at least part of this long story has to do with why a centuries-old vampire with no apparent need for money placed a Craigslist ad looking for a roommate.”

The corner of his mouth quirked up into a smile. I refused to be distracted by how handsome he looked when he did those half smiles. Especially when they made his dimple pop. “It does.”

“I had a feeling,” I said. “Go on, then.”

“Perhaps I should give you a condensed version. Otherwise, we will be here all night.”

I sipped my cappuccino (it was good—Katie made a meanWe Are Empowered) and then licked my lips. Frederick’s eyes tracked the movement of my tongue with interest. I pretended not to notice.

“A condensed version is probably a good idea,” I agreed. “Gossamer’s closes at eleven. Katie won’t like it if we’re still here.”

“I wouldn’t want to anger her,” he mused. “I suspect she has had just about enough of me already.”

I smiled. “Probably.”

“All right, then.” He sat up straighter and fixed me with a gaze so sincere it took my breath away. “Cassie, I need someone to live with me because one hundred years ago Reginald, while practicing histurning wine into bloodcharm, accidentally poisoned me at a costume party in Paris. Which subsequently sent me into something akin to a century-long coma. I woke up in my Chicago home one month ago, knowing nothing of the changes of the past one hundred years.” He smiled again, but there was no humor in it. “I am as lost and helpless in the current era as a babe in the woods.”

The room started spinning as I tried to process what he was telling me. My grip on my coffee mug tightened without my even realizing it until my knuckles went white.

“I see,” I said, not seeing at all.

Frederick tilted his head to the side, gauging my reaction. “I believe I have surprised you. I understand. It was rather a lot for me to comprehend as well. And I was the one who went through it.”

“Mm.”

“Perhaps I should not have given you the condensed version after all,” he mused. “Maybe a more nuanced, detailed description with dates, place names, and settings would have helped ground the story and made it easier to understand.”

I doubted that. “I don’t think there’s anything you could have said or done that would have made that easier to understand.”

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