Page 40 of Vampire's Vixen

Astra held up her phone. “I do. He asked me to give it to you.” With a self-satisfied smile, she texted me his number. “So, call him.”

“Oh for heaven’s sake.” Grinning beneath my grumpy exterior, I entered his number in my contacts, then texted him.

hey, kyle. i thought i’d ask you out to dinner, you know—to repay you for your kindness. if you aren’t available, no problem, but it’s my treat.

I thought I’d have to wait for a while, but within a couple moments, my phone chimed and I glanced at my texts. Kyle had already replied.

i’d like that. how about tuesday night? seven? where would you like to go?

I blinked. I hadn’t expected him to be so quick. how about flora’s, if you like seafood? she makes great fish and chips.

sounds good. i’ll pick you up, if you like. or we can meet there.

why don’t we meet there? that way if i’m kept late at work, you won’t have to wait. see you then!

great! take it easy till then and i hope you’re healing up.

“Well, I didn’t expect that,” I said. “We’re on for Tuesday night.” I allowed myself a satisfied smile. “I really do like him.”

“I know you do, and I’ll tell you this,” Astra said. “He talked about you all the way back to his car. About how brave you were, about how you managed to get away. About how impressed he was that you kept your head about you. He also said you’re pretty,” she added.

“He told you I’m pretty?” I felt like an eighth grader, finding out her secret crush thought she was cute. “How do we always end up feeling like we’re teenagers again when we meet someone new?”

“I think it’s encoded in our DNA,” Astra said. “But what are you going to do about Zandre?”

“What about Zandre?” Crystal asked. “Is that the vampire?” She perked up, turning to me.

I groaned, rolling my eyes. “I’m not sure what the hell to do about him.” I turned to Crystal. “Turns out Zandre has let go of the idea of Denise being his soulmate. He’s now decided he’d like to take me out.”

“A vampire asked you out? Are you going?” Crystal sounded unnervingly intrigued.

“Yeah he did, and no, I don’t want to,” I said. My elation drained away as fast as it had come. “I told him I’d call him tomorrow night, since I thought I’d be going out to dinner tonight. I’m not sure how to say no to a vampire. I know that they’re supposed to be just like us, but the truth is, he can drain my blood if he gets mad enough. He can turn me into a vampire.”

“Oh, he probably won’t even think about that,” Crystal said. “Given his position in the Northwest Vampire Collective. He might be disappointed, but I doubt if he’ll do anything to you. Still…are you positive you don’t want to see what he has to say?”

I flashed her a puzzled look. I thought she’d be horrified, but she seemed almost excited.

“I hope you’re right and he’ll be okay with me saying no. As to dating him? Why do you even have to ask? No, I’m not interested,” I said. “Maybe I can play up being attacked to my advantage. I don’t usually like doing that, but sometimes you use what advantages you get.” I sighed, then glanced at Crystal. “Okay, let’s talk about you. You passed your vision quest?”

She nodded. “I did. Nightshade called me earlier today to tell me. Next week I get initiated!”

I turned to Astra. “When do we get to talk about our quests?”

“After she’s initiated. Then you can gossip all you want about what you did and experienced. I should start dinner. Crystal, are you eating with us?”

“If you don’t mind,” Crystal said. “Can I help you?”

“No, I’m good. Do you mind hamburgers and fries?”

“That sounds good,” Crystal said.

I nodded. “Yeah, that’s good.”

As Astra left the room, Crystal and I began to talk and, of course, the subject turned to Kyle.

Next morning, I was a little less stiff, though the scabs were pulling on my skin. A couple dozen holes on my skin weren’t exactly the piercings I had envisioned. But I found another sundress—they were cool against my skin and didn’t rub or chafe on the cuts—and slipped on a pair of ankle boots. It was an odd combination, especially for mid-February, but I was going for comfort. I’d turn up the heat if I was cold. I had a light cape and I decided that would be easier on my arms than stuffing them into a jacket. I kissed Astra goodbye, grabbed my purse, and headed out for work.

As I got to work, it occurred to me that unless I started getting some more readings, I wasn’t going to even be bringing in enough to cover the rent on the place. Sighing, I unlocked the door and turned on the open sign. I also turned up the heat and took off my coat, shivering in the morning chill.

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