6. Vi
vi
. . .
My ringer cut through the music in my headphones, and I sighed, forcing my hand beyond the worn folds of my leather bag to hunt for my phone in a sea of old receipts, granola bar wrappers, and at least three too many lipsticks.
It’s gotta be the fucking bank calling again.
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to pay my credit card bill, I just had other priorities for the time being. At least I knew I’d be able to get to it a little earlier than planned if I kept getting tip outs like the night before. Which was seriously a relief, the dire state of my dwindling credit score was making me seriously reconsider if homeownership was ever going to be in the cards.
The dread rolling in my stomach disappeared instantly as Kaylee’s contact flashed on the screen, and I connected the call with a sigh of relief.
Note to self: I really need to pay that bill.
“Hey K, I’m?—“
“Please tell me you’re not wearing Docs right now, Vi.”
“Scout’s honour,” I said with a laugh, rolling my eyes. “Dressed to your specifications—teeny tiny black dress and heels I can bear to run around in. Don’t you trust me?”
She giggled on the other side of the phone, the sound like popping champagne bubbles. There was no mistaking why Kaylee was so popular at the club—she was downright charming when she wasn’t drinking orange juice from the carton or leaving bras all over the apartment. “When it comes to fashion? Absolutely not. Are you almost here?”
“Yes, Mom ,” I groaned, though it was a fair comment. I did prefer to dress more like a middle school boy than a twenty-something-year-old woman… One who panic-cut bangs into her hair with a pair of kitchen scissors last night in an I can’t believe I’m a bartender again freakout. “Just stopping for coffees.”
“God, yes!” she moaned, the phone rustling. “My fitting with Juniper was so early that I'm clinging to life here! It’s a Van?—“
“Vanilla latte, extra foam, and add one pump of raspberry,” I parroted, grinning at the irritated huff that met my ear.
“Okay, okay , miss know-it-all … I’ll see you in a few?”
“Were you worried I wasn’t going to show?” I asked shrewdly.
“Maybe,” she conceded, the a drawn out innocently.
As if! I don’t think I’d ever let Kaylee down in my life. I’d even tried to join a sorority for her back in college. Those were dark times.
Kappas mean business.
“Unfortunately for us, I’m too broke to say no at this point… So, I’ll see you soon,” I assured her, hanging up and tugging off my headphones, taking the hood of my jacket with them as I stepped into The Drip.
I waved in greeting to Todd, heading straight for him at the counter, my jacket already a little damp from the rain outside in the few steps I took from our lobby to the cafe one door over.
It was just too bad that his less-than-cheery coworker, Dishwater Blonde, was lingering nearby. I was really hoping to gossip with him about my night working with Ren after his helpful tip, but with Sarah giving me the stink eye… it was a little awkward.
Not that it mattered what she thought about yesterday, now that my wallet was thick with bills courtesy of O’s extremely immoral—I mean, immortal —patrons. I was clear to not only pay for my own coffee but tip stupidly well, too.
“Had a feeling I’d be seeing you again,” Todd said with a wink. “Cute haircut. Your usual?”
I nodded, glancing over the pastry case as I thumbed through the contents of my wallet, looking for a twenty. “And a blueberry muffin… Oh, and a vanilla latte, extra foam, with a pump of raspberry.”
“I know I’m not supposed to say this, but I always thought that sounded gross.” Todd laughed. “Only know one girl who’s ever ordered it.”
“Blonde, gorgeous?”
“That’s the one.”
“My roommate.”
“Thought you were going to say girlfriend .” He chuckled as he turned the payment terminal to me, moving to start my drinks. “Suppose I should be happy for Ren that’s not the case.”
The doorbell chimed behind me as I pressed the cancellation button, sliding a crisp bill onto the counter with a lick of excitement snaking up my spine.
Ren.
Hello? Hollywood? My life is officially a movie! What are the chances that she’d come in right this ? —?
I turned, a hopeful, buzzy thrill flickering through me as my eyes swung to the door, my hand moving on its own accord to flatten my bangs nervously—only for all that giddy high-school excitement to be replaced by crushing disappointment.
“Can you move to the pickup counter, lady? There are other customers.” Dishwater Blonde said flatly, picking up the bill to set it in the register. She moved to give me my change, and I waved her off, popping another crisp twenty in the tip jar.
The surly, sour look she gave me could’ve peeled paint.
Justice . Who didn’t love an underdog success story?
I hadn’t even realised I wanted to see Ren until that moment, but now that it was clear… shit .
It wouldn't be the first time I’d had a crush on a coworker, and it probably wouldn’t be the last, but something told me that getting mixed up with that coven would be more than I could handle. Besides, this was only a temporary detour while I looked for something else. I wasn’t going to stay and work at O forever.
I stepped aside to give the new customer—a human with grey hair and way too much cheap, chemically cologne—space to order, leaning against the pickup counter with my phone in hand to scroll mindlessly.
Todd had just slid the little cardboard tray in my direction when the bell chimed a second time. A familiar, soft voice made my cheeks heat, drifting toward me on a blast of cold February air.
“Pet,” Ren called with a cheeky little lopsided smirk that showed off a fair bit of fang as she shook out her umbrella. “I love the hair.”
Fuck, now I was blushing for a whole new reason.
I knew the bangs were a bit of a botch job, uneven in a sort of devil-may-care way... If you squinted.
If you didn’t, they were a total mess.
It wasn’t really my fault! I shouldn’t be trusted around scissors ever , let alone after sharing two bottles of the disgusting cheap pink wine Kaylee loved.
Especially when that disgusting pink wine had led to a long bath with the image of a certain short haired bartender having her way with me on the bartop while Elsie watched from the stage keeping me company.
I shivered even now at the thought, clearing my throat.
“Thanks,” I offered awkwardly, nodding toward the ordering station. “Picking up?”
“Hope so,” Ren said with a suggestive laugh, her dark eyes trailing down the front of my jacket, stopping at the shimmery black minidress and the fair bit of bare skin she could see along my upper thigh. “Wait for me? We can walk together.”
Thank you, Kaylee, for many, many things, but especially your far superior closet.
“Sure, yeah, totally.” It was like I’d somehow swallowed a thesaurus full of ways to sound like a desperate weirdo—which wasn’t entirely far off, but my hot coworker absolutely didn’t need to know that!
Please, god, I’ll do anything, just don’t let this woman think I am half the dork I actually am.
Todd slid the tray of four coffees across the bar toward Ren as she tapped her card, with Dishwater Blonde offering the vampire a beaming smile.
Oh . Well, I guessed that made sense.
I’d be annoyed too if I’d been flirting with a regular only for them to play knight in shining armour to some down-on-their-luck fresh-faced asshole who looked like she’d just gone through her first major breakup. All that was missing was a kitchen sink dye job, and I’d be the poster child for a quarter-life crisis.
Though now that I was thinking about it… Maybe I would be cute with blue hair.
“Alright, Todd?”
“Peachy keen, Ren. See you tomorrow—both of you!”
“Have a nice night?” Ren asked with a wave, collecting the tray in one hand and motioning with her head toward the door in a clear order for me to go first.
“Can you really call it night at four in the morning?” I asked, stepping out of the café. I moved to pull up my hood when the light patter of rain suddenly stopped, replaced with the gentle sound of it tapping against Ren’s umbrella as she held it over our heads. “I can carry those, if you want.”
“Nah, I’m an acts-of-service girl,” she said with a shrug. “It’s night so long as the sun is down, Vi.”
“The sun never rises in the Lower City,” I shot back, our arms brushing as we made our way down the rain-slicked street.
Puddles filled the dips and ridges in the uneven pavement, reflecting the neon lights and all the glowing, digitised ads featuring vampires artfully styled to sell perfume or beauty products—even cars—with their fangs on display as they looked down on us, watching us pick our way toward the club, carefully trying to avoid our feet getting wet.
“Precisely,” Ren said. “You really killed it last night, you know? It was nice not to have to spend all night looking over your shoulder.”
“I bartended my way through college—some things you just never forget, I guess. Besides, it was all so second nature that by the end I was even having fun.”
‘That’s good to hear; it’ll be even busier tonight. Saturday is our last night of the week, so it's always a mess.” She stopped us to wait at a red light, cutting a look at me sidelong. “You’re really a Nightwalkers fan?”
“Massive,” I said with a little laugh. “Had a poster in my bedroom of the team and everything when I was a kid.”
“Ever seen a game in person?”
“Not in a long time,” I admitted. “I bought season’s tickets before I lost my job, but I’ve been selling my seats for the extra cash all year.”
She hummed thoughtfully. “Real shame. We’ll have to fix that.”
I looked up at her, the lights from the movie theatre across the street illuminating her profile.
It wasn’t normal night down here in the Lower City, given that you couldn’t see the moon or the stars. It was more like total and complete darkness, broken up by vignettes of carefully styled businesses—mostly owned by vampires—lit up to draw the eye.
But in this moment?
With her dark eyelashes kissing her cheek with every blink, soft pink lips parted on the ghost of one of those lopsided smirks that tugged at my heart, it was like my world had shrunk down to the circular dome of Ren’s umbrella.
I could’ve sworn the stars were twinkling overhead.
“Are you asking me on a date?’ I asked in a rush, my voice high and overeager.
Come on, Vi! Keep it together!
The audible walk signal shrieked to life, but Ren didn’t make a move to continue our walk as the traffic began to move behind her.
“So what if I am? Going to say no?”
“No.”
“No, you wouldn’t want to go, or no, you’d say yes?” she asked, her hand tightening around her umbrella handle as she tilted her head.
“I’d say yes.”
Only a crazy person would say no, to be fair. And I was a lot of things, but no matter how bad it got, I was still pretty sure I had my sanity.
“Great,” the vampire said, smirk returning in full force. “It’s a date. I’ll send you some options for which games would work.”
“That’d be great. Don’t make me wait long.”
“As if,” she said, the moment stretching between us. If her hands weren’t full, I wondered if she would’ve leaned in for a kiss.
Maybe I should ? —
Icy water splashed onto the sidewalk as a passing car hit a puddle, soaking our shoes and up Ren’s back, popping the tension in the air like bubble gum.
I laughed, shifting the coffees into one hand so I could try to cover my mouth to mute the noise, betrayed entirely by the way my shoulders shook, a snort escaping my fingers. “Sorry! It’s just?—”
“ Oh ,” Ren said with a playfully evil grin as water dripped from her hair where it curled around her ears. She stomped down on a puddle to spray me with more cold water. “You think it’s funny .”
I squealed, trying to dodge the frigid attack, ducking out from under the umbrella to jog across the street as carefully as I could with a full tray of coffee while the walk signal ticked down, my laughter following. The vampire pursued me, and we spent the rest of our short commute attempting to splash each other with puddles between giggles.
By the time we half-slipped down the wet stairs to the door of the club, we were both drenched. Ren’s carefully applied kohl eyeliner smudged and dripping toward her cheeks, making me wonder what our goofing around had done to my own makeup in the process.
I opened the door with my cold stiffened fingers, my body relaxing as a gust of warmth poured into me from the heaters inside. I used my body to hold it open, waiting for Ren to enter. “After you.”
The vampire tossed her umbrella inside, shifting the pathetically wet cardboard tray of coffee cups so that her arm was free to lean against the door, trapping my body between hers and the heavy metal. Her wet shirt clung to her frame, the odd droplet of rain managing to reach us in our partially covered alcove singing along my skin.
My heart rate elevated as our eyes met. She wasn’t touching me, but this close, I could feel her presence like a lick between my legs.
“Have I told you that you look absolutely divine today?”
“Not yet, but you should,” I whispered, a little thrown by the change of pace and trying not to pant after damn near sprinting down the street.
“Vi,” she purred, her face so close I could practically taste the words from her lips, feel her breath fanning against my cheek as her head bent forward to brush her lips against my ear. Hardly a caress, but it went straight to my cunt all the same. Pressed up against the door like this, her larger frame felt all-encompassing. “You look positively exquisite this evening.”
“I—um…” My face warmed to impossible degrees. If I didn’t stop blushing like this, I was going to die from insufficient blood circulation. “Thank you.”
Ren’s eyes slipped from mine down to where my pebbled nipples strained against the fabric of my borrowed dress. The sequined garment didn’t allow for a bra with its open back, and there was no hiding the effect the vampire—and the frigid rain—had on my body. She made a soft noise, somewhere between a moan and a growl in the back of her throat, leaning infinitesimally closer.
I shifted forward, seeking to close the gap between our lips and Ren pulled away.
“I’m trying so hard here, Vi. You have no idea.”
Bolder than I felt, I said, “So stop trying.”
“You’re trouble.” Ren sighed, stepping back and inside the club to collect her umbrella. “Let me find us some towels.”
“We have a date,” I reminded her, leaning my head back against the door and taking in a ragged breath as I shifted my thighs together. The tiny thong that this dress allowed, because fucking panty lines , suddenly didn’t feel like nearly enough fabric.
“That we do.” Like she could read my thoughts, Ren’s attention snapped to my core before she turned, her shoulders tight as she disappeared into the club.
I needed to get a handle on myself. Immediately. And if Ren’s quickly shifting mood was to be considered, it seemed she did too.
But just because the job was temporary… Did that mean the relationships had to be?
I sent Kaylee a quick text to let her know I’d arrived, settling onto one of the stools at the bar as Ren moved behind it, skimming through her emails on her phone.
The towels hadn’t done much to dry us off, and I was already shivering a little as I sipped my latte.
“Oh good, she’s about to start,” Ren said cheerfully, her damp hair falling into her eyes and standing up on end. “Els sent an apology that it’ll be loud while she’s rehearsing.”
I swivelled around to look at the stage, the heavy curtains pulled back to reveal the little blonde and a chair in a lone spotlight. Her face brightened as our eyes met, offering me a dazzling smile and a cheesy wave before her game face slid on with the start of the music, moving like water on the metal chair to the beat.
Elsie.
The performer from the night before.
She was petite. Her spandex shorts hugged her round ass as she swayed her hips seductively, knees bending as she smoothly moved to the floor. Her blonde hair was tied into a messy knot at the top of her head, strands falling in loose curls around her face and down the back of her neck. Like a romantic era oil painting—done up, but decidedly messy and unfinished. Her full lips were painted a delicious delicate pink as they parted over her gently pointed fangs, smoky grey eyeshadow framing her ruby eyes paired with a delicate champagne glitter that caught the lights.
Stunning felt like an insult.
In the back of my mind, an alarm went off. This girl, in all her temptation, was a vampire. I knew that, of course. But in the darkened seduction of the club, filled to the brim with a couple hundred patrons just like her, it was easier to ignore it. Sitting here alone except for Ren tapping away at the point of sale at my back, it’d be too easy for her to prove that she was way more dangerous than she appeared.
Vampires weren’t just faster and stronger than us. They’d also been gifted a couple of special weapons that made hunting humans even easier—their venom, which very effectively disarmed a person’s mind, and compulsion, a vampire’s ability, with direct eye contact and if they were strong enough, to force another creature, even other vampires, to do whatever they commanded.
But the danger? That’s part of what made it so exciting .
It was the same with Ren. With Dana.
Even with Juniper, if I allowed myself to entertain the outrageous idea that the surly redhead saw me as anything other than a piece of the furniture.
Heat pooled in my core as Elsie made eye contact, a ricochet of delighted butterflies dancing in my belly. It was the sort of feeling that I’d remembered getting when I was a kid and went to see One Resurrection.
Five British vampires in one mega popular boyband. Floor seats. Yeah, it was kind of a big deal.
Elsie's lips curved into an appreciative smile as her eyes trailed down my body, before returning, achingly slowly, to my face. I licked my lips, my own stare wandering to take in where her tank top had rucked up to expose the pale skin of her stomach.
What I wouldn’t give to get a taste of a girl like that .
I reached behind me to grab my coffee cup from the bar, taking a sip in an incredibly weak attempt to hide my interest, only to sputter and cough, choking on the sickly coppery tang coating my tongue along with the taste of espresso.
Blood.
“Ugh!” I groaned, turning to find my cup waiting for me patiently just to the left of where I’d accidentally grabbed Ren’s.
A soft, feminine giggle met my ears, and I turned my head toward the noise to find Elsie sitting backwards on the chair, her eyes alight with humour as she watched me blush and splutter.
“You okay?” Ren called as I beat my fist against my chest, trying to stop myself from choking and demanding my heart to stop beating so hard. “Choking on your own drool, Pet?”
The little jab at my obvious interest in her covenmate would’ve been funny if the whole thing hadn’t gone from mildly embarrassing to downright cringe-worthy when, as though summoned by my own wild imagination, Juniper pushed aside the heavy black curtain that led to the back, her eyes widening in surprise before her lip curled.
My face had to be scarlet.
“Ooooh, coffee!” Kaylee cheered excitedly from behind her. I’d been so distracted with Juniper that I hadn’t even noticed her standing there.
“Why are you soaked? And what the fuck did you do to your hair?” the redhead snapped, her hands going to her rounded hips with a deep scowl.
Kaylee rounded her, a blonde eyebrow raising. “Striker, you, uh…. Cut your hair, buddy?”
If I hadn’t been blushing already, the careful I don't want to set off my best friend while she is clearly having some sort of nervous breakdown tone would’ve done the trick.
“Does it really look that bad?” I asked, flattening my new bangs down anxiously.
Juniper said, “Yes!” at the same time Kaylee and Ren said, “No!”
“Did you cut it with a rusted butterknife?” the blue-eyed vampire asked, rounding the bar to adjust them. I raised my hand to try to flatten them again, and she swatted my fingers with an irritated noise. “Don’t answer that.”
Elsie’s musical laugh warned everyone of her approach. “They’re cute, Junebug. Besides, we can even them up a little bit with my touch-up scissors. Don’t scare off the new girl by being such a grumpy Gus.”
“I’m desperate for a half-decent bartender,” Ren begged of the stylist, leaning her elbow against the polished wood of the bar with her head cocked to the side in a plea. “You can be nice for one day, can’t you? Besides, I like the bangs. They give her a little edge.”
Her wink in my direction was a bit of overkill that I am embarrassed to admit absolutely worked for me.
Juniper took the cup that Elsie offered and looked over its brim at me, her oceanic eyes narrowed. “Fine, but they need to be fixed before we open to the public. And no more DIY projects, please. We have a reputation to maintain, and how you look reflects on all of us. Didn’t Dana explain the dress code?”
“I… Well?—”
“It’s her first official day,” Kaylee intervened, her hackles rising as she collected her cup. “And she’s going to be amazing, so just relax, Ginger Spice.”
Out of the two of us, I was the scrapper, but Kaylee wasn’t above taking out her earrings and getting messy if she thought someone was being disrespectful.
“Don’t worry; the second I have a copy, I’ll follow it to the letter, okay?” I said, cutting my friend a can you please chill sort of look, even if watching her get all protective gave me the warm fuzzies.
Ren rounded the bar, and I was reminded again of painted portraits as she pulled Juniper against her, whispering in the vampire’s ear too low for me to hear. Against Ren’s tall, lanky build, Juniper's soft curves were even more accentuated, especially with her rounded hips hugged by a pair of black denim overalls rolled at the cuffs and a simple white T-shirt peeking out from underneath. Pins poked out from the side of her hair, pulled back into a long curly ponytail that swayed behind her when she moved.
Juniper shuddered as her back met Ren’s wet front. “Ugh! Ren, you’re fucking soaked!”
“Usually when you say that, it’s with a lot less disgust in your tone,” she mumbled against the vampire’s ear with a short laugh.
Juniper hissed, pushing Ren off. “You, find some dry clothes. And you,” she said as she pointed at me. “The same, but with the added task of fixing your hair. I need to go fix Peaches’s costume for the Diamonds number; she popped the bra strap again.” She turned, whipping her wave of fiery hair behind her, and stormed off through the curtain to the back, calling back to us, “Elsie! Make sure it’s done!”
“Don’t mind her.” the vampire in question said quickly. “She’s moody because she doesn’t like a change in her routine and the bagel place didn’t have her usual… she’s also not a fan of new people. Or cute girls with bangs.” Elsie rolled her eyes, waving for me to follow her. “Come on, I’ll get you a dress and help you with the raccoon eyes you got going on.”
“Raccoon eyes?” I asked in horror, using my thumb to wipe under my eye.
“It's not that bad!” Elsie said quickly. “Basically punk rock!”
“It is that bad,” Kaylee whispered. “You look like a member of Hiss”
Ren ran a hand through her short hair, the tattoos spanning her arm little more than shadows in the low light of the club, visible now that she’d rolled her sleeves to the elbow.
“Yeah, go get changed, and then I need you back here so we can run through a couple things before we get busy. Plus, you have to sign your paperwork with Dana.” She hopped over the bar, bending until she was nearly out of sight. A moment later, she resurfaced with an energy drink in her hand and tossed me the chilled can. I caught it, grinning at her quirked eyebrow of surprise. “Not bad, Striker; give that to Juniper, and she might just remember to be polite.”
I turned the can over in my hands, glancing at the label. A little bumblebee sat above the drink’s name—Bee Positive! It would have been cute if the honeycomb pattern hadn’t been oozing blood instead of sticky nectar.
It was kind of cute anyway, I guessed.
“Uh, yeah, sure.” I said. “Think it’ll win me some brownie points?”
“Doubtful,” muttered Kaylee. “She’s a bit of a?—”
“Okay, okay!” Elsie interrupted. “Enough about grumpy June; let’s get you into something dry and at least twenty percent more revealing.”
“Seconded,” Ren called, not looking up from where she was wiping the bar.
“Yeah, Vi,” Kaylee whispered in my ear, her tone dripping with teasing as her eyes flicked toward Elsie. “Go on then.”
I put my palm in her face, pushing her back with a laugh.
“Shut up, dickhead.”
She knew as well as I did that any semblance of a private conversation, regardless of whispering, was out the window with vampires around. And I wasn’t particularly keen on sharing my obvious attraction to Elsie, or Ren for that matter, with the room.
Besides, Kaylee had heard more than her fair share of my lusting last night. We didn’t need to go over it again.
“Okay, byeeeee! I have magic to make!” Elsie chirped, grabbing my arm, and leading me toward the same curtain Juniper disappeared behind.
I twisted to wave at Kaylee, catching her looking like the cat who got the cream. Normally, it would’ve irritated me. But who was I kidding? She’d landed me a job working at a club full of the hottest coven I’d ever seen in my life, and I was weak .
She deserved to feel a little self-satisfied.
“You have a great rack, so we’ll have to be choosy about what we put you in. Gotta make sure it actually fits,” Elsie said excitedly, leading me through the back.
“Right,” I said noncommittally, marvelling at the floor-to-ceiling glossy black paint of the backroom—if you could call the warehouse-sized space a room. Vanities sat in a long line, separated by overflowing racks of clothes. Overhead, accessible through a spiralised staircase, was a loft that looked over the workstations.
I saw Juniper standing with her soft hip pressed into the railing as she watched the girls get ready, but as soon as she caught me looking, she turned and disappeared further into the space.
“Oh! You’ve never been back here!” Elsie quickly realised. “Let me give you a quick tour too!” She kept hold of my arm as she led us to the back, motioning at the doors. Not that I minded, her excitement was contagious. “Dana’s old office—she uses the one upstairs mostly now… and Ren’s—she does a lot of the purchasing.”
“Right, yeah,” I said distractedly with a nod, my focus more on where her pink-painted fingers were wrapped around my bicep.
Elsie’s energy and easy friendliness were consuming. A few more hits of her close like this and I’d easily be addicted. She turned to face me with that thousand-kilowatt smile, the lights from the vanities clustered in the middle of the floor glinting off her fangs, and it was all I could do not to ask her there and then if she wanted to go out for dinner sometime.
“So this is where we all get ready,” Elsie went on excitedly, pointing to a station on the far end. “That one is mine! And Babydoll’s is just on the other side.”
I hummed, letting her guide me into the warmth of the bulbs. Racks of clothes acted like walls between the girls’ stations, offering the illusion of privacy, though, judging by the number of women in various states of undress flitting around from station to station, no one here was shy. I supposed confidence was a prerequisite for dancing in your underwear for a living.
“And that leads backstage.” She pointed at a thick, velvet curtain just beyond her station that I guessed was to help block out some of the noise.
The vampire’s vanity could only be described as organised chaos. Costumes everywhere and cosmetics and wigs haphazardly flung on every available inch of countertop. She released me and shoved some makeup palettes aside to set her coffee down, turning to thumb through a rack of sparkle-covered garments. She hummed as she slid option after option across the bar with the dull shriek of metal on metal.
“Juniper deals with all the costumes for us girls, so she can be a bit intense about wardrobe.” Elsie looked over her shoulder at me and smiled in an embarrassed sort of way. “I promise she is nice when you get to know her, but she needs to get her way or it’s a mess for everyone .”
I nodded, returning her smile. “Sorry to give you trouble.”
She waved a delicate hand, and I was rewarded with another of her musical laughs as she sifted through a handful of options that were little more than whispers of leather and lace. “I’d hardly say getting to play Barbie with you is trouble. You don’t seem like a big nightlife kind of girl. Babydoll said you used to work in corporate or something—HR, right?”
I had to force myself not to cringe. “Marketing. I wanted a change of pace for a bit, I guess.”
“Well, whatever the reason, I’m very happy to have you here.” She straightened, pulling a hanger from the rack and giving me a once-over that left my skin feeling hot. “Your boobs are a little bigger than mine, but this should fit okay.” She held out her selection—a black, corseted dress fashioned out of a silky material with a gentle sheen. Along the sides were mesh panels that would show a little additional skin while also giving the illusion of coverage. “I’ll help you tie it if you want.”
“Sure,” I agreed easily, setting the energy drink down on the seat of a low wooden stool and shrugging out of my soaked clothes. I turned for some semblance of privacy and pulled my dress off over my head, only to find my nipples staring at me in the mirror.
Elsie averted her gaze politely, though a soft blush pinked her cheeks.
“Not much privacy back here, sorry.”
“Comes with the territory, I guess,” I said, chewing on my lower lip as she helped me into the dress, looping my arms into the decorative straps, her deft fingers making quick work of the hooks in the front. She glanced up, her ruby gaze meeting mine for a moment before she quickly looked back at her hands, finishing off the last of the clasps.
She’s your coworker, I reminded myself. And you met her like five minutes ago.
I was going to need to repeat that to myself over and over if Elsie’s fingers kept lingering as she helped do me up. She wasn’t subtle, and her eager, giddy energy was refreshing, reminding me a bit of a puppy—in a really charming way, that is.
“You haven’t been a vampire very long,” I observed, mostly so I didn’t do something totally stupid like inviting her for breakfast after work.
“Just about a decade. My sire only recently passed. It was… quite the shock.”
I blinked at that. There weren’t many things that could kill a vampire.
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It’s alright.” She shrugged, rounding to my back and taking hold of the thick ribbons crisscrossing my spine. “Just a bit of a surprise, I guess.”
I wasn’t entirely sure what to say to that. The closest I’d gotten to losing someone was when Dad walked out on Mom when she got sick. But something in me knew it wasn’t the same.
And mom… her story was still being written. Cancer was such a cunt.
“Anyway, enough sad talk. It’s sure to be a busy night.”
“Can I ask something a little rude?” I said, eager to pull on to the life raft of a new topic.
“Shoot.”
“Is it normal for covens to be all… entangled?” I regretted sounding like a prissy midwestern mom almost instantly, but Elsie, ever the ray of sunshine, just laughed.
“Fucking, you mean? I guess eternity gets a little long. So, yeah, at least in my experience. Besides, group sex is fun.”
She cringed at my squeak, mistaking my surprise at her confession for discomfort from her tightening the corset. “Oh no, did I hurt you?”
“No, not at all,” I said quickly, catching her eye in the mirror. “So, you’re all, like…?” I trailed off, waving my hand airily.
My lurid, wine-fuelled bathtub fantasy from the night before was gaining way too much traction in such a short conversation.
“Oh yeah, the coven is all together, babe.” She dragged the l for a few beats to drive her point home, and though the suggestive eyebrow waggle was a little overkill, it was also cute as hell, so I didn’t mind too much. She pulled on the ribbons a few more times until my boobs were all but spilling out of the top of the corset. “Why? Wanna join?”
I laughed, the noise way too high in my ears with absolute panic. I knew vampires could do a lot of things… but was mind reading one of them? Or was I just super obvious? Hoping for the latter, I moved the energy drink can onto Elsie’s vanity mostly to give my hands something to do.
“Do you really think you can fix this hack job?” I asked, entirely to change the subject, mussing my uneven bangs as I looked in her overly well-lit mirror.
Kaylee was right, I did look like I belonged in a rock group. My makeup so smudgy and streaky that it would likely need to be entirely redone.
Worth it.
Satisfied with the corset’s fit, she tied off the bottom, gently guiding me to sit on the stool with a smirk that told me she hadn’t missed my non-answer. Elsie moved things around on the workspace until she found a pair of thin scissors and a comb, brushing my bangs out with a little huff.
“These really aren’t so bad,” she said softly. “Juniper was being mean… Close your eyes.”
I let my lids flutter shut obediently, listening as the scissors snipped and feeling the gentle fall of the strands on my nose, making it itch.
Elsie worked quickly as I patiently waited, snipping and combing for a few turns before her hairdryer hummed to life, blowing the hairs off my face before she brushed and dried my bangs.
“Okay, done! No, wait!” she said quickly as I started to swivel, aiming for a look at myself in the mirror. “Let me fix your makeup first, we’ll do a grand reveal.”
“Okay, okay, I’m waiting.”
She grinned, using a makeup wipe to tidy up the mascara before dabbing on a bit of extra concealer and a fair bit of peachy blush. “You really are gorgeous; ever thought about dancing?”
“I’m a terrible dancer.”
“You’re so hot you could be doing the Macarena, and you’d still make good money,” she said, tapping on a bit of pinky nude lipstick with her finger.
“Until I busted my ass falling off the stage, sure.”
She rolled her eyes, motioning for me to turn. “Okay, okay, but look! Tell me it wouldn’t all be forgotten with a face like that !”
I turned, catching myself in the mirror with a flicker of surprise. Elsie had managed to take my too-blunt bangs and shape them into something that worked with the soft curls in my half-dry hair. The makeup was an upgrade too—a little more done up than I usually went for, with plenty of colour to my cheeks giving me that healthy, sun-kissed glow I’d always envied from Kaylee.
“Damn.”
“That’s what I was saying!” She said proudly, brushing my hair behind my ear. “Stunning.”
Heat licked up my back.
“I-I should get this drink to Juniper.”
Her eyes glittered with triumph. “If you give it to me, I’ll go up to the roost and give it to June. I’m sure Ren is eager to get an eyeful of you anyway.”
“The roost?” I asked, choosing to ignore the jibe about her covenmate. I couldn’t exactly pretend that I wasn’t interested after we showed up soaked together.
Elsie pointed above us, and I tilted my head up to look at the loft. “June’s atelier; she’s probably up there sulking.” She took my hand to help me up, turning me around with a gentle nudge toward the curtain to the main bar. “Knock ‘em dead, Striker.”
I looked over my shoulder at the vampire. “Thanks. I’ll see you later?”
“I’ll be on stage before you know it. Try and watch my number! If you’re not slammed, I mean.” Elsie tucked her hair behind her ear shyly, her ruby eyes meeting mine for several beats that stretched between us like minutes.
When I found my voice, the words tumbled out of my mouth clumsily, making her grin. “I wouldn’t miss it.”