Familiar Strangers
Jay
Jay eyed the fingernails displayed in front of him with great interest. They were bright yellow and orange, with little fall leaves and pumpkins painted on. The images were so tiny, even with the extra length on the nails.
“Amazing,” he whispered in awe.
They were. They were the definition of craftsmanship.
“Thanks,” Alicia told him, taking her hand away and flicking her long red ponytail. “I didn’t used to bother, but self-care, you know?”
Jay nodded, even though he didn’t, not really.
He’d never managed to grow his nails beyond short little stubs, and he’d definitely never paid anyone to create masterpieces on his fingers.
But Alicia was in school now, and that had added, as she put it, “tons of extra stress” to her day to day, so maybe the portable artwork helped with that.
She was in a program to become an X-ray tech, and Jay was so very proud of her, even if he’d be so sad to one day no longer see her behind the counter of his beloved coffee shop.
“And you can still press all the buttons you need to?” he asked, eyeing the length of her nails again.
She shrugged, then leaned over the counter on crossed arms. “Sure. I’ll have to go short and plain for placements, but that’s ages away.”
The bell above Death by Coffee’s door rang, meaning a new customer had arrived. Alicia slowly rose from her slouch, and Jay turned to smile at the newcomer.
Jay didn’t work here anymore—not with the animal shelter taking up so much of his time—so he wasn’t required to greet anyone or anything, but it was still nice to let people know they were appreciated with a smile and a warm hello.
“Welcome to DBC!” he called, waving with enthusiasm.
The guy who’d just entered gave him a sweet but confused smile and Alicia rolled her eyes. “You order with me. He’s just decoration.”
Jay beamed. That meant Alicia thought he was cute. Jay already knew that she did, of course, but it was nice for her to say so in front of the customers.
Said customer gave Alicia his full attention, and Jay took the opportunity to study him. A cutie pie, for sure. He had a sweet face and very neat clothing—he was wearing a button-down shirt and slacks even though he looked quite young. He had surprisingly messy blond hair, glasses, and—
Jay gasped. “Oh, I love your freckles,” he told him, leaning in close to study the patterns. “So pretty.”
The guy flushed a bright pink—the color was almost as pretty as the freckles—and gave Jay a stuttered, “Th-Thank you,” before shifting over to the drink pick-up area.
Jay frowned after him. He could swear he’d just caught a whiff of something metallic. Almost…coppery.
He started to follow after the customer, and Alicia clucked her tongue at him.
“What?” Jay asked.
“You know people think you’re flirting when you get like that,” she told him, all lowered voice and shifty eyes.
Jay cocked his head. “Like what?”
Alicia sighed, turning to the espresso machine. “I’ll tell Alexei I tried.”
Jay grinned at her—he liked when she and Alexei bonded—and sidled over to the customer.
He decided to go for a subtle approach. He leaned in close and gave a little sniff. “You smell very nice. Cologne?”
The customer’s eyes widened, and he went bright pink again. But Jay didn’t need a second sniff. Coppery, for sure, in a very distinctive way. Definitely a vampire.
And sure, he didn’t look like the terrible kind that would make their lives extra hard, but then, it was always hard to tell with some people.
The customer-vampire cleared his throat. “Listen, you’re really cute, but I’m, uh—”
A deep voice cut in just as a broad figure appeared at the strange vampire’s side, wrapping a possessive arm over his shoulders. “He’s taken.”
Jay blinked at the newcomer, who was giving Jay a severe scowl. He was very handsome, even with the sour face. Tall with black hair and bright-green eyes, and wearing a much more casual outfit than his counterpart. And—Jay sniffed—also human.
The human grabbed the vampire’s chin and gave him a deep, filthy kiss. The vampire kind of whimpered into his mouth, and Jay watched avidly, fascinated by the display.
They were very pretty together. And interesting too. A cute, shy, freckled blond and his…his…
Oh! Jay’s eyes widened, and he bounced on his toes. “Oh, oh, oh!”
The pair broke the kiss, and the dark-haired human went back to glaring at Jay.
“I know, I know!” Jay cried. He tried to keep his voice down, but Alicia was giving him a look that told him he probably wasn’t managing it. “I know who you are! Cassian! Cassian and his mate!”
The human—Blake, that was his name, right?—stepped forward with a growl, tugging Cassian behind him. It was like he was protecting his mate, even though he was a fragile, breakable human. How sweet.
Cassian peered out from behind Blake’s back. “Um. Do we know you?”
Jay beamed at him. “Danny told me! Oh, he’s going to be so excited that you’re back! You’ll have to come to Thanksgiving, of course. I’ll add a pie to the list so we’ll have enough. Maybe cranberry? Do people make cranberry pie, or am I making that up?”
The pair exchanged a glance. Blake’s scowl softened, and Cassian shook his head. “That’s so kind, but we’re just passing through. We’re heading home to have Thanksgiving with our families.”
“Oh.” Some of Jay’s excitement deflated. “Are you sure? I hardly ever burn my pies anymore.”
“We’re sure,” Blake said firmly.
Cassian gave him a nudge, then smiled shyly at Jay. “We were going to text Danny, actually. To see if he wants to meet up so we can thank him again in person, since we’re here. He was so kind.”
Jay clapped with delight, his disappointment forgotten. “Oh, he’ll love that. He really will. He’s such a good nurse, don’t you think?”
Cassian agreed, and after Alicia handed them their drinks, Jay followed the couple to their table.
They seemed a little confused by the attention but not overtly hostile.
The handsome Blake even became a little less surly as they chatted.
Maybe he realized Jay wasn’t a threat, despite him being another vampire.
When Blake was more relaxed, he was very charming, with a nice smile and a casual protectiveness toward his mate that Jay was delighted to see.
Everyone deserved a wonderful mate, especially sweet college students who were turned without their say-so.
And Cassian was so sweet, blushing and grinning shyly at everything Jay said.
Jay learned they were both still in college, on break for Thanksgiving and driving to see their families, since the airports got so busy around the holidays. And after a bit of prying, they told him they were waiting for after college to address Blake’s…continued humanity.
They told him a bit about what they were studying, what student life was like, how Cassian had adjusted to undergraduate life as a vampire.
They were like Alicia, in a way, growing and expanding their minds and their purposes. Everyone in their place of learning.
A little kernel of an idea planted in Jay’s mind—something to think about.
Alexei
The front door opening might have been the sweetest sound Alexei had ever heard.
Alexei loved how excited Jay got for the den’s holiday gatherings—he really did.
It was just that the week leading up to Thanksgiving or Christmas or whichever often meant a…
surprisingly independent Jay. One who spent long afternoons with Danny going over plans and menus, long evenings with Colin and Jamie catching up while they were in town with their mates, and—as of today—long mornings with Alicia at Death by Coffee while she wasn’t quite so busy with school.
“She misses me terribly,” Jay had told Alexei forlornly just that morning. Never mind that Jay popped by the coffee shop at least twice a week, often when Alicia was working.
And now it was Alexei who missed Jay terribly.
He’d been going over some of the paperwork for the shelter that needed their attention to pass the time, but he was used to completing that particular task with Jay perched on his lap, nuzzling into Alexei’s chest while he laughed at the ridiculousness of the legal jargon.
Which pretty much always inevitably led to Alexei bending Jay over the desk, neither of them laughing at all.
Alexei’s cock stirred, and he swiped a hand over his face, trying to pull himself together before Jay made it into the office. God, he felt like a lecherous old creep whose only drive in life was to have his gorgeous mate bouncing on his cock.
Jay was allowed to have other interests, obviously. And he was definitely allowed to have friends he saw without Alexei lurking at his side. Alexei was only maybe feeling a little…needy.
A moment later Jay bounded into the spare room they’d converted into an office. Alexei rolled his office chair back from the desk, turning it to face him.
The bond was bubbling with excitement, and Jay looked like sunshine incarnate, wearing bright yellow sweatpants and an equally bright yellow shirt that were just a shade away from matching correctly. His gray eyes were practically glowing.
“I met them!”
Before Alexei could ask who, Jay hopped onto his lap for a half straddle, half hug, yelling into Alexei’s ear. “I did! I met them! What a coincidence!”
Alexei couldn’t help his smile as he arranged Jay’s legs to straddle him fully. “Met who, kitten?”
Jay leaned back, grinning wide. “The little vampire Danny helped out. Him and his mate both. They’re in town! Not for long though. I couldn’t tempt them into staying for Thanksgiving.”
“Their loss, sweetheart.”
And possibly Alexei’s gain, if it meant one less distraction for Jay during the week.
Except no, he needed to stop thinking selfish, asshole thoughts. He wasn’t like Wolfgang, some possessive bastard who couldn’t stand to let his mate out of his sight.
“You think so?” Jay asked.
Alexei kissed him on the nose, just to hear him giggle. “I really do.”