Bad Blood #3
“You can stop eating altogether, if you want. All we need is blood.”
“Perfect. Ice cream for life, it’ll be.” I kept my eyes on the screen, content to watch them play while I ate. I was licking ice cream off the spoon when I noticed Dennis’ eyes on me. “What are you staring at?” I asked, staring right back.
“You should know. You’ve been in my head.”
“Ari,” I switched focus as she entered the room, “where have you been?”
“Hiding from you.” She laughed and plopped into a chair. “No, not really. I was talking to my dad. He said to tell you hi and to take your meds.” She tossed the bottle of pills and I caught them without even trying.
“Thanks. I keep forgetting lately.” I took the pills with a scoop of ice cream. “Why’s your backpack in here?” I asked. It was near her feet and stuffed with books.
“I’m going to a study group.”
“Ew, but it’s Saturday.” I scrunched my nose.
“Where’s your shirt?” She mirrored my face as she spotted my top.
“This bustier doubles as a top.” I glanced over at Dennis’ minuscule reaction—the slightest smirk and glance my way. Still, I couldn’t feel anything.
“Whatever. I’ll be back later. I have three midterms on Wednesday so I’ll be studying for a while.” She stood and grabbed her bag before frowning. “I just remembered my car isn’t here.”
“I drove it over last night,” Sean said. “I thought you might want it.”
“Are you serious? I told you not to drive my car.”
“It’s fine, I don’t mind.” He stood and tossed his controller to Mateo. “I’m going with you, by the way. Too many vampires have been trying to kill you guys lately.”
She opened the small part of her bag, searching for keys. “You have my keys, don’t you?” Sean smiled as she let out an aggravated sigh. “I give up.” She zipped the bag and flung it over her shoulder. “This is so much worse than you said.” She shot me a dirty look as they passed.
“At least you’re safe.” I waved cheerfully. “Bye, I love you.”
“Love you, too.” She yanked the door open and stalked outside. “How are you with me right now? It’s not night yet.”
“Cloudy evening,” Sean said as he followed. “Convenient, right? I’ll be fine until nightfall.”
The door closed and their footsteps faded.
“I wanna go to the bar,” I decided. “Can we go? I wanna see how different it is now that I’m one of you.”
“Sure.” Dennis stopped the game and stood.
“Sounds fun,” Mateo said. “I’ll come with, if that’s okay?”
I happily agreed and tossed out the now-empty ice cream carton before going to dig through my bag. I tried not to give a view up my skirt or down my shirt, but that didn’t stop Dennis from staring. I looked up and our eyes met, though it took his a moment to raise that high.
“What’re you getting? You seem ready to me.”
“This.” I held up my flask and shook it.
As always, it was filled with whiskey. I downed a couple shots worth and grabbed my makeup bag before straightening up.
“Is this whole vampire thing gonna affect my tolerance at all?” I asked.
If it got any lower, I might have to change out of these stiletto boots into combats instead, but if it was higher, I’d keep the heels and finish the flask.
“If you’re low on blood, you’ll get trashed quicker. But if you just drank, it’ll probably be the same.” Dennis paused before adding, “Don’t change. I like the heels.”
“Hm. Okay.” I straightened up and went to the bathroom, makeup bag in one hand for finishing touches and flask in the other.
I hopped on the counter and took a swig of whiskey while digging through makeup.
My favorite shade of lipstick was nearly identical to my new natural color, so I needed something new.
Something exciting. I cycled through options in search of the perfect color to match my mood.
Creams, glosses, mattes, stains, so many options.
At the same time, I could barely focus on the decision. My mind was stuck on a craving for something I couldn’t place. Probably not blood since I drank three whole people yesterday. Maybe I was craving sex and the urge felt different as a vampire?
“You won’t know until you try.” Dennis was leaning against the doorframe, but it didn’t startle me this time; I’d heard him coming from halfway down the hall.
“Ha, maybe. That doesn’t mean I want you.”
“No,” he crossed his arms and smiled, “it just means you won’t admit it. Are you ready?”
“Almost.” I settled on a plain lip balm and applied the tiniest bit. I held my phone up for one final examination. My eyes were perfectly smoky, lips a seductive shade, my hair was perfect, earrings were perfect, cleavage was perfect—
“It’s all perfect. Can we go?”
“I suppose.” I slid off the counter and brushed past him—the jolt that went through my body at the touch was ridiculous. I ignored it and finished off the whiskey on my way to the living room. “Ready Freddy!” I saluted Mateo and dropped my flask back in its temporary home.
He chuckled before leading the adventure to Dennis’ new car. I took the backseat and a minute later we were on the way. I gazed out the window while we drove, thankful it was already getting dark out. Indoor light was uncomfortable enough. I didn’t even wanna think about the sun.
“Wait, what time is it?” I furrowed my brows. “How is it already so late? I got up like three hours ago.”
“You slept for almost a day,” Mateo said.
“Huh.” I cocked my head. I hadn’t done that in a while. Oh well. At least I woke up happy again. “Is Sean working tonight?”
I zoned out as we pulled into the parking lot. It seemed full tonight, which meant pretty good chances of finding entertainment.
“Are you even listening?”
“Of course I am,” I lied.
“She wasn’t.”
“Shut up. I heard the last part.” I glared at the back of Dennis’ head. “So is Sean working?”
“You’d know if you were listening.”
“He’s not.”
“Thanks for answering, Mateo.” I got out and shut my door, cringing when it accidentally slammed. “Oopsie. Sorry.” I giggled at the fact I no longer knew my own strength. This was already so much fun. “Does anything special happen now that I’m a vampire?”
“Yeah. You walk in,” Dennis said as he strode past.
“It’s nothing special. They’ll probably talk to you more.” Mateo waited so we could walk together.
“I don’t get an initiation or anything?” I pouted.
“Nope, no initiations.” Mateo held back a smile as Dennis laughed from up ahead.
“Seriously, how many crappy vampire movies have you seen?” He turned to smirk at me.
I found a sizable rock and kicked it as hard as I could, laughing when he knocked it away from my target. It slammed into a pole and left a dent before clattering to the ground. “What were you saying?” I asked sweetly. If he hadn’t ruined my aim, he might’ve lost the option to have kids.
“You need to get that temper in check, sweetheart. You might damage something you’re gonna want.”
“Right,” I smiled and ran my nails across the back of his neck as I passed, “because I want you so bad.”
“You guys have so much sexual tension it’s almost painful,” Mateo muttered.
“Hey girly,” a familiar voice said. It was the biker I always parked beside.
“Hey.” I paused by the door. “Are you ever gonna tell me your name?”
“It’s Benji.” He walked up to shake my hand. I smiled as he caressed it more than anything. “And you are?”
“Mina.” I ignored Dennis’ brazen laugh from somewhere behind me. “It’s nice to officially meet you.”
“You’re a vamp now, right?” Benji waited for me to nod. “I can tell. It suits you.” His eyes did a thorough search, like he was trying to see through my clothes.
I pretended to be bashful and asked, “You think so?” I knew so, but it never hurt to play modest.
“Yeah.” He leaned a bit closer and smiled. “Can I get you a drink or something?”
“Sure, I’d love that.”
“In a little while,” Mateo cut in politely. “First one’s on me.”
Benji looked at Mateo before shrugging. “In a little while.” He turned his charming smile back to me. “I’ll take you up on that.”
“Come find me. I’ll be waiting,” I said, running a nail along the top of my mostly exposed chest.
He nodded and headed back to his friends. I turned to show my ID but the bouncer waved me past. I thanked him and practically skipped inside. Either he knew me as a regular now or he was giving special vampire treatment. Either way, I liked it.
I sat on a stool and spun away from the bar, crossing one leg over the other while I scanned the room for a target. Mina was back and on the prowl. Oh how I’d missed her so.
“You sound like a crazy person.” Dennis stood beside me.
“Get out of my thoughts, then.”
“You know that guy just wants in your pants, right? Up your skirt…” he leaned close and dropped a hand to my thigh, “right between these.” It slid up, knocking my top leg aside.
“Go away.” I slapped his hand off and recrossed my leg.
“No,” he placed a hand on either side of me, “I don’t really want to. I think I like it here.”
My stomach fluttered, but I was determined to keep a straight face. Mateo was right: our sexual tension was painfully strong. Still, it was a no for now.
“I’m serious. Move.”
He shrugged and took the seat beside me. “You don’t have a good poker face, by the way. But I’ll stay out of your head this time.”
“Is this better?” I changed my blank expression to a fake angry one, making him laugh.
“What drink do you want?” Mateo took the stool on my other side.
“You can choose.” I spun toward the bar, eager to see what he would get me. “Thank you.”
“No problem.”
“What’ll it be?” Asked the bartender who wasn’t Sean. He was decent, probably mid-twenties. Nothing special. I could find better in the room.
“I’ll have a boilermaker, and she’ll have a sex on the beach?” Mateo looked to me for approval.
“I’ve had lots of that.” I laughed at the bartender’s taken aback expression. “I’m kidding. Yeah, sex on the beach is good.”
“I’ll have an old fashioned,” Dennis said.