by Nicole Marie
“Hello?” the voice to the phone said.
I realized I’d been staring in the mirror again, smiling, and I hadn’t answered him. When he repeated what he said, I finally shook myself back to reality and answered. “Oh, hi James. It’s Charlie.”
The line went quiet for a moment and then he his voice finally sounded through. “Oh, Charlie. I was beginning to think that you wouldn’t call. It’s nice to hear your voice.”
“It’s nice to hear yours, too.” I could hear Erik’s chatter pick up in my mind again, and I knew he wasn’t happy. I grinned into the mirror as I pressed the volume up on my phone so he could hear James’ voice in my mind. It was cheeky and vindictive, but any excuse to rattle the vampire who had stolen my mind brought joy to my heart. I never thought I was a particularly vengeful person, but I was learning a lot about myself these past few days.
For example, I learned that I can do precisely three push-ups in a row before collapsing on the ground. A pathetic feat considering I used to train every day when I worked for the force back in Chicago. I also learned that I could eat five servings of chow mein in one sitting before feeling like I was going to throw up.
I’d actually learned that I had been able to eat far more than I ever thought I could and I’d been hungrier than I ever thought possible these past few days being cooped up at home. It was the boredom, I figured.
“Charlie? Are you still there?”
His voice made me jump as I got lost in my own thoughts again. It happened when you are a hermit stuck in your apartment with no one to talk to.
“Oh yeah, sorry, I’m here.” I walked back to my bed and sat on the edge as I thought of what to say to him. It just felt good to hear someone else’s voice in the air, apart from my own and Erik’s. Not that Erik had spoken to me in the past few days after I’d gotten angry at him for invading my thoughts. I was at least grateful for that.
“Is everything okay?” James asked. His voice sounded concerned, and I was grateful that I at least had him in my life. Not that he was really in my life, or anything, but the fact that he was available to speak to made me feel good. It felt like a way out almost, from my prison apartment.
“Yeah, sorry. I’ve just been really busy lately. I was wondering if you wanted to meet up? Go grab a drink, or something?”
My voice lingered on the or something, and by his laugh on the other end of the phone, I figured he caught my drift. Erik seemed to have caught my drift, too, as I heard a anxious groan in the back of my mind. I chose to ignore him.
“I’d love to. Are you free tonight? Want to meet at Russian Mark?” My heart fluttered as I smiled and nodded. I then quickly realized that he couldn’t see me nod, and I laughed into the phone. “Oh God, you have no idea how much I would love that. What time?”
“Well, I’m just finishing something up right now. I could come by and pick you up around five. I could take you out for dinner first.”
“That sounds amazing, thank you. I’m absolutely starving. Not sure if I’ll be able to wait until five.”
James laughed into the phone and then confirmed that he’d come up in my apartment to get me. We said our goodbyes and I clicked the phone shut. I then fell back into my bed and smiled up widely to the ceiling. I was happy to have an excuse to get out of my apartment, but glancing back down at the pathetic state of myself, I realized I had a lot of work to do before meeting him tonight.
I grudgingly pushed myself up off my bed and made my way into the bathroom to clean myself off. I hadn’t showered in days, and not knowing what James might lead me into after dinner and a few drinks, I figured I should probably at least shave my legs.
I turned the shower on and lathered myself up so I could make myself as presentable as possible. The heat felt good against my skin, and I scrubbed my skin with my loofah to wash away the last five days of being alone in my apartment like a total slob.
When I got out of my shower and looked at myself in the mirror, I couldn’t help but frown. My bleached hair had grown out and my brown roots were showing. The reason I dyed my hair to begin with was to hide my identity from Erik, so he and his people couldn’t find me. That had proven to be a complete waste of time, and I really had no reason to keep the blonde. I missed my brown hair, and as I had enough time before James was gonna come, I figured I might as well do something about it. I smiled as I realized I was getting my identity back, and I eagerly pulled on a pair of clothes and ran out of my apartment to go to the shop next door to pick up some hair dye.
I walked down the aisles and found the hair dye section, and did my best to find a colour that matched my original brunette. Evidence in hand, I practically skipped back up to my own apartment to dye my hair. The process only took about half an hour. By the time it was all said and done, I couldn’t help but feel relieved as I gazed at myself in the mirror. The girl that looked back at me was one that I recognized. The deep chocolatey brown brought out the blue in my eyes, and I look less washed out than I did as a blonde.
Examining myself, I wondered how James would like my new hair colour. They say blondes have more fun, but I was definitely feeling a lot better as a brunette. I took a deep breath and sighed, finally feeling like I could be myself again.
Happiness coursed through my body and I realized Erik must have been feeling a strong sense of happiness as well. Looked into the mirror and I cocked my eyebrow and asked, “You like it?”
A growl sounded in the back of my throat as my muscles clenched my teeth down, a strange feeling rising in the pit of my body.
I realized just then that I was feeling a strange otherworldly sexual energy that I hardly recognized as my own. I pushed myself away from the mirror and went back to the main room and began pacing back and forth. I cursed myself for reaching out to him, and pushed the sensation out of my mind. Erik felt attracted to me? I shook my head at the thought and forced myself to think of James’ smiling face and shaggy light brown hair.
That sucking vampire had bit me and ruined my life, there was no way what I was feeling could’ve been from him. It was probably just my excitement over my date tonight, and the anticipation of what might happen after dinner.
My stomach growled loudly just then, and I put my hand over it to quiet it down. I’d just eaten not that long ago, but I was starving again. I had a desperate need for food that was so unfamiliar to me. All those days being cooped up in my apartment with nothing to do but think about eating was having a strange effect on my body. I rubbed my hand over my stomach, hoping that the constant influx of Chinese food that I’d been ordering hadn’t made me put on any weight. I went to stand in front of the mirror and turned sideways, pulling up my shirt to see the curve of my stomach in the mirror. Most of it was flat, but there was a slight bump on the edge of my tummy. I pulled my shirt back down to hide it, telling myself that I had to hit the gym soon now that I no longer needed to be locked up in my apartment.
I spent the rest of the day cleaning up my apartment, doing my hair and putting on makeup to make myself look presentable for James. I hadn’t used makeup in ages, and it took a while to get it just right. I washed my face and redid my eyeliner a few times before it looked good, but the final resort was impressive. I looked at my phone and saw that it was 4:55 o’clock, quickly putting on some red lipstick before grabbing my bag. The buzzer went off by my door and I couldn’t help but smile to myself as I left my apartment and ran down the stairs to eagerly meet my date.
He was standing on the outside of his car, dressed in a tight fitting sweater, and freshly pressed jeans. He was holding a single red rose in his hand and he smiled at me with his beautiful dazzling smile of his. My stomach clenched with excitement, and I practically ran across the sidewalk towards him. I didn’t even try to hide my eagerness as I simply smiled up at him after he kissed me on the cheek. He handed me the rose and I smelled, inhaling its sweet scent deeply as I looked up into his dazzling eyes. He opened the door for me and I got in the passenger seat, and then he went aroun
d and got into the driver’s seat before pulling out into the road.
“So where we going?” I asked, sniffing the rose again.
“I thought I could give you a taste of Chicago,” he said. “How about a deep dish pizza or something?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. The thought of eating an entire deep dish pizza myself actually was quite satisfying given how hungry I was, but I didn’t think there was anything around here that served anything moderately close. Not that I would pass the opportunity to eat a deep dish pizza in London, but I assumed it wouldn’t even be able to compare to anything back home. “I could really eat a steak,” I said as my stomach growled again.
I had been craving red meat for days, but didn’t know any takeout places that would deliver. The thought of sinking my teeth into a massive steak sent shivers up my spine, and I knew that’s exactly what I wanted. I looked at James eagerly as he smiled back at me. “Okay, perfect. I know just the place.”
13
“What restaurant are you taking us to?” I asked after James had driven me around for about half an hour through town. He glanced out the window at the passing cars, trying to pretend that my stomach wasn’t eating itself.
“You’ll see,” he said cheekily. “Trust me, it’s worth the wait.”
We drove for another ten minutes before he pulled into a side alley and parked at the back of a regular looking brick building. It was a residential area, and it didn’t really look like there was a restaurant anywhere nearby. I didn’t ask questions, though, as I didn’t want to ruin the surprise. He looked so excited about where he was taking me, I didn’t want to take that away from him.
He opened his door and came around to let me out of my side like a gentleman, and I took his hand as I stepped out of the car. He then led me further down the alleyway until we came upon a small black door with a star on the front of it. I raised my eyebrows and looked up at him but he smiled down at me reassuringly as he knocked three times on the door. We both waited in silence for a moment, and I wondered just where the hell he was taking me. If this is some kind of strange undergrad sex club, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to handle any of that just now. It took me at least a few days to recover from my last experience, not that I was going to admit that to him.
The door creaked open a moment later, and a man in a white chef’s hat and long grease stained apron stepped out.
“Mr. James, so happy to see you. Come right this way, please.”
James offered me his elbow and I accepted it, intrigued as to where he was taking me. We followed the chef into the door and down a long hallway, into a room that was full of light and people. It was the last thing I expected after being led down the dark hallway.
It was an old converted warehouse, with massive skylights above us and exposed wooden structures. Large chandeliers hung from the ceiling beams, and there were tables full of people scattered around the room. The men led us to the far corner of the room next to a window, and we took our seats at a small two person table. The man welcomed us and said he’d be right back with the wine menu. I watched him walk away and then turned and noticed the enormous grin that was that spread across James’s face. I smiled back at him and laughed. “Okay okay, I’m impressed.”
He seemed rather pleased with himself as he tucked his chair closer to the table and leaned in towards me. I pulled my chair in as well and leaned towards him and put my hand on his. “Thank you so much for this, James. I really needed a night out.”
He gave my hand a squeeze and looked into my eyes. “Well, I’m glad I could help. Now, tell me about your hair.”
I was confused for a moment and I looked at him with my eyebrows furrowed before remembering I had just died my hair not two hours before. “Oh, I totally forgot. Yeah, it was time to go back to my natural colour. What do you think?” I shook my head and let my hair tumble down around my face. I could still smell the ammonia smell of the hair dye, but I hoped that it was masked enough by my perfume.
James sat back in his chair and crossed his arms and inspected me. I waited a moment for him to answer and then frowned when he didn’t say anything. He then laughed suddenly and smiled again. “It’s beautiful. Of course, it’s beautiful. But then again, you look great with any coloured hair.”
I blushed just a little bit, nervously running my fingers through my hair. “Oh good, I’m glad you like it. I wasn’t sure if you are into blondes or brunettes.”
“I’m into you.”
His forward statement set me back a moment, but then I couldn’t help but smile. “You’re forward, I like that.”
He winked at me and smiled. “Well, do you?”
I looked at him puzzled, “Do I what?”
“Do you like me?”
I grinned back at him and shrugged. “We’ll see.” Gotta give the man at least a little mystery, right?
James looked amused and was about to say something back to me when the chef came back with the wine menu and a young, good looking waitress. “This is Chantel,” the chef said. “She’ll take excellent care of you this evening. Anything you want, just ask. The kitchen is yours tonight, so please if there’s something that you would like that’s not on the menu, do not be afraid to ask.” He then bowed to us and turned and walked away.
I raised my eyebrow at James and wondered how he had so many great connections. That was a question for later, though. For now, I was focused on dinner. “Here’s the wine menu,” the waitress said with their bubbly sweet voice. “What can I start you with?”
James looked up at me expectantly and gave me a moment to look over the wine menu. “What would you like?”
I ran my finger down the list of wines, and then shrugged. “I don’t know. I like both red and white.” I looked at him embarrassed, but both he and the waitress laughed warmly. “I’ll leave it to you to decide.”
“We’ll have a bottle of the vintage Merlot,” he said, taking the wine list from me. He handed the menu back to the waitress as she nodded and walked away to take care of our drink order.
“Hungry?” he asked me.
I laughed again. “Oh, you have absolutely no idea.”
“Well they’re known for their fish here, but order anything you like and I guarantee it’ll be life-changing.”
“Like-changing, really?” I like the sound of that. I was desperately craving a steak, and I knew no fish would satisfy my need for red meat. “I’d love a steak. A big, juicy one.” I grinned at him as he looked amused, and then he pursed his lips and nodded. “Steak girl, hay? Excellent, I can get behind that.”
The waitress came back a few minutes later and poured two glasses full of red wine. We cheered and took a sip. It was beyond amazing. I didn’t know the difference between most wines, but it tasted delicious. Good enough for me.
“Are you ready to order?” the girl asked.
James motioned for me to order first, and I looked up at the waitress eagerly. “I’d love a steak, please. Medium rare.”
The girl nodded and scratched my order on her notepad
“Actually, scratch that. Rare, please. Practically bloody,” I spoke up again.
The girl raised her eyebrow at me but then smiled and nodded. “What would you like on the side, Miss?”
I shrugged and looked at James for a suggestion. Really I just wanted the steak, but I would have to be happy with anything they put on the side, really. “Whatever you suggest.”
The girl smiled a winning smile and bat her eyelashes at James and then looked back to me. “I can ask the chefs to whip together something special for you, if you like. Whatever they have, I’m sure it will be divine.”
“That sounds amazing, thank you. I’m sure anything they make will be fantastic.”
James ordered his dinner, the cod with a side of some sort of green thing. I wasn’t exactly sure what he ordered as it sounded sort part French, and part some other language I didn’t even recognize it. Whatever it was, I’m sure it would it would be just as delicious as my
steak.
My stomach rumbled again, and I held my arms tightly over it in an effort to silence it. By the look James gave me I knew he’d heard it. Damn that exceptional shifter hearing.
He placed his hand out on the table for me, and I placed my hand in his. He squeezed my hand and smiled at me and I couldn’t help but swoon.
“So, how is it that you seem to know everybody who’s anybody.”
“Just a friend of mine.” He shrugged nonchalantly and leaned back in his chair, as if knowing the owner of some sort of super-secret restaurant wasn’t a big deal.
I couldn’t help but laugh. I leaned back in my chair to mimic him and crossed my arms. “You think you’re impressive, huh?”
He shrugged again. We both looked at each other and then burst out laughing. There was something about him that just relaxed me and I felt comfortable around him. It was a nice change of pace from being locked up in my apartment alone, and just the sight of him across the table was enough to make me hungry for more than just steak.
But that would come later. Steak first, sexy shifter man second. A girl’s gotta have priorities, right?
“So, tell me about yourself, James.” I realized I really didn’t know anything about the guy, apart from the fact that he was ridiculously good looking and he was some sort of shifter. Plus he had a smile that could make even the coldest hearts melt.
He sat there and pondered for a minute before shrugging his shoulders in a small, but kind gesture. “What would you like to know?”
“Well, where are you from?”
“I’m originally from Liverpool,” he said, smiling. “I moved to London about ten years ago, and haven’t been back since. I much prefer the big city.”
I nodded, “I understand that. I fell in love with London, too.” That was a total lie, but if it meant avoiding having to explain why I was really here, I didn’t mind offering a few fibs here and there.
“Any family?” James looked down at his hands then and didn’t answer. His eyes furled forward, and I immediately regretted asking. “Oh, I’m so sorry. You don’t have to ask answer that question if you’re not comfortable.”
