Once Bitten, No Longer Shy by Julie Steimle (chrome ebook reader txt) 📕

Cleanliness? Art at least was clean. He also wasn’t loud. He minded his own business—aside from the situation involving Nicole. Troy had had worse back at college. And thinking on that, Troy leaned back and examined Bobo’s earnest gaze.

“Do you have any objections to me having a date stay overnight?” Troy asked, getting the first issue out of the way as he had to cover all his bases before accepting this change.

Bobo shrugged again. “I’ve got a girlfriend too. Would you mind me bringing her and her friends over?”

Troy’s eyes widened. “You have a girlfriend?”

Bursting into laughter, Bobo nodded. “Yeah. She’s a sexy hot friend of Audry Bruchenhaus. Her name is Jandra Washington.”

“What?” Troy was amazed how that Audry got around.

Until Bobo said, “I was secretly bodyguarding Audry at her NYU Green Club activities. I went on this overnight camping thing at a Green Club cleanup, doin’ it for Rick because Audry had a sexual predator for a boyfriend. And I met Jandra there.”

Rick had sent Bobo to be that vegan’s bodyguard without her knowledge? Why was he always sticking his nose into other people’s lives?

“We’ve been dating ever since,” Bobo said about Jandra.

Troy wondered what this Jandra was like. He also wondered how kissing worked between them. Body contact with Bobo was dangerous. Did she feel his kiss plus her kiss? Or because it wasn’t abuse it was like a normal kiss? And how did it feel for him? Bobo never really mentioned if he felt pain or not. They just knew he never took damage. Did he just not feel? Or did he feel everything? And if she jokingly punched him, did she object to feeling the punch back. Would she think he hit her? Did his girlfriend even know about the curse? And how intimate did they get? Could they even get physical?

Troy looked up. Bobo stared at him, amused, watching him.

“Go ahead, ask it,” Bobo said.

Shrugging, Troy said, “How do you…?”

Bobo laughed. “Carefully.”

“Does she know about your curse?” Troy asked.

Shrugging, Bobo said, “Yes and no. I told her, and a boat load of other people at the campfire.”

Troy stared. Was he nuts?

“We were telling spooky stories,” Bobo said, grinning.

With a roll of his eyes, as of course he had done something similar once, Troy asked, “Did she know the story was about you? And real?”

Grinning wider, Bobo said, “Nope.”

Of course. Why would Bobo tell them?

“Ok,” Troy said. Who was he to judge? He was just glad Bobo was not judging him. “Ok. You can move in. You can take Art’s old room,” Troy said again. Yet he raised a finger, “But this is a no garlic zone.”

“Got it.” Bobo then rose. He headed to the door. “I’ll go get my stuff and move in right away.”

 

Robert Lafon was not kidding about moving in right away. He came with vanload of stuff not a few hours later. Troy had to open the door and keep it open while Bobo hauled in his boxes and suitcases.

Right away Troy noted Bobo’s taste in things. He had brought his New Orleans style with him. He had jazz paintings with bright colors. There was a Mardi Gras sort of feel to it with a slight voodoo bent, along with a French influence. It wasn’t overt. Just the colors and shapes fit it. It was more like a flavor or hint. But mostly, there were tons of jazz posters.

And then Bobo brought in his vintage record player.

Troy stared at it as Bobo set it in the living room, also asking if Troy minded if he hung posters on the walls.

“I can’t stand blank walls,” Bobo said, looking around at the place which had been rather pristine. “It feels like a lunatic asylum.”

Laughing, Troy stared at the walls himself. It did feel like that. In fact, Troy realized that neither he nor Art really lived there. They had just sort of inhabited it like animals seeking refuge.

“Hang anything you want,” Troy said, going back into the Lazlo Holyfield entrance to finish work in the lab. “Just don’t be creepy.”

Chuckling, Bobo nodded. “You got it.”

 

Bobo’s girlfriend showed up that evening, bringing food. Troy was in the lab when she arrived, but he heard her come in.

Perking up, Troy looked to the surveillance screen. A pretty, svelte black woman with gorgeous cornrows strolled in on long legs with a curvaceous derriere. She could have been a model. But on her shirt, which was a tee with torn off sleeves and a tube top underneath, was a logo promoting the use of hemp. Troy stared at her, wondering what kind of person she was. 

“Hey lover,” she said to Bobo. “Where’s your roomie? And how did he afford a place like this?”

“He’s in his lab,” Bobo said, which Troy found insane that he had mentioned at all, “doin’ research. He’ll be out in a bit.”

Troy groaned. This was going to be a problem. He was going to have to talk to Bobo about keeping the lab a secret.”

“Oh man. He must be rich,” she said, looking about.

Bobo laughed. “No, he ain’t. This place belongs to Rick Deacon.”

She turned and stared. “No way.”

“It used to be Audry’s apartment.”

“No way!” She seemed stunned.

“Yep,” Bobo said. “But you know, after she broke up with Hogan, she moved back home. Silvia also used to live here.”

“No way.” His girlfriend sat down. “I mean, I knew they had lived together, but here?”

Bobo nodded. “Yeah, but it was temporary.”

“How did they get this place?” she asked.

Grinning, Bobo said, “Come on. You’ve seen enough to know Rick Deacon has a thing for her.”

The woman laughed, peeking around and nodding. She seemed embarrassed by it. She lowered her voice to almost a whisper as she said, “So I wasn’t crazy. I knew it!”

Bobo nodded, smiling knowingly.

“I remember when he came around our booth at a conference with his friends,” she said. “When those southern freaks invaded out booth…”

Troy tried to remember then. Was this woman there?

“What’s this?” Bobo said. “I don’t think I heard this story.”

Grinning, Jandra nodded, coming close to him almost to whisper. “Yeah, I guess I never told you this one. It was years back. Audry was raising for her Africa trip, and it was before that wolf attack that killed Deacon’s friends in Germany.”

“Only one friend died,” Bobo said, his mood dampening. “But that was bad enough. That’s when I came back, tryin’ to be his bodyguard.”

“He still won’t hire you?” his girlfriend asked.

Bobo shook his head, sighing. “No. He doesn’t want me to get hurt.”

A shiver ran through Troy.

“Well, I’d hate to see you get hurt also,” she said, leaning against him and kissing him.

Bobo chuckled, gently tasting her lips. “I told you. I can’t get hurt. I’m superman.”

She laughed, kissing him more. She then wrapped her arms around his neck. “My man of steel.”

Troy rolled his eyes.

But then Bobo pulled back and said, “But what about that story? What happened? What southern freaks were you talking about? How did you know Rick liked her?”

Laughing, she kissed him on the nose then said, “Alright. Let me remember…. Um… we were selling tee-shirts with that wolf on it—”

Bobo burst into laughter, nodding.

“Yeah, you bought one at the beach cleanup,” she said.

Nodding, Bobo said, “But continue. I wanna hear this. He saw the shirts and… what?”

Jandra laughed, shaking her head. “No. That’s getting ahead of the story. You see, our booth was invaded first by these southern backwoods Appalachians or something. Swamp dwellers that probably ate possum.”

“Hey! I ate possum once,” Bobo said with mock offence.

She giggled, ducking her head between her shoulders. “Sorry. I’m just saying they were these white confederate-flag lovin’ types. I was just surprise they still had their teeth. The thing was, they were looking for Howard Richard Deacon the Third. And when they saw the tee shirts they thought they’d find him.”

Bobo raised his eyebrows. “No kiddin’?”

“And when Rick just showed up, shocked to see them all,” she said, “And he knew them all by name, you should have seen the way he looked at Audry.”

Leaning back, Bobo stared. “How?”

“He looked worried for her,” Jandra said. “And he talked to her more than that chick who was trying to get his attention—that Daisy.”

“Daisy?” Bobo stared. “Do you mean Daisy MacTire?”

His girlfriend stared. “You knew about her?”

Moaning, Bobo nodded. “Yeah. Major problem. She’s been stalking Rick for years.”

“Oh my…” His girlfriend grinned with the amazement of a gossip.

“All his friends have been workin’ to protect him from her,” Bobo said.

“But she talked like she was Rick’s ex,” Jandra said.

Bobo shrugged then nodded. “Somethin’ like that.”

Her jaw dropped. “No way.”

“But, how did you really know Rick had a thing for Audry?” Bobo said.

“Are you kidding me?” Jandra laughed. “The way he watches out for her?”

Bobo smiled. “Yeah… He’d do more for her if she let him.”

Jandra giggled, thinking on that.

“He tried to buy her a car once,” Bobo said. “You know, to replace the junky one she had.”

It sounded like Rick, Troy thought with a huff. Always trying to buy friends.

“Oh…” Jandra shook her head. “You should know she’d never agree to that. She loved her car. But didn’t the cops impound it?”

Bobo nodded. “Yeah. And sold it.”

Jandra stared. “What?”

“They sold it,” Bobo said. “Someone was trackin’ her car and they thought it better to sell thing to protect her.”

“Who was tracking her car?” Jandra stared, eyes wide.

Sighing, Bobo said, “I wish I could tell you, but it was part of a police investigation, and I don’t know all the details.”

She stared.

Shrugging, Bobo said, “Sorry. Audry and Silvia both had to keep it on the down low.”

Troy frowned.

Jandra cocked her head to the side, eyed him and said, “Whatever did happen to that creepy girl, Silvia?”

Choking, Troy listened intently.

“Silvia?” Bobo considered it. “She’s around. I think she got married.”

“What guy would be crazy enough to marry her?”

Troy came out of the closet. “My best friend.”

Both Jandra turned with a jump. Bobo raised his eyebrows, as Troy had come out of the closest so quietly that it seemed as if he had appeared from nowhere.

“Hi. I’m Troy.” He nodded to Jandra.

Her eyes seemed to go wide, eying how pale he was. She then looked to Bobo, her expression asking why in the world she had moved in with this guy.

Victims and Associates

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter Eighteen

 

 

“Jandra, this is my old classmate from high school, Troy Meecham.” Bobo led out a hand to Troy.

She seemed to tremble. She was clearly seeing the vampire in Troy thought he was not revealing his teeth. Breathless, she just stared a moment before mustering a weak, “Hi.”

Troy chuckled, walking past her to the fridge. He was hungry, and it was late. When he opened it, he saw it was full of dairy products. There were butters, cream, milk, half-and-half, clotted cream, cheese cake… and so many different cheeses. Troy turned and stared at Bobo. “Really?”

“I didn’t know what you liked,” Bobo said, shrugging.

“I don’t just eat cheese,” Troy said, reaching in through the stuff to get out some eggs and searching for the green onions he had. He wanted an omelet.

“Alright,” Bobo said, following him. “It was just that the fridge was so empty.”

“I hadn’t gone shopping yet,” Troy said.

Jandra only stood there, swaying as she stared at him Troy and Bobo looked