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

just sleep with a girl a first date.”

He closed his eyes. Wow. That one was going to keep popping up. He just didn’t expect it from Miranda. He wondered now that perhaps it wasn’t just an overreaction from Art and Hanz. He had acted out of character. Maybe the vampire in him was taking over.

“But, setting all that aside,” Miranda said, watching him, “I don’t really know anything about vampires. Only that you didn’t want to be one.”

He nodded.

“Maybe you need to take a step back from this relationship, and decide if you really want it.” She fiddled with the napkins on the table, taking one form the dispenser and absentmindedly folding it, probably to keep her hands busy. “Because you obviously knew what you got into… you can’t really get mad at a girl for sleeping around who is famous for sleeping around.”

Troy stared ahead. That was true.

“And I know what you are going to say, literally.” Miranda gazed hard at him. “You think she had settled on you after all those men. But you have to consider that she might not be the settling type.”

Troy groaned. Why was Miranda so… blasted right? Why did he think Nicole would be satisfied by him alone? She was always flirting with everyone. She was always looking for the bigger and better ‘ride’. For pity’s sake, she had perked up when she heard about Rick visiting. Of course no one man would be enough for her. Not even a vampire with ‘tons of stamina’. He hated that Miranda was right.

What was he to do?

“Take some time apart. Confront her first,” Miranda said, as if answering his thoughts. Perhaps he was about to say it out loud. “If it is real, if she really intends to settle down with you, do it the more traditional route. Take it slow. Go on dates. It’s not heathy for a girl to be a nympho, you know.”

And now she was echoing Hanz.

“But what about that guy?” Troy bit out, his mind going to Marcus again.

Miranda stood up from the seat. “It’s best to not give him the satisfaction of power over you. And for the record, I’d tell Matt about him seeking out and paying women for sex. If he’s got blackmail porn on her, have Tom Brown shred it. He’d do that for you. Besides, there’s got to be a law to hold that behavior accountable.”

Troy wasn’t sure there was. The guy was most likely right that it was only the hookers who got arrested. But using Tom was a great idea. Where was Tom anyway?

“It’s nice to see you again,” Miranda said with a smile, picking up her notepad and pencil. “And if things work out, bring her back here to let me know.”

He leaned back, wondering what she meant by that.

Troy left the café and decided to walk the block to air out his thoughts more. If anything, he had to contact Tom to deal with Marcus. Scummy people like that needed to learn a lesson. As Troy rounded back toward the mall, he texted Nicole, asking her if she still needed him to walk her home. He had to give her a chance to come clean.

Her text back said this: *Yes. I miss you. Today was such a pain. I hate inventory.*

He sighed, staring at it. She was still lying.

Taking Miranda’s advice, Troy finally decided he had to confront Nicole. He would not take her to his home that night, but hers. Miranda was also right in that they had gone too far too fast. What had he been thinking this entire time? Why had he just jumped into sex with a girl on their first date? He should have just called that Uber. And why had he continued it when he knew she was having sex with others in the group? Where had his mind been all this time?

His hormones screamed back: You know very well why. She’s sexy and she wanted you. And you wanted to be wanted.

And it had upset Art Condie, another thought reminded him.

It was a petty thing, Troy realized now. He had felt assaulted by the entirely boy-scout, clean cut lifestyle Art embodied—the life he envied and would never have. At the time, it was the best way to attack back.

But Troy, as he thought about this, chuckled to himself, knowing those two together was a mismatch to begin with. He was much happier now sharing with Bobo, who made the world around him more colorful. And to be frank, he wasn’t into Art’s geeky weirdness.

Troy returned to the mall and her store at its closing time. Nicole grinned at him, jogging up and kissing him on the cheek when she saw him. She interlaced her fingers in his and started to talk, “You have no idea how glad I am to see you. Today was such a drag.”

Another lead in to a lie. It rankled him.

And she could feel it. Nicole looked up to him wonderingly. As they walked toward the subway, he led them to the line that would take them to her neighborhood rather than his. Puzzled, she followed until they went to the edge of the platform. Finally, while waiting for the subway to arrive, she said, “Why are we heading toward my old apartment?”

“Because we can’t stay together tonight,” Troy said, restraining all the upset feelings that surged back in him.

“Why? What’s happening?” Her eyes were wide on him, waiting for some kind of news about the apartment.

He heaved a weary sigh as he said, “Because… we need some time apart.”

She stared. “What? Why?”

He closed his eyes. Honesty was best. It was what he wanted from her. “I came to your work at lunch time to surprise you with a sandwich.” He held it out to her. It was the only one left, still well-wrapped. “You weren’t there. And they were not doing inventory.”

He could hear her heart stiffen then beat heavily. Her breathing caught.

“And I waited for when your shift would start,” he continued.

She drew in a breath.

“Why, Nicole?” Troy said to her. “Why did you lie to me?”

The subway car pulled up. The doors opened and people started to get on as others got off. They didn’t. He pulled her aside to get out of foot traffic.

“You saw me?”

“And Marcus,” he said.

She looked away, tears now rolling down her face. Her face had that stricken look of panic.  

“Just tell me the truth.” Troy folded his arms. “I saw Marcus give you money. The girl at your work says it looks like he is blackmailing you.”

Nicole whipped her eyes up to him in hope. She nodded. “Oh, Troy, I am so sorry. But yes. Marcus… he… I’m so sorry. But he… told me that if you knew he was paying me for sexual favors, you would, you would tell your cop friends and I…” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “And he’s got pictures. He made videos of us…”

Troy inwardly groaned. “But why did you even get into such an arrangement with him? Why did you say ‘yes’? I would have helped you.”

“I am in so much debt,” she said, still crying. “You… you are broke. Come on. You might know people, but they would have looked at me like I’m a moocher. I know your friend Rick Deacon looked at me like that when he was there with the club.”

That was true. Rick had. And Troy had resented it.

“I was getting the money on my own,” she said. “My way.”

“By selling your body? By posing for what? Porn?” Troy moaned. “I’m not even sure now if what we have is love. I mean—are you with me because it is convenient for you? Is it because you get to stay in my apartment and eat Bobo’s great cooking, and the sex is really great?” He then shook his head. “Or is it not even enough? Is that why you are having sex with Marcus? One man is not enough for you? I’m not enough for you?”

The subway car pulled up. Several people around them were staring. Troy pushed for her to go on. Nicole stepped on, wide-eyed. But Troy did not, stepping back.

“We need to take a break,” he said. “I need time to think.”

She shook her head, staring at him from the open subway car.

“And you need to decide what you really want,” he said.

Tears rolled down her face as the subway car doors closed. She stared at him through the glass as it zoomed off. Troy walked to the escalators to go out. He decided to walk home instead of ride. It wasn’t that far.

In the dark at night, not Troy’s favorite time or place, he trudged back to his neighborhood. He had a lot on his mind. He would miss Nicole, of course. He loved spending all that time with her. But he really wasn’t sure what it was that he wanted now. Of course he would miss the love making, but his friends were right in that it really was the wrong priority.

“Spare a dollar?” a beggar asked as he trudged past a storefront.

Troy handed him the unopened drink he had forgotten to give Nicole.

“That ain’t a dollar.”

“Yeah, but you can drink this,” Troy said, barely looking at him. “And it’s worth more than a dollar.” But when his eyes set on the beggar, he saw it was a guy with red eyes. And not a beggar.

Troy dodged the very same moment the vampire lunged at him.

Hopping back with a flip, the vampire cackled, “So, Meecham can fight! That will make it more fun!”

He grabbed at Troy again, this time, biting into his arm. Troy threw his body onto his attacker, slamming him into the ground, wrestling style. The concrete cracked.

People around them screamed. One of them was a girl, and she called his name. “Troy!”

Troy and the vampire looked.

It was Jandra. She was standing there with some friends, clearly out for a ladies’ night on the town, in a party dress and heels.

Snarling, the vampire laughed. “I see dinner.”

He sprang at Jandra, Troy right after him.

But the next second, Troy felt a jolt and dropped back, letting go of the vampire as that one convulsed and collapsed to the ground like a person in an epileptic fit. Jandra stood over the vampire, tazer in hand, it still clicking with electric shocks.

“Are you ok?” Dodging around the vampire, Jandra lent out a hand to help Troy up.

“Are you?” Troy got to his feet, staring her—and that tazer—up and down. She was none the worse for wear. And her friends were behind her, gaping at them both.

She lifted the machine. “I’m ok. I’ve got this. It’s a gift from Audry.”

“Audry, the wolf tee-shirt friend of yours?” Troy felt dizzy, quickly walking with Jandra away from the stunned vampire who seemed unable to move for a second. Her friends followed. “Where did she get such a thing?”

With a shrug, Jandra said, waving to the Uber she had called, the one pulling to the curb, “I think she said Rick Deacon’s mother gave it to her.”

Her friends gathered into the car together. There was no room for Troy.

“I’ll call another one,” she said to them, waving. “I’ll meet you later.”

They nodded, waving to her.

When it drove off, Troy said, “She knows his mother? Are Audry and Rick that close?”

Jandra shook her head. “Nah. She just keeps bumping into him. And I think she met his mom at a restaurant way back when she waitressed to pay for school. Crazy story. But I think she secretly thinks he’s hot—but also bad news. She has a bad track record with men, and she’s not into rich guys… so go figure.”

Troy sighed. They walked together along the road as he watched her work on her phone for another car. It took a bit. He also looked back to the vampire, or tried to. There as crowd in the way, passing by.

“Are you going home or going out?” Jandra