Free Kiss of the Vampire (The Vanderlind Realm Book 2) by Gayla Twist Page B

me? And why had anyone bothered to listen?
    The whole thing just smacked of Tommy. And I really didn’t need more of that in my life. Or in my death. Or whatever vampires called it.
    I spent the better part of my shift feeling bent out of shape. Things had been so wonderful with Dorian in the ballroom. But I was an idiot for getting sucked in. He obviously didn’t care. I had to forget about the charming Mr. Vanderlind and just focus on my life and what I wanted to do with it. My short-term plan was simple: Step one: Revenge. Step two: Get the hell out of town.
    Focusing on my goals became a lot easier when Tommy and a couple of his jock buddies stumbled into the diner reeking of beer. There was only about twenty minutes left before closing, but it was enough time for teenage boys to wolf down burgers and fries. At first I cringed at the thought of going up to their booth and dealing with their moronic comments and crass jokes. But that was the old me, back when I was a mortal. As a creature of the night, I could kill all three of them without even breaking a sweat. Somehow just knowing that gave me confidence. I had been so wound up about Dorian, and feeding myself, and being a vampire, and survival, that I had put my revenge against Tommy on hold. But those days were over. It was time to turn the tables on Tommy Sherman and make him as miserable as he had made me.
    I wasn’t going to kill him. That would have been too much revenge for his crime. But I was going to make Tommy feel so miserable that the experience would permanently scar his high school years. That or I would smash his knee so he couldn’t play football. I couldn’t decide which.
    “Hi Tommy. Guys,” I said as I approached their table and handed out the menus. I made my eyes more intense without actually crossing over into using my influence on them. I was just trying to make myself as attractive as possible. “Do you know what you’d like to order or do you need a few minutes?”
    “Hhhaley,” Tommy said, his voice a little slurry. His eyes roved up and down the new curves of my body. “You’re looking good. Where have you been?” Before I had a chance to answer, he went on with, “I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately.” He turned to look at his friends. “Wasn’t I just saying that I wanted to hang out with Haley?”
    His friends readily agreed, leering at me.
    “I’ve been right here,” I told him. “Here or at home, sitting by the phone, waiting for you to call.” I batted my eyes in an overly obvious fashion.
    “Really?” Tommy sat up a little straighter. Apparently he didn’t understand sarcasm. “Then maybe you want to hang out after work. What time do you want to get off?” He shot his friends a look and then corrected himself. “I mean, what time do you get off?”
    His jock buddies cracked up and elbowed each other under the table.
    “No, not really,” I said, unable to sustain the charade. “You know you’ve been a real ass to me. Don’t you?”
    Tommy scrunched his face. “That was all a big misunderstanding,” he said, swatting his hand through the air. “It’s really Sheila’s fault. She’s kind of crazy and I just didn’t know how to handle it.”
    I found it stunning how easily Tommy could dump all the blame onto somebody else. Especially the girl he was dating.
    “Why don’t you let me take you out after you get off work so I can make it up to you?” Tommy asked, giving me a trust-me grin.
    I folded my arms and pretended to pout. “And just why should I forgive you?” I said it in a pouty way that let him know I was willing to forgive him.
    “Because I’m a good guy. You’ve just got the wrong impression of me.” Tommy spread his arms expansively. “Actually, I’m a great guy. Why don’t you give me another chance so I can prove it to you?”
    And that was how the assholes of the world kept procreating, because girls were always willing to give them another chance.
    If I was actually