Free Braced to Bite by Serena Robar

these.” He held out his hand and showed me a large old-fashioned ring that looked a lot like a class ring.
    “What’s that?”
    He laughed at my naïveté. “Why, it’s what you need, my dear. It’s the reason you will live with me.”
    “Why do you want me to come with you so badly? And don’t give me the family line again. I know families who are glad to live hundreds of miles from each other.”
    He stared at me hard. “You are different. You are strong. There is something special about you.”
    He turned to leave. “And, Colby, dear? Kick me again and I will rip off your leg.” He said it so casually I shivered. Then he disappeared in the light fog that was always present in the autumn evenings in our neighborhood on the Plateau.
    As if in a daze, I walked back inside my house and straight up to my room. I picked up Thomas’s card, took a deep breath and dialed the number. He picked up on the first ring.
    “Thomas here.”
    “Hello? This is—”
    “Colby Blanchard.”
    Well really, who else would it be?
    “Yes, I was wondering if maybe you and I could talk a little more about, well, uh, about my circumstances.”
    “Sure. Shall we say about an hour from now?”
    Wow, that was quick.
    “Great, how about we meet at the Krispy Kreme at the bottom of the hill from my house?”
    “Are you sure you want to meet in public?” he asked uncertainly.
    “Actually, I insist on it. Oh, and no Carl please.”
    He chuckled into the phone and my toes curled in pleasure.
    “That would be fine. See you then.”
    I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror as I put down the phone. I was smiling! I was completely crushing on this guy—this vampire . I had to snap out of it. The last time we spoke his buddy wanted to kill me, and the only other vampire I knew was the nut job who wanted to be my family but also threatened to tear off my leg. I had no reason to assume that Thomas wasn’t just as whacked-out as the rest of them.
    Still, I dressed with extra care. Low-slung jeans, turtle-neck sweater, cute half boots and matching scarf. It said “interested” without trying that hard. I added a swipe of pink lip gloss with blusher, popped on my FosterGrants and was out the door with time to spare.
    I borrowed the car from Dad with only a short amount of resistance. Once I mentioned feeding, he couldn’t give me the keys fast enough. He was dying to know how his invention would hold up to practical application. He even wanted to come along but I convinced him I couldn’t eat with anyone else watching. I was too self-conscious. It must have been the oddest conversation between daughter and father in the history of mankind.
    When I arrived at the Krispy Kreme, the parking lot was pretty deserted. It was more of a hangout on Friday and Saturday nights, but on Monday things were pretty lame. I waited in my car until exactly the appointed time. I opened the door and was overwhelmed by the scent of doughnuts, which normally would have been a good thing. But with my new olfactory superpowers, I wasn’t sure this was the best place to meet Thomas after all.
    He arrived right after me, dressed in a forest green sweater that hugged his shoulders (yum) and faded, fitted jeans (yum, yum) that hugged his thighs. Seeing Thomas in 501’s made me want to ban baggy pants from the face of the earth. I was pretty into him and somehow, I didn’t care that he was a vampire. After all, so was I.
    “Hey,” I said as he slipped into the booth across from me.
    “How are you doing?” he asked, his eyes reflecting concern. “This can’t be very easy for you.”
    And the prize for understatement of the year goes to … the hunky vampire in the doughnut shop.
    “Well, I admit it isn’t easy finding out you’re a vampire.”
    “Colby, you’re not a vampire.”

Seven

    “ E xcuse me? Then why do I drink blood?”
    “Colby, you’re Undead, but not a vampire.”
    “Is this because I don’t have a license yet? Because I can’t