Bloodsucking fiends: a love story

wads of sequins, and a boa constrictor from the back of a rusted-out Toyota. Shift change at the strip joints, Jody thought.
    Tommy was riveted. Jody watched the heat rise in his face, just as it had when she caught him staring at her own breasts.
    He's so open, like a little kid, Jody thought. A cute little neurotic kid. I was lucky to find him. Lucky, considering everything that has happened.
    They turned on Kearny and Jody said, "So what do you think about my offer?"
    "It sounds okay, if you're sure. But I won't get my first pay-check for a couple of weeks."
    "Money isn't a problem. I'll pay."
    "No, I couldn't…"
    "Look Tommy, I meant it when I said I need your help. I'm busy all day. You will have to find the place and rent it. And I have a lot of other things that you'll have to do. For one, my car is in impound and someone has to get it out during the day. If it would make you feel better, I can pay you so you'll have the money."
    "Is that why you asked me if I had my days free in the parking lot last night?"
    "Yes."
    "So it could have been anyone who worked the right hours?"
    "Your buddy works the right hours, and I didn't ask him. No, I thought you were cute."
    "I can't deal with that."
    He walked along looking straight ahead, saying nothing. They had passed into a neighborhood of apartment houses with security bars on the windows and electric locks on the doors. Ahead, Jody saw waves of red heat signatures coming out of one dark doorway. They were too hot for one person and too cool to be a lightbulb. She focused and could hear men whispering. She suddenly remembered the phone call: " You're not immortal. You can still be killed ."
    "Let's cross the street, Tommy."
    "Why?"
    "Just come on." She grabbed his jacket and yanked him into the street. When they were on the opposite sidewalk, Tommy stopped and looked at her as if she had just hit him on the head with a spoon.
    "What was that all about?"
    She waved for him to be quiet. "Listen."
    Someone behind them was laughing. Laughing loudly enough to be heard without Jody's acute hearing. They both turned and looked back. A thin man dressed in black was standing under a street lamp a block away.
    "What's so funny?" Tommy asked.
    Jody didn't answer. She was staring at something that wasn't there. There was no heat signature coming off the man in black.
    "Let's go," Jody said, hurrying Tommy up the street. As they passed the doorway across the street, Jody looked over and flipped a middle finger to the three toughs that had been waiting to ambush them. You guys are nothing, she thought. Laughter from the man in black still rang in her ears.
    It had been a long time since the vampire had heard the sound of his own laughter, and hearing it made him laugh all the louder. So the fledgling had found herself a minion. It had been a good idea to leave her hand partially exposed to the daylight. She had learned that lesson quickly. So many of them just wandered until daylight and burned to death, and he couldn't even enjoy the show unless he wanted to join them in perdition. This one was interesting: so reluctant to give herself to the blood.
    They only seemed to have two instincts, the hunger and the hiding. And this one had controlled the hunger on her first feeding. She was almost too good. So many of them, if they lasted the first night, went mad trying to live with their new senses. One night and he had to send them to hell with a snap of the neck and a fare-thee-well. But not this one. She had made him laugh; afraid of a few mortals whom she could crush like insects.
    Perhaps she was protecting her new servant. Perhaps he should kill the boy, just to watch her reaction. Perhaps, but not yet. Some other fly in her ointment then. Just to keep the game going.
    It felt so good to laugh after so long.

Chapter 10 – Walking, Talking, and
    Bumping in the Night
    Coit Tower jutted out of Telegraph Hill like a giant phallus. Impressive as it was, all lit up and overlooking the City, it made Tommy feel nervous, inferior, and pressured to perform. She had as much as admitted that she was going to take him to bed – had even offered to solve the problem of the Wongs. She was a dream come true. It scared the hell out of him.
    She took his hand and looked out over the City. "It's pretty, isn't it. We're lucky it's a clear night."
    "Your hand is freezing," he said. He put his arm around her and pulled her close. God, I'm smooth, he thought, a complete stud. I'm making a move