“Yeah, pretty much. How’s the meatloaf?” I asked.
“A lot like my feet, worn and tired. ‘Cept my feet smell better. Coffee?”
I nodded and started to peruse the menu she handed me. The short dark cook yelled something at her and she waved him off while still studying me. I looked from him to her and she gave me a snarky little smile, like she was enjoying irritating everyone. Obviously she was not leaving without my order and I couldn’t decide between a club sandwich and a burger, so I asked for both. She just raised both eyebrows, wrote it down and left with a snap of her gum and a swish of her hips.
I thought about heading to the men’s room and attempting to clean up my uniform. Looking down at myself, I decided it wasn’t worth the effort, so I just sat and drank my coffee. The booths each had one of those mini juke boxes mounted on the wall above the table. None of them looked like they had worked in years.
A group of teens came in and grabbed a booth. Two girls and a guy. Just normal kids. Four sips of coffee later and two cops came in. They eyed me for a moment, nodded and headed to the counter.
The waitress brought me the club sandwich.
“The burger will be a few minutes more. Figured you could start in on this one. Wouldn't want you to starve to death waiting.”
“Thanks, I am pretty hungry.”
“No shit, Sherlock. The way your clothes hang on you, it looks like you haven't seen the inside of a donut shop in weeks.” She smiled and sauntered off to wait on the teens. A twenty- something couple came in, dressed casual, laughing at something. They took the booth next to mine and when I looked up I found the woman staring at me. The teen girls had been staring too and I almost regreted not heading right home to clean up, except the sandwich and fries tasted too damn good to care. Screw 'em if they've never seen a muddy cop before.
The punky waitress brought me the cheeseburger.
“Here ya go, Hero.”
I squinted at her. “Huh?'
She pointed to the old television mounted in the ceiling corner behind the counter. The screen was filled with some tan guy with gleaming white teeth, running through the evening news.
“You were just on. And here I thought you were just a dirty cop.”
She winked and moved to wait on the couple. The woman was staring at me again, so I put my head down and started on the burger while finishing the fries from the club sandwich. Man, I was hungry all the time now.
I got a funny little, hunchy kind of feeling about five seconds before the door opened. When the room went quiet and I finally looked up, I wasn't at all surprised to see her standing there. Everyone in the room was staring at her and I couldn't blame them. She was more than stare worthy. Wearing a fitted black North Face soft shell jacket and painted on jeans, she looked like the cause of a twenty car traffic accident.
Her electric blue eyes locked on mine as soon as I looked up. She immediately headed my way, moving with that inhuman grace, and the realization hit me that I had never witnessed her out in public before. If you've ever seen a beautiful woman enter a room and turn every head, then you'll understand a little, a very little about her effect on the diner's inhabitants. Deer in headlights – stunned – dazzled. But whereas most beautiful women would have been acutely aware and enjoying the attention, she was indifferent. Very much aware of everything around her, but not interested in anything in that diner – except me. The moment I realized that, the enormity of my situation struck me. I got dizzy for a moment, a maelstrom of emotions overwhelming me. That I, who had always been forced to be alone, should now have a girlfriend because of the Helbourne, was almost too ironic to stand. Not just any girl. I shook myself and smiled at Tatiana, who was already at the booth and looking concerned for my sanity. “Hi, I got too hungry. I'm sorry I kept you waiting. My healthy diet has gone out the window,” I said as I stood up to greet her.
She looked at my empty plate and almost consumed burger, then nodded. “Your metabolism has been increased way beyond normal. You’re going to need several times more calories than you ever did before. My fault.”
We both sat down and the activity resumed in the diner, like a DVD player taken off pause, although everyone in the place was still watching Tatiana.
“Why is it your fault?” I asked quietly.
Her grin was sly. “You’re eating for two, so to speak.”
I laughed and she laughed too, a soft throaty laugh that I could feel in my chest.
“Well that's fine, 'cause I really like to eat,” I said.
“What a coincidence, so do I,” she said with a smile that sent my pulse racing.
The punky waitress appeared, although she appeared to be somewhat intimidated.
“Can I get you anything?” She asked Tatiana.
“A glass of water and a big piece of chocolate cake, if you have any.”
The waitress turned away, but I could hear her say under her breath , “Figures, and she probably won't gain an ounce.”
I glanced at Tatiana. “Cake?”
“It’s for you. You need more calories and you like chocolate cake, you told me so.”
Chapter 11
My Xterra fascinated Tatiana, not that it’s anything special. She rifled through all the CDs, looked through the glove compartment and center console, and even crawled into the back seat to see what the ride was like from back there, all the while asking questions. Is it good in the snow? Do I drive it off road? Do I like being high off the road?
We were at my apartment in no time and she danced ahead of me as I trudged into the elevator. Lydia was pacing around my tiny place, talking on her cell, the locks on my door apparently not vampire proof. She was wearing a dark blue dress over black tights and looked like a college kid as she waved hello to us, while continuing her conversation. I headed to the shower immediately, after dropping my gun belt and vest at the closet. After toweling off, I pulled on a pair of jeans and a halfway clean tee from the bathroom floor and joined the girls, carrying the laundry basket of muddy cop uniform.
Tatiana motioned to Lydia, who was just finishing another call.
“Chris, take off your shirt. I want Lydia to see.”
“Hey now, this ain’t no strip club!” I joked.
They rolled their eyes in unison.
I pulled my tee off and Lydia’s eyes widened. “Damn, Northern! We gotta feed you more.”
I must have looked puzzled, because she asked where I had a mirror and I pointed to the closet door, which had a full length one attached inside.
She opened the closet door wide enough so I could see myself and I realized what they were talking about. I looked different. I’m five ten, usually one hundred and ninety pounds. Despite my Scottish heritage, I tan easily. Only now my tan had turned sorta dusky. My cheekbones were really pronounced and my stupid eyes even more freakishly violet than before, highlighted by my dark skin and brown hair. My torso didn’t have a scrape of fat under the skin. I don’t look at myself in mirrors except to make sure my uniform is straight. I don’t like mirrors because they always show me my odd eyes, the same eyes that caused me so much trouble during my school years. But the image now would have made a bodybuilder jealous, because I was ripped. I never carry much bodyfat, but I had to be less than two percent now, which was probably dangerous and that was point the girls were trying to convey. “Wow, I look like even more of a freak.”