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“It was supposed to be.” Resigning in defeat, I sighed and handed her the spatula. “You take over, I’ve suffered a grave defeat to a stack of vegetables.”
Sky bumped her hip against mine, nudging me out of the way while she took the lead. “It’s salvageable. You’ve actually done a pretty good job—these onions are sliced to perfection.”
“You’re just saying that to make me feel better.” I flopped dramatically onto the chair in the corner and watched Sky turn the chaotic cooking endeavor into a choreographed dance number.
“I mean it!” she said over her shoulder, working the spatula and frying pan like a professional. “Whatever made you decide to take up cooking, though? I wouldn’t expect it to be a common vampire hobby.”
“No reason,” I spluttered, grateful to have her back to me. “I just felt like giving it a shot.”
“So you snuck down to the kitchen in the dead of night and just happened to pick the recipe that I specifically bookmarked?” I could hear the grin in her tone and cringed inwardly.
“Yes, exactly that. No other reason whatsoever.”
“I’m sure.” With a precise flick of her wrist, Sky tossed the fried vegetables into the air, catching them in the pan again without a single spill. “This is done, by the way.”
She held the pan out for me to see. I glanced over the contents, everything glazed and salted to perfection, and nodded regally like I’d seen professional chefs do when they approved of a contestant’s dish.
She wriggled the pan under my nose. “So, what should I do with this?” Sky posed the question with a smirk, one hand propped on her hip.
“Well,” I fumbled for a response, avoiding her gaze, “it would be a shame to let it go to waste, and I can’t eat it, so…”
Sky was already dishing a large helping into a ceramic bowl. She spied a bottle of red liquid on the shelf and grabbed the neck of the bottle. “If I’m having a midnight snack, so are you.”
With no dining table to speak of, Sky seated herself at the small kitchen table, gesturing for me to settle across from her. “Do you have candles around here?”
“Uh, yes.” I was hesitant to fetch them, because then Sky would realize that I had already located, placed and prepared them for this exact scenario. “There might be some in the cupboard.”
While Sky rummaged for invisible candles, I slipped out of the kitchen. By the time Sky gave up, I had swiped the decadent candles from the living room, set them alight on the table and sat back down as if I hadn’t moved.
“I found them,” I responded nonchalantly to her astonished expression.
Sky’s features appeared sharper in the flickering candlelight, with deep shadows under her sweeping cheekbones and jaw. She sat down at the table and lifted the bottle.
“Wine, m’lady?”
“Why yes, good woman.” I lifted my glass and Sky tilted the “wine” bottle, filling the crystal with crimson liquid.
I expected her to gag as she did so; I could hardly expect a human to stomach anything when their dining partner was sipping on human blood. But Sky seemed perfectly content and she lifted her fork to clink against my filled glass. “Here’s to fine dining.”
Sky speared a piece of broccoli and bit into it, complimenting the flavors with a quiet groan of pleasure. Across from her, I took a delicate sip from my glass.
The contrast between Sky’s vibrant plate and my own dark beverage couldn’t have been more striking. The air crackled with unspoken tension. It was as if both of us were cautiously navigating a fine line, somewhere between friendship and something more.
“I’m a little jealous that I don’t get to try that dish,” I lamented, looking longingly at a charred bit of carrot. “It’s rather unfair you humans get so much variety.”
Sky paused mid-bite, observing my peculiar drink choice. “If you don’t mind me asking, does blood taste… good?” she ventured, her fork suspended in the air. “I just mean...” Sky blushed at my incredulous expression. “Humans tend to get bored with the same old flavor after a while. Don’t vampires get bored with the same old drink?”
I forced down another sip, mentally cursing myself for bringing about such a delicate topic. “It’s true that our culinary options are a bit different from yours, but I wouldn’t say it gets boring. There’s still variation in the flavors if that’s what you’re getting at.”
Sky’s brow hitched, her curiosity piqued. “So some humans taste better than others?”
“This is animal blood!” I rebutted, nearly spilling my drink as I raised the glass.
A glint of mischief flickered in the other woman’s eyes. “My question still stands.”
I sighed and took another sip. “This stuff all tastes the same. Although some companies add their own artificial flavors to mix things up. But yes, some humans taste better than others.”
Sky toyed with her food, pushing a bit of broccoli around her plate. “So why don’t you stick to human blood then, surely there’s a flavor to your preference?”
