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Unsure of what exactly my plan was, I leaned further out of the open window, earning a disgruntled ‘coo’ from one of the pigeons. “Uh, hi!”
Her gaze snapped up to meet mine and my heart leapt into my throat at the intensity of her stare. She may have looked human enough, but there was something distinctly different about this woman. Her movements were a little too fluid, her brilliant green eyes distinguishable even from this distance.
I steeled my nerves and called down to her again, drawing on what little vampire knowledge I had managed to gleam from the first page of Google. “If you are what I think you are, then you’re not allowed to come in until I welcome you. And, uh, you’re not welcome here!”
The woman continued to stare at me, her expression mildly inquisitive.
I shifted from one foot to the other, unsure of what to do next. “So… so, you can just leave now.”
As an afterthought, I added, “I’m not afraid of you!” although my shaky delivery was less than convincing.
I was about to step back from the window when the woman finally spoke, calling up to me with a touch of bemusement. “Are you sure? I can hear your heart beating from here. Sounds like you’re on the brink of a stroke.”
“I’m not–” I felt a flush of irritation at her derisive tone and glowered down at the woman, scaring off the last of the pigeons as I shouted, “Go away!”
That line felt a little too harsh, even if she was an uninvited, bothersome, maybe monster. “I mean, please. Go away. Please.”
I made a shooing motion with my hands and shut the window, leaning my forehead on the pane with a groan.
With my face flushing bright red, I counted to ten, and then opened the window again. The woman was walking away from the intercom. I allowed myself a sigh of relief and tottered into the kitchen on shaky legs.
With my last cup of coffee already cold on my desk, I poured cup number four and sank onto the dusty old sofa my mother had insisted on buying. I allowed myself to relax, mentally congratulating myself for rather maturely handling what had possibly been a life or death standoff with a blood-thirsty vampire.
I had just finished off my imaginary TED Talk, summarizing my heroic run-in with a vicious supernatural being, when a loud knock from my balcony had me shrieking in terror. Coffee number four went flying as I shot to my feet and peered through the grimy glass door of the balcony.
Another yelp spewed from my lips when I came face to face with a smug-looking supernatural figure and a familiar pair of emerald eyes. “How did you get up here?!”
The vampire woman was standing outside, on my minuscule balcony, smirking at me through the smudged glass.
A pang of genuine fear speared through me. The fact that she was on my balcony at all meant that she had to have scaled four stories of bare-brick wall—in a pencil skirt at that. This woman was far from human.
And yet, I found myself stepping closer, the two of us almost nose-to-nose with only the glass door between us. She smiled at me, the kind of triumphant grin that, on men, usually irritated me beyond belief.
I inspected her features, searching for any hint of those fangs I had seen the other night. But aside from the venomous green of her eyes, she showed no hint of any monstrous qualities. Her red hair trailed loose past her hips, shifting in the slight breeze like each tendril had a life of its own.
She was curvier than I was, something that was apparent despite the bulky coat she was wearing. I couldn’t help but note that her button-up was buttoneddown,revealing just enough skin to have me blushing and looking away again.
Noting my embarrassment and smiling even wider, the woman tapped a varnished nail on the glass. “Can I come in now?”
“No!” I folded my arms indignantly, scowling at a spot just above her head. Anywhere else and I’d blush all over again. “I haven’t invited you in and I don’t plan to. In fact, right now you’re trespassing. I should call the police.”
Her pointed silence only irritated me further and I threw my hands in the air in defeat. “This whole situation is insane. What do you want, anyway?”
The woman smoothed down her coat, flashing me a dazzling smile. “I have a proposition for you.”
I narrowed my eyes. “I know better than to make bargains with fairytale creatures.” According to Google, that was a big no-no.
“This is an offer I don’t think you’ll want to refuse.” She cocked her head to the side. “Considering your mother’s medical bills.”
“How do you…” I trailed off and took a cautious step back.
“God, that was creepy, wasn’t it?” The vampire woman groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Look, can I just come in? I promise this will be beneficial for you.”
I glimpsed something else under her sales pitch smile. Something pleading, and genuine.
Curiosity trumped skepticism and I hesitantly opened the door. “Tell me about this proposition.”
The woman seemed surprised that I obliged and she beamed at me. I took the brunt of her hundred watt smile, and my heart did another unexpected somersault in my chest.
