Chapter 12

Robby sat up in bed and stretched his arms over his head, yawning loudly. He scratched his chest and smacked his lips, turning to drop his legs off the edge of the mattress. The floor felt cooler than normal and his toes curled against the rug. Standing, he shambled over to the window, pulling back the curtains to look out at a grey sky dropping tiny little flakes of snow on the city.

"Great," he groused out loud. "This is gonna make getting my Sunday paper a whole lot of fun."

Deciding a shower could wait until after he got his treats, he quickly washed his face and brushed his teeth. Back in the bedroom, he threw on some jeans and a t-shirt, opting for a wooly sweater to wear under his coat against the cold. Stuffing his feet into winter boots in the foyer, he trod off, hoping for a quick trip to the bodega and back, with a side order of Starbucks.

Back in his apartment, he stomped to the bedroom to get the socks he'd forgotten in the first place. He paused for a moment to admire the blackout curtains; they were mostly hidden behind his workout machine, folded in soft panes into the corner of the room. When fully extended, they would cover the entire wall including, of course, the window. He looked out through the window again and shivered. It was really coming down out there. He could see the sidewalks had already vanished under the soft white coating, well on the way to becoming truly hazardous.

With his caramel latte in hand, he wandered back out to the living room. As he passed the front door, he thought he saw the deadbolt begin to move. Stopping in fascination, he watched as the knob finished turning, completely on its own. Then the door eased open and she slipped in. Covered from head to toe with some sort of hooded cloak, Elaina's face smiled up at him from the depths. He could see the fur that lined the leather cloak caressing her face, no doubt keeping her warm against the winter weather.

"That cloak must be like wearing an all-over fur blanket," he said. "I think I might be jealous of it."

Looking confused, she unwrapped the cloak from her body and hung it from a hook by the door.

"Jealous of what?" she asked curiously.

"I want to be the one keeping you warm," he answered.

With a little squeal, she jumped him, wrapping herself around him. He held his coffee out, grabbing her one-armed with his hand on her butt, trying to prevent a spill. He bent his head down, taking a slow, soft kiss from her lips before letting her down.

"And yes," he said, fighting to keep a straight face, "I'm happy to see you, too."

Today Elaina was dressed all in soft, green clothing. She had on a fuzzy green sweater that looked like it was made of Angora wool, with the cowl neck bunched up on her shoulders and sagging off her neck. Her pants were a green velour that hugged her legs, showing them off to perfection; and shaggy green boots, looking like she'd stolen them from an improbable abominable snowman. And, like everything else she wore, it looked good on her.

She wandered off, trailing her hand along the back of the couch, idly poking at the DVDs stacked haphazardly on the entertainment center, looking curiously at the case for the last movie he'd watched.

"Really?" Her voice was incredulous. "A vampire movie?"

"Hey, it's not what you think," he answered defensively. "It's a pretty good movie. Different in a way I can't describe. I liked it; you might, too."

She put the case back on the pile and continued her meanderings. The apartment wasn't really all that big and she soon wound up in the bedroom. Robby caught up with her there while she was running a finger over the nightstand, frowning at what she found.

"Something wrong, sweetie?" Robby asked. He watched her study her fingertips.

Holding up those fingertips, she said, "There's white dust all over everything in here." Her nostrils flared briefly. "And it smells like sawdust." She gave him a look of curiosity, her head tilted to the side.

Thinking fast, he answered, "I needed some extra space in the closet. The super came in yesterday and set it up for me."

"Mmm," she responded, the look fading from her face, "That explains the scent of an unfamiliar man."

She looked at the unmade bed and sat on the edge. Patting the space beside her, she coyly invited him saying, "Come sit with me, Rob." She patted the sheet again.

He sat down beside her and stretched his arm behind her, placing his hand on the bed. He saw that she'd pulled her cowl neck down off her shoulders. She leaned into the offered embrace, and they proceeded to make out like a pair of teenagers. He slipped his free hand under her sweater, cupping her soft warm breast with his fingers, while his tongue flirted with the hazard of her fangs. He felt the heat of her body and decided not to mention it.

In a flash of insight, he recognized this for what it was: a test.

While he kissed the exposed skin of her shoulders, he realized that she wanted to see if he would react with jealousy again, knowing she'd fed before coming to him. His conscience gave him a kick over the almost certain death of a human, but he closed off the guilt, rationalizing that people died every day, frequently for stupid or reckless reasons.

After a time the passion eased, and Elaina stood up to continue wandering about his room. She paid no attention to the dark curtains in the corner, perhaps thinking they were part of the workout station they were behind. She paused at his dresser and poked at something on top. What she came up with was a business card, covered in dust like everything else. She held it up and blew it off, looking at both sides carefully.

"Rob," she called out. "What's this?"

Rob came in from the kitchen where he'd been preparing tea for her and reheating his coffee. He shrugged when he saw what she was holding. "A business card?" he said in answer.

She flipped it up and showed him the back. "So you don't know who 'D' is?"

"No, not really," he answered frowning. It took him a moment to recall the card. "Oh, I found that stuck in my door a couple weeks ago. I figured it was just some realtor trying to snag tenants tired of paying rent. Like I want to trade rent for a mortgage payment."

Elaina snorted. "That's kind of short-sighted." She faked a sigh. "I'm going to have to teach you about long-term investments one day."

Getting back to the card, she said, "This isn't from an agent, though. This card belongs to a manager from this office." She held the card close to her face and inhaled deeply. Her irises lit up pale green.

"I know this scent," she breathed on the exhale. Turning the card over again, she read, "'Dawn Medieras, Appraisal Manager.' Hmm, Dawn..."

Elaina's eyes shot to Robby when he jumped at the sound of Dawn's name. She pinned him with her gaze as she stalked across the room to where he was standing.

"I believe I do know this girl ... and so do you," she said, purring like a cat on the hunt. Her eyes widened as she said, "She was the one hanging with Doug the night of the party, the one with dark hair and the autumn-colored dress. I knew I recognized that scent." Elaina saw the truth in Robby's eyes and began smiling a wicked grin. "I think you liked her, didn't you, Rob?"

Robby didn't know which way to turn. He couldn't deny knowing her: she'd already seen the truth of that on his face. But how could he admit to lusting after Dawn? That just wouldn't be good. He decided to punt.