Roman (The Clutch 1)

Anyway, I continue to wait for the girls to part ways, anticipating Fiona’s next move. I hope she is going to the coffee shop.

“Bye girls, love you!” I hear her say as her footsteps approach. I’m waiting on the sidewalk near the spa, but just out of range for her friends to see me.

“Love you too! Text me later! Go see about a vampire, will ya?” the one named Lana shouts in the street, making me chuckle audibly. That Lana is funny, and Fiona should definitely keep her around. I do not hear the vampire-hating friend interject, and I can hear their two sets of footsteps going in the other direction. Perfect, she is alone.

As she turns the corner to where I’m standing, I try not to startle her, which is damn near impossible. “Fiona?” I say as non-threateningly as possible.

“Oh my God!” She jumps, clutching at her neck quickly. A bit dramatic, but there wasn’t any way to surprise her without, well… surprising her.

“Fiona, relax. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Well then what the hell are you doing hiding out here?” she demands, panting.

“It’s broad daylight. I wasn’t really hiding,” I offer.

She puts her hand on her hip, and tilts her head, scrutinizing me. “I suppose you’re right. However, were you out here waiting for me?”

I want to lie and say I was randomly passing by, but we both know I was absolutely sitting out here waiting for her. “I was hoping that we could talk, just for a bit? Could I take you to lunch?”

Her face scrunches up, and she crosses her arms. “Lunch? Do you even eat?” She’s skeptical of me, and I get it, but I’m not giving up.

“Well, not human food, but I’d be delighted to buy you food, and pretend to eat while we talk?” I offer.

Somehow, this elicits a smile from her, as if she’s amused. “Yea, I’m not going to sit with you and have you watch me eat, that’s weird.”

“It’s only weird if you care what other people think. Besides, I’ll order food. I just won’t eat it. Come on. I can tell you want to.” I smile at her, tilting my head like a playful puppy.

Her shoulders relax, and she is still smiling. “All right. I’ll let you buy me lunch. But I get to pick the place since I’m the only one eating,” she declares with a light giggle.

“You got a deal, Ms. Weston. Shall we?” I step aside so that she will lead the way.

She walks past me, clutching her new Louis Vuitton with one arm, her other hand still floating near her neck, but it’s drifted lower, closer to her breasts. I can’t help but notice her beautiful curves. Her chest is of average size, but she has a perfect hourglass figure, accentuated by her skin tight jeans which draw my eyes directly to her ass. The more I’m around her, the closer I want to get to her, but she’s still scared of me. I need to show her that I’m really just a man in the most important ways.

“I am in the mood for a Greek salad, and there is a place not too far from here. Will that work?” she asks.

“Sounds fantastic.” In my human life, I never had Greek food, but I have been to Greece as a vampire. It’s a beautiful country, with extraordinarily beautiful people. The human violence in the last 100 years became a turn off for me, which is why I left.

The restaurant has a small symbol on the front of the building, next to the fire department signs. It is the symbol that I carry on my wrist. She’s chosen an establishment that welcomes vampires, which is not lost on me and endears me to her further. All public buildings are required to welcome vampires, but human-owned businesses are not required to serve vampires if they do not wish, and establishments that do welcome us openly often display the sticker on their door as a sign of acceptance.

Once we are seated, she orders her salad, and I do the same. I then jump right into what I want to say. “Have you looked at my business proposal?” I ask.

“No, I haven’t,” she admits. “I don’t tend to read all of them to be completely honest, as many of them are a real bore, and are primarily about who can get the best deal to make more money. I just do my job, which is to gather the money together, so they all know who has some, and who’s in the market to spend some of theirs on an investment.”

“Tell me about your father.”

“Why?”

“Because I would like to understand him better,” I reply frankly.

“Understanding him better is not going to get you a deal. He’s not going to work with a vampire, Roman. There’s really no way around that.” Our salads arrive, and she begins to pick at hers while I watch.

“I didn’t say anything about that. I would genuinely like to better understand the man. You seem to be open to me in some ways, so why not him?” Her face flushes immediately, and I can sense that she is embarrassed that I notice. Unsure of what to say, I wait patiently for her reply.

“My daddy simply doesn’t understand your kind, Roman, and honestly, I can’t say that I do either. You frighten me. But I’m willing to admit, that is because of folklore and what I’ve heard from my father. It just feels like bigotry or a reason to hate you without cause, and that’s not who I am as a person.” She seems like she wants to say more; she fidgets in her seat a bit, looking uncomfortable.

“It is not my intent to frighten you, Fiona. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.” I feel a smirk begin to form as I shamelessly flirt, just a bit. Watching her turn red is fast becoming a huge turn on for me.

She takes a breath before replying, collecting her thoughts. “I can see that you are actually a nice… man.” She pauses. “But I honestly do not think that I can help you. My influence is minimal, and my father isn’t going to change his tune about vampires. He’s old-fashioned and set in his ways.”