Immortal Hearts (Vampire Kisses 9)

"This is so American!" she said.

"Yes, I guess it is."

"I've seen places like this in movies."

"You can get anything you want," I offered.

"Do they have Romanian smoothies? Or steak tartare?"

"I don't think so. I think most things are cooked here."

"That's okay," she said. "I brought this with me just in case," she said. She pulled out a water bottle, only instead of water it appeared to be filled with blood.

Dixie, in her fifties-diner red-with-white-piping waitress uniform, shimmied her behind as she walked over to the table.

"What's that?" Dixie asked.

"What's that?" Dixie asked.

"Uh ... it's Kool-Aid," I said.

"That doesn't look like Kool-Aid to me."

"It's an energy drink," Stormy tried to explain.

"Well, if you came here for a nutritious meal," Dixie said, "you came to the wrong place. If it's not fried, burnt, or floured, we don't serve it." She chomped her gum and blew a bubble.

"No, we are indulging tonight," I said as Stormy surreptitiously slid her bottle back into her bag.

"Two chocolate malts, please," I said.

"That's all?" she asked.

"Yes. We just had dinner."

Dixie shimmied away, displeased that she didn't have a big order on her hands to increase her chances of a bigger tip.

We both laughed as she placed our order at the counter.

"This is fabulous," Stormy said.

"You think? I've been coming here for years with my best friend. Dixie has been working here since it opened." Stormy flipped through the jukebox songs on our table.

"What is your favorite music?" I asked.

"I like the Skeletons."

"You do? So do I. I don't think they are on there. They only have fifties artists."

"What about Elvis?" she asked.

"Alexander loves him," I noted.

"I know. So do I."

I found a quarter in my pocket and placed it in the jukebox. "Play your favorite," I said. A moment later, "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear" began to play overhead.

She seemed fascinated by the music and the power of her pushing the button and it playing.

Then I remembered the Sterlings lived by candlelight. Modern technology wasn't something they dealt with every day.

"So what's Alexander like as a big brother?" I asked.

I was always dying to know more about my boyfriend - especially because he was so mysterious that I didn't even know until recently that he had a sister.

"He played with me when I was little, but when he got older, he went to his room most of the time and painted."

"What did you play?"

"Games mostly. He loved checkers, so I did, too. But when I pulled out my fashion dolls he ran for his room." I laughed, and so did she.

"Do you always get along with him?"

"Yes, I guess so. I get on his nerves a lot," she said.

"I can't imagine that."

"Oh, it's true. When he and Luna were going to their ceremony - " Then she stopped. "I mean..."

"No, that's okay, you can tell me."

"I was dressed as the flower girl. I had dead black roses and held them in a small urn."

"I bet you were pretty," I said.

"Thank you. Luna was waiting for him to start the ceremony, and everyone was getting impatient. We couldn't find Alexander."

"Oh?"

"I was the one who found him sitting by himself outside a crypt. He told me that he wasn't going to the covenant altar with Luna. I got mad and poured the flowers on his shoes. And then I told my mother where he was."

I had never heard this story before, and from Stormy's point of view, Alexander's arranged eternal betrothal caused disappointment for many besides himself and Luna.

"I'm sure he understood." I tried to ease her guilt.

"When my mother got to the crypt, he was gone."

"What happened?"

"He eventually came home. But the Maxwells wanted revenge. Then he had to leave for Grandmother's Mansion here. But he didn't come back." I didn't know what to say. "Well, you're together now," I said.

"Yes," she said. "Finally."

"What do you like to do?"

"I like to write poems."

"What about?"

"Boys."

"That's a great subject."

"I hope to have them published someday."

"I'm sure they will be," I assured her.

"I bet you are glad to see Jameson, too. He's so cool," I said.

"Yes, I've missed him. He's funny."

"Funny?" I asked.

"When I was little, he liked to hide my dolls during the day. So when I woke up, I'd have to search every room for them. I'd find them resting under the stairs, poking out from behind an antique vase, or sticking out from my coat pocket. It was a fabulous game." I laughed, imagining Jameson sneaking around their Romanian mansion with dolls under his bony arms.

"He's a half vamp; that's why he can be out all Sn b

"He is?" I asked.

"Yes, you didn't know?" She appeared surprised.

I didn't want to fib, but I also didn't want to appear like I hadn't been "in the know." "Uh..."

"Yes, he's mortal," she continued. "He can be out in day and night but needs a vein like we do to exist." She said it so matter-of-fact that I was almost taken aback. I had to remind myself that I was, after all, sitting with a young vampire. But where Alexander was mysterious and kept much of this identity to himself, Stormy blurted out her information like any other girl without a secret.

"That's why I love his Romanian smoothies," she continued. "His California smoothies are terrible. They don't have blood."

"Blood?" a familiar voice said as someone scooted into the booth with me.

"Blood?" a familiar voice said as someone scooted into the booth with me.

"What are you doing here?" I asked Trevor. Then he gazed at Stormy.

"Ditched Becky for the evening?" Trevor asked.

Dixie returned with our malts and placed them on our table. Trevor grabbed mine before I could and stuck my spoon in it. He took a scoop of my malt and put it in his mouth.

I wasn't about to be bullied in front of Stormy. It was uncomfortable enough for me to experience it without her having to experience it, too.

"That was Raven's," Stormy said forcefully. I was surprised that she was defending me. I was proud of her. She was feisty like I was. But ultimately I didn't want her to be involved in my torment.