Joe Vampire

17

The coffee smelled wonderful as it filled the small kitchen with the scent of dark, rich caffeinated bliss. I was standing over the coffee pot as it slowly filled with the steaming brew, half tempted to pull the pot out and fill my mug straight from the machine. The clock on the microwave read six a.m. and I knew that any moment now Melissa would be dragging herself out into the kitchen with sleep still in her eyes. I hadn't been home even fifteen minutes yet and if I'd been smart I'd have crawled into my bed and fallen asleep before the sun had a chance to spill into my room, but there was no way I was sleeping tonight. My mind was racing with a thousand what if's and questions about the next twenty-four hours. By this time tomorrow I would be halfway to who-knows-where with Joe. I'd pondered where we might go, what I'd tell my friends, what I'd do with all my stuff, and possibly the most important question of all; what to pack? With so much to think about, sleep was the farthest thing from my mind.

Melissa's door opened just as the brewer chugged its last drizzle of coffee down into the pot. I already had my mug at the ready next to the machine with the cream and sugar waiting inside.

"Good morning!" I buzzed as she rounded the corner and I lifted the carafe. I took a deep breath from the uprising steam and closed my eyes to the familiar comfort of the coffee.

"Morning...you're up early." Melissa blinked her eyes against the stark kitchen light and licked her still dry lips. Neither of us were particularly morning people, but once we got up and going we were fairly bubbly. It was probably how we avoided killing each other after so many years of sharing the same space. I think that if one of us had been the sort who woke up with a smile on their lips and a song in their heart the other would have stabbed them in the face and stuffed the body in the freezer. As it was, Melissa was simply eyeing me suspiciously as she clung to her recently filled glass of water. "Or did you not actually sleep yet?" She guessed, as if she didn't already know. There was no way I would have been this chipper before coffee.

I grinned over my steaming mug. I gave the liquid a stir and watched it pale as it blended in bittersweet harmony with the cream and sugar. I felt giddy, teetering on the edge of being almost jittery. Clearly it had nothing to do with the coffee since I hadn't even had a sip yet. It was more of my body's reaction to lack of sleep and excitement. It was a strange sort of second wind. I was sure at some point in the day I would crash into a heap of exhaustion, but for now, I was wide awake.

"You got it." I affirmed, lifting the warm cup toward my lips. "I just got home a little bit ago actually." Melissa's eyebrow quirked into a knowing glance as she leaned inside the entryway frame of the tiny kitchen.

"Knew you couldn't resist." She mused. She didn't even try to hide the smugness in her voice and I lowered my coffee just before I could take in that first sip. My face must have asked the question for me because my roommate continued. "You said you weren't going to be hanging out with Joe and not only did you two hang out, you didn't even go to bed."

I opened my mouth to defend myself and then closed it, feeling my cheeks growing hot with the first flames of embarrassment. It wasn't as if anything had really happened that warranted my blushing, but Melissa had a way of making me feel like a kid who got their hand caught in the cooking jar. I covered my lack of defense with a sip from my mug. The coffee was just this side of too hot and it almost burned as it slid down my throat, but I sank into that warm, familiar taste with a welcome sigh.

"So, are you going to tell me about your night or should I just make something up?" Melissa pressed, draining her water glass and slipping past me to set it into the sink.

I grinned involuntarily around my second sip of coffee. "Nothing special. We went back to his house, hung out for a bit and he brought me home." I shrugged, trying to seem as nonchalant as I was hoping my words sounded. I took another sip from my mug.