Naked Came the Vampire (Hypernaturals 1)

Coffee and Donuts

Helen arrived at our room at the crack of nine the next morning. We were up, and Jessica was in the shower. I had also been in the shower, but I had to get out to answer the damn door. I was not done washing Jessica!

To be fair that would have taken a while.

Helen came bearing gifts of a sort. She had an armload of bagels, cream cheese, cinnamon rolls, and other carbs, plus a big box of to-go coffee with full setups for those who adulterate their coffee. The setups included artificial coffee creamer. Jessica usually adds a drab of half and half or some kind of real milk product but will drink it black before she using the powder 'creamer'.

For me, if the coffee is not good enough to be consumed black, it is not worth drinking. This coffee, wherever it came from, smelled pretty good.

I looked at the package of white powdery substance disdain. Corn syrup solids, hydrogenated vegetable oils, emulsifiers, and other garbage. Fake 'creamer', before turning, was a heart attack waiting to happen. I could not imagine liking it now, with my new higher spectrum sensorium. I would be able to taste and smell nothing but food processing.

Helen, watching me regard the fake creamer, surprised me. "Sorry: I told them not to put that shite in there. Habit for them I suppose. That artificial garbage is so offensive to the Vampire palate."

"No worries. I have no idea why humans even allow this shit." I replied.

Snowball jumped into Helen's lap lightly to get her due scritchies. Helen had not paid toll yet.

As Helen coo'ed and admired, I thought about a new aspect of my life. It is almost mundane, but it is something I love because it is a connection to feeling like we are a family. From now until Jessica dumps me, when she and I are out and about, if we are in a city, like this one, where she has no alternative identity established and therefore no housing of any kind, we have to stay at a hotel that allows animals.

We have to find a place for 'our' pet. So perfectly family style.

Snowball is unusual in that she likes to travel and she does not like Jessica to leave her alone. I doubted my cats would love being in a car nearly as much as Snowball. I have roots down though. A house. Friends. Danny always watches my cats when I am gone. That's family too.

I did not need to announce anything about what is happening in the main room to Jessica. Even in the shower she could smell everything and hear Helen's voice. She knew who is in the room and the menu.

It occurred to me that I wore only a towel. Helen could probably not give two shit's about my state of undress given the number of men she has known over the centuries but I grabbed up some random new clothes and dressed near the sink. It is not like I can go back to the shower without being immensely rude. Helen paid no obvious attention to me dressing, instead, she sipped her coffee, and then added 1/2 packet of Turbinado sugar. She tasted again and was apparently satisfied.

Dressed, I joined her at the table, pouring myself a cup, and scooping up one of the cinnamon rolls.

Helen looked at me over the top of her cup as she sipped very delicately. "I assume you know how very lucky you are." she asked in a low voice. I am not sure if Jessica could hear her or not. It held no threat. In fact, I heard some unexpected warmth. Helen looked over at the bed, which to a Vampire's nose held no secrets about its recent usage.

"Yes." I said, as uninflected as I could make it. I did not want to rub it in. It is not a contest. I had not even known about Helen or their history together or Vampires in general. My feelings for Jessica predated that. They started on a beach and were cast in stone on a boat when I was still an in-the-dark human.