Change is sweeping through the world, as humanity fights for autonomy, discord tears apart the foundations of the vampire order, and dhampirs return to the world after centuries of war between two powerful peoples. Dhampirs, creatures known to heral...
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Matt glanced up at the dull lights over the coffee shop's bar before turning his gem eyes in her direction. "My fiancé asked if you and I broke up"
Tara spit her coffee out on the counter and had to frantically grab napkins to clean it up. The entire time, Matt laughed but he helped by dragging the napkin dispenser over. It was bizarre for him to do anything but enjoy her suffering, so it was off putting, as off-putting as sitting out with him, alone.
This coffee shop was a quiet back alley sort of place with no cameras and a small customer base, making it a great meeting place when they wanted to discuss things off the books. It was frequented by reporters from their station, and the owner knew installing any surveillance would bankrupt his business. It also meant that Matt could do something really shitty, and she'd have little proof. If a single employee here ratted Matt out, the small business would go under for some reason or other, fabricated or not.
"Your jokes aren't funny," Tara said, sinking into her bar stool's back and crossing and uncrossing her ankles on the foot bar. Sitting next to him was that uncomfortable.
"I was serious," Matt replied, leaning his head on his hand and turning to her with another unusual expression. It was near embarrassment or amusement, but almost looked apologetic. "I, apparently, haven't sat down to dinner once with Janel without mentioning you, complaining or otherwise. Dinner's just been quiet, I guess." Matt looked down to the counter with a frown and nearly sank into his hand.
Tara was trying to reconnect the synapses in her brain, because she was pretty sure they'd tangled and misread the situation. It sounded like Matt had missed her. What piece of human filth missed someone they bullied and treated like shit? Did this guy have a screw loose?
"So what you're saying is you're like a dog without his favorite tree to piss on?" Tara tried to word it on his level, and for once, she got a flicker of anger to darken his eyes.
Matt slipped his face into his hand and rubbed his temples before slipping it through his dishwater hair that darkened to brown on most days but shined too attractively in the sun. Averting her gaze, she took a sip of her remaining coffee. It was infuriating how pretty he was.
"Do you know which dogs are the most aggressive?" Matt said after a moment, and Tara paused over her drink.
"I'm not much for pets," Tara admitted as she tried to figure out where he was going with this.
"It's the smaller ones. Owners tend to coddle them, not properly socializing them with bigger dogs, so they don't know how to interact well with others. They're also smaller than their peers, so they feel the need to make noise and try to be bigger than they are. Fear and a lack of interaction make them defensive, resulting in them not listening well, and biting even those who care for them."
Tara raised an eyebrow as Matt stared into his folded hands on the counter. The man had spoken seriously to her literally never, and she wasn't sure what was eating him or what he wanted to convey to her. Everything he said was an insult and she was still waiting for it.
