I followed Annie into her house, bumping gently against the door jamb, slightly tipsy from too many drinks at the pub, many of them given to me by Annie.
‘Tea, coffee or more wine?’ she called over her shoulder.
‘Dear God, no more wine. Coffee, please. White, no sugar, if you’ve got . . . white. Otherwise, black, no sugar.’
‘It’s OK, we have milk. George has been shopping. Mitchell, this is Susie.’
A figure I hadn’t noticed in the darkness waved a hand in my direction. I followed Annie into the kitchen. ‘Boyfriend?’ I asked nodding back towards the living room.
‘God no,’ she laughed. ‘Flatmate. There’s three of us, me, Mitchell and George. Oh, and sometimes George’s girlfriend, Nina.’
As Annie filled the kettle I looked back to where Mitchell was sitting. He was very good looking in a brooding, Heathcliffian sort of way. ‘So how are you enjoying working in the pub?’ I asked Annie.
‘It’s fabulous! So many interesting people.’
‘And so many interesting prices,’ I muttered, but fortunately she didn’t hear me. Anyway, I shouldn’t really complain, she’d kept my wine glass topped up most of the evening.
Annie clattered mugs and spooned coffee into two. ‘Go through,’ she said. ‘I’ll bring it in.’
I sat down on the armchair next to where Mitchell was sitting on the sofa. ‘Have you been living here long?’
‘Just over a year. Annie was already here when George and I moved in.’
‘It’s very, err . . .’ I looked round the badly furnished room, trying to find a word to describe it.
‘Shit?’ Mitchell suggested, helpfully.
I laughed out loud. ‘I was going to say eclectic.’
‘How tactful.’ He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, looking at me properly. ‘I’ve seen you somewhere before, haven’t I?’
‘Have you? I only live round the corner. The New Found Out’s my local.’
‘Hmm, maybe.’ He shrugged and then smiled again. ‘Susie, is it? And what do you do?’
‘I’m a vampire.’ He jerked his head up towards me. I smiled. ‘I mean, I take people’s blood. I’m a phlebotomist, but mostly work with the Blood Transfusion service.’
‘I might have seen you at the hospital then. That’s where I work.’
‘Possibly.’ Although I was pretty sure I’d remember if I’d seen him. ‘Annie’s a laugh, isn’t she?’
‘Dead funny. You’ve known her long?’
I shook my head. ‘Only from the pub. She’s got quite a following there.’
‘Anything to do with her pricing policy?’
‘She has one? Well, if she does, it certainly suited me tonight. After my friends went on to a club, I don’t think I bought any more drinks.’
‘You didn’t want to go with them?’
I shrugged. ‘Didn’t fancy it, to be honest. And I was shattered. Anyway, I was the only single one there tonight and didn’t fancy the idea of either being a gooseberry or cramping their style, so I dipped out.’
‘You’re single? I can’t believe that.’
Was he flirting with me? If he was, it was very pleasant. In fact, even if he wasn’t . . . ‘Yeah, well, my last boyfriend told me I was too feisty for him. Like it was a bad thing! Just because he was too much of a wimp to dress up for the Rocky Horror Show.’
‘And you did?’
‘Of course! I refuse to Time Warp in anything other than 5” stilettos. It’s not like I was asking him to dress up as a transvestite, he could have gone as Eddie. Or Rocky.’
‘So, just wearing a pair of gold lamé Speedos?’
‘Well, Eddie then. It was a bit chilly the night I went, he was probably worried about shrinkage in just a pair of Speedos. You know, you would have made a good Frank N Furter.’
‘Is that a compliment?’
‘A transvestite alien sex-maniac scientist? Could it be any better?’
‘Well, now you put it like that . . . I have to say it’s tempting,’ and he ran his fingers through his hair.
‘So, why the fingerless gloves?’
‘Fashion statement?’
‘Yeah, right,’ I replied, and he laughed.
‘OK, maybe not.’ He paused and then looked directly at me. ‘They’re to cover some scars,’ he said, waiting as though to judge my reaction.
‘Can I see?’
He slipped off the left glove and turned his wrist towards me. I was expecting to see the straight lines of an, obviously, failed suicide attempt, but these were different. Indentations, gouges, perhaps bite marks. Not what I was expecting. I couldn’t help it, his wrist looked so pale and vulnerable that I lowered my lips to his arm and kissed the scars. His hand initially tensed, but then he allowed his fingertips to stroke across my cheek as he withdrew his arm.
He was watching me closely, his eyes searching mine. I let my fingers rest on his arm, gently stroking the smooth skin as he drew me into his gaze as though he was looking for something within me. I became very aware of my body, my heartbeat slowing, my hair caressing my skin as it fell back into place.
We were interrupted by Annie arriving with the drinks. Annie handed me a cup. ‘White coffee, no sugar. Black for you, Mitchell.’ We clinked cups.
‘Annie, did you know that Susie takes people’s blood?’
‘Nope, news to me.’
‘It’s not a problem, is it?’ I asked, suddenly worried that I’d made a faux pas, but not sure why.
Mitchell leaned back in his chair. ‘Not at all. How long have you been doing that?’
‘Three years now. Although I’m wondering whether to go into clinical support. Sorry, that’s very boring.’
‘No, no, it sounds interesting.’
The front door banged open and another guy walked in, scowling.
‘George?’ Annie asked, rising a little from her chair. ‘Are you OK?’
He glanced round the room, saw me, and took a deep breath. ‘It’s Nina. We had . . . a row.’
‘Come on, I’ll make you a cup of tea,’ Annie said, and George followed her into the kitchen, leaving me alone with Mitchell.
