Sinjin, A Vampire Romance

Chapter Three

***
Bryn

There was a knock on my door the next evening, at six p.m. "Come in," I grumbled from where I lay on my bed. I was in the midst of rereading the eight-volume stack of Vogue magazines I'd found in the closet for the umpteenth time. Although I didn't want to admit it, I was relieved to have a visitor. Being stuck in this room by myself day in and day out was taking a toll on my mental health.

The door opened and my sister poked her head in, smiling at me hesitatingly. "Hi," she said, her blue eyes glittering from her very pretty face. I didn't think I would ever get used to how much we looked alike. If I had shorter, blond hair, we might have been able to pass for one another.

"Hi," I muttered before returning to the article I was reading about how apricot blush was the perfect color to accentuate all skin tones.

"I have some things for you," Jolie started. She fully entered the room and closed the door behind her, finding it difficult since both of her hands were filled with two enormous shopping bags. I didn't bother to help her.

"More clothes that I don't want?" I asked, shaking my head in frustration as I glanced up from my magazine momentarily, only to return my attention to the article again a second or so later. "I'll just stay in my own clothes, thanks." Actually, all I really wanted was to get the hell out of this wretched room. My outfit wasn't at the top of my list, dirty or not.

"The clothes aren't mine and they're not even from me," Jolie responded somewhat snidely, my foul humor apparently contagious. They're from Sinjin, she finished in her head as she smiled at me knowingly.

I looked up at her, momentarily surprised that she was choosing to communicate with me via her thoughts. Then I looked down at the bags she held in her hands and couldn't stop my eyes from widening. "Um," I started, amazed that Sinjin would go out of his way to shop for me, especially since we'd only just discussed my limited attire the previous evening. Even though he'd said he was going to get me more clothes, I didn't really think he was serious. In my experience, shopping and men rarely went hand in hand.

"Everything Sinjin does is over the top," Jolie laughed as she shook her head in apparent wonder regarding the incredibly handsome vampire. "Moderation doesn't exist in his vocabulary." She approached me and plopped both of the large, paper shopping bags on the bed beside me. I closed the Vogue magazine and placed it on my bedside table as I sat up. Rubbing the back of my neck, I had no idea what to make of Sinjin's ... gifts. I vacillated between being pissed off at becoming his latest charity case, and getting excited at the prospect of something new and clean to wear.

Jolie exhaled like she had a big job ahead of her, but she dug into the bags and produced every sort of workout pants possible—capris, slim-fitted, bootcut, you name it. All of them were dark colors as well—mostly black, but some were charcoal and a few were dark green and blue. They were exactly what I would have picked out for myself. I couldn't believe how well Sinjin had managed to pinpoint my taste.

As a soldier, and defender of my people, I never wore anything that would restrict my movements, thereby handicapping or preventing me from fighting. And yoga pants were pretty hard to beat when it came to unlimited movement. I couldn't remember the last time I'd worn a pair of jeans. Come to think of it, I didn't even own a pair. And dresses or skirts were simply out of the question. I'd never so much as even tried a dress or a skirt on.

"This pair makes thirteen," Jolie counted as she pulled the final pair of pants from the bag. They looked the least like workout pants. Instead, they were somewhat baggy with a drawstring closure. They were still made out of Spandex, though, and therefore functional. Glancing at the tag, she read: "Lululemon size four." Then she looked over at me and raised her eyebrows. "Nice that someone I'm related to is a size four."