Eternal Ever After
never intentionally tried to use my gift on someone, but if he continued being evasive, it was something I’d consider.
    Sometimes I loved the visions, but most of the time by date three, I was so damned disgusted it never got to date four. One time this guy hit on me in a laundromat and his arm brushed against mine while we folded our clothes. I could see his vulgar intentions. An image of being fucked from behind, tied to a sense of how quick he could put his clothes back on, passed through my mind. Imagine his surprise when his usual charm didn’t work on me. He never knew I could read his intentions with vivid clarity. There would be no point in screwing him. He’d be just another man whose desires got in the way of my own orgasm. The skin-to-skin contact during sex intensified my visions, it was too damned distracting, and I’d never been able to have an orgasm unless I gave it to myself. I imagined someone would have to be a damned good lay to distract me enough or keep the visions at bay. And I’d found my indulgence in battery-operated toys to be sufficient at satisfying the needs that sex couldn’t.
    The only thing I’ve ever wanted is to know that someone wanted me back and to not feel like such a freak. Having to move from foster home to foster home and adapt to new people, new kids, and new schools while not having a say in any of it had made me flexible. But if I admitted it to myself, my relationships were a mess. Every time I had started to get comfortable, the family wouldn’t want me around. I knew things I shouldn’t know—things that other people didn’t know. Finally, I learned not to share the pictures I saw inside my head. Sometimes it felt like I didn’t have any choices or any future.
    When I was sixteen I was placed with the Ellis family. Luckily, they adopted me. They didn’t turn me away like the rest, but they’d moved to Florida two years ago when they retired. Once or twice a year they sent me plane tickets, around Christmas and my birthday, to come visit.
    But Arie stirred an ache for something that I knew better than to want. Common sense told me a relationship with a vampire would be utterly impossible and most likely lethal. After last night, I had so many other questions I wanted to ask him. I’d watched plenty of vampire movies, but I wondered how much of it was true. Would he turn to ash if we walked along a beach at sunset? Could I serve garlic bread with spaghetti if I cooked him dinner? And what about the sauce? I’d never really been a religious person so I didn’t have to worry about wearing a cross. It all sounded absurd and a little crazy to have to think about these things when considering someone I was attracted to. I thought about firing up my laptop and doing a search on vampires, but wondered if it would return anything other than the pop culture stuff that I already knew. I didn’t have time for it anyway. I had to get ready for my shift and I had to take what I could get since Marshall cut my hours.
    With a quick sniff test I grabbed a pair of slacks and threw on a gray sweater along with some boots that I’d found in a thrift store. They had red laces and a few scuff marks. I threw on my brown suede flap coat, which I’d found in the same store. It had a cigarette burn in one arm, but I barely noticed it. Other than that there was nothing wrong with it, and I loved it.
    I ran a brush through my hair, throwing it up in a messy bun, and brushed my teeth. Reaching for my locket, I clasped it around my neck. I grabbed my army satchel and ventured out into the cold. When I reached the Coffee Grind, I found it darkened and locked. I used my key and found a note on the counter.
     
    Holly,
    I went home sick. You know what to do.
    -Marshall
     
    At least I would get a reprieve from his gruff and overbearing presence. I flipped the sign on the door to ‘Open’, started brewing the coffee, and then restocked the Styrofoam cups. Connie had been the heart and soul
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