Picky Eater

Ch 5: We're not together

Ben snorted. "Okay, well, we've been going on dates for about a month."

"I don't trust it."

"He's human, Nino."

"How do you know? You thought I was human when we first met."

"It's not the same. Tim's an accountant." Ben shook his head, unsure where to even begin with how ridiculous he was being, but before they could keep arguing, Evie sighed. Ben turned, dipping his head into the guest bedroom. Well, it was half a bedroom and more so a storage room. Evie sat in the middle, holding a pillow to her chest as she looked up with her big doe eyes.

She asked, "Are you guys going to break up too?"

"We're not together," Nino said a little too quickly and Ben was promptly humbled like a kick to the chest.

"Exactly," Ben said, putting on a show. He forced a smile as every inch of his skin caught on fire with angry itchy flames licking his cheeks. "And I'll be home alone at the end of the summer. You—" He referred to Nino "—will be gone. My life doesn't end when you leave."

"I am here this summer and while we work together, I expect you to listen to me."

Ben laughed right in his beautiful, dumb face. He was done being sad over Nino's secrets, his lies, and his surprise fiancé. The next step in the mourning process of Ben's dead crush was anger. He snapped, "No."

And just that little two letter word might as well smack the hell out of Nino. His eyes almost popped out of his skull, but Ben wasn't finished yelling at him. He snapped, "You just said it. We're working together. We are partners in this, or this isn't going to work."

"I might as well be home," Evie groaned and threw herself back on the guest bed that creaked with a death groan.

"Nino, you might own this apartment." Ben could feel his resolve crumble slightly. Nino's lip even quirked, apparently amused by Ben's fury. Ben stood his ground and declared, "But you don't own me. I still have my free will and I'll use it to see any other guy I want."

"You really are so lucky you met me first and not some other beast." Nino took a step forward as if to walk right through Ben, who had no choice but to step back. "In the past, if a vampire found a feast..." Another step and then another step until Ben's back hit the wall and Nino became an impenetrable cage, blocking Ben in. He explained, a sick humor lacing every word. "They would kidnap them, take them to their coven, and pass that Feast around until they were on the brink of death."

Ben's stomach turned in on itself. Nino's eyes flashed red, and it reminded Ben this was not just a guy. Not just a man crashes on his couch. This was a vampire, smiling at Ben like taking a bite out of his neck would just make his day. Nino said, "Then, they'd let the feast heal, so they could do it all over again. The only way they lost their feast was if the feast took themselves out."

Taking a sharp breath, Ben snapped out of it and shoved Nino as hard as possible. It was enough to make Nino move out of the way. Maybe it was because he looked like was going to burst into flames. "I'm not about to thank you for being a decent person."

"Don't. Because I'm not a person."

The spare bedroom door snapped shut, and Ben jumped. Evie sighed from the other side and a twinge of guilt made Ben drop it. He knocked on the door. "Oh, Evie. I'm sorry. We're done fighting."

"Is all summer going to be like this?"

"That's a good question. Is it?" Ben turned his attention to Nino, who dropped his arms with a sigh.

"It's not," Nino said, joining Ben on the other side of the door. Speaking to Evie, Nino's eyes were solely on Ben. "We're all going to be living together, so we might as well get along."