Page 1 (1/2)

For ain, to the usual suspects: ent, Nick Ellison, and Sarah Dickman, Arija Weddle, and Marissa Matteo at Nicholas Ellison, Inc; Jennifer Brehl, Kate Nintzel, Lisa Gallagher, Michael Morrison, Mike Spradlin, Jack Womack, Debbie Stier, Lynn Grady, and all ers, for putting up with the frozen turkey bowling

Chapter One

Get Over It, a Lot of People Are Dead

"You bitch, you killed me! You suck!"

Tommy had just awakened for the first time as a vampire He was nineteen, thin, and had spent his entire life between states of aether" Jody: pale, pretty, long red hair hanging in her face, cute swoop of a nose in search of a lost spray of freckles, a big lipstick-srin She’d only been undead herself for a couple ofto be spooky

"Yeah, that’s why you spent the night with him" Tommy pointed across the loft to the life-sized bronze statue of a man in a tattered suit Inside the bronze shell was the ancient vampire who had turned Jody Another bronze of Jody stood next to hione out at sunrise, into the sleep of the dead, Toround floor of his building and had the vaive hi off with the old va ear holes in Jody’s sculpture so she could hear hi, the old vaht her to turn to mist, and she’d streamed out of the ear holes into the roory

"I needed to know about what I a to tell me if not him?"

"Yeah, but you should have asked me before you did this," To It’s inconsiderate" Toood s

"You had sex with me while I was unconscious," Jody said

"That’s not the sa friendly, like when you put a quarter in so meter when they aren’t there - you know they appreciate it later, even if they don’t thank you personally"

"Yeah, wait until you go out in your jammies and wake up all sticky in a cheerleader outfit and see how grateful you are You know, Tommy, when I’m out, technically, I’m dead Guess what that makes you?"

"Well - uh - yeah, but you’re not even hu" To it It was hurtful and h Jody was, indeed, dead, he didn’t find her foul at all - in fact, he was pretty sure he was in love with her, he was just a little e Back in the Midwest people didn’tup a pouy’s backyard and the police eventually discovered the whole hu set

Jody sniffled, completely for effect Actually she was relieved that Tommy was now on the defensive "Well, welco Club, Mr Flood"

"Yeah, you drank my blood," Tommy said "A lot"

Daain, being considerate," Toed

"You just let me because of the sex"

"That’s not true, it was because you needed , it was because of the sex

"Yes, I did," Jody said "I still do" She held her arms out to him "I really do"

He walked into her ar than she had before It was as if his nerves had been dialed up to eleven "Okay, it was because of the sex"

Great, she thought, in control once again She kissed his neck "How do you feel about it now?"

"Maybe in a o of her and stormed across the loft to the kitchen, where he pulled a burrito out of the freezer, threw it into the microwave, and hit the button, all in one smooth motion

"You don’t want to eat that," Jody said

"Nonsense, it sreat It’s like every little bean and pork piece is sending out its own delicious miasma of flavor vapor" Tommy used words like «miasma» because he wanted to be a writer That’s why he’d co bites and write about it Oh, and to find a girlfriend

"Put the burrito down, and back away, Toet hurt"

"Ha, that’s cute" He took a big bite and grinned at her as he chewed

Fivehim clean bits of masticated burrito off the kitchen wall and the front of the refrigerator "It’s like every bean was storestion to escape"

"Yeah, well, being refried will do that to you," Jody said, stroking his hair "You okay?"

"I’ I need to eat"

"Not so er I feel likein on themselves You should have told me about this"

She kne he felt - actually, she had felt worse when it happened to her At least he kneas happening to hi to have to make a few adjustments"

"Well, what do I do? What did you do?"

"I ht this through before you killed ether Like Roet to be in a sequel Very literary, Tommy"

"Oh, that’s a comfort I can’t believe you just killed , thank you very e all over my new sneakers"

"You can see in the dark, now," Jody said cheerfully "Wanna try it? I’ll get naked You can look at me in the dark Naked You’ll like it"

"Jody, I’ over here"

She couldn’t believe that he didn’t respond to the naked persuasion What kind ofor so"

"I said there’d have to be so with more than a few adjustments since he’d come west from his hometown of Incontinence, Indiana - not the least of which had been finding a girlfriend, hile smart, sexy, and quick-witted, drank his blood and tended to fall unconscious at the exact ht have just picked hi the day, especially since she’d once said, "I need so the day," but now that he was a vampire, he could close the door on that insecurity and open another onto a whole neorld of insecurities he’d never even considered before The appropriate age for a vampire is four hundred years old - he should be a world-weary and sophisticated creature, his hu since overcome or evolved into macabre perversions The probles all of his adolescent insecurities into the dark with hi at hiured out early on that vampires do, indeed, cast a reflection in a mirror, just like they could tolerate proxiarlic (Tocheerleader outfits and personal lubricants) "And not just winter in Indiana pale I’ht you liked the pale"

"Sure, it looks good on you, but I look ill"

"Keep looking," Jody said She was leaning against the door fraht black jeans and a half shirt, her hair tied back and strea down her back like a flaccid red co not to appear too a besides color"