Music boomed in my ears, merged with an ambiance of many voices. I sat sipping at the mixed drink, watching the people around me out of the corner of my eye. I didn't care for the band, and the drinks were warm, but there was no place better to meet people than parties; especially these types of parties.
Finally, my eyes landed on a good possibility; she was standing against the wall with a book in her hands and a nervous glance around her any time people got a little too close. A boy came up to her, and after a moment of conversing, she left the wall to walk to a different corner and stood over there, clearly wanting nothing to do with him.
'The shy girls are always hard to get with, but almost always worth it.'
So I got a good look at the book, laughing at the irony; she was here reading that.
'And she's got a sense of humor. Brilliant.'
Luckily, I'd read it before - as most of us did, either in school or to have a laugh. I'd read it for both. Taking my drink with me, I ambled up to the girl.
"That's an interesting choice in reading material."
She looked up, her eyes wide in astonishment. She'd not seen or heard me approaching. "I-I'm just here to drive my friend home."
"That explains why you're hugging the wall reading Dracula. Personally, I don't like the writing style."
"The words too big?" There was a mocking, irritated tone in her voice I just adored.
'Just like a frightened dog; her first reaction is to bite.'
"Oh, no. I just absolutely loath books written in first person, let alone as if they're from journals; particularly journals that aren't real."
"How do you know it's not real?" She asked with a cocked eyebrow.
"So you think vampires are real?" I asked with an amused smile.
"Don't you? I mean, you're here, at this party."
"These people are fakes, freaks or medically ill. The few who do crave blood should start taking their medicine again for their illness. Those who are doing it for attention need to get a life, and the rest of them should probably see a shrink for schizophrenia or lay off the drugs."
"So why are you here?"
"One, I have a medical issue I should be taking medicine for." Her lips twitched in an attempt not to smile. "Two; they serve good mixed drinks. And three, there are always pretty quiet girls here to drive home their friends when they're too drunk to stand."
"Or psychotic girls easy to fuck and leave?"
"I never hit on them; there's crazy-bitch drama in that."
The comment earned me a small, wary smile that was just beyond adorable. I had a feeling this strong girl would be a tiger if we were alone, and I was determined to get her that way - in a bed; preferably mine.
'It isn't easy to do that with these types of girls.'
"Let me guess, you spot the shy girl reading the wrong book and prey on them?"
"I'm not preying on anybody. The only kind of eating I do to women they tend to thoroughly enjoy."
Her cheeks flared deep red, and she looked at her feet, clearly not knowing what to say to that. I leaned against the wall with one arm so that our lips were only centimeters apart. Her heart began pounding faster in her chest. The scent of fear and arousal mingling in the air with blood instantly made me heady.
'I can't stay here much longer.'
"See, shy girls are the best. Do you know why?"
She shook her head and pursed her lips. I doubted she was used to so much attention. Most people left shy people alone after the first rude remark.
"You guys are like puzzle boxes waiting to be opened; it's damn hard to do, but once it's done, there's always treasure inside."
"Treasure?" There was a blaze of fury in her eyes.
