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that's willing to consider the idea of vampires."
    "I'm sure you can find someone. Keep in touch even if you don't think you have anything important to report."
    Rolling my eyes, I said, "Yeah, sure."
    "Good. Keep trying. You're bound to find someone."
    I heard a female voice in the background. Typical Vince. "Try not to miss me too much," I said, and ended the call.
    "You okay?" Tanner asked, walking up to me. "You look like you weren't having a good conversation."
    "I'm fine. That was just…my dad. You know how parents can be."
    "Was he all in your grill about something?"
    "You could say that. Let's forget about the jerks of the world and have ourselves some dinner."
    "I like the way you think!"
    We made small talk on the ride to his house. When we got to his house, he wanted me to watch TV while he made the food.
    "No, I want to help you. I don't usually prepare food. I think it would be fun."
    He looked at me as though I was one of the spoiled rich kids he went to school with for a moment, but then he said, "Okay. It would be fun to teach you."
    "Where do I start?"
    "First wash your hands and then you can chop the tomatoes."
    I washed my hands and then looked at the tomatoes, trying to figure out how I would cut them.
    Tanner laughed. "You've never cut vegetables before?"
    "Technically, they're a fruit," I said, showing him that I did know a thing or two about food. "But no, I don't have any experience in the kitchen."
    He picked up a knife and set it in my hand. He put his hand over mine and then wrapped himself around me and put my other hand over the tomato.
    "So far I like this," I said.
    I could feel a smile form on his face from the back of my head. "Me too. Now watch how we slice it. This is the best way because otherwise it'll just fall apart." Still holding my hands, he helped me to slice the tomato. When we had finished, he asked, "Do you want to try the next one yourself?"
    "Only if you keep yourself wrapped around me."
    He laughed and put his hands on my waist. "Okay."
    As I sliced through the tomato, I listened to the blood pumping through his veins. It was music to my ears.
    "It looks like you've got the hang of it," he said, backing up. "I need to cook the meat. Can you chop the rest of the veggies when you're done with the tomatoes?"
    "I can handle that."
    When I was done with the tomatoes and olives, I grabbed an onion. I wasn't expecting it to be so hard after dealing with softer foods and the knife slipped, slicing into the side of my finger. It went in deep enough to expose the bone, and being that my heart doesn't pump, the blood didn't gush out as he would have expected.
    I dropped the knife and he looked over at me with wide eyes. By then some blood had trickled out and covered the bone. He dropped his spatula. "Are you okay?" he exclaimed.
    Covering my wound, I said, "I just need to get a bandage. Do you have some in the bathroom?"
    Eyes wide, he said, "I don't think that's going to be enough."
    "It's not as bad as it looks. Don't worry about me." I ran to the bathroom and closed the door behind me. I licked the blood and watched as my saliva worked to seal the wound faster, as it was already healing on its own. After the skin had returned to normal, I found a box of bandages and stuck one on, not wanting to explain how such a deep cut could heal in a matter of minutes.
    I walked out, holding my finger high. "See? That was all it needed."
    Tanner looked at my finger in disbelief. "I guess you were right."
    "Of course I was. Let's get the rest of dinner ready."
    As we were setting the table, the door opened and a kid that looked exactly like Tanner, only younger, walked in. He stared at me.
    "Don't be rude, Charlie," Tanner said. "Remember I told you that Samantha was going to join us for dinner tonight?"
    He looked at Tanner. "Yeah, but you didn't say that she…she, well, she's freaking hot!"
    "Charlie!" Tanner exclaimed, and at the same moment I burst out laughing.
    The poor kid's face flushed