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meaning. I laughed then too.
    “The valley of the shadow of fuck,” I said, laughing softly.
    She got up slowly and followed me into the kitchen. “Sounds like a nice place to visit.”
    “Maybe we can make it into a new drink.”
    One of my hobbies was coming up with crazy names for mixed drinks. Even though what I said was funny, I was still fuming over what the preacher had been yelling about.
    “Can you believe that crap?” I asked this as I poured a cup of coffee and passed it to Jamie.
    She took the cup with hands than only shook a little bit. His words had upset her too, but Jamie was better at keeping things like that to herself than I was. We’d known each other long enough that her trembling hands gave away her anger. To anyone else she would have looked perfectly calm. And hung-over.
    “That preachers hate vampires? Sure. They hate anyone who has found eternal life without having to sacrifice everything first.”
    I shook my head and immediately regretted the movement. “But Marcus did make sacrifices. Lots of vampires have made sacrifices to be who they are.”
    Jamie took a few sips of coffee while she rummaged through my cabinets looking for aspirin. “I may have been drunk last night, but that doesn’t mean I don’t remember what we talked about. Are you still up for our bet?”
    “You mean the one about finding a normal guy?”
    “That would be the one.”
    “You know, it’s not really a bet.”
    She turned back to me, crossing her arms underneath her breasts. “Sure it is. If you can’t find someone that you at least think you’ve got a shot with in the next month then you’re calling Marcus and that’s that. I’m sick of seeing you alone. Only I didn’t figure out why nothing had worked out with you until last night. I can’t believe I never noticed how you look when someone mentions his name. Guess I never really looked you in the eye when someone said ‘Marcus’ before. I just figured you were embarrassed when things didn’t work out and maybe that hurt your feelings somehow. I had no idea you were in love with him.”
    The more she spoke, the faster her words came until by the end she was running them together and I held up my hand for silence.
    “Stop. What I meant was, there’s nothing at stake for you.”
    “Come again?”
    “Well, our discussion was about both of us needing to make a decision about where our lives are going. What happens if I can’t find someone and I call Marcus up? Say it works or even if it doesn’t and I’ve lived up to my end of the deal, what then?”
    “What do you mean what then? That’s it.”
    My smile must have given something away, because she looked nervous all of the sudden. Jamie ran a hand through the tangles in her long dark hair and turned back to look for the aspirin.
    “Is there a guy you never talked about? One who got away?”
    She shrugged. “Of course there is. For anyone over the age of twenty there’s usually at least one.”
    I tapped her on the shoulder and she turned back to me with a sigh. “His name is … Well, he didn’t really get away. You see, I’ve never had the nerve to act on what I feel.”
    “God, Jamie just tell me.”
    “It’s Earl, okay?”
    I just stood there with my mouth open. Jamie turned beet red and faced the sink. She remained there, blushing deeper by the minute while I got the aspirin and handed it to her.
    “Really? You’re not messing with me?”
    She snorted. “You going to make fun of me now?”
    I laughed. “Hell no, Earl is hot. What’s wrong with liking Earl?”
    “I don’t want to talk about it.”
    This turn of events couldn’t have been more shocking to me. However, it also meant I wasn’t entirely alone in having to make a change. Even though I’d put Jamie on the spot, I felt better about not being alone.
    “Fine. If I end up having to call Marcus, you have to ask Earl on a date.”
    Jamie ran a hand over her face as if wondering what in the world she’d gotten