Vampire Boyfriend: Viggo (special preview)

“Is that for your, uhm, dog?” I ask hesitantly.

Viggo glances and waves to the wolf creature. “He has a fondness for spicy ones, and after tonight, I think he’s earned the bonus.” He pays for the beef jerky then heads to the office door and knocks. “Amil, come on out.”

The door swings open and Amil is standing there with a sour look on his face. “You didn’t have to bring the dog.”

“He’s pissed at you, of course I did.” Viggo pats his brother’s back as he leads him towards the door. “Besides, you don’t need to be doing this to your employees.” Viggo turns and looks back at me. “Thanks again, Keira.”

“It was no problem, really.”

Viggo takes the beef jerky and hands them to Amil as he pushes him out the door. The big wolf dog gets up and walks Amil to the car.

“My brother can be a handful, he’s always had that flare for the dramatic. So first, let me apologize for him. Secondly, I owe you a big thank you, could I possibly take you out for dinner some time?”

I am buzzing with excitement. “I have Thursday off,” I say with a shy giggle. “But you really don’t have to do that! Nothing happened and it was barely like he was here.”

“I’d like to, though. You have my card, just tell me your favorite restaurant and I’ll book us anywhere you like.” He gives me a smile and I can see the sharp glint to his teeth. “Doesn’t have to be this week, can be anytime you’re free.”

“Sure,” I’m a bit breathless. 

There is a loud bark from outside and Viggo turns. “I better go. I look forward to hearing from you, though.” He leaves out the door and I am swooning.

I have a hard time working up the nerve, but eventually I send a text message to his phone after I can’t fall asleep that morning. As I lay down, gazing up at my ceiling, I start to wonder why he would want to take me out. Was it just for a thank you or did he have ulterior motives? He had a kid, but was he married? Divorced? What was his story? Well, maybe I would figure all that out when he took me to dinner. 

I wake up later that evening, groggy and heavy headed. I go into the bathroom first thing to take my medications. As I look in the mirror, I study the dark circles under my eyes, but at least I have color in my cheeks. For a long time, I had such a poor complexion, I thought I would never get it back. This time last year I was still recovering, so it amazes me today how well I’m doing considering where I was. 

I go back into my room to get changed and take my phone off the charger. I see I have a message from Viggo. 

“I’ve made us a reservation for Thursday at eight at the place you mentioned. I haven’t been there so I’m excited to see it. Take care and have a good day.”

I bite back the smile that’s threatening to blossom on my face. I shouldn’t get my hopes too far up now, after all, who knows the true intention of this meal. Could just be a thanks for babysitting my brother sort of thing, could be a date. Could also be a vampire thing. If that’s the case he’s in for some disappointment. 

In any case, I cannot wait for Thursday to roll around. Between work, the next couple of days, I stop by some clothing stores to look for an outfit. It’s been so long since I actually bought myself something, I’m not too sure what looks good on me anymore. I’m so used to just wearing jeans and a shirt, not just my pajamas, I’m not sure about my size either. After wearing hospital gowns for a while, clothing didn’t matter too much to me.

Once Thursday rolls around, I sit up like a bolt in bed. I get up and take my medication then hop into the shower to scrub down. I usually only wear very minimum makeup, enough concealer to cover the bags under my eyes and whatever springs up on my face, then something to make the brows look like they exist. 

I sit back for a moment, taking in a deep breath. I need to calm down, no need to get so fancy. But also, I want to look nice for him, I want to look pretty. Having a crush sucks, it makes me so itchy about everything that I am doing.

Once I’m dressed and as ready as I’ll ever be, I leave and head out to the restaurant. Once I arrive, I see Viggo waiting outside. He’s looking over his phone which he tucks into his pocket as I approach.

“Good evening, Keira,” he says with a charming smile. “You look very pretty.”

That was a good sign! Right? “Thank you. This is really nice of you. You didn’t have to thank me with dinner. I would have been happy with a coffee.”

“I can get you coffee too, if you’d like,” he chuckles.