Balance Beam

After getting dressed, I went out to join Quinn in the kitchen. He was hovered over a bowl of cereal and I made my way to the coffee pot. I hummed a tune while I poured myself a cup and sipped on it, loving the intense brew. I quickly finished it, pouring another. I turned around to see my room mate looking at me with crooked eyebrows.

“You okay man?” he asked. I chuckled.

“I was about to ask you the same thing bro.” Quinn rolled his eyes at me and shoved another spoonful of cereal into his mouth.

“You seem abnormally chipper this morning. What’s her name?” he asked, a goofy grin on his face.

I laughed. “Guess who got to chat and buy the new neighbor a drink?” I asked with a shit-eating grin on my face. Quinn’s eyes widened and he gave me a high five.

“So, give me the details. What’s your impression of her?” he asked as he put his empty bowl in the sink. I shrugged before chugging the rest of my coffee.

“She’s gorgeous. But she seems really smart and spunky,” I admitted. Quinn nodded at me, scratching the back of his neck. “I think I’m gonna ask her to dinner.”

“Well I gotta go, Lucinda has me on a wild goose chase. Good luck with the neighbor!” he yelled as he ran out the door.

I poured myself another cup of coffee. Lucinda has been over-working the entire staff these past few days. Luckily for me, I got an easy assignment. Quinn on the other hand, was absolutely right; he was being sent on a wild goose chase. Lucinda expected him to pull some strings and be able to get the first interview with the vampire council leader. I had the privilege to check out a few vampire bars at the magazine’s expense.

A couple vampire bar owners, some vampire some not, was kind enough to open up to the magazine. Since they serve blood, yes I said blood, no one would want to kill me. Either way, Lucinda made each owner sign a contract that I would not become someone’s midnight snack. I think she only made them sign the agreement because I was one of her best employees. Where would she be without Bram Reid?

I washed out my mug and sat in the sink. Glancing at the clock, I noticed it was quarter to eight. Did I mention Lucinda changed Quinn and I to night shift? I’m not complaining though, I’m a bit nocturnal anyway. I put on my leather jacket and a black beanie since it was very cold out tonight. I grabbed my backpack that was equipped with a few of my interview electronics and slung it over my shoulder as I stepped out of the apartment and into the hallway.

Giselle’s apartment door opened and I froze in my place. She practically glided out and shut the door behind her, double checking to make sure it was locked. Her wavy red hair was down and reached her mid-back. She wore a long-sleeve, multi-color patchwork dress that reached her mid-thigh, brown legwarmers, and green and brown flats. Giselle threw her keys in her purse and turned around quickly, facing me. She smiled warmly at me.

“Hello Bram, how are you this evening?” I smiled back as I walked towards her. When I was close enough to her, I was greeted by her intoxicating aroma of sandalwood incense and pomegranates.

“I’d be better if I wasn’t off to work,” I chuckled and she joined in. Her laugh was like music to my ears. Scratch that, better than music. “What festivities are you getting into tonight?”

We walked side by side down the hallway and stepped into the elevator. “I’m not entirely sure. Just going out for some drinks,” she shrugged.

I smiled. “Would you like to join me on my assignment? I’m interviewing a couple vampire bar owners. They do serve… human drinks.”

Giselle chuckled at me and shook her head. “No thank you, Bram. I appreciate the offer though,” she smiled at me as the elevator dinged and the doors opened. We stepped out into the lobby.

“It’s all good. Um, maybe we could go to dinner sometime?” I asked nervously as we stepped into the cool night. Once again, Giselle smiled at me.

“I like the sounds of that. I should get going, Bram. Good luck with your interviews,” she smiled as she walked off in the opposite direction.

I stared after her as she disappeared in the crowd of walking people. She was so mysterious. Any other woman would’ve went with me to the interview. Shit, any other woman would’ve at least gave me their number so we could schedule dinner. I shook my head, hoping to shake Giselle from my thoughts. I had work to do.

I turned on my heel as I pulled my iPhone from my jacket pocket. I’m pretty sure I’d die without this thing. I had already looked up the locations of the bars. The first one I was going to was called Eternity and owner by a vampire named Zekial Adelstein. He apparently was from the Holocaust times but never had the chance to be sent away to a concentration camp; he was turned into a vampire first.

I turned the corner and stared at the tavern’s neon sign. It was bright red in color and was in cursive writing. A heavy sigh escaped from my lips. Was I nervous? Honestly, I was just a bit. I mean, whether Zekial signed the contract or not, anyone in there could tear me to shreds before I even knew what would happen. If Stephanie Meyer got anything right, I’m sure it was vampires being extremely fast and strong. Taking another deep breath, I crossed the street to get this over with.