Hungry Heart Episodes 1 and 2
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1
The body has certain needs that cannot be denied.
I mounted the roof, my soles scraping against the dusky gray shingles. There was something beautiful in the air, and it could not be seen. I inhaled sharply. It had been too many moons.
I walked with my hips making a jaunty circle with my shoulders. My tongue pricked the air to gather the scents of the night. Then I swooped down, tensed, and coiled my languorous body like a cat.
I spotted him before he could even register my presence. I could tell because they always know I'm there before they realize it, unconsciously, as if I am inches from their face, watching them in sleep. I tip my head to the side and allow my eyes to adjust to the dim light of the buzzing streetlamp so I can get a better look at my prey.
Tall, built, about 23 years of age. Strong. Very, very strong.
My nostrils flare. He smells like salt and aftershave. Old Spice. I remember the scent from the edge of my father's pillow. My body tenses tighter. I don't often remember my parents. They were there for a time, to fulfill my needs, but then they were gone. Just like that.
I finish taking the breath that I was pulling in and expel it from my lungs slowly, as if the night itself were my cigarette. I spring from the edge of the roof and land a few yards away from my quarry, gently. He hasn't seen me, but I can smell the sweat bead on the back of his neck.
I shiver as I walk, slinking into a shimmery golden dress and sky-high stilettos as I go. I rake a hand through my hair and it sprouts wavy from the root, a deep dark auburn in color.
He turns, slowly. He sees my eyes glitter.
Suddenly, my face flushes. I trip as I realize my dead heart is beating, ripping my dress up the seam. I wince. My heel has scraped the inside of my left leg. I haven't seen my own blood in 200 years.
He is rushing up to me and catching my arm in his. A different kind of hunger pulls at my belly. My cheeks are hot. His eyes are kind. My plan for this night dissolves like sugar in the bottom of a teacup.
Human or not, the body has certain needs that cannot be denied.
2
I watch as he watches my eyes soften to a matte gray in the dark, then blend in with the high shadows of my face. For the first time in a long time, I take a deep breath that fans out into a sigh, surging and graceless. He keeps his gaze steady on me.
"Who-who are you?" his trembling voice belies the fear cloaked beneath the levelness of his gaze. Something in my belly pulls again, slowly, as if awakening from sleep.
"I am Lenora," I say softly, surprising myself with the sureness of my reply.
His face relaxes at the seemingly real-ness of my voice and answer. He suddenly turns his head to the buzzing streetlamp in the distance, then turns back to me. His brow raises as his eyes seem to scan my gold dress. The line of his mouth opens on an inaudible question. Then he clears his throat.
"I'm not what you think I am," I state simply, surprising myself again. How can I cover up my foiled plans? I can hardly change in front of him.
His face relaxes again. "Oh, oh. Okay." He clears his throat again. "Then what-What are you doing out this late?"
I blink. Why am I out this late? "Umm, well. I had a date, but he didn't come."
"He stood you up?"
My eyes dart as I think. Stand me up? My mind conjures up an image of a man moving my marble body from a sleeping to a standing position. I would like to see that. "Umm, no? But he was supposed to pick me up, at, at 8:00, and he never did."
"Oh." Something in his face seems to light up. "Well, would you like to go on a date with me, while you're all dressed up and everything? Maybe get something to eat?"
My heart pounds. I wonder if it might break. All of a sudden, my mouth starts to water.
"Sure." My voice is calmer than I imagine it ever could be. I can suddenly see myself as if I were a bird or a bat circling overhead, see the light shimmer of my dress and the lush fall of my dark hair.
"All right," he smiles. He takes me by the hand. His body is still trembling.
"All right," I echo. I inhale. He smells amazing.
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