“Well, why in the hell didn’t you text me?” Doreen said, waving her arms about.

“What was I supposed to do? Text to tell you she and I hooked up?”

“Wait. You…you hooked up with her? As in…as in—”

“Yes, as in that.”

“Holy shit,” Doreen said, recoiling. “You banged tall, dark, and deadly.”

“Will you please stop calling her that? She’s actually nice once you get to know her.”

“Just because you screwed her once doesn’t change my opinion of her. I think she’s dangerous.”

“I’ll have you know it was more than once. I spent last weekend with her. We had lots of fun and even went out to dinner a couple of times.”

“Oh, and I suppose now you think you know everything about her?”

“Not everything, but I’m working on it,” Ruby said, smiling.

“Which means you’re going to see her again—huh?”

“I told you—tonight.”

With a quick shake of her head, Doreen rolled her eyes. “Ruby, please tell me you’re not falling in love with her because I really don’t trust her.”

“This isn’t about love, Doreen. She’s made that perfectly clear.”

“So what, she’s just using you for sex?

Ruby’s face turned rosy. “She’s not the only one using someone…thus the carbs.”

***

“Did you have enough pasta?” Bennett said, reaching for her Chianti.

Ruby had ordered angel hair pasta with scallops and tomatoes, and when the waiter placed the food in front of her, Ruby’s eyes had doubled in size. There was almost enough to feed two people, but now the bowl was empty. Ruby’s cheeks became one shade darker, and she set her utensils aside. “To tell you the truth, I’ve been stocking up on carbs all day,” she said, pointing at the empty plate in front of Bennett that had once held a New York strip and fingerling potatoes. “But apparently, you don’t need carbs.”

Bennett took a slow sip of her wine, her sparkling eyes bound to the ones gazing back at her. “No, I don’t,” she said, placing her glass on the table. “You know how they say for the first few months of a baby’s life, they spend it mostly eating, sleeping, and pooping?”

Ruby narrowed her eyes. “Um…yeah?”

“For my kind, no matter how old we are, sleeping, feeding, and fornicating take up a lot of our time.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Ruby shifted in her seat, and grabbing her wine, she emptied what remained in one swallow. “Okay,” she said, putting her glass down. “So I get the first two, but the last? Not that I’m complaining or anything. Just curious.”

“This…um…affliction not only gives us extra strength and speed, but it also heightens our sensory abilities. Our vision and hearing far surpass that of any mortal’s, and it intensifies, shall we say, certain other sensations.”