“Me either,” admitted Peter. “But I bet Hugh does.”

“Yeah, you’re probably—” I stopped mid-sentence. “I might know one more . . .” It was crazy idea, one I wasn’t sure I should put any real effort toward.

“Who?” asked Cody.

I shook my head and drove through the entrance of our next state park. “It’s a long story, one I’m going to have to work on.”

Our third stop yielded nothing either, save an inability for Peter to get sand out of his boots. It had started raining by that point, and even my mood was down by then. Sunset was still a couple of hours away, but the overcast sky was effectively killing our light. Glancing at my watch, I saw that the dance lesson was looming, so we turned north and headed back to Seattle. I dropped the vampires off at their apartment and then drove home to get ready.

My closet’s dress selection seemed old and tired, but I had no new fashions to magically summon. So, I opted for a sleeveless minidress with a bright pattern of orange, green, and black flowers that had been blurred together like a watercolor painting. It was a bit shorter than it should have been for a dance with this much movement, but the colors seemed suitable and cheerful on a day like this.

It also seemed cold, though, and on impulse, I added black thigh-high stockings to keep my legs warm. Between that, black heels, and dark lipstick, I seemed to be channeling my succubus self more than my mild-mannered bookstore manager self. Of course, considering the whore wear I’d shown up in a week or so ago, this was kind of tame.

Doug naturally still teased me about it, though deep down inside, I knew he thought I looked hot. I took a smug satisfaction in knowing I’d done it without any shape-shifting. Plus, I’d practically burned my hair off trying to flat iron it tonight. I dared anyone to accuse me of frizziness.

Maddie was ecstatic, and her enthusiasm spread to those among the staff who’d decided to stay after closing for the lesson. A few of their friends had shown up as well, giving us around a dozen. It was a good, manageable size. We cleared space upstairs, and I set up my portable CD player. Cody had helped me teach swing before, but I hadn’t thought to enlist his assistance this time. Instead, I used Doug as my demo. Maybe it was part of being a musician, but he had a solid sense of rhythm and could pick up moves really quickly.