Scott moved through the grocery store aisles, his pace steady and unhurried. He casually observed the people around him. The other shoppers cleared a path without making direct eye contact. He let them pass, pausing occasionally to track the exposed curve of a strangers neck or to listen to the rhythmic thump of their pulse.

"Scott?" 

He turned. There, standing in front of him, was a face he had not seen in years. 

"Jordan?" 

Jordan Reyes had been his best friend in college. They were both pre-law students and had grown close over countless late nights spent debating philosophy and ethics while everyone else was asleep. She was the only person who ever made him dwell on an argument after it ended.

Back then, he had learned to keep some space between them. He never touched her unless he had to. He never lingered when the room emptied and the hour turned late. When she fell asleep over textbooks and notebooks, cheek pressed to the table, he would gather his things and leave before she woke.

After they graduated, they chose different law schools. Scott moved east, and Jordan went west. Phone calls that started as nightly rituals turned into monthly check-ins. Then they stopped.

Now she stood before him. Scott realized that they had not spoken in years. Her hair was cut shorter, but the intensity in her eyes remained exactly as he remembered.

Scott blinked once and let a slow grin spread across his face. “How long has it been?”

“Eight years?” Jordan suggested, quickly doing the math in her head. “Wow, Scott. You look exactly the same. How is that even possible?”

He glanced at her basket, then back to his own, which remained empty. He chuckled. “Good genes. Or perhaps I made a deal with a devil.”

Jordan’s head tilted slightly as she took in the stillness of his posture. “What are you doing in town? Last I heard, you were in DC running some high-profile think tank.”

Scott ran his hand through his thick, dark hair. “I’ve recently come across a new, um… opportunity. I’ve been here for a few weeks, considering my next move.”

“Hey, I’ve gotta get going, but I’d love to catch up. Are you free tomorrow? Let’s grab lunch,” Jordan said, her smile widening. “We can pick up where we left off. I would love to hear your thoughts on the crisis in Asia and the potential impacts on the upcoming midterms.”

“I’m not much of a lunch guy,” he said. “Why don't you come by my place tomorrow night instead? Say, nine?” 

Jordan’s eyes flickered as she thought back to the countless all-night sessions they had shared while in college. “A late-night rendezvous. Why am I not surprised?" 

“I recall you suggesting that in the perfect world, life would take place entirely after sunset. Something about the allure of endless nights,” he said, his voice dropping. “I wouldn’t want to disappoint.”

“Touché,” she said, noting the shift in his tone. “Tomorrow night, nine o'clock.” The words rolled off her tongue like a challenge.

Taking a deep breath, she added, “I really miss our conversations. You’d better not have lost your edge, Scott.”

Scott grinned, his eyes fixed on her, “Trust me, Jordan. I’m sharper than I’ve ever been,” he responded, watching as she turned around. “I’ll text you the address.”

As Jordan started walking away, she glanced over her shoulder. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Scott.”

Scott watched as she disappeared around the corner.

*****

Shortly before nine, Scott heard the sound of a car engine followed by the sound of a door closing. He stepped into the foyer, tracking Jordan's movement from the driveway to the porch. He heard gravel shift under her boots. He waited a moment, pushing his hunger into a corner of his mind, and then opened the door.

Jordan stood there in the moonlight. She looked stunning in a fitted leather jacket and a tank top that accentuated her olive skin.

“You’re right on time.”

“Have you ever known me to be late to a debate?” Jordan asked with a glimmer in her eyes as she stepped inside.

“Nice place,” she said, looking around. “Minimalist, even for you. But it feels calm.”

“I guess you could say that I’ve evolved. And I’ve developed an appreciation for keeping things simple.” Scott moved toward the kitchen island, where a bottle of red wine and two glasses waited. 

“The wine,” Jordan said, leaning against the counter. “I hope it’s better than the crap we used to drink in college.”

“We aren’t poor college kids anymore. And if I’ve learned anything over the past few years, it’s that life is too short for shitty wine,” Scott said as he reached for the bottle.

He worked the cork while focusing on her scent. He noticed the floral note of her perfume, anchored by a faint metallic sweetness humming beneath her surface.

As she sat down, she looked at him with an amused intensity. “You’ve changed, Scott,” Jordan observed, her voice dropping. “There’s something, I don’t know… There is a stillness in you. I don’t remember that.”

Scott shrugged as the cork popped. “The world is louder than it used to be. At a certain point, it became too much. So I am learning to embrace the silence.” 

Jordan laughed at his choice of words. “Silence, huh? So, you’re a Buddhist monk now?”

As he poured the wine, he smiled. “Namaste,” he said with a shrug as he handed her a glass.

“Wrong religion, dumbass,” Jordan shot back, laughing even louder.

Over the next hour, Scott asked about her career at a prestigious San Francisco law firm. Jordan told him about long days and long nights. She even suggested a passing interest in politics. They talked about current events, economics, and what was happening in Washington. After a while, the conversation pivoted, and Jordan started reminiscing about their late-night college debates.

“I forgot how much I’ve missed this, Scott,” she said as she took another drink of her wine. “You have always been one of the only people who could keep up with me.”

Scott stared at her throat as she swallowed. His fingers tightened once around the stem of his glass.

Jordan lowered her glass and stared at him. “In college, you used to look at me like you were trying to solve a puzzle. Tonight, something is different. It feels like you’re looking right through me.”

Scott just looked deep into her eyes and smiled. “I am not the same guy you knew back then. I’m guessing we’ve both changed over the years.” 

Shaking her head, she reached for the bottle of wine. In the process, she bumped her glass. It tipped, hit the granite, and shattered. As she pulled her hand back, a shard caught her thumb.

The smell hit him immediately.

Scott’s hands flattened on the counter. He started trembling as he stared at the thick bead of blood.

“Damn it,” Jordan muttered.

He was already on his feet. The edge of the island cracked under his grip.

“Scott?”

“You’re bleeding!”

“It’s just a cut.” She held out her hand. “Do you have a bandage? Paper towels?”

He backed away so fast his chair almost fell over. “Stay there!”

He made it to the hall, then the bedroom. He slammed the door and collapsed against the wall. 

He fixed his eyes on the dresser, then the lamp, then the window. He couldn’t escape the smell. He braced himself against the wall, fangs pressing hard into his lower lip. He could barely think. He desperately needed a distraction, something else to focus on. 

In a panic, he turned towards the only other impulse strong enough to drown out the hunger.

Without thinking, he shucked his jeans and boxers. He sank against the wall as adrenaline surged. His hand closed around his shaft, and he closed his eyes.

He thought about her. 

They were back in her dorm room, lying on a cheap futon, but the hesitation was gone. In his mind, she straddled him. Her tank top slid away to reveal her breasts. She dragged her lips across his neck and ground her weight against him while her moans vibrated through his chest. He pictured his cock pressing into her panties. He slid them to the side and guided her down, watching her take him. Their eyes stayed locked as he filled her.

“You feel so good,” he imagined her whispering.

His hand moved faster. He groaned as his hips bucked in a rhythm. He did not hear the door crack open.

*****

Jordan had heard the door close. She ignored it and crossed the kitchen to grab some paper towels and clean up the mess. 

Minutes passed, and Scott had not returned. She looked at the slice on her thumb and thought about his expression. He had looked almost possessed. Concerned, she moved down the hall quietly. She found the bedroom door closed.

Jordan quietly turned the knob and pushed the door open. 

The room was mostly dark, with moonlight illuminating one wall. She could see Scott braced against the wall, half-naked, with his clothes in a heap. His muscles were tight, and his pale skin glistened. He was moving in a fierce rhythm, his hips bucking against the wall. A guttural groan tore from his lips.

Jordan’s chest went tight. She stayed in the shadows of the hallway and tracked the heavy, mechanical rhythm of his body, her own hands gripping the wood of the doorframe as she refused to look away.

She noticed the way his head fell back. He was fighting something. 

After a long moment, she stepped into the room, her weight causing a floorboard to creak.

Scott’s eyes snapped open. He didn't stop. In fact, his movements grew even more frantic as he stared at her.

“Jordan,” he rasped. “You shouldn’t be here! You should go. We’re done for the night.”

Jordan hesitated for a second. Then she entered the bedroom and stepped closer.

“No, Scott. We are not done,” she stated as if her walking in on him was the most normal thing in the world. 

Scott’s hand suddenly stilled.

“You’re thinking about me,” she murmured, pulling him out of his trance. “About us. I can tell.”

She slid her tank top over her head and let it fall to the floor. Moonlight caught her skin as she reached for him, pressing her palm against his chest and dragging her fingers slowly down his abdomen. 

“I am not going to lie. I used to think about us all the time. Fucking you during one of our all-night study sessions. Even now and then, you still creep into my thoughts when I am touching myself.”

Her hand closed around him.

Scott’s head fell back against the wall. “Jordan…”

“No. Don’t talk,” she whispered. “I don’t know if you planned this or not, but we are doing this.”

She stepped even closer, leaning into him as her hand guided him. The warmth of her body pressed into his cold skin, a contrast that sent a tremor through him.

His restraint snapped. Only he was no longer focused on the scent of her blood. It was still there, impossible to ignore. Now his arousal was driving his actions. Scott wanted her. He needed her.

He caught her by the waist and pulled her toward the bed. Their mouths collided in a fierce kiss as he stumbled back with her. He reached for her hand and brought her thumb to his lips, his tongue brushing the small cut.

Jordan shivered at the unfamiliar sensation before pulling her hand away and allowing gravity to take them both as they fell back onto the mattress.

For a moment, Scott simply gawked at her and the way her dark hair fell across the duvet.

“God,” he breathed, staring down at her. “You’re beautiful.”

“Don’t just stare,” she said, breathless. “Fuck me, Scott.”

Then he moved.

He stripped away the last of her clothes and settled over her, his body cold against the heat of hers. Jordan sighed softly as her hands moved across him, pulling him closer.

Scott positioned himself and pushed forward.

Jordan gasped as he filled her. The sudden stretch forced a cry from her lips. He stilled for a moment, savoring the heat surrounding him, before beginning to move.

Slowly at first. Then deeper. Each motion was deliberate and controlled. The rhythm grew stronger and more urgent.

Jordan dug her fingers into his shoulders. “You can do better than that,” she challenged.

Scott responded immediately.

The speed with which he thrust into her and the strength he displayed as he held her down seemed almost inhuman. 

The mattress creaked beneath them as the pace intensified. Their breathing grew ragged. The scent of her arousal filled the air. Beneath it lingered the sharp smell of blood. To Scott, the combination was beyond intoxicating. 

Jordan’s body tightened beneath him. “I’m so close,” she breathed.

Scott buried himself one last time, her body gripped him as release tore through them both.

For a moment, they clung together, breathless and shaking. Eventually, Scott collapsed beside her and pulled her into his arms.

Then the room fell quiet.

*****

Jordan exhaled, a sound somewhere between a laugh and a groan.

“Nobody has ever fucked me like that,” she sighed. 

Scott shifted beside her and eased back, sliding free. They rolled onto their sides to face one another. He reached out and brushed a loose strand of hair from her cheek.

“You probably never realized it, but I’ve always been in love with you, Scott. But you’re different now,” Jordan said quietly. “The way you move. The way you look at me. Everything.”

Scott held her gaze and gave a slow nod.

Jordan’s eyes drifted down his body. She reached for him again, her fingers closing around him with a slow, curious touch.

“Oh, my God! You’re still hard! How…”

Scott inhaled sharply. “There are things I should tell you, Jordan.”

She studied him for a moment, her expression soft but curious. Then the corner of her mouth lifted.

“What if the only thing I want right now,” she asked, her voice low, “is for you to fuck me again?”

Scott looked at her in awe. “Again?”

She leaned closer as she spoke, her breath warm against his skin. Scott groaned as her hand started stroking him. “I’ve been waiting years for this. We are not done.”

“Then get on your knees,” he said as he pushed himself off the mattress.

Jordan obeyed without hesitation. She turned and settled on all fours near the edge of the bed. Her back arched slightly as she shifted into place, her muscles still trembling from before.

Scott knelt behind her and ran his hands slowly along her back. His palms followed the line of her spine before settling on the curve of her hips.

Jordan laughed softly into the pillow. “Are you just going to stare at my ass? Or are you going fuck me?”

Scott pulled her closer and pushed forward.

She gasped as he entered her again. Her hands gripped the sheets as her body trembled, quickly adjusting to his girth.

Scott began to move with slow, deliberate strokes.

“Mmmm, more,” Jordan murmured.

Scott leaned over her, his chest brushing her back. His breath cooled the skin near her ear.

“I’m going to fuck you until you forget your name,” he whispered.

“Yes!” she screamed, as his pace quickened.

The bed shifted beneath them as the rhythm intensified. Jordan’s breathing broke into soft, uneven sounds while the tension built again. 

“Scott!” she gasped. She collapsed forward as her second orgasm overtook her.

When she stopped shaking, Jordan turned her head slightly, her voice still unsteady. “Your turn,” she whispered. “Finish on me this time.”

Scott pulled free with a sharp breath. He gripped himself as the tension finally broke. His hot cum spilled across the small of her back and the curve of her thighs.

Jordan shuddered and then slowly sank into the mattress.

*****

They lay together for what felt like an eternity, breathless in the quiet room.

Scott reached out and traced his fingers down her spine, feeling the warmth of her skin beneath his touch. Jordan rolled onto her side and reached for his hand, threading her fingers through his, increasingly aware of the differences in their body temperatures.

Her eyes drifted downward again, and her hand followed. When she saw that he was responding to her touch, she grinned.

“Fuck,” she murmured. “You’re addictive.”

Scott leaned close, his mouth brushing the edge of her jaw.

She glanced down at him once more and laughed under her breath. “If I said I wanted round three…”

A faint buzz sounded and cut her off.

Jordan reached for her jeans where they had landed near the foot of the bed and pulled her phone from a pocket. 

“Wow, I never heard my phone. It looks like I missed a few calls,” she said. “Give me a minute.”

Scott slipped from the bed and crossed the room. The bathroom light flicked on as he stepped inside, leaving the door partly ajar. 

“Hey, babe,” Jordan said. Her voice still carried the rasp of the last hour. “Sorry, my phone was in my jacket.”

A man’s voice, cheerful and oblivious, could be heard on the other end.

“Yeah, I lost track of time,” she explained. 

Jordan paced slowly across the bedroom while she listened. Her eyes drifted toward the bathroom door where Scott’s pale silhouette stood in the light.

“No,” she said into the phone. “Just catching up with Scott. It’s been a long time.”

There was a pause while the man on the other end talked.

“Yeah, we were debate partners back in college. You know that when someone puts me in a, um, compromising position, there is no way I am backing down,” she said lightly.

Scott let out a quiet snort.

Jordan’s lips twitched as her gaze met his.

“I’m heading out soon. I’ll be home in an hour,” she said, her voice softening. 

Another pause.

“Love you too.”

She ended the call and dropped the phone onto the bed. 

Scott walked back into the room, his pale skin glistening in the shadows. Jordan was already reaching for her jeans.

He picked up her shirt from the floor and handed it to her. “Do I need to ask?”

“Fiancé,” Jordan said as she started to get dressed. “I should have said something. But you... Fuck.”

Scott laughed softly, only now noticing the ring on her left hand.

Jordan tugged the tank top over her head. 

“Tonight was fucking amazing. You are fucking amazing.”

Jordan reached down for her jeans, slowly stepping into them. She then sat on the edge of the bed and started pulling one of her boots on. The leather creaked softly as she worked her heel into place.

“I should go,” she said finally.

Her phone lay on the mattress beside her. She picked it up, looked at the screen, set it facedown again, and reached for her second boot.

Scott stood nearby, still naked.

Jordan pulled the second boot on and stood, brushing her hands over her jeans as if smoothing away the last traces of hesitation.

“I hate to fuck and run,” she added with a faint smile. “That’s never really been my style.”

She stepped up to him and kissed him once, slower than before. When she pulled back, she turned toward the bedroom door.

His hand closed around her wrist.

Jordan stopped. She looked down at his fingers first, then up at his face. His eyes had gone so dark they barely caught the light.

“Why leave at all?” he asked.

She let out a breath through her nose. “Because my life is out there.”

He pulled her closer.

“Do you remember those late nights in college?” he asked. “The ones that stretched until sunrise because neither of us was willing to concede an argument?”

Jordan laughed softly despite herself. “Of course I remember.”

“God, we used to hate the sunrise,” Scott said.

“We hated it because it meant we had to stop being us. We had to go back to the mundane motions of real life.”

Jordan closed her eyes, thinking back. “Do you remember when I joked that it was a design flaw?” she murmured, almost unconsciously.

Scott finished her thought for her. “We spend years sharpening our minds. And then our bodies begin to fail before we can do anything truly meaningful.”

“Like sparks trapped in rotting wood,” Jordan added quietly.

Scott saw the realization take shape across her face. “What if the spark didn’t have to burn out?” he asked.

Jordan turned her head so she could look at him.

He smiled, no longer attempting to hide his fangs. 

Jordan did not move. Her eyes dropped to his mouth, then to his hands, then back to his face. She thought of the chill when they touched, the unnatural stillness in him, the strength he had kept under control until he stopped bothering to hide it.

She took him in.

“You did it,” she gasped. “You actually did it.”

Scott said nothing. He only held her gaze.

Jordan looked toward the bedroom door, toward the phone on the bed, toward the dark window, then back at him. One hand rose to her throat and stayed there for a second. Then she brushed her hair aside.

“You are right, I’ve always hated the sunrise,” she whispered.

She tilted her head back.

“If this is real… I want it.”

Scott didn’t hesitate.

His arms closed around her, pulling her against him as his teeth sank into her throat.