CURSE OF THE MOON

A DAY WITH YOU

The day dragged on, nothing out of the ordinary had happened. There were the usual cranky, overbearing customers and Jody was shouting at the top of her lungs, for some reason or none at all. Jodie’s the place you don’t want to be. Sometimes Scarlet couldn’t understand why people still came to eat here. Bad food, terrible service and there was always a tumult. Did they enjoy the drama with their plates of grease?

“Hey Scar, do you hear that? It sounds like it is coming from the garage. Aren’t the boys here? Ask them what’s going on.” Kayla peered out of the window.

“What the hell?” Scarlet stared out the window. She put the coffee pot down and headed for the garage. Curious Kayla tailed her.

They peeked in head first, and then they went into the scrap-littered place. It was a sight to behold. Two well-built men were fighting. It was a cross of boxing, karate, and wrestling, an exhibit of male testosterone on overcharge.

Kayla let out a loud trucker whistle that got their attention. Scarlet’s hands flew to her ears, and the two men froze on the ground and looked up at their audience. Everyone from the diner filled the cramped space. They scrambled to their feet and dusted themselves off. Kayla had her eye on the shorter one who was extremely beautiful. He had short blonde hair, and amber eyes, and was a blatant worshipper of his temple body. The other man was equally as beautiful but had a look to him that she didn’t appreciate.

“Nothing to see here, people! Get back to the diner.” Kayla’s voice rang in the air, as she shouted at the crowd that had gathered around them.

Scarlet could see how intrigued Kayla was. Scarlet chuckled, it was clear the only reason Kayla cleared the garage was to get some privacy with the guys.

“So guys, I’m Kayla and this is Scarlet? What’s the problem?” Kayla chirped.

“That doesn’t concern you,” Solara hissed.

Scarlet turned to her friend, her eyes begging her not to retaliate. A scuffle between Kayla and the stranger wasn’t something she was looking forward to.

Kayla shifted her weight to her right foot and changed her stance as if preparing herself for a fight. “Rude much?”

***

Stephan decided to step in. “Kayla, Scarlet is it? I apologize for my friend, but we don’t need your help.” I need to keep a low profile here. This is where I live and work. Don’t do anything idiotic. With a nod, Solara acknowledged that he had heard his thoughts. He began to walk away when Stephan called after him. “Solara, you know where I live, we can continue this conversation later, but in a more civilized manner.”

“Don’t call me, Stephan, I’ll call you. But I want a fair fight. No holding back.” Kicking the door on his way out as he stormed out of the garage.

Stephan realized he was alone with the two waitresses. He looked at them and realized who they were, the women from the night before. How could he forget Kayla’s annoying little voice? She was such a little person, with such a loud voice. His eyes drifted back to Scarlet, she was beautiful. Not as beautiful as Sotera. No one could be as beautiful as Sotera, but she was still beautiful. Her eyes, he was trapped in her eyes once more. One could have a conversation with her eyes, all her emotions could be read from her eyes. Amidst all the warm fuzzy feelings, fear crept up. He had to get away from her.

“We have to go now, Stephan, I hope you feel better.” Scarlet took Kayla’s hand and he watched as they walked back to the diner.

***

It was after nine o’clock, closing time. They cleared the tables and tended to the last customers. It had been a long eventful day. Scarlet and the other waitresses sat in a booth, sharing their horror stories of the day while cuddling a cold beer.

“Hey, gals, what did you think of the clash of the titans earlier on?” Redhead Marcie asked. The fight at the garage had sparked everyone's curiosity, and for obvious reasons, the fighters had attracted the women's attention.

“So what happened when you and Scar were left behind with them? Did you get their numbers? Their names at least?” the question was directed at Kayla. They eagerly leaned towards her.

Kayla waved off the question and didn’t bother answering. She turned towards the knock on the door. “Can’t you read the sign? It says closed!”

Scarlet felt her breath hitch in her chest. She noticed how his size had made the room seem oddly smaller. He was divine and the jet-black hair bouncing around his face brought out the odd silver color of his eyes.

***

Stephan walked into the diner with an apologetic smile on his face. He searched the room and found Scarlet. He wasn’t sure why he came in here, a few hours ago he was determined to stay away from her. But his mind willed him here and besides, he had the perfect excuse. His eyes followed Scarlet as she crossed the room to where Kayla was.

“I’m sorry about the commotion earlier. We didn’t mean to disrupt your day. It was just old friends catching up.” he shifted his gaze between the two girls. He didn’t miss how beautiful they were, but something about Scarlet called out to him. “I just wanted to say thank you for your help, you know, with the crowd control. I appreciate it.”

“I have never seen you or your friend around here before. Did you just come into town?” Kayla asked, a hint of hostility in her voice, she was still annoyed. “To be more precise, which hole did your friend crawl out from?”

A chuckle escaped his throat. “I’m sorry about his attitude. He was not in a very good mood at that moment. Other than that he is a very pleasant person.”

Pleasant wasn’t exactly the word that would describe Solara. He was more of a playboy. He loved his fun and his women. He had more control over his thirst than his lust for the opposite s*x. He never fed on women, he worshipped them too much to kill them. He fed on the people he knew no one would miss.

“I have to go now, thank you for everything.” he gazed at Scarlet for a while before he turned and left. He could hear their voices as he walked away, and the last statement put a long-awaited smile on his face.

“He wants you.” He heard Kayla say as he walked away. Stephan chuckled to himself and the sound of his laughter surprised him.