Bitten

normally gone by seven. He must have stayed late to make breakfast. A very pleasant surprise.

I padded out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. Clay stood at the stove, ramming a spatula under a mountain of bacon. He turned as I walked in. His eyes traveled over my nightgown.

'What the hell is that?' he asked.

'A nightgown.'

'You sleep in it?'

'If I didn't, it would be a day-gown, wouldn't it?' I snapped.

Clay's lips quivered as if choking back a laugh. 'It's very… sweet, darling. It looks like something Jeremy would buy you. Oh, by the way. He sent flowers.'

'Jeremy?'

Clay shook his head. 'They're by the front door.'

I walked into the hall to find a dozen red roses in a silver-plated vase. The card read: 'Thought I'd let you sleep in. Welcome home. Missed you. Philip.'

See? Nothing had changed. Philip was as thoughtful as ever. Smiling, I picked up the vase and looked for a place to put it. The living room table? No, the flowers were too tall. Leave it on the hall table? Too crowded. The kitchen? I opened the door. No room.

'Bedroom,' I murmured and backed out.

'Water,' Clay called after me.

'What?'

'They need water.'

'I knew that.'

'And sunlight,' he added.

I didn't answer. I'd have remembered water and sun… eventually. I must admit, I'd never quite understood the custom of sending flowers. Sure, they looked nice, but they didn't do anything. That's not to say I didn't appreciate them. I did. Jeremy always cut fresh flowers from the garden and put them in my room and I enjoyed them. Of course, if he didn't place them in the sunlight and keep them watered, I wouldn't have enjoyed them for long. I was far better at killing things than keeping them alive. Good thing I never planned to have children.

After watering and placing the roses, I went back into the kitchen. Clay put two pieces of French toast on my plate and lifted a third.

'That's good,' I said, pulling my plate back.

He arched both eyebrows.

'I mean, that's good for now,' I said. 'Of course, I'll have more after I finish these.'

'Is that all you eat when he's here? I'm surprised you make it to work without fainting. You can't eat like that, Elena. Your metabolism needs-'

I pushed my chair back. Clay stopped talking and dished out my bacon, then fixed his own plate and sat down.

'What time do you start work?' he asked.

'I called last night and said I'd be there by ten-thirty.'

'We'd better move then. How long a walk is it? Thirty minutes?'

'I take the subway.'

'Subway? You hate the subway. All those people stuffed in that tiny car, getting jostled around by strangers, and the smell-'

'I've gotten used to it.'

'Why bother? It's an easy walk, over to Bloor and straight up.'

'People don't walk to work,' I said. 'They bicycle, they Rollerblade, they jog. I don't own a bike or blades and I can't jog in a skirt.'

'You wear skirts to work? You hate skirts.'

I shoved my plate aside and left the table.

***

I tried to convince Clay that he could walk to my office and let me take the subway alone. He wouldn't have it. For the sake of my safety and in accordance with the express will of his leader, he would suffer through the torture of the underground train. I must admit I took a bit too much pleasure in watching him squirm throughout the excruciating seven-minute ride. Not that he literally squirmed. Anyone watching him would have seen a man standing in the crowded car, impatiently tracking our progress on the overhead map. But deep in his gaze, I could see the look of a caged animal, claustrophobia tinged with equal parts revulsion and impending panic. Every time someone brushed against him, he clenched the pole a bit tighter. He breathed through his mouth and kept his eyes on the map, looking away only to check the name of each station as the train slowed to a stop. Once he glanced at me. I smiled and made a show of relaxing in my seat. With a glare, he turned away and ignored me for the rest of the trip.

***

I had lunch with coworkers. As we were returning, I saw a familiar figure sitting on a bench outside my office building. I made some excuse for not going inside and circled back to Clay.

'What's wrong?' I asked as I came up behind him.

He turned and smiled. 'Hey, darling. Good lunch?'

'What are you doing here?'

'Guarding you, remember?'

I paused. 'Please don't tell me you've been sitting here all morning.'

''Course. I didn't figure I'd be welcome in your office.'

'You can't just sit here.'

'Why not? Oh, let me guess. Normal people don't sit on street benches. Don't worry, darling. If I see any cops, I'll switch to the bench across the road.'

I glanced toward the building, making sure no one I knew was coming out. 'I don't work in my office all day, you know. I'm covering a rally at Queen's Park this afternoon.'

'So I'll come along. At a safe distance, making sure you don't have to endure the horror of publicly associating with me.'

'You mean you'll stalk me.'

Clay grinned. 'A skill that can always use improvement.'

'You can't just sit here.'

'Back around we go…'

'At least do something. Read a book, a newspaper, a magazine.'

'Sure, and let some mutt sneak past while I'm doing the daily crossword.'

I threw up my hands and stalked into the building. Five minutes later, I returned to his bench.

'Miss me already?' he asked.

I dropped a magazine over his shoulder and onto his lap. He picked it up, glanced at the cover, and frowned.

'Rod World?'

'It's about cars. A good guy kinda magazine. At least pretend to read it.'

He flipped through the pages, stopping on a photo of a bikini-clad redhead sprawled over the hood of a Corvette Stingray. He scanned the text, then examined the picture.

'What's the woman doing there?' he asked.

'Covering a scratch on the hood. She was cheaper than a new paint job.'

He flipped through a few more pages of barely dressed women and classic cars. 'Nick used to have magazines like this when we were kids. But without the cars.' He rotated a photo sideways. 'Or the bathing suits.'

'Just pretend you're reading it, okay?' I said, turning back toward the doors. 'You never know. Maybe I'll get