Curious Youth
“I’ll see your cheesie, and I’ll raise you two potato chips.” Dawn smiled at Spike. “How am I doing?”
“I think you’re really gettin’ the hang of it. But you have to work on your poker face.” He looked at the diminishing pile of chips. “And stop eatin’ the money.”
She dropped a chip guiltily. “Spike, can I ask you a question?”
“Sure, Bit. Whatever.”
“Do you go to the bathroom?”
The usually cool vampire dropped his cards on the table. “Dawn, of all the rude and embarrassing questions you’ve asked me this summer, that takes the cake. Hell, it takes the whole bakery. What possible business of yours…”
“Me curious. You vampire.” She raised an eyebrow. “If you’d rather talk about sex…”
“Okay. Vampire biology 101. The answer’s…why am I telling you this again?” he asked.
“I think it’s very educational,” Dawn answered. “And I never see you use the bathroom.”
“We feed on blood. You know that.” He picked up the cards and stacked them in a neat pile. “Since you’ve already seen my hand, we might as well start over.”
“Changing of subject?” Dawn stared at him.
“No. Blood is totally absorbed by our bodies. No waste material. Happy?” He picked up the deck and reshuffled it.
She pointed to the bottle of beer sitting beside him on the table. “That’s not blood.”
“How observant of you.”
She picked up a chicken wing from his plate. “This isn’t blood, either.”
“Ten points. You’re bloody brilliant tonight, aren’t you luv?” He thought for a moment. “Let’s just say, some things are very…uncomfortable. Unpleasant. Painful, even. Leave it at that.”
“But if you can live on blood, like you’re supposed to, and eating other stuff hurts, why do it?” She was genuinely confused. She didn’t like the thought of her friend in pain. She was sorry she’d brought the whole question up.
“Because I like to eat, Bit. I enjoy it. Makes life more…interestin’.” His expression grew serious. “The good things, they aren’t easy. Don’t go through life thinkin’ they are.” He dealt the cards. “Some things are just worth the pain.”