Meet Alice

Chapter One

"Sorry ma'am," he replied. Gosh, he was cute. Exactly as I had seen… only better. Much better in real life.

Goodness only knows how long I had been waiting for a mate, and here he was, standing in front of me. He had fairly wild, honey blonde hair, pearly white teeth and brilliant crimson eyes, like rubies. He was looking at me as if I was strange.

"Not meaning to be rude, ma'am, but who are you?" he asked. I smiled warmly at him.

"I'm Alice."

"Good afternoon, Alice," he said politely.

"Good afternoon to you too, Jasper!" I slipped my hand into his. "So where do you want to go?"

"Go?"

"Yeah, you know, walk?" He looked bewildered, so I tugged on his hand. He followed obediently.

"How did you know who I was, and that I'd be in that diner?" Jasper asked as we walked out the door. I gave him another smile.

"I'll explain it all later, but for now, I want to get to know you."

***

"Favourite colour?" I asked.

"Red," he replied. Suddenly, he looked as if he was in pain.

"What is it?" I asked, moving closer to him. I could see my worried expression reflected in his beautiful eyes.

"There are so many people, just oozing life… how can you stand being so close to them? I don't want to hurt humans anymore, but I can't resist." Jasper had a tortured look on his face, and I felt sorry for him.

"Hold your breath, that helps," I suggested. He closed his mouth and eyes and clenched his fists. "Better?" I asked. He nodded.

I noticed the couple of humans standing next to us move away. I think they were concerned that Jasper would throw up on them. Jasper opened his eyes and smiled. I wasn't expecting it, and was captured by the remarkable sight- I could tell that smiling was a foreign movement for him.

"I didn't hurt them," he announced triumphantly.

"Excellent." I flung my arms around him. He was taken by surprise, but returned a one-armed hug.

"Do you think there are others like us?" he asked. I nodded, reluctant to move my head from his perfectly muscled chest. "You really think so?"

"I know so," I whispered in reply. There was an awkward silence, broken by Jasper.

"So how did a pretty little thing like you find me?" he asked. I lifted my head off his chest, and stared straight ahead at some children playing in the park. Funny, I didn't even realise were in one…

"I have visions of the future," I explained, "and I saw you coming."

"I'm glad," he replied, gently stroking my hair.

"I'm a bit of a freak," I confessed. He frowned.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I have this strange gift of empathy." I stared at him, unsure of what to say.

"You certainly are a mighty fine girl," he whispered in my ear. "Alluring, vibrant… effortlessly charming… absolutely fascinating."

"I'm a bit of a handful."

"Ooh, I think I can handle that," he chuckled.