Float

Posted on Mon Jul 18th, 2022 @ 3:39am by Dominique LaFramboise & Jarrod Lask

Mission: Prequel - Or How We Met
Location: Nashville

Nicki had broken the news to the Leesh that she was going to be moving soon and while they were sad to see her go, they were having fun with their first ever campaign. Pete was a shoe-in, but Xaviera had agreed to run against him so they could have debates and a proper vote. Pete even had a campaign slogan: “For the Love of Pete.”

But, at the moment, she wasn’t concerned with that. She and Jarrod had taken three days to head to Nashville to meet with a realtor and look at some properties. Unbelievably, she happened to find the one realtor’s office with a vampire on staff. Apparently, she was there to serve the ample vampire population, but a lot of her properties were suited to Lycans as well and so they were looking at two of her properties- after dark, of course.

They had driven by the two properties during the day to take a look at them and Nicki was initially in love with the old log cabin. All it really needed on the outside was a front porch and a garage. The inside remained to be seen.

However, shortly after full dark, they were scheduled to meet their realtor at the first house. She turned out to be a very friendly and very pretty redhead who, despite appearing very modern in her crisp grey business suit, had the feeling of an old vampire. “Hi!” she said as Jarrod and Nicki climbed out of Nicki’s Ford Escape and started up the walkway. “I’m Liza. You must be Nicki and Jarrod.”

“That’s us,” replied Jarrod, returning her bright grin automatically.

Nicki did the same. Was the vampire’s smile just infectious, or was this some sort of superpower of hers? It didn’t matter. If she was making a living as a realtor, she was probably honest. And it was just as big a risk for her to meet hounds as it was for them to meet a vampire.

“It’s great to finally meet you!” she continued. “What do you think of the house? I mean, the outside, anyway.”

“I love the color,” commented Nicki. “Please tell me a vampire painted it this bright yellow.”

Liza laughed. “Unfortunately no,” she replied. “Good old fashioned humans lived here. And, I do have to disclose, died here. There may be ghosts. But, I understand you’re a necromancer?”

“Used to be,” answered Nicki. “I’m not really practicing much anymore. But I can still chase off ghosts if need be.”

“Another reason I thought of you for this house,” replied Liza cheerfully

Jarrod grinned again, or maybe he had never really stopped. “You’re so cheerful it’s infectious,” he said. “Not what I expected from… well…”

“A vampire,” replied Liza. “Yeah, I get it. I figured the whole brooding vampire schtick was overdone. I had to find my own niche, ya know? So why not the bubbly, cheerful realtor?” She grinned again and Nicki noticed she very carefully did not show any fang. “Anyway, let’s check out the inside.” And she turned to unlock the door.

Nicki prepared for an onslaught of ghost energy, but as the door opened, she felt only emptiness. “Well, that’s a good sign,” she commented.

“No ghosts?” asked Liza.

“I don’t think so,” replied Nicki, stepping into the house- which was already lit within.

The house was nice, if a bit bigger than they really needed. The advantage of it was that it was right on the edge of Nashville. It was till close enough to be considered in the city, but it was far enough from the city center to have a full acre lot. It was also newly remodeled, so it was move-in ready.

The log cabin she’d fallen in love with, though, needed some work. Luckily, the work was largely cosmetic. A few windows also needed replacing, but other than that, it was fantastic. “And no deaths- at least that I know of,” Liza had said.

“I absolutely love it,” said Nicki as they stood in the kitchen- which needed a major update. “I mean, once it’s fixed up, it’ll be fantastic.”

“And where do we live in the meantime?” asked Jarrod.

“I don’t know,” answered Nicki, but then she had an idea. “We get a tiny house, park it off to the side, and once the house is renovated, we have a permanent foundation poured and use it as a guest house.”

Jarrod laughed. “You’re going to buy two houses?” he asked.

“Why not?” she replied, hands on her hips. “You just know that at some point, both of our parents are going to want to come visit at the same time and this place is only three bedrooms. If one is my music room and one is our bedroom, that only leaves one guest room. So we’ll have the tiny house. Oh! Or I can use the tiny house as my music room.”

“A She-shed!” agreed Liza.

“Yes!” said Nicki. “It’s perfect!”

Jarrod grinned. “If this is what you want,” he said. “I mean, it’s your money, after all.”

“But, do you like it?” she asked. “Seriously, I don’t want you to be miserable.”

“I do like it,” he admitted. “It’ll be nice once it’s fixed up.”

“Do we want to put in an offer?” asked Liza.

“Full asking,” agreed Nicki. “Cash.”

“Cash! Wow!” replied Liza. “I think the seller will like that.”

“They do tend to, don’t they?” agreed Nicki.

“All right, I’ll have my assistant put in the offer in the morning and I’ll let you guys know as soon as I hear anything,” replied Liza cheerfully.

“Sounds good,” agreed Jarrod. “Thank you so much for your help. I have to say you’re the most cheerful and helpful vampire I’ve ever met.”

“Same,” put in Nicki.

“Well, I do try,” said Liza, still all grins. “Can I take you for drinks to celebrate? I know a great place that serves everyone- humans, vampires, and lycans.”

“Why not?” said Nicki. After all, she had just bought a house from a vampire, why not have drinks with one?

She felt like she was floating three feet off the ground.