James blinked awake to a too-quiet bedroom. He’d set his alarms, but that wasn’t what woke him up. No, it was the sun, he realized, blinking sleepily in the light. The sun was too high for it to be before the alarm was going to go off. 

Shit. He grabbed his phone as he was getting out of bed to see the clock on his screen read seven-thirty. Okay, he hadn’t slept past his date with Meredith, but he was pretty damn close. James scrambled out of his pajamas and into the shower, scrubbing himself as quickly as he dared, then brushed his teeth as he went into his room and pulled out some clothes. They were just getting breakfast, so it wasn’t like he had to be fancy. But he wasn’t going to be gross either, he needed to wear something a little nicer than usual. He pulled out an outfit, went back, spit out his toothpaste, then came back and assessed. No, this one wasn’t it.

Somehow he was out the door with ten minutes to go. The restaurant they were meeting at was in Sterling, a few turns after Sterling Hill Road, and about twelve minutes away when he wasn’t behind every slow driver in the city, which James currently was. So about fifteen minutes later, he was running into the restaurant, stopping short in front of the host booth and the alarmed waitress standing there. She started to ask him how many in his party, but then Meredith waved to him from a booth by the window, on the other side of the fairly empty space. 

Heart still pounding, he sat down across from her. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I was on a case til two last night and I set my alarm, but I overslept and woke up about half an hour ago.”

“You were working til two?” she repeated, horrified. “We could have rescheduled, you didn’t have to come out this morning.”

“No, no, I wanted to,” James said, giving her what he hoped was a charming grin. “I wasn’t going to miss this.”

She looked like she might argue a little further and James hoped she wouldn’t, because he was just very happy to be here. But he was also nervous enough that he might end up looking even goofier than he did right now if he continued to insist he was fine.

The server came by and took their orders, then poured some coffee for James. It was a little weak, but he hadn’t actually had a chance to make any this morning as he ran out the door, so he took it gratefully.

“So Australia, huh?” James said once they were alone at the table and his heart rate was back at a reasonably normal level for sitting at his first date in years with a gorgeous woman across the table from him.

“Yeah,” she said, smiling almost sheepishly. “I’m starting grad school.”

God, she was beautiful. She’d worn a light purple sundress and her red hair was half up in a wavy style that framed her thin face as she smiled. “And Fitchburg wasn’t far enough for you?” James asked.

Now she laughed. “I had an opportunity at James Cook University and when it actually worked out, I jumped on it.”

She was a biologist, it turned out. Or, at least that was her undergrad and now her graduate focus was on viruses. “I know it isn’t the sexiest topic, but I find them fascinating,” Meredith said. “It makes doing all this delivery worthwhile, knowing it’s all going to support me in January. But what about you? Why ghosts?”

“Oh, there’s so much more than ghosts,” James said, taking another sip of watery coffee. “Bigfoot, vampires, curses-”

“Wait, vampires?”

James smiled grimly. “Unfortunately,” he said. “Just stay vigilant and you’ll be fine.”

Meredith didn’t look convinced, but she also didn’t look like her entire worldview had been rocked by this information, which was promising. “So what got you into vampires, then?”

“My boss told me to go investigate, and there were vampires there.”

She looked at him, a perfect eyebrow raised. “I technically got into all of it because of vampires,” James said. “My uncle and his buddy got attacked and then my uncle and aunt managed to fuck them up. The Foundation came in after the fact, which is pretty typical, really. But I was twenty years old, and I’d always known this was out there. But the idea that there was an organized push against it that would help people on a one-on-one level, that was what really interested me. My mom and aunt made me wait til after college to join. So the day I graduated, I applied. Then I got assigned to North Worcester County, and I’ve been there ever since.”

“And you like it?”

“I do. It’s not what I expected, especially since I became captain under some rough circumstances. But it’s good. I have a really good crew and that makes up for the worst parts of it.”

They talked a little longer until the food arrived, then continued, keeping the topics fairly light despite the regular interjection of vampires and other monsters. Because despite what James had told Bradley the night before, work came up frequently during their conversation. 

James was genuinely disappointed when Meredith finally looked at her phone. “I have to go in a minute,” she said. “I have to work this afternoon.”

“Me too,” James said. 

He paid the check, then they walked out to the gravel parking lot outside the café. “I’m over here,” Meredith said, motioning toward a small, sleek car that looked nothing like the van she delivered with. “Thanks for breakfast.”

“Of course,” James said. “Um, I know you’re going to be leaving, but I’d like to see you again. If you want to, of course.”

“I would,” she said quickly. “Next week?”

He thought for a second. “I have Wednesday off. The whole day. You?”

“I’m working until three. Give me an hour to shower after and I’ll buy you dinner.”

“I’d love that.”

He walked her over to the car, and she hesitated outside the driver’s side. Then she leaned up and kissed him. It was a surprise, but a welcome one, and James had a moment of panic as his body and brain tried to remember what to do in this situation. He slid an arm around her and tried to put vampires out of his mind completely as he kissed her back.

Ten minutes later, Meredith reluctantly pulled away from where they were now pressed against the side of her car. “I’d stay here all day,” she said with a laugh.

She leaned in for another kiss, letting this one linger as she ran a hand through his short hair. He let his fingers rest on her cheek, then kissed her again softly after they broke apart.

“See you next week?” Meredith confirmed. 

“I can’t wait.”

She got in her car, and James watched her pull out of the parking lot. Then he got in his own, all of his own potential plans before work forgotten as he drove home.

---

CONTINUE TO CHAPTER 25