Blood Red by Heather Graham

don’t think that creature would have frightened me, no matter what,” Deanna said, grinning.
    â€œCocktails?” an attractively and scantily attired waitress asked, interrupting their conversation.
    Deanna looked at her watch. “Sure.”
    â€œRemember sleepwalking?” Lauren asked softly.
    Deanna waved a hand in the air. “It’s almost five o’clock.”
    â€œIt’s three o’clock.”
    â€œClose enough. Rum and coke, please. And you, quit acting like my mom. This is supposed to be a wild weekend.”
    â€œA light beer, please,” Lauren said.
    â€œWow. Going all out,” Deanna teased.
    Lauren looked hard at her friend. Deanna was super-model gorgeous, with her height and exotic features and coloring. It was hard to mistake her for anyone else.
    â€œYou really didn’t go for a carriage ride today?” Lauren asked her.
    Deanna stared at her. “No.”
    â€œWhere were you?”
    â€œWhere were you ?”
    â€œLooking for you.”
    Deanna “I left Heidi trying on her twenty-fifth hat and wandered into a few stores.”
    Lauren was sure she could see color suffusing her friend’s cheeks again.
    â€œWhat aren’t you telling me?” Lauren asked.
    Deanna shrugged. “I ran into that guy from the bar last night.”
    â€œOh?” Lauren felt a strange surge of unease. “That’s who I thought you were with in the carriage.”
    â€œHow strange,” Deanna murmured, then looked at Lauren again.
    â€œWhat?” Lauren persisted.
    â€œThere was a carriage—well, there are lots of carriages in New Orleans—and I was tempted to take a ride, but then I saw Jonas.”
    â€œJonas?”
    â€œThe guy from the bar.”
    â€œAnd then?” Lauren persisted.
    â€œWe chatted, he said he’d hoped we’d run into each other again tonight, he left, I found Heidi, and then we found you. And the hunk-next-door.”
    â€œThe scary hunk-next-door,” Lauren said.
    Deanna let out a laugh. “You know what’s scary about him?”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œYou.”
    â€œ Me ?”
    â€œYes, you. Your reaction. You’re afraid to get close to anyone. You’re afraid to so much as have lunch with someone. And you need to get over it. Here’s what I think. You’re actually attracted to this guy, sexually, attracted, so you’re trying to push him away. You don’t want to be hurt, to lose someone again.”
    â€œThank you, Dr. Deanna.”
    â€œGive the guy a chance, why don’t you?”
    â€œI was perfectly nice to him at lunch.”
    â€œHe’s looking for more than lunch. And I think you are, too.”
    Lauren felt her own cheeks redden. She was paler than her friend. Deanna didn’t have to blink to realize she’d struck a chord.
    â€œYou feel it, don’t you?”
    â€œI feel what?”
    â€œThe desire to…well, I was going to say jump his bones, but it’s you, so I’ll just say the desire.”
    Lauren groaned and rose, stretching.
    â€œWhere do you think you’re going? We just ordered drinks from a hard working waitress. At least wait for her to come back so we can get our drinks and give her a tip, huh?”
    â€œOh, all right,” Lauren said. To kill time, she hit the button on the slot machine, then watched as five Creatures from the Black Lagoon appeared neatly in a row across the screen.
    Bells started ringing.
    â€œFifty- thousand pennies!” Deanna said delightedly. “You just won five hundred dollars.”
    â€œNow that’s cool,” Lauren had to agree.
    The bells were still ringing, and people around them were coming to check out her winnings. There were much larger jackpots to be had, she was certain, but fifty thousand cents was definitely fun, and most people seemed cheerful, apparently happy to see someone get the better of the house.
    There was one cranky