Chapter 9

"Marc! Get a good picture of Mr. King as perfect as you can so we don't keep him here too long," Helen said, completely ignoring his request to call him Eli instead of Mr. King. Being her petty self she would rather do the opposite of what he asked. It wasn't like they were friends for her to be calling him by his first name.

Clasping her hands and forcing a big smile she said, "Can you please smile Mr. King, and maybe turn a little bit to the right?" She asked, seeing him looking uninterested when she wanted him to look like he was enjoying the restaurant.

But Eli did not move one bit in the chair nor did he follow through with her request for him to smile. Two could play the game of not doing what the other one wanted. He too was a petty person who could resist her request for a long time. They had both met their match.

"Mr.King?" She called again, tapping her finger against her skin. Her patience was certainly running even thinner but how could she be rude when she asked him to do this granted she had to do something in return. Why couldn't he just answer to Mr. King? He most likely did it every day.

Eli remained silent whilst looking around at the decor she had chosen for the restaurant. At least she had the proper taste and didn't go with anything too flashy. It was simple and comfortable where one could relax and feel at peace. Eli wondered why she went with the name essence. Was there a backstory for it or was it totally random? There was so much to think about considering she had not said his name.

"Eli," Helen called through gritted teeth, practically admitting defeat. She almost bit her lip to refrain herself from calling his name but felt he wasn't going to do as she told him unless she called his first name. Was this how petty I am to people, she thought. She could see why people would sometimes dislike her. This was too much to deal with.

"Yes?" Eli finally responded looking at the woman who seemed to be turning red. How red with anger could her cheeks become? What was her breaking point? Suddenly the image of her standing over him, slapping him again and again, was what he imagined to be her breaking point. Then again she owned a restaurant. The slapping could be replaced with a knife. Stabbing him over and over again.

There used to be an old tale of death being the ultimate love confession for a vampire. Not being able to hold in their love for someone they stabbed their lover to death. Being somewhat immortal meant they wouldn't exactly die after being stabbed and sometimes the victim would end up with the person who stabbed them, accepting their love confession. In Eli's mind, it was all really, really stupid. But the thought of Helen attempting to attack him did excite him. After all, it would mean she would need to chase after him to beat him.

Eli remembered his mother saying you shouldn't bully the girl you liked instead of just confessing but wasn't it more fun to bully the person? Teasing them and enjoying the reactions they gave was all so thrilling. He took note of how Helen would clench her fist or bite her lips just to refrain herself from saying and doing what was on her mind. But he wanted her to do and say as she pleased. Eli wanted to hear the foul words or best insults she could come up with. Who knew he was this kind of person?

Maybe the reason was also because of the first entertainment he got in years. Humans have gotten boring over the years. They were too predictable like machines commanded to do the same actions each day. But when the machine started to act out, it stood out among the others and that was where all the fun began.

Finding this excitement among his kind was long gone. They had lived among each other for too long for him to be amused by anything. Eli would admit his kind had also gotten predictable as well. He could only toy with other creatures now. But with this newfound entertainment thanks to Helen, it would seem he had to put the humans back on his lists to mess with.

"Are you listening to me?" Helen questioned seeing Eli stare at her as if he were amused now but still wasn't responding to her. Was there something on her face or was he perhaps a creep too? She remembered how Noah stared at her yesterday. Like an employee, like a boss?

"No," He answered honestly as he hadn't been listening to her then gestured for her to repeat herself. "Go again."

Helen sighed but one thing for sure, she did appreciate his honesty. It could be a redeeming quality. "I was saying you should smile but it doesn't fit your persona. Plus everyone who does this puts on a bubbly act so maybe we go the more mysterious route. Just remain as you are but with a devious smirk like an evil king ready to make his next move."

"Okay." Eli did exactly as he was told because it was exactly as she said. He was an evil king waiting to make his next move on her.

Marc took one picture of Eli sitting by the table and showed it to Helen in disbelief. "How could it only take one shot to be perfect? It normally takes me fifty of them then I have to go through them and critique each. He did that in one picture. We could use this Miss Reed. Should we take one more?"

"Hmm," Helen acknowledged, taking a look at the picture Marc took. It was a blessing to be handsome. You didn't need to have a gallery filled with the same pictures because you weren't too ugly to need more than one. Plus, she wanted him out of here as soon as possible so this was a double blessing for her. The picture and his quick exit.

"Well this is a goodbye, for now," She added when she remembered the three dates she agreed to. Maybe if she did a date in the morning, afternoon, and evening all in one day that would count to the three dates being done.

"Whatever you're thinking about to escape those dates, I won't allow it," Eli warned, standing up to straighten out his suit. "Thanks to you I've finished today's charity work."

"When you do charity you're not supposed to get something in return. The authorities should look into your past charity works because you seem to be one of those people who receive things on the down-low," She alluded with folded arms. "Thank you for your help but now you could be on your way. We wouldn't like to hold you back from any other work."

"This only took three minutes. I told Noah to free me up for an hour so maybe I could stay longer-"

"Please!" Helen exclaimed, cutting him off before he could finish. "Please leave Eli."

Eli took his cellphone out of his pants pocket and gave it to Helen, "Put your number in here and address. I will come for you tomorrow night at six."

"Can't wait," Helen said, putting her alternative number in his phone. She gave him back his phone.

Eli placed two fingers on his lips then blew her a kiss. "See you soon Helen."

Finally, Eli proceeded to leave her restaurant followed by Noah who waved goodbye to everyone first. Noah hurried along behind Eli, rushing to get ahead of the man so he could open the car door. Eli was going on a date tomorrow night. He would've informed Elain but Helen was human. Who knew what Elaine or anyone else would do when they found out about it.

Opening Eli's door he wondered if the man had a plan for the future or maybe Noah was overthinking this. Most likely, whatever this attraction Eli had for Helen was nothing more than a fling. Noah believed Eli wouldn't date a human but the man was too unpredictable.

When Noah got in the car he asked Eli, "Are you serious about her Eli?"

Looking at the restaurant Eli responded, "What do you think about reincarnations Noah?"

Thinking about it Noah said, "It certainly is an interesting thing that humans reincarnate. It has always been fun to watch someone you met before be reborn again and have no idea you knew their past life. The chance to see that person again depends on fate."

"So it seems," Eli responded, remembering a young girl he met with a foul mouth in village thousands of years ago. He never imagined he would cross paths with her reincarnation. He would not let her escape him again in this lifetime.