Page 5 of Dad Bod: Vampire

“That should do it,” he says, turning my screen to face me. “We can do a trial run and you can call up Vivian at home. She’s expecting your call.”

Vivian is Atticus’s human wife.

I click the button to make the video call and it rings twice, then connects. Her pretty features fill my screen.

“Hey Hudson,” she says. Then she leans closer to the screen. “Whoa, babe, this program is amazing. Smile for me, Hudson, let me see those fangs.”

I curl my lip up. I’m not really much of a smiler.

She gasps. “That’s unreal. Here, let me send you a screenshot so you can see what I’m looking at.”

“Yes, that’s right,” Atticus says. “From your perspective, you just look like yourself. The filter only works on the projection of your image. See, look.” He turns his phone around to show me the text with the screenshot Vivian just sent.

The image of me is definitely different than how I actually look. Yes, that’s another Hollywood myth—the one about us vampires not being able to see our reflection—we definitely can. Now, though, my fangs are gone, and in their place are just normal human teeth. And the eerie glow of my eyes is altered to a regular shade of blue.

I look like a man. Just a regular man—still stuck in the 80’s with my damn hair, but I don’t think a filter can fix that.

“This will work with any program she uses?” I ask.

“Yes, it’s designed to affect your look from the viewer’s standpoint regardless of the platform or application,” Atticus says.

“This is amazing. You know you could make a ton of money if you sold it?”

He nods. “I realize, but this isn’t the kind of thing we’d want to get into the wrong hands. The internet is already filled with creeps that catfish kids; I don’t want to contribute to that.”

“Excellent point. Thanks, man, really.”

“Of course. It was a fun project. So if you have any other ideas, let me know.” He grabs his laptop and stands to leave. “You know, it’s okay to want more. I know what it’s like to think that things like love and a family are forever out of reach, but all it takes is that one person who’s your perfect match.”

I blow out a breath. “Thanks, I appreciate it.”

I think he’s full of shit, but I don’t tell him that. It’s one thing for a guy like Atticus. Yes, he’s a zombie, but he’s not a blood-sucking monster. He isn’t a danger to others.

Two hours later, I’ve finally gotten up enough courage to call Rosie for our first official video chat. I suppose if she screams and hangs up quickly, I’ll know it’s not working.

“Wait, hold on. I can’t get my thingy to work.” Her sweet voice spills out of my laptop speakers. Then she appears.

Well, a close up of her cleavage appears. Fuck me.

“Oh my God, how embarrassing.” She plops down into a chair and now I can just see her from the very top of her cleavage up. “Sorry about that, I couldn’t figure out how to get the camera to work.”

“Is it not built-in?”

She winces. “No. I have a really old laptop, but I’ve almost saved enough to buy a new one with a built-in camera.”

She’s even more beautiful than she was in her pictures. Her blonde hair is pulled back in a sleek ponytail, hanging long behind her shoulders. Her black-rimmed glasses give her a sexy-librarian look.

“You’re a lot hotter…er, older, nope, I mean younger than I was expecting.” Her features squish up again. “I promise I’m not always this much of a disaster. I’ve just gotten used to working from home with just me and Figs.”

“Figs?” Shit, I think I’m actually smiling because she’s adorable. So full of life and sunshine.

“Oh, my cat. He’s this huge black and white tuxedo cat, yep, that’s my Figs.” She clears her throat, then straightens her glasses. “Now then, it’s nice to finally put a face with your voice.”

“Likewise. I don’t have anything specific for us to discuss today since we’ve already had our meeting at the top of the week. But I wanted to make sure the video chatting software was working on my end.”

“Do you have an older computer too?” she asks, with a tilt of her head.

“Something like that.”