Authors: Palladian
“I guess you must know these folks pretty well,” Lex said, turning to Serena.
Serena shrugged. “Well, I do know Vinnie intimately,” she said with a sly smirk, “but I've also been here a few times so they remember me. It’s a good place; the people here are really friendly, even though they don't look like they would be.”
Casey eased back into one of the metal chairs and looked around. “Is there a bar up here? I wouldn't mind another beer.”
Serena shook her head. “They’re all downstairs.”
Lex stood up. “OK, my turn to buy. What do you want, Serena?”
“Get me the house special, please. Thanks, Lex!”
Lex headed back down the stairs and turned towards the nearest bar. She noticed the music more on the main floor. It wasn't a song she knew but she paused to listen to the dark sound and the driving, compelling beat. Lex looked out onto the dance floor, watching the few people dancing for a moment, and then continued to the bar.
Later
, she thought,
I'll get out there, too
.
She stopped by the empty end of the bar and waited for the bartender, who was busy at the other end, to come down to her. Suddenly, she heard a voice in her ear. “Beautiful.”
Lex turned halfway around to find a man standing not far behind her, studying her back. He raised dark eyes to meet hers. “There's a lot of history written there,” he said with a subtle smile.
Turning to face him fully, Lex felt off balance and sensed her cheeks flame in confusion as she tried to process what he'd said. She managed to smile with a confidence she didn't really feel and tried for a clever response.
“Well, these days, I prefer to be the author and not the text.”
Lex watched the man more closely as his dark eyes widened, and then his smile followed. She took a moment to study him, taking in his dark curly hair that he’d cut longer on top and shaved closer on the sides, the various heavy rings in his ears and the one through his eyebrow, and the heavy leather collar he wore that had a D-ring in the front. He also wore a sleeveless, tight black t-shirt and black leather pants with heavy boots. He’d stepped close enough that she could catch a small whiff of cedar coming from his direction. Lex felt unsettled and hot, drawn towards him in a dark way. She found herself thinking how pale and vulnerable the collar made his neck look and felt like she wanted to take a bite out of him.
“That sounds like an invitation. Is it?” he asked with a wicked grin.
The bartender arrived then, giving Lex a chance to put her thoughts together a bit. She ordered the drinks for Casey and Serena and a tonic water and lime for herself, and then turned back to the man. He waited for her exactly where he’d been standing before, the grin still on his face. Lex took a deep breath and decided that since radical honesty had been working well for her lately, she might as well go with it.
“Even though I don’t know your name yet, I like you. I also find myself somehow wanting to do strange things to…er, with you.”
His smile brightened noticeably. “Good.”
Lex sighed as she continued. “Unfortunately, I have to admit that my friends brought me here tonight so that I could hopefully forget that my former fiancé ripped my heart out today, to the point where I had to break things off with him.”
He grimaced. “Sorry. Bad timing.”
Lex shrugged. “It’s not your fault, it’s just I know it's going to take a while for me to get over it. He…um, well, his opinion of my scars was exactly the opposite of yours.”
“I'm sorry you had the unfortunate luck to date a fool,” he replied, along with a snort of derision. “I know there are a lot of lovely ladies here who will probably try to turn your head, but let me assure you that there are lots of men who aren't complete idiots and will worship you like you deserve.”
He moved to the bar, took a card out of his wallet, and began writing on the back of it. “I understand how you're probably feeling right now, but if you're interested in writing some history sometime down the road, or if you just want some company and would like to see my face again, call day or night. Cell phone number is on the back.”
Lex took the card and looked at it. It was a slick print that had the name of a high-priced consulting firm on it, as well as announcing him as Brian Coombs, System Administrator. She looked at the number on the back and then tucked it away in the top of her glove, since she had no pockets.
“Brian,” Lex responded, putting her hand out to him, “my name is Lex. It's been very nice to meet you. I hope we do meet again.”
He took her hand and kissed the back of her glove. “
Very
glad to meet you, Lex.”
She watched him for a moment as he walked away, restraining herself from gazing too long at his leather-clad ass. Feeling a little dreamy, Lex paid the bartender and made her way back upstairs with the drinks.
Chapter 10: Moving
As she made her way back to their table, Lex studied the drink Serena had ordered. It had a strong resemblance to blood and as it fizzed a little, Lex could smell the scent of fresh fruit. A long plastic sword sat on the edge and had a blood orange slice and a fresh cherry skewered on the end of it. Lex watched as a crimson drop spilled out from the cherry where it had been poked through. She laughed quietly to herself as she put the drinks down on the table, not having any trouble hearing her friends’ soft conversation, since the music sounded much quieter on the second floor.
“Casey,” Lex broke in, taking a folded-up wad of cash and the business card out of the top of one glove, “could you hold onto these things for me? I’m afraid I’ll lose them when I start dancing, since I don’t have pockets.”
Serena had been reaching for her drink, but her eyes widened as she spotted the business card. “What's this?” she asked, plucking it out of Casey's hand. Lex watched, feeling her face grow hot as Serena read the front of the card and then the back. She laughed delightedly, handing it to Lex. “You're a fast worker! We just barely arrived!”
Lex gave it back to Casey, still feeling the blush on her cheeks. “Yes, well, it seems like the people here aren’t very shy.”
“So, are you meeting him later or what?” Serena gave a conspiratorial grin as she leaned in Lex’s direction.
Lex sighed, looking at Serena as she reached for her drink. “I explained why I wasn't ready to start up anything new yet, but he gave me his number anyway.”
“Lex! Why did you do that? You could have just slept with him, you know. Wasn't he your type?”
Lex found herself rubbing the back of her neck. “He looked good enough to eat,” she said in a low voice, “But, well, I'm just not that way, Serena. If I slept with him now, I’d probably just feel worse.”
“What do you mean, not that way?” Serena asked, her eyes narrowing as she drew back.
Lex sighed again, feeling tired. “Look, I've had plenty of friends who liked to sleep with lots of different people. I even tried dating someone I liked a lot who was like that. It just didn't work out for me, though: he dated other people and I didn't. I came to realize that people are a lot like other animals—some have a mate they like to stick with, and some choose many different ones. I guess I'm more like a wolf or a hawk; I only want to be with one person at a time like that. You and my other friends are more like migratory birds and other animals; you choose lots of mates. I don't see anything wrong with it either way, but, well, I have to be who I am.”
Serena smiled again as she relaxed back into her chair. “My poor little wolf. Try not to think too much about your broken heart tonight, though. Even you have to admit that there's nothing wrong with enjoying the company of someone you think is hot, even if you aren't planning to do anything about it.”
Lex gave a shy smile in return and nodded. “I'll try to remember that.”
Casey had been sitting and sipping her beer as she listened to Lex and Serena. She’d also been suspiciously eyeing Serena's drink, and finally asked, “What the hell is that anyway, Serena?”
“This is a Vampyre's Nest original—Sweet Blood. Care for a taste?”
Serena curled her tongue around the cherry, slid it off of the sword, and then bit into it. A little juice beaded up where her lips met, and she licked it away as she pulled the pit out of her mouth. Casey watched with an eyebrow up, and Lex laughed into her glove. Serena took a sip of her drink and then offered it to Casey.
“What's in it?” Casey asked, skeptically.
“I’m not sure. It tastes kind of sweet, but there must be a lot of alcohol in here, because I've never seen anyone be able to drink more than a few of them.”
“No thanks, I'll pass.”
Serena took another sip, and Lex noted that they had done a good job with the drink; it seemed to move thickly, like blood in a glass might. The dark red color was also convincing and nearly matched the shade of Serena's lipstick. Serena licked her lips again and stood, drink in hand.
“All right, ladies, I'm going to see who’s here tonight. I'll be back later on to see how you're doing. Casey, please try to make sure Lex doesn't get too gloomy. If she does, we should probably try to figure out who this guy is to come and cheer her up.”
Casey shook her head slightly. “All right, have fun.”
Lex and Casey watched a moment as Serena walked away, and Casey shook her head again, an annoyed look on her face. “Going to sniff around, I imagine.”
Lex shrugged and smiled. “I'm sure she's going to be finding out who's around and deciding whether she's interested in anyone in particular.”
Casey grimaced. “That's what I meant when I suggested not taking the room next to hers. I think she takes people home. A lot, if what I hear in the hallway sometimes is any indication.”
“I guess her talent makes that pretty easy to do,” Lex said, nodding to herself.
“So, she showed you?”
“Yes. What a thing to be able to do!” Lex replied, unable to stop her star-struck grin.
Casey snorted contemptuously. “Yes, and
she
uses it to sneak people into her room!”
“So she knows what she likes. I don't think there's anything wrong with that,” Lex said with a shrug.
“You really think all of that is OK?”
“Sure,” Lex responded carefully, looking at Casey with a little concern at her angry tone. “Serena’s not taking food out of anyone's mouth and she's not hurting anyone, she's just doing what she likes to do. What's the problem?”
“She's a slut, that's what!” Casey’s expression clearly showed her frustration and disgust.
Lex looked at Casey for a moment, trying to ignore the familiar feeling of humiliation for her friend and pick her words carefully as she felt anger creep into her chest. “I'm sure she's heard that before. I've heard a lot of people’s opinions about what I am, too. I’ve been called a fucking dyke, a frigid bitch, a stupid cunt, white trash, a lazy, worthless piece of shit, and lots of other things. Do you think that's what I am?”
Casey looked hard at Lex, blinking in surprise at her intense tone. “Of course not.”
“I know you’re not like everyone else, either, and you’ve been called some names, too. Since I know how crappy it feels, I try never to do it to anyone else.” Lex glanced meaningfully up at Casey before dropping her eyes and picking at a spot on the table. “I don’t mean to be mean, but I know this is something other people have given Serena hell about. I can’t follow your lead on this.”
Casey looked at her then, head tilted as if really seeing Lex for the first time, and remained quiet for a few minutes before responding. “I guess you're right. There’s no reason to be harsh,” she finally responded. “Serena does seem to be fun to hang out with, now that we've worked out some things. I guess the rest is really none of my business.”
Their conversation moved to other topics with only a few moments of awkwardness, both of them obviously trying to bring things back to more comfortable ground.
As they paused, Lex was quiet for a moment, sipping at her drink, the limey fizzing under her nose and the fresh taste making her smile. She listened as a song ended and then a new one began. It was a familiar beat, and she listened for a second before she recognized it fully. It had been a favorite of hers at one time that was now mixed with a gothic dance beat, and she smiled, not having expected to hear the song in this particular club.
“Casey, I've got to go dance to this song. Do you want to come along?” Lex asked, feeling the wild grin of anticipation that split her face.
“I'll join you in a while, after I finish this beer. Go on down without me and have fun.” Casey smiled in return as Lex virtually launched herself from the table.
Lex hurried down the stairs and walked onto the dance floor. She liked the large, open space, even though not many people had begun dancing yet. Stepping out into the center, Lex listened as the familiar words began, and started to move.
Lex half-closed her eyes as she began swaying to the beat. Although she loved to dance, she'd never had any lessons, so it hadn’t surprised her when an old friend had assessed her dancing as “more energy than art.” It did surprise her to smell a sweet, musky perfume a little later, and Lex fully opened her eyes to find that dancing people surrounded her. Smiling at the girl closest to her who’d worn a short black dress to match her closely cropped hair, white face makeup, and a large ring through her nose, Lex leaned back, losing herself in the music and thinking maybe she wasn’t such a bad dancer after all.
She noticed one or two different pieces as the songs changed and smiled at Casey when she’d looked up at one point to find the other woman dancing beside her. She recognized some of the music but just kept going through each song, known or unknown. Lex stood straight for a moment at one point, shaking her leg muscles out as a faster song slid into a slower one, a piece she recognized well. She turned as she felt something to her left and looked up to see Brian at her elbow, grinning as he looked at her.
“You didn't mention earlier that you’re a dancer. Would you dance with me to this one?”
Lex smiled at him. “Yeah, I'd like that.”
Brian's grin turned into a big smile as she put her arms around his neck, the solidity there comforting. His arms slid around Lex's waist and they leaned into one another as the slow, smoky lyrics started.