1
The
alarm buzzed harshly, rousing Gary and Lisa from their slumber. The sun’s light filtered meekly through the
blinds and curtains. Gary rubbed his
eyes and slowly pulled himself up.
Lisa
came to more quickly, as she always had in the morning. “Good morning, love,” she said
cheerfully. “I had the wildest dreams
last night. I’m surprised I didn’t wake
you up.”
The
words didn’t register with Gary. It was
morning, so he wasn’t at his best. Her
next statement, though, brought him into focus.
“Gary,”
she asked with a strange tone, “did we do something last night?”
He
considered his answer. “Why do you ask?”
“Well, I
don’t normally sleep without any clothes, but...” He noted that she had wrapped herself in the sheet as she went
off to the bathroom.
While
Lisa showered, Gary replayed the previous night in his mind. He had gone to that bar, and he met the
waitress Vanessa. She had bitten him,
and they had sex, and she bit him again and turned him into a vampire. Then he came back here and bit Lisa and they
screwed like they had never screwed before.
And suddenly, he’s awake in the morning and it was all like a dream.
Gary
jumped out of bed and went to the mirror above the desk. He was there, just like always. It was daylight, and he didn’t feel any
different than he had the previous morning.
“Maybe
it was just a dream,” he said out loud but to himself. “But it seemed so real.”
The
couple checked out of the motel, put their overnight bags into the car, and
walked across the street to a diner for breakfast. They found a booth and looked through the menus. Lisa was particularly peppy and energetic
this morning, while Gary felt rather tired and disoriented.
“What
can I get’cha?” the waitress asked.
Gary’s
eyes shot up from the menu, and he found himself staring at Vanessa. She was dressed, which was a big enough
difference from the previous night.
Dressed in a traditional waitress uniform, with the pastel colors and
everything. Still very attractive, but
not quite the same woman as he remembered.
Lisa
answered before Gary could say anything.
“We’ll have eggs, scrambled, toast with jelly, and orange juice, please.” She smiled sweetly, and Vanessa returned the
gesture. “And my fiance will have some
coffee too. Black and hot.”
“Got it,”
Vanessa said as she scribbled on her pad.
Vanessa
plucked the menu from Gary’s hands, then took the menu which Lisa handed to
her. She turned and went back to the
kitchen. As she went through the
swinging doors, she looked back at Gary and winked.
“Gary!”
He turned
back towards Lisa, who had shouted his name.
“You’re
acting like a zombie this morning. Didn’t
you sleep well?”
“I don’t
think you’d believe me if I told you.”
“Try me.”
Gary
wondered if he should tell her the truth.
Then again, if it was just a dream, he could leave out the particularly
bad part, like sleeping with Vanessa.
“Well, I
had this dream last night. I went out
for a drink last night after you went to sleep, and I ended up in this bar by
the motel. And I must have gotten
hammered or something. Then I met this
really weird woman who turned out to be a vampire. And she bit me and turned me into one too.”
The
color disappeared from Lisa’s face as Gary told his story. “That’s unbelievable,” she said. “I had this... well, erotic dream about
vampires too. I dreamt that you were a
vampire, and you came into the room and hypnotized me. You made me into your love slave, and you
bit me and everything.” She started
blushing as she described the sexual details.
“I don’t think I’ve ever gotten so wet from a dream. You know, we could act that dream out
sometime,” she said, smiling a devious grin he hadn’t seen since they had first
met. That was the “thinking about sex”
smile.
“Eggs
and toast.”
Vanessa
dropped the plates of food in front of Gary and Lisa. She also deposited two glasses of orange juice and the check,
which she dropped right in front of Gary.
Gary
noticed the note written on the inside of the check. “Meet me in the men’s room,” it said in small, tight
lettering. The note finished with a “V”.
Gary
took a few bites of his breakfast, so as to not raise Lisa’s suspicions. Then he wiped his mouth with his napkin,
excused himself, and went to the bathroom.
It was one of those single-person bathrooms, which the user would lock
from the inside.
The room
was dark. Gary stepped in, and the door
closed suddenly. He heard the click of
the lock before the light came on.
Vanessa was inside with him.
“You’re
probably wondering what’s going on.”
“That’s
an understatement. After last night,
and then waking up, I wasn’t sure if it was a dream or what.”
She
laughed. “Yeah, right, a dream. Well, babe, this is reality. Life in the daylight, and all that.”
“So what’s
going on? Why are you here now?”
Vanessa
pulled out a cigarette and flicked her lighter. The paper at the tip glowed brightly as she took her first drag,
and then she exhaled.
“I work
here. Just like I work at the bar. Usually, though, I don’t see the same
customers at both places, as you can imagine.”
She waited for Gary to smile, but he didn’t. “Being one of us doesn’t do much good during the day.”
“One of
us,” Gary interrupted. “You mean a
vampire.”
“Well,
duh. What else?” She took another puff from the
cigarette. “Anyhow, we don’t sleep in
coffins typically. Unless you can
afford a lifestyle like that, and I know I can’t. So we live and work and go out during the day like normal
people. Because that’s all we are
during the day—normal.”
“Is that
why Lisa doesn’t remember last night as anything but a dream? And why I can’t control her?”
Vanessa
nodded as she smoked. “You’re right on
the second part. Our powers go away
during the day. As for why she doesn’t
remember, that’s just how she mentally copes with it. For some people, it would be a vivid memory. Her, it obviously isn’t the sort of thing
that fits into her idea of normal, so she’s convinced herself that it was a
dream. Stick with her long enough,
though, and she’ll remember everything during the day too.”
“What
about tonight?” Gary asked. “What will
happen then?”
“That’s
up to you. Remember when I said that
guy vampires had it lucky? Well, if you
never say anything about it again, then she’ll never remember it. Or if you want it, she’ll be your slave
again as soon as you think of it. You
get to pick a new slave every night if you want, and you can have them whenever
you want. Goddamn male fantasy come to
life, ain’t it?” He noted more than a
hint of anger in her voice. Or
jealousy.
Vanessa
finished off her cigarette and poked it out in the ashtray. Then she pulled her pen from behind her ear
and wrote something on her order pad.
Gary watched as she peeled the page off and tucked the pad back into the
breast pocket. His mind wandered back
to the night before, when he had suckled at that breast.
“Here,”
she said. “If you really need some
help, call me. Otherwise, enjoy your
life, because I’m sure you will.” She
unlocked the door and stepped out. “Oh,
by the way,” she said as she turned back to him one more time, with that big
grin he remembered. “I expect a big
tip.”
2
The
miles passed in quick succession. The
couple had planned to drive all the way through Nevada down I-15 into Las
Vegas, and then spend a couple days relaxing before finishing the trip into Los
Angeles.
By Gary’s
estimation, they would make it to Vegas by about 8 or 9 PM, right around the
time the sun went down and it got dark.
For once, Gary was upset that it was summer. When winter rolled around (or what passes for winter in
California, he thought) the sun would go down a lot earlier and he wouldn’t
have to wait so long to become more than human.
The long
drive also gave Gary plenty of time to think about things. He knew that he wasn’t going to be happy
with life the way it had been. Despite
having been a vampire for all of a few hours, he was sure that a work-a-day
life wouldn’t satisfy him the way it used to.
For that matter, he had never been particularly satisfied. His job was okay, and it paid the bills, but
he felt like he never really tested himself.
Even this move was just a change, rather than a real improvement.
More
importantly, though, he thought about Lisa.
And what Vanessa had told him.
From now on, she could be just like she used to be, or she could be his
total slave with a thought. He wasn’t
sure what that meant, but it gave him a shudder.
That
reminded him of something else which Vanessa said. She said she could tell that Gary was decent. What the hell did that mean?
Gary’s
reverie was broken by the blasting horn of a semi behind him. Gary noticed that while he had been
thinking, he had slowed down significantly.
When he moved the car back into the slow lane, a dozen cars and trucks
pulled by. Some of the drivers had less
than pleasant things to say to Gary.
One woman was particularly rude, flipping Gary off while cursing at
him. Gary made it a point to remember
that woman’s car. He had always
believed in karma, and he expected he’d see her stuck by the side of the road
with a flat tire someday.
“How’re
you doing?” Lisa asked. “Do you want me
to take over?”
Gary
looked at the woman sitting next to him.
He loved her. He loved her
angelic face, and her expressive eyes.
And the fact that she loved him.
He couldn’t accept her as his slave.
Well, maybe on special occasions...
He shook off that thought.
Decent. Ugh.
“I’m
fine right now. We can trade when we
get gas later.”
Lisa
looked back down at the book in her lap.
Gary was jealous of the fact that Lisa could read anytime and
anywhere. It made him nauseous to try
reading in a car or on a plane. Lisa,
on the other hand, could lose herself in a book easily.
“How’s
the book coming?”
“It’s
frustrating. The heroine is torn
between wanting to be noble and important, and also wanting to make her family
happy.”
Gary
thought about that a moment. “Why can’t
she do both?”
“Her
family doesn’t think women should be heroes.
They think women should be... women.”
Lisa shrugged slightly, another gesture Gary had always adored.
“What
would you do?” Gary asked.
Lisa
closed the book and stared out at the quickly passing landscape. “I feel you have to be true to
yourself. If you’re supposed to be a
hero, you’re supposed to be a hero. If
you’re supposed to be something else, then you do that. Trying to please everyone else doesn’t make
any sense if it doesn’t make you happy.”
“I love
you, Lisa.”
She
laughed a bit. “I love you too. Where did that come from?”
“What, do
I have to have a reason to tell you that I love you?”
“No, it
just seemed out of place in that conversation.”
He
caught her eyes for a moment. “I’m just
glad that you believe in being yourself.”
He felt somber with the thought.
“Promise me you’ll never stop feeling that way.”
Lisa
reached across the seat and put her hand on his, wrapping her fingers gently
around the steering wheel. “I
promise. I’ll always be the pain in the
neck that you love.”
What a
choice of words, he thought to himself.
3
Gary and
Lisa carried their bags into the lobby of the Excalibur Hotel, and found their
way to the check-in desk. Gary couldn’t
wait to get checked in. Not only was he
tired from the drive, but he could almost feel the sun sinking. By the time they were finished, it would be
dark.
There
was a line of several people ahead of the two of them. Some were couples much like he and
Lisa. There was a tourist family, with
two bratty kids that the mother was straining to control. There was a group of Japanese businessmen,
or at least that’s what they looked like with their suits and briefcases. And unlike the stereotypes, not one of these
men had a camera.
There
were only three people working windows at the check-in desk. One was a very efficient older woman, who
had moved through three parties quietly and quickly. The second was a young guy.
Gary figured the kid was barely out of college, if that. He seemed to get flustered by every little
thing. Gary prayed he wouldn’t get
stuck with that one.
The
third was another woman. She was also
young, and very attractive. She had a
sweet smile and a kind demeanor. Although
she wasn’t quite as good at her job as the old woman next to her, she seemed to
be doing everything she could to make the process move. He sensed that it had been a long afternoon,
and the tempers of the people waiting to check in had started wearing on her.
Gary and
Lisa made it up to the second spot in line when the kid and the cute woman both
finished with their present guests. The
man in front of Gary started towards the smiling beauty. At that moment, Gary felt the sun disappear
completely. He put his hand on the man’s
shoulder. The man turned to face
Gary. Gary silently suggested the man
should go to the other window. The man’s
face went pale, and then he nodded and obediently went to be “helped” by the
pimple-faced kid.
Gary and
Lisa deposited their bags in front of the desk. He fished out his wallet and told the woman his name for the
reservation. She typed something on the
keyboard in front of her, then left her station to grab a couple of the plastic
cards the hotel used for keys.
“Babe, I’m
gonna go check out the tables while you’re checking in.” Lisa practically skipped away, leaving Gary
to take care of business. She wanted to
go to Vegas so much. Gary hadn’t been
real excited by the idea when they planned it, although he liked the idea much
more in the last 24 hours.
“Sir!”
Gary
snapped back to the clerk. He saw her
name—Melody—on her nametag.
“I’m
sorry, what was that?” he said.
“I said
I’m afraid I can’t find your reservation.
Are you sure you called this hotel?”
“Of
course I’m sure. Is there more than one
Excalibur in Las Vegas?”
“Well, I
can’t find your name in our computer. I’m
afraid we’re all booked up tonight.”
Gary
felt his anger and frustration rising.
This was supposed to be the vacation part of this trip, and now it was
not getting off to a good start. But
before he said or did anything else, he felt the pressure against his
gums. He realized that he didn’t have
to lose it, and that he couldn’t afford to lose control. Instead, he took control.
“Melody,”
he said softly as he stared into her big brown eyes, “do you have any rooms
available?”
Her face
went blank at first, and then her body seemed to relax. Gary didn’t want to push too hard, at least
not yet.
“The
only room we have that isn’t reserved is the King’s Suite.”
“Then
you will put me in the King’s Suite.
And you will make sure that I am treated like a king.” He smiled to her as he spoke, so as to
reassure her through the minor haze of his control. “And I won’t be charged any more than I would have been for a
normal room.”
Gary
released her from his active control, hoping his suggestions would sink
in. He watched her reactions as she
returned to normal.
“I’m
sorry for the confusion, sir,” she said, looking back down at her computer
terminal. “It seems we do have the King’s
Suite still available. If you don’t
mind that, we can put you up there. And
of course we won’t charge you any more than you already were quoted.” She smiled back at Gary. “After all, we treat all of our guests like
kings.”
Melody
handed him the map of the hotel, directing Gary to the tower where the suite
was located. He reached across the desk
and held her hand, once again reaching also into her mind. “When do you get off tonight?”
“My shift
ends at midnight,” she said stiffly.
“Then you
will come to my room by 12:15. Do you
understand?”
“Of
course.”
Gary
released Melody, gathered up the keycards and his papers, and went off to find
Lisa.
“This is
wonderful!” Lisa screamed as she rolled around on the oversized bed. The King’s Suite stretched across half a
floor, with three separate rooms including an enormous bathroom with a
whirlpool. “And you’re sure we don’t
have to pay more for all this?”
“Positive,”
he said. “We just got lucky enough to
be the first bumped guest.”
“Well,
in that case, I hope we get bumped more often.”
Gary had
sat down on a leather sofa in the master bedroom, from which he could watch his
fiancee revel in the luxurious bed while he also stared out into the night sky
through the room-length windows. His
mind spun with ideas on how to enjoy the next three days.
“Tell
you what, love,” Lisa said, jumping off the bed. “Let’s go down to the casino and live it up a bit. Then later, if you get bored with it, you
can come back here while I gamble.”
Gary
couldn’t believe the energy Lisa had, despite the fact that it was night, and
they had driven most of the day. He
supposed she had been saving all of her energy for the next few days. And he knew how much she loved
gambling. Fortunately, she was also
very lucky when it came to slot machines, so she usually ended up paying for
her hours-on-end binges. In fact, he couldn’t
remember a time when she didn’t at worst break even.
“That
sounds fine. But before that, don’t you
think we ought to change? I doubt you
want to go down there in the same clothes you’ve been wearing all day.”
Lisa had
a twinkle in her eye. “I had the same
thought. But you have to promise not to
look. I’ve got a surprise.”
“So
what, I should cover my eyes?”
“Yes. In fact, that’s exactly what you should do.”
Gary
played along. After reaffirming that he
had covered his eyes, and that he couldn’t see anything, Lisa opened one of her
bags and pulled out a special outfit.
Next,
she stripped off her shorts and t-shirt.
She also removed her white cotton bra and panties. Then she slipped into the dress.
“Okay,
you can open your eyes now.”
Gary was
most impressed with what he saw. Lisa
was wearing a tight black cocktail dress that left precious little to the
imagination. The hem was barely long
enough to be considered a micro-mini.
And she had only spaghetti straps to hold the dress up. Her cleavage was evident, as the neckline
plunged (wonderfully, in his eyes) in front and even further in back. In Minnesota, this dress would be
scandalous. Here, it was only...
“Beautiful. Sexy.
Absolutely perfect. And the
dress isn’t bad either.”
Lisa
blushed. She loved it though. She had never felt confident enough to show
herself off like this, but something about this city and the trip and the move
and all. She knew she never had to fear
Gary’s reaction when it came to her body.
“So you like?”
“Absolutely. So how about we go find a bank to break?”
Lisa
hugged Gary, and kissed him deeply.
Gary felt her nipples, hardened in the conditioned air, as she pressed
against his chest. Oh yes, he thought,
this will be a wonderful few days.
4
Gary and
Lisa rode down the elevator in each other’s arms. Gary also took advantage of the private moments to caress Lisa’s
breasts through the sheer silk material.
He loved the feel of silk, and he especially loved feeling a woman’s
body through it. The first time he had
the guts to buy lingerie for Lisa, he got her a red silk teddy for Valentine’s
Day. She didn’t wear it often, but
every time she did, he made a point of letting her know how much he appreciated
it. And her in it.
“I love you
so much,” Gary said.
“You too
babe,” Lisa replied.
She
turned to face him and winked. Just
after that, she grabbed him and kissed him.
The
couple was locked in the passionate kiss when the elevator car arrived at the
lobby. The bell chimed and the doors
slid open. They didn’t stop kissing.
“Excuse
me,” a woman’s voice said. Still they
held the kiss.
“I said,
excuse me.” The woman’s voice was more
shrill, almost dripping with impatience.
Finally
Lisa broke apart from Gary. She avoided
looking at the woman. Gary wasn’t sure
if it was out of embarrassment or disdain.
Gary saw that the woman was very attractive, with long blonde hair and
the body of a model. And that face...
he was sure he recognized her from somewhere, but he couldn’t quite place it.
“What
are you staring at, asshole?” the woman sneered as the elevator door closed.
He
watched for a few moments to track the elevator. It stopped on the 23rd floor. He tucked that tidbit of information away.
Lisa
made a bee-line for the roulette tables.
She had always wanted to try playing roulette. She even got Gary to contribute $10 for the first play. The number was 17, which was the combination
of the day and date of when they met: January 7.
By the
time Gary got to the table where Lisa had set herself down, the ball was
already spinning, and he saw that chip sitting by itself on 17.
He
watched the ball spin. He tried
concentrating on the ball, to see if he could affect it. He tried to give it a push, like he had with
Melody earlier. But he couldn’t feel
anything.
He
concentrated even harder, telling the ball to jump. Suddenly, he noticed that five or six people around the table had
taken a small jump, almost in unison.
“Well
that wasn’t what I wanted,” he thought to himself.
Gary
resigned himself to the idea that he definitely wasn’t going to be able to
influence this game. Instead, he just
held Lisa’s hand and hoped that the ball would fall in the right place.
“And the
number is... 29!” The tender swept away
the chips, including the $10 chip from number 17. The excitement over the moment went away with it.
“Well,
you stayed for our play,” Lisa said. “You
can go do your own thing if you want now.”
She kissed Gary on the cheek, then reached across the table to toss on
her next bet.
Gary
smiled, waved at her as he went away from the gradually-
filling
table, and headed for the bar.
He got
as far as ordering a beer when he spotted the bitch from the elevator walking
across the casino floor. He through
down a five-dollar bill for the beer and trailed after the woman.
Although
he was angry with the woman, he also admired that body. She had to be one of the most beautiful
women he had ever seen. He would have
guessed her tits were at least D-cups, and they looked great in the blue halter
dress she was wearing. And her legs
were long, thin and fine. He had very
impure thoughts about this beauty-and-a-bitch.
The
woman left the hotel and went out to the parking lot. That vague recognition which Gary had earlier suddenly snapped
into perfect focus when he saw the car.
It was that same red sports car that passed them earlier. And the same woman who had flipped him
off. Suddenly the anger made perfect
sense.
She
reached out to put her key into the car door, but before her hand could cross
the few inches of air, Gary was upon her.
“What
the fuck are you d...”
Gary
caught her eyes, quieting her instantly.
“Why are you always such a bitch, lady?
It isn’t nice.”
Her
mouth opened, but no sounds came out. A
look of shock overtook her. She tried
to speak, but she couldn’t make a sound.
“Scary,
isn’t it?” Gary asked harshly. “It’s
not so much fun when you’re the one without the power.”
He
released his hold on her ability to speak, although he made sure she couldn’t
scream.
“Who are
you?” she asked.
“I’m the
one you cut off on the road earlier. I’m
the one you pushed by on the elevator.
I’m the one who doesn’t like being treated like I’m just in the way.”
Again,
she tried to scream, and still nothing.
“Why can’t I scream?”
“I won’t
let you. I’m going to make you suffer
for being such a bitch to everyone. You’re
going to be doing what I want you to do, and when I’m done, if you’re really
lucky, you might not even remember anything.”
She
tried one more time to scream, and failed.
So instead, she tried to punch him.
But Gary was ready for that too.
He grabbed her arm, spun her around against her car, and leaned into
her.
“Lady,
you picked the wrong vampire to piss off.”
He
grabbed her head and pushed it to one side, and ruthlessly plunged his fangs
into her throat. He felt her body buck
with the pain, which he did nothing to relieve. But shortly after the pain faded, she relaxed. He moved back, knowing that he didn’t have
to hold her physically anymore.
“Oh,
master,” she said breathlessly.
“Follow
me, girl. It’s time for your lesson.”
The door
opened to the dark and empty suite. In
the minutes while they walked from the parking lot, Gary learned that the woman’s
name was Sonya. She was just as spoiled
and bitchy as he could have imagined.
Sonya’s
father was a minor millionaire, who had profited from inside trading. She had grown up without want, and no one
denied her what she desired. One of her
boyfriends had said no to her when she insisted he go down on her. The boyfriend ended up in jail on rape
charges. A sorority had the nerve to
reject her, and the two girls who had voted against her ended up
suspended. She made sure that no
revenge ever went unsatisfied.
Her
daddy had been a womanizer, and she learned quickly that only the sexiest, most
beautiful women got the attention from him.
She had a private trainer and a nutritionist to keep her in tip-
top
shape. She delighted in telling Gary
that not only were her 34D breasts real, but they were “perfect.” She swore to him that she never wore a bra,
because she didn’t need one.
Sonya
had been with more men than she could remember, despite being only 24. She lost her virginity when she was 15. She assured Gary that she was amazing in bed
and that she loved giving head for the “right” guys.
Two
lines of thought competed in Gary’s mind from listening to Sonya’s litany. First, he was completely turned on from
having this sex kitten turned into a sex slave. But second, he was disgusted by how freely she used her sex as a
weapon. He planned on turning the
tables on her, taking advantage of her and using her.
As Gary
closed the door, he spoke a single word: “Strip.” He reinforced the message with a mental push.
Sonya
lit up like a flame. She reached behind
her head to undo the clasp holding her dress together. She peeled the thin fabric down, exposing
those luscious tits. Her nipples were
standing out towards Gary, and he resisted reaching out to them. Instead, he simply sat on a sofa and watched
the striptease.
Sonya
pushed the rest of the dress down past her slinking hips. She wasn’t wearing any panties
underneath. Just like Lisa hadn’t.
Lisa.
The
thought echoed in his mind. Gary hadn’t
thought of being with Vanessa as “cheating” because, at least to him, he really
hadn’t had much choice. But this would
be different. This would be cheating.
“I want
you to fuck me, Master,” Sonya moaned.
She ran one hand around one of her tits, cupping it and caressing
it. She ran her other hand down between
her legs and slid her fingers inside herself.
She was totally shaved, and he could see she was dripping wet. “I need you to take me.”
Gary’s
hungers growled at him. He wanted her
sexually in the worst way, and he needed to taste more of her blood. The animal instinct inside him told him to
ignore Lisa. He could love her if he
wanted, or he could control her utterly.
But later.
He was
torn, and he was close to making his decision.
Then he
heard the door open.