Branden

This is how lame my life really is. It's a Friday night and I'm spending it in the library by myself. Believe me, this place wasn't my first choice. However, by the process of elimination, it was the best for me at the moment. I was perfectly content doing my homework in my dorm room until my roomie came home half-drunk with some skank. I willing left, knowing that he was going to throw me out anyway. With my backpack on my shoulder, I walked down the hall to the lounge. When I got there, I found the lounge full of guys having a party while watching some fighting event on TV. Since I wasn't in the mood to deal with a bunch of people, I just decided to go elsewhere. Due to a lack of options on a Friday night, I ended up walking to the library. It was at least open until 2 am and my roommate would hopefully be passed out by then.

So, here I sat a table by myself trying to work on my homework. Every time I tried to concentrate though, I failed miserably. My thoughts kept distracting me with images of Christian popping up in my head. It had been almost a whole week since the party and I still couldn't get him out of my mind. Eventually, I just gave up and put my books back into my backpack. Since I had been sitting here for a while, I decided to roam around the library for a bit. Maybe a little walk would help clear my head.

I slowly walked through the book stacks, just glancing over the spine covers. When I reached the mystery section, I stopped and glanced through the titles. I inadvertently stumbled upon the Agatha Christie section and started looking over the selection. She was one of my favorite mystery authors and I absolutely loved the Hercule Poirot books. After pulling one of the titles off the shelf, I started glancing through it. Suddenly, I got the feeling that someone was watching me and a shudder ran down my spine. I quickly closed the book and looked around me. Of course, there was nobody to be found. After abruptly closing the book, I returned it to the shelf.

I shrugged my shoulders and walked out of that aisle. Not that I was scared or anything, but I decided to keep to the back wall as I continued my stroll. I was almost to the corner when someone grabbed my arm and pulled me into the aisle. I could have sworn that I shit myself and my heart skipped a beat. Just as I opened my mouth to scream, a hand covered it. I tried to free my arm when I was spun around to face my attacker. As soon as I saw him, my body went limp and I stopped struggling. Those piercing blue eyes were looking directly at me as my fear quickly faded away. I glanced down his torso and noticed that he was dressed the same as the night of the party. A tight black t-shirt hugged his torso and blue jeans covered his legs. Christian uncovered my mouth and put his hand on my shoulder. His grip on my other arm loosened, but he continued to hold onto it.

Christian whispered, "You're a hard man to track down."

I asked, a little louder than I should have, "Christian, what the fuck?"

He replied, "Ssshhhh... we're in a library"

In almost a whisper, I asked, "What happened last weekend? Everything seemed to be going so well."

Christian answered, "Aaahhh, it's complicated. That's why I tracked you down tonight." He looked around the room before continuing, "Can we go someplace where we can actually talk?"

"Um, yeah. That would be great. I gotta grab my stuff, follow me."

Christian released his hold on me and followed behind as I walked back to the table that I was at. After retrieving my backpack, we walked through the library toward the exit. We left the library and started walking across the campus. There weren't too many places that would be open this time of the night, so I took him to the only place that I could think of. Even though it was one of the last places that I would ever go to.

When we reached the sports fields, we followed the sidewalks to the football practice field. Only the dim lights from the sidewalk lights and a few lights on the field were illuminating the area. It was just enough to see each other and where we were going. Christian followed me as I walked up the stairs of the deserted bleachers to the top row. I sat down on the last row of benches and leaned back against the chain-link fence with Christian sitting down beside me. There was just enough light from the sidewalk lights to see his face. We sat in silence for a minute before I decided to ask the question that had been weighing on me for almost an entire week.

I sighed, "Did I do something wrong?"

He replied, "No. You can believe me when I say, it was 100% me. I pushed you out for your own good though. Let me start at the beginning."

"Okay."

Christian continued, "I have been watching you since shortly after the fall semester began."

"You what?"

He placed a finger on my lips and I tried desperately not to just take it into my mouth. "We only have our gatherings once a year and you were my top choice to invite. So, I gave you an invitation. When I was holding you while we were dancing though, everything changed. I couldn't carry out the act that you were invited for."

"Christian, I was almost totally prepared to sleep with you that night."

"That's not entirely the act that I was talking about. You were so sweet and innocent, I couldn't possibly have done what I planned on doing."

"I'm confused."

He replied, "I know you are and I'm not really helping matters much here."

Christian placed his hand on my thigh and leaned into me until our faces were almost touching. I thought that he was going to kiss me until he said, "Branden, I'm a vampire."

I gulped before asking, "A what?"

He replied, "Um, Nosferatu."

"I know what a fucking vampire is."

That was when the memory from last weekend came rushing back to me. The way that his teeth felt as they grazed across my neck. I knew something didn't feel right and now everything made sense. Well, almost everything made sense. As the reality of the situation washed over me, I tried moving away from him. Christian wrapped his other arm around my waist and held me from getting away.

He said, "If I would have taken you back to my room, I would have fucked you senseless. As I climaxed inside you, my fangs would've bitten into your neck and sucked the life right out of you. It's a delicacy that we only allow ourselves to once a year and I passed on it because I like you. I like you way too much to only have one chance of being with you. I wanted you more. I need you more."

I sat there for a moment while trying to absorb what he just said. It was a lot and I still wasn't entirely sure that I believed him. Everything about that night started to make more sense to me though. That would explain why the room emptied more as the night went on.

"So, you live with a bunch of vampires. And you have a party once a year for the sole purpose of drinking blood. But, you didn't drink mine because you didn't want to kill me? All because you like me?"

Christian replied, "Exactly."

"Now everything makes perfect sense."

I could hear him growl under his breath. It was kind of sexy and turned me on in an instant. I tried not to show it though as I looked into his eyes. Those piercing blue eyes had remained unchanged the entire time that we had this conversation. Deep in my heart, I knew that he was telling me the truth. However, my brain was having a tougher comprehending it.

Christian said, "Here, let me try to prove this to you."

He wrapped his arms around my back and pulled my chest tight against his. The darkness engulfed us as the setting faded away and everything went black.

...

When the darkness faded from around us, we were in a bedroom. Both of us were sitting at the foot of a bed. It took me a couple of seconds to regain my composure before I realized that we were in his bedroom. I started to stand up when Christian grabbed my waist and kept me seated on the bed. After I stopped squirming, he let go of me. I watched him as he grabbed his t-shirt by the bottom of the hem and pulled it over his head before dropping it on the floor. After everything that happened tonight, the sight of his bare chest was enough to do me in. It was perfect in every way, just as my fingers remembered running over it. His pink nipples were the last thing that I saw before I finally passed out.

...

I woke up underneath a very warm comforter on a soft bed. As I opened my eyes, I realized that it was still dark outside. The soft glow of the moonlight was shining through the windows. That was when the flashbacks from tonight's events washed over me like a tidal wave. My chest started heaving and I tried to sit up, but a strong arm tightened around my ribs and held me against the mattress.

Christian muttered, "Relax, you're completely safe with me."

"Somehow, I don't believe you."

He sighed, "Look, if I just wanted to suck the blood out of you, you'd be dead by now."

Christian did have a perfectly good point there. He could have finished the deed after I passed out on his bed. Instead, he took my shirt and shoes off before getting me under the covers. Oh shit, I just realized that I wasn't wearing a shirt and he had his arm wrapped around my bare chest. Christian must have felt my tension because he started to gently stroke my side. His fingers ran down my side before he slowly ran them across my stomach. When they reached the hairs covering my lower abdomen, he brushed gently through them. He was turning me on again and I was still internally freaking out. As his hand gravitated closer and closer to the waist of my jeans, my breaths started to deepen again. It had been so long since I've had a visitor down there, I wasn't sure exactly how to respond to it.

Christian's hand quickly moved off my heaving stomach and went to the side of my shoulder. In a flash, his torso was directly on top of mine with his hands placed at both my sides. Our bare torsos were touching together, and his crotch was pressed directly into mine. His beautiful face was so close to mine that our noses were brushing against each other. I was bracing myself for what I thought he would do next.

"Branden, can we continue our little conversation?"

I gulped and nodded my head in agreeance.

He ground himself into me before asking, "What questions do you have?"

It only took me half a second to say the first thing that popped into my head. "Why me?"

The little smirk appeared on his face and he said, "Well like I said, we're very selective. Usually, the kind of guys we go after are loners, no close family, and weak. The kind of guys that most people typically forget about after a few weeks."

"Wait a minute..."

"Yes, I know your entire life history. We do very extensive research before selecting a candidate. However, you seemed to have failed the third criteria, you're not as weak as you put on. You managed to survive every obstacle that gets thrown at you, one way or another."

"And you selected me anyway?"

He answered, "Yes, for one reason and one reason only. I... Like... You..."

"If you like me so much then why didn't you talk to me sooner?"

Christian replied, "Honestly, I was afraid,"

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's been quite a long time since I dated a mortal and let's just say, well it didn't end the way that I would have liked. It was easier just to wait until the party."

"Okay, I only had two more question, but now there's three. First, why did you wait almost a week to contact me?"

He answered, "I had to wait until my brethren stopped giving me shit for not feeding off you that night."

"Alright, second, how did you do that whole we were at the stadium and now we're here act."

He replied, "As a creature of the night, we have the ability to move through the shadows. It takes some time to master, but it comes in handy."

I gulped and said, "Okay, last question. Since I'm a mortal, what makes you think that it'll work out better this time?"

He rubbed his nose against mine before answering, "I'd like to mate you and turn you."

"You'd what?"

Christian pushed his hips into mine as his lips grazed my lips. "You heard me."

"Turn me into a vampire?"

His nose rubbed up and down against mine as he nodded in agreement. This was officially the biggest catch-22 that I had ever experienced in my short life. Here I was with this beautiful hunk draped over me, offering me himself for the rest of eternity. All I had to do was make one choice. To forgo my miserable existence in the mortal world and turn into a vampire. It seemed like a simple choice, but I was still having a hard time making it.

"Do I have to decide tonight?"

He answered, "No, you have three weeks. Until the next full moon. The process seems to be more favorable in your survival then."

"What?"

"Ssshhh, trivial details that you shouldn't worry about."

"And, I'll only have to drink blood once a year?"

Christian lifted his torso away from mine and I immediately missed its presence. "No. Let me explain what happens after." He rolled off me and sat up beside me. The light showed off every crevasse between his muscles perfectly. Even without him touching me, I could still feel myself straining against the confines of my jeans. "The thirst, by itself, never ends. You'll need approval from the triumvirate to receive the serum. Only with the serum will you be able to control yourself. It shouldn't be a problem though. Our numbers are falling, and they have been looking for new recruits."

"And we can date like normal people in the meantime?"

"With the exception of going out in the sun, yes. The sun tends to do bad things to our skin." He sighed, "We can't have sex either. Until the time comes to turn you, it's not worth risking accidental biting."

I groaned and turned my head away from him. Christian placed his hand on the side of my face and turned it back toward him. His head moved back toward mine until our lips were just lightly touching together. Christian's lips opened against mine and I repeated the same gesture. Our lips crashed together as I pulled him back on top of me. I still wasn't sure what my final decision was going to be, but tonight I was going to try to make up for lost time.