2015 Prompt Responses - 17. Prompt 438 - The Vampire

Prompt 438 – Creative

Tag – Vampire

You’ve had a friend who just keeps trying to set you up on a blind date. You hate blind dates with a passion and had successfully dodged all attempts to set you up. Unfortunately they finally caught you on a night when you didn’t think fast enough and here you are on a date with a dark mysterious stranger. You remember having a good time, but not much else. When you wake up the next morning you feel really tired and find marks on your neck and upper arm. At work you mention it to your friend, jokingly. Another coworker over hears and says it sounds like you are dating a vampire. Are you?

An incessant noise pervaded my consciousness, drawing me from deep slumber. It took a while before my brain processed the noise into a coherent thought. Alarm clock. I flailed my arm in an attempt to locate the alarm and turn it off. I ended up knocking it off the nightstand and onto the floor with no cessation of the abhorrent noise. I groaned and sat up, immediately regretting the action. My head pounded in time to the beeping and every movement I made felt like I was walking through water.

Somehow I managed to locate the alarm clock, turn it off, stumble to the bathroom to pee, then collapse back into bed. A thought kept nagging me in the back of my brain. Why did my alarm go off? Today was Saturday. I didn’t have to work until Monday. I reached to grab my pillow and fall back into blissful sleep, but grabbed my cell phone instead. The date and time said it was Monday morning.

I sat bolt upright, grabbing my head in a futile attempt to stop the horrible pain from the headache I was experiencing. How the hell could it be Monday morning? I had just left work only – I frowned. When had I left work? What happened after that? I felt like I had the worst hangover of my life multiplied by a hundred. I was in no shape to work, so I called my boss.

“Hey Austin, I feel like shit. I won’t be in today.” I was friends with my boss, so I could get away with talking to him like that.

He laughed. “Damn, Ben. That must have been some date. I’ll let it slide this time, but don’t make it a habit.”

“Huh? What are you talking about? I’m really sick, man.”

“Sure, tell Simon I say ‘hi’ and get your ass in here tomorrow.” He hung up.

I looked at the phone in confusion. Who the hell was Simon? I collapsed onto the bed and immediately fell asleep.

It was four in the afternoon when I woke up again. My headache was reduced to a dull ache and I felt physically drained. I walked to the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee. Every movement produced a dull ache, as though I had just finished an intense workout. I opened the fridge to scout for something to eat. My stomach felt like it was in knots, despite not having eaten for two days. I settled on toast. I put two slices of bread in the toaster and waited for it to pop up. I jumped when it did and wondered why I felt so jittery. I buttered the toasted bread, but the smell made me want to throw up so I ended up tossing them into the trash. The coffee was now ready, so I poured myself a cup and downed the bitter brew, despite the heat.

I headed into the bathroom to take a shower and try to piece together the events of the weekend. I wasn’t much of a drinker, so didn’t understand how I could end up with a hangover this bad. I was freezing so I set the water temperature to ‘hot’, then stepped into the tub and underneath the cascading water. It took all my remaining energy to wash and rinse myself. I winced when I ran the washcloth over my neck and arms. After I dried myself off and looked in the mirror, I discovered why.

I had giant hickeys on my neck and upper arms. I touched the one on my neck, wondering how the hell I didn’t remember getting something that awful. I hissed in pain and had to grab the counter before I fell. Damn…what the hell had happened to me? Snippets of memories returned to me in a flash. Jet black hair and pale white skin. Crystal blue eyes that I couldn’t stop staring into. Cold hands running all over my hot body. Moans and kisses and teeth – wait…teeth?

I headed into my bedroom and put on a clean t-shirt and underwear before collapsing on my bed. Just taking a shower had wiped me out. Austin had mentioned a date and someone named Simon. I vaguely remembered my boss cornering me into a blind date for Friday night. What the hell had happened after that?

By the grace of God, I managed to wake up early enough to get to work on time. Austin took one look at me and shook his head.

“That must have been one hell of a weekend. You still look like shit.”

“Nice to see you, too,” I grumbled.

“So…how did it go? Simon said he really liked you. Are you guys going to go out again?”

My co-worker Travis followed us into the break room. He poured all three of us a cup of coffee. He scrutinized me as he sipped his coffee. “It’s a bit warm for a turtleneck, don’t you think?”

“Warm? I’m freezing.” I wrapped my hands around the coffee cup, hoping to absorb some of the heat.

“You look like death warmed over,” Travis said.

“You still haven’t answered my question,” said Austin.

I sighed and sat in a chair, setting my elbows on the table. “If you want to know the truth…I don’t remember anything that happened after I left work on Friday.”

“You don’t remember anything?” Travis sounded concerned.

I shook my head. “I woke up yesterday morning when my alarm went off. I was so exhausted, and I have these marks on me…” I instantly regretted mentioning the hickeys. I really didn’t want the teasing I was sure was to follow.

“Marks? Where? Or don’t I want to know?” asked Austin.

I pulled down the collar of the turtleneck and exposed my neck. “I have the same marks on the inside of my upper arms. They’re really sore.”

Travis whistled lowly. “Damn, Ben. It looks like you had a date with a vampire.”

Austin snorted. “I grew up with Simon. He’s hardly a vampire. He told me you guys had a great time and he really liked you. He didn’t mention you got drunk off your ass.”

“I wasn’t drunk.”

My boss raised an eyebrow. He obviously didn’t believe me. “C’mon guys. Let’s get to work.”

I was exhausted by the time I got home. I still wasn’t feeling well and flopped down on the couch the minute I got home. I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew, it was dark out and someone was knocking on my door. I didn’t even bother finding out who it was before I opened the door to find a gorgeous man standing before me. He fit the very definition of ‘tall, dark, and handsome’. Seeing him brought a flash of more memories.

Sitting at a bar sipping drinks and talking. Writhing on my bed, moaning as the beautiful man’s ministrations produced the most incredible sensations I had ever felt. Those piercing blue eyes and teeth. Damn…there were those teeth again! What the hell?

I knew immediately that this was Simon. Maybe he could help me piece together what had happened after our date. If I had been thinking clearer, I would have considered the possibility that he was the reason I couldn’t remember.

He smiled, showing off his perfect teeth. “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”

I nodded. “Of course. I’m sorry. I’m just a bit tired.” I stepped aside and he walked confidently into my apartment.

“It’s good to see you again, Ben.”

“Yeah, you too. I had a great time Friday night.” Huh? Where the hell did that come from? I walked to the couch and sat down. I was still feeling very weak. “Can I get you anything?”

Simon sat down right next to me. He ran his hand through my hair and caressed the back of my neck. “Just you,” he murmured as he lowered the collar of my turtleneck and kissed the hickey I was now positive he had caused.

I moaned as the most incredible sensations coursed throughout my body as he nipped and licked at my sore neck and earlobe. He laughed and the vibrations pulsated deep within me, causing me to wrap my arms around him and pull him even closer to me.

“I tried to stay away, but I couldn’t. You have me in thrall, Benjamin. You are so exquisite. I’ve never met a human like you.” His lips and hands were working magic on my overstimulated body.

Did he just call me a human? What the hell? The last thing I remember is being carried to my bed, then a flash of teeth as he descended on my neck once more.