by Todd Gregory
“You still there?” The female vampire’s voice brought him back to the park, to the humid August air, to the parade of fans in the distance. “She captured you?”
“Yes, captured me, made me, then wanted to kill me. I escaped. Alone. That’s how I like it.”
Her harsh demeanor had disappeared despite his obstinacy. She touched him lightly and held his hand. “There’s more.”
“A lot more that I don’t like to talk about. I’ve never loved because it was forbidden. And now it’s too late. I’m too old to adjust. I don’t know how.”
“I get it.” She clutched his hand harder. “That’s why I didn’t get a reaction. Take my advice. I lived under the Roman Empire, so I know about longevity.” Piotr marveled at how much older she was than even him. “You have to adjust, age to age. Things change, and you have to change, too. And it’s not good to try to do it alone.” She stood in front of him and smiled, her fangs now gone. She took his face in her hands, leaned over, and kissed him on the forehead. “There’s a man out there for you. Find him. Don’t give up yet. You’re too young.”
Piotr watched her walk away, wanting to scream for her to come back but at the same time thankful that his solitude had returned. He wiped the blood tears from his face and waited until he had control of himself to get up. He thought of going back to one of the bars that he had visited, with all of those men looking to hook up. She had wanted him to do that.
But what if he wasn’t ready? What if she was wrong, and he couldn’t adjust? He started back toward Cleveland Heights and the cemetery he had called home for several months now. He had found a nice crypt across from President Garfield’s Monument that served him nicely. A bank clock told him that he had hardly been up an hour, however, and so instead he walked up the hill to Coventry, deciding to go to the coffee shop and watch people while he considered her plea to him.
He entered the narrow store and walked to the counter, where he ordered a café mocha. He hardly needed human food or beverages for survival, but the manuscript of long ago had explained how it would not harm him and helped a vampire blend into a crowd. The packed coffee shop offered precisely what he needed at this moment: humans everywhere to keep him from going crazy in his solitude or losing himself in depression over his loneliness, but at the same time a dull roar of sound that posed little risk of forced interaction.
He grabbed his coffee and turned around, hoping to find a free table or at least a stool where he could sit alone in his introspection. Nothing was available. He glanced at one empty chair but noticed someone at the table across from it. Too late, he realized that the young man sitting there had looked up from his reading.
“You can sit here.” The youth, probably in his late teens, smiled and motioned across from him.
Stuck, Piotr accepted the invitation. At least this one was adorable, with curly brown hair that frizzed out and deep dimples. He sat down slowly, unsure of what to say. “Thank you.” He wished he could come up with something more clever and inviting. But did he really want a conversation with some stranger?
The youth bit the top of his pen and tilted his head toward Piotr. “Andy.” He held out his hand by way of consummating the introduction.
“Piotr.” Their hands lingered together. Piotr lost himself for a moment in the big brown eyes that stared back. “What are you reading?” There, he had initiated something. Perhaps this encounter would at least distract him from his misery. He imagined the woman from the park encouraging him to continue.
“A history book. It’s not for class. It’s for fun. I mean, I read for class, too. I’m a history major. But Case doesn’t have any classes in gay history.” Andy stopped cold.
“Interesting. I’m afraid I lived through too much of what you study as history to appreciate reading about it.”
This made Andy laugh. “You’re not that old.”
“If you only knew.”
“What’s that mean?”
“It’s a long story. Well, I’m sorry to bother you. I only came for a quick cup of coffee.” Andy’s face fell. “What?”
“Oh, nothing. I mean, sure. Thanks for the company.” Andy flipped a page of his book.
“Did I offend you?” Some force propelled Piotr toward this young man. At any other time, he would have fled at that moment without another word. He had tried to leave, wanted to really, but something kept him in that chair.
“No. Of course not. It’s just, well. I don’t know you. I better not.”
“It’s a little late now, isn’t it? Why don’t you try me? I’ve heard a lot in my time.”
“There you go again, acting like some old dude.” Andy had recovered and smiled again.
“Why don’t you tell this old dude what’s on your mind.”
“When did you come out? I mean, how old were you? See, I just did. Recently. Like, last week. I know, like, what the hell have I been doing all this time?” Andy shrugged his shoulders. “I knew, right? Since like, fifth grade. Of course! But saying it is another thing. So I just finally did it. Well, my counselor said I should, you know? Actually, my parents were pretty cool. Handled it better than I expected.”
“What else?” Piotr prodded and ignored the question about himself. How had Andy determined that Piotr was gay? “Why are you here tonight?”
“Oh, well.” Andy stopped and chuckled, mostly to himself. “That’s a good question. Stupid I guess. I’m not twenty-one yet. Just turned twenty. So I can’t go to the bars with my friends. Actually, I don’t really have that many gay friends. More like acquaintances. Anyway, I came here hoping to meet other gay guys. You know? It sucks hanging alone. And I don’t know where to go, except the bars I can’t get in. Oh, are you even gay? I didn’t mean to presume anything.”
Piotr smiled across at Andy. “You’re nervous. Don’t be. Yes, I’m gay.” Piotr had never said those words about himself before. It felt wonderful.
“Whew. Good. Oh, I didn’t mean that.”
“Would you like to go someplace to talk? More private?”
Andy hesitated. “Sure.”
“I’m not going to harm you. It’s just hot and crowded in here.”
Andy packed his book in a bag, stood up, and straightened his shirt. He chugged down the last of his drink and started to leave. “You didn’t touch your coffee,” he said to Piotr. “Are you just leaving it?”
“I’m in a different mood than when I ordered it.”
They walked up the hill, past the public library and toward a residential street. Andy continued his monologue, about how he wanted more friends, about how he was usually very shy, and about nothing in particular. Finally, he stopped beneath a tree and turned toward Piotr.
“Isn’t that enough about me? What about you?”
Piotr had no idea what came over him, for he had never engaged in such activity, let alone in public. The only man he had ever had sex with was the member of the council, right after Piotr was made.
Tonight, unseen forces took control of his body as he leaned over and kissed Andy on the lips. He pulled Andy closer. Andy kissed back, pushing his tongue into Piotr’s mouth, though his arms remained firmly at his sides. Piotr pushed him back and gazed again into those incredible brown eyes.
“Wow, first kiss.” Andy grinned and licked his lips.
“Come here.” Piotr pulled Andy into a backyard, behind a small shed concealed by trees. This time, Andy stood on his tiptoes and kissed Piotr first. He tasted of mint and chocolate as Piotr ran his tongue lightly across his teeth, then deep into the back of his throat.
Andy helped Piotr unbutton his own shirt to expose his hairless chest. He was so smooth, so delicious, with his slight build and glowing skin. Piotr trailed down to Andy’s belly button, then slowly undid the top button of his shorts. He released Andy and sucked longingly at the slightly small penis in front of him. He heard Andy moan as he ran his hand along the inside of Andy’s thigh, around to his firm ass cheek. He felt lightly along Andy’s anus, pushing softly with
his finger. Andy spread his legs willingly as Piotr pushed in deeper with his index finger.
Overcome with passion, Piotr reached down and unzipped his own pants. He fumbled to release his engorged dick and stroked it rapidly. Then he stood up to get another taste of Andy’s mouth.
“I’ve never done this before.” Andy said it matter-of-factly, but a slight apprehension crept into his voice.
“We won’t do anything you don’t want.”
Andy fell to his knees and suddenly engulfed Piotr’s penis. Despite a vampire’s resistance to pain, Piotr winced slightly as Andy’s teeth scraped the top of his head. “Cover your teeth.” Andy looked up, then tried again. Whatever he did, it fixed the problem. Piotr slid in and out of Andy’s mouth, his passion rising quickly. Just before he came, he pulled Andy away gently and shot all over the ground, his legs convulsing and his knees weakening.
He pulled Andy back to his feet and kissed him again, more fiercely, more deeply than before. Andy seized Piotr’s still-hardened cock and held tightly to it as they leaned into one another. Piotr finally pulled away from the kiss and turned Andy around slowly. He licked at Andy’s ear, then felt again at his beautiful ass.
With one hand, he reached around and began stroking Andy, and with the other he plunged a finger into Andy’s tight ass. He worked it for but seconds when Andy’s body tensed and Piotr felt the warm goo slide across his hand.
He held the young boy in his arms for several seconds before turning him around again and kissing.
“Um, I don’t know what to say.” Andy slowly reached down and pulled up his underwear, then his shorts. “I mean, I guess this is it, huh? This is how it goes?” Piotr dressed himself as Andy continued to chatter away. “That was awesome. Wow. I mean, I always guessed sex with a guy would be the thing, you know? But wow. Oh, well, I heard we aren’t really supposed to talk or something. These one-time things are like that, right? Never mind, you don’t have to teach me.”
Piotr reached over and touched Andy on the shoulder. With his free hand, he ran his fingers through Andy’s hair and pulled him into another kiss.
“Give me your phone number.” Piotr reached down and handed Andy his bag. Andy fumbled around inside for a pen and receipt from the coffee shop, then wrote his number on it.
“What’s this mean?” Andy stared up at Piotr, for the first time seemingly lost for words.
Piotr led Andy back to the sidewalk and toward Coventry. “That I’d like to see you again. Is that okay?” Piotr knew the answer before he got it.
“Yeah, that’s great. Wow. I mean, you’re hot. Really hot.” Andy’s face turned bright red in the glow of a nearby streetlight. “I like you. Not that I’m going to be clingy or anything. Unless you want me to be! Shit. I didn’t mean that.”
Piotr put his arm around Andy and nudged them together. “You’re a jittery one. We’ll see where this goes. But, for the record, you’re amazingly hot yourself.” Piotr tapped his finger on Andy’s nose.
“Shit.” Andy looked at his watch. “I gotta go. I promised my friend I’d help her study for an exam. Sorry. Call me? You promise? I didn’t get your number.”
“No need. I have yours. Go. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
Piotr watched Andy race around the corner. He followed as Andy ran down Coventry and turned onto Mayfield Avenue. His butt looked even better as he sprinted away. His backpack flopped all over the place as it dangled from one shoulder.
A wave of excitement coursed through Piotr like he had never experienced, in life or in his subsequent death. He had only heard tales of such infatuation, or in the twentieth century seen what it “looked like” on film. Hollywood had hardly ever satisfied him with anything that it portrayed. Vampires always reveled in their perfect evil or longed to be human again. He had experienced neither. He never thought of himself as demonic, and the mortality and fear of death as a human held no allure. Experiences never ended as perfectly as movies implied, and not everyone found their special someone. Perhaps Andy signaled something new, that just maybe a Hollywood ending could happen for Piotr.
Piotr strolled along the street, turning the corner where he had just seen Andy. The row of apartments no longer appeared sad and lonely to him, but rather alive with people. People partnered. People partying. People in love!
There, it happened again, a pure infatuation that Piotr had never experienced. His head spun. His heart leapt at the possibilities. Exhilaration like never before flooded every sense of Piotr’s being. Andy’s adorable face appeared again in Piotr’s mind, then his gorgeous smile, frizzy hair, and nervous chatter. Finally Piotr remembered the darkened encounter behind the shed, Andy’s hairless chest, his skinny arms, and the taste of his penis on his lips.
Piotr wanted to see Andy again, right then and there. Yet he had to wait. It might crush him forever if Andy became a one-night stand and ignored Piotr’s calls. Piotr must take it slowly, cautiously, making sure that he and Andy both prepared themselves for every step they took. In fact, he decided to simply call Andy tomorrow without meeting him. Instead they could set a date, for a few days from then. Slow. Piotr had to go slowly to avoid ruining this first chance with love.
Besides, the vampire ethic regulated how quickly one could get into a relationship. He had not read the entire manuscript, given to him by his savior after his making, in a long time but recalled that vampires mated for life. He never paid it much attention, assuming that he was destined to wander alone for eternity. In a chance encounter, Andy had changed that. Piotr struggled to remember what the manuscript had said, something about picking another vampire or human to pair with, but in the case of humans it warned to take things very slowly. It had used an example in which it took several years before the vampire converted a human despite their being in love since they met. Piotr wanted to review that part of the manuscript, since he had ignored it for decades.
Piotr decided to go examine the manuscript right now, hoping it might give some direction as he plotted his courtship of Andy. Crossing Mayfield Road, Piotr glanced around to make sure that no one looked before he jumped the fence surrounding Lake View Cemetery. He sauntered through the tombstones and trees, wanting to whistle but again afraid that someone might notice him. Several yards into the cemetery he turned a corner that led to his crypt and froze.
Two muscular men, in their early twenties, towered over a figure who lay on the ground, motionless and bleeding.
“Fucking faggot.” One of the assailants stepped back and ran toward the poor victim, kicking him in the head with the full force of his boot. His partner in crime spit down on the target.
Piotr had encountered such scenes before. The ethic allowed him to dispatch both of these brutes for dinner, thus ridding human society of two less than desirable elements. It especially angered him that they had attacked some poor person simply for being or looking gay.
Piotr snapped a branch off a nearby tree to alert his prey to his presence. One whipped around and saw him standing there. “Fuckin’ peeping tom, huh?” His friend, who had bent over the victim with a knife, looked up and smirked.
Before either could move toward him and gain any advantage, Piotr used his vampiric speed to close the distance between them. In a mere second, he stood between the two men and allowed his fangs to descend.
When they jumped to attack, Piotr captured each by the neck and held them at arm’s length. The one with the knife lashed at Piotr with it and even cut his arm, but the wound healed immediately. Just as he was about to commence with the rest of his theatrics, Piotr glimpsed the body beneath them.
No. Impossible. His entire body collapsed and he let go of the two men when he recognized the backpack, then the shirt, still only half buttoned from their earlier encounter. Andy lay motionless, his face so bloodied and bruised that Piotr would never have recognized him without the familiar clothing.
Rage welled within every inch of Piotr’s being. A rage of protectiveness, of anger at someone attacking the innocent. But ev
en more, a rage that his chance at love, after all these centuries, lay shattered and dead beneath him.
Piotr whipped around and in no time came up behind one of the men, both of whom had raced away when he released his grip. He roared as he got close enough to kill him. Piotr extended both arms in front of him, and in one swift motioned clapped his hands together, the fiend’s head exploding with the vampiric force.
The other man, the one with the knife who had kicked Andy in the head, screamed in terror as he turned around and saw his friend’s brains all over the pavement, his face nothing more than a deflated balloon. Piotr captured him easily by reaching out and grabbing his face like a bowling ball, two fingers penetrating each eye socket and his thumb ramming into the man’s mouth and up into the top of it. With relative ease, Piotr pulled his hand back and ripped off the man’s face. He slumped to the ground, where Piotr could only hope he would suffer a slow and painful death.
Piotr hardly stopped to contemplate this vindication, however, as he hurried back to Andy’s limp form. He fell to the ground and huddled Andy close to him, ignoring the blood that got everywhere. He swayed back and forth, crying so hard that the blood tears streamed down his face and dripped onto Andy, mingling with the youth’s blood.
What vile twist of fate had brought him to this point? What karma or force would finally bring the possibility of companionship to his life, only to strip it away in a few minutes of bitter hatred and prejudice? Was this what Piotr deserved, after years of following some ethic outlined in a manuscript, thrust at him as he ran for his life? Was God so cruel as to punish him for nothing?
The damn book gave no instructions for this situation. Neither had the various vampires he had met along the way. What could he do? How could he possibly go on with immortal life, not only in its continued loneliness, but now the loss of love?
Piotr lifted Andy’s crushed skull and smashed it against his own face, wanting desperately to pretend that they lay together, in his crypt after he had brought Andy over to death. He licked a bit of Andy’s blood, knowing that it always gave a vampire the complete view of that person’s life. Piotr saw nothing but goodness there, a kind heart, a loving son and friend, a scared and lonely gay man trying to find himself in a world that often hated him.