The Sleeping Serpent:

by Luna Saint Claire

  “Bella, why should we end this magical evening so early? The night is young,” Nico urged.

  “Nico, it’s after midnight. I should go home. Tyler will be worried.”

  “Text him you’ll be home soon.”

  Truth be told, Luna didn’t want to go home. She wanted to do what young people did—party all night and go to a club that ordinary people can’t get into. When Nico approached the velvet rope, the doorman waved them in and opened the door. She and Nico were whisked inside.

  The music was so loud you could literally feel the beats inside your body. Calvin Harris’s “Let’s Go” was playing and everyone was jumping up, fists in the air, bouncing to the beat. “Stay here, don’t move. If I lose you, I’ll text you. Keep your phone in your hand.”

  Before she could respond, Nico disappeared, leaving her standing there alone. She kept dancing along with everyone else who didn’t seem to have a partner. She was relieved when Nico wasn’t gone long. He had two drinks in hand—she didn’t need more to drink, but she took it.

  “Be careful, they’re very strong,” he warned her, yelling over the music.

  “I Need Your Love” began and the crowd went wild, raising their hands up high.

  Luna yelled to Nico, “I love this song!”

  Looking around the club, Luna suddenly felt awkward, being obviously the oldest person in the room. But she kept drinking and dancing like everyone else. Soon, though, she was wiped out, and her ears were ringing. She knew it was time for her to leave and asked Nico to get her a cab because she didn’t want to go on the bike. Taking her by the waist, he led her through the packed crowd.

  “Nico, I have to use the ladies’ room. Where is it?”

  He squeezed her hand reassuringly, “I’ll take you, bella. Just stay close to me.”

  They made it off the dance floor, and as they neared the exit, Luna saw him ask the coat check person for a key, which Nico used to unlock the private wash room door. He held it open for her, and she walked in. He followed.

  “Oh, Nico…it’s only a one-person room!” she exclaimed, expecting him to leave.

  “I know, Luna. Don’t worry. I just don’t want you to pass out and hit your head.”

  “Oh, OK,” she complied, hoisting her skirt up to sit on the toilet and draping it over her lap decorously.

  Waiting by the sink, Nico ran his fingers through his hair while looking in the mirror.

  Dizzy and sleepy, Luna couldn’t tell when she was finished peeing.

  “Luna, are you OK?”

  Luna hadn’t noticed, but Nico now stood in front of her.

  She looked up at him, her head spinning; he wasn’t quite in focus.

  Placing his hands behind her head, Nico pulled her face into his groin. She felt his cock straining beneath the zipper. Pulling her head away, she looked at him quizzically.

  He unzipped his fly, and taking his semi-erect cock in his hand, stroked it in front of her mouth.

  Startled, Luna sprung up, pulling up her panties and yanking her skirt down, straightening it.

  She blurted, “Nico, what are you doing?”

  His eyes smoldered like hot coals, and Luna was so drunk she couldn’t read him. He appeared possessed, not sure who she was. Taking her around the waist, he pushed her against the tile wall, pressing his body against hers. He grasped both her wrists together, holding them above her head, “You’re so hot, my bella. I want you…right here…right now.”

  Kissing her hard on the mouth, his free hand slid underneath her skirt and into her panties, fingering her pussy. He murmured huskily, “You’re so wet.”

  Luna felt she was no longer in her own body. “Nico,” she said breathlessly, feeling she would fall down if he were not pressed against her.

  She desired him…the feel of his hard muscular body against her was so powerful…his hot lips devouring hers…his firm hands willfully caressing her. Her mind raced. The drink. What was in the drink? She could hear her ears ringing, the music pounding. Or was it her heart, about to burst?

  His touch fueled the fires of her lust. He was rough, breathing hard. His hands, hot on her flesh, tore at her panties. Her breath hitched, and a tormented moan escaped her lips. Was this really happening, or was she dreaming? When the bathroom door opened, Nico jumped. The sudden intrusion was as deafening as unexpected thunder cracking through a breathless, humid night; a collision of two worlds that shattered Luna’s nebulous reality. What had really been only a few moments had felt like an eternity. The harsh glare of the fluorescent lights jolted them into awareness. Holding her from falling, Nico gently persuaded, “Come Luna, I’ll get you into a cab.”

  He took her hand as they bolted from the bathroom. The exit door was only steps away, and there was a line of cabs waiting. Nico opened the car door and helped her in, giving the driver the address, adding, “See that she gets inside.” Then he turned to Luna, “Text me as soon as you get home.” He closed the door of the cab and headed back into the club.

  Luna was in a state of shock on the ride home. Had she imagined what happened? She felt certain Nico wouldn’t remember, and the incident was the result of too much alcohol, and whatever else was in the drink. In the elevator, she texted Nico:

  Home.

  The bedroom was dark. Tyler was asleep, and she went into the bathroom to undress, wash her face, and brush her teeth. Looking in the mirror, she thought, Who are you? She looked younger and felt changed—more alive, like she would explode inside. Was it possible that Nico actually found her attractive, and that under the influence of drugs and wine could not control himself?

  Luna crawled into bed and Tyler stirred, mumbling, “What time is it?”

  “It’s 3:00 a.m.,” she whispered.

  “It’s late, Luna.”

  “I know.” She knew that typical club guests partied till dawn, leaving with a hookup. She was happy to be safely at home, in her bed with Tyler. She was uncomfortable with what had happened, but part of her was gratified—it was a fantasy come true—even if Nico wouldn’t remember it.

  22

  As she was drinking her third cup of ginger tea, Luna’s phone rang out, “Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door,” and she picked it up.

  “Good morning, Nico.” The sound of her voice reverberated through her hangover.

  “Why don’t you come over and finish what we started,” he purred.

  Luna hesitated, part of her glad he remembered. “What are you doing?” she heard herself ask, not sure why.

  “I’m lying here playing with myself,” he replied in the deep, husky voice he used when flirting.

  She quipped, “Nico, I’m at work. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Yes you do, Luna. You danced and threw your tits at me, like you always do.”

  Luna laughed. It was his routine flirt, nothing more. Still, she bantered back, “Don’t be ridiculous, Nico. I most certainly did not. We danced. And got too drunk, that’s all.”

  Nico sounded disappointed. “Oh, OK. If you’re gonna be that way about it. Well, never mind. Can you come over later and help me with stuff around here?”

  “Sure. I’ll come by after work. Do you have a class?”

  “Yes, from six to seven.”

  “OK, honey. See you later.”

  He didn’t hang up and Luna could hear him breathing. “Nico?”

  “Yes, Luna?”

  “Are you OK?” she asked softly.

  “No. I’m sad.”

  “Why?” she whispered.

  “I need a real girlfriend, someone to love—who loves me.”

  She wanted to say, “But I love you.” She knew it was unrealistic—a crazy fantasy. She would never trade the enduring love she had with Tyler for Nico. Nico was that dark entity that compelled her, and used her for his purposes. Still, it hurt her that Nico didn’t think of her that way. She simply said, “Someone will turn up, when you’re ready.”

  “I think I found someone, but I don’t know ye
t,” he said haltingly, unsure of himself.

  “Are you talking about Maya?” Luna asked cautiously, careful not to spook him.

  “Well, you said to find someone who I trust and would be a friend and help me, as well as being my lover. You called it a friend with benefits.”

  Luna laughed, shaking her head even though he couldn’t see her. “That’s not exactly what I meant, Nico! I said a girlfriend should also be a best friend. You kind of twisted that around.”

  He chuckled at her falling for his prank. “Ha ha. I know what you meant, Luna bella. I’m just teasing with you.”

  She snipped back, confessing, “Well, I did say that if you can’t find a girlfriend who is your soul mate, or someone you would marry, at least find one age appropriate, who you like to fuck and have as a friend. So, yes, a friend with benefits.”

  Arriving at Amaru, Luna was surprised there weren’t the normal number of cars in the parking lot. A hand scribbled note reading Class Canceled was taped to the front door. Before ringing the bell, she tested the door and found it open. Tentatively wandering in, she checked the studio, then the office before poking her head into the apartment and calling his name. She heard him mumble, “In here.” He was stretched out in bed, watching TV.

  She perched on the edge of the bed and began playing with his hair the way he liked, partitioning it into segments, as if she was getting ready to weave them together. “What’s wrong? Why did you cancel class?”

  “I was too tired. I didn’t get home until after sunrise. Did you lock the door?”

  “Yes, of course I did.”

  She got up to go into the kitchen, but he caught her hand. “Don’t leave…just sit here with me.”

  “OK, Nico. I’m here.”

  Tapping the space next to him on the bed, he invited her to lay down with him, saying, “Let’s watch a movie.”

  She kicked off her shoes and climbed in beside him. They watched Taken with Liam Neeson, about a man whose daughter gets kidnapped. Having already seen the movie together, Nico began chatting and brought up Alexa again. “Things aren’t moving the way they should be, Luna.”

  Luna was careful to tread lightly. “Things take time, Nico.”

  “But it’s taking too much time. Alexa is bullshit. She wants to know where I am every minute.”

  “Nico, you’re letting her coerce you!”

  “Luna, she owes me! And I won’t let her get away with it.”

  She changed the subject, hoping he would lighten up. “So, tell me more about Maya.”

  He smiled and reached for his phone. “She’s a famous stunt woman! She’s sweet, and we have fun. You’ll be happy to know I took your advice and she helps me around the apartment, cleaning up. Oh, and she makes great rice and beans!”

  Leaping up, he opened a closet door. “Look!” he blurted, showing Luna his T-shirts neatly folded on a shelf in color-coordinated rows.

  Luna laughed. “Oh my God, it looks like The Gap!”

  He laughed too, grabbing his phone and flopping back on the bed. He scrolled through the pictures on his phone, stopping at shots he’d taken of a very pretty, exotic, dark-haired girl. “Luna, look. She’s hot right?” He showed Luna a picture of Maya looking up at the camera with his fully engorged cock in her mouth, then scrolled to another shot of her laying on the bed, wearing a red lace bra, with Nico fisting her. “She’ll do anything for me,” he boasted.

  Knowing what he wanted to hear, she agreed. “Yeah, she sure is hot!”

  Nico’s erotic tales used to make her blush, but she’d become accustomed to photos of his huge erection and his suggestive comments. There seemed to be an endless number of photos of women giving him a blow job and of him fucking them doggie style. Luna couldn’t fathom why these women allowed him to take such compromising pictures.

  They finished watching the movie, her head on his shoulder, occasionally petting his hand. When it was over he bolted up, announcing, “I’m hungry! Let’s eat!”

  Warily, Luna said, “Nico, I have to leave. It’s date night and Tyler’s making dinner. He won’t appreciate it if I don’t show up.”

  Nico pouted, but surprised her by saying, “It’s OK, Luna. Thanks for keeping me company. You can leave.”

  She hugged him hard, kissing his neck, and thanked him, heading out the door before he could change his mind.

  On the weekends, Tyler often made his trademark yogurt pancakes with wild blueberries. Luna was sitting at the breakfast bar reading the paper and slowly savoring each bite, the real Vermont maple syrup deliciously clinging to the plump berries. Preferring not to be disturbed on a Saturday morning, she’d purposely left her cell phone charging in the bedroom, and when the house phone rang, she ignored it, not recognizing the caller ID.

  “Aren’t you gonna get it?” Tyler asked, flipping another batch of pancakes.

  “I’m so sick of answering that phone, it’s always just a telemarketer. I’m seriously considering getting rid of that number.”

  Unable to ignore it, Tyler picked up. It wasn’t a recording, and he repeated hello several times before there was a response. It was Nico, crying and saying he’d just been mugged and the thief had stolen his iPhone.

  Between choked sobs, he said, “Luna didn’t answer her cell. But I really need to speak to you. Will you call my number and see who answers? It would be better if a man calls.”

  Reluctantly, Tyler agreed, and a man answered the phone stipulating brusquely that when Nico paid him five hundred dollars, he would return the phone.

  Tyler relayed the message. “The man said you’d know who to pay.” Hanging up with Nico, he looked over at Luna critically. “He’s mixed up in something shady. I don’t like it, Luna. This is getting out of hand.”

  Always more sympathetic to Nico’s cause, Luna said, “Tyler, I’m sure the phone was stolen, maybe at a bar or nightclub, and the thief is just asking for money to get it back. Why assume more than that?”

  Tyler looked at her incredulously. “Luna, Nico most likely received some type of service—either it was a hooker or drugs—and he tried to get off without paying.”

  Luna raised her eyebrows skeptically. “Really, Tyler? I wouldn’t have thought that.”

  Tyler said confidently, “That’s because you’re blinded by him! Open your eyes, Luna.”

  Expecting Nico to call again on her cell, she retrieved the phone. There was always a sense of urgency in Nico’s voice, but this time she heard panic. “Please come over. I don’t want to be alone.”

  She didn’t hesitate, “I’ll be right there, Nico.”

  He quickly added, “Ring the bell. The door is locked.”

  Tyler caught her arm as she made for the bedroom to change. “Luna, I’m concerned. This could be dangerous…just watch yourself.”

  “I will, I just can’t leave him alone. He’s really freaked out.”

  Tyler was uncharacteristically agitated. “Luna, your relationship with Nico is troubling, at best. You dismissed all the work you did with Kristi and totally ignored the cord cutting! Then you stay out all night. Are you in love with Nico? Because I’m not going to stand for this anymore!”

  Luna froze, not knowing how to respond. “Tyler…I love you! I don’t want to be with Nico—not that way.” The truth was she did fantasize about him—and once, in a joking way, she had told Tyler that. But she’d not considered that Tyler would be upset. “I would never jeopardize what we have, Tyler. Please understand, he needs me. He has no one!”

  Tyler sighed in exasperation. “Just promise you’ll stay in touch with me. And don’t do anything stupid.”

  Luna quickly pulled on boyfriend jeans, an ivory lace-trimmed cotton top, and grey flip-flops.

  Picking up her car keys from the pewter dish by the door, she hurried out, assuring Tyler she would report back.

  She didn’t bother to put on the radio. Her mind raced with all kinds of scenarios of what could have possibly happened. She kept thinking about what Tyler had said with suc
h absolute certainty. A prostitute? Drugs? Luna never talked on the phone when she drove, but when Nico, called she answered, and he kept her on, making small talk, until she pulled into the parking lot. He greeted her at the door wearing sweat pants and a loose T-shirt; his hair was dirty and matted. Usually he looked bedroom sexy, with his face unshaven, but now it was obvious he hadn’t slept, and he was pale and drawn. He had a long scratch down his face and a deep gash on his neck. Frantic and scared, he paced around the room. Luna put on the tea kettle, and sitting him down, asked for a detailed description of exactly what had happened.

  “I went out last night, Luna. You went home and I was alone and depressed, so I went to the club. I was in the private VIP room, and someone gave me a number to text, saying the girl was hot. I knew it was stupid, but I was drunk and didn’t want to be alone. She was already waiting in the parking lot when I got to the studio. It was dark when I brought her into the apartment, and before I knew it, we were getting into it on the sofa. All of a sudden she went at me and tried to steal my laptop. I chased her all the way to the door, where she started hitting me, but I got the laptop back. I didn’t realize she’d managed to steal my phone until she was gone.”

  Fretting, Nico prattled on, “That phone has all my client contact information and e-mails. And it’s got all those photos!”

  “Just move on, Nico. Buy a new phone and forget about it. You’re not giving them five hundred dollars—that’s ridiculous! Besides, they probably wiped the phone already, and sold it on the black market.”

  Nico still agonized fearfully, “Are you sure they won’t publish those photos on the internet?”

  Luna calmly assured him, “No. They want money, not your photos or contacts. You’re not a politician, you know! Those are the people they’d seriously blackmail! None of the photos are of celebrities. There’s nothing that’s of any value.”

  Nico persisted, “What if they don’t know that and put them up anyway!”

  Luna had to get him off this obsessive train of thought. “Look, Nico, they’ve probably already wiped it, and the phone is on its way to a third world country. These people don’t care about some unknown girl giving you a blow job! They were just trying to get a few bucks out of you.”