Elizabeth jumped, heart flying up and into her mouth as Paul's voice, loud and energetic suddenly boomed throughout the empty library, "the library is closed, I repeat, the library is closed-" his voice turned into a high pitched, aged but powerful simper towards the end and it was obvious that he was attempting to mimic the old and crotchety librarian.
How he knew what the librarian looked, sounded or acted like was another matter but, as she gently rubbed her chest, she couldn't help but laugh.
Paul had found her in a heartbeat - as she'd expected - and despite her order that nobody scare or frighten her, she didn't feel annoyed in the slightest. He had effectively given her a surprisingly wholesome and arguably quite mild scare, given that she was alone in a very dark and very spooky space and she had to admit that it was funny.
Rolling her eyes with a grin, she took a breath and gently pushed herself away from the desk she had been awkwardly leaning against. She wasn't surprised that she'd been found so fast, truthfully she didn't know how they had expected her to hide herself from them. She felt like they were all seeing, all knowing and she was just...her.
She'd given it her best shot, at least that was something. It was a little odd that Dwayne hadn't been the one to find her but she was pleased Paul had. He was so effervescent, so lively, so much fun to be around.
It could have been worse.
David could have found her.
She giggled at herself, at the situation, walking slowly towards where she knew the stairs were. She had hoped that she did have some kind of burgeoning bond with Dwayne, with the pack and it was a little disappointing to know that it wasn't the case but-
-she jumped as a click filled the silent library and Paul's voice, stern but bright filled the building, "If our resident mortal Ms. Emerson would kindly stop feeling sorry for herself over her lack of supernatural skills-"
She snorted a laugh and shook her head again, grimacing a little as Paul put his lips far too close to the microphone and a burst of static shot out over the aged system, "-and please put back that sticky, special, illustrated edition of Karma Sutra For Beginngers she's been foaming over-"
"-hey!" she shouted indignantly out into the darkness, laughing.
"-and ever so kindly make her way up to the front desk. She has a visitor"
There was a click as he cut the microphone and she grinned, shaking her head. Paul was…he was something else entirely.
Rolling her eyes, smiling widely, Elizabeth moved further away from the desk she had been loitering by, telling the darkness, "library patrons don't have visitors, Paul. You're confusing genres..that announcement was more…" she trailed off.
She didn't even know what is was.
A click resonated throughout the library.
"-whatever. He's a handsome visitor, if that encourages you to hurry it on up a little?" another click.
"Eh…" she agreed to ambivalently, playfully, walking slowly in the darkness. Paul was a handsome man. They all were, "...you're all fine"
Elizabeth knew where she was heading but it was slow going, she didn't want to stumble or smash into something.
She tutted as she heard the click once again.
"-Lizzie?" another click.
"Alright already! I'm coming!" she laughed into the darkness, almost tripping on the first step.
She could barely see anything and her eyes hadn't quite adjusted to the foreign shapes in the almost pitch black basement. She could see the vague outline of a table here and there, the rows of books but it all kind of merged into one lump of unknown.
"I don't have your eyesight" she told the expanse, knowing that he could hear her easily. She was holding onto the railing and walking up the stairs with a little more confidence, "give me a second, Paul.."
A click, "I hear that patience is a virtue"
Another click.
"Yeah" she replied.
Click, "I'm not virtuous"
Yet another click.
Laughing, Elizabeth reached the top step, "would you quit it?! That clicking is driving me-"
Click, "-mad?" click.
"Oh my God!" she groaned through a smile, peering out into the not so dim but still fairly grand lobby area.
Santa Carla definitely had a good library.
Thankfully there were no more microphone conversations to be had and, with the darkness having ebbed a lot, she stepped into the room with total confidence, trusting that Paul wasn't going to jump out at her.
As she turned the corner, sidestepping a tall book shelf, she saw the reason the darkness had diminished.
He had lit the various little lamps scattered around the main desk and it looked incredibly wholesome. Kind of romantic, actually…if it weren't for the slouching, wild haired man taking center stage.
There, sat tall and proud despite his wide open legs, was Paul, just as she had expected.
The microphone, old and tired looking with just a big, square red button to turn it on and off was resting on his crotch, thankfully abandoned. He looked bright and playful and his smile was positively beaming.
She felt herself mirroring it.
"This-" he raised a takeout coffee cup high in the air, some milky-brown liquid spilling over the side of the white disposable cup, "is for you, my sweet little dear and these-" he raised his other hand, showing her a baggy filled with small, neatly cut and somewhat transparent sheets that she genuinely didn't recognize as anything she had ever seen or used before, "-are for us!"
Laughing a little, she asked him, "what is it?"
"Coffee" he winked as he kicked a free chair, wriggling his eyebrows with a grin as the wooden frame rattled.
"I'm so glad I know you" she said honestly, laughing again as she stepped around the desk, taking his hint. As she sat down, the old brown chair creaking a little, she smiled at him, "and I wasn't feeling sad and I certainly wasn't reading Karma Sutra-"
"-oh, I know that" he said gravely, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He handed her the coffee, "-you have me, angel cake. You don't need a book. I've got all the advice you need, girl-"
Pausing, she looked at him with her eyebrows raised in disbelief before taking a sip of the surprisingly perfect coffee. She'd expected an overly sweet monstrosity of a drink but it was nice, quite mild and flavorful, which was new for her.
She didn't generally appreciate coffee as a flavor.
"What makes you think I need advice?" she asked, before taking a second sip.
She was happily impressed by his purchase and she smiled against the plastic lid.
Paul continued, "girls always give each other advice...you don't have any girls here, so I'll bestow upon you my lifetime of knowledge and skills. Now, Lizzie, what you really wanna do is pay attention to the balls-" he broke off into laughter as she sputtered, coughing and choking a little on her drink.
She hadn't been expected those words to come out of his mouth.
He easily took the coffee from her, plopping it on the busy, unorganized desk as she thumped her fist against her chest, still coughing, "Paul!"
"It's good advice" he laughed insistently, eyes dancing.
He wiggled his fingers a little, cupping the air, "just a give the testes a bit of loving, too, you know. They're not the main act but a supporting role is still a ro-"
Breathing easily once again, Elizabeth shook her head, laughing herself, "-Jesus, what are you talking about?!"
"How to work your man's nuts"
She laughed, blushing, "do you find yourself thinking about Dwayne's, you know, often?"
"Those low hangin' sacks of his? Nah" he shuddered dramatically, "I'm just talking generally, here. Give 'em a little lovin'.."
"You're the worst" she laughed and he kicked his legs up, draping them over hers. As he settled down into his seat, slouching a little further, he grinned at her, "you mean the best, right?"
She nodded, shifting her body a little to get comfortable under the weight of his legs, she had to admit that she did.
Paul was awesome.
"Yeah, I do"
"I knew it" he winked, "so what can I do for you this evening, Liz? We got a couple hours until the guys figure out what I did. That means that the night is ours! Well, you know. Ours for now, at least"
"...huh? What did you do?" she asked him, not really understanding what he was talking about.
He snorted a laugh, letting his head drop against the wood of the chair, "seriously?!"
"...what?" she asked, shaking her head, hands falling onto his legs. She was smiling because it was physically impossible not to smile, but she didn't understand.
"Seriously!?" he repeated, his voice heavy with disbelief but also joy.
"Paul?" she didn't get it.
"You guys are so fucking gullible. I honest to fuck didn't think you'd all fall for it so hard! Well, I thought you would but-"
"-fall for what?"
"You're so green I knew I'd get you - all humility aside - but Dwayne? Marko? Fucking David?!" he laughed, obviously thrilled and pleased with himself, "hide and fucking seek?!"
"...you...Paul!"
Suddenly, it clicked.
He had lied, he had tricked them all into playing a game that he had no intention of playing? He had no intention of seeing if she had any skills? Of trying to see if she could hide herself?
He was playing his own game with them.
He laughed and nodded, watching as she tried to process what he was telling her, "girl, come on! Do I look like the kind of guy that wants to play hide and seek?!"
"..well..."
He laughed again, "OK, fine, but man. None of you saw through me?" he grinned, "not one of you thought, 'hmm he may be up to something?' That's a fucking achievement right there"
She didn't know what to say, so she told him, laughingly, "David's going to be mad"
"I certainly hope so" he laughed.
"You're insane!" she chuckled, "but..wait, Paul does that mean that...maybe I do have some kind of skill?"
"We can test your stuff another day, girl but yeah, probably?" he grinned at her, "I think so. When it comes to Dwayne at least, I think you got a little bit of something goin' on but right now? It's all me, baby girl. I'm keeping you hidden" he gave her some jazz hands, "and I figure they figure out its me in a couple hours, so let's get our me time on. What do you say?"
"What?" she looked at him in bemusement.
It was hard not to smile, his energy and positive vibe was contagious but she had almost no idea what he was talking about. He had lied so they could have 'me time'?
"Come on, Lizzie. Straight up, Dwayne sees you all the time because, yeah, you're mates but Marko got one on one time with you twice now. Fuck even David got a little Lizzie time" he jiggled his legs a little, "I was jealous. I wanna hang with you, I wanna get to know my little sister..."
"You weren't jealous…" she chuckled, lightly stilling his dancing legs with her hands.
Still, she was flattered and happy at his words. She wanted to get to know him, too.
"Sure as fuck was" he beamed at her, "so come on. Let's hang, let's chat. I want to be your friend"
"You are my friend" she assured.
"Yeah but I wanna be your friend, friend. So, how's it feel to be a sex kitten?"
"What?" she laughed again.
"You and Marko have these deep chats...I'm deep, too and I know you don't have any girlfriends around. You found a fucking mate, you popped your cherry, you're havin' all this mad sex, right? Doesn't that kill you not to talk about? So much has happened to you. Don't you just wanna scream it from the roof?"
"Paul…" she laughed before pausing, taking in his words and chuckling again.
He was like a whirlwind, a hurricane of fun and energy.
When she spoke again, it was with a kind but hesitant reluctance, "..that was a super…astute summary of recent events but I feel like I know you-"
He nodded eagerly.
"-and you're just going to tease Dwayne with whatever I tell you"
He shook his head, "nope. No way, girl"
"Uh-huh..." she grinned at him.
"I swear" he was serious and while he was smiling at her, there was a sincerity in his words, "whatever you say stays between us. I got tons of ammo to use against Dwayne. He practically gives me ammo. This" he gestured between them, "this is our time. Our safe space…"
She bit her lip a little. She did want someone to talk to, to confide in and even if she did have friends, what could she tell them?
Nothing.
She'd wanted to tell Lucy, she'd desperately wanted to confide in her but she knew she couldn't.
When her friends back in Arizona had their first kisses, their first sexual encounters, it had been so exciting and fun to chat about, gathered together and talking in hushed, scandalized and serious tones. She wanted that, too. She didn't want to keep it all inside.
Paul was right, so much had happened to her.
She grinned at him.
"So come on. How was it? First time an all?" he asked, his eyes dancing but kindly.
"I couldn't be happier" she told him before tilting her head, observing him, "it was...the whole experience was amazing"
His easy, crazy brand of positivity was so infections, she felt wonderful being around him. So much had changed, so much had happened to her and, like Marko, she knew that she could trust the man before her.
She continued with sincerity, "I'm so happy, Paul. With everything"
"Everything everything?"
She nodded and he nodded, "well that's good to hear"
"At first it was painful…but.." she smiled and shook her head, the memory filling her with happiness "..it was so amazing to be with him. It felt like...it felt like it was meant to be, like we really were made for each other. Really it was perfect...but with him, everything is perfect, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised..."
"Did you cum?"
She laughed at his frankness and told him honestly, "not the first time, it was…it stung? A lot-"
"-sharp?"
"Yeah. Very sharp" she confirmed. She leaned back into the chair a little, slouching like him. Letting her head fall back against the tall and somewhat uncomfortable back, she met his eyes, blushing a little at the memory, "but I did the second time. He was so careful, I wasn't.." she blushed, "I was good to go again and…he was…he uh...he knew what he was doing"
He nodded approvingly, "so our boy's a considerate lover?"
She laughed, "the best"
"That's good" Paul nodded, "first times can suck for chicks, huh?"
"...you have a lot of experience with it?" Elizabeth challenged him playfully.
"Ehhhhhhh" he shrugged, "I'm gonna be honest with you here. Virgins don't do much for me but yeah, I've had my fair share of experiences. When you're as old as I am, it's kind of inevitable"
"Really?"
Paul nodded and Elizabeth asked, "do you have a girlfriend?"
"Fuck no!" he laughed as if she had had something genuinely funny, "vampires don't date, chica, we don't do that"
"No?"
"No way. We mate or its just a causal pump and du-" he saw the look on her face and coughed, "-uh, casual encounter. We have fun, don't get me wrong but there's no long term commitment. That doesn't mesh with our lifestyle, you know?"
"That makes sense..." she gave him a look and smiled, not offended by his words, "so does that mean you've had lots of 'casual encounters' with virgins?"
"Nah, I avoid 'em, like I said. It's a lotta work, girl but sometimes I'm caught off guard. Rarely-" he assured her, "-but it happens. My fiancé was a virg-"
"-you're fiance?!" she interrupted, jerking up in her seat.
He laughed at her reaction, "yeah, your ears work, you're good. I learned a lot from her, I'll tell you. Knowing what I know now about women...sheesh, she did not have a good time. I wish she hadn't been cherry, to be honest. Where's the fun? I can't cum knowing I'm getting pleasure from a girl's pain. Sex should be fucking enjoyed, you know? Anyway, nobody ever told her about sex, we were only engaged. Moms kind of took their daughters aside on their wedding day and told them, like, 'you're gonna have relations and it's gonna suck but that's your job'…so when we did it, it really hurt her. She was taken off guard big time, and it was my first time being with a virgin too and there was so much fucking blood everywhere. Talk about a baptism of fire for both of us. You know, we had to clean her sheets because if the servants saw-"
"Wha-wow, Paul, wait a second...what do you mean?" Elizabeth asked genuinely stunned and amazed by his words.
He had spoken so frankly, so honestly and openly about something so amazing, she was stunned.
"That was a lot of information. You-Paul, you have to start from the beginning here!"
"Well, sex was for the men. It was a wife's duty you know, so usually-"
"-there! Hold up a second! You were married?"
She sat up in her chair again, his legs kind of tugging her down and Paul smiled at her, shrugging, "I was due to be married. It was all arranged and then-" he gestured to himself, "-I died"
Jesus, there was so much information coming her way.
"Died died?"
He nodded, "I met my three buddies and the rest was history, girl"
"Oh my God…." She whispered in awe.
She was stunned.
"Yeah. Intense huh? Can't see me as a married dude?"
"God no!"
"Can you see me as dandy gentleman?"
"No!"
He laughed, "yeah, me neither...I was though"
She stared at him, her jaw a little slack. Marko had told her but it was so insane that was he confirming it. Paul was...he was wild! He was fun and crazy and his passion for just living life the way he wanted was so clear. She couldn't imagine him being rich or stiff or serious.
"I was incredibly wealthy. I came from a very rich high society family and I was the only son. The only child..." he studied her, "I'd never heard the word 'no' and I had the best of everything. Dressed pretty damn dapper, too" he winked at her, "I had it going on, Lizzie. My old man had a shipping business, could have been an industry if the timing had been different. He played the stocks well and paired with what we inherited? I was...I was upper echelon, baby. Top dog. Best of the best..."
"…Paul…" she shook her head in amazement.
"Yeah...but I haven't changed...not much, anyway" he laughed, "I want to play now and I wanted to play then. Drove my old man crazy"
"Really?"
"Oh yeah. I was not designed for the prissy life of gentlemen. Even then, I knew. I hadn't been taught differently, I hadn't seen differently but I just knew. I knew I didn't belong…and then I met those three fuckers and everything slotted into place for me really nicely" his voice was holding its usual amusement, its usual vigor and laughter but there was a serious fondness to be found and Elizabeth really felt like she could relate.
"It was like a puzzle?" she murmured in question.
"Huh?"
"Like…your life was a puzzle and David..Dwayne, Marko...they were the missing pieces you didn't even know you needed? And suddenly everything was complete?"
He laughed, "is that how you feel?"
"Yes...but I didn't know I needed Dwayne until I met him"
"You're adorable! You poetic little peach, you-"
"-Paul!" she laughed, protesting as he reached forward and tickled her with his outstretched hand.
He grinned and pulled away from her, sitting a little straighter in the chair.
As he pulled himself upright, he pulled her chair closer to his, the wheels tugging a little on the carpeted floor, "very apt, Lizzie, very apt. You have a way with words. Who knows, if you weren't destined to be one of us, you could have been a millionaire thanks to the human word"
She scrunched up her nose and he laughed, "That's how I felt. It was just a little less poetic, you dig?"
She smiled at him.
They had started their conversation with her life, her experiences with Dwayne but he had given her an insight, an amazing, compelling insight into his and she wanted nothing more than to hear his story.
"Paul? Would you tell me? I want to know everything. About you...about the girl. Would you tell me about the marriage? About you? Your life?"
"Anything you wanna know" he promised, "only I didn't make it to the marriage part, remember?"
"OK, but what was she like?"
"Uhhhhhhhhh she was OK…" he shrugged and the diplomacy was clear in his voice, "don't hate me Liz but, I dunno…she was just a girl and marriage was just something you did. Something I had to do. Family lines to uphold, traditions to upkeep-"
"-so you didn't love her?"
He snorted and shook his head.
"Fuck no. Sorry Lizzie…I wish I could tell you some romantic fairy tale bullshit but…" he trailed off, shrugging, "she was just a girl. She was a little dull, she didn't speak much but she had all her teeth though and that was rare-"
"-really?"
"Oh yeah" he shrugged, "oral hygiene wasn't what it is today. You're fucking lucky to be alive now"
She smiled, not doubting it.
"You said that you had to get married? Absolutely no choice?"
He nodded.
"Why?"
"I mean, I could have said no, it was in my vocabulary but..." he shook his head, "nobody said no. Not then, not in the circles I was part of. I was very, very happy doin' my own thing, very happy with how much fun I was having but I knew it had to happen. It was an inevitability. I thought I'd have a bit more time to keep up the fun...I didn't have that bad of a rep, either, considering how much of a good time I was having" he laughed, "I thought I could get away with it for a little longer but my father got wind of the brothels-"
"-brothels?" she interrupted, eyebrows raised in surprise.
Paul was vivacious and handsome, he was tall and cute. Plus, he had been rich. How could he not have picked up girls like he did today?
"Yup. Brothels, babe" his eyes were twinkling, "it was much easier and way, way more discreet than tryin' to pick up a woman from the street corner, you know?"
"Why didn't you just date?"
He snorted, "the rich didn't date, Liz. We were carefully matched by our elders, the social hierarchy carefully orchestrated and maintained"
"So..if you wanted any..if you wanted to be with a girl then you had to go to a brothel?"
"Yeah, I mean, they felt safer. Less dangerous than paying for a random woman looking for Johns on the street. It was bullshit of course, no sex was safe back then but I could afford the expensive women in residence and I indulged myself a lot-"
"-Paul!" she was smiling, absolutely loving his honesty and the image of his life, "was it? Was it OK?"
"Fuck no!" he laughed, "but every guy did it. We were proper but that didn't mean we didn't have our itches. Even my old man had a regular he used to plow but the difference between us was that I liked sex, I liked the experience of it. The rich men were just about their own needs. Maybe it was different with the working class, I dunno but yeah. Rich guys with a lot to lose? They used to cum in a girl's mouth, drop her a coin and leave-" he shrugged, "class act, huh? But they were the men, they had the money, they did what they wanted. Shitty time to be a chick, girl"
Elizabeth grimaced a little, thinking he was right. She was lucky to be alive in the '80s.
"So...they had sex but not, you know..."
Paul put his right index finger through the hole he made with his left hand, "proper penetrative?"
Elizabeth nodded.
"Nah. Sex like that with the wife, every other kind of fun was bought or just not had"
"Really?"
"Oh yeah. For the rich, anyway. There were all these unwritten, unspoken rules. Missionary with the wife. You didn't dirty your wife by having her do all the dirty stuff. Yeah, the men were high class but their wives were, too. They were real proper. So...the husband would cum and then they'd go back to their separate beds in their separate rooms and not talk about it until the husband got his itch again. It was so fucking boring but it was what it was"
He shook his head.
"I knew it wasn't the life I wanted and judging by the amount of dudes that bought extra affection, it wasn't the life they wanted either but hey, they kept it up" he laughed, "they kept the status quo but I knew I couldn't. I knew I wouldn't be able to live a life like that...so I did what others guys of my status couldn't really find the balls to do"
He grinned at her, "I said 'fuck this shit' and resolutely decided not to go down that road. Life was good for me, I was happy meetin' my girls but, like I said. My old man got wind of it and he shut me down. Tried to lock me down. The partying was fine, whatever, I guess he could turn a blind eye to it and if I was just getting' my jollies from a pretty prostitute's mouth, yeah sure, whatever, I guess he could get on board with that, too...but he didn't trust me at all…"
"but what was the difference? If everyone did it? You were all meeting women-"
"-sex is to be enjoyed, Lizzie, remember?" he smiled at her, a genuine smile that made his eyes glitter, "I may be a cold blooded killer but when I'm with a girl, she cums and she cums hard…"
He let the words sink in before continuing.
"I bought sex but it didn't feel like it, you know? Those girls were so used to being treated like shit and that's not what I'm about. All those rich dudes got off thinkin' about themselves but I got off when my girl did, too and I guess my old man saw that" he laughed, "he never saw me bone a girl but I mean, when I was at those society events and shit everyone would be formal and constipated and dull, I'd be actually having conversations, tryin' to get to know the girl under the corset, the real person beneath the pageantry and the fuckin' rules"
Elizabeth found herself with a growing sense of respect for the man before her.
"Your father didn't like it?"
Paul shook his head, "neither did the girl's fathers…" he laughed, "so I had my fun in brothels. Those chicks were easy to talk with, they were deep and didn't mind showin' their true colors, their personality. It was good for me. We both enjoyed sex, good conversation, I'd find a new pretty face and the cycle would continue" he nodded, "it was good"
"…you didn't want to get married, though? You seem…" she frowned gently, "…I don't mean to sound patronizing but you sound really…respectful..why didn't you want to get married?"
"Thanks, girl" he nodded at her, "that's a tall compliment but don't romanticize me. I treat women well but I don't ever wanna settle down or shit like that. I'm all about fun…"
"So what if you get a mate?" she challenged with a grin.
He laughed and shook his head, "I hope not. Fuck, I hope not. You're a babe an all but no..." he sighed, "I guess I won't have a choice though. If the time comes, it comes. Dwayne's super into you and he hasn't muttered not one complaint, so...it's worked for him and it does look kinda nice…in a soppy way…maybe I could get on board" he shrugged, shaking his head, "but I'd rather not. I don't wanna think about it. So if you got any mate vibes, push them into the universe for me yeah? Tell the mate gods that I'm good bein' solo"
Elizabeth laughed and he grinned at her.
"I think you'll be happy when it happens, if it does" she told him and laughed again when he grimaced, "but Paul?…I'm sorry to poke but I still don't get the difference? If your father, if the men went out and did what you were doing-"
"-ah, but they weren't doin' what I was doin'" he interrupted her, "I was rich, rich, girl. Guys at my level, at my pa's level? They had what they had because they inherited it, sure but they were smart, too, they only came inside their wives. My old man didn't trust that I wasn't…" he smiled at Elizabeth, "…finishing to completion, you know?"
"Uh?..."
He laughed, "he didn't trust that I wasn't cumming inside my girls"
"Oh, right..right" she laughed as a little blush decorated her cheeks.
Thankfully, Paul showed her some mercy and continued, "he was fucking furious at the idea of me having illegitimate kids. I didn't want kids but I did enjoy a good, solid orgasm so he was right to be worried, I guess. Anyway, he wasn't on board with that risk, not at all"
"So what did he do?"
"He told me about my engagement by showing me the fucking morning paper"
"What?"
"Yeah. Can you believe it?"
"...he...he announced your engagement to the press before he even told you?"
"Yeah. He tried to tie me down, like I said. He thought the social pressure of having a wife and then the pressure from her family, too, would kinda...I dunno. Fuck knows what he was thinking. I knew the girl, though…it wasn't a total surprise. I kinda thought she would be the direction I was prodded towards. She was a pretty well-heeled society girl, we'd met in passing a few times. Family were close enough in status to ours, they didn't have as much money but they had a strong shipping business going back on the East Coast. I guess the idea was that I'd take it over and with my family's cash and business hoo-ha and with what we had going with our own business, we'd be raking it in even more. Made sense for both our parties…or so my father thought"
"But he just...he didn't even warn you or even talk to you about it? He literally heard about your...private activities and arranged everything?"
"Yeah. That's how it was back then"
"...well...what did you say?"
"Say?" he looked at her and laughed, sitting up straight and coughing, "I said, 'yes, sir'" and that was fucking that"
"Jesus"
"Yeah" he grinned, "it wasn't too terrible. After the announcement we had a few chaperoned lunches, walks in the park. All very proper, very tame and boring. She was fine, kinda plain, kinda dull but most women were back then-"
As Elizabeth bristled a little he laughed, "-I mean, no offence, girl. That's just how they were brought up to be. Kinda like kids, seen and not heard. I dunno, I lit a bit of a fire in her anyway. Got a bit of passion going, if you know what I mean..."
"..you slept with her?"
"Yeah. Remember? Had to wash the blood out of her sheets. That sucked, I never did any kinda laundry shit before that night" he laughed and shook his head.
"But..you two did it before marriage?"
He shrugged at her question, "it wasn't unheard of. Not approved of and definitely never spoken of but it was set in stone that we would be married so I guess you know? I was charming and I had a good way with words, maybe she figured-"
"-but, Paul...you died..." she interrupted.
He nodded.
She didn't want to judge him but she had to ask, based on what she knew of the era and what Paul had already said, "didn't that...didn't that kind of ruin her?"
"Nah, she died too"
"What?"
Paul's story was amazing, so bright and vivid despite his general unhappiness and she was surprised to hear such sad words be delivered so bluntly.
"Yeah, she died. So she was technically ruined but it didn't actually ruin her, if you know what I mean?"
Blinking, she continued, "...but before she died? Her reputation wasn't, you know? Her reputation hadn't been destroyed?"
"Nah" he paused, thinking, "probably not…eh, maybe, I guess? I mean, I had a reputation so it stands to reason that people assumed we'd had marital relations before the wedding or whatever but it would have been just gossip. If it happened, she'd have gotten over it. Her family were decent, she wouldn't have not married...and she died in the end, anyway, so we'll never know"
"If you could go back, would you change it? I mean, if you knew you were going to be a vampire, if you knew what you know now...would you still have slept with her?"
"Fuck yeah" he said with a shrug, "why not? She wasn't gonna be a spinster just 'cause I bit the big one during our engagement and nobody knew we'd fucked, it wasn't something you shouted to the world. To be honest, chicks back then had their tricks so I know she'd have been just fine"
He smiled, "I didn't know I was gonna bite the dust after I boned her but yeah…if I did know, I still would have done it. It was fun and she had fun, probably the only time she would ever have a genuine orgasm, so-"
"-but wasn't it a big deal? Women being-"
"-ugh, yeah pure before marriage. Such bullshit. Hate the fucking patriarchy" he grinned at her, "I mean, no offence to what you had going on but I fuckin' love getting down and dirty right off the bat. I don't wanna deal with virgins and the tenderness, with being careful, with being delicate. I wanna go hard and fast and long. I want bone shattering orgasms, sweat inducing sessions. That uncontrollable tremble that comes with the best fucking orgasm of your life. That's what I was gettin' at before" he winked at her, "so I figured, you know, get the boring stuff over and then the two of us could actually enjoy sex..."
"Enjoy it together?"
"Hell yeah!" he grinned at her, "that's what I've been saying, Liz! Making a girl cum is the hottest thing in the world. Sex isn't fun if it's not fun for her, too…"
"...you may have been ahead of your time, Paul" she told him with a smile, her respect for the man before her absolutely through the roof.
"Right?"
She laughed at his confidence.
"..but back then, not every guy thought like you?"
He shook his head, "sex was for married couples or whores, pleasure for the men"
Elizabeth grimaced a little, "that's horrible"
"Yeah" he agreed.
"..but if not every guy was like you, if she did get married after your...uh, death" he winked at her, "..then the guy would have been angry, right? To know that she wasn't a virgin? That's what I meant, that's kind of...that's kind of what I was getting at?" again, she didn't want to sound judgmental. She was just tying to get her head around everything she had been told.
"Furious" he agreed, "but like I said, chicks had their tricks"
"Like what?"
"Chicken skin or like, I dunno thin membrane or something from the kitchen stuffed up on in there" he gestured to her crotch, "wasn't difficult, really. Men didn't know fuck all about women"
"Wow..."
He smiled at her, "but like I said, she died anyway, so she didn't have to worry about it in the end"
"How did she die?"
"Dunno. Flu, I think? Fuck, everything could kill you back then. She died not that long after me, I think..."
"You don't know?" she asked, somewhat incredulously.
He shrugged, "Lizzie, I was an immortal with mad skills and the whole fucking world ahead of me! What? Was I gonna watch over some girl I didn't even wanna marry?"
She laughed and shook her head.
"I mean, no disrespect to her but fuck that!"
Rolling her eyes and smiling, Elizabeth slouched a little in her chair.
"...did you think there was more to me than just being a horny, skilled and devilishly handsome man?"
"A little" he laughed again and she smiled at him, "but I still don't think I'd change you"
"No?"
"Nu-huh" she insisted, "...so how did you meet everyone?"
"Well, I'd seen David and Dwayne around a few times during my nightly adventures-"
"-sneaking out for sex?"
He winked, "and drinking and trips to the opium house and you know, I did cultured things, too. I went to the theater and to balls and to society events. I was a very functional party animal, especially for the time. I read and I studied..you know, I could speak pretty passable French, when I gave it any effort. I was a learned man, Lizzie"
She held up her hands in defeat but also impressed, "I trust you and I have a ton of questions leading off of that but...I need to know...you saw them around but not Marko? How did you end up as a vampire?"
"Well, at first, yeah. I kept bumping into Dwayne the most. David a few times and I felt like...I got the vibe that we would gel, you know? That's putting it mildly but there are no ways to put it. Words can't describe it, not even a little. All I can tell you is that there was something about them both that just...they piqued my interest in a big way and I didn't even know why? It was a very slow build, over a couple of weeks I kept seeing them and each time that feeling got stronger"
She tilted her head and he grinned, "one night I was particularly...uh, jolly" he laughed, "and I bumped into Dwayne. I mean, bump bumped" he laughed again, jerking his shoulder in imitation of body checking someone, "and I dunno. I was high sure, but I was rich and snotty and kinda belligerent. I was the one in the wrong but I told him to watch where he was going. I mean, I always treated dudes a little coldly 'cause, you know. The guys in my circle were that same brand of gross, boring high society assholes-"
"-the kind of asshole your dad was tying to mold you into?"
"Exactly, girl! And I didn't want to be like that and I made it known, you know? By my actions, I kind of...I tried to elevate myself away from it" he shrugged, "by being a dick, I guess.."
Elizabeth grinned, "I don't think you made a bad choice. So what did Dwayne say?"
"Nothing!" Paul exploded, his smile practically touching his ears, "he just gave me this withering, steaming stare-" he did a fairly impressive impression of Dwayne's stoic, impassive face and then he broke off into laughter, "and then he kind of side stepped around me like I was nothing"
"Oouch"
"Yes. Yes! Fucking oouch, fucking sucked. The thing is, I'd seen him a few times, right? A lot. Always in passing, both of us going about our nights but there was something about him. I couldn't put my finger on it but each and every time we'd seen each other about, I felt like...a click. I already had the vibe that...I can't explain it but I knew that he was my kind of person? He was like me, or I was like him or whatever. We were supposed to be buds...and then he just fucking dismissed me?"
"Well...not to point out the obvious here but you did tell him to watch where he was going" she said, smiling at the man before her, "...I dunno, I have to admit...it sounds kind of bratty..."
"Well yeah. I was rich, of course I was bratty but what was I supposed to say? I feel a weird connection to you let's hang out? I was caught off guard!"
Elizabeth laughed, "OK, point made"
"I could have been more polite but I was kinda expecting him to retort, you know? I really thought he would. I knew he would, actually. It happened so fast and I was off my head but that was my play. That was kind of my segue into conversation but he just…dismissed me. Truth be told, it felt like he'd punched me. That dismissive stare. It fucking sucked to be on the receiving end and I didn't know why..."
"Must have been weird"
"Super weird. Really...it affected me in a way I hadn't felt before...so, being all manly and proper and shit, I put it down to the drugs. Why else would my feelings get hurt, right? So the next night I went to a ball - invite only, very posh - and I didn't touch or take anything. I was the epitome of a boring, sober gentleman..."
"...sounds like hell" she joked.
"It was..I was in hell and all because I felt a weird connection to some dude that was way, way beneath me in both status and looks?" he laughed, winking "and that night, as I secretly hoped I would, I saw Dwayne and again, I felt like I knew him, like we were close or whatever and again he acted like I didn't exist!"
She grinned, "that's cold"
"Yeah. You think David's chilly, Dwayne can be just as fucking icy. I know now that he was doing it all deliberately, too. Fuckers thought it was funny" Paul laughed, "so, anyway...I'm intrigued and annoyed all at the same time and I find myself actively searching for them..."
"Without knowing what you would do if you actually found them?"
He nodded, "exactly...my feelings were so confused but so sincere and it fucking sucked, girl. I didn't know what was going on with me" he shrugged and dropped his head against the back of the chair, "it was totally in-explainable. Now I know it's because it was all this supernatural shit. When I found out what they were, it was a relief if I'm honest"
Elizabeth grinned, "David and Dwayne knew you were meant to be in their pack?"
"Yeah" he nodded, "they were sussing me out, I know that now but at the time...so fucking frustrating. And I'd feel them, too. Like, if I saw Dwayne, ninety percent of the time I could feel David. If I didn't see either of them, I could still feel them"
"Was it scary?"
"Nuh-huh. Frustrating" he grinned at her, "Lizzie, I'd never had anybody say 'no' to me. I was rich! I had everything and I literally wanted for nothing. Fuck, I had silk imported from Siam-"
"-Thailand?"
His eyes glittered, "Siam, back then. Anyway, I was a rich boy, had whatever I wanted...but these two? Ugh!" he laughed, "I wanted them, I felt like I needed their companionship but I couldn't fucking have it and I didn't even know why I fucking wanted it!?"
He rolled his eyes, still grinning, the frustration clear in his tone.
"One night, I see Dwayne, OK? Dressed kind of like me, very well and very sharp but not proper, you know. So that pisses me off, right off the bat. We have the same sense of style but we're kind of sticking it to the man, too, in subtle ways. And it's like he knows he's pissed me off because he smirks...and then he goes on his way. He links up with David - only then I didn't know their names - and he gives me this...this cold and polite little nod...dismissive but encouraging at the same time?"
"I can imagine that very clearly" Elizabeth said, eyes trained intently on Paul.
His story was so interesting, so fascinating and she wanted to know more.
"So I'm just over these dudes, you get me? I don't know why I'm so interested in them, so drawn to them but I'm the boss. I'm rich and I'm handsome - people wanna hang out with me, it's not the other way 'round" he laughed, "are you seeing my rich boy sense of entitlement?"
"A little" she giggled, shrugging. She couldn't see it in him now but she trusted Paul when he said those things about himself.
"So I decide that I'm done. They wanna play aloof? I could have bought them, their horses and their house a billion times over. I'll show them fucking aloof" he grinned, wide and animated, "so the next few times I see them, that's just what I do"
"..and?"
"They fucking loved it"
They both laughed.
"Which fucking drove me even crazier! They matched my attitude but their eyes. Fuuuuck, they were fucking dancing with amusement and I wanted to sock them"
"Did you?"
"Nah" he laughed, "which was lucky for me. You don't wanna punch a vampire, Lizzie. It hurts"
"Really?"
"Yeah" he smiled, "so I refrain from punching them because, to be totally honest with you girl, I was too high society for that...but I'm still compelled and frustrated and pissed"
"They were having fun with it, weren't they?" Elizabeth said.
"Yeah. And I knew it, on some level. I just didn't know why"
"God, that must have driven you crazy!"
"It did. And then, the night my engagement was announced I went out, you know, looking for a stiff drink and a warm puss-" he glanced at her and smothered his smile, "-uh, person and instead I bump into them"
She smothered her own smile, finding it oddly sweet that he had swallowed his crude words, "the last people you want to see?"
"But also the very people I do want to see" he shook his head, "so annoying...and it's Dwayne…leaning against a lamppost and looking so damn handsome, so fucking well-heeled and well to do and you know what he says?"
She shook her head, peering forward a little in anticipation.
"He says, 'congratulations'"
Elizabeth choked on a laugh.
"Yeah. The first words he ever speaks to me, the words I've been practically craving.." Paul said, shaking his head once, "'congratulations'...so, I'm kind of annoyed about the marriage anyway and I'm real annoyed about them and with myself for having these confusing fucking feelings for them...so I told him, in the nicest way, to suck my dick"
Elizabeth did laugh this time, "you did?!"
"Yeah" he grinned at her, "and then David, who was lounging quite comfortably against a wall and with the mother fucking newspaper spread out between his hands says, 'you'll have a wife to convince to do that for you now' and then he quirks his eyebrow...so I tell him to suck my dick, too"
They both laughed.
"Paul you have way bigger balls than me" he said, "I would never, ever have the courage to-"
"-stand up to David? You'll get there, girl. You'll get there"
"Maybe..." she didn't believe him, "..so? Contact was made and then?"
"Nothing" he grinned again, "I went on my way and I found my warm person, found some hard liquor and enjoyed my night. Or tried to"
"I thought you would have...I don't know, made friends or...or something?"
"Nah" Paul said with a shake of his head, "but from there on out, Dwayne and I would exchange insults in passing. I'd search him out, I didn't know it, but he was searching me out, too. And we'd throw out snide comments and that was that. He'd insult my hat, I'd insult his hair. He'd comment on my shoes, I'd comment on his pocket watch. Whatever, we always had some snide remark to make..." he shrugged, "I kept boning women, started to bone my fiancé in secret some nights, would search out David and Dwayne and exchange biting words and that was my routine. The partying didn't stop for me and that's actually how I met Marko"
She jerked in her seat a little, surprised that Marko was included in his story.
"Yeah" Paul smiled, "we frequented the same dive quite a lot. I went there 'cause the conversation was better than in the other shit holes that served the good stuff and we found ourselves sitting at the same table one night. He was...he was a cool guy. Very guarded but there was a kind of a vibe about him. Nobody fucked around with him, even though he kind of looked like an easy target? I found that I felt the same way about him as I did with those other two fuckers but I dunno. We didn't trade insults. We actually spoke...we'd sit, side by side in this dirty dive...me, Mr Rich and Fancy and him...quiet and calm..."
"Why did you have that with him and not the other two?"
"Dunno" Paul said, "but it was easy. Dwayne and David are way more serious, got sticks wedged right on up in their assholes half the time. Marko and I are more...loose. Maybe that's it?" he laughed and shrugged, "whatever it was, we got along like mad, right from the get go.."
"He was quiet?"
"Reserved. Kind of...damaged, if I'm being honest"
"Oh" she remembered Marko's words.
"Yeah..." Paul sounded a little less enthusiastic, "I like him a lot and I knew he had something going on. I wanted to help him which was really weird because I never helped anybody"
"He never accepted your help?"
"Nah...I mean my help was cash and an ear, you know? Not much good to him, not that I knew it at the time. Anyway...one night, he just didn't turn up...nor the night after.." he sighed, "nor the night after that"
Paul shifted in his seat, "and, I dunno. It all got a little less fun...same bar, same alcohol, same people...but my buddy wasn't there and it sucked. So one night, I call it quits way earlier than usual and I don't know where to go...do I go home to an empty house, a cold family sitting in separate rooms, submissive servants scattering to get out of my sight? Go to a society ball? Be surrounded by rich, hollow people...the kind of person I didn't even want to be, that I'd always fought hard against becoming. Do I go drinking and go fuck someone, try to find comfort in the arms of a willing woman? Sneak up to my fiance's room and try to elicit some comfort from her? I didn't even like her that much. I didn't know what to do...everything felt hollow..." he frowned.
Silence filled the library before he continued, "suddenly my whole life felt hollow and all because my friend didn't turn up? A friend who wasn't even a friend in the traditional sense? It was fucked..."
He shrugged, "...I knew in that moment that I was lonely and that without Marko, without those two fuckers...I'd always be lonely..." he looked at her, "it was a very painful realization. It was so strange, so random but totally, utterly undeniable. So I go out for a walk, I mean, what else is there to do, right? I'm just aimlessly wandering...but of course, nothing is unplanned"
"You found them, didn't you?"
"Yeah. Saw Dwayne, traded our usual insults and then...I stayed. He was doin' his usual thing, leaning against a lamppost and I just stayed right there with him. Slung my hands in the pockets of my overcoat, crossed my ankles and watched the evening go by right beside him. It was a graveyard fence I was leaning against, of all things. Big, ugly wrought iron old thing...he turned around and instead of watching the street, he kinda observed me. Dunno how long it went on for but gradually we started to smirk...then smile...Marko turned up which was oddly natural and then David was beside me, too and like you said" he clapped his hands, "the puzzle was completed"
"That was it?"
"That was it" he smiled, looking calm and content, "I became a half vampire that night. Went home and died" he wiggled his fingers in a spooky way, "luckily burials were fast back then. It's surprising how quickly people start to rot without the intervention you guys have now. Anyway, I had a scant service, was buried not even two nights later-"
"-wh..Paul..you?" Elizabeth shook her head, "you were healthy though? Right? Why didn't...your family didn't even question it? How did you get away with that?"
He laughed a little, "piss easy, baby girl. I already had a bit of a reputation, like I said, so I decided to work with what I had. I basically poured a gallon of cheap booze down my clothes and then downed a fuck ton of ethanol. Dwayne helped a lot" he gave her a wry smile, "volunteered quite happily, actually..."
He laughed.
"...anyway, you could smell me a mile off. Hurt like a bitch, even though I was half at that point but it did the trick. My evening activities were already a quiet source of embarrassment, so I went all out with it. I knew everyone'd put two and two together. I looked like shit, I reeked of booze and I was covered in puke and I upchucked blood, too. It was gnarly. I could feel it fucking with me but I could feel that half of a vampire not letting me die...super big mind fuck, super exciting. Better than any drug, I can tell you"
"So what happened?"
"I let myself slump on the gateway to my house, even did this whole arrangement, made it look like I'd all but fallen out of a carriage. Fuckin' Dwayne dumped a slurry of shitty, dirty water from a horse's trough over me. Said it looked like I'd fallen in, fucking freezing. Had some, like, gob floaties and horse shit in my mouth, so that was grand" he rolled his eyes and grinned, showing that there were no hard feelings, "...and then in the morning the groundskeeper found me, got me inside and yeah. That's that. I died...looking and smelling like a total and utter disgrace"
"Jesus..." she whispered.
"Yeah. My mom barely reacted, though I like to think she cried for me at least once. Maybe at night, when she loosened the corset strings and let her hair down?" he shrugged, "my father immediately talked about bestowing my inheritance upon a distant cousin. I wasn't even dead. I was in my bed, shivering and sweating and dying and that's what comes out of his mouth? Those were the last words I heard him say...he ended up giving my inheritance it to one of the only other male relatives I had and, uh, yeah. There were talks about pneumonia among the cooks and maids, I think they bought the groundskeeper's silence, which I mean, good for him because-"
"-didn't they even try and call a doctor?"
"Nah" he shook his head, "and have it be broadcast everywhere? No way. There was no discretion back then. I'd disgraced them and having the servants potentially know was enough. Call a doc? They'd never do that. Besides, bad alcohol was a thing back then. They knew there was nothing to be done, I was basically presenting myself as comatose anyway, save for the stream of bile and blood oozing from my mouth" he shrugged again, "I shit myself a lot, too. That was surprisingly liberating"
He laughed and once again some excitement danced in his eyes.
"...but this is the thing, girl. I know it's cold and I know it sucks but I didn't fucking want them to call for help. I was excited! Girl, I was buzzing. I wanted to shake or fit or you know, Exorcist puke, just make a big ass scene in celebration of what I was working towards but I did what I had seen happen on the streets..."
"Which was?"
"Just die"
"Just die..." she repeated and he nodded, "they put out the word that I had 'caught a sudden and deadly chill', whatever that bullshit means and that was that"
"Did your cousin get your inheritance?"
"Yeah but he didn't have it for too long. He was barely a baby when I died" Paul said, "and he didn't have kids of his own, in the end. He feel in love with the money...which sucks for him because everything my family had, everything I should have had, everything he did have...all of it got wiped out in the crash of '29. He ended up putting a gun up on in his mouth...from what I remember, anyway. Missed the shot, I think. Something gory but I didn't make much effort to stay in the loop with my past life. Burned the few photographs of myself that had been taken and my folks destroyed the portraits-"
"-why?"
"Shame? Embarrassment? Their only son drank himself to death like a common lout?" he laughed, "whatever. I was glad they did. I wasn't even buried in the family vault. Pretty offended when I woke up-"
"-woke up?" she shook her head, "sorry. I don't mean to interrupt but..."
"Unbelievable, right?" he chuckled, "well. I died. So they buried me - in a fucking paupers grave, of all things. Guess I really pissed off my Pa - and the guys dug me up, I made a kill, we buried my kill in my grave and that was that. Old life over, new life beginning"
He stretched, "and I've never looked back. Wouldn't change a fucking thing, either!"
"Jesus..." she whispered again.
"Yeah. My story's a breath of fresh air compared to Marko and Dwayne's huh? All that sadness and shit..."
She nodded.
"That's because it's me! I am breath of fresh fucking air!"
She laughed, shaking her head, "Paul that's...Jesus, that's a story.."
"I got a million of 'em"
"I..I don't doubt it" she replied, awed.
"Wanna go get some food?"
"Food?" she blinked at him.
"Yeah" he stood up, booted feet catching against her jeans a little as he did, before shrugging, "this place is spooky. Let's go on some rides or something? Grab a pizza or a corn dog or a funnel cake or whatever heart crippling wares we can find? I can tell you more about handling the ball sack"
"I..you-" she laughed. He'd just told her the most interesting, the most fascinating story of his life, his death, of his time and now he was over it? "-Paul! You're unbelievable!"
"Believe me, baby" he ordered, thrusting his hand down towards her, "come on. I'll blow your mind even more"
She laughed again and accepted his hand.
"Paul?"
"Lizzie?"
"I love you" she laughed.
"I love you too, chica" he grinned, leading her towards the darkened, looming lobby of the library. As he slung his hand over her shoulder and tugged her close, he laughed, "feels fucking awesome, doesn't it?"
She couldn't help as a wave of pure affection washed over her. She had Dwayne, her mate and her everything but she had Paul and Marko, too. Her brothers, her family.
On some level she was even feeling a connection with David.
It was all coming together.
Her pack.
"It really does" she said, looking up at him.
"Lizzie?"
She laughed, "Paul?"
He kicked open the door with his booted foot, not even pausing to think about it.
The smile on his face was as mischievous as she had ever seen, "ask me again what's in the packet..."