It had been two months since Sergei moved in with Logan. Despite the night-outs and the city's hasty pace in the daily routine, Sergei's life hasn't been quieter for months. It felt like vacation to him. In the short amount of time that he lived there, he got a part time job at Movie Cineplex, the city's theatre (not as an actor, of course). It wasn't anything promising, but it was fine for now. He always loved arts and he knew he would work on one or two such stuff in the near future. After all, he did know how to play the piano and a bit of violin. Until he could find what his real passion would be, he tried to get by in the best way he could. Despite his roomate's well-achieved whinning, he wanted to move in a home of his own. Not because he did not enjoy his friend's playful company, he loved that. He just felt that when he was alone, he could see and experience the wonders of this unpredictable new world with his own eyes. Eyes of body and mind as well. This place did have something special. After all, he was always some kind of a loner.
"I'm back!"
Sergei slammed the door as he walked in the apartment in a quick pace. He threw the keys on the end table and they produced a loud clanking sound as they landed on the surface. Logan was sleeping in his room and the noise woke him up in a not so pleasing way. Sergei's voice kept coming from the living room as he was talking, ringing annoyingly in the young man's ears. He mumbled something and rolled over his remarkably messy bed to catch his phone. "Is it noon already?" he said. Sergei entered the room and paused for a moment.
"What the hell were you doing last night?" he asked, as he moved towards the window.
"Oh, you know... stuff..." said Logan, as he unwillingly ran his fingers through his messy blonde hair.
"You were at that watering hole again, weren't you? Don't you ever work?" said Sergei, as he slid aside the curtains and fully opened the window.
"I... do work. I am picking up ideas for my next song." He looked at Sergei with half closed eyes. "Where were you?"
"Well... while you were busy picking up ideas, I took the chance of walking in the neighbourhood and taking a look of the buildings in night scene."
He violently raised up the exterior blind, letting all the sunlight attack his friend's sleepy eyes. Logan protested with a growl. Then, he finally took the decision to get up.
"I'm trying to have some fun with my bud and you're out there, looking for places to move out. You're breaking my heart, bro."
Sergei chuckled and spoke as he walked out of the room, heading to the kitchen.
"You know that's not the case. I'm just tired of being a burden to you, so I'm gonna do us both some good and get my life here in a proper order."
Logan dragged his steps as he followed him and responded boringly. "Gosh, who's gonna do my laundry?" He poured himself some coffee in a kinky-patterned mug. Sergei took a seat at the dining table and opened the newspaper that was already there. He seemed to have colour-marked some options in the listings of apartments with affordable rent. Logan took a sip of his coffee and his face expression twisted in disgust.
"This is cold."
"It's noon," replied Sergei, still looking at the newspaper.
"Suits your temperature," said Logan mockingly while emtying the mug in the sink.
"Seems it has succeeded in waking you up."
He paused for a moment. "Here. This apartment looks good. Might take a look on the inside tomorrow." Logan walks past Sergei, leaning over him and the newspaper for a second and continues to the living room, leaving an indifferent "uh-huh" on the way. "I'm ordering burritos."
The next hours passed by peacefully in the apartment. After devouring a considerable portion of burritos, they melted on the couch and had one of their odd silly (and at the same time, strangely philosophical) talks. Now, the day was gradually leaving, making room for the night and its seductive wonders. Logan was sitting on the couch in a slacky position while gracefully pulling his guitar's strings, as Sergei was slightly moving his head to the music's rhythm. At some point, Logan slowed down the pace and looked at his friend with bored eyes.
"Wanna hang out?"
"Sure. Where to, this time?"
Logan petted his light goatee. "We could try something different. And more classy. Your kind of taste."
Sergei lifted an eye brow and nodded in eager confirmation. "Banzai Lounge?"
"Nah... too classy. And expensive."
"What about Plasma 501?"
Logan looked surprised. "Really?" His lips curled into a half smile. "That's where the creeps go."
"Good. We'll get to meet some interesting people, at last."
Logan put the guitar aside and leaned frontwards. "Yeah... why not? I never got to check that place out. A friend of mine says it's creepy and classy. The gothic kinda thing. Who knows, maybe we get us some metalgirls, nice and easy... eager to do new, weird things." He smirked.
"...eager to turn you down in new, weird ways." Logan threw a pillow at him as Sergei laughed.
Plasma 501 it is, then. They dressed up in a less casual way than they usually did. Sergei was overall dressed in black, although there was a nice material variety in his fine set. The most noticeable thing was his black velvet coat, with silver buttons decorating it. It followed handsomely the line of his nice-shaped body, in a discreet way of course. He wore a fine black linen shirt with deep red hints, a matching black pair of pants and black shoes. In addition to his plain black hair and his light skin, his appearance resulted in a fine dark style, fitting to the occasion of this hangout.
Logan didn't own any notable classy clothing, he only had one suit for formal occasions. He chose to lean more on his own dark style and put on a black long-sleeved top with the pattern of a gothic band on it, a black leather jacket, dark blue jeans with a silver chain on the belt, and semi-casual black shoes. Fixing his sleeve buttons, Sergei asked: "So, are we taking a cab?"
Logan answered while quickly combing his hair. "Of course we are! That place is almost on the other edge of the city!"
"Is it going to take long? I don't want to miss the good part."
"Relax. It's actually kinda early. That place gets crowded mostly at midnight."
"I am not crazy about crowds. I was referring to the cocktail happy hour." Smirks at Logan. The blond responds with a sarcastic face.
They got in a cab. Time passed quickly as they joked about the possible turnouts of the evening, with silly and kinky assumptions.
When they finally got there, a rush of exciteful emotions took place. Sergei slowly got out of the cab, his eyes fixed on the impressive large building as Logan stood by him in awe. Before them stood a magnificent construction of fine architecture, the highest skyscraper in the city, its exterior was mostly lined in whites and blues, and it was almost as brightful as a Las Vegas club. "AWESOME" growled Logan. As they approached, they noticed a couple getting in. Both the man and the woman were dressed in a rather dark and eccentric way. They followed. The building was pretty high and contained many floors, and the club was on the top. It was their first time there, so they followed the patrons' lead to the elevator. The club's entrance seemed to be guarded by a bold, pale man with some considerable amount of muscle on him. He was dressed in leathers and chains, and had a lot of piercings on his face. At first sight, someone would say it was a VIP place, but the tough-looking bouncer didn't seem to bother when Sergei and Logan walked in, along with the couple.
The club's interior was even more breath-taking than the exterior. Everything was constructed and decorated in a heavy gothic style, deep reds, blacks and maybe purples in impressive and complex patterns reigning over the floors, the walls and the furniture. The lighting was medium and smooth on the eye, mostly in red colours. There was a dance floor, and next to it was a stage with musical instruments placed on it. On the other side of this lounge were a few tables and some well-placed velvet couches which added prestige to the splendid ensemble. The place was not crowded but its eccentric customers spread a most intense feeling in the room. Some were dancing to the dark tones that filled the club while others were standing further with their drinks in hand, talking. There was a marvellous series of red stairs that led to the upper floor, where the bar was. As the two friends were going upstairs, it felt as if the whole club was staring at them. Not in a charming way, of course, more like the "look at the newcomers" one. Just as a hunter spots its prey. Logan noticed a young gothlike-dressed woman with light skin as she stared at him with the corner of her piercing orchid-coloured eyes and a half smile, bringing her Bloody Mary to her lips. This short eye-to-eye contact came so intense on him, he almost missed his step while going up the stairs. Sergei leaned closer and whispered: "Let's go to the bar first".
The upper floor was quieter, more suitable for spending time with a special companion. The lighting was even smoother and it matched well with the blood-red floor and the purple patterned walls. Above the stairs was no floor, allowing some visibility between the floors, the space being at the middle of the room in a square shape, the edges being lined with red bars. On each corner of the room were placed small tables with two black armchairs, and a set of one chess table and two fine chairs was placed beside one wall. There was also a double door that led to the balcony around the room, offering the significant night view of the whole city as well as an extra romantic option for those who wanted to stargaze on a comfortable couch. The two friends took a seat on the counter as the barwoman was working on a what-seemed-to-be complex cocktail of black colour. "Be right with you, boys," she said, as she headed on the other edge of the counter, a wave of her strong perfume passing over Sergei and Logan. She was dressed in a dark and provocative style. Logan looked at Sergei with a grin on his face, clearly ready to burst with enthusiasm. "This is the real thing, dude! Why didn't we come here before?"
Sergei smiled as he checked the room out. "Because this place is full of creeps." Logan chuckled as the barwoman returned and placed her hands openly on the counter, slightly leaning frontwards. "What should I get you two?"
Still looking at the drinks menu, Sergei responded: "Hmm... this... Deathflower Drops drink, is it strong? I wouldn't fancy having to drag myself on the stairs."
"It depends. It's strong enough to put a smile on your serious pretty face. If you have too much, though, it might work the other way around." She winked at him. "What about you, handsome?" she said playfully to Logan.
Caught staring at the revealing parts of her off-shoulder neckline that led down to her breasts, he immediately responded, misspelling one or two words on the first try. "I'll have the same, please!"
She smiled mischievously at him, saying in a low voice "whatever pleases you" and started preparing the drinks. Logan happily stared at her while she did so, then turned to his friend and whispered: "What did you order?"
Sergei patted him on the shoulder, smiling. The next hour passed pleasantly, as they got familiar with some people. Some of them were acquaintances of other night-outs, while others eagerly joined in their conversations. It felt that the people there were very friendly, in an odd and charming way.
At some point, Logan was flirting with the girl he had glimpsed while going upstairs. They got along pretty well during the evening, as they slighly danced to the music. Suddenly, a familiar figure caught his eye in the crowd. He eyed that person and her company for some seconds, then excused himself to the girl and caught up with Sergei who was near, talking with another patron.
"Dude! Do you see that woman? That one over there! Tall, brunette, fit, wearing that mini-shirt and fishnet stockings!" said Logan in a low -yet excited- voice, trying to lead his friend to the correct direction, without directly pointing out with his hand.
"Oh, yes... what about her?" said Sergei, narrowing his eyes to get a better look of the target.
"She's the Hemlock chick! That insane freak! Gosh, one time we were waiting on a line and her daughter asked me about my strawberry flavored donut! I was about to let her have an innocent bite, and then her mother... she just freaked out! She even threatened to call security on me! Everyone was looking at me as if I was a molester!"
"Strange... with your brains, it would be more appropriate to pass for her kindergarten classmate."
"Oh, shut up. I just warned you, man, careful with that chick... don't want her to spoil our good time here!" said the blond, as he headed back to his smiling companion.
Sergei chuckled a bit, then stood and watched the so-called freak as she talked to the others that came with her. In her hangout group seemed to be other two people. A bold and well-shaped man with dark skin. He wore dark clothing that also allowed him to show off his muscles. Then, there was this woman. This gorgeous, gorgeous woman. Wait. What?
He paused that moment. Took the time to focus on eyeing her as best as he could. It was effortless, really. She was a very well-shaped woman, all the aspects of her strong body were stunning. Her beautiful skin was pale but not dull, even slightly lucent. Her dark hair was finely furled, giving her a high-classy look. Her expensive and well-designed short dress lined her perfect body in a classy and also provocative way, flattering her best aspects. It was black and discreetly shiny, with an asymmetric neckline that gracefully revealed her beautiful neck and left shoulder. Her (very fine) thighs and legs were covered by a pair of stay-up stockings with a classy design on the lace tops, incredibly adding to her sensual appearance. Her black shoes bore high heels and were remarkably fine-designed. Her jewels decorated the whole package impressively. This stunningly fine and sensual style bound perfectly with her physical attributes, her attractive feminine face indicated a fine grown woman that knew exactly how to enhance and use her vibrating charmness. Sergei was especially intrigued in her dazing carmine lips and... her eyes. Those eyes, beautiful and astonishing both in shape and colour. It was strange to see a woman with red eyes, but Sergei's guess was that contact lenses were not something uncommon amongst the patrons of that club. It didn't matter. He had to get closer, to take a better look at those eyes.
As people danced around him, he got slightly moved from his place and his dreamy pause ended. He wanted to go and talk to that woman, then he realized he didn't know anything about her, nor was he familiar with her friends. He didn't want to go "fish" in the open, that wasn't his style. After all, that man of the group might be her boyfriend.
He turned to find Logan, who was now getting closer with his charming young company. "May I borrow him for a second?" he said, smiling, as he gently pulled Logan further. Logan looked upset.
"What the hell, man? Are you blind? I've got something going on here!"
"And I've got something going on there," said Sergei, indicating the group with his eyes.
"The Hemlock chick? You nuts?" asked Logan, bearing a shocked and unpleasantly surprised face.
"Not her. The other one. The goddess."
Logan turned slowly to look at him, now slightly shocked and amused.
"Really? Her? Dude. You set the bar too high. No offence, you know I would gladly help you have a good time, but... her? She's out of your league. She's out of everyone's league in this place."
"First... it's not about having a good time. I just want to meet her. I have to meet her. You live here longer than I do. Do you know anything about her?"
Logan paused for some moments, folded his arms and took a good look at her, slightly leaning his head on the side. "I have seen her before, though I know very little of her. I know she is a good friend of the Hemlock freak. They hang out together, most of the times. This bulky guy next to her is a pal of theirs too. Don't think he's dating her, though."
"Good... in your opinion, what would be the best way to approach her?"
"Pray."
Sergei looked at Logan with a dead serious face and Logan giggled. He patted Sergei on the shoulder as he started to head back to his companion.
"Just be yourself, man. It's all gonna come to that anyway. Go buy her a drink or something."
Sergei took his drink and walked towards the group, greeting a few people on the way. He stood somewhere he could have a full view of the three. The "Hemlock chick" and the gorgeous woman were sitting on the armchairs across each other, talking and laughing, while the man stood beside the latter as he followed their conversation. At some point, he turned to look at Sergei and, the introvert young man turned away. He looked back and saw the man discreetly saying something that caused the two women turn their gaze upon Sergei. He acted cool, looked at the woman for a moment, then away again. "Stupid me," he thought, "why am I acting like a child?"
He stood there, waiting for the woman to miraculously come his way, or to be left alone. An idiotic and ineffective way of approach for a man, but the thought of going there and talk to her in her company's presence was suffocating. He wasn't good at such stuff anyway. What could he do? He raised his gaze from his drink and his eyes met with the woman's. An electrifying sensation passed through him in a wave, however he didn't cower up. He kept staring at her and the seconds passed by like years. He had not felt like that before. Not that he was ever experienced in the whole womanizing thing.
Suddenly, he realized that the woman was actually staring back at him. The electrifying sensations were rapidly multiplying in him, his heartbeat rate quickened and she seemed to be aware of this, as her lips gradually formed a charming and non-innocent half smile. She was actually piercing him with her eyes. Her eyes. Now he could see them clearly. They were glowing red, red like the brightest fires of hell. The sensations in him escalated in an intensive nervousness, which he eagerly welcomed. Now full-smiling, the woman charmingly turned her gaze to Hemlock and chatted. Sergei looked again at the man. After a while, the two women got up from their seats and started walking towards the crowd. The man remained at the table, chatting with another patron.
Sergei didn't move from his position. He turned and looked at Logan, who was making out with his companion. He then waited for the women to catch a stable spot in the dance floor. They moved through the crowd as they greeted almost every person they met. Many men seemed to compliment them, especially the gorgeous one. She seemed to reply politely, then turn to Hemlock again. Sergei closed in. His gaze met up with Logan's. He indicated the two women and Logan took a crazed and amused face, his lips forming the words "well done". Sergei responded with a helpless face and Logan got it. He was going to help his friend. The blond took his companion by the hand and walked towards Hemlock. Sergei was puzzled.
"My, my, if it isn't lovely Mrs. Hemlock! Long time no see!" Logan said vividly to the annoyed brunette. "How's life?"
"Good, until you greeted me," she responded, smiling ironically. Logan forced a laugh and acted cheerful. He laid his arm on her shoulders, which she unwillingly accepted, and he indicated the other woman.
"How rude of us not to introduce our friends! I didn't catch your name, miss," he said to the woman, bearing a warm smile.
"That's because she didn't give it to you." said Hemlock, more aggressively this time. The gorgeous woman spoke.
"Indeed, I don't believe I have. You may call me Elvira," she said with a charming smile, reaching out for his hand. Logan shook it gently, replying: "It's my pleasure. This is Alice..." he pointed out his companion "...and that guy over there is my best friend. Sergei! Come over here!"
Sergei looked at him nervously, then walked towards them. First, he greeted Hemlock. She eyed him, head to toes, then she shook his hand firmly.
"Morrigan Hemlock. Nice to meet you."
"Sergei Dracula. Nice to meet you too," he said, smiling politely. Morrigan turned to Elvira. "Well, ain't that a hell of a name," the former commented.
Elvira turned to Sergei. He slightly smiled, looking deep in her eyes. She reached her hand out, saying:
"A pleasure to meet you."
Sergei gently took her hand and lightly kissed it on the back, like a gentleman.
"The pleasure is all mine."
They stared smilingly at each other for a moment, as if they were alone. Logan coughed. Elvira pointed to their table, where the dark-skinned man was.
"There sits our friend, William Fangmann. You could join us, if you would."
Morrigan looked at her with an unpleased expression, as if saying "seriously?"
Logan caught that and loudly cheered:
"Why, of course we would! How could anyone deny a beautiful woman's company?" he turned to Alice "..that goes for my friend, babe." She gave him a sucking kiss.
The next minutes passed by nice and friendly. The group shared two small tables and one large circular couch. The two friends blended nicely in, there was fun, Logan and Morrigan kept nailing each other with spicy comments, though there was no misunderstanding or awkwardness. Through the conversation, some information was aquired. Elvira was a doctor, working on the gene therapy field. She said it's not as impressive as it sounds but Sergei was hanging from her every word. Her alluring, deep, feminine voice gave him more excuses to ask her about her life. At some point, Sergei sat next to Elvira.
"Well, hello there," she said warmly, in her charming smile.
"Hey. Are you comfortable? This couch is quite crowded."
"Not a people person, are you?" she said, as she eyed him down and met his eyes again, widening her smile.
"Depends on the people," he responded, looking at his drink, then fixed his gaze on her. She asked then:
"So... Romania? An interesting place." She lighted a cigarette.
"Have you ever been there?" he said, then he took a sip of his drink.
"Yes, once. I went to a conference in Bucharest. I got to enjoy some of the land's beauties too," she replied, puffing out the cigarette's smoke. She pointed the pack to him. He politely waved it off, stating that he doesn't smoke. Then, she continued:
"How do you find the city? Is it too crowded for you?" she said teasingly. His face blushed as he looked down, shyly smiling.
"It's fine. Definately better than where I was," he replied, looking to the front and taking another sip.
"Oh? I wonder why is that," she said, then smoked again and puffed out, talking. "...I found Bucharest a fine place."
"It wasn't the place." He turned to meet her eyes. "It was the people."
"That sums it up," she said. "Well, there are no angels here either, if that's what's you're looking for." He widened his smile.
"It isn't. I know what I'm looking for, now," he replied, as he eyed her up and down. She formed a surprised half smile.
"That is a bold statement," she said, then smoked and as she puffed out, she snuffed the cigarette out.
Morrigan called to Elvira. She was about to leave, having plans with her husband later in the night. She said her goodbyes to each person of the group. Logan stood up to reach her.
"It was fun. We should do it again sometime!" he said, as he shook her hand playfully.
"I'd rather have myself getting tanned under the sun, on a hot hellish day," she said with that familiar sarcastic smile of hers. Logan's face took the "wtf" expession, and remained that way for some seconds afterwards.
Morrigan gave a friendly hug to Elvira, whispering in her ear to tell her all about it, should the night end with Sergei in her bed. Elvira chuckled and avoided replying to that.
The rest of the hangout time passed by smoothly. Some time after Morrigan's leaving, more patrons left. Eventually only the group remained, and another two or three people. It was nearly closure time for the club, so the group disbanded. Logan indicated to Sergei to ask for Elvira's phone number. For some reason though, it didn't feel right for Sergei. He didn't want this to be another meeting that ended up in a plain exchange of numbers and then everything would lose its magic and turn to usual dating. After all, Elvira confirmed that she would be at the annual event for Bridgeport's foundation anniversary. That was in three days. Elvira and William left to continue their night-out somewhere else, while Logan left with Alice, heading to her place. Sergei took a cab and thought about her the whole time.
Back home, as he lied down on his bed, he thought of every single detail that led to this unexpectingly pleasing night. He felt lucky to have met her. Even though he only knew her for some hours and she was probably used to have lots of men flirting desperately with her on every hangout, the rush of that special moment's emotions raged in him. He played a flashback of this night's most electrifying memories, slowly cherishing them, like enjoying a sip of good wine. Her eyes... her lips. Her neck. Her desirable body. Her perfect skin. Her voice. Her perfume. Her perfume...
Desire. Such a superficial thing. So sweet, though. What a woman. What a creature. God... he wanted so much to be in that bed with her. Not in the cheap, shallow way that most people would. Her being there would just be so much better than... her not being there.
The last thing that occured in his memories was their seperation.
"The event will be held at Bridgeport Acres. I'm gonna be there around 7:00 pm," said Sergei, hoping Elvira's schedule wouldn't give him a hard time meeting her.
"We will be there at eight. If you're lucky, you'll find me in all that crowd." He looked at her with a startled face. She continued: "We will be right by the swings," she said, smiling mischievously.
"I shall find you there then," he said with a slight smile. "It was nice, meeting you tonight."
Walking by him, she said in a low tone "yes, it was," as she shortly placed her hand on his arm. Then she left.