Trish headed straight to the fridge and got out a bottle of cheap wine. She poured a glass and quickly downed it. She was midway of pouring another glass when she thought to drink out of the bottle instead.
"Yeah, you're not an alcoholic." Stacy smirked.
Trish walked over to the couch and plopped down on it. She still had the wine bottle gripped steadily in one hand and lifted her other hand to hold it while she drank more. After several gulps, she eased off the bottle. She hiccupped and wiped her mouth with the back of her palm. "He's a fuckin' vampire."
Stacy sat down on the floor beside Trish. "So I take it that the date went well?"
"I asked him if he was married and he said he wasn't. And then he took me back to his house, which was huge and he showed me his coffin."
"He has a coffin?" Stacy questioned.
"Yes! And he did this trick, you know? Where he moved me with his mind and he read my thoughts!" Trish's eyes grew big.
Stacy grabbed the bottle of wine away from her roommate and read its contents. "What the hell is in here?"
"I'm telling you, Stacy! He's a fuckin' vampire!" Trish explained.
"Um hmm…" Stacy grabbed Trish's hand and set the wine bottle aside. "You've been up all night having sex and now you're drinking. It's time for Trish to go to bed now." She then led Trish to her bed and covered her with a blanket. "Good night, Trisha."
"He's a vampire, Stacy." She pouted.
"I'm sure he is." Stacy grinned. "Now go to sleep." She shut the door behind her.
Trish rolled over and stared at a picture of her and Dave in a frame. It was taken during one of their dates at a fair. She was leaned against him and his arms were wrapped her waist. She remembered how safe and protected she felt in his arms. Trish then shook her head and smiled at the irony of the situation.
Of course I would feel safe and protected in the arms of a killer. Why wouldn't I?
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Several hours later, Trish slept off the alcohol and woke up feeling more confused. She was sure of what happened the night before but she also wasn't sure about a lot of things. If Dave was really a vampire, how come she hasn't heard about a rash of killings in the city? What was his intention of telling her about his vampirical ways? And why was she still thinking about it? I need to lay off the alcohol.
Before Trish could gather her thoughts, Stacy barged through her bedroom door carrying a mini-skirt and a halter top. "You're getting dressed. We're going out tonight!"
"Um, no, we're not."
"Um, yes we are. You need to get over Dave because as much of a nice guy he is, he's too fuckin' weird." Stacy shook his head. "You need to go out and forget about him!"
Trish folded her legs in front of her and pouted. "I'm happy being at home."
"Let's go! We're going out and we're having a good time. No talk about men or booty calls or vampires, for fuck's sake." Stacy said. "Now hurry up and put on some clothing."
"But…"
"No, we're going out, Stratus. Now you have 30 minutes to get sexy."
Trish rolled her eyes. "What are you talking about? I'm always sexy."
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Stacy and Trish headed out to The Champagne Room—an upscale nightclub in the center of Orange County. Dressed to killer perfection with matching outfits, the women entered the club in the same fashion they always did: all eyes were on them.
As Trish and Stacy danced amongst themselves and few lucky patrons, two men were watching the pair methodically. Both men were tall and muscular; one had dirty blonde hair and slight stubble of facial hair while the other had a sculpted beard and multi-colored hair.
"Those two." The blonde pointed to his friend. "Those two."
"Yeah, I think I see them." The darker one said.
"I'm going to approach them. They're ours tonight." He then got up and approached Stacy.
Stacy was laughing and dancing with Trish when she felt a tap on her shoulder. "Go away, I'm not interested in your dick size."
"Good, because I'm not interested in yours either." The man replied.
Stacy immediately turned around and smiled. She's used to dismissing men left and right that it caught her off-guard that one replied to her in the same sarcastic tone. "What's your name?" Stacy asked.
"I'm Edge." He replied.
"Edge? Interesting name." She said.
Edge swung Stacy around the floor and pulled her close to him. "I'm an interesting guy." He smiled.
"Yeah, I think that's my cue to go get a drink." Trish shook her head and walked away.
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While Trish watched Stacy and Edge get acquainted with each other on the dance floor, she thought about Dave. She missed him so much but she needed to be away from him. Whether he was serious or an overzealous fan of the occult, Trish felt she need time to reassess her situation with him. Why did he tell me all of that? What was his purpose?
Meanwhile, Edge's companion sat beside Trish at her booth. "You looked depressed."
Trish stared straight ahead at Stacy and Edge living it up on the dance floor. "I'm fine."
"You sure? You don't look like it."
Trish shrugged. "Meh. It is what it is."
"Well, you need to be out there having fun. A pretty girl like you shouldn't be here moping around." He encouraged.
Trish looked over and saw the most amazing hazel eyes staring back at her. Long blue and purple hair framed his face, while a tight T-shirt exposed his muscular body. A southern gentleman with a touch of wild in him, and an exhilarating scent that made Trish that much more interested in her conversation. "I'm Trish."
"I'm Hardy. You can call me Jeff." He smiled.
"Nice to meet you, Jeff." She smiled back.
Jeff motioned towards the dance floor. "Shall we?"
"Can you dance?" Trish asked.
"Not really, but I can two-step." He said as he got out of the booth and grabbed Trish's hand.
Jeff led Trish to a spot on the dance floor and they danced to a slow song. Trish wrapped her arms around Jeff's neck as he held onto her waist. Stacy looked over and gave Trish the 'thumbs up' and Trish shook her head. "We're just dancing." She mouthed.
"Sure doesn't look like it." Stacy mouthed back.
During the song, Trish's and Jeff's eyes never lost contact with each other as they continued to rock each other's body to the slow tempo. Just when they were about to seal their fate in a kiss, the song stopped and the lights to the club came on. It was universal signal to leave the club and continue the party somewhere else.
"I don't want this night to end, Trish." Jeff mumbled.
"It doesn't have to." She mumbled back.
Stacy and Edge walked towards the would-be couple with their arms around each other's waists. "Ready to go, kids?" Edge smirked.
"Let's go." Jeff and Trish said in unison.
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Jeff and Trish walked out of the club hand in hand, as did Stacy and Edge. They were on their way to another destination as friends of Jeff and Edge were waiting for them. "Ladies, a few of our friends will be joining us tonight." He pointed out their friends. "Lilian and Carlito, meet Trish and Stacy. They'll be hanging out with us for a few hours."
Lilian and Carlito had the same thought run through their heads. Ooh, more victims. "Nice to meet you." Lilian smiled.
"Same here." Carlito greeted.
Immediately, Trish had an uneasy feeling wash over her. Something didn't seem right with the situation, no matter how charming Jeff and Edge were. "I think we'll be heading out now." Trish said.
"Trish, get a grip! We're just going to hang out for a little bit." Stacy pleaded.
"I'm not going to 'hang out' and neither are you. Let's go!" Trish grabbed Stacy's arm.
"No, and stop being a sour-puss!" Stacy complained.
"Ladies, ladies, ladies." Edge stood between them. "Let's not fight here when we can make love." He smiled. "I'm just joking."
"I'm not." Trish pulled on Stacy's arm. "Let's go!"
"No, I'm not leaving!" Stacy pulled her arm back.
"Oh, I think you should be leaving." Another voice said.
Edge's smile dropped the moment he recognized the voice. "Thank you for ruining my night, Dave."
Dave walked up from behind Edge. He had the Family in tow and none of them looked happy to see Edge and Jeff. "I think you should be leaving."
Dave stood face-to-face with Edge, who smirked at him. "Long time no see, Batista."
"Edge." Dave stared past him.
In the vampire underworld, it was no secret that The Family and The Brood were long enemies—longer than either camp could remember. While no one knew the exact cause of the dissention, it never mattered.
The differences between the groups were evident from the clothing to their attitudes to how they killed their victims. While the Family often shopped at high-end stores, the Brood stole the victim's clothing. The Brood was known to be snobby and rude, while the Family was classy and considerate. The Family always gave their victims a humane killing while the Brood often tortured their victims before killing them.
Other members of The Family met up with their respective nemesis of The Brood—Melina and Lilian; Nitro and Hardy; London and Carlito. With the just a simple signal from either Dave or Edge, both groups were ready to battle.
But now was neither the time nor the place, despite how much Dave wanted to hand Edge his ass. "I'm going to escort my girlfriend home now if you're done here." He said politely.
"Your girlfriend, huh?" Edge glanced over at Trish and winked at her. "I didn't mean to be rude."
"Oh, I think you did." Dave nodded. "Are you done here or should I finish you off?"
"I'm done here." Edge looked around to the Brood. "Brood, let's go."
The respective Brood members stepped away from The Family. They then stood behind Edge. "I'll see you around, Batista." Edge smiled and waved. "Let's go."
Disappearing into the night, The Brood vanished. The other members of the Family were secretly talking and plotting amongst themselves about a possible showdown. Dave stared into the empty dark space, trying to calm his senses down.
"What was that about?" Trish walked up to Dave and grabbed his hand.
Dave gripped Trish's hand tighter. Edge was not trying to be friendly with Trish and Stacy. And now that he knew their scents, it was only a matter of time before one of them was killed. "Don't worry about it."