I love gatherings. You can see the speed at which human society moves when there are so many of them gathered around here. I always was the social one of my kind.
"Nice place, right? How was the mushroom appetizer?" Abe asked, having to speak loudly to be heard over the restaurant's chatter.
Tesser could hear him fine. "The portobello was very good." The dragon felt a stirring somewhere inside him. The presence of so many people, all their scents and body language, was triggering a desire he hadn't felt in a long time. A hunger. A need to hunt.
I have been contained for far too long. No flames have passed between my teeth and over my tongues in more years than I can remember. I haven't stretched my wings properly and felt the kiss of the winds underneath me in so long it hurts. And the last time I felt the comfort of a woman…
"Hey, you in there? I asked you a question." Abe had leaned over the table, snapping his fingers.
"I'm sorry, Abe, I was just enjoying the moment. Reminiscing. Thank you for making me come out tonight."
Abe let loose a pleased sigh and rubbed his tummy. "Hey, my pleasure. Mr. Doyle pays me well, and you need the culture. Besides, lightning could strike and we could get lucky."
Oh, now there's an idea. I should spend more time looking into women. After all, it is what I've done best for so very long.
"You want to be with a woman tonight?" Tesser asked the question more as a statement.
Abe's awkwardness sprouted like a mushroom in the dark. He shrank back into his seat, his lack of confidence showing dramatically. "Oh, I was just kidding. I'm not really looking for a relationship right now, Tesser. Far too much on my plate. But hey, thanks for looking out for–"
"Shush. You are a handsome young man, and I resemble one as well. We have needs Abe, primal needs. A need to hunt."
"Yeahhh… I don't really need a girlfriend…"
"Shush. You need to get your dick wet tonight, as do I."
Abe was speechless, but couldn't stop from grinning again.
He's excited.
Tesser took a sip from his whiskey and ginger and assessed the people in the restaurant for this new purpose. He was hoping to find–
Two women.
A redhead and a brunette sat together at a table off to the side. Both were dressed in short but classy, dark-colored evening dresses and were very attractive. Tesser closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, sorting through the aromas of food, the colognes and perfumes, and the musky scent of each person in the room. He caught the tiniest caress of the redhead and knew she was prime. He caught a vague scent off of the brunette, and through all the other scents of the restaurant, it reminded him of clean river stones and snow.
That scent is SO familiar. I must talk to her.
"Get up," Tesser said as he got to his feet.
"Um, Tesser, I am not really 'gifted' with women per se. I don't think you need me as a wingman on this mission, Captain."
Tesser picked up his glass and gave Abe a look showing he wouldn't take no for an answer. Abe stood and grabbed his beer.
The thrill of the hunt.
The two men crossed the busy restaurant, people unconsciously getting out of Tesser's way. He was pushing his charisma out with experience, forcing the people he didn’t want to interact with away from him. It was an old trick that worked frequently. Scientists might call it the work of pheromones.
Mr. Doyle would call it magic.
"Hello," Tesser said to the two women. He had a disarming smile on immediately, one that said he was someone people wanted to talk to.
The redhead looked up first, and her eyes flared happily.
She's attracted to me. Excellent start.
"Hello, handsome. What can we do for you and your friend tonight?" She lifted a glass of wine and sipped at it seductively. The gesture looked just shy of desperate.
Tesser looked over at the girl that carried the clean scent. She was very pretty. Smooth skin that avoided the harsh caress of sunlight and dark hair that she'd pulled back into a ponytail. She wore minimal makeup and looked innocent, just a breath out of place with the vivacious redhead with the red lips. She still hadn't looked up at Tesser yet.
She looks uninterested. Or is that intimidated? I must learn more about her. I should ask her about that sunburn on her left arm.
"Well, this is my friend, Abraham. He prefers his friends to call him Abe. I think you should call him Abe. My name is Tesser." The disarming smile stayed steady as he switched his drink into his left hand and extended his right towards the redhead. She took it as she answered.
"I'm Alexis. And this beauty is Matty."
"Beautiful names. Hello, Matty. Is that short for something?" Tesser let go of Alexis' hand and presented it respectfully to the brunette.
"Matilde. My father is Norwegian," she said, finally looking up at Tesser. Her eyes froze in recognition of him.
Her eyes. What a pretty green. And Norway… I'm missing something here.
"Norway. A pretty place. It's a true pleasure to meet you two ladies. I hope you don't think we're being too forward," Tesser apologized as Abe introduced himself to Alexis. Tesser listened to Alexis' replies to Abe and heard that her tone hadn't changed from when she spoke to him. She was attracted to the much younger fledgling mage.
"Have you... been?" Matty asked, something clearly on her mind. She was still staring at Tesser.
I can finally smell her. Well, smell something about her state of mind and a special area of her body at least… but she's also nervous. Adorable.
"To Norway? I visited a very long time ago. When I was younger. Matty, you've a look on your face, like you want to say something. Speak freely." Tesser had a feeling he knew what she was thinking, and his tone told her so.
Matty blushed, and it looked ever so pretty on her pale skin. "I recognize you. I think. Are you the man from the video near the nightclub?"
"Oh my God!" Alexis said.
Tesser smiled again, a little bigger this time. "Ya caught me. I did manage to put some clothes on tonight. I'm learning some manners."
Matty's mouth opened and closed but said nothing. She looked unsure of quite how to respond to Tesser's baiting. Finally she got something out. "I feel like there's a really embarrassing story behind that video."
"I don't get embarrassed easily but there certainly is a story to be told. Matty, Alexis, it's an awfully long way back to our table over there, and you two look like you're interested in meeting pleasant, new people tonight. Are these two seats taken?" Tesser pointed at the two empty chairs.
Matty started to answer, but Alexis didn't give her the chance to reply. "Of course not, Thomas! Have a seat."
"Ha, it's Tesser. But you can call me Thomas if you keep calling him Abe."
This could be a really good night.
Tesser was right. It turned into a really good night.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Matilde
This is turning into the best bad idea I've ever had.
Tesser had one hand on her hip and the other nested firmly around the back of her head, pulling her into his kiss.
This guy can kiss. He can really kiss.
She was tearing at his suit, ripping it off of his shoulders and yanking it downward, disrupting the eager placement of his hands. As soon as the fancy striped suit hit the floor, his hands were back, expertly exploring her body with surprising firmness. He was incredibly strong.
This was such a good bad decision.
But it was an incredibly difficult decision to make.
*****
Earlier that night, Matty had nervously asked the handsome man what his story was.
They'd been standing at the bar in the same nightclub near where Tesser's naked fight had happened. Club Pandemonium. The music had been loud and deep, pulsating at a breakneck rhythm, and Tesser looked at home, his head nodding to the beat ever so slightly.
Every girl in here is staring at him and glaring at me. This is awesome and only just a little hor
rifying. How am I even entertaining his attention?
"It's pretty simple and not that interesting really. I'm not from around here, you see," he'd started. "English isn't my first language, and having just arrived here, I didn't have any money. My only clothes were wet and I'd taken them off to dry. That night when I saw those guys trying to work that girl over, I said enough is enough. I don't like rape. You saw the video. You know the rest."
Matty nodded, straining to hear him over the loud club music. "I definitely saw the video. You've become a bit of a celebrity."
Tesser shrugged. "Do what's right. Celebrity is quite secondary. I'm thankful though. Because of that night I was able to get a job, and get some help learning the language. I was able to meet Abe, and he's been an incredible friend."
Matty leaned in, more than a little skeptical. "Learn the language? You speak perfect English, Tesser. Perfect."
Tesser grinned in that way that made her tingle. "Well, dear, I am a very fast learner, and Jerry, my boss, allowed me to watch Jay and Silent Bob movies until I got the language down pat."
Matty swooned, sipping at her fruity cocktail. "I LOVE Kevin Smith movies!"
Tesser nodded in agreement. "Yeah, me too. I learned a shitload about America watching his flicks."
The two watched as throngs of college-aged men and women moved about. Some were on the dance floor, dancing to the beat of a trance song that had been playing for what seemed like forever.
Then again, all of these songs are long and sound the same.
"What do you do for a living?" Tesser asked loudly over the music.
"I'm an analyst at a biotech lab. I basically pore over huge piles of experiment data and mine for trends and results that we should investigate further."
"That sounds really… boring," he said back.
Matty laughed. "It is. It's like watching paint dry some days. But I've got to say, Tesser, the company I work for does really good work. Important work and it makes all the bullshit worth it. I think."
"You think?" Tesser gulped down a big mouthful of his cocktail.
He can sure drink. That's easily his fifth.
Matty looked over Tesser's shoulder into the crowded dance floor. It didn't take much effort to locate her fire-haired friend. Alexis was strutting her stuff, surrounded by young men and women half her age. Perhaps most remarkably Tesser's friend, Abe, was grinding on Alexis' ass, his hand wrapped around her hips, pulling her onto his groin. It was tacky, juvenile, and the look of sheer joy on both of their faces was priceless. Matty envied her and felt incredibly out of place.
She finally got back to their conversation. "Yeah. I think. Hey, I just, you know, I wasn't sure what I wanted this to be tonight. I thought I could just forget about the past, and forget about who I really am, and just have fun. But here with you, I feel like a fish out of water."
Tesser leaned in as if to ask her a question, but instead took her hand, and led her away from the dance floor. They walked hand-in-hand to the back of the bar where there were fewer speakers and far less commotion. When they reached the back, Tesser pointed at a barstool next to the one he chose for his own seat.
This is… weird.
Tesser somehow managed to catch the attention of a female bartender on the other side of the square bar, and after a wave of his hand and a smile, she brought over another whiskey for him and another fruity drink for her.
"How do you do that?" Matty asked impulsively.
"Do what?"
"Get people's attention like that? Get people to do things for you so easily? First, the random video that looked so good it seemed staged, then the restaurant… I saw everyone looking at you before you even came over to us. And Alexis? Boy, Tesser, she's in love with you. At least the kind of love that makes you wake up in strange beds the next morning covered in sticky bodily fluids. And when we got to the club, you just waved at the damn doorman and all four of us were let in. And just now. There's a hundred people on the other side of this bar trying to get a drink, and within ten seconds you're able to catch the attention of the hottest bartender in here and get us our drinks. It's weird. You're famous. No, you're notorious."
Tesser grinned sheepishly. "You catch on quickly. It makes you uncomfortable to be with me, doesn't it?"
"Don’t change the subject on me. What gives?" Matty slurped a mouthful of her Caribbean-living-inspired drink and lowered her eyes at Tesser. She wanted an answer.
After sipping his drink, he gave her the answer she pried for. "I'm charismatic, what can I say? I exude a certain aura that I have figured out a way to use and abuse for the benefit of myself and those I care about."
"You exude an aura?" Matty rolled her eyes and sipped her drink again.
God, this drink is delicious.
"Can you argue with the results?" Tesser reached a hand across the bar and left it uncomfortably close to her hand. She slid her own hand an inch or two away from his simple advance. It was a reflex. Echoes of Max.
"It's weird, is all."
Tesser couldn't help but agree, "It is weird. And you never answered my question. It makes you uncomfortable to be here with me?"
Matty looked away, feeling very revealed and vulnerable. She didn't like to feel that way.
"It's pretty obvious, Matty. I'm not hurt. I just find that fact very intriguing. Tells me there's a story to be told. There's an army of women here who are all giving you profoundly dirty looks because you're sitting here with me, some men in that platoon as well, and you look like you'd rather be walking on hot coals than having this conversation and getting some positive attention from me."
"Yeah, well…"
"‘Yeah, well…’ what? Talk to me. You're only a few seconds away from telling me you want to go to the bathroom in order to slip away anyway."
Matty took a tug on her straw and nearly emptied her entire drink in one fell swallow.
Fuck it. He's right.
All in one exasperated breath, she let it loose, "My last relationship ended shitty. I haven't seen anyone in a really long time, not since Max. I loved Max. I wanted for tonight to be a wild, let loose and take off my shoes kind of night. I wanted to make bad decisions about boys, and here I am, scared out of my mind, and feeling incredibly inadequate. Of all the boys in all of Boston to show me any kind of attention tonight, I wind up getting you. The guy I nearly masturbated to watching a grainy security video the other night. The guy for whom every woman in his presence wants to bear children. The guy against whom I feel like a grain of sand. You're ungodly hot, Tesser. It's not fair. I needed a layup tonight, not a slam dunk."
Tesser listened like a champion, allowing her to vent it all. When she finally finished, and emptied the rest of her drink, he spoke. He chose his words carefully. "Matty, you have a right, a basic human right, to be happy. I haven't known you all that long, but from what I see, you've let a piece of your past define your entire future and that's making you unhappy. I'd bet work has become your life, and that's rarely enough for anyone's soul to thrive on. I can't tell you to take off your shoes and dance tonight. I can't tell you to let loose and make bad decisions about boys, or about me, but I can tell you that you are more than adequate. You're more beautiful than the dyed-hair trollops that are staring at us and are a better person than they could ever hope to be. If you think that you're inadequate sitting next to me, that's an old feeling you're having, and it has no place inside you anymore." Tesser leaned in closer, very close and rested his hand on hers. This time she didn't pull away.
"Trollops?"
"Trollops. There are a million women in this city. Two hundred pretty ones in this room with us, and the only pretty girl I want to be with is you."
You only live once.
Matty leaned into him, letting the liquor fuel her courage. Tesser leaned in as well, and their lips met softly, then their tongues.
The world only stops for a few moments in a person's life. Matty oddly thought of a few examples; the birth of a child, the vows at your marri
age, the moment you hear a loved one has passed, and if you're lucky, at the moment of a great first kiss.
He tastes good. A little like liquor, and a bit earthy, in a masculine way. I forgot how good it feels to be kissed.
Tesser broke it away at a sweet moment, having just nibbled on her lower lip. He made eye contact with her, and she felt her heart flutter.
How did I not notice his eyes were that gold? They don't even look real.
"Matty, I don’t want you to make a bad decision you don't want to make, but ever since I saw you at that restaurant earlier, I haven't had a single different thought other than being with you. Being alone with you."
He wants to have sex with me. God, I wish I had another drink. I don't know if I have the guts to make that decision. Oh, I know. Sarcasm. That usually works.
"I don't know how to answer you. All I know about you is that you beat people up in alleys." Matty leaned in again against her better judgment and nuzzled into the nape of his neck. He smelled good, despite not having on any cologne.
"You also know that I beat up men who try to harm women. I'm so chivalrous, it's disgusting sometimes. There's an era I wished I'd spent some time in."
"Are you a white knight? Are you here to rescue me, good sir?" Matty asked, her eyes getting wide and her nerdy inner nature surfacing, again despite her better judgment.
"I am no knight, my lady, but if you need rescuing, I'll gladly risk life and limb to deliver you safely from harm. Was that too cheesy? It felt really cheesy."
"Yeah, it was cheesy. But kind of cute."
Tesser looked relieved. "I haven't talked to a girl in a long time too. I would be lying to you if I told you I wasn't a little nervous right now."
"Nervous about little old me?"
"You're an incredibly interesting woman, Matty. Beautiful, intelligent, funny, and you’ve got a quality about you that I find… fascinating."
"We'd better leave before I change my mind about having sex with you. This booze won't last forever, and if I sober up, there's no way I'm having sex with you tonight."
Tesser: A Dragon Among Us (A Reemergence Novel) Page 13
