by Ever Coming
4
Training was nothing like I had expected. I figured it would be a whole lot of biting and a little bit of dos and don’ts. What I didn’t expect was an hour and a half of paperwork, most of which I illegally filled out with my wrong name, and the others being more of a test of rules than anything else. They didn’t mess around. From what Jasper told me, the vampires had far more paperwork and had to pay huge deposits “in case of a rule breach” which I knew wasn’t so much keeping a girl out longer than contracted than it was about drinking too much.
The biting did happen though. I know that Madame Victoria had said it could be very sexual, but that wasn’t the case with Jasper. He bit me three times, and from what he relayed, he barely took a few sips. I wasn’t dizzy afterward, and he seemed genuine enough that I was prone to believe him even if it felt like he was attached to my arm longer than a sip’s worth.
Shockingly, it didn’t even pinch. I figured girls wouldn’t be lined up to work here and other places like it if it hurt horribly. But money makes people do strange things, so I wasn’t all together sure. My best guess had been it felt like a needle pinch times two. I was glad to be wrong on all accounts. I could do this. It was just a transaction and people had been selling blood for years to plasma centers, so the only difference was the personal contact and the vast amounts of more money.
Martha was more than happy to watch Daisy all day, and while it hurt to leave her for yet another shift, I knew it was necessary. The diner was booming and I made more in my first half shift than I had the entire shift before. It still wasn’t good money, but it would keep the power on for the month, so I called it a super win. The second half of my shift was far from as grand.
“What are you doing here, Mariah?” Cook, for he preferred to be called cook over his given name, shouted past me as I grabbed a tray of mugs from the dishwasher.
“I called last week and said I’d be back.”
Cook didn’t look happy, and as I swiveled around, tray in hand, I recognized the woman before me. Of all the stupid luck, the upset woman from Madam Victoria’s was the boss’s daughter.
“I see they sent you out the door last night too.” She scanned me up and down, and I swear I saw happiness in her eyes at my apparent defeat. Jasper was right. She was an ugly, ugly person.
“I’m going to put the mugs out front, Cook. It’s hoppin’ out there.” I ignored her leer and walked around her, hoping to at least finish out my shift. She had come in sporting designer jeans and heels, so I sent up a wish that meant she wasn’t there to work. How someone whose family owned a crappy diner could afford the expensive clothes she was wearing was beyond me. Although, that was most likely the reason she was crawling back home to daddy’s house, wasn’t it?
I had barely put the mugs away when she stood beside me holding out her hand as if I was to pay her or something.
“Did you want a mug?” The mugs were closer to her than to me at that point, but I couldn’t figure out her end game.
“No, dumb ass, I want your notepad and apron. This is my job now.”
And this was when I did the stupid. You never, ever, kick a hornet’s nest just because you can, and this woman was a hornet’s nest, to be sure. To be fair, I couldn’t help myself as she stared at me with such disgust and tried to take the tips from all the customers I had sitting with their food already.
“Oh, I’m glad they found my replacement so soon. I already started my new job, but I felt bad leaving everyone here in a lurch.”
If looks could incinerate, I would’ve been a pile of ash. Why did I have to sink to her level? Why?
“I see, so you’re a blood whore,” she said, the word whore far louder than the others. “Good for you, it’s not easy for a fat pig to get a high paying job.”
I took off my apron, handed it to her, stepped around her, ignoring her words the entire time, even though they hurt more than they should. I was on my way back home in five minutes with only a brief goodbye to Cook and the other waitress working. At least I had a few hours to spend with my baby girl before working my new job.
The hours flew by, and next thing I knew I was standing outside the doors of my new job. Weird to think that letting people drink your blood was a job, but there it was. As it was still light out, I knew that Jasper would not be coming out the door to greet me. Most vampires can’t handle daytime and sunlight, although that could all be a rumor for all I knew. Goodness, as a child I believed that if I ate garlic pizza I would be safe and sound from the monsters that were vampires. At the time I had no idea they were actually just like us, just with a different diet. Well, not completely like us, but more or less.
The door was a lot heavier than I imagined, and I stumbled backward the first time I attempted to open it. Good old fashioned construction was far from the craptastic composite doors that seemed to be the norm in my neighborhood. Composing myself, I tried again, and this time managed to open and enter the doorway with some semblance of grace.
Knowing that Arabella was going to dress me for my first day, I came in wearing my only pair of matching panties and bra in case the woman saw me changing, not for, you know, the normal reasons a girl would dress such a way. Other than that I sported a pair of very worn jeans and a t-shirt. The hallway echoed as I walked in the direction Jasper had indicated the evening before. I felt oddly better knowing there was a room devoted completely to helping courtesans finding their style and that I wasn’t the only pathetic one with no style or money to gather a style.
I tapped on the door and waited. I had yet to see a person since walking in, but with the front door unlocked, I gathered there had to be. Not that anyone would be stupid enough to steal from vamps. Goodness, they were stronger, faster, and far more difficult to kill than humans. Attacking them was a fool’s errand at best.
The door flew open and my jaw dropped. Standing before me wasn’t some nerdy stylist with measuring tape and glasses at the tip of her nose. It was Arabella. The Arabella. I was star struck. How had I not made the connection?
“Oh sweetie, pick your jaw up. Haven’t you ever seen a drag queen as fabulous as me before?”
“But ... but, you're Arabella. The Arabella.” The words, they just weren’t forming.
“Today I am, yes.” She grabbed my hand and pulled me in before shutting the door behind me, her eyes a gorgeous shade of purple I knew she had chosen to go with her violet hair. “But more importantly, I’m your secret weapon. Twirl around for me, honey. I need to take in the full picture.” She gestured a swirling motion with her hands and I immediately obeyed.
“Your hair is gorgeous, but so uneven. We will need to fix that.” She wasn’t telling me something I didn’t know. Haircuts were a luxury I just didn’t have the time nor the money for; although, if this job panned out, I might be able to afford awesome things like discount haircuts and fresh produce.
“Your curves, oh my word, you are going to drive the vamps wild.”
I stopped whirling. My curves seemed to be an asset in Arabella’s mind, which was great, because I was half afraid I’d come here to find out they had zero things big enough for my bodacious body.
Arabella tapped her chin with her finger before her face lit up into a smile that could brighten the darkest of rooms. “Yes. I’ve got it. I know just the outfit for you.” She turned to a huge clothing rack behind her and started pushing hangers aside. She let out a sigh before pointing to a closed door. “Step in the side room and take a shower. When you get out we will be ready to make magic, not that you need much magic aside from your less than stellar clothing choices for the day. Scoot. We have much to do.”
The bathroom was more like that of a fancy schmancy hotel than the locker room I had anticipated. The hot water felt amazing, and unlike the shower at home, it lasted the entire time I washed my hair. The body wash smelled heavenly and nothing at all like the cheap dollar store stuff I usually grabbed. If this was what things were going to be like working here, it was going to be twice
as hard to leave as it was the last couple of places we called home. If only things could work in our favor just once and we could stay here until we decided to move and not until it became unsafe and we had to move.
After slipping on my undergarments, I wrapped the plush towel around myself and stepped out. No sense getting dressed if I was going to be redressing again. There was a sense of calm that came over me during the shower. What was it with this place? I knew that Madame Victoria had referred to it as soothsaying, but that wasn’t it. I didn’t know the future. Heck, I usually didn’t have feelings this close together.
“Hurry on out, sweetie,” Arabella called through the door. She probably assumed I was having cold feet, but that wasn’t the case. I just was enjoying the dawdling. Or maybe I was nervous and suppressing it with dawdling. Whichever which way, I needed to get on with the make-over.
“Well, hurry along, dear. Sit right here and I’ll do my magic on your hair. It won’t be perfect, but it will far surpass anything you would get at one of those walk in hair places.” She patted the seat of a chair I had somehow missed when I came in.
I hopped up on the chair and she began combing my hair. A few mmms, and ohhs, and a couple of I think … yeses and she had her shears out and was trimming away. My length didn’t seem to change very much, but you wouldn’t have guessed it by the pile of hair on the floor. My hair bounced into the loose curls as she dried and scrunched the locks. It looked amazing.
“I love it.” I couldn’t believe the difference it made. The woman looking in the mirror before me looked young and carefree, even without an actual, you know, outfit.
“I’m just making sure you look you. Celadon … interesting and most exciting. That means eyeliner and mascara only for your eyes and nothing else.”
I had no idea what celadon was, but when Arabella said it, her face brightened. In no time she had me made-up. I was surprised after all of the time she put into my hair that she was going to let me be so minimal on the make-up, but was glad. It felt pretty to basically just be me, no thick foundation or contouring. While I always looked great in pictures, I felt self-conscious walking around made up like a stage actress.
“Here is the outfit I picked out for you. It should highlight your curves without being obvious.” She held out a beautiful silk dress in an aquamarine shade that I knew would help my eyes pop. The collar was lower than I normally would have felt comfortable in, but Jasper said some like to drink from the neck so it made sense. As I slipped it on, all fear of it not fitting or clumping up at my hips disappeared as it fell seamlessly down my body. I quickly zipped up the side and I felt like Daisy must have the day I gave her her first tutu. All I wanted to do was twirl and twirl.
“I knew it. I knew it would fit perfectly. I hope these fit.” She handed me a pair of shoes that looked like many pairs I had seen at the local discount store, but the feel of the leather told a different story. These shoes had to cost a fortune. “I’m not as good at guessing shoe sizes, so we may have to switch them out.”
I hugged them close. They were so soft and the thought of giving them up was far from palatable. I slipped them on and they were prefect. Giving in to the moment, I actually did twirl and twirl just like Daisy. Perfect.
“I love it so much. How can I ever repay you?” The dress would undoubtably take my entire training and first week’s salary, but it was more than that. Arabella treated me like I was special and not just a blood whore. What a horrible term, and yet, it was the one term I couldn’t let go.
Whore. It was the epitome of all that a young woman could do wrong in life according to my father. No kissing before marriage, much less getting it on. It was the sole reason he hired that vampire to scrub me. He was ashamed that I was so impure, so broken, so unworthy. Why? Because someone took something from me that wasn’t theirs to take.
Somehow in all of this, I became the wrong doer and not Matt. Fancy that. If only he had known the actual whorish things I had done while in college, like kiss a boy, hold hands, and even allowing a boy to see and feel my breasts. Moreover, I liked it. A lot. I know, Jezebel to the core.
“I was wondering if the dancing was a thumbs up.”
I held up my two thumbs indicating my childish routine actually was a two thumbs up. She chuckled and her laugh pushed down the unsavory memories that were sneaking their way back into my thoughts.
“No thanks needed. You look amazing and there’s nothing more fun than playing dress up with a new friend.”
Friend, how nice would that be. Sure, Martha and I got along, but it was more of a maternal relationship than friendship. It had been a long time since I had an actual, real life friend. This job was turning out to be so much, well, more.
“May I ask why you are here if you are doing so well performing?” I knew it was rude to ask, but she was Arabella and had to be raking in far more cash performing than she could possibly be making dressing up new courtesans.
“You already did, sweetie.” She gave me a playful shoulder bump and I wasn’t sure how to take it. Did she mean I asked, but that was as far as it was going or was she waiting me to elaborate the silly question? I just stared at her, waiting. “Fine, I will tell you but only because I can see your secret is much bigger than mine.”
“What?” That was three people in two days knowing or at least eluding to my secrets. My body stiffened and my brain went to all the plan Bs I had ever thought of in case staying wasn’t an option. I knew Arabella would do us no harm, or at least I thought that to be the case, but once a secret got out, especially with Matt not giving up on finding us, moving was necessary.
“Hush now.” Hush? Oh stinks, I was sobbing. So much for the eye make-up. “No worries, love. It isn’t obvious to everyone. It’s just that I see parts of people others don’t.” She rubbed small circles on my back, comforting me as I tried to pull myself back together. This was not the time for emotions. It was the time to be strong and smart.
“To that end, that’s why I am still here. I know that at one point in the near future, I need to be here, so might as well stay and help gorgeous women look fabulous.” Arabella’s hands were warm indicating she wasn’t a vampire, so why was she going to need to be there? The woman talked in riddles.
“Quite honestly, I’m just as good at making men look fabulous but alas, I don’t have the skills to alter a suit, and an off the rack suit is just plain criminal.”
She laughed at her own joke, while handing me a tissue and pulling out a wipe and removing my eye make-up. Take two it was. We finished just as footsteps were making their way down the hallway. They were extra loud, most likely so we would hear them.
Arabella flew to the door, opening it just as Jasper came into view.
“I see you’re ready. Might I add, you look beautiful.” He gave me the once over, but it felt less creepy than it should coming from someone so many years my elder. Probably because he had no lecherous intentions behind them. “Lorenzo is going to be more than impressed.”
“Finn,” Arabella corrected him, her voice more masculine than before. Actually very masculine. If it hadn’t come from her lips, I would have guessed there was a tall drink of water in the room.
“Finn?” Jaspers confusion marred his face. Was there something wrong with this Finn? Or, was I not good enough for Lorenzo? All the why’s and possibilities danced in my head and none of those paths of thoughts lead anywhere positive.
“Yes, Finn.” Her voice was back to the one I knew, yet the firmness was still there. “Celadon.”
There was that word again. I needed to look it up first opportunity.
“I thought possibly, but it was so foggy, I dismissed it.” He was talking to himself more than to us, and after a brief moment, he smiled broadly and animatedly exclaimed, “Most excellent.” He even clapped at the word. Whatever transpired was good. I could only hope it was good for me. He turned to face me. “I take it back, Finn is going to be more than impressed.”
He pulled out his phone a
nd pressed a button before holding to his ear. Usually I could hear part of the conversation coming through the other end, but of course not this time. Jasper probably had it turned down low thanks to his vampire hearing. Instead I just stood there and listened to half the conversation and filling in the bits as best I could.
“Good evening, sir.” So far, normal. “We have a new blood courtesan for you this evening.” The pause was far too long. Either he wasn’t liking the idea or he wasn’t liking the idea. Splendid was a reply that only took two seconds. “Arabella feels it is best.” Jasper shrugged his shoulder at Arabella as if the whole conversation was a waste of his time. “Very well. Shall I have her meet you at the usual place?” Another far too long pause. “As you will, sir.”
“He will pick you up presently.” Jasper held out his arm like a gentleman in an old movie and I took it. “Let’s go wait someplace more comfortable.”
5
Someplace more comfortable was the understatement of the year. The parlor, as Jasper referred to it, filled with welcoming furniture, felt like being in someone’s home. It looked like it belonged in a fancy magazine and not in the middle of an office building. I took the seat offered and waited, nervous over who this Finn was and why he didn’t actually want me. Not that I was sure that was the case, but my deductions led me there and I couldn’t move past it.
“Do you need me to wait around, miss?” Jasper was halfway to the door. I didn’t doubt for a moment that he would stay if asked.
“No. I’m good,” I lied. I was a bald faced liar. No part of me was good other than the comfort of the chair I was perched in and even that was sketchy since my body was so tense.
“Very well, if you need me, you have my number in your phone still, correct?” He knew I did, since he put it there, the underlying question being, Is your phone working?
