Hmm. It must belong to Dom, Calliope thought to herself.
Calliope turned the phone over and looked at the screen. She felt it vibrate in her hand. A photograph of a petite brunette popped up. She sat on what appeared to be a barstool with bottles of liquor set in the background. Her breasts flounced over the top of a light pink push-up bra. Calliope tried not to stare at the woman’s image; she didn’t want to invade her lover’s privacy. But frankly, she couldn’t resist. She scrolled through the other messages on Dom’s phone. There must have been at least half a dozen photographs of the same girl. Maya was her name, according to his address book. She’d sent him a shitload of text messages too. All from a phone number with a 617 area code. Did he have a girlfriend out of town? Regardless of their relationship status, the wench seemed pretty desperate, rambling on and on about her undying affection for the vampire.
Calliope sighed, suddenly in need of a stiff drink. Stomping into the kitchen, she chucked the phone onto the counter and yanked open the refrigerator. She grabbed a beer from the shelf, twisted off the cap, and chugged the contents of the bottle.
As Calliope slammed the empty bottle on the counter, ready to take out another, she saw Beau turn the corner. “What’s wrong, sweet cheeks? After the fun we had earlier, I’d think you’d be floating on cloud nine.”
Calliope reared around to face him, an irritated smirk marred her features. “Speaking of that, what the hell just happened between us? At first, I thought maybe you had the hots for Dominic. But you didn’t even touch him. What gives?”
Beau scrubbed his hand through his sandy blond hair and plopped down on the barstool on the other side of the breakfast nook. “Hand me a Corona first. Then we’ll talk.”
Calliope did as he asked and handed her roommate a beer, then sat in the chair adjacent to him. Beau proceeded to spill his guts. He fessed up about the little white lie he’d told her several years earlier. “Callie, I’m sorry. I’m a yellow-bellied son of a bitch. I should’ve never made up that bullshit story,” he said as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He took a swig of alcohol and stared straight past her soul. “I love you.”
“Beau, you’re my best friend. I love you too.”
“No, you don’t understand,” Beau said, shaking his head from side to side. “I mean, I’m in love with you. Always have been.”
****
It was ten-thirty by the time Dom realized that he must have forgotten his cell phone at Calliope’s. It contained all his personal information including bank account numbers and a digital copy of his Social Security card. Not that he thought she’d try to steal his identity or anything precarious like that, but still, one had to be careful. Come to think of it, Calliope had turned out to be the coolest, most laid back chick Dom had met in a long time. After running smack dab into one psycho bitch after another over the last few years, she was a refreshing change.
Smokin’ hot seemed to be the most fitting set of adjectives he could think of to describe the talented masseuse. Not only could she work magic with her fingers, but also her blood tasted as sweet as honey. She gave a helluva good blow job too. Dom hated to admit it, but he could get used to having her around.
Close to midnight, he pulled up in front of Calliope’s pad. Even though it appeared dark inside, the porch light was lit.
Please God, let her be awake. Dom rang the bell and a short while later, Beau answered the door wearing a saggy pair of sweatpants and no shirt, his arms crossed over his broad chest. “Sorry to bother you so late. But I think I left my phone here. Is Calliope still up?”
“Come on in. I’m sure she has a few choice words for you.” Dom cocked his head sideways, staring at Beau in confusion for a moment, before he followed him into the house.
As he walked into the kitchen area, the tension between the two roommates was obvious. Calliope sported an angry scowl. From the way her so-called gay best friend greeted him at the door, neither of them seemed to be in the mood to entertain guests.
“Looking for this?” she asked him, dangling his phone in front of his face before handing it to him. “You might want to tell your girlfriend to cool her jets. If you don’t call her back soon, she might blow a gasket.”
“Girlfriend?”
“Yes, Maya. Does her name ring a bell?”
Oh fuck! That crazy bitch that kept racking up his cell phone bill. Day and night, she continued to send him text messages and provocative pictures. It’d been two months since he’d moved out of state and still, she couldn’t take a hint.
“Calliope, I’m really sorry. I never meant to get you involved in this. The girl is nuts. She’s been stalking me for a while now. That’s the reason I packed up my bags and left Boston. She even had her father run a background check on me. His name is Frederick Winslow. He’s a powerful Massachusetts senator with a ton of clout. I had no choice but to leave town.”
“A big-time politician, huh?” Calliope tapped the side of her temple with her finger. Dom could almost see the wheels spinning in her head. “I’ve got an idea. Hand over your phone.”
The vampire reluctantly handed over his cell phone. “Are you sure about this?”
Calliope didn’t acknowledge him with an answer. She dialed the last number in the phone’s memory and waited in silence until someone picked up.
“Maya Winslow? Are you the daughter of Senator Frederick Winslow?” Dom listened as Calliope’s calm monotone voice spoke into the receiver. “I’m a friend of Dominic Trevino. This is a courtesy call to let you know that I am in possession of an interesting collection of photographs. I’m eager to shop them to the press. If you so much as breathe my friend’s name again, you can expect your father to see those pictures plastered on the front page of The Boston Herald. Do I make myself clear?”
“Problem solved. Damn, woman! It looks like you’ve finally grown some balls,” Beau shouted as he flattened his palm in the air and shot Calliope a high five.
“Not quite, lover boy,” Calliope said as she scolded them both with a wag of her finger. She stood, put her hands on her hips and stared back and forth between the two men. “Beau, you know I have strong feelings for you. I just need some time to figure things out. Can you cut me some slack?” Her best friend nodded, then pulled her in for a bear hug that lasted way too long.
When Beau finally let her go, she turned to Dominic. “Even though we’re still in the ‘Getting to know each other stage’, I really like you, Dom. A lot. I’m hoping we can keep things status quo for awhile and see where this goes.”
Beau and Dominic shared a moment, sizing each other up like a couple of bullies ready to brawl in the middle of the school yard. Then the vampire shrugged his shoulders and smiled. He wrapped his arm around Calliope’s round derrière and dragged her body flush against his protruding erection.
“Sure. Why not? I’ve always been a sucker for happy endings.”
The End
www.vampirescribe.com
Other Books by Annalynne Russo:
Irresistible Nemesis
Twice as Irresistible
Rendezvous with Rumpelstiltskin
WILLING HER
Ashlynn Monroe
Copyright © 2012
Part One
With a sigh, Jamie Candleman flipped on her laptop and waited as the ailing machine went through its unbearably slow start up. She pushed her wildly curly auburn hair off her face, noticing how the morning sunlight made it shine as it slid through her fingers. She had great hair, a good job, and only a few extra pounds. She wasn’t perfect but it shouldn’t be this hard to find a boyfriend. Alicia, her best friend, had insisted they try the online dating scene a few months ago, and already her BFF had a beau, but Jamie was still alone. She’d gone out with a couple of creepos. It didn’t surprise her that the guy with the bad toupee who’d lied about his age, or the perv who kept “accidentally” brushing her chest didn’t have women in their lives, but it seemed that not every profile she really liked was interested in her.<
br />
Granted, her occupation might scare them off. She worked with her father in the family mortuary and mortician wasn’t exactly a job most guys pictured their future girlfriends performing, but Jamie had always found satisfaction honoring the dead and providing solace to their families. She wasn’t saving lives or putting out fires, but her work made her feel like she made the world a better place. She wasn’t willing to give it up, even if it creeped potential mates out.
She browsed her message box—nothing. Yep, another lonely Friday night to look forward to. I guess I'm going to die alone. Annoyed with herself for getting down, she tried to cheer up. Her twenty-ninth birthday was only a week away and while she felt a little worried to be turning the big two-nine without a man in her life, she didn’t want to be the crazy cat lady. She knew Alicia had planned something fun. An IM popped up on the screen.
Alicia: Hi Jamie. I found a fun dating site you should try. This might be the one. www.http://datingonthedarkside.com. See you next week. I’ll text you in the morning. Joshua is taking me to the Northern Nights Supper Club…Swanky! I can’t wait. I hope it ends with breakfast. Kisses.
She replied with her fingers flying across the keyboard.
Jamie: Have fun. Don’t do anything I won’t do. Forget I typed that, do things I wouldn’t do and have fun! Love ya. Hugs. FYI you’re crazy. I don’t think I need to date on the dark side lol.
Alicia’s status showed unavailable. She must have turned off her computer. Jamie couldn’t help herself. She copied and pasted the crazy web address. To her surprise, it was real. The website had a black background and red writing.
DatingontheDarkSide.com
Meet other fun singles who aren’t afraid of death.
This site is by invitation only. Click the link below to request membership.
This is a free dating site, but only approved members can use our services.
Tell us why you believe you could date darkly.
Request Membership Here!
Rolling her eyes, she clicked the link. A form popped up and Jamie put in her name, age, sex, what sex she was interested in, and her email address. Finally it asked her why she thought she’d be a good candidate for their services. She bit her lip and typed one sentence.
I’m a lonely, albeit attractive, female mortician.
She hit send. She typed in Facebook and occupied herself updating her status and liking her friends’ pictures. So many of her college friends were having babies that it made her heart ache a bit. When a pop up that she had mail appeared on the screen, she didn’t think much about it, and continued replying to comments. Then her email box alerted again.
She opened her email and noticed the first message was from Dating on the Dark Side. She chuckled when she saw the approval for membership. The second message was from her dad. He wanted to let her know that he’d be out of town on Monday and asked that she cover the phones. She replied to her dad with a quick, “Sure, drive safely”.
She opened the first message again and clicked the link to fill out her profile. At this point in her life, she didn’t feel that she could be choosy. If creepy work found her a not-so-creepy guy, she’d take him. In about five minutes she’d put her statistics and candid picture up for all the dark side members to peruse. She’d used the screen name Lady Looking. She hoped she’d made a solid choice, but with her luck she’d end up stalked by some necrophilia-loving pervert. Jamie shuddered and almost removed her profile, but then she had a private message pop up on her screen from the site.
Too Hot Darrick: Hi, Lady Looking. Check out my profile. If you think you could handle me, message me back.
She rolled her eyes. In addition, Hot Darrick thought a lot of himself. She didn’t know she had to “handle” potential dates. It was tempting to just completely disregard him and take her information off the site, but now she was curious. She clicked on his name and it took her to his profile. To her surprise, he was hot. She clicked on all photos and a bubble of laughter burst from her lips. Oh, you have to be kidding me. Too Hot Darrick was a fire-eater. He was an honest-to-God fire-eater in a local theater called Images of Imagination. She’d heard of the place, which was popular due to its bizarre and obscure acts. She’d never been because those types of spectacles hadn’t ever impressed her. However, Too Hot Darrick’s muscular and tattooed chest did impress her. He was masculine perfection. She was a sucker for tall, dark, and handsome, and he seemed to have those three qualities in spades.
The realization that she was the world’s biggest hypocrite filled her with remorse. She’d gone on the site because her occupation made her a dating pariah, and now she was judging another person for having the exact same problem. For all she knew he was following in the footsteps of the family business too. Rubbing the bridge of her nose, she took a deep breath and went back to his information. He was thirty-two, ready to settle down, and didn’t drink. So far, she liked what she saw. She continued reading. He’d never been married, no kids, and had a pet iguana named Isis. Okay, the iguana I could pass on, lizards are creepy, but what the heck, he might be a fun guy. She’d already decided he was ten steps above her last boyfriend in the hotness department. She really had nothing to lose.
She went back to the IM.
Lady Looking: Hi, Too Hot Darrick. I’m not freaked out by the fire-eating. Okay, to be honest I’m freaking out a little bit. I hope you won’t feel grossed out by my job. I’m a mortician. My dad and grandfather opened the mortuary on Main Street, Candleman’s Funeral Home, in the nineteen sixties. I followed in the family footsteps because giving people a dignified burial is meaningful to me. If you “can handle me”, reply back.
She waited. After about five minutes, she felt like an idiot. Clearly, she’d expected more from someone who also had a socially questionable occupation. She decided he wasn’t going to respond but left the page open, just in case. Hopping over to her Facebook, she continued liking and commenting on her friends’ posts until she saw the tab with the dating site blink. Biting her lip, she took a deep breath and clicked.
Too Hot Darrick: Hi, Lady Looking. I think it’s honorable of you to respect the dead. I don’t have a problem with what you do. My fire-eating is sort of a family thing too. It’s a bit hard to explain. I’m free tonight, would you like to grab some supper?
She stared at the screen. Did she want to grab supper with the mysterious fire-eating Too Hot Darrick? Yes, she did.
Hey Too Hot Darrick. That sounds great, where do you want to eat?
There was a momentary pause.
Too Hot Darrick: I’d love to eat at the Rodeo Steak House. I like my steaks very rare and they’re one of the few places that are willing to make them the way I like them. I swear I’m not normally anal, but steak I’m fussy about. I hope you’re not anti-meat.
Lady Looking: I’m not a vegetarian or anything. You’re going to hate to hear this but I love my steak well done. If it moos, I send it back to the kitchen. I’d love to eat there. I’ve never been to that restaurant, I’m a Rodeo Steak House virgin…be gentle.
There was a shorter pause this time.
Too Hot Darrick: I promise to be gentle with you, Lady Looking. Since we’re meeting tonight, I think I’d better introduce myself. My name is Darrick Drago, and I’m the guy who plays with fire. LOL. Would you like me to pick you up or would you prefer to meet me at the restaurant? I’m thinking seven. Will that work for you?
Lady Looking: ROFL! You’re funny. I think meeting you might not be a bad idea. Nothing personal, but yeah, I’ll meet you at seven sharp. My name is Jamie Candleman. I’ve cut my hair a bit shorter than the picture I posted, but otherwise everything you see is what you get. I’ll look forward to meeting you. See you tonight.
Too Hot Darrick: See you later. Thanks for accepting my request for a date, Jamie. I promise to be gentle, lol.
He clearly liked her sex joke. Her heart jumped. She normally didn’t even kiss on a first date and here she was making sexual innuendoes before they’d even
seen each other face-to-face. She felt the heat of her blush. She turned off the computer. The clock on the monitor had warned her it was already four-forty-five. She’d need at least thirty minutes to drive to the restaurant so that didn’t leave her a lot of time to get ready. Running into her room, she grabbed her most flattering outfit, a casual but stylish purple cotton dress and matching flats. Tossing the items on the bed, she rushed into the small bathroom and grabbed a couple of towels. Turning on the water, hot, Jamie stepped inside and lathered her hair with her salon shampoo that smelled like green apple. She rinsed and lathered in conditioner. While she gave the product time to work, she shaved her legs. She hadn’t felt this nervous about a date in years. After a few minutes, she rinsed out the conditioner and stepped out, grabbing the towels. The clock on her bathroom wall told her she had to hurry so she did her best to multitask by doing her makeup and hair at the same time. After almost an hour, she stepped back, dressed and as beautified as she’d be able to accomplish without the aid of a salon. Sighing she hoped he wasn’t the kind of guy who preferred plastic perfect women. She wasn’t a hag, but she was a long way from supermodel too.
She wanted to be on time to the restaurant, but needed to get gas so she grabbed her purse and left the house. She’d just gotten out of the car and selected her octane preference when she heard a familiar voice.
“Well hello, stranger!”
Jamie turned and saw Alicia. She wanted to crawl under the car. Alicia would know the purple dress meant date. She’d purposefully not messaged her friend with the news of her successful campaign on the dark side dating site because if it was a disaster she wanted the relief of not having to expound the painful detail to her friend. The cat was most definitely out of the bag now.
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