Excerpt

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After a while, it was his turn to ask, “Have you ever imagined being a vampire?”

The question took me by surprise, and I didn’t know how to answer. I wasn’t sure whether it was just an innocent question, or whether there was the beginning of a proposition hidden behind it. In truth, I had wondered what being a vamp was like, but I was afraid to say as much and have him believe it was an invitation to turn me. I was afraid, also, that he might not care enough about me to make me like him.

“You could be a vamp for a night,” he said when a few seconds had passed in silence.

I stared at him in incomprehension and he laughed, his amusement lighting up his entire face and making his eyes sparkle.

“The club has a costumed ball for Halloween on Saturday. Would you like to dress up with me?”

Part of me was relieved that he was only suggesting a new game for us, but deep down, I couldn’t help wondering—what if it hadn’t been a game? I pushed the disturbing thought away and focused on the present. It didn’t take us long to agree; for the Halloween ball, I would dress up as a vampire and Anando would play at being human.

Saturday came so fast, I barely had time to think about what I would wear. I have never really paid much attention to how vampires dress. In fact, the only female vampire I know is Anando’s friend Lisa, and she dresses like any woman who’s out to seduce. In the end, I settled on a little black dress I had worn at a friend’s engagement party a couple of years back. It had spaghetti straps, with a very tight top and an ample skirt that flowed down just past my knees. I dusted a light-colored foundation onto my cheeks, neck, and shoulders until I seemed very pale. I hunted down the eyeliner I hadn’t worn since my goth period in high school and applied it carefully, along with dark eye shadow. Dangling gold earrings and very bright red lipstick completed the look.

When I looked in the mirror, I was actually a little surprised. I looked… different. It was more than the unusual make-up and the dress I hadn’t worn in so long. Without realizing it, I had started standing straighter, and my posture showed that same confidence Anando, Lisa, and Leo all wore like a second skin. I schooled my features into a cool, distant expression. It wasn’t hard to imagine that this was what I would look like as a true vampire.

I took a cab to On The Edge, and tried not to let my excitement show too much. I had to act the part, I reminded myself, and even if I knew more would happen this night than a goodnight kiss, I had to remain calm, the same way Anando always did. I wondered if he would show any of the nerves and anticipation I always felt when I knew we would be playing.

The club was packed, even more so than usual, and extravagant costumes competed with each other on all sides. I walked through the crowd, observing, looking for Anando. As I clung to my vampire persona, however, my watching felt different. I wasn’t merely looking for him. I was hunting.

I can’t say I’ve ever been very active on the dating scene, and even when I was looking for a boyfriend, I was never the aggressive type. I placed myself in social settings, smiled and tried to look available, and let men come to me. It was strange to be actively looking for someone, even if the game was skewed from the start because I already knew whom I would end up with before the night was over.

I finally found Anando on one of the catwalks above the dance floor. Propped against the railing, he was watching the dancers below, his foot keeping the beat of the music. I approached him from behind, proud for a moment of my subtlety, but a slight shift in the way he held himself warned me he knew I was there.

I leaned back against the metal rail next to him, my hands resting on either side of my body. I observed him without trying to disguise my interest. Rather than his usual tight pants and partly open shirt, he was wearing a corporate suit, a navy blue vest matching his pants, a white shirt buttoned all the way up with a striped blue tie and silver cufflinks. Rimless glasses were even perched high on his nose. The entire time I looked at him, already imagining my hands peeling the clothes off his body, he only glanced in my direction once or twice. He seemed nervous—or at least, that was the impression he wanted to give.

I had practiced my lines in front of a mirror, and the question came out as smoothly as I’d hoped, with a confidence I rarely felt in normal circumstances. “Would you like to dance, gorgeous?” Being someone else truly did wonders for me.

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