Cake (11 page)

Hands landed on my ass. “Did that mean old man make you cry, little boy?”

What the hell! Was I wearing, ‘fuck-me-now,’ cologne? I pushed away from the unwelcome hands and escaped from the dance floor, heading for the bar. I wiped my eyes as I pushed through the throng of bodies and checked my fangs to make sure they weren’t visible. I was an emotional wreck. What was Marcus thinking bringing me here?

“
Are you okay?”

I was just about to say something sarcastic in reply to such a dumb question, when I looked closer at the person talking and noticed…he was wearing what appeared to be one of my old shirts. I furrowed my brow and stared at it. Yup, it was definitely mine because there were small hand-placed stitches on the backside of one of the sleeves from when I had got caught on a swinging door handle and torn it. I looked up at the wearer’s face and instantly recognised him. Lorne! I waited for his recognition in return, but there was nothing. Had I changed so much that even my old friend didn’t know me?

“
Don’t talk to me then. I know you beautiful people have a code or something.” His voice was bitter. My failure to answer his question must have annoyed him.

“
No…I’m just having a very, very bad day,” I said to his retreating back. “Fuck.” My voice broke into a sob again. Oh my God, will this not stop? I tried taking a few deep breaths; they were punctuated by a little hiccup each time. I must have sounded like a five-year-old trying to stop crying, as I continued to make my way to the bar.

“
What can I get ya?”

“
Anything on tap.”

The bartender moved away, I reached into my skin-tight leather pants and realized I had no money. A five-dollar bill was waved in front of me.

“
My treat. Just drink it close to me so I don’t look like such a loser in this meat market.”

Lorne had followed me. I was about to say his name when a hand closed around my throat and jerked me backwards, moving me off to one side about five feet. I knew it wasn’t Marcus; the feel just wasn’t right.

Claudius leaned over and whispered in my ear as a cascade of black hair hid his face from view. “Try to make this look as painful as possible, Sex, and listen up.” With his hand still wrapped around my throat, his other hand snaked around me and gripped my crotch. His fingers tightened there for a moment, making me yelp in true pain before he lessened his grip.

“
That man you are chatting with. He is the reason you are dead. He turned you in to the Company. He has your job. He has your apartment. He did not even let your parents clean out the place. He paid the landlord to tell them that he had to sell your furnishings for back rent owed. He is living your life. He did not even have the decency to make it his own.”

Claudius suddenly started duck-walking me back to the bar, and I ended up face first on it. My sternum hit the bar top, and I gasped. That had hurt, but at least now Claudius’s hand had left my genitals alone. He lay over my back, his lips still near my ear, still whispering. “Lure him out through the back room and into the alley. Marcus is waiting there. I will follow behind you, just in case he gets spooked.”

“
Why?”

“
The person who killed you or had you marked for execution is always a fledgling’s first kill, if that is the way his death happened. Of course, there are other causes of death and other rules for them.”

“
What?”

“
It is not so terrible; at least the worst is over for you. Oh, and be careful, he knows of Marcus, so do not mention his name when you are chatting your first victim up. Come, we are wasting time.” Claudius released me, slapped my ass hard, and walked off.

The bartender came back over. “Wouldn’t have said that was my choice for a date, but whatever turns your crank, kid.”

I held my bruised sternum as I straightened up. “Well, he ain’t my crank either. I’d never met the guy until tonight. He just shows up at the house, and I get passed around like a bowl of party mix.”

“
That’s just fucked, man.”

“
I’m hoping that’s all that gets fucked.”

Lorne, who had been silently standing there watching, spoke up. “You need to find someone who appreciates you.”

I snorted and grabbed the glass of beer in front of me that he’d bought. “The way my luck has been running so far, I don’t bloody well think so.” I took a deep swig. I had watched Marcus drinking liquor, so I figured it was fine for vampires to consume alcohol.

It was waterworks night. As I drank, I started crying again, thinking of how Marcus and Claudius wanted me to commit murder. So what if Lorne had turned me in? So what if he stole my life? So what if he was so jealous of me that he even had to wear a dead man’s clothes?

I felt myself being turned around and hugged, but I didn’t fight it. I stayed there and ended up crying on Lorne’s shoulder, feeling the lust rolling off of him in waves as he held me. I shuddered in disgust but covered it with a few hiccupping sobs. I could feel everyone’s emotions around me, buffeting at me. I took it that this was a side effect of becoming dead, and I think that’s what was getting to me so badly. Mr. Sensitive here was ready to roll me on my face and fuck me senseless, regardless of my tears. Bastard.

“
Can I stay with you tonight?” I whispered.

“
Are you serious?” Lorne sprung a hard-on. Ewww.

“
I don’t see anyone else trying to help me.”

“
What about that other guy?”

“
Let’s…let’s leave out the back before he finds me again.”

“
I don’t know.”

“
I can pay rent.” I let a smile cross my face, and I leaned over and gave him a Marcus special kiss. His eyes were glazed when I pulled back. “Take me home with you tonight? I’ve never had to beg before.” Mainly because I’d never had to ask before. Hell, to be honest, I’d never ever asked anyone to take me home. They would have laughed hysterically in my fat face and said no.

“
If he won’t take you, you can come home with me,” the bartender offered, licking at his dry lips. Double ewww.

Lorne finally made up his mind, helped by me humping his thigh like a horny dog. “You need to get anything?”

“
Everything I own is on my back.” Literally, I should have added. Or on his. I wanted my shirt back.

He grabbed my wrist, and with him leading the way, we made our escape towards the black rooms at the back of the club. I thought it had been a little grabby out on the dance floor earlier, but now these guys were doing stuff…they shouldn’t have been doing in public. Watching one cavorting couple, I ran right into the back of Lorne. He’d paused because it had gotten too dark for the human eye to see much of anything. I spotted the telltale crack of light of a hidden door to my left, and I pulled him off in that direction.

We emerged from out of the hot club into the cool night air, and I was grateful. There had been too many scents, too much sound, and sex everywhere you turned.

I turned around to face Lorne and found myself lip-locked with a guppy. Christ, no wonder he was sitting alone if this was his best kissing technique. I had saliva running down my chin. I shoved him away, and he slammed hard into the opposite brick wall of the alleyway, doing one of those cartoon hang-and-slides down onto his ass.

“
Geez, Lorne, You’d think if you’re going to pretend to be me, you would at least have learned how to kiss.” I wiped my chin with the back of my hand.

“
Ed…Edward?”

“
You have something that belongs to me. Well, actually, you have a lot that belongs to me. But this, this I definitely want back.” I moved over to him and sat down on his legs, unbuttoning the oversized shirt and pulling it off him. Putting it on me, I realized it was about five sizes too big now.

“
Edward, I didn’t recognize you. You’ve changed.” He reached up and touched my face. I twitched away from him.

“
Well, being dead kind of does that to a person.”

“
Dead?”

“
Yes, dead. What did you think would happen when you turned me in? Did you think that I would get a slap on the wrist and sent to a quiet corner to think about company loyalty? And is it true that you wouldn’t even let my parents clear out my apartment? What kind of hell have you left them in? All they have is a missing person’s report.”

“
I didn’t know what they would do. You just disappeared. I was too scared to ask, but…you’re okay, right?”

“
How much did you get for this?”

“
For what?”

“
For my life!”

“
Five thousand.”

“
And?”

“
A promotion.”

“
And?”

“
Living expenses.”

“
Well, I guess I wasn’t cheap. I was a selfish, greedy bastard, and that’s why I got caught. But tell me, why did you do it, Lorne, why did you betray me?”

“
I don’t know.”

I heard someone walk up behind me, and from the gait, I knew it was Marcus. I could see the fear on Lorne’s face as the vampire approached, and the sharp stench of urine filled the air. I stood up quickly to get away from it.

“
Geez, Lorne, have some dignity.”

“
He loves you,” Marcus stated matter-of-factly, staring down at my ex-friend. “He lives in your apartment, sleeps in your bed, wears your clothes…because he loves you. He saw the ‘you’ I see.”

I was pulled back to Marcus’s chest. “He honestly thought you would get nothing more than a simple reprimand, and then he could come in, sweep you off your feet, and be all noble and understanding. It did not work out that way.”

“
When can I do that, read minds?” I asked, cranking my head round to look at him.

“
Learn to control your fangs first, my Little One. Worry about your other gifts later.”

“
So, what happens now?”

Letting go of me, Marcus leaned over and easily hoisted Lorne to his feet. Standing behind him, he turned my old friend’s head and presented his neck to me.

Lorne had begun muttering, “No, no, please don’t,” and then there was nothing. Marcus had dropped a vocal binding on him.

“
Just like a random slide show. No coherent thought pattern at all. Come here, Sex. You know what to do, straight in, straight out. This time, keep your lower lip out of the way to avoid accidents. Claudius and I didn’t mind cleaning you up, but I think it was more than you could handle. When the pulse starts getting erratic, pull out. We will leave the body here for the authorities to find. We shall be a little more considerate than your former employers. At least this man’s parents will have closure.”

Marcus used his thumb against Lorne’s throat to open the vein. This time I was prepared for the fangs reaction to the scent of blood. Still hurt though. Lorne began shaking in terror as I licked his neck, my questing tongue searching for the feeding tube. Finding it, I pushed straight in.

My mouth was instantly filled with hot blood. The hint of flavor was of spicy Buffalo wings. I swallowed and drew more. This bastard had me killed. No, he’d had me fucked up the ass eight hundred times by an undead prick, all in the name of some unrequited love that I knew absolutely nothing about. And I wasn’t even gay.

“
Gently. We do not want to leave any marks.” Marcus was cradling my head as I drank, as if he were holding me for nursing. His fingers stroked my hairline.

Drinking from Lorne felt good. His blood filled an emptiness that I didn’t even know was there, and I sucked harder. Only a sharp ping to the center of my forehead by Marcus’s finger brought me out of my first tasty blood lust.

“
Straight out, and remember to lick the wounds closed.”