The two women were able to restrain themselves, and they pulled into the parking lot a few minutes ahead of schedule. It was well after most of the shops in the little strip mall had closed, but there was a light on inside their destination and a slim, pretty young woman in horn-rimmed glasses standing next to the door. Her face lit up in pure wonder when she saw Shamira and Clara get out of the car, dressed in their vamp-worthy best.
The woman herself was dressed in a long, black dress made of stretchy fabric that clung to her frame nicely. The woman wasn’t busty, so she hadn’t bothered with a dipping neckline, so her pale neck jutted up strikingly from the dark material. The gown flowed at the bottom, making her a shoe-in for the next Adams Family movie.
“She’s dressed for the part,” Clara said. “So, which one are you going to bite tonight?”
“Both,” Shamira replied. “They’re married. I don’t want either of them to think they’re more important than the other.”
Clara’s smile was more warm than mocking this time. “You really thought about this.”
They approached the store and the woman opened the door. “Heh . . . hello,” she said. She was obviously confused, which wasn’t surprising. The vampires had pictures of the potential donors, but the donors had no idea who the vamps were. She probably didn’t know which of the two of them would be THEIR vampire. Shamira hoped they wouldn’t be disappointed, seeing as Clara was a hard act to follow.
‘Here goes,’ Shamira thought. “Hello Kira. My name is Shamira. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” She kissed the girl on the cheek.
Kira took a deep breath and smiled. “Pleased to meet you, m’lady. I didn’t know you’d be bringing company.”
“My name is Clara,” the other vampire said, giving a matching kiss on the woman’s other cheek. “I spoke with you on the phone.”
“Of course. Please, come in. I hope you don’t mind the surroundings. Our apartment isn’t far if you’d rather –”
“This is perfect,” Shamira said, looking around at the myriad of comics, graphic novels, gaming supplies, and geeky novelty items. “I haven’t been in a comic shop in a long time. Where’s your husband?”
“Right here!” Arthur Blanks said, hurrying forward. “I apologize, m’lady, but I was . . . uhm . . . indisposed.”
Shamira introduced herself and her companion while Clara laughed. “Nature called?”
“And I had to answer,” he said, giving an extravagant bow.
“What’s with all the ‘m’ladys’?” Clara asked.
Both humans looked sheepish. Arthur said, “We just got back from a renaissance fair in Texas. We’re kind of in a rut.” He wrung his hands, completely unsure how to proceed.
“It’s okay,” Shamira said. “I’m new at this too.” She nodded her head toward Clara. “She’s here to make sure that I don’t do anything wrong.”
“Bleh,” Clara said. “It’s like riding a bicycle –” Clara started to say.
“If you jump on it without the seat, it hurts like hell?” Kira asked, her face straight as an arrow.
Clara actually shifted her hips in sympathetic pain. “Ouch! That’s just . . . ouch!”
“Would you like something to drink?” Arthur asked, turning towards a small fridge but then stopping. “Considering why we’re all here, that’s kind of a dumb question isn’t it?”
“Diet Coke?” Clara asked.
“Mountain Dew or Doctor Pepper is fine. Whichever you have more of.”
Arthur looked at her suspiciously. “How did you know we had . . . Can you see through walls?” he asked, his eyes wide as he stared at the closed appliance.
“No. My brother’s a gamer. I know what they drink,” Shamira added with a grin.
“That’s profiling, you know,” Kira said, mostly straight-faced but with just the hint of a smirk.
“Life’s not fair. Want to show us around?” Shamira waited as the two showed their guests every inch of the store. As was expected, both of them knew everything about every comic in stock, and both had been avid role-players since they learned to speak it seemed. Kira had an office in one corner where she worked for her firm remotely. Getting the two of them to talk shop was putting them at ease. It was their world, and they still had some control over it.
They wound up back in a small room away from the front that was equipped with a comfortable looking sofa in front of a television that was attached to every gaming system imaginable.
“This is where some of the regulars come to hang out. They’re good at picking up after themselves.” He looked embarrassed. “Listen, it’s really not the most . . . nice of places. Our apartment isn’t much –”
Shamira smiled. “This is perfect. I want you two to be comfortable as well.”
The two of them looked at each other. “Listen, you . . . you know that we’re both HIV positive, right?”
“I understand. We don’t get diseases nor can we pass diseases on to others. I don’t understand the whole biology of the thing, but that’s the way it works. Your blood won’t harm me, nor will it pass on to anyone else. Okay?”
The two of them looked like a weight they didn’t know they bore had just been lifted, but Kira had a question of her own. “Why us? Don’t get me wrong, we’re honored to be part of this, but we figured there are other candidates who could probably give you more than we can.”
“More? I wasn’t looking for disciples or anything like that, and my boss pays pretty well.”
“Boss?”
“Sweetheart,” Clara said, “we call him our Lord. Remember?”
“We do? No wonder he has an enormous ego.” That elicited a snicker from Kira, but Shamira wasn’t done. “Both of you remind me of someone I used to know . . . someone who was important to me. He deserved better than he got too. And I was looking for someone I thought I could trust, and who won’t try and abuse that trust.”
“We would never do that,” Arthur said quickly.
Kira nodded. “We used to have a life that we thought was daring and wild. When that got taken away from us, a lot of our ‘friends’ stopped coming around.” She actually looked like she wanted to cry. “We just want to feel like we’re part of something magical again, and we don’t want it to be fake any more.”
Shamira felt a welling up in her heart, and Clara kissed her on the cheek.
“I’ll be watching the door love,” she whispered fondly. “Just call me when you’re ready, and . . . and take your time.” Then Clara vanished.
“Are you . . . is she –” Arthur stammered.
Shamira nodded. Honesty seemed to be the best policy with these two. “She’s my friend, my lover, my mentor, and . . . well, she means a lot to me.”
Kira smiled. “Which one of us did you want to . . . uhm, drink? From?”
“I was hoping to sample both of you,” Shamira said, trying to sound sexier than she usually felt. “Normally I figure I’ll let you two decide and then just alternate, but tonight,” she said, stepping in closer and placing one hand of each person’s shoulder, “I want to establish a good bond. For all of us.”
Arthur looked like he was ready to pass out. “So . . . do we sit you just bite us or –”
“Arthur, are you wondering if you’re getting vampire nooky?” Shamira asked, feigning a pout and then breaking out into a grin. “I certainly hope so. You two DO swing, right?”
“Oh yes,” Kira hissed.
“Then be a dear and help me with my vest?” Shamira was a little amazed at how confident she was feeling. Normally she’d never be this forward, but it was nice they way they looked at her, as if she could save them . . . even if it was just for a little while. She turned her head, and kissed Kira on the corner of the mouth, then on the lips, then turned back to Arthur and the same for him.
She pulled him close to her and ran her hands down his chest, over his small spare tire, and then around to his ass. She felt a stirring in the man’s pants that wasn’t at all diminutive. She unbuttoned his trousers and reached in feeling him growing hard in her hand. Kira had managed to undo the vest and was running her fingers over Shamira’s back.
“My Goddess, you have the most amazing body I’ve ever seen,” she whispered.
“Twelve years of lifting and competitive bodybuilding,” Shamira said. “And this isn’t my competition form either.” She used her free hand to reach back and direct one of Kira’s hands forward to grab her breasts. “That’s nice,” she said, pushing her hips back while Kira fondled her breasts. She wasn’t used to being the seductress, which is one reason she’d gotten more comfortable being a submissive at the house; she was simply told what to do. Now, she was just trying to figure out what Clara would do.