The waitress was cute, perky and most likely seeing someone on the weekends, not to mention busy as hell during her shift, sapping all of Ethan’s courage to strike up a real conversation. Probably wasn’t worth the trouble anyways, lest she use her charm to sell him more drinks and empty his wallet. She began to walk over to him a third time, so he had to give her the “five more minutes” sign again. Once he saw her discontent, no matter how much she tried to hide it, he impulsively pointed to the picture of the dark porter on the menu, which seemed to ease the concerns on her face about a large enough bill that would justify a large enough tip. Just keep everyone happy, Ethan thought to himself.

He checked his watch, and it had been twenty minutes since he was able to sit down at a table for six in a bar that was soon to become crowded with the Friday evening rush. So Ethan, ever the good co-worker, volunteered to get the table and hold it for everyone until they finished their last-minute work upstairs. He tried to look busy and not at all lonely sitting at a large table by tapping away on his phone. He even made sure to type with both hands and stare intently at the screen with serious, narrowed eyes to look like it was work, even if it was really just the daily sudoku puzzle.

He had nearly figured out where to put the last two sevens just when a figure cast a shadow on his table. Ethan looked up to greet his first beer of the night, but it wasn’t the waitress standing over his table. The figure hovering over him was that of a shorter woman in casual, non-waitress clothes, staring curiously at his phone as if she’d never seen one before. He didn’t look hard enough just yet, only catching the sense of fascination in her eyes.

She was cute. Creepy, though. He smiled nonetheless.

“How’re you doing?” he said.

She looked up at him with the most empty expression on her face. Maybe she didn’t speak English. Her Asian features…or were they South American? Either way, they were apparent with her blank response.

“Everything okay?”

Another woman, this one taller, approached the first to sweep her up. Her long, flowing hair and sharp edges along her face made her more alluring than cute. “Sorry about that,” she said in a big voice, “My friend’s new around here.”

Ethan smiled and waved off her apology. “No worries,” he said after the second one pulled her friend away. With their backs turned to him, he started devising casual excuses he could made to walk over to them later on. Play it cool for now, he figured as he returned to his phone.
The bar wasn’t that loud yet. He could still make out the words of scattered voices in the room.

“What are you doing?” the taller woman said on their way to the bar counter. She was as upset as her friend was curious.

“What is sudoku?”

The shorter one caught Ethan’s attention. That was weird. How did she know what he was doing? And how did she know what to call it if she didn’t know what it was?

“Ethaaaaaaaan!”

His co-worker and best friend Terry had his hands in the air, signaling the Friday night party had begun. Walking beside him were Sally and Charlotte, the R&Ds of the department. They were always put together, both in title and by proximity. Then there was their boss, Frank, who had the only necktie in the place, even if it was pulled down just a little. He had brought in his new girlfriend, Amy, an exec from a competing copier company that he had met at the last printing expo.

“Finally!” Ethan said, leaning back in his chair and holding out his hands. “What took you guys?”

They mumbled something about newly received corporate orders as they all sat down and began to look through the beers of the week. The waitress came over with Ethan’s porter.

“What’re you doing?” Sally said in her usual feigned outrage, “You don’t get to order drinks first, it’s tradition!”

“It’s superstition, is what it is,” Ethan said. He wanted to gesture over to the greasy appetizer basket he was allowed to order in return for waiting almost half an hour, but he knew his fate had been decided.

“And a good one. I lost fifty bucks on the title game because of early drinks,” Frank said. A chorus of boos erupted around the table, considering game five of the division series was coming up. Ethan cringed, all because he was trying to make some waitress happy.

The new person to their circle was Amy, who knew nothing about this so-called tradition. “What’s happening?” she asked to Frank.

Charlotte, to her discredit, was giddy. “I know what this means!”

“Wait, c’mon, guys—”

“Free drinks!” they all cried in unison.

Ethan grimaced in discomfort. He knew the consequences, and faced with the grave dilemma of choosing between keeping some girl from getting upset and guaranteeing a pennant for the city, he had chosen poorly. He sighed, and reached into his pocket for his wallet.

This round would be solely on him, so he took a menu and their orders and went to the bar to open a new tab. Just his luck, because he could see the back of her head as she leaned against the counter. Not the tall one, but the first one who had been hovering near his phone as he played sudoku. Her shoulders were slumped and her body posture was pinched, as if she were keeping to herself. Not that she seemed to want to. Her head bobbed to the left, then to the right, like she was the odd one out at a party.

Space opened up between her and the group next to her, making it easy for him to casually step in and order while coincidentally running into her. He made sure to keep his eyes focused on the bartender in front of him while he ordered drinks just before catching a glimpse of her and saying something witty and attention-grabbing.

“Hi.”

She looked up, allowing him to really get a good look at her for the first time. She had the darkest eyes, nearly as jet black as her hair, contrast with the strikingly-light complexion that reflected in the lights up above. Otherwise, her face was plain and blank, opening up only as she smiled weakly.

“Hello.”

He had read things on the Internet about how to talk to women at bars and clubs, but none of them came to mind in the few seconds he had to keep her interest before she could run away in fear or disgust.

“I’m Ethan.”

The woman nodded. And for half a second, she seemed to almost cringe before concealing it just as quickly. Did she not want to know his name?

“I am Natalie.”

Ethan finally had the presence of thought to smile back. He leaned in, “Nice to meet you! So, first time to this place?”

“Yes. My friend brought me here tonight.”

“Well, welcome! It gets loud here on Fridays, but it’s a lot of fun!”

“Of course. I am looking forward to it.”

He kept grinning, even as the way she spoke piqued his interest. She was very…polite. She didn’t have an accent, but she picked her words very deliberately. Maybe English wasn’t her first language after all. If it wasn’t, she was still pretty good at it, even if it sounded a bit too refined for him.

Her smile disappeared as he sized her up, almost as if she knew he was judging her speaking, which she couldn’t have possibly known. Still, he sought to change the subject.

“Hey, you want to join us?”

“‘Us’?”

Ethan pointed over to his friends waiting for their drinks.

“I did not know you were with others.”

“Yeah, just my friends from work,” he said, sensing a hint of disappointment in her voice for some reason or another. Maybe she didn’t want to be in crowds? Then what was she doing here?

“I would just like to talk to you,” she finally said.

Ethan was surprised by her directness. Natalie seemed so shy and reserved up until that point. “Oh. Well, yeah! I’m good with that!”

His feet stayed rooted to the floor in front of Natalie as they talked about his friends, the bar, why he had been waiting all alone for a good thirty minutes before his friends arrived. Anything that came to mind. He was drawn to her perfume, her smile, her voice. The more they talked, the more her face brightened.

The strange thing, though, was that her smile diminished each time he tried to pry into her personal life.

“You live in the city? Or just visiting?”

Natalie’s head tilted, and she reached for her drink. The kind of thing he would do if he was trying to buy time to form an answer.

“I am just visiting,” was all she said.

Ethan wondered for a moment if he wanted her to expand on her answer a little bit more, but he then felt a hand on his shoulder.

“You’re late with our drinks,” Frank said sternly just before grinning. Sure enough, the bartender had left the tray of their orders in front of Ethan, and he left it untouched the entire time he had been talking with Natalie.

“Sorry, boss, I’ve been—”

“No problem, I see what’s happening here,” he said before waving everyone else over, “Selfie! That’s an order!”

Ethan was feeling self-conscious that his boss was taking the obligatory picture to manufacture proof that he had a social life. Amy, Terry and the R&Ds rushed over to the counter, and Frank orchestrated the poses with Ethan and Natalie next to each other on what would be the side of the photo, judging from how Frank was positioning his phone.

Ethan looked at Natalie, whose eyes had went wide. “Is that a camera?” she said, almost showing a hint of fear.

“Well, no, it’s a phone, but—”

“Selfie time! Everybody get in a little closer!” Frank ordered.

The bar had since become much more crowded and thus louder, so Ethan strained to hear what Natalie was asking him next. He knew he didn’t hear right because, at first hearing, he thought her question was, “What’s a selfie?”

“Okay, on three! One—”

Frank’s phone flashed on one, allowing everyone to relax now that the picture had been taken. They all took their drinks and returned to their table, but not before offering Ethan congratulatory and unnecessary pats on the shoulder.

“Sorry about that.”

Natalie was nonchalant. “It is okay. You have good friends.”

“I think so. We have to be, we work together!”

They continued talking some more. Actually, Ethan felt like he was doing most of the talking while Natalie asked most of the questions. She took a sip of her drink every time he asked something about her. When she did answer, she gave as few details as possible. She was very pleasant about it, but it tugged at him nonetheless.

After a while, Ethan just took over, talking about himself without her having to ask the next logical question. He caught himself eventually, but not before beginning to sound self-absorbed. Natalie’s attention was finally beginning to wander.

“Sorry, I guess I should be heading back to my table,” he said above all the noise.

Natalie snapped back to attention. “What? No, I am sorry! I was just thinking.” She smiled quickly and grabbed his hand. “I apologize. That will not happen again.”

Ethan was nonchalant in his body language, except by the sudden warmth in his hand, reacting to how cold her touch was. Their fingers locked together for a moment, right before he reached for his beer. His curiosity about her had persisted this entire time. “So, tell me, what do you do?”

“What do you mean?” Her inflection dripped with confusion. If English wasn’t her first language, then she did a pretty good job of not showing it, but his casual language seemed to be lost on her.

“I mean, your job. You work in this building too?”

Natalie took a moment before answering.

“I am in between jobs,” she said. Her face twitched as she spoke in an attempt to sound casual, while ultimately coming off as stilted and unnatural. It did not seem to matter with Ethan, however. If he wasn’t talking to her, he would be back among his friends, which was no problem, but rarely did he ever talk to women one-on-one like this. He was more than happy to carry the conversation for both of them.

“Oh. Well, I don’t know if we’re hiring but…”

Ethan reached into his pocket for his business card holder. He tried to rein in his eagerness in handing over his card to Natalie, as if she had given him the perfect excuse to give it to her. The words “DupliCorp” were in big red letters in the top, with all his contact information underneath.

“That’s my number, actually,” he said, pointing to his phone number and smiling. “I can put you in touch with HR, there’s always one or two openings.”

“Thank you,” Natalie said blankly. Ethan was thinking he might have needed to explain what “HR” meant. “So, what is your job? Uh…what do you do?”

“I’m a consultant at DupliCorp.”

“What is DupliCorp, by the way?”

Ethan stopped himself from looking surprised. Didn’t everyone know about his company? “Are you kidding?”

“Kidding?”

“We’re the copier company!” Ethan exclaimed, eyes going wide. “We’re only the third-largest copier company in the country!”

Natalie’s first reaction was a smile, almost looking artificial. Ethan suspected nothing he had said about his work had any meaning to her. But she smiled nonetheless, because he was so cheery about it that it spread to her somehow.

“That sounds great!” Natalie said, starting to mean it toward the end of her reply.

“I know, it’s probably not the sexiest industry out there, but you should see the stuff we’re trying to roll out in the next year. I got a whole team putting ideas together for new DupliCorp models and services. Can you believe that? A whole bunch of people at a Fortune 1000 company staking out the future of print management, and I’m at the head of it!”

“Yes, that is wonderful!” She was more sincere this time.

“Hey, Nat!”

An arm fell over the back of Natalie’s neck, separating her from Ethan. “Maria!” Natalie cried in a state of shock as her friend had finally returned after all this time.

“Aren’t you going to introduce me?” the woman named Maria said, smiling outwardly. He had seen this look in other salespeople. A visibly disarming expression that hid everything else. He couldn’t help but notice that, unlike Natalie, Maria’s inflection sounded quite natural.

“Yes,” Natalie said, “This is Ethan. He…works at a copier company.”

Maria extended her hand to shake Ethan’s.

“My, my, Nat sure has struck the jackpot!”

“Yeah, sure,” Ethan said rather casually, “It’s just nice to meet both of you.”

“Pleasure’s all mine,” Maria said with far more ease than Natalie had shown up to this point. The taller woman was certainly more comfortable with speaking than Natalie was, but there was something more artificial about her than he was comfortable with.

“Listen, I promise to give Natalie back to you, but can I get her for a second?”

Ethan barely had a moment to nod his head before Natalie was spirited away from the bar counter quite forcefully by Maria. In that instant, he had feared that Maria was taking her away for good, like a woman who protects her friends from creepy men. He was relieved when he could see them through the storefront window looking out onto the street. Maria seemed to be…scolding Natalie? For what? He drank his beer and looked on intently. He was either feeling sorry for Natalie or feeling protective. Was it something he did? Something he said?

He knew nothing. Natalie was reserved and unassuming, and yet there was so much mystery about her that he couldn’t hazard a guess as to anything about her. He was working his way up to eliciting a phone number from her for a second date in a much quieter place than this, with the hope of getting to know her a little bit more. Was she some foreign exchange student? A sheltered society girl? A deadly assassin preying on unassuming men? The last possibility excited Ethan a lot more than it should have.

He kept looking on. Natalie, looking thoroughly chastised, slumped toward the door to come back into the bar. Ethan proceeded to look busy by staring into his phone, choosing to write the first words to an email he had been meaning to send to Mom.

“Ethan,” Natalie shouted to him above the din of the crowd. He pretended to type a few more characters before finally looking up.

“Missed you,” Ethan said sincerely.

“I hoped you did,” she said, sounding giddy. They exchanged smiles, and he was relieved that she had returned. He couldn’t possibly be this lucky so early in the evening. How many woman were this instantly attracted to him? Was the last one back in high school?

Natalie leaned in toward Ethan, her face reflecting something that resembled seduction. Her eyes narrowed and a playful smile ran across her face. She was certainly different after talking to Maria. Was that what that conversation was? A talk to get her to seduce him? Was he really that fortunate?

She took a moment longer than seemed natural to say the right words. “Are you going to leave?”

Ethan’s eyes narrowed, betraying his confusion.

“I mean, can we leave here?”

In an instant, her dark eyes lit up, changing from their nearly pitch-blackness to a bright, fiery yellow. In that instant, he knew he had never seen anything like tha—

Ethan felt only compliance and surrender. He had forgotten resistance or free will. Anything Natalie would say to him, he would have to take as truth.

“Come with me.”

Natalie’s voice echoed in the silence that made Ethan forget he was standing in a loud and boisterous crowd. All he could do was nod, take Natalie’s hand and follow closely behind. Maybe he heard other voices. People that he perhaps knew. Friends? Co-workers? What were they? He ignored them all, listening intently for Natalie’s next instruction.

Everything was a haze the moment Ethan walked out the door with Natalie. He could feel his energy being dissipated by the nighttime air as each step required more effort than the last. Still, he didn’t mind. He had lost all of his desire to do anything but follow that voice. Those eyes. That perfume. Nothing else existed in his world. Nothing else mattered.

She guided him a few blocks from the bar. He shut out everyone else around him except Natalie, but in this place, he knew they were alone. It was some outdoor area that he found vaguely familiar, but he found it difficult to recall where it was. Dirt. Wood. A bench. A horse. No, a toy horse. A slide. Swings. What was this place? He didn’t care. All that he focused on were her eyes. Her face. Her lips. He watched her run her tongue across her lips as her eyes flared up for just a moment. Just enough to push him toward her. Some impulse inside him wanted to press his face against hers. She looked at him and smiled.

“I would like that,” she said sincerely. She drew closer to meet him, and as her skin grazed his, he could feel a chill. Her lips were on his cheek were so cold.

Whoa!

Ethan woke up.

“Whoa,” Ethan said. His mind was cloudy and all of his senses were still half-asleep. What was happening? Where am I? he thought. How did I get here?

The woman in front of him, Natalie, was no help. She looked confused and frustrated for some reason. They were outside, that much was for sure. Were they about to make out? Did he say something that interrupted her train of thought?

Ethan wanted to apologize, except he didn’t know why.

“I’m glad we got out of there,” he said, “Do you feel like having some ice cream?”

Natalie looked at him again. She seemed uncertain at first, but she focused her eyes on him. Those dark eyes flared up. He had seen it befo—

Flashes of images crossed Ethan’s vision. One moment he was sitting upright on the bench.

The next, he was lying flat on his back, looking up at Natalie. She was eager to do…something. He didn’t know what it was, but he didn’t care.

Another moment, her face had drawn closer to his. All he noticed were her lips. Underneath those lips. Sharp, pointed teeth. Fangs. They meant something to him. People with sharp fangs for teeth were called something. He didn’t know what the name was. He didn’t care.

His vision faded to blackness again.

Then to light. Ethan could feel his jacket lighten. Something fell from his pocket. His keys? His wallet? His business cards?

Natalie knelt down to pick it up. He could see his wallet in her hands. As she inspected its contents, he watched the fire in her eyes dull for a moment. It was supposed to seem strange to him, but as with everything else, he didn’t care.

The fire returned. Her hands pressed against his body. Her head hovered over his neck. It was to be the last image before he faded away.