Note: The following is a work of fantasy and is not intended to be scientifically or medically accurate. Many of the following scenes are not practical, safe, or even possible to replicate. Open your mind, suspend disbelief, and enjoy.
1: The Invitation
We first met working in the library at the tiny university we both attended. On a typical shift I'd be shelving books, pushing around a rickety cart overladen with biographies and he'd be working the circulation desk. Yet even when he was helping patrons check out, I could feel his sharp green eyes watching me, even when there were shelves between us. I'd peer between the stacks just for a taste of that predatory gaze that made my heart race furiously before scurrying to finish my work.
James was an excessively cool person, in both his demeanor and social standing. Nothing impressed him; the most even important people could hope for was an inclination of his head or a slight raising of his shapely brows. He studied Business, something he already excelled at, the art of making people like you and believe you were valuable. Everyone in the department acted like he walked on water and the best part of who he was as a person was that after talking to him, you felt like he could. He was charming, physically intimidating, and ridiculously attractive in a classical sense, boasting a body that begged to be sculpted. He was, therefore, everything I was not.
It was surprising when he chose to talk to me one night when we were both working late. I had the little cart out and was doing some routine shelving when he left the desk to come over to me. There was nobody else there other than some kid who had fallen asleep at one of the computer stations while writing a paper. I thought he was going to tell me to leave because we were going to close soon; James was the Night Manager even though he was still a student worker and we'd been working the same amount of time.
Instead of speaking immediately, he leaned against one of the shelves and watched me work for a while. It was so unsettling that I almost struggled to remember the alphabet and probably put books back out of order, but if he noticed he didn't say anything. Finally, he spoke:
"What are you doing after we close?" he asked crisply, as if this were a business affair.
The truth was that I was probably going to make some mac and cheese and eat the whole thing with a carton of juice while watching
Doctor Who
on my bed before eventually falling asleep, but somehow this didn't seem like how I should respond to the gorgeous and charismatic James. His arms were crossed and his stern expression seemed to demand a response that was worthy of his attention. I ran my fingers quickly through my soft, golden-brown curls and looked away.
"I didn't have any plans in particular," I stammer. "Why, uh, do you ask?"
"I'm having something of an event at my apartment," he replied slowly, every word calculated and delivered with an unusual power. "I would like it if you were there, Steven."
Oh. Right. Steven. That was me, that was my name. I'd forgotten it, just like I'd forgotten the alphabet moments ago. I'd forgotten that Steven was a real person, a skinny, gangly weirdo who was far too quiet and shy to do anything exciting like accept invitations to "events" held in the apartments of attractive men. I'd never heard a party referred to that way, as an "event." Not that I went to many parties, but the word provided such a sharp, sophisticated air to the thing. Needless to say, I was terrified.
"I don't know," I muttered, still not looking him in the eye. "Is it going to go late? Because I've still got to study for a test tomorrow and . . ."
I stopped suddenly when I felt his hand on my chin. His touch was incredibly warm and dry, as if there was some fiery energy raging inside him that was poetically at odds with his frosty exterior. The warmth and immediate physicality almost distracted me from the fact that he had quickly drawn very close and was turning my head so I looked right at his intensely green eyes and smooth skin with just a ghost of stubble.
"You'd be free to leave whenever you want," he said. "It just wouldn't be the same without you."
Of course I was powerless to say no. Why would I even want to? I was suddenly and wildly excited in a way I'm not sure I ever have been before. I just nodded my acquiescence, causing him to pat my head in an odd gesture, like he was rewarding me for good behavior.
"Good. You can leave with me tonight. I'll take you back to my place."
I hardly remember the end of that shift. Whether or not I actually finished shelving is a complete mystery to me. What mattered was that James had invited me back to his apartment. I scarcely paused to consider anything else, at the time not knowing precisely what he had planned.
2: The Event
Minutes later I was being led into the apartment complex, generically identified as "The Grove." It was a large, anonymous den of wild figures who were strangers to me. They watched me critically from their balconies, as if I were fresh meat wandering into their midst.
One man in particular was staring at me rather keenly, and when we passed beneath his balcony to enter the ground-floor apartment that seemed to belong to James, I felt something lukewarm and intensely wet coating my back.
The man upstairs had spilled his drink all over the back of my shirt and pants. I couldn't tell what it was, but James sniffed it keenly and made a face, which can't have been good.