(I do enjoy it when Bridget drops by and spends the evening relating more of her experiences to me. This time she concentrated on tales of her times passing through Paris. If you have never met my little Irish vampiress before you can find my changes to the vampire mythos pretty well explained by her in the first chapter of "Bridget's Nights". Thank you Marian for taking time to read the story and offer suggestions and corrections.)
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I flung open the doors leading out onto the balcony. The cool morning air flowed around me and opened my eyes as I leaned against the wrought iron railing. I surveyed my immediate surroundings and then let my gaze wander along down the street and lift to rest on the landmarks. From this upper floor apartment I could see the spires of the great cathedral of Notre Dame. If I looked farther I could see the morning sun reflecting from the water in a bend of the Seine River. And there was the tip of the Eiffel Tower. I grinned, remembering when it was brand new and what a stir it caused.
(1889)
I stood at the bottom of the pile of steel girders, craning my neck in an attempt to see the top of the structure. I couldn't. Of course it WAS night but then really, its not like I had a choice when I could visit. Vampires like me aren't much on day visits.
I had watched this tower go up for the last two years. Eiffel nearly ended up building it in Barcelona, Spain for the Universal Exposition of 1888 but the city council there decided against it. Instead it was here, the entrance arch for the Exposition Universelle. Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution, there's nothing like a massive get together of people from all over to draw your average vampire to Paris. Not that we need much drawing. Paris is one of our favorite cities.
I look at that statement and roll my eyes. It makes it sound like vampires are some unified society ready to take over the world ala "Blade". Not hardly. First, there aren't enough of us. We really are pretty rare and most of us like that just fine. We don't want to draw attention to ourselves, for pretty obvious reasons. Second, one thing that we pretty much have in common is that we are all individualists. You couldn't get enough of us together in one place to take over a city block much less the world. Besides, we'd be fighting each other the whole time.
Still, I had run across a couple of friends. Great crowds draw us for obvious reasons. I had spotted Samuel and Dolores, together of course as they had been for over a hundred years, but we were swept apart before having time to do more than wave at each other. That was okay though, what is time to us?
I was staring up at the tower when a snort close at hand brought me back to reality. I could have blushed had my body been capable of such a thing. I knew I must look like a country bumpkin, standing in awe of a structure, even one as breathtaking as this one. But after all, in some ways I was still the little Irish tavern girl I had been so long ago. I had traveled East and West, North and South, far more than most people would ever dream of, but I still was Michael and Mary O'Brien's youngest daughter and I WAS a country bumpkin.
Still, I was also going on two hundred and fifty years old and one thing that didn't impress me much was people. I turned and lifted an eyebrow.
"Was that a comment you were trying to make?" I inquired of the man I was now facing even as I looked him over. Not bad looking, around forty with a flowing mustache and a small chin tuft of a beard. He was of normal height, seemed a little thin and there was a fire in his eyes that attracted me to him immediately. I adore passionate people.
"I was referring to this monstrosity and to your adoration of it as though it was some primeval god."
"I vaguely sense a slight distaste for this structure." I indicated the tower with a wave of my hand.
For a moment I thought the man was going to explode. He took a deep breath, fixed me with a stern look and opened his mouth to deliver what I was pretty sure was going to be virulent diatribe. Then he relaxed and a twinkle crept into his eyes.
"Perhaps a bit more than slight." He surveyed me approvingly. "You almost had me. You have that wide-eyed innocent look perfected. But there was just a hint of mischief lurking behind it."
"Why thank you." I batted my eyes in the approved fashion I had learned early in the century when I was living in Savannah and Charleston in the States. A deep chuckle and an invitation to supper were both forthcoming. I accepted.
I ate dinner, or rather pushed the food around on the plate a lot and swallowed enough to make it look like I was eating. Food doesn't nourish me. This was delicately seasoned in the best traditions of fine French dinning and it was completely wasted on me. I felt like I was eating cardboard for all it did for me.
But the conversation now, that made it all worth while. Guy, as I learned his name was, turned out to be an author, and had tremendous wide-ranging interests and a marvelous sense of humor. The talk was wonderful, as was the subtle but delicious flirting that he commenced with me. Okay, yes, the French have their faults, but they do excel at seduction.
We talked most of the night away, until the cafe closed and we were literally pushed out the door. However I had snagged one more bottle of wine on the way. It seemed a marvelous idea to sneak over the closed gate of the iron steps and fumble our way up to the observation deck of what Guy still insisted was an eyesore and a blot on Paris.
"At least I don't have to look at it when I'm in the middle of it."
He did grudgingly admit that the view of Paris was spectacular. There was also a growing light in his eyes that indicated that perhaps he found me of interest too. I tried to confirm that interest with a look from my own eyes that took in his entire body. The frock style coat he was wearing did little to hide the erection straining against his pants.
He set the bottle of wine down and took me in his arms, kissing me. Now wine I can appreciate and the taste of his mouth was that of the best Burgundy grapes. I rubbed my body against his and yes, definitely he had a hardon that was threatening to tear the front of his pants.