vampires?

Here’s a small bit about a vampire and his nail tech. Please forgive my errors, I’ve been fighting a cold and was half asleep when I posted this.

Silence hung heavy around the Cut and Claw salon. The usual bright clatter and clamor of gossipy stylists and chirpy nail techs had vanished hours ago, leaving one lone occupant. Alay MacBlaine bounced on his stool, sliding it back and forth, its wheels making the only noise as he waited for his customer. Every Wednesday, Sam, no last name, came into the salon after hours. His tip covered a large percentage of Alay’s rent and earned him late-night consideration. After months of the same situation, Alay would be happy to stay until midnight if all his customers paid as well.

The phone he’d been playing solitaire on turned to ten o’clock just as a rap on the back door alerted him to his customer’s arrival. He jumped to his feet and raced to unlock the door. “Good evening!”

Sam stepped inside, all lean muscles and sharp angles. His cheeks were supermodel strong, and his eyes were arctic chill blue. His bespoke black suit blended with the night as shadows wrapped around him with a lover’s touch.

“Good evening, Alay.” Only a tiny flash of fang announced his vampire status if one overlooked his unearthly beauty. Alay tried.

He cleared his throat and fought his attraction. It would be unprofessional to drool on his client. “Would you like your usual?”

“Yes.”

“Not tempted to have a pedicure?” He pitched it every time Sam visited. He had no doubt it wasn’t really the vampire’s name, but he wouldn’t ask stupid questions. When your family has mob connections you learn not to ask anything that might make a person uncomfortable. Alay was a fan of looking the other way as long as no one important to him got hurt.

“No. But if anyone could tempt me, it would be you.”

Alay smiled at the usual response. One of these days, he’d convince the vampire to get a pedicure. He was almost afraid to see the state of his toenails. “Come over here, and I’ll set you up.”

This client never wanted much.

“I’ve got a new soak I think you’ll like.”

“Do you?” One side of his sexy mouth tilted up.

Damn, he had to keep those thoughts to himself.

“It’s a soothing lavender.” He led Sam over to his station and waved him to sit down.

“I love lavender.”

Alay smiled, uncertain if Sam was referring to the scent of Alay’s usual lotion. He liked a lavender mint body butter that he used all over. “Good.”

He set out the warm water with the lavender soak and set Sam’s hands in the bowls.

“How have you been?”

Alay blinked. Sam had never attempted small talk before. He floundered over what to say. “I’m thinking of getting a fish,” he blurted out.

“Why?” Smith’s slight smile had Alay beaming.

“I like to watch them.” Fish were fun to watch in both his human and his Caracal form. His cat form preferred to eat them, but if they were in a tank, they should be reasonably safe. If not, he’d make sure he bought delicious ones. Maybe he could get one of his friends to put in a koi pond. Those fish got big.

“They can be soothing.”

They spent the next twenty minutes doing small talk before Alay took Sam’s right hand out of the water and then dabbed it with a towel. “How did your cuticles get to be in such bad shape? I did them just last week.” He couldn’t help the scolding tone.

“I ran into a bad group,” Sam smirked. “I had to show them the error of their ways.”

“Well, next time wear gloves,” Alay scolded. He clipped away the torn parts and filed down the chipped nails. Neither of them commented on the crusty red stuff he scraped out from under Sam’s fingernails. “You didn’t get hurt did you?”

A snort escaped Smith. “No. They weren’t that competent.”

Alay bowed his head and focused on his job to hide his smile so Sam didn’t think Alay was laughing at him. He preferred not to be shot or stabbed.

After finishing the filing and cuticle care he dripped oil on the nail beds and massaged them. To finish it off he grabbed his lotion and massaged one hand, then the other, taking his time and giving a quality message.

“It is worth any cost for your magic fingers. I never asked, but do you do other massages?”

Alay blushed. “I give an amazing foot massage. It’s one of the reasons that I think you could use one.” He didn’t mention he’d love to get his hands on any part of Sam’s body. The vampire had an aura that made Alay hot as hell.

“Maybe next time. What about back massages?”

Alay shrugged. “ I’m fully certified but I don’t have a spot here to give massages.”

“Perhaps you can rent someplace.” Sam’s eyes glowed.

“Maybe in the future. Right now, I want to concentrate on nails.”

Sam nodded.

Soon after Alay wrapped up their session and escorted Sam out after the vampire pressed a wad of bills into his hand. Before he had a chance to count them, he vanished.

Alay splayed out the cash and gasped. A thousand dollars was too much for a tip, but he could not return the money. “It’s too much,” he called into the night. Soft laughter came back to him but nothing else.

He closed the door with a petulant slam. “Damn, rich vampires.”

Not all vampires were rich, but the older ones had made good investments and were sitting on their treasure piles. There were unconfirmed estimates that vampires held over half of the world’s wealth, but with privacy laws, there was no way to check. It did make lawmakers very cautious when passing legislation against the night dwellers.

One more week before he saw Sam again, he couldn’t wait.