The kid came in again tonight, making it three times this week. He always went over and sat in the corner of the bar, the same place he sat the first time Anri met him, out of the way and inconspicuous.
He came in on cat’s paws, but Anri always knew when he was there, even without seeing him. He could smell the kid when he came in now, a sweet and alluring smell that grabbed his attention in a way no other person ever had. He just smelled so…good, fresh and enticing, with something else that he couldn’t quite place. Maybe chestnuts?
He tried not to dwell on it. It was definitely weird that he thought another man smelled good. He knew that, but he couldn’t help himself when the kid came in. It seemed he always found himself sneaking over to take that fresh scent. He had always been sensitive to smells, but this kid, his smell was addicting.
Every time his new regular came in, he would set up his workspace, pulling out some textbook and notes, slipping in headphones and working quietly. He always ordered the same thing and watched Anri make it with intensity. He generally nursed his drink for most of the night, head down, working diligently until Anri would stop by to visit. He seemed to know when the bar was quiet, and was there like magic on the slow nights, not that the bar was ever too busy. He honestly didn’t know how the guy could concentrate on his work sitting for hours at a bar, drinking Irish coffee the whole time.
Anri had checked the name on the kid’s credit card the last time he had paid. Seth S. Morrigan. It burned itself into his brain, and he couldn’t forget it if he wanted to. He only felt a little guilty, and only a little stalker-esque. He was a regular, Anri had reasoned with himself. He should know his regular’s names. It seemed weird to keep referring to him in his head as ‘the kid’. Not that he was spending more time thinking about the kid than was normal. Of course he wasn’t. He was just interested in a new patron who seemed pretty cool. That’s all.
He had been shocked to realize how tall Seth was, not really noticing until his last visit. Seth was nearly a head taller than him, but most people were at least a little bit taller than him. Somehow, he had stopped growing in tenth grade, always waiting to hit his last growth spurt, but it never came. It was a bit of a sore subject.
Seth was good looking with dark brown hair in a stylish razor cut, the hair longer on the top and brushed to one side. He always wore a black t-shirt with some type of logo on it, today it just said CAKE in bold and all caps in neon orange over black without any other accompaniments. A pair of faded jeans, a beat up green backpack and a well worn set of blue and grey sneakers completed his ensemble. As he slid into the seat at the bar, he hiked his backpack up, slipped off his coat and pulled out his work for the night, a notebook and a molecular chemistry textbook. He pulled out his headphones and almost slipped them on, but instead dropped them to the bar. Draping his backpack over the back of the bar chair, he looked up and their eyes met.
Anri felt a static shock quickly course through him when their eyes locked. The first time it happened, he had tried to write it off as nothing. He could no longer write it off, though, as it seemed to happen every time he and Seth made eye contact. It made him jump every time, too, though he was better at hiding it now that he could anticipate it. Today he shook it off easily, regaining his composure as he headed over to take the Seth’s order, even though he already knew what he would be making for him.
Seth smiled warmly at him as he walked over. His deep greenish brown eyes were full, rimmed with eyelashes wasted on a man. He had a piercing in his lip, a small and simple hoop that he would unconsciously bite between his front teeth when he was concentrating. Meeting his smile, Anri felt his heart skip a beat.
“Hey again. You’re becoming quite the regular, aren’t you?” he said with his best, friendliest bartender voice. Seth’s gaze seemed especially heavy tonight. It made him feel a little anxious. He tried to hide it with a big, welcoming smile. Leaning on the counter with both hands, he tried to be not too obvious about smelling his patron, which he was most definitely not doing.
“What can I make you?” he asked cordially.
He already knew the answer before it came out of Seth’s mouth. “Irish coffee, please.” His smile widened with the familiar answer.
“Sure, of course. Just a moment.” Anri turned to make the drink, then turned back. “Hey, since you are a regular now, what’s your name? Gotta be able to call a regular by their name, you know.” Obviously he knew Seth’s name, but it would be weird if Seth knew that he had remembered it from running his credit card. It seemed like it was a breach of customer confidentiality or something.
Seth chuckled coyly, and he noticed he had a dimple in just one cheek. The more he saw this kid, the more he began to think he was absolutely charming. He realized with a shock that he had just found a man charming. He took that thought and squashed it down deep inside where it would never see the light of day again. He must be tired, working 6 nights in a row, sometimes by himself, while the owner was on vacation.
“I’m Seth. What about you?” he replied easily. His smile, with that single cheek dimple, pierced through Anri’s chest even as he tried to suppress the thrill it sent through him. “It’s only fair, since I told you mine.”
“It’s my pleasure, Mr. Seth. I’m Anri. I’ll be right back with your Irish coffee,” he said as casually as he could. He felt giddy and tense enough to jump out of his skin. Why did Seth have such an effect on him? It seemed like every time he saw him it got worse, too. He must be tired.
“It’s just Seth. Not Mr. Seth,” he called over to Anri.
“Okay, Just Seth,” he replied playfully over his shoulder.
Anri’s hands shook subtly while he made the Irish coffee, Seth scrutinizing his every move. He wasn’t himself tonight. He both dreaded and longed to chat with Seth. The bar was practically dead. Well, more dead that it had been for the last few times Seth came in, so he could probably chat for a while before being called away…
As he delivered Seth’s drink, Seth smiled in a way that made his dimple stand out even more. Anri swore he could feel it shoot straight through his chest like a cliched cupid’s arrow. There was definitely something wrong with him tonight. He set the drink down on a bar napkin by Seth’s notebook and tried to put on his very best customer friendly yet neutral face.
“You’re always in here studying until late at night. Wouldn’t a library be easier to study in? Quieter? I mean, don’t get me wrong,” he spread his hands over the bar in a welcoming manner, “I appreciate your patronage, but I don’t know how you manage to focus on your studies with all of the commotion that goes on in here.”
“Well, Anri,” Seth said, rolling his name around playfully, sending another thrill through his system, “I grew up in a house with an older sister and younger twin brothers. I think they must have ruined me, because I can’t concentrate at all unless there are at least three other things going on in the background. I used to dream of a time when I could be all alone in peaceful silence, but I’ve found that now that I have it, I can’t stand it. I mean, I know I’m alone here, but it’s just…having people around me, you know?” Seth took a sip of his drink, dipping his head down with embarrassment. How was this kid so adorable? No, not adorable, because Anri didn’t think that about men.
He held the mug in one hand, a finger lazily trailing over the rim. If he was a woman, Anri would have sworn he was flirting. But he wasn’t a woman, so it was obviously not flirting. “Also…can’t get anything good to drink in a library,” Seth said, looking up and smiling, sending his heart crawling up into his throat.
The conversation lulled. Seth took another drink, then looked up at him. “You have a neat name, I like it. Are you named after someone, like a family name?”
“My name is a bit uncommon, I suppose. My mother’s parents were from Quebec originally, although she was born here. It is a family name, after my grandfather. It’s tradition. My sister, Simone, is named after my mom’s great aunt or somebody and my younger sister is named after her father’s sister.” It was the most he had ever spoken about himself to any patron of the bar, ever.
Anri grabbed a towel from under the bar and began to wipe down the black surface, mostly to do something with his hands. He was unable to explain it, but Seth made him feel incredibly self conscious and nervous. He really wanted Seth to like him. “How about you, you always from around these parts?” he asked, trying to drive the attention back to Seth.
Seth looked down at his drink and sighed. “Nah, I’m originally from the midwest, and that’s where my family still is. I personally can’t stand all the cornfields and countryside, miles and miles in every direction. Gives a guy, what’s the opposite of claustrophobia….too much open space. I like the city. I like that there are more people than livestock around, you know?”
“Agoraphobia, I think,” he said offhandedly.
“Huh?” Seth cocked his head, looking a bit confused.
“Agoraphobia. It’s the opposite of claustrophobia,” he replied, blushing with embarrassment.
Seth just laughed and took another drink. “Yup. Agoraphobia. I hate all those rolling acres and country music stations. Especially the country music stations. Do you know how hard life is without decent music? It’s practically impossible.”
Anri glanced down the bar and was immediately flagged by another customer, who looked a bit annoyed. He wondered if he had been trying to catch his attention for a while. “Duty calls. I’ll come back to check on you in a bit.”
“I’ll be right here, mastering the mysteries of molecular biology,” Seth replied easily, raising a hand in parting.
The night actually picked up quickly after that and he wasn’t spared a moment for several hours. It had been tough, working understaffed all week. They really needed to hire another person, but since the owner was on vacation, that wasn’t going to happen until she was back. So now it was just Anri and Red holding down the fort.
The bar, Kintsugi, was small and intimate, neatly and discreetly attached to the upscale Japanese-American fusion restaurant of the same name. Even when the restaurant was packed with reservations lined up out the door, the bar was like a well kept secret, hidden from the general public. Usually two bartenders could handle the patrons with ease, but even they needed time off. He had forcibly insisted that Red take a day off, so today he was on his own.
Red’s real name was Ginger. She wasn’t entirely fond of her nickname, though she tolerated it as much as she tolerated anything. Anri couldn’t remember the first person who had called her Red, but it had stuck, much to her chagrin. It didn’t help that she dyed her hair so scarlet it was nearly electric. Without Red there tonight, he was non-stop busy.
He grew more and more irritated as the night went by. He longed to go over and chat with Seth. With a deep breath, he tucked his irritation away and put on his best professional face. At least his tips were going to be good tonight, since he didn’t have to split them.
Every few minutes between customers, though, he found himself looking down at the corner of the bar. Found himself trying to catch Seth’s scent. Seth was deeply engrossed in his studies, and he took advantage of his concentration, stealing glances during his busy night.
Seth was the opposite of him in a lot of ways. His dark hair was cut short, combed to one side in a way that looked good on him, drawing attention to his high cheekbones and sharp chin, giving him an elvish look. Anri’s hair, in contrast, was dirty blond and pulled back at the nape of his neck in a short, tight ponytail, utilitarian and simple. Seth’s lip piercing was alluring. Anri secretly enjoyed the way he unconsciously ran his tongue over it or caught it between his teeth when he was deep in thought.
Seth looked up at just the right time, catching him staring. He looked away, trying to make it look like he had just happened to be looking around, but he knew he had been caught when he heard Seth chuckle.
More time he couldn’t spend chatting with Seth passed. He finally made his way over to Seth as the last patron, with the exception of Seth, had left, the door closing with a tinkle of the bell behind him. It was just the two of them now, Seth buried elbow deep in his work.
“Did you want to close out your tab? I’m gonna close up soon,” he said softly, trying not to disturb him too much.
Seth looked up, blinking, then at his cell phone, surprised. He pulled his headphones from his ears and smiled sheepishly. “Sheesh, I didn’t realize it was so late! Yes, I’ll pay up. I should have left, like, an hour ago. I’m the only one left! You should have kicked me out earlier, Anri! I’m sorry, I’m keeping you from closing up. I guess I just got all caught up in this amazing biology,” he said, lifting one eyebrow.
He laughed a little, turning to print Seth’s bill.
“Hey, Anri,” Seth called after him, “when do you get a night off of this place? It seems like you’re always here when I come by.”
Anri came back to the bar with the bill in hand. Seth had pulled his backpack out and unzipped it, setting it on the bar next to his books. He threw his card on the little black tray. He leaned over, peeking at some messy writing in the notebook as Seth closed the molecular biology book and slid it into the well worn backpack.
“This looks complicated,” he commented distractedly. Seth, realizing Anri was looking at his notes, blushed a deep red, beginning at his ears and moving quickly into his cheeks. He grabbed at the notebook and fluttered it shut. Quickly he shoved the notebook into his backpack. He sucked in a deep breath in surprise, jerking his hand up to his face.
Anri looked over, unsure of what had distressed Seth. A small drop of blood welled on his finger, a thin papercut from his notebook. Seth held up in front of his face, pushing his thumb into the finger pad, causing the blood to swell up a bit more. His dimple stood out prominently as he frowned disapprovingly at the cut.
Anri sucked in a deep breath, the coppery tang of blood and Seth’s alluring, sweet smell mingling together. It smelled good. It smelled too good. There shouldn’t have been such a strong smell from such a small cut. The scent shortcutted straight to a primal part of his brain, shutting down all logical thought. Acting purely on instinct, his hand darted forward. Seth’s hand was somehow before him, his finger pressed up to his lips. He inhaled sharply just before he sucked Seth’s finger inside his mouth.
It was pure bliss. No blood had ever tasted this complex. It was exquisite. His eyes rolled back into his head a little, eyelids sagging. He wanted more. He gently sucked, then licked, the small flap of skin where the blood had welled. He longed to grind his teeth into the cut, to open it more and coax out more. He wanted to fill his mouth with this essence, with Seth.
His fangs dropped, slamming him back into reality. He jerked back, recoiling in horror at the realization of what he had just done. And who he had done it to, and where he had done it. And, in general, that he had done it. Regret, followed by disgust, flood him, nearly overwhelmed him. What was he thinking? Jesus. He was more than ashamed of the extent to which he lost his self control. Horrified by his own actions, he grabbed the bill tray and ran away from Seth.
Dreadfully Erotic 