Once Upon a Steamy Night

Tall, dark, lean, full of masculinity and sensuality.

These attributes were their trademark. When you see them run because there's danger lurking around every corner.

But she was not a woman who was scared of danger. She loved thrilling adventures and dangerous men.

That was what had made her approach him that night instead of the other way around.

****

“Finally, something good has happened. This was the best news ever,” he thought as he stood up from the random porch he'd been sitting on.

"Master, we have to go now."

He cast an angry gaze at the messenger, wishing he was at his full potential to turn him to stone.

"How dare you!" he roared.

The messenger cowered back in fear, head bowed in submission.

"I am only but a messenger. Do not punish me, please, master."

He cast a disgusted look at the messenger shaking with fear.

“Pathetic,” he thought sadly, “the kingdom could make do with some new and stronger messengers, and he will make that happen, but for now…”

"Go and tell my mother that I will be back soon, but for now, it's time to party!"

If he had thought the messenger was pale and shaking with fear before, right now he was almost dead. Any more and he'd fall and die.

"What?!"

"The queen will have my head rolling if I return without you," he cried in alarm.

"And I will cut off your dick and feed them to the dogs if you try to stop me!"

"What's a dick, master?"

He would have chuckled at the clueless look on the messenger's face if he hadn't been too busy trying to remain angry.

"A dick is your fucking manhood!"

That did the trick; the messenger fainted.

He kicked him aside and strode to his favorite club, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. This would be the last time he stayed here and might as well enjoy it to the fullest.

He stepped into the familiar scenery where he had spent a lot of years being invisible and just blending into the background.

The familiar smell of sweaty bodies mixed with the loud bang of the music, and people twerked and made out on the dancefloor.

The smell of liquor mixed with smoke filled the air as he walked towards the bar.

"Bartender!"

He barely looked up when he felt a shadow over him.

"My usual," he ordered.

He heard a slight chuckle followed by a feminine voice. It was the sweetest voice he had ever heard, and coming from him, that means a lot because he had spent a lot of years wandering around Earth and beyond.

"You're gonna have to be more specific than that, sir."

Enchanted by her voice, he raised his head to behold the beauty, and to say she took his breath away would be an understatement of two hundred centuries.

Despite the dim lighting, he could still make out her features as clear as day courtesy of his keen eyesight.

She had the most adorable baby blue eyes he had ever seen—as bright as the ocean and as clear as the sky.

Her lashes were long and framed her eyes perfectly. She had perfectly arched brows, and her slightly thin red lips were pulled back into an amusing smile.

She was dressed in a light blue floral dress with a white apron draped around it. Her hair was silver-blonde and pulled into a tight bun.

"Where is the other bartender?"

Way to go, his subconscious sneered, now she's gonna think you're gay.

"He's not on duty tonight," she replied politely.

"A pleasure to enjoy my night in your beautiful company then." His charming instincts kicked in, and she laughed.

Fairies tinkling dust was not as sweet as the melodious sound of her laughter. It paled in comparison to the song playing now.

"Thank you. Now, please make your order."

"A vodka and your presence will do."

She laughed again. "You are a real charmer. The smooth talker, I presume."

He shrugged. "It's only your beauty that puts the words in my mouth."

She put his drink before him and flashed him a smile that promised exciting things.

"I close at midnight. Think you can wait?"

"To escort you home? That I can," he replied.

She chuckled and left to attend to the other rowdy customers, but she couldn't help the flutter in her chest or the way her eyes occasionally caught his.

She suddenly wanted the day to pass by quickly, so she could take a walk back home with him. She blamed it on her raging hormones and termed him “a rebound” since she just divorced her abusive husband.

She was twenty-five and married for six months, thanks to her strong lawyer.

The heavens seemed to hear her prayers because the next thing she knew, she was strolling down the streets chatting with him about the weather till they got to her house.

"I presume this is goodbye," he said with a sad look in his eyes.

She knew she shouldn't invite him in, but she found herself doing exactly that.

She invited him into her house and her bed.

His kisses and caresses would forever remain branded in her memory. The way he made love to her could not be compared with the pleasures ten men could give.

He took her to a different level of pleasure she never knew existed, and when she was back from her ecstasy, she glanced at him with adorable eyes and realized she had given her heart to a stranger.

"What is your name?" she asked.

"We'll tell each other our names in the morning," he replied and cuddled her.

But the morning never came.

Two hours to morning, her door was brought down by her vengeful ex-husband, and when he saw another man on her bed, he shot him.

She was terrified as she watched him bleeding, his life slowly slipping away.

"Run!" he screamed at her, "Don't come back till morning. I'll tell you my name then."

She had listened to him and ran from her house. She huddled inside a phone booth and bawled her eyes out, praying he would be alright.

She had returned in the morning, and there was no sign of him or her ex-husband or any stain of blood. Her house was spotless and squeaky clean.

The only thing he left her was a note sealed with a bracelet.

You will always be in my heart for all eternity. I will be back.

There was no name or signature on it, but she knew it was him because it had his scent.

Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, months into years, but he never returned and neither did her ex-husband.

She never saw him again, and her heart never loved another.

"Holy crap! I'm up! Shut the fuck up!" Claire yelled as she knocked her alarm clock off her nightstand.

"That alarm is innocent."

"Shit! Mom, you scared me!" Claire exclaimed as she met her mother's gaze from across her room standing by her doorway.

"Good morning to you too, Claire." Her mom smiled.

"Good morning, Mom." Claire sighed, running a hand over her tangled black hair.

"Wrong side of the bed?"

"Can't I just skip final year and be homeschooled?"

Claire gave her mom a pleading look, and her mom chuckled.

"We've had this conversation since last month, and I told you no to homeschooling," her mom replied.

"Alright, gimme a minute, and I'll be down for breakfast," Claire said reluctantly.

"No way, young lady. I'm dressing you for school today."

Claire's brown eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"Mom, you sure you're okay?"

"Baby, this is your final year in high school. You've gotta start acting like it. You'll turn eighteen in a couple of months, and yet, you're still a loner."

"It's not my fault the kids in school hate me," Claire mumbled.

"They don't hate you; they just haven't gotten to know you," her mom stated.

"I'm not having this conversation with you again, Mom."

"You don't have a choice. I'm picking out an outfit for you."

"Dad! Mom is bullying me again!"

"Bullying? What is wrong with this kid?" Her mom slapped a hand on her forehead.

"Honey, leave Claire alone. She is a big girl, and she can take care of herself!" her dad hollered from downstairs.

"Thanks, Dad!" Claire hollered back, chuckling.

"Honey, you can't allow our kid to walk out this door looking like…"

Claire tuned out her mother as she went downstairs to argue with her father. Her mom may be a pain in the ass most times, but she still loved her.

She loved her family, which consisted of only herself, her mom, and her dad. There was no one else, and they didn't need anyone.

Her parents weren't rich or poor people. They were in average, and she loved it. She had a roof over her head and amazing parents who loved her—what more could she ask for?

Her life was perfect.

Except for one tiny little thing.

Her life at home was perfect, but her life at school was a disaster.

She hated Mondays, but what she hated most was the beginning of a new year, especially this year, her final year.

She hated the fact that she hadn't made a mark in her school yet academically and socially. She was an average student, not a nerd, but still a loner.

Whenever she tried to talk to people, they just walked away from her like she didn't exist, or she was invisible. After a while, she gave up trying and lived her life in solitude, apart from when she was home.

It wasn't so hard going to a high school and never talking to anyone except when it was necessary. Eventually, she got the hang of it and went to school then straight back home.

Claire sighed as she stared at herself in the mirror. She was dressed in black skinny jeans and a blue tank top which she paired with her black boots and jacket.

She put on her bracelet, wristwatch, and earrings, and then she pulled her hair into a ponytail. Her mom was gonna flip when she saw her wearing any color other than black and going to school without a hoodie.

"Finally! My baby is learning!"

Claire grumbled under her breath as she picked up the car keys.

"I'm going to school now. Bye, guys."

"Have fun!" her mom screamed after her.

“Yeah, right. Fun? Like that's ever going to happen,” she thought with a grimace as she got into her Toyota Corolla and drove off.

She couldn't have been more grateful that her parents got her a car so she didn't have to use the bus where she would meet other kids.

She pulled into the school parking lot and stepped out of her car. She gazed at her school and sighed. She was finally going to be done with Chadwick High School without anyone knowing her name.

Too bad, but she could live with this.

She stepped into the hallway that was lively and bustling with activities of different students and headed straight to her locker only to bump into someone.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

The girl barely glanced at her; she just walked away ignoring her. That was the fun of being invisible in her high school. No one noticed her, so no one got to bully her.

The bell rang, and she grabbed her history textbook and ran off for class. She didn't want to be late for her first class of the year.

Ha! As if she cares.

****

Twenty minutes later, and she was trying her best not to fall asleep by playing Candy Crush under her desk.

"The Battle of the Willow Creeks happened in what year?" the history teacher, Mr. Davis asked.

Claire sat up straighter in her chair and met his blue gaze as he scanned the class for a hand raised.

Nobody raised their hands.

"Anyone?" he prompted.

When he saw that nobody answered his question, he launched into a different topic of how sad it was that in their final year, they still didn't know anything about history.

It was at this point Claire tuned him out again and went back to her virtual life, playing as a Queen of Cordonia. Her gaming life was so much more fun than real life.

She was very much engrossed in her game that she didn't hear the repeated mention of her name till she felt a gentle tap on her shoulders.

She looked up and saw deep green eyes staring at her.

"1745," he said to her.

She didn't understand him till…

"Ms. Ryes, care to answer the question?" her history teacher asked.

"1745," she replied immediately.

"Correct!" he exclaimed happily that someone had finally answered a question in his class.

"Nerd," the students whispered, chuckling.

Claire ignored them and turned towards the boy who had helped her. She hadn't been able to get a full look at him properly except his eyes.

"Hey, thanks for…"

The words caught in her throat when she realized she was sitting all alone. No green-eyed boy was sitting beside her, and now that she thought about it, she could vividly recall that she had been sitting alone.

It couldn't have been a figment of her imagination because those eyes had been so real and alive. She had been happy that someone was talking to her in high school.

She scanned the classroom but couldn't see anyone bearing a similar resemblance to him.

Finally, the bell rang, and she was the first one out of the class. She needed some time to clear her mind, so what better place other than the restroom?

Unfortunately, luck wasn't on her side today because she walked in on the star football player having sex with a cheerleader.

Muttering profanities under her breath, Claire went to the library. This was where she found solace sometimes except she felt the library lady was creepy.

She was always creeping up on students and asking them questions on the book they were reading. She knew the answers to almost all the books in the library, but Claire thought that was impossible because there were a lot of books.

"Aren't you Claire?" the librarian asked.

She frowned and nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"The principal is looking for you in his office," the woman answered.

Claire frowned. "The principal doesn't even know me."

"Yeah, but the cops do," the woman replied smirking. "Looks like you've been a bad girl, Claire."

Claire's heartbeat accelerated as she tried to think of any possible reason why the cops wanted to see her.

When she couldn't think of any, she headed to the principal's office.