Los Angeles, 2021

“Come on, Rory,” Dennis pleaded. “It will be a kick.”

Rory sat back in his chair and hoisted his feet up on to the desk. He stretched luxuriously and laced his fingers behind his neck. “Hmm, let me think about it again?” He closed his eyes, then opened them. “Okay, I’ve thought about it. And no.” Abruptly, he swung his legs off the desk and stood. As he reached the window and looked outside, Dennis let out a cry of frustration.

“Rory, why not?” He groaned. “You asked me what I wanted for my birthday and—”

“You have been telling me the same thing every day for the last two weeks, I know.”

“You won’t have to pay for anything. I just want you to come with me. If you were really my friend, you’d—”

Rory started to laugh. He turned around and shook his head. “Do you know how pathetic that is? You used to do that to me when we were kids. We’re not ten anymore.”

“I don’t understand what your problem is with this.” Dennis threw up his hands. “It’s all government controlled now, completely legal. Why are you so prejudiced against them? You never used to be so narrow minded. You should understand being gay.”

Rory sighed. “It’s not the same thing. Gay people don’t suck the blood out of people to live. These are vampires. Actual honest-to-God…scratch the last part. They have a history of murder, Dennis. There is no guarantee that they have their bloodlust under control just because they now drink synthetic blood and run businesses.”

“And humans don’t have a history of murder? Look at the witch trials and the Nazis.”

Rory sighed heavily. “Okay, so you don’t understand my reticence. Well, I don’t understand your obsession, either. Why don’t we go out to a fun gay bar tonight? There are a few of those left, you know. We could find you a nice, well-hung, horny, breathing human?”

“And what if he’s a psycho?”

“Dennis, you’re not being fair.”

“Listen to this,” Dennis said, jumping up and grabbing his briefcase. He pulled out a magazine and began to frantically thumb through the pages.

“Reading those vampire porn magazines again?” Rory made a face.

“They’re not porn, well, maybe there are a few pictures. Have you seen some of these vamps? They’re gorgeous.”

“Gorgeous and deadly,” Rory muttered. He could not understand his friend. They were so close, yet so different. Rory was beige-blond and knew he was intense. An Ultimate Fight writer by trade, he’d lost interest in covering the blood sport once the vampires got involved, slipping into the ring one of their own. In the uncompromising world of ultimate fighting where every deadly martial art was an asset, they'd carried an unfair weapon in their quiver—their lovely, long canine teeth.

Now he was writing a book about his experiences covering the sport. He had one publisher interested who had become intimidated by what he deemed Rory’s anti-vampire stance.

“Joe, I am not anti-vampire. I am anti-sneak attacks. At least read the book before you pass on it,” Rory had told him. Joe Rica had given him a small advance and was waiting to read the first few chapters before fully committing to the book, which was now Rory’s obsession. He struggled daily with it, but was determined to finish it to honor the fighters he had known and respected, but who had died in the ring.

Dennis was the opposite. Dark haired but sunny, the ultimate optimist. It was refreshing when they were talking about doing fun stuff, but not when it involved a sex den owned, controlled and populated by the new race of vampires. The new breed had slowly but surely taken over southern California. They had their own banks, hotels, theaters and clubs and had also taken over various city councils. It worried Rory that Dennis sought only a cheap thrill and didn’t consider the consequences.

Though they were both twenty-five, Rory hankered for a good relationship with hot sex. He wanted a guy who listened to him, a guy who read him. Dennis wanted a guy who was hot in the cot and read the good bits to him out of vampire rags.

“Here, here it is,” Dennis announced. “Listen. I won’t read it all. It says that and I quote, ‘humans who have reported having sex with vampires describe it as being like no other sexual experience. Not only are orgasms especially more intense, vampires have the ability to pleasure their partners in exactly the way they desire due to their telekinetic powers. Further, vampires have longer staying power and almost instant rejuvenation abilities. So if you are looking for the sex of your life and you’re brave enough, why not visit one of the now-legal vamp brothels and try it out?’”

“Did you notice the disclaimer…if you’re brave enough?”

“Rory.” Dennis groaned, throwing down the magazine. “I want my twenty-fifth birthday to be special. I want to experience this once, just like you wanted to jump out of that plane last year. Remember?”

“Not quite the same thing.”

“I want this more than anything, but I won’t go without you.”

“No pressure there.” Rory laughed, glancing reluctantly at his computer.

“All you have to do is hang out and wait for me, that’s all. Nothing else.”

Rory shook his head. “Okay, it’s against my better judgment, but if that’s what you really want—” He didn’t have time to finish his sentence. Dennis was on him, giving him a huge bear hug. “Okay, okay.” Rory pushed him away playfully, laughing. “Enough. Leave me so I can get at least a chapter done on my book, okay?”

Dennis made a face. “No problem. How about I pick you up around nine tonight?”

“Okay. And where are we going again?”

“An upscale place in West Hollywood called Eclipse.”

“Do you have any idea how much this is going to cost?”