Going places

I slept like a log, not even one dream. When I woke up, I was alone on the big bed and light was filtering in through the windows. I looked at my watch but it seemed to have stopped working, the little hands were not moving at all. I stretched out my arms above my head and then rolled until I was at the edge of the bed.I sat up and, one by one, put my feet on the rug. My stomach chose that time to growl, reminding me that I had not eaten anything since a long time. I went to the washbasin and put some toothpaste on my right index finger. I tried to rub it on my teeth and gums, mimicking the movements of the toothbrush. It wasn't that efficient but at least my mouth felt clean. I then put some water in my mouth and gargled for a few seconds, before rinsing my mouth.

'Should I change first?' I thought. 'No,' growled my stomach.

With a light spring in my steps I started walking along the hallway trying to follow my nose as I caught the smell of freshly baked bread. I had only one miss when I went into the living room by mistake, but the kitchen was next to it.

'Good morning,' I said cheerily to my favorite vampire who, today was clad in a pair of black jeans and a white shirt. He was at the stove top, stirring, what looked like eggs on a skillet. The kitchen was not that big and impressive. One wide counter on one side, the other panel of wall boasted a refrigerator and an oven. There was a large island in the center around which stools were organized. It would appear that Dave enjoyed spending his time more in the bathroom than in the kitchen.

'Morning. Sit here,' he said pointing at one of the stools. 'Breakfast is ready.' He put a plate of scrambled eggs in front of me and a basket filled with little bread rolls. I greedily grabbed on and took as big a bite as I could.

'Tea, coffee or juice?'

'Chee,' I mumbled while still chewing my food. Swallowing, I then asked,'You're not eating?'

This question stopped Dave in his track and coming to place a cup of tea on the table, he leaned until his lips were very close to my ears.

'Why? You're proposing to feed me?' he whispered. He hadn't even touched me, yet I felt a jolt of pleasure to my core. Before I could respond, he had already lifted his head, but not before I saw the wicked little smile on his lips. His words brought forth a delicious mental image of me lying on the counter with my bathrobe partly open and him showering kisses on me.

'Stop please,' Dave pleaded and looking at him I realized that once again he had intercepted my thoughts. He looked to be facing a struggle of some sort. 'You should stop. Reading my thoughts, that is.'

'You think so loudly that I can hear you from the next room,' he commented dryly.

Well, read this, I thought and I focused on materializing a picture of me flipping him the bird. That felt so satisfying, especially when I caught his reaction.

'We're leaving in 30 minutes,' Dave finally announced before leaving the room.

This propelled me into shoveling more food in my mouth and I then bolted to the room, where I had a quick shower. I looked longingly at the bathtub. I had planned to use it, but unfortunately that was not in the plans.

Twenty-nine minutes later, I was up and pumping.

'Where are we going?' Dave had added a plain jacket with a hoodie and it made him look younger and carefree. That reminded me,

'How old are you?'

'Human age or vampire age?

'Both.'

'Human age, 25. Vampire age 125.'

'How does this work exactly?'

'I'll let the person whom we will be meeting explain everything to you. I'm still young in vampire age.'

'Who are we meeting?'

'You will know when we get there.'

I felt impatient but I reigned it in and pulled out my locket from my bag.

'We won't be using the locket. It will attract too much attention.'

I was slightly deceived as it meant that we wouldn't be kissing the locket together. I took the locket and wore it around my neck and when I released it, it was nestled snugly in my cleavage. At the beginning it was cold, then it started warming up in a pleasant way.

'So how are we going?'

'I've already called a taxi.'

'You have taxis here too on Bhuvar?'

'Our world is very similar to yours, except that it is more advanced in terms of technology.'

I felt like some kind of tourist on vacation at that point. For years, I had only focused on my studies, then on my career so that I barely had any time to relax and travel.

'Oh shit, my job.' I hadn't even thought over my life back on Earth. It seemed odd to think of it like that.

'Relax, it's still Saturday.' That made me pause. Yesterday was Friday and it was Saturday today. that meant that I had known Dave for less than 24 hours. Yet, I've already shared a bed with him and gone through so many experiences. That was mind-boggling.

Dave's little square phone, which was in his hand vibrated at that moment and with a nod at me, he indicated that it was time to go. It all looked so solemn, the way he was marching in front and I was having to semi-jog to keep up with him. But that solemnity was broken as I stopped at the sight of what was our taxi.

'Eeehhh,' I mentally screeched and stopped only when I saw Dave wince. My first trip in a flying car.

'It does not actually fly. It merely hovers above the ground by 50 centimeters.' He opened the door for me and waited for me to get in before hopping after me. There was no driver inside, it was one of those driverless pods still being tested on Earth. There was a screen in the middle, between Dave's and my seat. He pressed a few buttons, I tried to follow but the movement of his fingers were so swift and accurate that I couldn't, and within a few seconds we started moving. It was like being in a plane. As there was no friction, the trip was very steady. From outside I couldn't see inside the vehicle, but from inside I could see everything. There were multiple highways on so many levels with other similar vehicles. The highways crisscrossed over the tall vehicles which had patches of green all over.

'Vertical gardens,' the voice next to me said.

The gentle movement of the pod was oddly comforting and without realizing it, I fell into a state of slumber. A soft pressure on my cheeks made me come out of my nap finally and I opened my eyes just in time to see Dave lifting his face away. Did he just kiss me awake?

The door opened on both sides this time and we got out. Dave lifted his hand in my direction, asking for the bag. He beckoned me to his side and pointing to the house in front of which the pod had stopped, he announced, 'Your grandfather's house,' leaving me to stare at him with an open mouth.