Bella Notte (21 page)

“
Oh, I am so
sorry. The door was unlocked,” he mumbled as he turned his head
to look at the wall.

“
I'm not
naked, Dom. I mean, jeeze, surely you've seen a girl in a robe
before. What time is it?” I asked as I sat on the bed.

“
Emma, please.
I have a hard time around you. I want to remain gentlemanly. I will
leave; let me know when you are dressed.” He stood, but had a
difficult time walking sideways.

“
Dominic, you
don't have to leave. Please, sit back down and I will get dressed in
the bathroom,” I said as I grabbed my pjs.

When I came back
out, he was still looking at the wall. It was fairly amusing. “I'm
decent.”

“
Okay.”
He looked at me and relief washed across his face.

“
So, whatcha
doing in my room?” I said as I sat down.

“
Well, I
wanted to check to see if you are okay. It is two in the afternoon,
well, two thirty. I also wanted to know if you still wanted to go to
the club? I have a gift for you if you do.” He smiled.

“
Wow, its two
thirty already? Guess I needed my sleep. Yes, I am still up for the
club.” I brushed my hair as I spoke.

“
Good. Then I
have two gifts for you. One is because I knew you loved them, and the
other is to help you feel comfortable tonight.” He rose and put
two boxes on my bed.

The first box was
small and light green. It was a simple gift box and had no defining
markings- just a box. I shook it, and it made a dragging noise as
something slid from side to side.

“
Are you going
to open it?” He was becoming very anxious.

I pulled the lid off
and saw that there was a small silver chain inside that had a small
crystal attached to it. The crystal was glowing a light green.
Oh!
It is one of the crystals from the cave.
I
smiled and launched at him. “Thank you!”

“
I knew you
liked them. I didn't know what design to get you, a cross is
traditional, but I felt you should have something as natural as the
crystals.” He smiled.

I was excited now
and examined the second box. It was wrapped in black, flat paper, and
had a white satin ribbon on it- tied into a perfect bow. I shook it
as well, but it made only crumbling noises. I sighed.
I
hate to destroy such a nice wrapping job.
I slid the bow off and untaped each side until I could lift the paper
off without a tear.

“
Damn, you
have patience. Open it!” He was excited once more.

Inside the paper was
another plain white gift box. I took the lid off and found myself
faced with black tissue paper covered in stars.
That
explains the crumble noise.
I
moved it aside and looked at the contents.

Inside this
beautifully wrapped box were patent leather pants and a patent
leather bodice that had red satin sown to make sleeves. It was
beautiful. Something that I had always wished was part of my
wardrobe, but could never find a reason to buy it where we lived. I
didn't understand. This was very Gothic; did that mean we would be
going to a Gothic club?

“
Dom, it's
lovely. It is something I have always wanted, but I don't
understand.” I pursed my mouth in confusion.

“
You needed
something to wear tonight to the club. I doubted that you had
anything like this, which is common at the club we are going to, so I
ordered it. Are you upset?” He looked at me sheepishly.

“
No, I am not
upset. I really love it. But where are we going? What kind of club?
What's the name?” I felt confused and excited; I had never been
to a real club before.

“
We are going
to a special club for our kind. But I can't tell you anything else.
It's a club that is elitist and known only about by our people. The
name is
Il
club di Vampiri
.”
He looked at me.

“
Are you
telling me that we are
vampires
?
Because that is just stupid. Is that the real name?” I sighed
at him.

“
No, that
isn't the real name, and no I am not telling you that. But there are
people there that look the part. It is called
Bella
Notte
.”
He smiled.

“
Beautiful
night … what a nice name. When do we leave?” I said as I
admired the gift with gentle fingers.

“
We leave in
two hours. We have a bit of a drive as it is in
Rome
,
and we have to get across the sea first and then drive there. I
suggest that you get ready soon. Oh, I brought this up for you.”
He grabbed a plate off the small reading table- it held a sandwich,
chips, orange slices, and a soda.

I thanked him and
then shooed him off.

It took me two hours
to perfect my makeup, figure out how to get into the beautiful
outfit, get my boots on, and eat. It wasn't in that exact order, but
does it matter in the end?

I looked like a
Gothic queen. I loved the way the pants fit me perfectly, and the
bodice gave me just enough cleavage- not to look trashy, but sexy. I
was an Italian goddess. I walked down to meet Dominic and he stared
at me with his mouth open.
Great,
now I have a pet fish!

“
Didn't your
mother ever tell you that it is rude to stare?” I smugly smiled
at him.

“
Yes, but she
didn't know you then and she sure as heck wouldn't say that right
now.” He blinked a few times.

I noticed that he
was dressed all in black. His arms were bare, and showed tribal
tattoos that covered them from the top of the shoulder down to his
elbow.
How
did I not ever notice that before?
He was wearing a tight black tank top. He had on loose leather pants
and large clunky black boots. His belt was a pyramid studded punk
belt with a large buckle of a skull with fangs. I was greatly
attracted to him. I looked him up and down and he blushed.
Very
cute.

When I was around
Dominic, in this place of “my” people, I felt like a
different person. I was more confident and I felt more in place. I
knew I fit here. I fit better than any place I had been before.
And
I was accepted for whom I was, and whatever I was going to be. It was
difficult to think about when this time would end. Would
I
be able to go back to my normal life?

I followed Dom
outside and found a black Harley waiting for us. It was a beautiful
bike. It was a hog. There was nothing sporty about it. It was meant
to be a beast. It was black with chrome everything and green flames
painted on the sides.
Like
my baby back home
.
I fell in love.

Dominic climbed on
and patted the seat behind him. I sighed and wished to drive the
monster myself, but I realized I'd probably kill us in the crazy
Italian streets and traffic. I sat where I was told and wrapped my
arms around his waist. He revved the creature awake, and it roared
with all the energy of life. I was thrilled. We drove down to the
other dock and got on the ferry. This time Dom talked briefly with
the man he was short, balding, stout, very pleasant, and named Luca.
I smiled at him as we left. He waved to me. The night air assaulted
my face as we drove. It took us an hour and a half. It was only six
o'clock, so I didn't know why he wanted to leave so early.

Rome
was exactly as I had pictured it. Everything looked like it had been
there a million years and was beginning to crumble, but it held
together as strong as the currents that push the oceans around.

We went passed all
the tourist spots, but nothing was very memorable. It was shocking to
see these things and not be phased by them- as though I had seen them
all before.

We stopped at a
pizza place and ate and talked. I was very excited and he explained
to me about other clubs he had been to all over the world. I wanted
to know more about this club but he wouldn't tell. He said it would
take the surprise out. Time passed quickly as we sat there. It was
eight when we left the restaurant and went for gelato. We sat once
more and ate the delicious Italian treat. It was ten when we left
this place.

“
I think it
isn't too early now. Please follow me,” he said as he took my
hand and we walked down the street and turned into a dark alley. My
fear kicked up a notch. His hand tightened around mine.
Calm
.
The alley wasn't scary and it was completely empty. It was a complete
dead end.
Maybe
he took a wrong turn?

“
Dom, eh, I
think that...” That was when I saw the outline of a door
appear- I swear it wasn't there before.

“
Ah. Here it
is. Right on time. We shall get settled before the crowd shows up.”
He smiled and stepped toward the door.

I stared in fear and
amazement.
Did
a bloody door appear out of nowhere?
My mind didn't want to think about it.

He knocked on it. It
was a brick wall and I was afraid he would cut open his knuckles, but
they came away unscathed. There was a clinking noise in response-
clink,
clink, clink
.

He pressed his
tattooed wrist to the door. He motioned for me to do the same thing.
I slid back the sleeve of my shirt and pressed my crest and bat to
this oddly flat wall.
Bricks
aren't flat
.
I heard another
clink
clink clink.

“
Dom, what the
devil is that?” I whispered.

“
Some old
secret way of protecting what needs to be hidden,” he said,
directly into my ear.

His warm breath made
my blood rise and I felt a warmth spread across my face.

He dropped his arm
and I did as well.

The door opened. A
small roundish man stood there, he bowed as we walked into the room.

“
My Sir, I did
not think I'd see you. But I see you bring my Lady.” He smiled
at me and I found that he had no teeth, but his voice did not sound
as though there were no teeth. I smiled back politely.

“
Thank you,
Abner. Is the booth ready? She would like to see what it is that has
been lost to her. Please explain to the guests that her change has
not happened and so she does not know.” He slipped the
toothless round man a vial of something and Abner smiled with glee.

“
I will do as
I am asked, my Sir.” He bowed once more.

We walked on. My
mouth was open and I was highly confused, “What the devil just
happened?” I demanded.

“
Please, wait
a moment more?” he asked as we walked on. He sat us at a table
that was like a private booth. It was raised above the rest and had
the ability to be shut off from the view of others completely with an
interesting set of sliding doors that were worked with hanging ropes
that were right as we got in.

“
Now, let me
explain.” He took a deep breath and then a sip of a red liquid
in front of him that Abner had just set in front of him. “I
told you that this is our kind of club … but I swore that I
would not tell you anything you couldn't figure out on your own.
Thus, I cannot allow someone to slip up and say something to you.
Abner will inform the occupants as they come in that you have not
changed, and they will understand. But I told you before that there
is a prophecy about you … you and I are like royalty amongst
our kind. Unfortunately, that is all I can say right now. Do not fear
anyone here. There is nothing to fear at all here. And please, enjoy
yourself.” He smiled and took another sip.

I looked at the
glass in front of me and sniffed it. It wasn't alcohol, but I wasn't
sure what was in it. It reminded me of my birthday way too much for
comfort. I pushed it away.

“
I promise it
is safe, and no it isn't the same thing from your birthday, it is
more like a punch than anything else.” He gestured for me to
take sip.