Taking a hot girl home to my dorm room was the last thing I ever expected happening to me. I’m not the popular type, never was. I’m a freaking nerd.
Making out with her felt great. Her lips were soft, and her kisses felt sensual yet domineering. She pushed me onto the bed hard, and I felt her heavy breasts on my chest.
For a moment, I tried to move so she wouldn’t feel how excited I was, but she merely giggled and pushed me down harder.
We continued for a few more moments before she moved back to take off her shirt and bra. Seconds later, she was completely naked.
When I sat there ogling her body, she giggled again.
“Get naked,” she whispered into my ear, slightly biting my earlobe.
“Y-yeah,” I answered in a voice much too shrill.
I tried to pull off my shirt so quickly, I almost entangled my arms. Then I tore down my pants.
“Come here,” she commanded, bidding me to join her in bed.
All right, condoms. Where are my condoms?
“H-hold on,” I muttered.
Then I turned around and rummaged through my cupboard. I pushed around all the useless clutter that had accumulated over the course of a semester, but the tiny pack of rubbers was nowhere to be found.
Dammit, where the hell are they? I redoubled my efforts, but they seemed to be just gone.
“What’s going on, lover boy?” she asked, laughing.
“Condoms,” I mumbled. “I knew I had some, but…”
My voice trailed off before I got an idea. I didn’t like it one bit.
In mere seconds, I put my clothes back on and rushed for the door.
“All right, wait here,” I blurted, signaling for her to stay in bed.
“I’ll be right back!”
“Don’t take too long,” she joked, while playing with a lock of her dark brown hair, giving me a seductive smile.
God, I wanted nothing more than to just go for it, but then I left the room and raced through our small three-room apartment.
My roommates, Rick and Barry, were still chatting in the kitchen. When I barged in, they both stared at me puzzled, but a second later, Barry’s face turned to glee.
“What’s the matter Jake? Did she run away?”
“What? No, she’s still there. Do you guys have any condoms? I can’t find mine, so…”
I looked at them expectantly, but for a moment, neither of them said a word. Then Barry burst out laughing.
“Holy shit dude, what?!” he asked, sprouting beer from his mouth.
My eyes turned to Rick, who sat there, not laughing, but with a more than amused expression on his face.
“Sorry, man, I’m all out,” he eventually said.
“Oh, come on guys, she’s already naked and-“
“Should’ve thought about that before you took her home,” Barry continued to lay into me.
“You know what? Fuck you guys!”
With their voices trailing after me, I hurried toward the front door. I threw on my shoes and was out a moment later. The late night store at the edge of campus should have some!
As I hurried past the dorms and over campus, I couldn’t help but curse about my roommates, especially Barry.
Why’d he always have to be such a dick?
Even today, he couldn’t stop pestering me while I was working on a project due next week.
“Whatcha doing, Jake?”
“You working on a project on Saturday evening?”
“God, you’re such a nerd.”
Well, some of us had to actually worry about their grades.
Yet even after I told him I had to finish my work, he didn’t leave me alone. Soon enough, I found Rick trailing after him, and the two of them suggested I’d join them on their night out. I knew damn well they only invited me to act as a glorified wingman.
Eventually, fed up with the entire thing, I told them I’d come along. With a sigh, I changed clothes, got myself a beer from the fridge, and set out after them.
On the subway, the two of them had their usual chit-chat, with Barry going on about his favorite topics of choice: parties, drinking, and girls, girls, girls. I knew at least half of it was bullshit, and even Rick seemed to tire of it after a while. Instead, he turned to me and asked me when I’d last been lucky, only to be cut off by Barry, who threw the word ‘virgin’ at me while guffawing.
God, why’d I even agree to this?
Not long after, we found ourselves in the middle of a crowded club. The music was a mixture of shitty pop and over-tuned EDM. I hated it.
Barry and Rick, however, were right in their element, mingling on the dancefloor and hitting on any girl unlucky enough to get too close to them.
I watched them for a bit before I propped down at the bar and ordered myself a beer. As I sat there, drinking in hand, I couldn’t help but sigh.
“Bad night?” a voice spoke up from my right.
“Nah, it’s just,” I started, but couldn’t go on when I saw the woman sitting next to me.
To say she was gorgeous would be an understatement.
For a few seconds, all I could do was stare at her. She giggled before she took a sip of her drink.
“You came here all by yourself?” she asked.
“Ah, no. I’m here with my, well, friends,” I answered.
She noticed the emphasis I put on the word ‘friends,’ and eyed me curiously.
“Doesn’t sound like you’re too fond of those friends of yours,” she whispered conspiratorially.
I couldn’t help but agree with her. When I asked her what brought her to the club, she told me she liked to mingle… occasionally. We continued chatting, her talking all sensual and seductive, while I was my usual awkward self.
It wasn’t long before my ‘friends’ noticed my new companion and joined us.
Rick introduced himself, but gave her a wink that said more than a thousand words. Barry, on the other hand, wasted not a second in an attempt to charm her. He threw out one of his pickup lines and flashed her his trademark smile, the one he probably thought was irresistible. The woman blinked before she put her hand on my leg and inched closer, pushing herself against me.
“Sorry, boys,” she started, “but I’m talking to your friend here.”
Rick and Barry’s jaws dropped in unison, and they soon left in search of easier prey.
“My, oh, my, those two are something else,” she said, amused, her eyes trailing after them for a few moments.
It wasn’t long before she whispered sweet nothings into my ear and asked me if I wanted to get to a more private location.
With my head on standby, I blurted out that my dorm room was a mere fifteen minutes away. I regretted it instantly, thinking of my cluttered and cramped room, but before I could make another suggestion, she already took me up on the offer.
The moment the two of us left, Rick and Barry hurried along, clearly intent on not missing a single moment and just waiting for me to fuck all it up somehow.
While we were on the subway, Barry tried once more to woe the nameless beauty next to me, but she ignored him.
The moment we made it back, she almost shoved me into my room, the room she was no still waiting in.
And I wasn’t in that room with her right now. No, I was on the way to the goddamn late night store.
Once I’d made it past the dorms, and had crossed two more streets, I could already see its dim lights. As I barged inside, throwing open the door, the cashier jerked up, staring at me.
“Ah, shit, sorry… I’m… never mind,” I stammered and began searching the shelves.
God, why was this place so big?
I moved past rows upon rows of cheap bear and equally cheap liquor, past microwave meals and canned goods, but I didn’t see any condoms.
Eventually, I hurried back to the cashier, who was now busy arguing with two guys who must’ve entered the store after me. Without thinking, I pushed myself past them to ask the cashier the one question that mattered.
“Excuse me, can you tell me where the-“
Instantly, I found myself face to face with the two of them, and could tell they were drunk.
“How about you wait till it’s your turn, buddy,” one of them slurred at me.
“Shit, sorry, I just wanted to-“
“Oh, you’re sorry? You’re gonna be sorry once I’m done with you!” his friend joined in, who was clearly in the mood for trouble.
“All right, guys, cut it out. You either pay for your shit, or you take it outside, got that?” the cashier defused the situation.
Instantly, the two of them turned back to him, and began laying into him again.
“There’s no way I’m going to pay ten freaking bucks for that shit! I get it for five at the liquor store!”
“Then go there,” the cashier said with a shrug.
“It’s freaking closed, asshole. That’s why we’re here!”
Another shrug.
“Guess you don’t want it then.”
With that, he was about to snatch the bottle from the guy’s hand, but he jerked it back. Under a tirade of heavy curses, he brought out his wallet and threw the cashier a bill.
“There you go, asshole,” he spat before the two of them turned around and made their way to the exit, not without elbowing me aside.
“Thanks. Make sure to come again,” he called after them with a grin on his face.
When I heard that, I couldn’t help but laugh. Instantly, the nearest guy turned around, staring me down as if I’d just insulted his honor.
“You think that’s funny?” he growled, already stepping toward me.
The cashier sighed.
“Knock it off, will you? I don’t mind calling the cops if you guys keep causing trouble, all right?”
“Yeah, fuck you, too, asshole!” one of them yelled before they slammed the door.
“So, what are you looking for?” the cashier asked, turning to me.
“Oh, eh, I was wondering if you had any, well, condoms,” I muttered.
The dud couldn’t help but laugh.
“Big night, eh? They are over there, second row, left side, kinda hidden. See the sign for toiletries over there? Right under that, next to the toilet paper.”
In an instant, I hurried away, trying my best to follow his instructions.
When I finally reached them, I stared at the various packages in utter confusion.
I saw Rhino Rubbers, Strawberry Slippers, and at least a dozen others with similarly ridiculous names. What the hell was all that stuff?
After half a minute of staring at the mess dumbfounded, and trying to make sense of it, I grabbed a pack of the most vanilla looking ones and hurried back to the cashier.
He scanned them, called out the price, but when I brought out my debit card, he shook his head.
“Sorry, but our card reader’s busted. Cash only at the moment.”
I stared at him in disbelief, and began rummaging through my wallet, then my pockets, but I still came out short.
“Come on, man, can’t you write it up or something? I swear, I’ll be back first thing in the morning and give you the money. Hell, I give you a tip and-“
“Sorry, I can tell you really need those, but no write-ups. Store policy. There’s an ATM behind the IT building, right next to the bus station.”
“Behind the IT building? Shit, that’s like… all right, I’ll be back, okay?”
“Sure thing,” he said as I rushed from the store.
All right, calm down. The TI building is to the right of… shit. Where the hell was I even going?
I ripped out my phone to cross-check my location. Of course, I’d ran in a different direction.
Dammit, now it was going to take me another five minutes to get there! With the time it took me to go the store and now… Please, please let her still be there when I get back, please, I prayed to any and all gods.
As I ran over the campus, my lungs were burning, and legs felt as heavy as lead, but I didn’t stop. No, this was my chance, probably my one and only chance to finally get laid and stick it to that asshole Barry.
Following the directions on my phone, I made it to the IT building. I rushed past it, could see the bus station and finally the ATM.
I arrived a panting and shaking mess, giving the two guys at the station no notice as I inserted my card.
My fingers flew over the screen while I cursed at the machine to hurry the fuck up and give me my money.
“Yo, dude, you got a light?” someone called out to me from behind.
Ignoring the guy, whose voice sounded a bit too familiar, I punched my pin into the keypad, shuffling around.
Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder.
“Hey, I’m talking to-“
The voice trailed off.
“You’re that asshole from the store!”
“What?” I asked, as I grabbed my money.
When I finally turned around, I found myself face to face with one of the drunk guys from the store. Shit, why it’s got to be them!?
“Yo, Alex, it’s that asshole who made fun of us!”
“Look, I didn’t mean to-“
Before I could even finish my apology, he pushed me back against the ATM.
“Got something to say now, huh?” he asked, pushing his face in front of mine.
Instead of saying anything, I pushed the guy back, straight into his friend who’d walked over to join in on the fun. The bottle of booze he’d been holding slipped from his fingers and crashed to the floor. For a second, the only audible sound was that of shattering glass. My eyes wandered to the growing puddle of alcohol. Now I’d really done it.
“What the fuck, man!?” the guy screamed up.
“Shit, sorry, I can pay for the booze, but I really-“
Once more, I didn’t get to finish before I was hit in the stomach.
Pain shot through my entire body, knocking the air from my lungs. My legs buckled, and before I could catch my breath, another punch landed, and I hit the ground hard.
“Oh yeah, you gonna pay? I’ll make sure you fucking pay!”
As I lay there, receiving kick after kick, I could only wonder how it all had gone so wrong. Was this really what was going to happen? Being beaten to a pulp in front of an ATM on this night of all nights? God, this was too pathetic, even for me.
Suddenly, a window opened on a nearby building. A tired and furious woman demanded what all the ruckus was about.
The two drunks turned around and started throwing insults at her.
While the three of them continued yelling at each other, I fought myself to my feet and booked it.
It wasn’t long before the two drunks noticed and came after me.
Man, I could get laid right now, and instead…
“Where do you think you’re going, asshole?” one of them called after me.
My entire body hurt as I rushed past the IT building, then towards the adjacent chemistry faculty. One look over my shoulder told me they were still in pursuit. Dammit, why the hell were they so goddamn fast?
Then, in one swift motion, I turned around a corner and hurried up the stairs that led to the chemistry faculty’s roof. Up there, I did my best to duck away so they wouldn’t notice me.
I saw them hurry on, past the stairs before they came to a stop, scanning the area.
“Where’d he go?” one of them asked.
The other was still looking around before he began cursing.
God, why aren’t they fucking leaving? Are they just gonna keep looking for me?
I watched as they walked around, trying to figure out where I’d vanished to. Twice, they looked in my direction, but they thankfully didn’t notice me.
Minute after minute passed, but eventually, they left.
I forced myself to wait at least another minute, counting down the seconds.
Once I was done, I jumped down the stairs and rushed over the campus back to the late night store.
The cashier looked up when I barged inside again.
“Well, wouldn’t you know it? You actually made it?”
I nodded, walked up to him, and handed him the money without saying a word. A second later, I held a small pack of condoms in my hand.
“Good luck,” he said, giving me a well-meaning nod.
“Thanks,” I finally said.
Once back outside, I couldn’t believe the night I was having.
I almost laughed when I looked at my phone and saw that more than half an hour had passed. Knowing my luck, she was probably gone by now. Hell, she probably thought I’d pussied out, or worse, decided to try her luck with my roommates after all.
The moment I made it back to the dorms, I noticed a lonely figure making their way down the street in the direction of the subway station.
The street was dark, almost unnaturally so, as if clouded in shadows that the nearby lights couldn’t penetrate. Yet I noticed the long brown hair, the tight dress, and sensual walk.
Oh god, no!
“Hey!” I called out and rushed after her. “Hey, wait up! I’m sorry!”
When I reached her and she turned around, I stopped in my tracks.
It was her, but also… not. Her hair was wild and disheveled, her clothes torn and stained. In front of my eyes, the beautiful woman seemed to warp into a hunched over, bird-like monstrosity.
When our eyes met, a ghastly grin appeared on her face, one that stretched further and further before she opened her mouth.
“My, oh, my,” a distorted version of her sweet, sensual voice said. “You actually made it back, lover boy.”
“Yes, I…”
Once more, I couldn’t continue.
Her mouth was wide open, the lower jaw dangling as if unhinged. I saw rows of long, pointy teeth, saw blood covering her lips and dripping from her chin. I watched as a thick, lolling tongue pushed forward to lick it away.
“It’s too bad,” she cackled before closing the distance between us.
Instantly, a sharp, exotic smell that stung in my nose assaulted me, but also something heavier, nauseating that made my stomach turn. The coppery smell of blood!
I wanted to run, to flee, but I was paralyzed as her hungry eyes stared deep into mine. Then she reached out to me with elongated, spidery fingers. I took a single step back before she got a hold of me. It wasn’t the passionate embrace from earlier tonight. No, this was a predator restraining its prey.
As she held me in her arms, her appearance shifted once more, as though she were made of liquid shadows. Limbs twisted and stretched unnaturally before her head snapped forward with a loud crack.
“You know, your friends weren’t all that bad, but I really would’ve liked to taste you,” she whispered before she sunk her fangs into my ear.
When I cringed back, cursing in pain, she giggled again. Once more, I saw her wide-open jaw and the needle-like teeth in her mouth.
“Maybe another time,” she said before she turned around.
As she walked off, I wasn’t sure what I was seeing. Right in front of my eyes, two versions of her seemed to exist simultaneously. One the beautiful woman in the dress, the other, the towering bird-like monstrosity, each form constantly bleeding into the other.
When she was finally gone, all the strength left my body, and I slumped to the ground in sheer and utter confusion.
Down by the dorms, chaos erupted, and I could soon hear the distant sound of police sirens. My friends, she’d said. The blood. Dear god, Rick and Barry, I realized.
Then I stared at the little box of condoms in my hand, the box that had caused me so much trouble.
And when I finally read the word protection written on it, I couldn’t help but laugh, and laugh, and laugh.
