Page 29 of Thirst

Janae cuts her eyes up at me, feigning annoyance. “Well, at least you're being safe about it. But I can't believe you're about to engage in some blood play with this guy you just met. You literally just told me about him, now this is where you're going? Since when do we do stuff like this?”

“First of all,” I start, looking up at the nurse who’s about to stick the needle in my arm to draw my blood. “I don't know why you're in here telling all my business in front of strangers and mixed company. Secondly … you've got a point. I don't know when we started doing stuff like this. I know it seems crazy because we’ve only had a handful of meetings together, but I think I like him, girl. Scratch that. I do. I like the guy, so maybe that has me out here doing crazy shit. Amari is on something else entirely, but a bitch is down to explore. We don't kink shame over here.”

Without warning, the nurse stabs me and I flinch, scrunching up my face as I get a head rush. I've never been a fan of needles. I see the vial filling with my blood and I have to stare at Janae to distract myself. I make inventory of everything green that she has on. It’s her favorite color, and I'd rather look at her dangling green earrings and the matching bracelets on her right wrist than watch my life drain into a glass vial.

“You sure you know this fool well enough to be doing all of this?” Janae asks. While I force myself to look away, she watches the vial fill like she's mesmerized by it. “Don't you wanna go on a few dates before you start exchanging blood like you're goddamn Angelina Jolie?”

“He said we’re gonna have dinner first,” I say before laughing at myself. I know it’s ridiculous, yet here I am, getting my blood drawn with plans for Amari to reimburse me for it because midnight ballerinas aren't known to have health insurance. All of this is insane. But I'm doing it.

Janae scoffs while shaking her head. “You are a mess right now. There’s no way this man is that fine. Nobody is drink-my-blood-fine.”

The nurse finishes up, wraps my arm in a sticky brown bandage, and fails to act like she's ignoring our conversation. She widens her eyes as she walks away, and looks over her shoulder at us before stepping out of view. I know the entire staff is about to talk about us the rest of the day.

“I know it’s crazy,” I say, standing up and pulling on my jacket. “And I can't even explain it myself. All I know is that when I'm looking at him, it feels like he could get me to do anything. It’s just such a strange connection. And I know all of our conversations have been at Fantasies, but we’ve talked about a lot. Clearly there's a lot more about him that I need to learn, but I enjoy our conversations just as much as I've enjoyed giving him lap dances.”

“Girl, please. You've enjoyed that money,” Nae says with a laugh.

I shrug and giggle. “Well I'm not gonna lie and say I haven't. Who wouldn't enjoy the money? The man gives it up like he has an endless supply. Last time I saw him, he handed me a thousand dollars like it was nothing. Even when I brought it up, he just shrugged it off. It was crazy, but I wasn't gonna turn it down.”

Janae nods as we sit down in the waiting area and await my paperwork. “I can't say I blame you. But as your closest friend, I feel like it’s my job to make sure you're safe, girl. I know the money is legit, but just make sure you're not being taken advantage of. We know how these men are, that's why we choose the bear. Plus, the richest people in the world are always the nastiest, dirtiest, freakiest, grossest people out there. They’re just able to pay people to say otherwise. Don't let anything bad happen to you just because you're trying to get your money right.”

“I hear you,” I say, leaning my head on her shoulder. “I appreciate you looking out for me. I know this is wild, but you know I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't feel safe. Somehow, he has earned a little bit of my trust, but I'm taking every step cautiously. He's sending a driver to pick me up, and when I go, I will have a knife and pepper spray in my purse. If anything starts looking funny, somebody is getting sprayed or poked.”

Nae nods slowly, and I can tell she's nervous for me. Hell, I'm nervous for myself. But it’s like I said; I wouldn't be doing this if Amari didn't make me feel safe. He has never been pushy with me. He has been patient and kind this entire time. Even when he had a chance to try to have sex with me in the Viper Room, he never even insinuated that he wanted to. All he did was move at my pace, and even though he said he’d pay me to drink my blood, it was really my idea. I listened to his story, took one look in those brown eyes of his, and decided that I was down to let him act out his kink with me. Maybe it would be different if he had come in there insisting that I let him drink my blood from day one. If he had been aggressive in any way, or creepy in the slightest, I wouldn't be doing this. But he's none of those things, and I've been in need of something exciting. My life has been terrible lately, so maybe I'm jumping at the opportunity to have an adventure and do something I've never done before.

“Look, if anything gets out of pocket or looks even slightly off, you get out of there,” Nae says. “Don't have me hearing about you on the news, Aaliyah. I’ll kill you if you let some man kill you.”

I smile, my head still on her shoulder. “That doesn't make any sense, but I feel you. It would suck to have to die twice.”

She nods. “That’s right, it would. So don't make me have to do it. I wanna know when you leave the apartment, when you get to his place, when you leave again, and when you walk back through your door. Then I'm coming over so we can talk about everything that happened and do a sketch of his face, just in case anything goes left later on. I also wanna know the make and model of the car you get picked up in. If you find a way to get access to his social security number or his mother’s maiden name, let me get that, too.”

“Janae!” I say, laughing my ass off.

“Don't laugh at me for being safe,” she says, barely giggling at how insane she's being. “I'm getting ready to be a lawyer, girl. I know how this works, so just listen to me—mother’s maiden name, or maybe a little bit of DNA. Like, a fingernail or something.”

“Bitch, I am not gonna snatch off the man’s fingernails,” I reply, my eyes filling with tears as I laugh.

“Then pull off a hair or get a swab of his spit. Whatever is easiest.”

“I can't with you. You are too much.”

“Whatever. I'm just trying to look out for you.”

“Well, I appreciate it, but I think I'm gonna be alright. I know it’s crazy with the blood play, but I think Amari is a good guy. I'm not saying I know him so well, but if it wasn't for the blood kink, you’d be a lot less worried about me going to have dinner with a new guy. You'd be encouraging me to do it, and telling me to let him hit if he acts right. You know it.”

Nae lets out a sigh and nods. “Yeah. I guess you're right.”

“I know, because I would be encouraging you, too. So, try not to get caught up on the kinky part. It’s gonna be okay, and you already know I'm gonna fill you in on all the details.”

“You better.”

The nurse comes from around the corner and stands in front of us. “All set, Miss Carter. We’ll have your results in a couple of days.”

“Sounds good. Thank you,” I reply as Nae and I stand, then we’re headed for the door. Just as we cross the threshold, my phone chimes. I bring it up and pinch my lips together as we walk into the sun.

“What’s the matter?” Nae asks. “Did he cancel?” She almost sounds hopeful.

I shake my head. “No. He just asked if I got the blood work done yet.”