Transylvania

T H R E E

"Are you sure that's the profile picture you want to use?" Marco said as he peeked over Alexander's shoulder from where he sat next to him on the couch. "You look pale."

Alexander looked up from the laptop, his lips flattened out into a straight line. "I'm a vampire. Of course I'm pale," he deadpanned. Then he turned back to the screen, his profile picture looking back at him from the upper corner. There was nothing wrong with the photograph. It was a few years old now, but it's not like his appearance had changed. He'd taken it with his first digital camera, pointing the lens at the bathroom mirror. It didn't look like he was in a bathroom, though. He had edited the telltale reflection of the flash on the mirror out, and the background was plain slate-colored paint. What Alexander liked about the photo was how masculine he looked with his jaw set firm and his dark hair parted and slicked back. It gave him an air of seriousness. Yet, the edges of his lips were curled just enough to make him appear approachable. Mirthful, even. And handsome.

"At least use a filter." Marco leaned back, propped his feet up on the coffee table, and pulled out his phone, opening up the Supr app.

Alexander rolled his eyes and let out one exasperated chuckle. Didn't Marco remember what it used to be like? He might have only been a fledgling before the Internet age and the death of secrets, but he had to remember the hiding. The fear of discovery. The act of concealment. Alexander had spent centuries wearing layers of foundation upon his skin, refusing to open his mouth wide enough to expose his fangs, and putting on dark glasses to camouflage how his predatory eyes glowed like a cat's. There was no need to do that now.

"Why should I hide what I am? I'm no longer ashamed. If anything," Alexander's voice trailed off as he scrolled through profiles that fit his search criteria, "it appears I'm a bit of a hot commodity."

Marco barely glanced up as he scrolled through his own list of dinner options. "I told you that Supr was the easiest way to get a date."

"Well, I haven't gone on a date yet," Alexander admitted, continuing to scroll with amazement at all the beautiful women who had indicated that they were seeking a vampire.

"I'm telling you. Everyone judges books by their covers. It's all about the profile picture, Alex. Here, look at mine." Marco clicked and swiped with his thumb and then held up his screen, revealing a shirtless picture of himself. It was a selfie that he had taken with the camera lens pointed at his muscled chest. The only part of his face that was clear was his mouth, which was seductively posed, his fangs lightly biting at his lower lip. Whatever lighting or filters he used made his skin seem to glow as golden as the corn stalks his home state was known for. No one would describe his complexion as pale.

As Marco was holding up his phone, a notification popped up. At the sound of the ding, he brought his phone back in front of his face and smiled. "Daddy's going to have another gourmet meal tonight." He waggled his eyebrows and flashed the screen back in Alexander's direction, showing him a picture of a chiseled young man sporting two distinctive scars on his neck.

After giving an approving nod, Alexander turned his attention back to the screen in front of him. There were pages and pages of women, but what would make him click on one profile over another? The picture. So, as much as he didn't want to admit it, maybe Marco was right.

He liked the picture in his profile. Especially his expression. And he didn't mind how pale he looked. But he wished his side-burns were longer. He would never be able to grow facial hair, but that didn't stop him from wanting it. Alexander minimized the browsing window and opened up his digital photo album. It only took a few clicks, and he was able to darken the shadows along his jaw to make it appear almost like stubble. Pleased, he uploaded the edited picture.

He then turned back to his own list of options. As he scrolled, a picture caught his attention. The woman's long dark hair was down, parted just off center, the left side casually tucked behind an ear. She wore an easy smile, showing off slightly crooked teeth and a few crinkles at the edges of her eyes. If he squinted, she almost looked just like Allison when he had first met her.

Allison, the last woman who he had loved.

He blinked and shook his head, then continued to scroll, not wanting his memory to wander.

On the next page, he clicked on a picture of a young white woman with short spiky blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. Her profile said that her name was Kate, and that she was looking for a good time.

"She looks perfect," Marco said, giving Alexander a nudge.

"Yeah, she's cute," he responded half-heartedly.

"You can have the apartment tonight. I'm going to dine out." Marco stood, slipping his phone into his pocket, and walked out of the room without waiting for a response.

A moment later Alexander heard the bathroom door close and the water turn on. Alone in the room, he clicked the back button on his browser and scrolled to the picture of the woman who looked like Allison.

When he closed his eyes, he could almost smell her. A mix of sandalwood and lavender. They had met at a drum circle in Golden Gate Park and had fallen in love under the full moon. That first night they had walked down past the buffalo pen and the Dutch windmill and watched the stars while laying on the cold sand, huddled together against the wind and listening to the Pacific crash against Ocean Beach.

Alexander shook his head again and took a deep breath. This woman staring back at him wasn't Allison. He clicked on the profile anyway, but soon regretted it.

Her name was Linda, she was seeking vampire companionship, and was looking for a committed relationship. A long-term relationship, the profile said. Heat rose in his chest and he slammed the laptop closed.

What did humans know of long-term? He had been alive for over two-hundred and fifty years and had loved many women during that time. Fiona, whose father was a distiller. Sarah, who lived on a farm and would meet him nightly in her barn's loft. Georgie, fast talking and a diamond on the dance floor. And, of course, Allison.

Love wasn't just some fairytale.

There were negotiations. How to spend the evenings. Where to live. The compromise of identity and lust. Allison was a proud lesbian and insisted that Alexander was just a butch woman, but they had still passed the years together with ease.

But what was long-term to a human?

Their romance had started during the summer of love and lasted through Disco Fever and Power Suits. Once she had allowed him into her apartment, he had stayed for years, spending the day curled under her bed, her cat kneading at his back. He would have stayed forever. Even when strangers began asking if he was her son, with her hair grayed and her skin loosened in a way that his hair and skin never would. Then one night, the August heat still rising from the sidewalk below their open window, she announced she wanted someone that she could experience time with, not just spend time with. But Alexander was beyond time's touch.

So, was that long term? Maybe to a human, but not to him.

Allison hadn't wanted to be a vampire. To live forever and unchanged. To be a child of the night. She loved the sun too much. Loved watching her body change too much. Loved life too much. She relished the idea of giving her life-force to Alexander. Allowing him to feed off of her as their limbs intertwined and sweat soaked into the bedsheets. Moans of pleasure and pain intermixing with the cadence of song.

The only real long-term relationship Alexander would ever have was his relationship with Marco. The first and last vampire he had ever created.

The water shut off and Marco came strutting out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist. "Have a date yet?" he called down the hall, standing outside his bedroom's door.

"Not yet."

"Well, what are you waiting for?" He laughed and walked into his room.

With a steadying breath, Alexander reopened his laptop and looked back at the screen. He clicked out of Linda's profile. He wasn't looking for that level of commitment. With anybody. Especially now that the government had made laws against turning humans into vampires. Alexander was simply looking for a good time.

He went back to Kate's profile and sent her a message. Maybe they could have a good time together tonight.