Chapter Two: Bacchus

Helaine

Honestly, if I didn’t already have a weird feeling about Evan, I would have thought that this apartment was the coolest place ever.

I mean, his coffee table was a fucking coffin for fuck’s sake.

He was looking at me again, and I shifted uncomfortably on the couch, wishing he’d either sit down so we didn’t feel so . . . unmatched, or that he’d just take his clothes off so we could get started already.

But, he seemed starved for a little conversation.

In all the years we’d hung around the same circles, he’d never really talked about himself. I realized for the first time that I didn’t really know a damn thing about him.

Maybe he was just . . . lonely and awkward.

The thought made me feel a little bad for the way I’d blatantly avoided him over the years.

“You’re staring at me,” he observed—and that’s what he was doing, observing me with the corners of his mouth upturned slightly with amusement.

“Oh, sorry.” I quickly looked away, and he laughed at me.

“No, no you’re allowed to look.” He grinned, grinning wider when I shot him a look. “I’m just curious as to what you’re thinking right now.”

“Just thinking about how weird it is that we’ve known each other for so long, but we don’t really know each other,” I admitted, trapped in his eyes.

He had a way of doing that—it was one of the first things I noticed about Evan when we met—he was difficult to look away from once you started.

He laughed at that. “I had the feeling you were avoiding me.”

My cheeks flushed, and his eyes narrowed, but his grin never fell. “What gave you that idea?”

“Just a hunch.” His voice was cool, mostly unaffected with a hint of amusement—he had the kind of casual smugness that would be unbearable if he weren’t otherwise attractive. “Or maybe I’m just an insecure weirdo who doesn’t know how to talk to women.”

“Well, are you?” I asked, feeling a little brave with my brow raised.

“Insecure?” He laughed, resting his hands on his hips. “No, not even close.”

I grinned. “Just a weirdo then?”

“Oh honey, you have no idea.”

“I think I’m starting to get the idea.”

I wasn’t embarrassed to look around the room anymore, taking in his strange and macabre art pieces, both finished and not. There were paints left out, a plethora of melted candles, and scraps of leather in all different kinds of colors.

He was certainly not a neatfreak.

“So . . . I’m assuming you live alone?” I asked, my eyes snapping back to him.

“Not technically.” He grinned, excitement palpable. “Would you like to meet my roommate?”

My eyes widened, and my heart raced.

Roommate?

I couldn’t help fidgeting uncomfortably, and he walked off before I could even answer.

I didn’t know how I felt about that, given our arrangement. I didn’t really want anyone knowing that I was whoring myself out to him, and I really wasn’t sure how I felt about the idea of a total stranger being introduced to the situation.

Before I could worry too much about it though, Evan returned with a large snake draped over his shoulders, a wide and genuine smile on his face—it was different from his grin earlier. There was nothing mischievous or predatory about this, it was pure happiness.

“This is Bacchus, he’s a ball python,” he introduced. “Named for the Roman god of wine and revelry—basically like, Dionysis, but I thought Bacchus sounded more . . . ”

“Edgy?” I teased with a grin.

A grin he returned. “Yeah, you’ve got me there.”

“He’s gorgeous.” I was in genuine awe.

Honestly. I’d always loved snakes, but I’d never had one as a pet personally. I’d never had a landlord who was cool with it, but I figured Evan probably owned this place, given all the murals painted directly onto the walls—either that or his landlord was very cool.

He beamed proudly as the snake explored his arms. “Would you like to hold him?” He asked, not waiting for a response as he came closer.

“Uh, yeah.” I sat up on the edge of the cushion, holding my arms out excitedly. “That’s not even a question.”

Honestly, the fact that he had a pet did a lot to put me at ease—it meant that he was clearly capable of taking care of something, and he placed some value in life.

Not that serial killers never had pets, but to be honest, I was so excited about getting the chance to hold a big snake that I didn’t really give a shit about much else at the moment.

My heart raced as Evan crouched in front of me to let Bacchus get close. I had never really been that close to him before today, not intentionally anyway, but I couldn’t keep from grinning like a kid on Christmas day when the snake slithered onto my forearm.

“Oh my god,” I hissed softly, excited, but not wanting to startle my new friend. “Look at his little snoot.”

“I think he likes you.” Evan smiled as Bacchus wound himself up between our arms, wrapping us together, and I blushed, a little surprised by how cold his arms were.

No wonder the cold blooded creature moved to me so quickly.

My heart raced at our proximity. “Maybe he just has good taste.”

Evan stuck his tongue between his teeth as he laughed. “We tend to have that in common.”

I blushed, and he stood again when Bacchus released him to slither over my shoulders, nestling himself comfortably around my neck.

He was like one big scaly security blanket.

“I’m glad you get along.” He walked slowly around the room as he spoke, lighting candles as he went—candles that were melted onto surfaces, and candles that sat in odd fixtures hanging from the ceiling. It was a mess I could never get away with in my apartment, but I couldn’t deny it offered a certain . . . ambiance. It suited him. “He’s pretty much my closest friend, so his opinion matters quite a bit.”

I couldn’t tell whether he was teasing me or not—I’d only ever seen him when we were hanging out with mutual friends, but I supposed he wasn’t exactly an open book with the group.

“It seems like you might be a little lonely.”

“Maybe.” He had a small grin on his face, but as he lit the candle in front of his face the sudden illumination made his features look intense. “But I like it this way.”

“I’m just not sure why you have to pay for sex.” Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut and minded my own business—after all, I needed the money, but my curiosity had a way of getting the better of me. “I mean, you’re an attractive guy, I’m sure there’s plenty of weird artist types who’d be lining up to sleep with you.”

He laughed at that, sincerely, with a broad smile on his face. “You’re a weird artist type,” he reminded me, as if I’d forgotten.

“Yeah, but you’re paying me.” I shifted my position on the couch when Bacchus wound around me again. “Don’t get me wrong—I’m very grateful, like, you know I really need the money, but is this a regular thing for you?”

The idea that he had only decided to pay me for sex because of my rent situation crossed my mind, and to be honest that was worse.

“To be honest, Helaine, it’s not just about sex.” His eyes captivated me, and I felt uncomfortably small under his intense gaze. “It’s about the type of sex.”

I couldn’t stop myself from biting my lip. “And what kind of sex is that?” Evan had never exactly seemed like the vanilla type, but I couldn’t imagine what was so nasty that he thought he had to pay for it.

It made me nervous.

And excited.

He cracked a grin, leaning in close to me as he unwound Bacchus from my shoulders. “Here, let me put him away first.” 

I couldn’t take my eyes off of him when he left to put his snake back in the enclosure.

I had no idea what he was going to do to me, but I realized as the night went on that I was becoming more excited than nervous. The little voice in the back of my head was still ringing alarm bells, but the more curious I got, the easier it was to squash her down and ignore her.

At this point, even if I didn’t desperately need the money, I needed to know what his deal was.

“Now then . . . would you like the tour?” He had that grin on his face again, with that mischievous twinkle in his eyes as he offered me his hand.

I accepted, touching him intentionally for the first time, and he helped me off of the too-plush couch. “By all means.”