FOUR

  Arthur took out the ice-cream and checked that it had frozen. He looked for a spoon and found one. He went up to Jan’s room. Jan smiled at him when he entered. If she was still upset, she didn’t show it.

  “I got your ice-cream.”

  “Arthur, you didn’t have to!”

  Arthur gave her the ice-cream box and the spoon.

  Jan smiled at him. It was the loveliest smile he had ever seen on her face. She opened the box and dug the spoon into it. Arthur watched her eat.

  “It has lots of chocolate chips. Perfect for me. Thank you.” Jan smiled at him.

  “You look good when you smile,” Arthur told her. Jan blushed.

  “Your turn,” she gave the ice cream to him. Arthur declined.

  “Come on, researchers say chocolate is good for your health and ice-cream is good for beating heat,” she joked. She took a scoop and gave it to Arthur. “Plus I don’t want to give you a chance of complaining to Zilo that I ate all the ice-cream.”

  Arthur smiled. She looked happy. It was so easy to make her happy, why didn’t Ron do so? He took the spoon from her; yes it was good ice-cream. He felt proud he got really good ice-cream for Jan. They both finished it within fifteen minutes.

  “This is how satisfaction tastes like!” Jan mused. “And this is how you also get fat.”

  “Are you worried about getting fat? That is why you wear your clothes looser, so that you don’t have to buy new ones.” Arthur teased her.

  “I don’t wear loose clothes, it’s just modest.” Jan defended. “Actually you noticed it right, I do.”

  Arthur raised his eyebrows, “Don’t tell me Ron told you too. “

  She nodded sheepishly.

  “Why is that?”

  “He says by wearing it looser he wants me to look ‘modest”. He wants that people think his girlfriend is ‘a nice girl’ or whatever that means.”

  “Are you okay with that?”

  “No! I tried to tell him that would look unattractive. He said these things don’t matter in the bedroom, you know what that means right? I can’t believe I am telling you all this. “

  “Your boyfriend is some insecure guy.”

  “No, Ron is not. Why do you say that?”

  “Well, look at him. He wants you all for himself. But he is not confident of himself. He wants you to wear unattractive clothes so other guys don’t give you the attention. He cannot connect to you emotionally so he makes it up for sex. He is such a jerk that he would keep his girlfriend as a pawn. And he has no qualms in using her to manipulate other men. “

  Jan looked at Arthur. It was the bitter truth, there was no use denying him. Arthur did read people well.

  “You are right. But it is also true that I love him. I try to overlook his imperfections.” She paused.

  “He is my first love. It’s special. I cannot love any other man like him. I feel like I belong to him heart and soul.”

  “That’s so stupid.”

  “You wouldn’t understand. Who was your first love?”

  Arthur paused. He had to remember.

  “I have slept with many women but did not get emotionally involved with any.”

  “How can you do that? That’s heartless.”

  “No, it isn’t exactly as bad as you think it is.”

  “I don’t understand how could you have sex with someone you hardly know?”

  “It is easy. Just look for the sex and ask no questions.”

  “Arthur, this is sick.”

  “I don’t think so. It has always suited me.”

  “How the hell can it suit someone?” Jane was persistent.

  “It suits because I can’t afford a relationship with the work I do.”

  “What work?”

  Arthur had let it slip. But now he wished he didn’t.

  “What work, Arthur?”

  “Oh this. Guarding someone twenty four-seven. I should go down now.” Arthur turned to go. It was evening. He had to check his laptop for updates.

  Jan held his wrist. “Wait.”

  “You didn’t answer my question.”

  Arthur looked back.

  “I told you Jan.”

  “You never speak of yourself. I have told you everything about me,” Jan was still holding his hand.

  “Okay what do you want to know?” Arthur returned to the chair.

  Jan looked at him at said innocently, “Everything.”

  Arthur weighed the situation. If he told her about himself she wouldn’t believe it. But looking at Jan, she looking at him with her wide beautiful eyes, he didn’t want to lie to her.

  Jan waited for Arthur to speak. She was excited, as if she was waiting for a great adventure to begin. His eyes were a shade of green, and she liked the way he looked at her. His eyes were always alert but she felt that there was an ocean of compassion behind those eyes.

  Her eyes went to his neck and she admired the shape of the muscles. She noticed herself admiring his collar bones and chest that showed through the t-shirt and felt her desiring to see more of it. Cutting off the thoughts, she brought her attention back. But a feeling was rising from just below her navel. It was a desire, for that masculine touch. It threatened to rise above and make her lose her control. She got up and looked outside the window.

  Arthur saw darkness was settling outside. First things first, he needed to secure the place. He cannot afford to take chances with a Bloodsucker. He will tell his story tomorrow.

  “I have some work to do Jan. But I promise I will tell you tomorrow.”

  Jan nodded, she felt relieved that he was leaving. The feeling was getting stronger and she was starting to feel pleasure spread in her body. She shouldn’t be feeling this way, she thought, not in his presence.

  Arthur went down and locked the windows. Using the things he had bought in the supermarket, he had made a bluish liquid. He sprayed it around the perimeter. It would dry clear but if a Bloodsucker crossed it, it would make a gray patch. It could do much more badly to a Bloodsucker if it was directly sprayed on it.

  Arthur checked the laptop. He calculated the Bloodsucker’s trail by permutations. If his calculations were correct, it wouldn’t be long before he met one. He just wished Jan would be out of here by then.

  The last time Arthur fought with a Bloodsucker was four years ago. He had saved Zilo then. They are too strong for a human. They can sense a man’s fear and it makes them stronger. So the more it hunts, the more it scares, the stronger it becomes. Arthur needed to hone his fighting skills. He got the knife out of the sheath. Taking off his t-shirt, he practiced the moves. He needed to build more strength in the arms. He would have to strike a Bloodsucker swiftly and hard so that the knife would cut hard and fast through his body. The lesser strikes you made, the better were your survival chances. An injured Bloodsucker was worse, the pain of injury made it very aggressive. Either it survived or you. The only other weapon which worked then other than the iron knife was your courage.

  After two hours of practice, he decided to end it with push-ups. As he got ready, the doorbell rang. It was the delivery boy bringing dinner. Arthur was sweating profusely. He went out bare chested and felt cooler outside. There was a light wind.

  Patrick had been delivering the food everyday thrice. He worked at one of many Zilo’s cafes in town. He didn’t remember that, but Patrick said he did remember him. He had served him once when he had dined with Zilo there. Arthur dined with people rarely, he was more used to staying alone. If he ever was with Zilo in the cafe, Zilo must have called to discuss a ‘job’.

  Patrick came and handed him the packets. Patrick loved to talk, a lot. He looked at Arthur and said, “You have a great body man. How long do you work out every day?”

  Arthur looked at Patrick’s belly which was starting to widen on all sides. “I will tell when you promise to start doing your workout.” He would jokingly call him Potbellied Patrick and Patrick would proudly reply that chicks love men of his type. He would go on to tell Arthur who was the hottest girl to come to the cafe and which of the waitresses he slept with last night.

  “Hey doesn’t sex come under exercise? I would never miss a day without exercise then.”

  “Everybody would do so if they had your motivation, Patrick.” Arthur laughed.

  “Don’t laugh at me. If I had your motivation, I would have exercised like you.”

  “What about my motivation?” Arthur asked.

  “Your girlfriend.”

  “My girlfriend!”

  “Don’t mind me saying this man, she is pretty. If she wasn’t your girlfriend, I would have died to get a date with her. I just met her once and I knew she was something.”

  Arthur remembered Jan meeting Patrick the day he went to town. She had told him that Patrick knew how to flirt.

  “You dared to flirt with my girlfriend?”

  Patrick looked embarrassed. He didn’t deny. “It’s in the flesh. But you know what; you two would look great together. Perfect. See you tomorrow.” He hurriedly gave thumbs up and left to avoid the conversation.

  “My girlfriend”, he had called Jan his girlfriend.

  Closing the door behind him, he grabbed his t-shirt. Slipping it on, he went and gave to food to Jan.

  “Do you have some cold water in the freezer? It’s getting hotter.”Jan asked.

  “I think so. You may come down and get it from the freezer whenever you need. I know by now you are not going to run away.” Arthur told her with a smile.

  She smiled back. “That is very kind of you, King Arthur.”

  Arthur left smiling to himself. He went down and got ready for the push ups. He took off his t-shirt again and started to work out. After a hundred, he was all wet with his own sweat. He took off his jeans and underwear and as was his habit, flung it on the sofa. He took his towel and wrapped it around his waist. He was still panting. The drops of sweat trickled from his head to his body. He opened the freezer and looked for the cold water. He took a bottle out, there were a few more. After Jan has used these, he would get more bottles in.

  Arthur heard footsteps. His senses got alarmed. He scanned the nearest thing he could use as a weapon. He saw a kitchen knife nearby. As he turned, he moved closer to it and picked it up.

  “Jan!”

  Of course it is Jan, Arthur thought. He had told her to come here and take the cold water.

  Jan was surprised. She hadn’t spotted Arthur before. The freezer door was open and as he had bent to see inside it, he couldn’t be spotted from where Jan came.

  “I came for the cold water”, Jan replied nonchalantly. But her heart was beating fast. Arthur was standing there wrapped in a towel, all sweating. She had not seen a more enchanting male body. His body had the V shape that she had seen in the magazines. But this was a hundred times more attractive. He wasn’t the fully shaved metro sexual type. There was body hair in the right places in the right way. Her eyes followed a sweat as it trickled from his chest and disappeared into his navel. His towel was tied a bit low.

  Arthur handed her a bottle of cold water. As she took the bottle, her hand touched his. She took the bottle and turned abruptly. She walked out of the hall and ran into her room.

  Arthur was left wondering if he has impressed or embarrassed her.

  Jan sat on her bed with the bottle on her lap. The drops of water that had started to form on the cold bottle were wetting her dress. She let it happen. She opened the bottle and drank from it. Some of it fell on her. Some of it found its way sliding through the neck and on to her chest. She felt the drops slip their way through her cleavage like a lover’s tongue. That warm feeling was building under her navel, stronger than before. She closed her eyes and all that could come to her mind was the drop of sweat entering Arthur’s navel. The feeling that was coming over her was too pleasurable. She hadn’t felt like this before.

  Her mind told her to stop thinking of Arthur. She got up and switched off the lights and jumped on her bed. She pulled the sheets over herself and started to undress under it. The door was open, her mind said, Arthur might come in. But thought of Arthur only made it stronger, and while removing the last piece of clothing from her body, a wave of ecstasy went through her. Her body bent with pleasure and her mind went blank. She was wet. She tried to think of Ron, how Ron would her mouth into his and move his hand on her body. But instead of Ron she saw Arthur. She lost all control and surrendered herself to the fantasies.

  Arthur took his shower and came out. He let the body drip the water and dry. He knew Jan wouldn’t come down again. Although he secretly wished she did.

  *****

  When Jan woke up next morning, she wondered for some time if last night was real. She felt relieved when she recalled that it was just fantasy. She felt guilty, it was not fair to Ron. She should not think of any other man than Ron. Now it was day, the light was coming in from the window and she was naked on her bed, under a sheet and the camera was running. What would Arthur think of her if he saw her like this?

  She covered herself with the sheet and carried off her clothes to the bathroom. She swore she wouldn’t let this happen again. Ron would kill her if he knew she was thinking of any other man. Thinking of Ron, she remembered he hadn’t called last night. She noted that his calls were getting fewer and she wasn’t missing it much. This wasn’t good for their relationship. She had to try to rekindle it.

  She gave him a call. It went on ringing and Jan was going to disconnect when Ron picked it up. He spoke in a sleepy voice. It was weekend and planned to sleep a few hours more. Jan asked why he didn’t call last night. Ron came home late and was too tired to call. He told her he wished she was by his side now. He promised to call her later.

  Jan heard a knock on the door and Arthur comes in with the breakfast. Jan took it and placed it on the table.

  “Did you have breakfast?” she asked him.

  “Not yet.”

  “Why don’t you bring it up here? We can eat together. Only if you want to.”

  “Okay,” Arthur said and came back with his food. Jan took a chair and he took the other one. They ate silently.

  “You were going to tell me about yourself,” Jan reminded Arthur.

  “What do you want to know?”

  “Everything,” she replied again.

  “Why should I tell you everything?”Arthur played with her.

  “Because you trust me.”

  “I don’t trust anyone Jan.”

  “Whatever. Just tell me. Start with what you do, apart from guarding me.”

  Arthur looked into her eyes and said, “I am a vigilante.”

  He waited for her response.

  Jan took a minute to sink it in. “That’s awesome. So exciting.”

  Jan was jumping with surprise. “I knew there was something different about you.”

  Arthur was amused, he didn’t expect such a reaction from her.

  “So what do you fight, bad guys at dark alleys? Like Batman?”

  “Not exactly. Although I would if I found the need to fight bad guys in dark alleys. “

  “So what exactly do you fight?”

  “You wouldn’t want to know.”

  “I am all ears.”

  Arthur leaned towards Jan and looking into her beautiful eyes, he said, “Things like Bloodsuckers.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, really. My father was in the army. But he had some ‘experiences’ and left the service. He found out that the real enemy is not only the one who we think they are. Not only people, but things beyond people. They influence people, influence events. The more war happens, humans will always lose and the ones in the shadows will always get stronger. I have been hunting and killing things since I was a teenager.”

  Jan was surprised for a second. But the way Arthur looked at her, she knew it was the truth.

  “Arthur, I have heard of some of the Nazis dealing with the occult. Is it something like that?”

  “Yes, very similar.”

  “I left college to help my Dad.” he continued. “We travelled across the country and came to meet other vigilantes like us. I learnt how to strike and to kill. I had to be stronger and fitter. But more than that, I had to keep my emotions in control. Survival depends a lot in being grounded and centred in oneself. If you are centred you are alert, you senses are tuned in. No matter how bad the situation is or powerful the enemy, keep the breath right, my Dad would teach me. He also advised me to meditate.

  A Bloodsucker is just one thing but there are other things more scary. Very few people know what we do, mostly the ones whose lives we have saved. When you told me about your encounter, I was surprised. Only few people live to tell the story of meeting a Bloodsucker. And Zilo had seen twice, I cannot believe his luck.”

  “Twice? When was the second time?”

  “With you it was the second time. “

  “You mean he had encountered one before?”

  “Yes, he did.” Arthur remembers his every fight well. “It was when I was still in college with him. Zilo liked tennis and played at the club but he didn’t find many tennis players to practice with him in college. He hates football but all his friends were playing that.

  My father had told me to keep playing different sports, it was good for the mind and body to be in shape. So I had joined him in the practice. Zilo and I would often spend the evening to night in the tennis court at college. There would be no one around except the two of us.

  One evening it had started to rain heavily. We ran to a shelter and waited for the rain to stop. It was getting darker by the moment and the rain was getting stronger. We would certainly get drenched if we tried to reach his car. The parking was across the grounds, you remember?”

  Jan nodded.

  “We sat down on the ground and waited for the rain to stop. It was getting a bit cold too. I don’t remember when I had dozed off. I remember waking up to a scream. Zilo was screaming.

 

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