The Silver Grand hotel was fourteen stories tall, and sat at the corner of the French district of New Orleans. Its brickwork was clean and spartan of any cracks or embellishment. It seemed almost strange comparing the construction to it neighbors who were weathered by time. There was evidence of water damage on its neighbors as well, a mild discoloration hinted at how high the floodwaters reached during the last major hurricane. But for the Silver Grand, its walls were spotless. It stuck out like a clean thumb in a historic part of an old city.
Rose knew old was entirely subjective, yet it was undeniable that a bygone spirit inhabited the very atmosphere around her. It was almost, dare she say it, primordial. Humid air entered her lungs as she approached the front entrance of the hotel, it tasted moist and earthy, and reminded her of graveyards.
A giant willow tree stood hauntingly in the front lawn like a prophet of doom. It captured Rose’s attention as the duo walked around the building from the rear parking lot. She couldn’t help but stare at the tree branches as they swayed with the wind. They reached out, dragging long chains of foliage to create a sea green veil to drape over the thin layer of grass. She couldn’t help but think about how horror movies were made with trees like this in the background.
At least it’s sunny, and the fog was gone, Rose thought to herself. It was bad enough driving by the haunting trees shrouded in mist on the way here, she wasn’t sure it would be fun to approach one while shrouded in that same fog.
“Oooooh.” Reby snuck up behind her, her voice was full of cunning and mischief, “scary.”
Rose jumped in fright at her vampire sneaking up behind her. She could never get used to how sneaky her girlfriend could be when she wanted to surprise her.
“Don’t do that!” Rose turned around to see Rebecca leaping back just out of reach. She was supposed to be dragging one of their large suitcases, evidently she had left it behind on the sidewalk. Now that her childish prank had been achieved, Rebecca quickly hopped back to the case as if nothing happened.
Rebecca was really good at feigning her expressions, her smile seethed pure adoration and always brought Rose to capitulation. Yet there was always a hidden layer of misbehavior or deception just underneath the surface. Rose had come to accept this as a part of the vampire’s nature, Rebecca simply loved toying with her emotions. She couldn’t blame her, the teasing was kind of fun.
With a sigh, Rose resumed her pace towards the front doors of the massive hotel. This early there was no host to greet them, but there was a vehicle unloading a group of passengers. Three tourists were busy unloading a vast collection of luggage onto a wheeled crate. Two were men that seemed well built upon first glance, and the third was woman. The men were dressed casually, but the way they walked, and addressed their female compatriot gave Rose the impression that they were not tourists. They seemed more like bodyguards?
The woman was hard to ignore. She stood fairly tall, with lean limbs, and smooth delicate skin. She had luscious ginger hair that was tied in a ponytail, and had been decorated with red streaks. Her eyes made Rose freeze, it seemed to have the same effect on Rebecca. They caught the morning sunlight to reveal a shockingly stark purple iris. They were almost alarming enough to distract Rose from the woman’s succulent curves, and incredibly voluptuous breasts. She wore a red leather coat over a sensual top that left little to the imagination.
The woman looked at Rose and Rebecca with a barely noticeable glance, and then brushed her hair back before grabbing one of the bags to throw over her shoulder. She strutted inside with a hurried pace, the men behind her quickly followed.
“Hummina hummina,” Rebecca exclaimed. The vehicle quickly departed, leaving its occupants behind. Rose noticed the dark van wasn’t heading towards the rear parking lot, but was instead leaving the hotels vicinity.
“Hummina is an understatement.” Rose swallowed before continuing, “that…was…weird,” she sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. She would be lying if she said she wasn’t slightly mystified at the strikingly beautiful, and overtly sexual, woman. “Do you think they’re here for the convention?” She asked Rebecca.
Rebecca advanced in front of her, “Who knows. Let’s hurry, it’s hot as balls out here.”
She wasn’t wrong, there were no words to describe how unbearably humid it had become. Already, just for walking outside for less than two minutes, Rose could feel the sweat sticking to her clothes. She also had a hard time not noticing Reby’s protruding nipples poking against the fabric of her top.
Damnit, get your head out of the clouds. Rose shuddered, bit her lip, and followed Rebecca inside.
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The pair strolled through the front entrance quickly as to escape the rabid heat, and gasped with relief at the balm of cool air welcoming them. The shift in air pressure was enough to make her ears pop as Rose ventured past the front doors and into the visitors welcome center. The previous group they had witnessed walking inside already seemed past this point, Rose caught a whiff of red hair walking around the far corner and out of sight.
The front desk was to her left, it was made of pure marble and decorated with pamphlets and plastic screens separating visitors from the clerks. This early in the morning, there was only one man running the desk. Rose got the impression he was extremely tired. Luckily he was cheerful enough to welcome their stay, and confirm their registration. He then gave them their room keys and hotel restaurant schedules. The clerk even provided them with maps and details of things to do in New Orleans, should they decide to venture into the French Quarter.
After checking in, they took the elevator to the eleventh floor. It seemed to grind its way up the shaft in protest. The sound it made as it slowly trudged upward made Rose’s skin crawl.
“Well this is disconcerting,” Rose mused. Such a new elevator shouldn’t sound so coarse.
“Don’t worry darling, I’ll protect you.” Rebecca teased and then proceeded to jump up and down, as if daring the elevator to break down.
Luckily the elevator made it’s way to the eleventh floor without halting, much to Rose’s surprise. Once they arrived to their destined floor, they disembarked eagerly and proceeded down the hall. Rose was happy to see the stark absence of red hues or tapestry that had welcomed them in the visitors center. The carpeting was blue, the wallpaper a light cream, while all the wall mounted framed portraits were subtle and lacked any reddish coloration.
Like most of the newest hotels in America, the Silver Grand had tailored a select number of floors to be friendly to vampires. Rebecca seemed happy, she wouldn’t have to wear her spectrum cancelling contacts or glasses while spending time here. Of course not everyone on this floor would be a vampire, but it was the most likely place they would register.
Halfway down the hallway, Rose noticed Rebecca making a cute yawn. Rebecca then took out her contact case and, with a practiced touch of her fingers, removed the contacts she wore. Unlike traditional contacts, these were thicker and did nothing to assist eyesight. They merely cancelled out the color red on the spectrum, so that she could better control herself in public.
Rose had forgotten that Reby was wearing them, and saw that the Vampire’s eyes were a bit strained after sleeping in them for too long during the car ride.
They continued quietly down the hallway as a pair of janitors were busy cleaning a few of the rooms. Their own sanctuary was room 1419, and already had the sticker on the door to show it was cleaned and ready for new occupants.
“Carry me,” Rebecca leaned against Rose and then jumped so that Rose could catch her.
Rose nearly tripped as she dropped her luggage so that she could grab hold of her girlfriend before it was too late. Her voice strained as she held her close, “need…better…warning…next time.”
Rebecca just laughed and offered a wide grin. She then nestled her cheek against Rose’s bussom and closed her eyes. “Sleepy…” The vampire moaned in her arms.
Carrying her girlfriend was almost unbearable. Rose did her best to play along while unlocking the door to their room. The door was heavy and thick, its surface looked as if it were made wood but was obviously a cold metal painted over to appear less intimidating.
Inside, the room was spacious and accommodating. A large queen bed was layered with plush comforters and fluffy soft pillows. Even the hotel room was devoid of anything remotely close to the shade of red. A painting of an ocean hanged over the queen mattress, while nightstands with lamps sat on either side. Across from it sat a countertop with a flat screen tv, a clothes’ drawer, and a wide desk. There was space enough for a small couch and a reading nook next to the window overlooking the French Quarter.
Rose carried her girlfriend inside, Rebecca was kicking her feet up and down playfully. Rose could’ve carried her past the bed and toward the sunlight, but she had no energy to play along. As soon as she was near the bed, Rose threw her girlfriend onto the sheets. The vampire landed onto the plush comforter, and sank into the sheets gently.
“Jesus these are so sooooooft,” Rebecca exaggerate the beds comfort. She then curled up and rolled around so that the bedsheets would wrap her in a cocoon.
“We still have other bags to bring in,” Rose sat at the foot of the bed. Truth was, she wasn’t eager to take the elevator back down and walk outside. She weighed her options, and supposed some of their luggage could wait until later. They brought enough for the convention tonight, and their toiletries.
Rebecca looked ridiculous wrapped in the white sheets, “They can…wait.” Her voice drifted as she slowly fell back to sleep. Within minutes Rebecca was snoring again.
Rose watched her girlfriend resting peacefully for a few minutes before standing back up and sitting her purse on the desk. The air conditioner was set to a cool 67 degrees, and she adjusted it to 65 without a second thought. Feeling a wash of fresh air blowing in the room, Rose then collapsed on the couch and leaned back. She wanted to take this moment to read, or perhaps watch tv, but already her stomach was grumbling and her fingers were shaking.
“Where you going?” Rebecca rotated under the sheets, her eyes were barely open.
“Don’t worry, just going to get some breakfast. I’ll grab a plate of eggs and bacon for you.” Rose finished her statement with a wink.
“Waffles,” Rebecca murmured.
Waffles? Rose couldn’t remember the last time her girlfriend was in the mood for waffles. “Sure…I’ll see if they have any.”
“Thank…you…” Rebecca shut her eyes and then pulled off her top to throw it across the room.