Holding on to the red Solo cup of punch, I retreated unsteadily on my high heels back to the comfy chair in the corner I had staked out when I first got here. Voices and music swirled around me in an indistinct blur. I put the cup on a nearby table and sank down into the chair, reflexively tugging at my short dress. 

It was Halloween and my first time dressing femme in public and I felt like crying. I was elated when I came out as genderfluid and my friends proved very supportive and welcoming. I had dressed femme a lot in private and it had always made me feel more comfortable, more like myself – at least when my gender was feminine. But here, at Rob’s apartment, I felt exposed and naked. So I did what I usually do when I felt vulnerable: give monosyllabic answers to questions, look at my phone and retreat into a corner until I could politely leave. 

“Excuse me,” said a voice.

I looked up to see a girl I didn’t know. She was dressed in a low cut, blood red dress, a cape with a high collar and her visible skin had been coated in pale makeup. Fake blood was smeared around her red lips and down her chin. Her brown hair was tightly pulled back into a bun. She was beautiful. 

“Uh . . . hi,” I said. “Great vampire costume.”

“Thanks,” she said. “I like your costume, too. It’s cute.”

I felt the heat of my embarrassment rise on my face. “Oh, it’s not a costume. I came out as genderfluid recently. It’s sort of my first time out as femme.”

She smiled and I blushed even more. She had a way of looking at me, like she could see through me. And her eyes were fascinating. Her eye makeup really drew in my gaze. 

“That’s so great for you!” she said. “Let me rephrase that: you’re cute.”

The blushing continued. “Thanks.”

“Your blushing is cute, too,” she said. “But your makeup needs fixing.”

“It does? What happened?” I said. “I spent days practicing.”

“Your false eyelashes are coming off,” she said. “It happens to every girl. Come on, I’ll help you.”

She took my hand in hers and pulled me to my feet. Her touch was like nothing I had ever experienced before. In high school I had once read a former addict describe the feeling of shooting up with heroin being like warmth and comfort running up through their veins. That was the only thing I could compare her touch with. 

“I’m Dav – Sam,” I said. “Sam.”

“Valerie,” she said. “I work with Fiona. She invited me and I’m sure she won’t mind us using her vanity.”

Fiona was Rob’s girlfriend. She was a phlebotomist at a bloodbank and she had a decidedly morbid sense of humor. A coworker who dressed as a vampire for Halloween would be just her type. 

She led me into Fiona’s room and switched on the light. A bookshelf overflowing with her medical texts and a stack of Chuck Tingle novels stood against one wall, while another had posters for “Morbius” and the “Cats” movie. 

Valerie sat me down at the vanity and then brought over another chair to sit behind me. In the mirror I could clearly see now that my lashes were in fact starting to fall off. 

“Look at my eyes, Sam,” she said.

I looked. They were beautiful, brown and her smokey, sparkly eyeshadow was mesmerizing. Her lashes were fitted carefully. 

“See how the lashes are fixed on?” she continued. “The trick is to use enough glue that they stay on, but not so much that the glue gloops and clumps. It looks like you put the falsies on and then did your mascara, so you pulled them out of place. Keep looking into my eyes.”

I nodded. 

“Just keep your head still and relaxed and look into my eyes,” she said. “You need to learn to suppress the gag reflex when you go in to do your eyeliner, too. It’s easy, just relax. Breathe deeply and follow my instructions.”

“Okay,” I said. 

I stared. I breathed. I relaxed. She talked about makeup and brushed my long hair back. And when her eyes began to glow red, I was powerless to do anything about it. 

“There’s a good girl,” she cooed and arousal flooded my body. “Helplessly hypnotized now. Not only can you not resist, you don’t want to. All you want to do is obey me. You see, just like you’re not wearing a costume, neither am I.”

She flicked out her tongue and licked my neck, then gave a playful nip to my ears. I moaned. I couldn’t help it. 

“Oh, you like that, do you?” she said. “Even your moaning is cute. But you had better quiet down. We wouldn’t want to be interrupted.”

I stopped making sounds, but my mouth remained open. She unzipped the back of my dress, which covered my shoulders. 

“It’s a good thing you’re not wearing spaghetti straps,” she said. “You’re so cute, I don’t know if I could have exercised any self-control at all. Now, take your left arm out of the sleeve.”

I obeyed. I couldn’t do anything else. She gave me a kiss on the cheek and then I saw in the mirror as she leaned back. Two fangs extended down from her teeth and she plunged her mouth on my shoulder. I felt the fangs puncture my skin and pleasure exploded in my body. My eyes rolled back in my head, it was so intense and if I had been capable of thinking, I would have worried about cumming in my tights.

I don’t know how long it went on for. The next thing I knew she was zipping my dress back up. 

“Such a good girl for me,” she said again. “Now Sam, listen very carefully: you will not be able to remember my biting you or that I am a vampire. You will not be able to tell anyone about me. You must obey me, Sam, because you’re such a good girl for me. And one more thing: before you leave this party, you will ask me out on a date. Your blood, your mind and your body belong to me now.”

She led me back to my corner. “Catch you later, Sam. Hope you practice what I told you about makeup.”

I sat back down and watched her leave. Sipping my drink, I decided to join the party. Maybe it was getting my makeup fixed, maybe it was Valerie’s flirting, but I felt much better about everything. I stood up and went to find my friends.