Vampire Boyfriend: Gabriel (special preview)

Gabriel has my head in the kitchen sink, digging his fingers into my scalp to work up a rich lather. He smells like my shampoo and body wash, and he’s still wearing my shirt and panties. Amon is sitting across the room playing cards with Pidge, who keeps glancing at Gabriel any time he moves. Gabriel is rising my hair out and he was a surprisingly serious expression on.

“So,” I clear my throat. “Gabriel, where did you learn to do hair?”

Gabriel steps back and pulls my sopping wet head out of the sink. He squeezes it then takes a towel to it. “Well, you know Marie Antoinette?”

I stare at him in awe and wonder. I knew vampires could live for countless years, but to hear they had known one of the most famous women in history was astounding. “Yes!”

“Well, I read a book on the wigs of Versailles and I just got the itch to figure out how to do that for myself.”

I’m disappointed. “Oh, so you styled wigs?”

“Wigs, dogs, rich older women, rich older men. Whatever came my way.” He moves my chair so he can sit behind me and comb my hair. 

“Gabriel’s held more jobs than common sense,” Pidge sighs.

“I don’t like being held down to just one thing,” Gabriel sighs dreamily. “I feel, you can only be happy when you have change in your life. You can’t sit in the same spot forever and feel good about it. Sometimes you have to jump up and down, run around, chase fireflies. You have to move from the spot you are in in order to find the spots you belong.”

“Have you ever stood still?” Pidge asks.

“Nope!” Gabriel shakes his head. “Now, let’s see here.” He fluffs my hair out. “Are we a blonde? Or are we a red head?” He then smirks. “Your name is Lucy, after all. It would suit you to look like a plump little cherry.”

I’ve been a bit nervous about this. It was an impulsive decision, brought on by Gabriel’s charm and beauty. Most of my life, I had kept my hair dyed a solid sheet of pure black. I had gotten used to it and considered it my own style. Now, I was changing it? Just because some pretty eyes looked my way.

I clear my throat but my voice still cracks when I speak. “I figured you would put some sort of color over the black.”

“No! I’ll have to strip that out. How long have you had this shoe shine black anyways? When did you join the Ash People?” He titters excitedly.

“I’ve been dying it black since high school. I used to have really mousy hair. My mom called it dirty dish water and I hated it. So I just started putting black dye in it.”

“You do this? No wonder.” He stands and puts on an apron. “Well, we’re going to transform this little black bat into a goddess of the night.” He smirks. “You know, Elvira is actually a red head?”

I start laughing. “No way!”

“Is that who you’re trying to emulate?” He starts mixing things and there’s a putrid smell.

I shrug. “I always liked Vampira. But there was never any way I was going to have a waist like that.” 

Gabriel starts sectioning off my hair. “What about Rocky Horror?”

I shiver as he starts putting on the cold bleach solution. He then wraps each piece of it in foil. “My friends and I snuck into a midnight theatre on time to watch it back in high school. I never wanted it to end, it was so much fun.”

“I can be your Rocky and your Frankenfurter,” Gabriel teases.

Pidge stands from his seat and walks over. “You know what you’re doing, right? You’re not going to fry her hair off?”