Page 5 of Overexposed

* * *

I liked Prague. You could tell it was an old city. Its bridges, its houses, even the cobblestone streets had that feel to them. There was a castle on a hill, a touristy street that had been home to alchemists in the day, and lots of museums.

“It’s rare for it to be so empty, even in the off-season,” Auris told me while I was trying on winter jackets, a break from sightseeing he had insisted on after I had mentioned that it was really cold today. Auris had tried getting me into a fancy, high-end store, but I’d put my foot down. We’d compromised on a fancy outdoor store, which made so much more sense, given most of the things I want to photograph were outdoors.

A salesperson hovered by the skiing apparel nearby, keeping an eye on us and watching for the slightest sign I needed help or another size or something. There were not a ton of customers either.

“Still a pandemic thing, right?” I asked.

“Indeed. It’s quiet in a way that makes me think of the past.”

“I just like that you are getting fewer looks.”

He came over to me. I was on my third jacket, a parka. He turned up the collar for me. “Jealous, Ethan?”

“A little.”

“Says the man who has been spending most of the day aiming his camera elsewhere.” He said that with indulgent humor while he adjusted the hood of the parka and made a show of looking at me.

“I have you in at least a dozen photos, and you know it.”

“Do I? You know I want to get paid when I model for you.”

“Can be arranged,” I said.

We left the store with that parka as well as a scarf and gloves Auris insisted on. I only barely got out of being sat down to try on winter boots. The salesperson who’d shadowed us and swiped Auris’s card had been excited and friendly with very good English. Since he’d seen us close to making out, that gave me a really positive impression not just of the city but also of the people living here.

When day turned into night and Auris’s eyes turned dark, I was beginning to suspect that his flirting throughout the day was an attempt to put me at ease. We walked across Charles Bridge, one of the very touristy spots. The bridge looked like a charcoal drawing against the pale sky, saints and scholars on pedestals, frozen for eternity. Someone shouted, close to us, and I nearly jumped out of my skin, the fear response extreme for the event. Or non-event, rather.

I hadn’t really left the house, not since the priest had taken me and nearly -- since he’d done what he did. Flirty Auris had clearly been keenly aware of that.

He didn’t mention my case of sudden fear and simply kept an arm around me. When I told him my feet were about ready to give out, he took me to a restaurant before he took me home. Malaysian cuisine, and one wall of the basement space was covered in jungle wallpaper with yellow eyes peering out. The eyes weren’t real. The fear that easily overtook me for no reason was.

* * *

I decided to let Auris’s manager take over from my old manager that evening. I also asked Auris whether he would be able and willing to take care of my apartment. I didn’t want to think about giving that up, and asking someone else to handle it was definitely going to put my mind at ease. I’d just be able to shut everything out, focus on the now.

Auris didn’t exactly agree. He took my arm and led me to the bedroom. The housekeeper, whom I still hadn’t met, had made the bed in our absence.

“What are we doing?” I asked as Auris peeled the duvet and sheets off and piled them on the floor, in front of the fireplace.

“I am going to light the fire, and you are going to watch me.”

“From the blanket nest on the floor?”

“That’s right.”

Intrigued by what he was going for, I settled down on a pillow, my eyes on him as he took his tie off. He rolled up his shirtsleeves and picked up the first log.

“White Ash,” he said. “This will smell good.”

“Can’t wait.”

His meditative task ended when he struck a match and lit the kindling. He walked to the door and killed the overhead lights while the flames began feasting.

The room vanished, its camouflage of blacks suited to invisibility in firelight apart from the gold and the ever-present mirrors. Auris moved in his silent way until he sat behind me, once more offering himself as my backrest, much like he had done on the train.

“Have I ever told you --” he began, “-- about the one who made me a vampire?”

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