Sweeter Than Wine

The Blind Test

"Isn't there a light switch anywhere?" I ask, my eyes barely adjusted to the low light of the dank room.

Suddenly John's warmth is gone, and the coldness of the basement sets in, chilling me to my bones. My eyes dart around, yet they see nothing. "John?" I nervously say, wringing my hands together for warmth.

The room stays silent, and my heartrate picks up. My mind starts racing and my blindness ramps up the urgent feeling I have.

"John?" I say again, my tone slightly higher. I feel nothingness around me, the empty air almost suffocating in its heaviness.

Suddenly my mouth is covered, stifling the scream that erupted from my throat. "shhhhh, love, it's only me.." John's smooth voice whispers lowly in my ear. I let out a breath through my nose, gripping onto John's arm tightly.

"you've failed the first test." he says, breath hot against my neck. He takes his hand off my mouth, allowing me to speak. "what do you mean?" I ask him, still holding on to his arm to keep tabs on where he is.

"Last time you were taken at night, the moon was out, enough light to see. You didn't notice when he came up to you. You didn't hear him." My pulse quickens at the memory, and I dig my fingernails into John's arm.

"I'm sorry, darling, I don't mean to make you remember...but this is what this training is for...I want to prepare you. You've already got full vampire strength...I want to see if you've got better hearing..if you can sense things you cannot necessarily see.." John's fingers trace over my cheek as he speaks softly.

I lean my face into his gentle touch, "I understand..I want to learn, please teach me." John releases me, and my body quickly chills. "I'm going to blindfold you, alright?" he says, toying with the ends of my hair.

"..yes." I whisper, my heartbeat thudding in my ears. I hear the faint sound of fabric rustling, then a soft, silky blindfold cuts off my vision. "now," John says leading me to sit on a stool. "just pay attention to your surroundings. Listen, really listen. Feel your surroundings, forget about your vision, use your other senses. Allow them to let you see, without seeing."

After John's monologue the room grows still, the heaviness sucking all sound from my surroundings. John's voice come from my left, "focus."

I hold my breath, trying to hear better. John's voice sounds from behind me, "calm your breathing, relax. Take deep breaths, and let them out slowly. Focus your mind on the world around you. Don't strain yourself trying to hear, or you'll never catch what's lurking in the shadows."

I breathe in deeply, letting it slowly out of my parted lips. My mind is buzzing slightly, but I will myself to ignore the growing tension.

I feel a soft touch on my lips, causing me to jump and yelp. "You're so close..just relax.." I feel johns warm lips engulf mine briefly, "turn off your mind, relax, and float downstream.." he moves away.

I empty my mind, not focusing, on anything, when my ears pick up the faintest of scrapes to my left, my head swivels instinctively in that direction.

John's voice rings out in the silence, "perfect." I feel a small, almost imperceptible breeze. I reach out and grab hold of John's wrist.

He laughs happily,"Yes! You've almost got it, darling!" I smile, feeling proud.

I feel John's presence back away, becoming like a shadow against a black backdrop, barely perceptible.

I close my mind off to any thought, feeling the air grow thin, allowing my senses to penetrate the veil. I slowly slide from the stool, making no sound. My breathing is shallow and even, all sound reverberating through my ears.

I slowly slink my way to the left, my movements slow and sure, almost feline-like. Without even thinking, my arms dart out, grabbing onto his arms. He yelps in surprise, "______, wow..i didn't even hear you coming....wow.." I can hear the smile in his voice.

"Wait here, love." he says, and I feel him move away briefly. After a few fleeting seconds, I see a dull light flash behind my blindfold. John gently pushes the sleek silk down to my neck, the softness sending shivers up my spine.

John feels my small tremor, and glides his hands down my arms, raising goosebumps in their wake.

"You did very well today, darling." John breathes, leaning in to capture my lips in his.

I hum softly at the feeling, trailing my hands up his chest. "Let's get to uh...bed.." John breathes against my mouth. I can only nod, allowing him to pull me up both sets of stairs and to his room.

(Ahh! 700 reads! And number two in George! 💜 I can't believe a story based on a dream I had is gaining this much attention! Thank you all so much for reading! 💜💜🕉)