Homoween 2019: Hollywood Coven

Day 6: Pumpkin Spicy

At least one thing you could say about Vegas besides the reputation as a destination for the appetites of the debacherous was that it had nice pools to lay beside. And really, if you walked with any sort of purpose or confidence, you could get in anywhere without necessarily needing a card key. Not that the Tropicana wasn't perfectly lovely in an old school sort of way but between the Luxor and the Hard Rock, there were far too many watery vistas in the desert yearing for Luke's attention.

He hadn't been there long before he learned how easy it was to get distracted from his goal. Yes, he knew he needed to find the magician from Netflix who had that tattoo symbol. He knew there were a couple of seemingly constant card tournaments (but they seemed to be on the up and up as far as he could tell) and even though he knew Derek was looking at the hotels he wasn't looking at- or bungee jumping at Circus Circus. Vegas was almost too big for this sort of thing. Especially if you weren't trying to draw attention to yourself. It was much, in a way, like when Luke had first arrived in Los Angeles. Before he'd became a vampire. Before WeHo had been a glittery Mecca. Before David.

The mystery, the loneliness, the noise- it made him yearn for home. And outside of the Strip- trying to visit places he'd seen Justin at stalking his social media- the place was so barren and fluorescent. It was enough to make a vampire give up or at least alert his coven to what he was really worried about.

Luke missed his little family within his coven. Much like a fraternity, he'd been taken under a bat wing by a Big not even so long ago now and he'd taken a Little under his wing- even less time ago. Perhaps he should've brought his Little along with him. For Derek was nice but he was- well a wolf. And they really didn't understand how a vampire moved- like liquid metal.

All this he was contemplating poolside when a young man passed by him. Not odd, considering they obviously hired beautiful young people- but he remembered the freckled face that had been partially hidden beneath a helmet at Caesar's Palace where he'd been shopping last night and sent off a couple of nice gifts to his family. Though he was working, the young man's tunic barely covered the ample ass, the barest tufts of ginger fuzz.

The boy's name might have well been Pumpkin Spicy. Too young and too thin for Luke but-

Just underneath the bone of the ankle- just underneath the little pop of skin. You had to be looking at an angle which the lines of his body didn't really want you to look at.

"Excuse me, young man-" he called before the other had gotten too far away.

"Sir?"

Jude. His name tag that was attached basically to his nipple. Well that was a fine name Luke supposed. 

"First, I'd like to commend your bartender on such a magnificent little cocktail and procure another of these Sex on the Beachs. Heavy on the sex, hmm?" Luke asked. Just a flash of a grin. Not enough to melt the boy-

He seemed to be more in work than in human mode though.

"Alright sir. Anything else?"

"Well, possibly I could say if we weren't in polite company at the pool- but no. Ah, but wait. What would you say I should experience while I was here?"

"Umm- lots of great restaurants. We have the Egyptian exhibit, the Imax theater, the nightclub-"

"Do you work at the nightclub?"

"No sir."

"So how do you know?"

"How do I know what?"

Young Jude was fun.

"How do you know if the nightclub is any good?"

Jude shrugged. "You just have to trust the powers that be. They know what they're doing."

"I see. Thank you."

"I'll get your drink right over sir."

It was a good break in the case. Or something. It was enough to know at least the symbol did exist in the natural world. And Luke could leave the young man a sizable tip. He'd find the nightclub here tonight, see if young Jude took the bait. After all, money opened doors.