Room 301-A was on the floor below the suite, a regular room, although quite luxurious because Zeth never skimped on elegance.
When Frank walked in, he immediately laughed nervously at the sight of Sue waiting for him in a black mini bikini and high heels. Her skin was scarlet red like passion, and her golden eyes were mesmerizing if you ignored the horns, wings, and triangular-tipped tail.
She was lying on the bed with a lingerie model pose, beautiful and devilish.
"Why are you here, Rubinstein? Did you reconsider my offer?" She asked, biting a black nail. Her fluffy black hair fell over her shoulders and her fangs looked increasingly sharp.
"Hey Sue." Frank whispered. He had a bagged suit hanging from a finger on his back like a cover model, "I actually wanted to ask you for a favour."
"Let me guess. You're going to ask me for advice on your date?" She rolled her eyes, "Why do I suspect you asked every girl you are friends with their opinion on this date too?"
"I actually did," Frank whispered, "Please don't tell me that..."
"I'm not jealous, Frank. You and I both know what our whole relationship is about." Sue bit her tail a little.
"Yes, dancer and singer," he replied, "We made that pretty clear, didn't we?"
"You're one of the few men who's never fallen for my charms," Sue sighed. Dressing up like this had been a waste of time and magic, "Since when are you so insecure?"
"I've never exactly been very confident when it comes to romance," Frank said, unpacking his suit and tie, "You know I always get nervous."
"Really? I can't remember a single romantic date of yours since I met you," Sue said, "I only remember your depression and some girls you met on dating apps coming and going."
"It was a dark moment of my life," Frank said, "And Zeth almost killed me when I asked him for money to pay for a thousand and one aids tests."
"You do know we monsters are immune to human diseases, right?" Sue asked and Frank nodded.
"I just wanted to make sure I'm clean."
"Yes, for tonight," Sue bit her lip, "It's very romantic that you rented this room just for you and your special girl."
"That's not what I want the room for, Sue," Frank frowned, "The Frank who did that disappeared the day Evie knocked on my door again."
"So what's this room for?"
"Evie and I used to just lay around and watch TV sometimes at my place when my parents and brother were away. We'd spend hours watching silly romance movies cuddling and occasionally used to have a beer on the sly. I just want to relive those moments with my special girl, you know?"
"Netflix and chill?" Sue laughed, "You and I know how that always ends!"
"Not with Evie," Frank replied sternly, "She and I were a very 'romance-movie-like' couple. It was always pretty innocent."
"If you say so," she said, rolling her eyes. "But you want to relive those moments, don't you? With your 'special girl' and stuff?"
"It's been a long time since Evie and I dated," Frank whispered, looking up, very love-struck, "Everything is different now. For a long time I held on to a love that didn't exist but, I don't know. Love knocked on my door again, you know? After so long. After tonight's show, I just knew I couldn't waste any more time."
"You're going to give love a second chance, huh?" Sue laughed. He could be so innocent sometimes. "What happened during the show? What made you take this risk?"
"I stopped thinking about the fantasy that Evie always was in my mind," Frank said, "And faced reality. I realised that the girl I loved in college was just a smokescreen, but the girl who was on the show today? She's real. And there is nothing in the world that I could wish for more than to have her in my arms until the day I die."
Frank's heart was beating a thousand miles an hour.
For years he always thought that Evie and he were nothing more than lies, but this Evie, Bodyguard Evie, was a completely different person than the girl Frank loved in college. And he was willing to give it all for her. This Evie was real. This Evie was authentic. This Evie was the love of his life.
"I love her, Sue," Frank said, laughing like a fool, "It's all so different now. I just know she's the woman I need like the air I breathe, the complete opposite of College Evie."
"It's good that you finally moved on from that college girl to focus on someone new," Sue said.
"Yeah. I feel like I love someone now, not just a mirage."
Someone knocked on the door. Frank smiled widely, opening it quickly. An employee handed Frank a large black bag, a discreet delivery, and when he left.
"What is that?"
"Sue, remember I said I wanted to ask you for a favour?" Frank asked and she nodded, "Fine. You're a girl and you know about romance. Could you help me..."
"Frank! Oh my God, Frank!" Sue made cute eyes, "Oh! You're so romantic! You want me to help you decorate the room, right?"
"I would have liked to do it myself but I didn't have enough time. The show and then the meeting upstairs, I'm actually late for my date right now," Frank said, rubbing the back of his neck with a love-struck smile. "Do you think maybe this room is too small?"
"Hey, it's a five-star hotel, I'm sure your girl won't mind if it's a regular room, what matters is how you make her feel. But it would be romantic if you wrote something to her too, wouldn't it? A love letter for her to read when she comes into the room?"
"You always save my life," Frank said, running to a bureau to get a pen and paper.
"What would you do without me, Rubinstein?" She laughed.
Sue was the dancer Frank always danced with on stage. It made things easier having her close to him because she was too old and wise, older than Zeth actually. He was also a terrible dancer.
Frank met Sue during his first months with Monster Mash, before the first world tour started. After all, she was the daughter of Zeth's lawyer.
Frank was the one who suggested giving her and her twin a place in the Monster Mash fam, and that changed her life. When Frank met her, the guys were searching for dancers and still needed two. When Frank saw Sue and Dean Cubbus dancing during a party at Lyonfort, everything fell into place.
At first, Frank feared her and her twin. He hated to admit it, but they reminded him of the devil so, could anyone blame him?
Dean was much taller and more muscular than Everett, with a square, unfriendly face, and all the time on the lookout for any man who approached his twin sister. He didn't seem to have a problem with Zeth and Draco though.
After Zeth introduced them to Frank, and they talked a little during said party, things became simpler.
Dean was now as close a friend to Frank as Sue herself, and he was also a very good dancer, but he preferred to be part of the staff team.
"Okay, got it. Listen," Frank said, lowering the pen while she lay on the bed rubbing her legs against each other, "I was nothing but broken pieces in an open grave, until you stitched me together with your smile and brought me back to life with your love."
"I like it. Sound so much like you." She got up from the bed to stand next to Frank, then put her arms around his waist, "Tell me. Are you sure she loves you back?"
"You think she doesn't?!" Frank gasped.
"I don't know. I don't know this girl well enough, you know?" she lowered her hand to Frank's shorts, "But I know that if you get sad, you're going to need comfort again, right?"
"If you use your powers on me, I swear it won't work. I'm in love," he pulled way from her embrace, looking into her eyes. "And I told you, those were dark times."
"That's clear to me, I have already used my powers and you haven't fallen for me," she laughed a little, "You have a strong will, Frank. You and Zeth are the only boys in the band who have been able to resist my power. Only a man in love can evade my magic."
"Wait..." Frank frowned, "Are you serious? The boys and you? Did that really happen?"
"You can ask them," she said, "Don't blame me. I was hungry and I'm very selective."
"Wait... Only Zeth and I have resisted your influence? What about Finn?"
"Ha-ha! Barracuda Seamons!" Sue laughed loud and clear.
Frank took a deep breath.
"So if you can't affect me or Zeth... It's because we're too much in love?" Frank was burning by now. Cold sweat ran down his neck, onto his chest. His fingers tightened and the pen broke into two pieces in his trembling bionic hand.
He tried to hide the shivers running through his entire body.
"I know, right? Zeth? In love? That's impossible, don't you think?"
"When did you try to seduce Zeth?" Frank asked.
"I don't remember but the band was just starting."
"It was in 2019?" Frank raised an eyebrow.
"I guess?" Sue said and reached out to hold Frank's shoulders, but he moved away from her touch. She frowned at his reaction and then stepped closer to him again. "You okay?"
"Zeth in love with someone in 2019? Who? The only girl who was close to us was Evie and he hated her as much as Draco," Frank said, taking off his shirt in front of Sue and walking towards his closet to grab a white button-up shirt.
"What if Zeth and Evie had something you didn't find out about? What if they still have it?" Sue asked calmly. Frank didn't answer, but she noticed a little blush appearing on his cheeks. She raised an eyebrow. "Because let's be honest. Your bodyguard lied in college. She could keep lying."
"No. I would never distrust Evie again, and Zeth? He would never do something like that. But Zeth is bisexual. Maybe he was, or is, in love with some guy in the band? Now, please turn around," Frank said, "I'm going to put on my fancy pants."
"Such a prude!" Sue rolled her eyes.
She kept her promise not to look until Frank was ready. It took two minutes.
"Do I look good?" Frank cocked his head, staring at Sue through the mirror while putting on his suit jacket, "I think the suit is too much. But you are a woman so what do you think? Romantic or..."
"Stop overthinking and just be yourself, and honest." Her words echoed in his brain. She was already frustrated because she needed to feed, and Frank just wouldn't give in to her power.
"Do you think you can fix the room by yourself or do you want me to call someone to help?" Frank asked, "I know a girl, she's really cute and loves romance novels."
"I was once a Marchioness of House Cubbus," she said, snapping her fingers, "I have powers, you know? I can fix everything using my magic. You focus on what's important."
"Well, I'll do my best to make my special girl feel loved while you take care of this then. Thanks by the way." Frank said and Sue rolled her eyes.
"Don't be so sweet. Women are not as delicate as you think," she said, walking around him while tracing his bicep with a finger, "And a little bit of roughness is sexy."
"Do you girls like that?"
"I mean, who doesn't?" she giggled. "And be a bit dominant like Zeth, I mean, that's why he is such an F Boy."
"F means Fancy, right?" Frank asked nervously. She looked angrily at him, "Right?"
"How come so many girls visited you in your 'dark times' if you're so prudish?" Sue asked.
"Maybe because I was always honest about what I was looking for back then. Anyway! I have to go downstairs to check if the restaurant is ready," Frank said, and Sue nodded. "You sure you don't want any backup? Because if you need help, just go to Evie's Saferoom and..."
"I can handle this," she replied. And although she didn't say anything, she already had a plan to make everything go perfectly tonight.
She owed it to Frank for always being, more than a friend, a confidant that she could always trust.
Once Frank left, she left the room too, and once she was sure Frank had turned the corner to go to the elevator, she went down the hall, swaying as she walked, and finally reached the door she was looking for, knocking twice.
"Hello," Sue said when a scrawny girl opened the door. "Oh! You must be the special girl."
"Jade? Who is it?" Evie asked.
"Your name is Jade?" Sue asked. The girl still didn't speak. She was gawking, maybe too shocked to see Sue dressed only in a bikini and very high heels. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm..."
"You're the dancer who's always with Frank on stage," Jade said, stepping back as Evie approached from inside the room and crossed her arms with a grumble.
"She's not just that. She is the origin of the stories of succubi that climbed into men's beds in ancient times," Evie said, raising an angry eyebrow. "What are you doing here, Susan?"
"I only came to give the 'special girl' some advice," she said, flipping her black hair. "After all, I have a lot of knowledge to offer."
"And why is that?" Jade cocked her head.
"Because I know Frank better than anyone," Sue said with a wink. "And I think I can help you with your date tonight."