Coffe at the Arabesque Cafe

[Hand_Solo]

Wrote this for a friend ages ago. Didn't realize I still had a copy of it saved, but found it in my gmail account while looking for a story for another friend. It was written on the fly in gmail, so I apologize for any typos, etc. Seems a bit silly reading it several years after it was written, but maybe somebody here will get a kick out of it. Starts off a bit slow, but there is sex in it eventually.:biggrin1:

Edited to add: sorry about the formatting; it looked fine when I posted it, but as soon as I clicked submit, it got all wonky. If anybody knows how to fix it, please let me know.


Coffee at the Arabesque Cafe


The torso rocks and the eyes are keepers
Now where'd we sample those legs?
I'm thinking Marilyn 4.0 in the Green Book
I like the neon I love the music
Anachronistic but nice
The seamless segue from fun to fever
It's a sweet device

"Green Book"--Steely Dan

Even in a college town filled with cafes, the Arabesque stood out as
something special, a place tinged with magic. Louise had been walking
listlessly, even a bit aimlessly, through downtown when she'd spied
it. The white exterior and tall narrow windows made it seem out of
place in Northern California, made it seem more like something you'd
encounter in Morocco or Tangiers, and yet, there it was, nestled in
between an art supply store and a women's shoe store. The rich aroma
of dark-roasted coffee assailed her nostrils as she opened the heavy
wood door, cherry, or perhaps red stained oak, beautifully grained and
worn by the passing of many hands.

She noted the stark whiteness of the plastered walls, sharply
contrasting with the dark wood trim as she made her way to the counter
to order. As she was waiting for her mint tea, more details caught
her observant eye. Perhaps most striking, so striking in fact that
she wondered how she'd missed it upon first entering the cafe, was a
contiguous band of green neon running just below the crown molding,
casting an other-worldy green glow onto the pressed tin ceiling. The
effect was striking, the only touch of modernity in a cafe whose other
furnishings would have been quite at home in the nineteenth
century--austere wooden tables and chairs, and a few lithographs
depicting scenes of Arabian life from around the turn of the century.
A few tasteful potted plants near the front windows completed the
sparse decor. Even the music was a bit anachronistic--Miles Davis if
she wasn't mistaken. Smooth haunted jazz that hinted at a segue into
something more.

Her mint tea came in a tall pint glass with an ornately filigreed cup
holder, which kept her hand from getting burned as she made her way to
a table near the front window. There was pretty steady foot traffic
on the sidewalk outside the cafe, and if the book she'd brought along
didn't keep her attention, she could always people watch.

She'd made it through the first fifteen pages of One Hundred Years of
Solitude when he walked into the cafe. Though she continued holding
the book, she didn't read another word. He was tall, well over six
feet, and aside from the shaved head and modern clothing he could have
come straight from a Viking battlefield for a coffee break. He wasn't
gaunt, nor was he stocky. His broad shoulders and deep chest radiated
strength, power, and there was a feral intensity in his gaze that
attracted her immediately. There was something of the wild animal
about him, a sense of unease and tension that made him seem dangerous,
dangerous and even a bit sexy. No, she thought, more than a bit sexy.
He was wearing a long sleeved shirt and a light jacket that looked
like something from a surplus store. His long legs were sheathed in
faded jeans, and his huge feet were encased in badly worn combat
boots. She couldn't help but notice as he walked by that there was a
pronounced bulge in the crotch of his jeans. It set her mind to
wondering.

His movements as he made his way to the register were deliberate yet
fluid. he moved with surprising grace for a big fellow. He pulled a
battered leather wallet from the front pocket of his shoulder bag and
paid for his large coffee. She could tell as he made his way to the
front table on the opposite side of the door from her own table that
the pint glass he was carrying must have been burning his hand, but he
neither hurried nor betrayed any sign of pain. She was intrigued.

He sat, placing his coffee on the small round table, and began to
rummage through his bag. Louise, at this point, made no pretense of
doing anything other than staring directly at him; her book was held
droopingly between her hands. He pulled a battered trade paperback
from his bag and placed it on the table. He glanced over at Louise as
he did so and noticed that she was looking at him. He returned her
gaze, noting as he did so that she was particularly attractive. She
was incredibly petite, no more than five feet in height, and less than
a hundred pounds soaking wet. In fact, at first glance, he'd mistaken
her for a much younger girl, a teen even perhaps, but as he drank her
in with his gaze, he realized that she was no girl; she was a woman.
The delicate skin of her face, the sharp planes of it, framed two of
the most intense eyes he'd ever seen, eyes that were at this very
moment fixed upon him. He held her gaze for a moment, and then looked
away, visibly tense, perhaps even shaken. He picked up his book,
thumbed about a third of the way through, found his page, and began
reading. Louise gazed at him a moment more, and then returned to her
own book, but her mind wasn't on it. She found herself glancing at
him across the cafe, and more than once, she found him returning her
gaze. Every time, though, he looked away. He was either shy or
dense, she decided. She was hoping it was the former. She had a
great disdain for stupidity.

David was shy, and at times he could be quite dense, but generally he
was very clever, perhaps too clever even for his own good.
Overthinking crippled him at times, and this was one of those times.
He couldn't keep his eyes off her, and yet he was afraid to approach
her, unsure that her eyes had been welcoming, worried that he was
imagining something in her gaze that wasn't really there. He was
worried of making a fool of himself, but at the same time, he was
finding himself irresistibly drawn to this woman. Her long, lithe
dancer's legs were crossed high, and in the darkness created by her
incredibly sharp charcoal wool skirt, he couldn't tell if she was
wearing panties or not, but for some reason, the question plagued him
so thoroughly that he found he couldn't concentrate whatsoever on One
Hundred Years of Solitude, even though he'd been enjoying it
immensely. She'd captivated his attention to the point where he could
think of nothing else.

Finally, Louise decided that if anything were to happen, she'd have to
go hit the guy over the head, which she was willing to do if it came
down to it. She got up from her table and began walking across the
tiled floor of the cafe towards his table, no clearly formulated plan
of what she would do once she got there, but she was a quick thinker,
and she had every reason to believe she'd think of something. Sure
enough, as she neared his table, She could make out the title of the
book he was reading, the very same book she'd just set down on her own
table next to her tea a moment before. "I couldn't help but notice
your taste in literature," she said. "It must be very similar to my
own; I'm reading the very same book right now," and with this, she
gestured vaguely in the direction of her table. "I'm Louise, by the
way."

"David," he said, looking up at her with an odd mixture of surprise
and blatant desire. He wasn't exactly sure why such a fox had just
walked over to his table to talk to him, but he was desperately hoping
that she wasn't going to leave anytime soon. "It's always nice to run
into another fan of magical realism," said David. She agreed,
enchanting him even further with a bit of mirthful laughter. He
invited her to share his table, and she did so gladly, returning first
to her table to grab her book, her purse, and her tea.

Their discussion was animated, wide-ranging and playful. They talked
of the book they were reading, the cafe, the town, bits and pieces of
their lives, and of course, the people walking by outside the window.
Louise laughed as a group of emo kids walked by, the boys wearing
tight capris and bullet belts, and David joined her, their laughter
mingling pleasantly. They'd talked for a good hour, the dregs of his
coffee long grown cold, when David realized he hadn't taken his eyes
from her the whole time they'd been talking. He was utterly
captivated, and utterly aroused.


(continued)

 

[Hand_Solo]

Interestingly enough, over the last bit of her long-cold mint tea,
Louise was thinking much the same thing. David's bearded face was
rich with character, his blue eyes bright and intense. She had noted
the way he was watching her, and shortly after they'd begun talking,
she'd known he was hers for the taking. In the same way, she knew that
she wanted him, that she was going to take him eventually, but not
yet. She wanted to make him wait a bit, make herself wait a bit for
that matter. Louise liked to tease, and she liked to prolong the
anticipation, the sheer seduction at which she was so skilled. She
felt like a wild animal tamer as she toyed with David, increasing his
already ample desire for her to the point where she knew he'd do
anything she asked.

He offered to buy her another glass of tea, but she told him she
needed a cigarette and asked if he'd like to step outside with her so
she could smoke. The eagerness with which he stowed his book in his
bag was all the reply she needed. He held the door for her and then
followed her out. As the cold breeze hit her, Louise was glad for the
warmth of her wool sweater. Her bare legs were cold though, and she
questioned the wisdom of wearing a skirt on a blustery day. Then
again, she thought to herself as she glanced at David, it might come
in handy later. She knew the skirt did great things for her legs and
ass, and she knew that David was well aware of it as well.

She pulled a pack of Marlboro Lights from her purse, and offered one
to David as she took one for herself from the half-empty pack. He
declined with a smile, but she could tell by the hunger in his eyes
when she lit her cig that he was an ex-smoker. You never really quit,
she though to herself; you just abstain. "It's cold," said Louise,
"let's walk. I need to get my blood flowing or I'm gonna freeze to
death standing here." "Let's walk, then," he said, "Wouldn't want you
freezing before I even got a chance to know you."

And so they began to walk. Though David towered over her by more than
a foot, Louise kept up with his long stride effortlessly, her tiny
frame filled with energy. David, enchanted with her sitting form at
the cafe was now utterly entranced by her form in motion. She moved
like a gymnast, or maybe a dancer or a martial artist. He couldn't
keep his eyes off her, and increasingly, he found himself wondering
what it would be like to run his hands over her willowy frame, to pull
her to him and take her. More than once he felt himself becoming
slightly erect as he watched her walking beside him. He tried to
ignore it, hoped it wasn't noticeable. He'd have been embarrassed had
he know that Louise had noticed more than once now. In fact, she'd
made a bit of a game for herself by seeing how many times she could
make it happen during their walk. She made sure she pulled ahead of
him at times enough for him to see her ass; that really seemed to do
it for him. And she found herself wanting to do it for him. Wanting
to do him.

They walked aimlessly, talking, looking at the various and sundry
wares being pimped in storefront window displays, taking note of the
many peculiar people they passed on the sidewalk. Louise smoked more
than one cigarette, and the two of them lost all track of time. Not
long after they'd started walking, they'd started touching. Grazing,
subtle touches at first, fingertips brushing against a coat sleeve.
Then, perhaps a hand on a shoulder at a pedestrian crossing, shoulders
touching as they gazed at something noteworthy in a shop window. And
when they touched, it was as if sparks passed between them, as if they
were building an electrical charge between them. Both of them felt
very alive, and neither of them had any doubts at this point as to
where things were headed. It seemed inevitable. It seemed right,
even necessary at this point.

It was getting colder, and the light cloud cover of early afternoon
had grown much heavier, much darker. The air smelled of ozone and
incipient rain; it would be storming soon. At David's suggestion,
they headed back towards the parking structure where he'd parked.
Louise was shivering, and he gave her his jacket to wear. It was much
too big on her, and she had to roll up the sleeves, but she welcomed
the warmth.

As they made it to the parking structure, the first drops of rain were
starting to fall, and they hurried to the elevator to avoid getting
wet, Louise's legs turning David's brain to mush and she ran to push
the button. All he could think about was how he'd like to have her
legs wrapped around him as he thrust himself into her. He found
himself hoping that was a very real possibility at this point.

In the mirrored interior of the elevator, she turned to him. "I want
you to take me somewhere so we can fuck." The bold, declarative
nature of her statement took him by surprise a bit, but his composure
never faltered. He turned to her, and with his huge hands upon her
delicate shoulders, he pulled her to him, and the two of them kissed
passionately, almost violently. They were still kissing when the
elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. An elderly couple stood
there in shock, and it wasn't until the old woman cleared her throat
rather pointedly that David and Louise realized where they were and
stopped. David blushed a bit as he grabbed Louise by the hand and
moved briskly past the morally outraged octogenarians. Quickly they
made their way to David's car, a red Civic coupe. David unlocked both
doors with a quick double press of his key fob, and the two of them got
in quickly to escape the cold. He started up the Civic, and cranked
the heater. "It'll warm up soon," he told her, "this thing's got a
great heater. There's uh, some CDs there in the case. Why don't you
pick something you like and slip it in." She arched her eyebrow a bit
at this last statement, and looked at him pointedly. He returned her
gaze, and she knew without doubt what he was thinking about slipping
in. She realized as well that she was becoming very wet. She looked
through the discs, and eclectic mix of everything from jazz to black
metal. Finally, she selected a Bowie compilation she'd never heard
before. She slipped it into the player, and soon "Scary Monsters" was
thumping from the speakers, and they were pulling out of the parking
garage just as the downpour began, and as they made their way out of
downtown, the heater began warming her near-frozen legs, and she
rubbed them to restore circulation.

They made their way through the busy traffic, and for a brief while,
they were on a rather large highway before David turned off onto a
road that lead up into the foothills. The two of them chatted, and
enjoyed the music, Louise rocking out in her seat, delighting David
with the motion of her body. Her eyes, her arms, her torso, all
delightful. He found he was having trouble keeping his attention
focused on the road. "So, where are we going anyway?" she asked.
"It's a surprise," he told her, "It's a bit of a drive, but I think
you'll find it to be well worth it when we get there. Take my word
for it?" "Sure," she said with a coy smile, "I'm open for anything."
And even in the dimly lit interior of the car, he could tell by the
look in her eyes that she was.

(continued)

 

[Hand_Solo]

David was a keen driver, and she enjoyed watching him as he
downshifted smoothly around the sharp corners in the twisty mountain
road. She wondered if he was as good in bed as he was behind the
wheel. She rested her hand on his thigh, feeling the strong muscles
of his leg ripple beneath her fingers as he worked the gas pedal.
Again, she wondered what those muscles could do in bed, how strongly
he would thrust into her. To distract herself a bit, she gazed out
the window as they drove, noting the change in scenery as the valley
oaks gave way to tall pines. Tall stands of fir, cedar, and pine
lined the roads, and overhead, the storm increased in intensity. In
the distance she caught sight of occasional flashes of lightning.

They'd been driving for about forty minutes when David turned the
Honda off onto a narrow side road and drove another few miles through
some of the densest forest Louise had ever seen. Finally, they
arrived at a small cabin nestled in amongst the tall pines. The cabin
was tiny and charming, rustic in design but well crafted. It looked
like it had stood there a hundred years, and would probably stand a
hundred more. The foundation was made from native rock, and the walls
of the cabin appeared, at least in the glare of the headlights, to be
aged redwood. The cedar shake roof was green with moss, and there was
a stone chimney on the southern wall. "It's a family cabin,"
explained David. "Hardly ever gets used these days, Not after Aunt
June passed away. Come on, we'll go in and build a fire." Louise
stood, staring at the cabin, mouth slightly agape, rain dripping down
her face. She was charmed by the fairytale nature of the dwelling,
couldn't quite believe it was real. "Come on, silly. You'll get
soaked." He fumbled with his keyring until he found the old skeleton
key that opened the door. Soon they were inside, and he lit two
hurricane lanterns. "No power here," he said. "Go ahead and take a
look around while I start a fire. There's not much to it really, but
you're more than welcome to check it out.

As David busied himself with the fire, Louise took one of the lanterns
and took a brief self-guided tour of the cabin. The living room was
the largest room, and as made her way down the small hallway, she
encountered first a tiny bathroom with a delightful clawfoot tub, and
then a single bedroom at the end of the hall. The bedroom was
dominated by a large antique four post bed piled high with patchwork
quilts. She made her way back down the hall, and noted a small
combination kitchenette and dining area off the living room that she'd
missed at first. There was a tiny gas stove, a sink, and a fairly
small counter. There was no refrigerator that she could see. By the
time she made her way back into the living room, David had a nice
blaze kindled in the fireplace, and she joined him at the stone hearth
to warm herself up. Outside, the rain pelted the cabin with increasing
intensity, and they could hear the first rumbles of approaching
thunder. "So," she said, "where were we before we were so rudely
interrupted in the elevator?" "I think we were right about...here,"
he said as he gently cupped the back of her head with his left hand
and kissed her.

And with that kiss, their passion for each other ignited, just as if
he'd tried to put out a fire with gasoline. They lost all restraint,
and all composure. They embraced each other with utter abandon, hands
roving over hot flesh, exploring each other, communicating with the
language of touch, the language of flesh, of lust. Soon, clothing was
being pulled from bodies, and before long, the two of them stood naked
in the glow of the fire. David was ragingly erect, and as he gazed
appreciatively at Louise's exquisite body, she noticed his turgid
member and giggled a bit. "My god, that thing's just...absurd." She
reached out a hand to touch it, but he stepped back, causing his cock
to bob around rather comically. "Not yet," he said. "Wait a bit.
Don't rush." She smiled, appreciating his efforts at seductive
teasing. He turned and pulled two large sheepskins from the back of
the small sofa. The straight white fur must have been at least three
inches long, soft and luxuriant. He spread the skins in front of the
hearth, making an impromptu bed of sorts there in the glowing warmth
of the fire.

Then, the two of them were kissing again, touching again, and as such
things happen, soon they were on the fur in front of the fire,
touching, kissing, fondling, pleasuring each other. And soon enough,
her hands were on his cock, and he didn't pull it away from her grasp,
and soon after that, his hands were exploring her wet pussy, smoothly
shaven, enticingly tight. Before long, he was going down on her,
lapping her clit with his strong tongue, and she bucked her hips
against his mouth, holding his shaved head with her artist's hands,
feeling the close cropped stubble beneath her sensitive fingers. Just
as she was starting to feel like she might be coming shortly, she
pushed his head away gently but firmly. "I want that cock of yours in
my mouth," she told him, and as he sat up, she put her hand on his
chest and pushed him onto his back on the sheepskin floorbed. Deftly
she straddled his powerful frame, legs athwart his chest, her hot
mound almost within reach of his mouth. He leaned forward to try to
lick her once more, but she was too far away. She laughed and pushed
him back down. Slowly, she slid down his body, touching him, kissing
him, nibbling on him, kissing his nipples, running her tongue around
them. He moaned softly with pleasure beneath her. As she worked her
way down his body, she felt the hot stiffness of his shaft against her
behind, and she almost changed her plans, wanted achingly to have him
inside her, but she wanted to taste his big cock, wanted him to feel
the pleasure of her mouth. So, she continued to slide down him until
she was between his legs and her head was resting above his throbbing
tool. The head glistened with precome in the firelight, a sign of his
burning desire for her. She licked the salty sweetness from the tip
with languid and seductive motions of her expert tongue as she slid
her hands around the base of his shaft. He was so thick that she
couldn't even close her hand all the way around his girth, and it was
a bit of a challenge to work her lips around it, but she managed
rather well. She worked his cock with her mouth, and he writhed in
ecstasy beneath her, running his hands through her baby-fine hair as
she sucked him. Up and down she worked his hardon, focusing on the
head, then moving her ministrations to the shaft, his balls, the
insides of his thighs. She worked him slowly and seductively, an
expert fellatrix. Soon, he was worried that she would make him come.
She was damned close. If she kept this up much longer, he was going
to pop in her mouth. He started to try to gently move her head from
his stiff member, but she pushed his hands away. "I don't want to
come yet," he panted. "Don't worry," she said after removing his cock
from her mouth, "we've got all night, and besides, I'm not going to
let you come yet. I could suck you all night and not let you come if
I wanted to." He believed her, but as he flopped back down onto the
fur he said, "but don't say I didn't warn you if I end up coming in
your mouth." She just smiled at him as she went back to work on his
penis, still glistening with her saliva and his own precome.

(ccontinued)

 

[Hand_Solo]

Indeed, she did continue to work him with her mouth for a good long
while, and outside, the storm increased in intensity as their own
passion increased. Thunder shook the tiny cabin now, and lightning
cut the sky in sharp flashes at regular intervals. She kept him right
on the edge of orgasm, teasing him, torturing him, teasing herself
with her own arousal. She'd become so excited that her wetness was
running down the insides of her thighs; she was slick with it.
Finally, she couldn't stand it any more. She had to feel his big cock
inside her tight box. She pulled her lips away from it with a final
slurp, and then once more she straddled him. His hands were on her as
she reached around and guided the head of his stiffness into her,
gasping as she felt the girth of it begin to spread her wet lips
apart. Slowly she leaned back onto him, easing it into herself,
gasping as it filled her. His hands had gone around her back and slid
down to her ass, firmly grasping her and gently pulling her down onto
his stiffness. When he hit her cervix, she let out a bit of a cry and
stopped. He stopped pushing and asked if she was ok. "Yeah," she
gasped, "just wait a minute. I don't think it can go any further.
Just, don't...move." Slowly she backed off a bit, and he let her
control the depth, focusing the attention of his hands on her
incredibly toned midriff, her small, pert breasts with luscious
nipples.

Once she found the right depth and the right rhythm, Louise was in
heaven atop David, riding him for all she was worth. She rested her
hands on his hairy chest as she rode him, relishing the feel of his
hands as they explored her body. Her sex juices had soaked both of
them now, and she could feel her mound grinding and sliding against
David as she worked her body with his cock. She could feel the waves
of orgasm building within her. A tickle that started inside and
started radiating out through her body. God, it was close. Her pussy
felt like it was about to tear in two, but the friction was so good,
the burning intensity. Suddenly, almost without warning, it hit her.
she was coming, screaming out as her nails dug into him. She
shuddered and ground herself against him as her orgasm shook her,
leaning her head back in sheer delight. He held her, feeling her
spasms, and then enfolding her in his arms as she collapsed against
him, his cock still filling her. "God that felt so..." she panted,
not even finishing before David sat up with her, the motion causing
him to slide even more deeply into her. She gasped out, wrapping her
legs around his waist as he sat cross-legged on the fur, holding her,
kissing her, running his hands through her hair, down her back.

Still inside her, he leaned forward with her until they ended up in
the missionary position. Both of their bodies were covered with a
sheen of sweat that glistened in the firelight. Outside the storm
raged on, and it seemed to Louise that David was timing his deepest
thrusts to coincide with the loudest rumblings of the thunder outside,
but maybe it was just her imagination. She clasped him to her as he
fucked her, deeply probing her with his cock, biting at her breasts as
he thrust himself into her again and again, pleasuring her with his
body. Soon, she was coming again, nails raking down David's back,
leaving bloody furrows in his skin. As she did so, he came as well,
thrusting deeply into her, filling her with spurt after spurt of hot
semen; she could feel the pulsations in his cock as he emptied himself
into her. Together, the two of the collapsed spent upon the furs,
basking in the warm glow of the fire, safe in the circle of warmth it
provided while outside the fury of the storm spent itself just as
their passion had spent itself here in front of the fire. Their night
was far from over, but those stories will have to wait for another
time.

 

[Jim Dangle]

loved it! hope you wrote more........

 

[Hand_Solo]

This is actually the prequel to a huge and vastly more weird sequel. I'll post it if more people like the first one.

 

[littlestiffy]

Nicely done. I guess you're a fan and practitioner of magical realism yourself. If Marquez wrote size fantasy porn, it would read like this.....

 

[Hairy]

Great writing! Please post more! Hairy

 

[Hand_Solo]

Here's the rest:

She'd let the envelope sit unopened on her kitchen counter near the phone for almost three days before her curiosity overcame her feelings of nervousness, the cause of which she was unable to pinpoint within herself. The envelope was from David, and in a strange way, it constituted the only physical contact she'd had with him since the night at the cabin. They'd spoken by phone a few times since then, but their busy schedules had precluded another meeting. There was something unsatisfactory about phone conversations though; they were so intangible. This envelope, however, was something tangible, something that had passed through David's hands, the very same hands that had explored and pleasured her body during the thunderstorm. It had been a very pleasant evening, and they'd parted amicably enough the next day, so why was it she felt butterflies in her stomach as she held the envelope of thick, unbleached paper in her hands over her morning coke and cigarette? Had things moved too quickly? Was she still wanting to continue the hunt after she'd already captured the prey? Perhaps that was part of it. Although she'd thoroughly enjoyed what had happened, she was at heart a seductress, and she found herself wanting to further seduce David, drive him on to even higher states of arousal. Perhaps she was worried he'd no longer be interested after their night at the cabin, though nothing he'd said either time they'd talked on the phone had indicated any such thing. Like David, sometimes Louise was sometimes an overthinker. Perhaps things would be fine. She'd sensed that David liked being teased by her, liked being driven on to higher and higher states of passionate tension, so odds were good that he'd be interested still in such activities.

Even so, she was unsure of the envelope, a little afraid even of what it might contain. She reached for the letter opener by the phone and slit open the back of the envelope with a deft motion of her right hand. No use waiting any longer; she'd prolonged things quite enough. As her fingers pulled the envelope open, a faint scent that reminded her of cinnamon tickled her nostrils. Inside, she found a brief hand-written note wrapped around another piece of paper, elegant parchment folded in thirds and sealed with wax stamped with some sort of ornate seal she couldn't quite decipher at first glance. She set the parchment aside for the time being and unfolded the note. The handwriting was neat, but a bit odd, and for a moment, she wondered if it hinted at some deep psychological trouble within David, but she set that notion aside; he was certainly a freak, but she was certain that he wasn't a dangerous freak, at least not dangerous to her. She decided he just had slightly odd handwriting, and probably wasn't a serial killer. She exhaled a stream of cigarette smoke and adjusted her glasses in what she would have considered a thoughtful manner had she been posing before her webcam before she began reading the note:

Louise--I've ached to see you since we last parted, hungered for you in ways I can't quite express with words. I know you're as busy as I am, but if you can take the time this weekend, there's something north of Reno I think you'd really appreciate. We can be there in under four hours. Read the announcement and see what you think. Call me on my cell and let me know.
--David

She read the note twice before she set it aside and picked up the sealed announcement. She examined the wax seal, set in rich burgundy sealing wax. It appeared to be a dragon of some sort, but she couldn't be positive. The dragon, if dragon it was, stood at the center of two closely spaced concentric circles, between which she could make out what appeared to be letters of some sort, but to which alphabet they belonged she had not the faintest idea. The overall impression she got from the seal was one of something regal, mysterious, and perhaps even a bit sinister. It piqued her curiosity as to the contents of the announcement to an almost fever pitch. Without further hesitation, she took the letter opener once more in hand and carefully slid it beneath the wax seal, popping it up and dislodging it from the back of the parchment. The wax crumbled a bit and fell away in three large pieces and a few tiny fragments. She unfolded the parchment, and her eye was assailed with a cacophony of typefaces and sizes, bold print, italics, ornate scroll work of every description. It was clearly a handbill for a show of some sort, but what type of show exactly was not at first glance apparent. Louise spread the parchment out onto the counter, taking another puff from her cigarette as she studied the text before here. It looked something like this:


Attractions Extraordinary and Diverse
Curiosities For Those
of Inquisitive Nature
In This Limited Engagement
Of Captain A. R. Morrison's
World Renowned
Carnival and Emporium
of the Macabre
Curiosities and Mysteries
From Many Lands and Times
Will Entertain and Edify
All Who Witness
Their Majesty and Spectacle


The handbill went on to hint at some of the mysteries that would edify and delight viewers, including wild animals, some sort of high-wire act, clowns, a freak show, a house of mirrors, and pretty much every other thing you could possibly imagine at a traveling circus. Even the midway, hinted the paper, was like no other seen before, offering a myriad of strange delights and entertainments for even the most jaded patrons.

Beneath all this was listed information about the time and location of the event. It was about an hour north of Reno, which placed it soundly in the middle of fucking nowhere. Louise hated Northern Nevada--it reminded her of the surface of the moon. Still, she was intrigued, and the chance to see David again was something she'd been looking forward to since their last meeting. The circus was going to take place this coming weekend, and she had it free. Maybe she should go. She toyed with the idea, not wanting to rush into a decision immediately.

(cont)

 

[Hand_Solo]

She'd waited all afternoon to call him, excited yet a bit nervous at the same time. She'd smoked many a cigarette and busied herself with many pointless tasks around her apartment before finally calling. When she heard the obvious pleasure in David's voice when he answered, she wondered to herself just a bit why she'd been so nervous.

"Louise!" he exclaimed over a shitty connection, "I'm so glad you called. I'm on my way home from Redding right now. Did you get my letter? Didja get the invite? What do you say? are you free this weekend?" In his excitement he blurted it all out almost at once. Louise laughed at his excitement and the rapidity with which he spoke.

"Yes, I got your letter, and I'd love to go. I think. I mean, where did you hear about this thing, David? What is it exactly?"

"Exactly?" He laughed before he replied. "I don't know exactly. It's supposed to be something out of this world. My friend Stephanie told me about it. According to her, it's the "real deal," whatever that means. She should know though I guess. She's a magician."

"You mean like kid's birthday parties and stuff?" she asked.

"No, I mean like a magician. A real one. Like ceremonial magic--spells and ceremonies and shit. She knows I've always been interested in things like this, so as soon as she heard that it was coming to Nevada, she told me about it. Assured me it'd be well worth the drive over there, that only a fool would miss it. I figure you're no fool, so maybe..."

She laughed at this last bit. "I'd love to go with you this weekend, David. It sounds fun, maybe a little spooky even. That makes it even more exciting. Why don't you pick me up Friday evening, and we can get a room in Reno for the night." He agreed readily and eagerly, without trying to seem either ready or eager. He kept trying to play it cool with Louise, but it was challenging when she kept getting him so hot. She gave him directions to her place, and he agreed to pick her up after work on Friday. They chatted for a few more minutes before his signal broke up near Red Bluff, and their conversation was cut off without even time for good-byes.

David almost called her back, but something, some wise inner voice told him not to cling. He'd be seeing her soon enough anyway. He tossed the phone onto the passenger seat as he thought about her. She was a rare creature. Wild, free, and utterly delightful. He knew she'd never be caught or tamed, not fully, and he found that he didn't really want to do either of those things to her. He liked her wild and free. He was enjoying the hunt, finding her to be delightful prey. Then again, he ruminated, perhaps he had the roles reversed. Perhaps he was the prey. He found, as he thought about it, that it didn't really matter; the hunt itself was what aroused the passions within him. It really didn't matter who was chasing and who was eluding; the running, the chase, that's what he was after. He found, as he thought about her, that his cock began to stiffen a bit in his jeans, and soon he was rearranging himself as he drove down I-5. He wanted her badly, and he knew that she would be occupying his thoughts quite a bit between now and the weekend. He thought about rubbing one out in the car before he got back to his apartment, but he was worried that he'd lose his concentration and crash, so he decided to wait until he got home.

Louise found herself thinking as the signal faded out of existence that perhaps she should call David back, but she reasoned that no man likes a woman who clings. He'd want her even more than he already did if she wasn't readily available. Besides, she'd be seeing him soon enough. She wanted to build a bit more anticipation for the weekend. It had been too long already since she'd seen him; a few more days would make the tension, the desire, almost unbearable. She found herself getting a bit wet just thinking about it, thinking about what she'd like to do to David, hoping that he was thinking similar things.

She decided she needed to masturbate, something that always seemed to relieve tension at the same time it built it. She made her way to her bedroom, lay back on the bed, and pulled her jeans down just far enough to buzz herself to a quick orgasm with an indigo jelly vibe, one of her personal favorites. A real workhorse in the orgasm department. She's already gotten almost two years of faithful service from the small battery-powered electric motor, and sometimes, as she buzzed her clit to yet another release, she wondered how long it would continue to serve her, how much life it had left before the motor finally gave out. Such strange thoughts to assail her mind as she rode the waves of pleasure, but still, it felt damned good, and when she closed her eyes, it was David who was pleasuring her.

(cont)

 

[Hand_Solo]

That night, after he got home, David headed straight for the shower. He had driven the rest of the way after his phone conversation with Louise in a state of sexual agony. More than once he'd considered stroking himself off in the car. In fact, once he'd gotten as far as starting to unbutton the fly of his jeans, but as soon as he started, he saw a CHP pursuit in his rear-view mirror. He got over into the right lane so that Johnny Law could roar by at an absurd rate of speed, his hardon diminishing in his trousers. Soon, though, the thoughts had plagued him again, but by that time, he was almost to Chico, so he decided to wait. Now that he was home though, he went straight to business. He needed a shower, so he decided to multitask. Besides, he liked masturbating in the shower. It was private and relaxing, and the warm water felt wonderful.

Minutes later, he was in the shower, hot water coursing over his strong frame and dripping in rivulets to the tub floor, slowly flowing away down the drain and out of David's life. He soaped himself up, eyes closed, and as he did so, he thought of Louise, thought of her beautifully artistic hands roving over his flesh. He felt himself become erect, imagined her touching him there, and soon began to pleasure himself with his own hands, wishing they were hers. So worked up was he from his desire for her that he came rather quickly, his semen spattering to the floor of the tub and moving towards the drain. He let his breath out sharply as he came, the sensations so intense that for a moment he feared that he would pass out from the sheer pleasure of it. He put a hand against the wall of the tub enclosure for support as tiny pixelated stars swam before his eyes. Sometimes David wondered if orgasm felt as good for other people as it did for him. If it did, he wondered how anything ever got done in the world.

Later that night, before he drifted off to sleep, David once more pleasured himself to thoughts of Louise, wondering briefly as he did so if she could sense it somehow, if some of that energy he released went her way. Did she feel a little tingle of some sort when he came? Did an image of him pass through her head at that moment? His thoughts of her made his body shudder with pleasure. As he drifted off to sleep after spending himself, it occurred to him that it would be a very long wait until Friday evening.

Indeed, to both Louise and David, the wait seemed interminable, an incredibly long and boring play with no intermission, not even a bathroom break. And yet, as time is wont to do, it passed, albeit rather slowly, and soon enough in the cosmic scheme of things, David, his bag packed the night before in childlike anticipation, was on his way from work to Louise's apartment. The entire day had dragged for him, and he was on the verge of killing his manager, who was also, unfortunately, his editor. He wasn't sure which bothered him more: the incompetence of his manager or the absurdity of his job situation when taken as a whole. In the final analysis, he was simply glad to be away from work. In fact, he'd left an hour early. He'd take it as sick time if anyone said anything about it, but he didn't think anyone would. The managers were all busy trying to find a way off the company before it sank into shark-infested waters. David had a feeling he'd end up as chum when that happened. Sharkfood. But right now, he didn't really care.

His thoughts all day had been of Louise, and now that he was on his way to pick her up, he could think of nothing else. Her face swam before him in a haze of desire, causing him to narrowly avoid ramming into the back of a rapidly stopping Neon in front of him at a busy intersection. He shook his head a bit to clear it, and turned up the music--Dimmu Borgir--some of his favorite driving music, though he had strong suspicions that Louise would want to put something else in for the drive over to Reno. He'd asked her to bring some CDs for the trip, and he was curious to see what she had selected.

From work, it took him about twenty minutes to reach her apartment, clear on the other side of town, the southern side of town, near the newer mall. There were some nice apartments out here, he thought to himself as he exited the highway and turned right, driving past the Brewery and turning on to Park Avenue. He headed out towards Denham for another mile, and then he saw her apartment complex on the right, tan, two story, with a row of cypress trees along the road, just like she'd described it to him. He pulled in and looked for visitor parking while trying to spot her apartment. He found a spot and parked the Honda, and then he scouted around for a few minutes before he found number 213. The apartment complex was much larger than it had appeared from the road, and for some reason, David found the layout a bit confusing. Nevertheless, it didn't take him too long to find her apartment, and as he knocked on her door, the butterflies in his stomach transmogrified for a brief moment into full-fledged pterodactyls, beating his innards with leathern wings. When she opened the door, her warm smile caused the pterosaurs in his gut to depart with much haste, and at her invitation, he followed her inside while she grabbed her things.

David noted that her apartment was austere and tidy, but with a well-stocked bookshelf that immediately caught his attention, as well as enough photographs and other creative projects to suggest to him that not only was she artistically inclined, but rather talented as well. He found himself captivated by a sepia-toned image of Louise, eyes closed, the tip of her index finger placed sensuously between her gently parted lips. "I took that one myself," she said as she emerged from her bedroom carrying a small overnight bag. So absorbed in gazing at the picture was he that he started a bit at the sound of her voice. Quickly, he looked up from the picture. "You took that yourself? I'm impressed," he said. " Not only are you a model, but a photographer as well." She laughed and blushed just the slightest bit at his compliment.

"Thanks. I wanted to make it look like somebody else had taken the picture."

"Well, you certainly succeeded," replied David, "I wouldn't have known unless you'd told me. But since you just did, I can say that you accomplished the effect you were after."

"Stop it," she giggled, "I won't be able to get my head out the door. Come on, let's get out of here. I wanna go to Reno!"

"Ok," he laughed, "let's get this show on the road." With that, the two of them were out the door, Louise double checking to make sure she'd locked it. "God," said David as they got into the Civic, "if that'd been me, I'd have had to check the damned thing more than once. I'm a terrible checker when I'm going away for a few days." Louise told David with a smile that she wasn't really surprised by that; he worried too much in her opinion. He agreed with her, saying that he was working on it, but that old habits were hard to break sometimes.

Within a few minutes, they were back on Highway 99, headed south to hit Highway 70 all the way over to Nevada. Louise had put some Ry Cooder in the CD player, and both of them were enjoying the sweet and soulful sounds of Ry's slide guitar. On the way to 70, they passed the college where David taught, and he pointed it out to Louise. She joked that she might have to enroll in one of his classes one of these days, and that she was sure she could figure out at least a few good ways to earn some extra credit if it became necessary. This last was delivered with a completely deadpan expression, and David couldn't quite tell if she was joking or not. In his mind though, he was already coming up with a list of extra-credit assignments for her.

(cont)

 

[Hand_Solo]

The smell of pines was already thick in the air as they turned off onto 70 and started the twisty mountain trek to Reno. Louise soon tired of the Ry Cooder disc and popped in a compilation she'd put together, mostly MP3's she'd downloaded. Weezer came up first, and Louise turned up the stereo as they continued their ascent along the feather river canyon. To both sides of the road now, she could sea the fjord-like fingers of Lake Oroville creeping into the natural canyons and valleys of the foothills. The late afternoon sun reflected beautifully off the water in coruscating shades of orange and red, tangerine and gold. Steep banks of red soil ran from the water's edge to the treeline, pines mixed with valley oaks, dry grasses pressed and matted down by the recent rains, fresh green shoots already pushing through from beneath.

On they passed through Koncow and Cherokee, and after that, they left civilization behind for a bit as they zipped along the canyon edge. To their left, a steep vertical wall of crumbled and striated shale, richly red with iron oxide, while on their right, the cliff dropped away hundreds of feet into the canyon below, the frothy whitewater of the Feather barely visible as a thin white ribbon coursing through the rocky floor of the valley.

David put the Civic through it's paces, the V-tec providing surprising power for a four-cylinder engine. He told Louise how they'd driven in Madrona for kicks, heading to the top of Forward Road late at night and coasting down the steep mountain road in neutral with no headlights. It was considered very poor form to apply your brakes; David never had. His competent hand on the wheel assured her. Otherwise, she would have been too uncomfortable with his excessive speed to enjoy the stunning scenery as it came into view. Each new hairpin turn unfolded new vistas of stark mountainous beauty before her.

They passed through several large tunnels carved through solid rock as the road skirted the bases of mountains. David honked his horn with childish delight each time they did so, causing Louise to laugh at his goofiness. He told her about driving through the big tunnel on highway 101 just before crossing the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco. When he was a kid, if you honked in the tunnel, almost everyone would join in. Now they just stared at you with sullen faces, ears glued to cell phones with blinking blue LED's. David didn't honk very much these days when he went to the city by the bay. He loved California dearly, but sometimes it was a shithole.

After an hour or so of driving, they came to Belden, and David suggested stopping to get something to eat. "Belden Resort," said David, "has the best burgers between here and Reno. Need to fatten you up a little bit." He grinned, and she socked his arm rather forcefully in reply, though she smiled back as well. They drove across the bridge into Belden, gravel popping beneath the tires of the Honda on the wooden planking, making both of them wonder what would happen if the bridge collapsed. Flaming death on sharp rocks, accompanied by rushing water was most likely what awaited them should the bridge fail. In fact, though, the bridge held, and they were soon parking beneath the madrone trees in front of the restaurant, red bark illuminated by the last setting rays of the sun. Louise stopped to feel the smoothness of the bark with her hand, slender fingers sliding across the broad trunk. She smiled at the feel of the tree, pausing for a moment to study it before they made their way into the restaurant.

An older blonde waitress greeted them shortly after they entered to door, and began to lead them to a table. On a whim, though it was a bit chilly, Louise asked if they could be seated out on the large deck area overlooking the creek. The waitress said they were welcome to sit wherever they liked, and led them out onto the deck through a sliding-glass door. She gave them menus and took their drink orders before returning inside. In a moment, she returned with a cold bottle of Heineken for Louise and a large glass of water for David. Louise left the cold mug on the table, glancing at it briefly with what David thought was disdain as she sipped directly from the bottle. The waitress asked if they needed more time to order, but after a brief consultation with Louise, David told her that they'd both be having Belden burgers with fries. Smiling politely, the waitress took down the order on her pad and told them their food should be ready in a few minutes. She returned inside once more, leaving David and Louise to enjoy the last dregs of the sunset from their table. Across the river, it finally sank beneath the distant hills, leaving them in the cool blue and violet shades of twilight.

Louise pulled out a pack of Marlboro Lights and lit one up, pulling the ashtray a bit closer as she did so. "You just sat us out here so you could smoke," quipped David, a wry grin on his face.

"Did not," she replied, exhaling a long stream of of blue-gray smoke from between her nearly pursed lips. She looked away from him, out across the river, before he could catch her eyes, but he could see that her frown had turned into a sly smile, or at least the hint of one. He didn't suspect it would take much effort to tease it into a full-grown smile. He proceeded to do just that, telling her stories of how he'd camped further up highway 70 from Belden at a place called Layman's Resort. It was an old railroad camp that had been converted into summer rental cabins. It was quiet there, scenic and relaxing, though in the evenings, people tended to drink just a little too much while sitting on the small decks in front of the cabins. David told Louise about how the railroad tracks ran through the canyon there on the other side of the river, and how they'd hiked down at night from the cabin to listen to the train as it hit the steep curve by the bridge. The tracks were off just enough there to make the train sing as it roared by. It was a high, pure keening note, so loud you had to cover your ears with your hands, and it echoed off the canyon wall like a banshee's wail. The sound of that train, so beautiful, so eerie, still haunted him in his dreams sometimes, he told her.

She listened to his story attentively, especially the part about his dreams. She'd always enjoyed hearing about dreams, even though it was often difficult to convey the feeling of a dream, let alone its sense, in words. She thought to herself that it would be very strange to be able to share someone else's dream, and she found herself wondering what it would be like to share one of David's dreams. Had she asked, David could have told her. Almost invariably, they'd have ended up in the mysterious city where most of his dreams took place. He couldn't say exactly where; its geography and topography were rich and varied, and shifted somewhat as things in dreams will do, but generally, it remained internally consistent, just as it remained in large part a puzzle to David's mind, no matter how purposeful his nocturnal sojourns there seemed. Still, there were very few people with whom David would consider sharing something so personal as a dream, but Louise was one of them. he trusted her for some reason, and it was a rare feeling for him. The more he was hurt, the harder it was to keep himself open.

Louise finished her cigarette, and in a brief moment of silence, both of them thought of the odd complexities of dreams. Shortly thereafter, just as Louise was getting ready to light another smoke, the waitress returned with their meals, two obscenely large burgers with fresh-cut golden fries piled high on the side like cordwood split by an overzealous lumberjack. "Anything else you two need, hon?" she asked, placing a hand in motherly fashion on David's shoulder as she took a bottle of ketchup from the front pocket of her apron and placed it on the table between the two plates. "I think we're all set, thanks," replied David.

"Now you make sure she eats up, sweetie," she said glancing at Louise with a matronly smile, "she needs a little meat on her bones." David smiled, and Louise imagined what it would be like to ram the hamburger into the waitress' ass with a piledriver, though she smiled demurely the whole time. "I'll be back in just a little while to see if you two need anything. Enjoy your burgers!" With that she left them to their meal.

"I was looking for a long pole to shove this food up her ass," groused Louise as she examined her burger.

"Aw, she was just kidding I think," said David. "At first, I thought maybe you were a little too thin, but it really suits you. You look good. Sexy. I wouldn't change a thing about the way you look."

They joked a bit about how she attracted the pedophile crowd, and she told him as they ate why it was so hard for her to keep on weight. David was sorry to hear of her ailment, but at the same time, she showed such strength in the way she dealt with it that he thought even more highly of her. He told her about a friend of his who had a granddaughter who suffered from Crohn's, and was in and out of the hospital quit a bit, mostly in these days. With this, the waitress returned, checking to see if everything was satisfactory. Both Louise and David replied almost simultaneously that the meal was excellent, the waitress laughing at the jumble of words they produced, a minor cacophony.


(cont)

 

[Hand_Solo]

Louise ordered another Heineken, and they finished their meal discussing their plans for the weekend. They'd get to the Atlantis by eight, check in, unpack, maybe change, and head down to the casino to check out the action, or maybe head to a different one. Reno at night was an ocean of scintillating light, an atemporal fantasy in which you could lose yourself for hours on end if you weren't careful. More than once he'd witnessed people emerging from the casino with shocked expressions as they realized that what was late night had somehow inexplicably become early afternoon. They stood transfixed like statues in the stark high-desert light.

After they had some fun in the casinos, said David, they could go back to the hotel, and then in the morning, they'd grab breakfast there in Reno, or lunch depending on the hour, and then head up to explore Captain Morrison's Carnival and Emporium of the Macabre, see if it was all David's friend Stephanie implied it would be. Louise didn't know whether to be creeped out or excited over the prospect of something genuinely paranormal. Plus, she thought to herself, there was certainly a good chance that David's friend was simply full of shit. Either way, she was excited. She liked spending time with David, and even if the carnival turned out to be the dumbest thing they'd ever seen, she was confident they'd be able to make it into something fun. Worst case, they could drive back to Reno and have some more fun there.

They finished eating, and Louise drained the last bit of her beer, placing the empty bottle next to the first, which the waitress had neglected to remove, though it certainly wasn't as if the table was overcrowded. David grabbed the check from where the waitress had left it on the table and tossed down a tip. He and Louise walked back through the restaurant to the register and paid, leaving to a flurry of fond farewells from the waitress.

Louise hadn't realized how cold she was until they'd gone back inside and she'd started to warm back up a bit. As they walked back to the Honda, she started to shiver, and she hoped the heater in David's Civic actually worked as well as she remembered it working. The running lights flashed briefly, and the interior light came on as David unlocked the car, and both of them got in quickly, just as they had in the parking garage when they first met, to avoid the cold. As soon as he started the car, David turned the heater on, and as the engine was still warm from their drive, warm air started pouring into the passenger compartment almost immediately. "God, that feels good," said Louise, "my legs just about froze out there. It was worth it to be able to smoke though," she finished with a smile.

"I thought so!", laughed David, pausing to let a small string of cars go by before he got back on the highway. Louise switched discs in the player. "I can't even remember what's on this one. I just threw together a bunch of stuff that I thought'd be good for a road trip." And good it was, upbeat music to counteract the sedative effect of the large meal they'd just eaten. The chatted and laughed above the music, and made good time through Quincy, and then David was pointing down vaguely into a dark canyon in which nothing but a few pinpoints of light could be seen to indicate the location of Layman's Resort, and shortly thereafter, they passed through Portola. After Portola, the began to see a few tiny patches of snow on the ground, glinting in stark whiteness now as the moon rose above the eastern horizon. The terrain had become sparse, and the trees were fewer now as they made their way over the pass. They were entering the high desert of Eastern California and Nevada.

"Almost to the state line," said David, and a few minutes later, they passed it, and Louise missed it completely. David laughed and told her he'd be sure to point it out on their way back to California, and joked that she must have blinked. After a few more miles, they began to see the lights of Reno in the valley below them. As they entered the city proper, David pointed out a tall building with stunning purple and green lighting. "That's the atlantis right there. And next to it is the Peppermill. We can take a taxi to the old strip tonight if you want, but to tell you the truth, the casinos are all pretty much the same.

Five minutes later, they were at the Atlantis. They checked in, and when David got a smoking room with two beds, she looked at him with eyebrows arched, but said nothing. She was curious, but not upset. He smiled at her as he slipped the keycard into his front pocket, and together, the two of them made their way through the lobby to the elevators. "We're in room 1971," he said, "the year I was born." She remarked on the oddness of the coincidence, and the two of them laughed about it on the elevator ride up to their floor. The glass elevator afforded a spectacular view of the city lights. In short order, they made it to their room, and Louise debated taking a shower they went out.

"I, um, hope you don't take the separate beds the wrong way," stammered David, "I didn't mean anything by it, just didn't want to, well, it seems odd maybe after what happened at the cabin, but I didn't want to rush things, or assume anything I shouldn't. I like you as a friend, Louise, and if we can be friends with benefits, well, that's great too, but, let's just see what happens. No preconceptions, ok?" She laughed. "I was thinking much the same thing to tell you the truth, David. I'm glad you said something. Besides, we can always push the beds together if the need arises, or even use the floor." She looked back over her shoulder coyly with this last as she went into the bathroom to shower. David stood there, dick stiffening in his jeans, wondering if perhaps she'd object if he joined her in the shower.

(cont)

 

[Hand_Solo]

David heard the shower turn on, and he stood there outside, torn by his lust for Louise on the one hand, and his desire to prolong this period of incredible seduction on the other. He longed to see her body in the shower, lick the droplets of water from her deliciously lithe limbs, but at the same time, he knew he should wait, knew she wanted to wait as well, and so, that's what he ended up doing, even though it pained him physically. He was stiff in his jeans as he stood outside the door, erection finally subsiding as he made his way to the small desk against the wall across from the foot of his bed, flipping on the television with the remote that was glued to the top of the desk. This led him to suspect that television remotes were a hot theft item.

As he flipped through the channels, he heard the shower shut off, and a few minutes later, Louise emerged from the bathroom, one white fluffy towel wrapped around herself like a sarong, and another wrapped around her hair. Gracefully, she made her way to her bag, and started rummaging through it. David watched her, mouth slightly agape in amazement at the way she moved, the grace of her body. "What?" she asked with a smile as she noticed him gawking at her.

"Nothing," he replied, "just, you're, well, it's incredible to watch you sometimes.

"I like being watched," she said as she finished towel drying her hair and tossed the towel over the back of the chair. "Especially when it's you doing the watching" With this, she let the towel drop from her body, standing freshly washed and naked before him. He sat, watching her, transfixed with amazement and appreciation. He knew this was a show for his eyes, and not his hands, so he sat and devoured her rapaciously with his gaze. "You like this body?" she asked, "You find it pleasing, David?" She touched herself as she asked him these questions, running her hands seductively up her flat belly and over her breasts, lingering on the nipples, caressing them gently before moving on to trace the angles of her collarbones, brushing the damp hair back from her shoulders.

"Very much so, Louise," replied David, his voice a bit hoarse, his throat dry, "I, I mean, my god, Louise, look at yourself. How can you even ask that?" You're such an exquisite little minx! Good Christ!" She could tell by the look in his eye that he spoke from the heart, and it made her blush just a tiny bit. Her hands moved to her hips, and she stood there, regally poised and posed for him to admire. And admire her he did. Basking in the glow of his appraisal, Louise looked through her bag and produced a dress. It was black, silk, and though simple in design, incredibly expensive. She slipped it on to her naked body, and David was stunned at the transformation. Little more than a chemise really, it hugged her body in delightful ways, concealing just as much as it revealed. David thought to himself that before this night, he had never seen a dress worn properly. It seemed like a living thing, delighting in the honor of being able to caress her body with its fabric. The thin straps of the dress accentuated the delicate nature of her shoulders, made her look almost vulnerable. Louise smiled, and noting how intently David was focused upon her, she performed a brief pirouette, spinning gracefully on the ball of her foot and setting the silk of her dress to move in a flowing liquefaction that brought David to the verge of involuntary salivation. "Christ, Louise, you...you look like you just stepped out of a Maxfield Parrish painting or something. Some beautiful and incredibly seductive nymph." She laughed and came to him, standing in front of him. She reached out and took his big hands in her own, and then she placed them on her hips, and he could feel the warmth of her body through the silk. He pulled her to him, and they kissed, and as they had felt them before, they felt the sparks of desire pass between them. Louise stood then, slowly disengaging herself from David, and as she did so, he noticed that her hard nipples were visible through the black silk. "I hope you don't mind if I go out like this," she said softly, gazing intently at David, "it's nice to be noticed."

"I don't think that will be any problem whatsoever, sweet thing. I can't keep my eyes off you, and I don't think any man with a pulse will be able to either. Now lemme change really quick and we'll see what kind of fun we can find ourselves." Though he'd showered that morning, David took another quick shower to freshen up after the drive. He emerged from the bathroom wearing a pair of paisley print silk boxers that did very little in terms of modesty. As he walked across the room, his dangling equipment swung brazenly back and forth with the motion of his legs. She found it particularly enticing. Oblivious to her attention, he slipped on a pair of khakis and a dark charcoal dress shirt, along with some dark leather oxfords. As he slid his belt through his beltloops, she noted the firmness of his ass, accentuated by the fit of his pants. "Very nice," she murmured.

"What's that?" he asked as he turned to face her.

"Oh, nothing, she said with a smile, "just admiring the color of your shirt. It should go nicely with my dress."

"Oh," he said,"that's the exact reason I packed it."

"Yeah, bullshit," she laughed. He laughed with her at the obvious absurdity of the statement, and the two of them finished dressing. Louise slipped on a pair of elegant black shoes that went perfectly with her dress, setting off the simple elegance of her outfit. She wore no jewelry that David could see, but then again, she didn't really need any. Neither was she heavily made up, though she appeared to be wearing a bit of lipstick, but perhaps it was only lip gloss. He couldn't really tell. Whatever it was, the effect was subtle, but again, her natural features obviated the need for extensive cosmetics. She was, simply put, a natural fox. And, thought David to himself, she was dangerous because she knew it. It was exactly the type of danger he found himself craving.

David made sure he had his cardkey before they closed the door. Louise had left hers behind; David had her driver's license and other essentials in his wallet so she didn't have to encumber herself with a purse. He even had her cigs in the breast pocket of his shirt and a lighter in the left pocket of his khakis, along with the magnetic card that provided access to their room. They made their way to the external elevator and took it down to the lobby. As soon as Louise saw the lights coming from the old strip across town, David knew they'd be taking a cab over there. Her obvious excitement said it would not be otherwise. Besides, it was only a few minutes away, and the old strip had a certain grittiness that the new casino-hotels lacked. He was pretty certain Louise would find it appealing. They reached the lobby, feeling as if their stomachs were still floating somewhere up around the tenth floor from the rapid descent, and made their way outside to the front of the hotel where they immediately found several available cabs. There was never a dearth of taxicabs in Reno. They were as prevalent as pigeons or roaches are in some cities. The two of them hopped into the cab, and David asked the cabbie to take them to the Silver Legacy. The driver nodded, but said nothing, speeding smoothly out into the flow of traffic and driving them rapidly across town to the Silver Legacy. David paid the cabbie, who promptly sped off to pick up his next charge as soon as the door was closed. Woe be to he or she who leaves anything behind in a Reno cab, for as soon as the door closes, the cab is gone.

Louise turned around, and for the first time, she noticed the gigantic geodesic dome in front of the hotel, one of the largest of its kind. It was stunningly huge, and she marveled at the sheer magnitude of it as they made their way inside. David explained that the Silver Legacy was connected indoors to Circus Circus, and several other hotels and casinos. You could go to many different places without having to brave the cold Reno nights, especially convenient during the winter months.

As soon as they made their way inside, Louise knew they'd made the right choice by coming here. The interior of the dome was even more spectacular than the exterior. It was dominated by a vast, multi-story Rube Goldberg contraption in the style of a strange and fanciful goldmine of some sort. Huge gears turned, conveyors conveyed, and everywhere the eye rested, dynamic processes unfolded. She laughed at the beauty and absurdity of it, and they spent several minutes on one of the catwalks taking in the spectacle of the thing.

Finally, they moved on through Circus Circus, the bizarre silliness of it sending Louise into fits of laughter, though she was very impressed, as was David, with the motorcyclists riding around in a gravity-defying display inside a giant spherical steel cage. One wrong move would result in certain death, and yet the cyclists looped around the inside of the sphere as if it were child's play. The two of them watched in fascination for a good while, and more than once, David noticed admiring male eyes agape at Louise in her black dress. He couldn't blame them; she certainly was fetching incarnation of feminine grace and sensuality. There was a certain combination of qualities about her that really caused heads to turn, mostly men, but women as well, some of them jealous, others aroused.

(cont)

 

[Hand_Solo]

They made their way finally, by a very circuitous route, to the gambling floor of the Silver Legacy. It was elegant, noisy, and incredibly bright with all the mirrored surfaces, flashing lights, and row after row of slots, virtual poker, and a jillion other money-grabbing machines. Old women sat at the slots, guarding them like withered frogs on lily pads, plunking quarters in as fast as they could and hitting the max-bet button, or else simply swiping their cards through the ubiquitous reader on the side of the machine. After all, even little old ladies can take advantage of life in the 21st century.

They made their way past banks of plaintive machines before they reached the gaming tables. The two of them wandered around for several minutes before Louise saw a blackjack table that caught her eye. Actually, it was the dealer who caught her eye. She was tall and slender, though not so slender as Louise. She looked incredibly fit, and her dealer's uniform did little to conceal her feminine curves and the taut musculature of her trim frame. Her face was particularly attractive, angular cheekbones with a button nose, sprinkled with a light dusting of freckles that contrasted nicely with her pale skin. Short, dark hair with reddish highlights framed her features with evenly parted bangs, and David suspected that the very sexy color must have come from a bottle with a label something along the lines of "Black Cherry." She smiled warmly at Louise, and then at David, revealing white teeth too even and pretty to be entirely real. Still, the effect was pleasing. David noticed the way the dealer was looking at Louise, and noticed as well how Louise was returning her gaze, and he found it incredibly arousing. Unless he was mistaken, the dealer wanted to fuck Louise as badly as he himself wanted to fuck her. A quick glance at the look in Louise's eye and the slight flush on the skin above the neckline of her dress told him that his initial impression had been correct and that Louise was well aware of the dealer's desire. That, he found, turned him on even more.

He'd known Louise liked the company of women as well as the company of men, but this was the first time he'd had the pleasure of witnessing it. The dealer, whose name turned out to to be Mona, was clearly smitten with Louise. As they sat down at the table, it was clear that more than one game was being played. In fact, David almost lost track of the fact that cards were being dealt and bets were being placed. The two women spoke very little, but their eyes were locked at times in communication, and more than once, David noticed Mona's eyes lingering a bit too long on Louise's nipples, which had remained enticingly erect in the coolness of the casino, clearly noticeable through the black silk of her slip of a dress.

Within half an hour, Louise was up three hundred dollars, a very nice start to the evening. David wondered briefly if Mona had let her win somehow, but that hardly seemed possible with all the security in the Reno casinos. The dealers were watched as closely as the players. Every time Louise won, Mona seemed to take pleasure in it. David found himself wondering if Mona was wet from the excitement of it. Then, he noticed he was getting a bit wet himself. The sizzling soul synergy between the two women left him stunned; it was something he'd never really experienced before. Louise was definitely enjoying herself, but he could see that she was becoming a bit restless, wanting to move on and explore something else, something different. With one last win, she decided not to press her luck any further. As she gathered her chips, Mona mentioned casually that she'd be off shift in another three hours, and that she'd probably be in the lobby for just a little while after she got off. With this, she looked away almost shyly. Louise smiled warmly and said to Mona that maybe she'd bump into her. David liked the though of Louise bumping into Mona immensely. Grinding as well. He found his head filled with obscene thoughts as they left the table, and the dealer, behind. He wondered where Louise would be in another three hours, and where he himself would be.

They moved on through the Silver Legacy casino, and twice more Louise and David stopped to play a little blackjack, but there was no real interaction other than professional courtesy with either of the other dealers. At neither of the tables did Louise win as much as she had with Mona, but at the same time, her losses were minimal, leaving her with plenty of cash for other ventures.


Not particularly thrilled with her declining success at blackjack, Louise suggested craps. They found a table, and played a bit, but the dice just felt cold in her hands, and she lost fifty dollars within the first ten minutes, causing her to put out her cigarette rather violently in frustration. The table attendant looked at her with the wan smile of a heavily medicated sea mammal, and they left the table feeling like parhaps they needed a bit of a break from the gambling action. David suggested coffee, perhaps with something sweet on the side, and Louise agreed. They wandered around for close to twenty minutes before they found a place that looked like it was serving the types of things they were craving.

They were seated at a booth with a window that looked out into one of the busy central walkways connecting the casinos, and the flow of people was incredible. Reno never slept. Even though it was almost one in the morning, the milling crowds never seemed to thin. People moved past the window in a slow steady stream, some of them looking in at Louise and David. More than once, Louise made funny faces at them, causing some people to turn away in embarrassment, and causing others to laugh. More than one man did a double-take as he saw her. David wondered how many of them would stroke off later that night trying to recapture the image of the beauty sitting in the restaurant.

They decided finally on pie and coffee, Louise laughing that they should have just found a diner somewhere. But when the pie and coffee came, they were exceptionally good. Both of them had ordered the double-crust peach pie, and it was perhaps the best pie either of them had ever eaten. The coffee was strong, rich, and very flavorful, and by the time the waiter refilled their cups, they were both zinging along quite nicely on a caffeine buzz of ample proportions. Louise asked the waiter for the time, and when he told her, she asked for the check, explaining to David that they had to be somewhere shortly. The waiter returned, and David handed him a visa card. Once more the waiter left, and then returned again for David's autograph, for which he exchanged the visa card, thanking both of them for coming as they left the restaurant and made their way out into the hallway.

David followed Louise's lead through the maze-like corridors and hallways until they made it to the lobby of the Silver Legacy. Mona was there, standing near the elevator. She was still wearing her dealer's outfit, black pants, white dress shirt, and black vest, and she looked simply stunning in it. She smiled when she saw them approaching, flashing her too-white teeth. "Hi, you two, wasn't sure if you were gonna come back or not. I was just about ready to head home."

"Oh," said Louise with a wickedly seductive smile, "there was never any doubt in my mind we were going to be coming back. Would you like to come back to our room at the Atlantis to unwind after a long night of dealing?"

"I'd love to," replied Mona, "I thought you'd never ask." Her laughter was bubbly, like champagne, and David could tell she was nowhere near as clever as Louise, but then again, he found that didn't really bother him all that much. He followed Louise and Mona out of the lobby, admiring both their asses, and moments later, the three of them were squeezed into the back seat of a cab, Louise nestled in between David and Mona. It was, overall, a very pleasant cab ride.

(cont)

 

[Hand_Solo]

Mona, it turned out, smoked exactly the same cigarettes as Louise, and even before the cab ride was over, she'd developed the annoying habit of bumming smokes. Louise smiled and let it pass, but David could tell that it was annoying her just a little bit. Still, at this point, she was clearly intent on getting into Mona's pants, and she wasn't about to let a few smokes stand in the way.

As the cab pulled in to the passenger zone in front of the Atlantis, Louise's hand grazed across the front of David's khakis ever so briefly, and he knew right then that he was in for one hell of a night. Soon the three of them were on their way up to the room, and Mona didn't even wait until the elevator ride was over before she'd kissed Louise. David smiled, aroused but a bit uncertain of his role in all this. "Does he just watch," asked Mona, "Or does he get to play too?"

"We've never done anything like this before," replied Louise, her voice low and intense, " but I suppose he can play. I want you all to myself first though, and then we can all play. I'm sure you two will get along famously; he's all cock once you get to know him." Mona glanced down at the mound in the front of David's khakis and licked her lips like a feral animal before returning her attention to Louise. Almost as soon as she did though, the turbo elevator reached the nineteenth floor, and the trio exited and made their way to room 1971. David fumbled in his pocket for a moment before coming up with the keycard, which he deftly slid through the slot before he opened the door. They'd left the curtains open, and in the dark room, the view of the Reno lights was spectacular. Louise and David both stood staring out the window, while Mona, who had lived in Reno for years, asked if she could take a shower. "I mean, I know it's a weird thing to ask, but I've been on shift for the last eight hours. I'd like to freshen up a little before we play." Louise told her to go right ahead. She and David, she said, would manage to keep busy.

As soon as Mona was in the shower, Louise hopped on David's lap and began kissing him. "Mmmmm," she purred, "this is going to be so much fun. I haven't done this in ages. She's too good to pass up though, don't you think, David?" David agreed, his hands roving over Louise's body, delighting in the cold smoothness of the silk. He wondered how long the dress would stay on once Mona emerged from the shower like Venus emerging from the sea. And soon enough, that's exactly what she did. The door to the bathroom opened with wisps of steam, and Mona emerged, damp and naked, into the room. She was drying herself off with one of the fluffy white towels provided for such things by the Atlantis, but she was in no way making any effort to use the towel to conceal her breasts, or any other part of her body. And truthfully, she had absolutely no reason to conceal any part of her body. She was fabulously built, her lean, muscled physique a testament to many hours each week on the stairmaster. She was tanned the color of golden honey, with only the downiest of hairs upon her supple frame. Her pubes were shaven, and her hood was pierced, a gold ring from which depended a tiny hand blown glass bead in which something glittered like fire.

"Ooooh, that's beautiful," said Louise, gazing approvingly at Mona's clitoral jewelry.

"It's fire opal set in glass," replied Mona with a giggle, "It's my birthstone. I'm a Libra."

"Fascinating," replied Louise, her eyes wide with what David was certain was mock wonderment. "David here's a Taurus, and I myself am a Cancer." Mona smiled at this sharing of astrological knowledge, certain within herself that she'd made the right choice in coming back to the hotel room with Louise and David. There was clearly more to them than met the eye.

With that, Louise and Mona were kissing, the damp towel dropping limply from Monas fingers and falling upon the floor. Though Mona was taller and bigger overall than Louise, it was the latter who quickly took charge of the situation, placing her hands on Mona's slender yet broad shoulders and guiding her to one of the beds. As they reached the edge of the bed, Mona fell back onto it with one of her trademark bubbly laughs, spreading her legs to reveal her cleanly shaven pink treasures to both onlookers. Louise licked her lips involuntarily, and then looking at David with that intense sultry gaze he enjoyed so much, she said to him, "Now wait right there and be a good boy, David, and watch why boys are lucky women let them play at all. And if you're good, maybe in a little bit we'll let you play, too."

"I'll do my best to behave, ladies," replied David, his voice deep, utterly manly, "but I assure you it's not going to be easy."

Louise's eyes drank him in hungrily before she turned to Mona. She began kissing Mona's freshly washed feet, and then gradually worked her way up the insides of the legs, alternating gentle kisses, first left, then right, then left again, causing Mona to squirm upon the bed, even bringing out goosebumps on her arms at one point, the fine downy hairs catching the light as well as David's attention. Soon enough, Louise was working Mona with her tongue, making her moan, making her cry out sharply with passion. Mona's hands rand through Louise's hair, gently stroking her head as Louise pleasured her.

David looked on in wonder, aroused by the tender passion mixed with intense and very proficient touching. Mona was grinding her muff against Louise's mouth in a slow, snakelike rhythm that Louise matched with her own movements. Hands moved over toned flesh in gentle motions, some less gentle than others. Locked in their passionate embrace, the two women seemed completely oblivious of David's presence in the room, but in truth, both of them were keenly aware of being observed by a man, and both of them were enjoying it immensely. Most men were leering, too crass, not knowing when to shut up and watch. David knew when to be quiet and appreciate the show. This was one of those times. Soon, the intensity of Mona's squirming increased as she writhed in sexual ecstasy and abandon beneath Louise, and soon after that, she came, crying out so loudly that David was certain someone would call hotel security, but no one did, or if they had, security never arrived. Mona laughed after that, throwing her head back on the pillow, flushed, a thin sheen of sweat covering her golden body. "Oh fucking god that was good. Where did you learn to eat pussy like that?" she asked Louise. Louise just smiled in return, seductively licking the last of Mona from her lips.

David watched as Mona returned the favor. Still supine upon the bed, she had Louise straddle her until her shaved sex was in reach of her mouth, and then she began to go down on Louise, slowly expertly, sending waves of pleasure through Louise's body. At some point, her dress came off, and the sight of the two naked women on the bed was almost too much for David. His cock had long been stiff in his khakis from the show, but now he was nearly overcome with the urge to put his stiffness to use, to join these two hot women upon the bed, but he knew that Louise would invite him when she was ready, when she was done with her own pleasure, when she was done giving him a show.

It wasn't long before Louise came, and David could tell by the way she cried out that she'd come hard. She squirted when she came, and Mona was soaked, something she seemed to find hotter even than David did. She rubbed the wetness over her skin, licking her fingers, moaning in pure pleasure upon the bed.

"I think we're both wet enough, now, David,"laughed Louise, "why don't you take off those clothes and come join us?

"That sounds like an excellent idea," he said as he stood, slowly unbuttoning his cuffs and the buttons down the front of his shirt. Naked, he joined them, and together, the three of them pleasured each other in many diverse configurations. All three of them took a hand in guiding the proceedings of the night, and the synergistic combination of their three libidos produced fantastic results.

All through the night the three of them were lost in an ecstasy of sexual exploration, stopping only briefly when Louise decided she wanted to spend some of her winnings on a room service order. She requested champagne, but then changed the order to mineral water when she remembered David didn't drink, and she specifically requested a straw. She also ended up ordering a bottle of Jack Daniel's at Mona's request, and a few club sandwiches and sodas for snacking purposes. As soon as the order had been delivered, Louise wrapped in a bathrobe while David and Mona hid and cuddled under the covers. Soon the three of them were back at it, and Louise showed both of them a great trick with the straw and mineral water, a trick David was happy to perform on both her and Mona, again and again until the mineral water ran out. It was orange flavored mineral water, and David joked to Louise that both her lips tasted of orange now, as her lip gloss was also orange flavored. This produced much laughter all around, and also much taste testing of lips.


(cont)

 

[Hand_Solo]

Finally, the three of them were utterly spent, and Mona said she was going home to sleep in her own bed as she had to work again the following night at the Silver Legacy, and she needed her beauty rest. She thanked both of them for a wonderful time, and they in turn thanked her. She gave Louise her number, and told her to call if she was ever in Reno again, telling David he could tag along any time he liked. David grinned at this, and hoped within himself that someday the three of them could get together again. Mona left the room, and the two of them talked for a little while before drifting off to sleep on the separate beds, both of which had played a role in the night's entertainment, both devoid now of blankets and upper sheets, all of which had been squirmed or pulled off onto the floor in moments of passion.

Louise woke late the next morning to find David already up, examining his teeth in the hallway vanity mirror. "Everything ok?" she inquired.

"Yeah, all good. Thought I might have chipped a tooth on that clit ring thing of Mona's," he laughed, "everything looks good though." He ran his tongue over the edges of his teeth once more to make sure, and then walked over to his bag to grab clothing for the day. Louise stretched her supple frame in catlike grace before rising from the bed to dress. "Last night really wore me out," she said as she continued to twist her neck from side to side, "and on top of that, I think I slept wrong. My neck is all kinked." David offered to rub her shoulders a little bit, an offer she was quick to accept. His big hands with their strong, nimble fingers wrapped around her shoulders and worked out her kinks. Louise melted just a bit, and soon her neck was feeling much better.

By the time they were dressed and packed, it was past noon. So much for an early start. They checked out from their room over the television set, and soon they were cruising the gray dismal streets of Reno looking for breakfast, or perhaps lunch. They weren't exactly sure at this point, but both of them were in need of sustenance after a long night of fucking. Louise complained that she felt utterly dehydrated, which led David to speculate with a wolflike grin as to how she could have lost so much fluid. Once more she punched his arm, which was already developing a faint bruise from the last time she'd hit him. David feigned agony, hamming it up for Louise's amusement, but he thought to himself that she hit pretty damned hard for such a waify thing. "You can be such a little wench sometimes," chided David.

"Mmhhhmm," she murmured in assent, "an odious one at that." David laughed in response. "Odious Wench. God, that'd make a great name for a character of some sort." She thought it over for a moment and agreed, though in point of fact, neither of them ever thought of it again after that afternoon.

They had to drive around Reno for another twenty minutes when David told Louise they had places where you could eat breakfast and watch strippers at the same time. She said, just for the sake of novelty, they must do this thing. So, they drove around, and finally asked directions at a Beacon station before locating The Silver Fox. The breakfast was adequate, but nothing spectacular. Louise ordered French toast with a side of bacon, and David had pancakes. The strippers were much like the breakfast, adequate, but nothing spectacular. They bumped and ground with marginal skill and little enthusiasm, but they did bump and grind, which was something in and of itself. Both of them enjoyed the show and the breakfast overall, neither having done anything like it before. "I wanted that stripper with the huge nipples to autograph one of my pancakes," said David as they walked through the parking lot to the Honda. "Yeah, I'll bet you did," replied Louise with a grin on her face. They had been some rather interesting nipples, but Louise doubted whether or not it was possible to autograph a pancake, though she knew David would have been happy to assist in the process.

It was early afternoon by the time they left Reno and headed northeast towards the Carnival of the Macabre, and after they missed the turnoff and had to backtrack, it was nearly dark. They drove almost five miles down a single-lane blacktop road, poorly maintained. Louise noted that it wasn't the best location in the world in which to draw a crowd. She seemed fidgety, and when she asked David if it was ok to smoke in his car if she rolled down the window, he consented. The smoke seemed to calm her, though she was still a bit tense. He didn't blame her; the drive had taken them longer than he'd originally anticipated. Finally though, they crested a small hill, and before them in all its peculiar glory was the Carnival. They counted seven circus tents of various sizes, all an extremely dark burgundy color. The tents were arrayed loosely in a circle, and it was difficult to see exactly what was taking place in the central area in the middle, though they could see that it was filled with some sort of activity.

They parked in the designated area, loose roped-off quadrants, much like some concerts David had seen. They sat for a moment taking the whole thing in. There was something not quite right about the Carnival. Both of them could sense it, but neither of them could place it precisely. Together, the two of them debated turning around and heading back to Reno, but they'd come all this way, and in addition to a feeling of not-rightness, the Carnival also hinted at great wonders, and in the end, their curiosity got the better of them, and together, they made their way towards the entrance.

(cont)

 

[Hand_Solo]

Louise and David noted as they walked toward Captain Morrison's Carnival and Emporium of the Macabre that the tents had been erected in a small valley of sorts that, whether by intention or accident, blocked most of the evening desert wind. Louise had worn a skirt sans panties expressly for the purpose of teasing David, and she'd worried that it would be too cold, but she was willing to suffer a bit because she knew how powerfully her legs and hindquarters aroused David's desire. Still, she found as the gentle breeze blew against her legs that she wasn't suffering at all. In fact, the breeze was almost balmy, a bit of spring trapped and held over in this tiny valley, even though summer was long gone and winter was rapidly approaching. Louise was certain that for a moment, she caught the scent of exotic blossoms on the breeze, but then it was gone, leaving her wondering if she'd even smelled it in the first place, or if she'd just imagined it.

As they neared what appeared to be the main entrance, David suddenly stopped. "Oh shit, I hope I remembered the tickets," he exclaimed, reaching for his wallet to check. "Stephanie sent 'em along with the fliers and I--" he cut of in mid-sentence as he found the tickets in his wallet. "Whew, shit, never mind. Right here where they're supposed to be." He kept the tickets in his hand as he put his wallet back in his pocket. "I'm assuming we'll need these shortly."

Sure enough, they did need them shortly. As they approached the entrance, a tall, gaunt man dressed in a some sort of black frock coat silently took their tickets as David proffered them, deftly tore both of them in half at once, and handed David back the two lower halves. With an ink-stained and withered hand, he pointed them in the direction of the main pavilion. To reach it, they'd have to cross the central area in the middle of the tents. They passed through a corridor formed by two of the smaller tents, and as they emerged, they entered into a maelstrom of people. The temperature on the way in had been balmy, but here in the crowd, it was positively stifling. Louise found herself reaching up to unbutton her sweater before she was even aware she was doing it, and she noticed David was rolling up his sleeves. Many of the men were carrying blazers slung over one shoulder, and some of the women were holding sweaters or light jackets of some sort. Louise looked at David, perplexed by the markedly increased temperature. He just shrugged and grinned; there was quite a bit of exposed female flesh parading around. People were perspiring, and some were red faced in the heat. The crowd was tightly packed, and milling with no discernable order or direction. As they began to sort things out in the chaos of their surroundings, they realized that the crowd was composed of both spectators and performers. Jugglers, dancers, acrobats, and other entertainers were making their way through the crowd, pausing here and there to display their skills to the delight of the onlookers.

David grabbed Louise by the hand, and pulled her further into the crowd. Soon, they came face to face with a sword swallower, a swarthy, sallow soul, but blessed with a capacious gullet. There was something not right about the man; he looked to be suffering from a mild case of fragile-X retardation perhaps--lantern jaw, large, protruding ears-- though there was a cunning in his eyes that belied any sort of mental deficiency. He regarded both David and Louise with shifty eyes for a moment before commencing his act, which was particularly impressive. He swallowed successively seven sabers, and then carefully removed them, covered in saliva, slime, and stomach secretions. They looked on in fascination as he wiped the blades clean with a rag tucked into his waistband before bowing sardonically and melting away into the crowd. Louise pulled David down and whispered into his ear that she'd like to practice her sword-swallowing skills later on his sword, her hot breath and the closeness of her lips sending shivers down his spine. Louise knew his ears were extra sensitive, and she made a point of quickly kissing his earlobe before she moved away. He shuddered mildly with delight, and she laughed at how worked up it had gotten him.

The further they moved into the crowd, the hotter it became, and the press of bodies was almost unbearable at times, yet there was something sensual, even erotic, about the constant touch of flesh upon flesh, body upon body. The crowd was a frotterist's delight; there was no way to avoid being pressed into close contact with others.

Their progress towards the main tent was slow because the performers in the crows were so captivating. They saw contortionists assuming positions neither of them had dreamed possible, and given Louise's incredible flexibility, that was saying quite a bit. They saw stunningly dexterous jugglers, some of them juggling dangerous objects like daggers or torches. They found themselves wondering how it was that no one in the closely-packed crowd had been injured. They'd even seen a fire-eater blowing huge plumes of flame mere inches above the heads of the spectators. Perhaps the lack of injury was a testament to the skill of the performers. Or, perhaps it was just luck, and something horrible was waiting to happen. There was a sense of chaos about the whole carnival that made either possibility seem just as likely.

Louise gradually felt herself becoming aroused somehow by the heat. It made her passion smolder within her. She looked askance at David, and she could tell he was feeling it as well. Then again, David always seemed to be feeling it to one degree or another, but tonight, she could tell that he was particularly aroused, keyed up and very alert. He was definitely not a tame animal, and she wouldn't have wanted him like she did if he was. As if he felt her eyes upon him, he turned to look at her, and as their eyes met, he smiled. "I don't even think we're half way to the main tent yet. I wonder what time the show's supposed to start." Louise had no idea, and since nobody seemed to be rushing towards the main tent, they decided to take their time and enjoy the show.

As they watched, they noticed that many of the performers seemed odd, some far more so than others. Some were just a bit peculiar looking, but others didn't even appear human. In the dim light, it was difficult to tell for sure, and much of it could have been the result of tricks of light and shadow. David and Louise both found that to be the most comfortable answer, and so they stuck with it by mutual agreement. Still, both of them were wondering, doubting, taking closer looks when they could, and still they were uncertain.

They continued on, pressed close together by the crowd, enjoying the feel of their bodies together. More than once they groped each other in the shifting crowd, allowing a natural motion of the crowd to press them together tightly so that David was pressed firmly against her backside, or that Louise's breasts were pressed against his arm or his chest. This interplay delighted both of them to no end, and the possibility that others in the crowd might see only served to heighten the sense of erotic excitement they were building between themselves. Both of them were quite aroused and more than a bit disoriented by the time they made their way through the swirling crowd to reach the open flap of the main pavilion. Based on what they had seen so far, neither of them had any idea what to expect inside.

(cont)

 

[Hand_Solo]

The flap to the huge pavilion was pulled aside and tied to a peg driven into the ground, the rope snugged under the peened-over head of the stake, mushroomed out from years of use. The entrance of the tent was untended insofar as they could tell, and as people were passing freely to and fro, they decided to do the same. Together, they walked through the flap and into the darkness of the interior. At first they could barely see in the stygian shadow, but even if they'd been able to see every detail of their surroundings, the first impression to assail them still would have been the incredible heat. The chaotic open-air performance through which they'd just passed had been stifling, but the temperature within the tent was almost unbearable. As their eyes adjusted to the gloom, they could perceive that many of the spectators had removed even more of their clothing to beat the heat. Sweat dripped from everyone, and they saw some women who had stripped down to bras, and others who had forgone even the modesty of a bra. Exposed breasts glistened with sweat and shone redly in the light of the huge bonfire at the center of the tent that appeared to be the sole source of illumination. Around the fire tall angular shapes were arrayed at regular intervals. They looked for all the world in the dim light like menhirs or other stone monoliths, but surely such stones would be far too heavy to transport on a regular basis. Around the base of the larger shapes, they could see bodies moving, dancing to the persistent beat of drums that could be heard in the background, as well as dancing to unheard rhythms, ones that evoked strange, and even slightly sinister motions in their oiled glistening bodies.

One Form stood out from the others, larger, more animated yet less graceful, fully clothed in a long elegant coat of some sort in sharp contrast to the near-nakedness of the dancers. Perhaps this was the Captain Morrison named in the handbill they'd read, the proprietor of this strange spectacle of which they were now a part. As they moved closer through the whorls and eddies of the crowd, they began to hear the ranting diatribe that issued forth from the man's mouth in an endless torrent that reached their distant ears only in bits and pieces. "...from the sands of Egypt! Before ever the sign of the cross..." and on it went, though they couldn't hear the next bit about the cross. The press of bodies was constant on all sides, and there didn't appear to be any seating, or for that matter, any acts that they could see. At times, animals would be led by trainers through the central area of the ring, most of them steering well clear of the bonfire so as not to spook the animals. Some of the animals were readily recognizable, while others weren't immediately so. Perhaps it was only the dim light that made them seem odd, but as the oddities accumulated, David and Louise found it increasingly difficult to attribute all of them to the lack of light. Surely some of the things they'd seen were exactly as strange as they appeared.

The din of the crowd abated for a moment, and again they heard the incantatory ranting of the ringmaster, if such he was. "...and then across the great steppes of Asia Minor, transported by smugglers and slave traders in many a clandestine caravan, the idol, along with the great rites of fertility used to propitiate the deity!" Again the noise of the crowd surged, and they lost his voice in the cacophonous noise that surrounded them, swirling about them in almost palpable form.

Louise cupped her hand to David's ear and shouted against the din of the crowd, "I wanna get closer so we can hear him!" David nodded, and Louise grabbed him by the hand, leading the way through the crowd towards the center of tent, towards the huge bonfire, which, large as it was, still couldn't account for the incredible heat within the tent. Many people were practically naked now, and roving hands were increasingly apparent. Many people appeared oblivious to the strange spectacle before them, more focused on touching, kissing, like lotus-eaters lost in some erotic dream. Louise felt the warmth of David's hand intertwined with her own, and she once more thought of how aroused she was becoming. Like the people around them, both David and Louise were increasingly amorous, and both of them seemed to feed off the increasing charge being built between them by the long drawn out seduction. Both of them ached for sexual release, ached desperately even, but both of them knew that the longer they prolonged that ache, the sweeter the release would be when it ultimately came, when they ultimately came. She'd taken her sweater off, and was wearing a tight short-sleeved black blouse that showed off her torso and her deliciously willowy arms. David ran the index finger of his right hand down the side of her upper arm, and then licked the sweat from it, tasting her. She'd noticed that David was fond of exploring the world with his tongue; it was one of his more endearing qualities. "Let me be your stag, and you can be my salt-lick. Now we just need to find a forest," he said to her. She laughed, and stepping close, put her hands on his shoulders, saying, "I'll be your salt-lick any time." This set both of them to giggling, and soon to giggling interspersed with kissing. They found they were both having difficulty containing their arousal, and as they moved closer to the center of the tent, it became even more difficult to do so. David had unbuttoned his shirt about half way down, and Louise rand her fingers over his chest as they paused once more to kiss. She was wet under her skirt, and she was anticipating a time in the near future when she'd be able to show David just how wet. She was tempted to do it right here in the crowd, but even with all the exposed breasts milling about, she though full nudity might have attracted a bit too much attention, so she decided to wait just a little while before giving David some upskirt action. She kissed him once more, passionately and deeply, making sure to rub her breasts against his chest as she did so to relieve some of his tension, or perhaps, she thought as they kissed, to intensify it a bit more. She wasn't sure of her motives herself at this point, but she was taking great pleasure in working David up to a level of sexual frenzy he'd not yet achieved. She knew she could take him to new heights of experience, and she was determined to do so. Likewise, David had similar intentions for Louise. He knew she was taking pleasure in working him up, and he was more than willing to be worked, knowing that at some point, she'd push him too far, and he would take her forcefully. He was as curious as she was to see just how long that would take to happen, and what exactly would transpire when it finally did. She became even wetter with the anticipation of it, and wetter still from the kiss. David was a good kisser, as was Louise, and together, their tongues played with each other, teasing, exploring. Finally, they disengaged, both a bit breathless, both more that a bit aroused. "We'll resume this later. I want to go to the middle. I feel like we're missing something," she said to David as they paused. He agreed, and once more, they made their way distractedly towards the center, warm sweating bodies pressed close to each other.

(cont)

 

[Hand_Solo]

They were holding hands as they made their way to the center, and sometimes David felt like he was pulling Louise along, and other times, he felt like she was doing the pulling. Somehow, they made continued progress towards the center of the pavilion, though it was a progress punctuated with many stops. The crowd was so thick that at times it was impossible to move forward. At times, they'd had to backtrack around knotted throngs of bodies, impassable barriers of sweating human flesh. Not only that, but increasingly, imploring hands reached out seductively to drawn them in, enfold them within the group. David and Louise, however, though they found the offers enticing, weren't that easily distracted. They'd heard enough of what the man was shouting at the center of the tent to want to hear more, and both of them felt inexplicably drawn to the fire, in spite of the insufferable heat.

"Call him Pan, great and ancient sylvan god!" shouted the ringmaster, "Call him Cernunnos, the great horned one! Mighty pillars once erected in the sacred grove at Oryx in his name, sanctified, yes, sanctified with many a dark sacrifice beneath the light of the moon at the times appointed by the priests." And with this they could hear him no more as he moved around towards the other side of the tent, his back now to them. "I've got some fertility rites I'd like to show you," said David as he leaned in even closer to her to be heard over the roar of the crowd, "they involve my priapic wand. You might have to help me polish it." She looked at him with a grin on her face, a grin that said she was proficient in all the rites of Pan herself, and probably those of Aphrodite as well.

As they got closer, they saw that the entire center of the area had been covered in beach sand, or perhaps desert sand--fine sand of some sort at any rate. And the shadows that had appeared to be stone columns from a distance were indeed stone columns, each one two feet on a side, and at least fifteen feet tall. And the shapes that had appeared to be dancers from a distance were indeed dancers, lithe women from some eastern land, snake-hipped dancers moving about the columns in a loosely choreographed whirl of erotic movements.

And as they got closer still, they realized that the columns were responsible for the heat in the tent; it was radiating from the surface of the stones. Louise held her hands palm out in front of her, and was shocked at the amount of radiant heat hitting her hands. It felt almost as if she were reaching into an oven to grab out some freshly baked muffins. She couldn't understand how the dancers were able to dance so closely to the stones. It seemed humanly impossible. Louise noticed that David too had raised his hands to feel the heat of the stones. It seemed impossible that they could generate such incredible heat, even if they were radioactive. They found they couldn't get much closer, and that most of the people around them were stopped as well, so that the dancers, the stones, the sand covered circle, the fire, and the ringmaster all stood within a clearing devoid of onlookers.

Soon enough, the ringmaster returned in his circumnavigation of the great stone monuments and the dancers to a point near where Louise and David were standing. As the man--surely it must be Captain Morrison--saw them, he shouted out, "All for Him! All across the globe, manifested in many ways, many names! His Glory! You! You there!" He shouted, and then cackled insanely as he pointed directly at David. "You know! He's ridden you before! I can still see the stag horns above you! He laughed, and spreading his arms wide, his coat spread like the wings of some unhealthy dragon, he encompassed all that surrounded them with a broad expansive motion of his arm. "All this, for Him...the dancing maidens from the fringes of the Rub Al Khali. They know His name, hear it upon the desert winds, and they dance for Him, oh, how they dance. Do you not see the seductive motion of their hips? All for Him, to entice Him, placate Him with their suppleness. Every performer here, hand picked, chosen to glorify His ways. The Dark One of the Forest, Lord of Fecundity, The Goat of a Thousand Young, and we are those young. Go, take yourselves and go to see His spectacles, the delight of His dark pathways, set before you, arrayed for your pleasure, your edification. The mirrors, made by the masters of old Byzantium, carried here against all probability, and all for your delight! The serpents captured from the deeps of the seven seas. The animals improbable and impossible gathered together as they've not been since the time of the flood. Go now, see, feel, and know!" And with that, he had moved on, screaming to the crowd about the blood of the Vestal Virgins.

Louise turned to David. "What the fuck was that guy on about? Oh my god! And what did he mean about the stag horns, and riding? How did he know about our conversation?"

"He didn't, I don't know. I, it's nothing."

"The fuck it's nothing. David, do you know what he was talking about?"

"I've uh, he's talking about Pan. He's talking about Cernunnos, the Stag-Horned one. Cernunnos, he's come through into me rather strongly in a magic circle before. Not possession really, but, it's, I dunno, Louise, I don't really talk about it to anyone. What can you say about a god coming into you, looking through your eyes, letting you look through his? How can you describe such a thing? I don't know how he knew. I'm thinking maybe we should go."

"No, David, it's fine. I mean, this Cernunnos, he's not...bad, is he? I think we should stay. At least take a look, see what this place is about."

"No, not bad, just, I don't even know how to describe it. Vast, dark, not evil. The dark spaces of the forest, the roots of things, the shadowed brook, that's where you'll find him. I don't know how He found me, but ever since I was younger I've known. The first time he came into me for real, it scared he shit out of me. I had to ask some of my witch friends what to do. I guess it's an ok thing though. I don't know why he chose me, but it's an honor in a weird sort of way."

Louise looked at him, not quite knowing what to think. "Well," she said, "maybe you should lead on then. Let's go exploring, David. If this god is a god of seduction, passion, sex, then we both belong here. I don't think we should be anywhere else tonight. There's a reason we're here. Now, let's go play." And with this, she took him by the hand and began to move outward toward the exit.

As they made their way back through the crowd to leave the main tent, they noticed many people in the crowd looking up. As they did so as well, the two of them gasped simultaneously. Above them, suspended from a steel cable, was a large metal sphere, studded with torches. From it, like the jewelry from Mona's hood, depended several acrobats on trapeze-like swings. Large gears within the metal sphere turned, and puffs of steam were emitted from the archaic mechanism as it turned, providing motion to the acrobats. Around and around like weighted pendulums they arced, moving expertly from swing to swing, passing torches to one another in mid-flight, and a host of other delightful maneuvers designed to evoke shock and awe from the crowd. Indeed, it appeared as if they would fall or else be flung violently into the crowd by the centrifugal force of the contraption at any moment, but they all managed to stay perched upon their wildly swinging supports. Soon, the two of them got used to the pure spectacle of what they were seeing and began to pay attention to the intricacies of the routine. They soon noticed that it was filled with erotic elements, and that the male trapeze artists were pursuing the females in an aerial dance of seduction. David pulled Louise in front of him as they watched, and as she leaned back against him, she could feel that he was rather stiff in his jeans. It turned her on immensely, and she ground against him as best she could without making it too noticeable to the people surrounding them in the crowd.

They watched for several more minutes as the acrobats performed, and then the finale of the routine occurred as the acrobats spun together, weaving their ropes to form a may-pole that descended gradually from the suspended metal sphere to reach the ground. As it did so, the acrobats let loose the ends of the ropes and scampered off into the crowd, but not before both Louise and David got a good look at them: clearly they were more reptilian in appearance than human. Shocked, they stood looking at each other with mouths agape. Perhaps it was just the heat playing tricks on them, suggested David, but Louise was unconvinced, she'd seen lizards performing a trapeze act, and she was certain of it.

(cont)