"How do I look?" Peach asked, strutting out of the dressing room wearing a hideous floral dress complete with puffy shoulder pads and gaudy plastic jewelry adhered to the front.
Mario barely cracked a smile. "Still gorgeous," he replied generously through gritted teeth as she tromped back to the fitting room.
He had spent the past six hours seated in various uncomfortable plastic chairs outside changing rooms, watching Peach model countless outfits for the ballet she was planning to attend in three days. At some point her mindset had shifted from trying to find a suitable dress to trying to put together the most perfectly tasteless ensemble, to Mario's irritation. Although Peach was enjoying herself, he couldn't help but view her silliness as a waste of time. She had already bought five dresses for the event, so that she would have five options to choose from depending on her color preference that day. That was hours ago. And afterward the next several hours crawled by agonizingly slowly.
"What about this?" Peach stepped in front of him modeling an electric pink dress with sickening green fringe.
"Even worse than the last one," Mario said with a tired grin.
She grinned triumphantly and returned to the dressing room once again.
His mental energy all but gone, Pauline's ticket fought its way to the forefront of his mind. The concert was only two days away. He knew he couldn't go. But still, he had been spending a lot of time with Peach. He needed a break. She wouldn't have to know. She'd find out somehow. She'd get mad. What did she have to get mad about? It was just a concert. Unless Pauline followed through on their unfinished business. No. He'd just go to the performance and leave. He wouldn't even talk to Pauline. Still, it didn't seem right. He had a girlfriend. Wait... Maybe Pauline didn't know that Peach was his girlfriend. Although it was basically common knowledge, maybe she didn't pay attention to celebrity news. Maybe she needed an informant...An informant who couldn't help but get one last encounter with the girl he had to turn down.
"Ok, check out this one." Peach crowed as she posed wearing a blue sequined button-up dress shirt and a velvet skirt in aged yellow.
"Magnificent!" Mario praised, his eyes distant, a true smile finally gracing his lips.
Two days later, Mario found himself nervously gripping his car's steering wheel as he drove downtown towards the secluded jazz club. He kept ducking down periodically, sure that someone would see him if he didn't take precautions. Luckily it was a drizzly day in the Mushroom Kingdom, and the fog concealed him slightly. As his GPS led him closer to the destination, he grew mildly concerned. He was expecting the jazz club to be in the ritzy part of the city, where many of Peach's social events were, but the buildings around him looked run-down and neglected with graffiti staining the sides. Did he misremember the address? Yet as he rolled closer he spied the name that was on his ticket: The Blue Eyed Goomba. He swallowed his nerves, parked his car and locked it, then doubled back to make sure that it was truly locked before heading towards the club.
After handing his ticket to an intimidating bouncer, Mario entered into the building and gaped at the visually stunning interior. Antique couches and lounge chairs were spread around the small stage, while decorative lamps and lanterns illuminated the room in a hazy golden light. Servers ambled around the guests, refilling wine glasses and bringing appetizers. It was a true hidden gem, and he instantly fell in love with the unique yet sultry atmosphere.
Once he had ordered a light dinner, the lights dimmed slightly indicating that the live music would begin. His heart started to pound as he waited for Pauline to appear. He wondered if she would even notice him amidst the crowd. He watched as the pianist, bassist, and guitarist walked on stage to tune their instruments together. After a minute the drummer joined them, along with a trumpet player. Mario could tell that they were all talking about something, but he couldn't hear what they were saying. Eventually they all nodded in agreement and seemed to settle in with their instruments. Then, finally, Pauline strolled elegantly to the microphone.
She was utterly stunning. The crowd held and lingered on every note that dripped from her mouth. Her voice was deep and intoxicating, the kind that comes from knowing the miseries of the world but mulling them into sweet, soul-jerking lullabies. Pauline worked the room, her blue eyes drawing everyone under their spell while she teased and flirted with those seated in the front. But it seemed that those lurid blue eyes always returned to gaze into Mario's. And as the performance went on, her air-kisses always appeared to fly in his general direction. By the end of the night, he felt like he was the only one in the room.
After the show, Mario sat breathless, his ears still ringing with Pauline's enchanting voice. He waited thirty minutes for her to emerge from the backstage door while many of the other audience members left the club. In the meantime he looked over the performance calendar that was attached to the back of the menu. Unfortunately, this was the only time that Pauline and her band would be playing.
"So, how was it?"
Mario looked up, startled. "Pauline, you were incredible." He praised.
"I'm so glad you could come," she said coyly, her speaking voice every bit as captivating as her singing voice.
"I've never been to a place like this before, the old furniture creates such an interesting atmosphere," he forced out, his brain melting in her presence.
She smirked and tossed her chestnut hair over her shoulder. "I didn't invited you here just so you could admire the interior decorating," she teased. "Come on, let's go backstage. You'll see that the atmosphere there is even better." She said with a wink.
Mario followed Pauline through the obscured door in the far back of the room. The hallway behind the entrance was dark, and he felt her grasp his hand and begin to lead him through the narrow corridor. She steered them right and left, winding through the maze of stairwells and hallways. After a final turn she brought him out of the dark and into the brightness of her small warmup room. It was cramped, containing merely a cluttered vanity, a worn leather couch and a coffee table.
"Sit down," she offered, gesturing to the couch.
Although he took his place on the sofa, she remained standing and wandered towards the vanity.
"I'm so disorganized," she laughed as she inspected the numerous items on her dressing table. "Most of this is makeup anyway. I have so many different kinds, sometimes it's hard to choose what to wear for my shows." She uncapped a tube of lipstick and twisted the base, revealing the deep crimson tip. "Should I have worn this one?" She asked the mirror as she easily slid the color over her lips. "What do you think?" She faced him.
Mario struggled to think as he stared at her mouth. "Red is always a nice color," he stated, trying to be polite.
"It's one of my favorites." She sat down next to him on the couch. He could feel the warmth of her breath on his ear as she spoke deep and soft."It looks even better up close," her lips puckered slightly. She leaned in slowly, her eyes closing,-
"Pauline, I can't do this." Mario stammered out, shattering the moment and pulling away from her. "Look, I really like you, and trust me it's killing me to say no, but" he met her eyes sadly, "I have a girlfriend. She's Princess Peach."
"I know." Pauline stated bluntly, her shimmering blue eyes narrowed.
"You know? Then why did you...?" He trailed off, unable to finish his sentence.
"I don't care that you're with someone." She answered honestly. "I travel so much for gigs that I can't make full commitments, and I don't expect you to make any either. I only ask that you make time for me, just when I'm in town. You'd do that, for a friend?" Her voice turned into a silky whisper, though unwavering in its determination.
Mario's brain stalled, unable to think.
"I could take you places, you know. This isn't the only hidden club in the city. We'd go where Princess Peach would never set foot, where we could be alone and no one would know a thing. Nothing bad would happen, I promise. But you have to trust me." She soothed, her eyes cruel and beautiful, fully aware of their power. "Do you trust me?"
Time slowed as he struggled to come up with a response.
A/N: Thank you for the comments! Honestly I almost teared up at the encouragements. You all inspire me so much and I can't thank you enough for the love that you have given this story. I hope this chapter was entertaining, please let me know what you think of it! Have a stellar day! Much love, Guardian.