9: Flashy & Trashy
The Sultan's Crypt was a giant casino with an attached hotel, a row of shops, and a smattering of restaurants and bars. It also featured The Harem Room, a popular strip club that made The Tar Pit seem like a friendly place. The red and gold lobby was packed with dead people. The noise was almost deafening. It smelled like incense and Middle Eastern food, which wasn't bad, but it was strong. Beetlejuice and Lydia took it all in before heading to the front desk to check in.
"Checking in" Beetlejuice said as they approached. He pulled out some papers and slid them to the clerk. Lydia turned and watched everyone, almost in a daze. Beetlejuice had been right about how people were dressed. It seemed like the more outrageous, the better. She watched as a lady skeleton walked by, draped in strands of colorful beads that kind of formed a dress shape. A blob man shuffled by in a giant cowboy hat and flashy gold vest. Inside his gelatinous body were floating cowboy paraphernalia. The most mundane people were the hotel employees in their red and gold uniforms that fit the hotel theme. Lydia pulled out her camera and took some pictures. One ghoul looked as if she was just wearing a fishing net that still had sea creatures stuck in it.
A set of keys were dangled over Lydia's shoulder. She looked over at Beetlejuice. "Ready to check out the room?"
"Sure. This place is wild" Lydia replied. She grabbed her bag and followed Beetlejuice to the elevators. "I don't know if I have wild enough clothing."
"We can always get you something" Beetlejuice told her. The elevator opened as they approached. A hairy couple exited while an old couple entered the elevator before Beetlejuice and Lydia. "Floor 9."
The old man hit button 9. The elevator slowly began to move upwards. At floor 7 the old couple got off. When the doors opened again, Beetlejuice and Lydia left the elevator. The hotel hallway looked as normal as a Neitherworld casino hallway could look. Lydia followed her ghost down the long hallway, around a corner, around another corner, and down a slightly curved hallway to a room marked "9114D".
"9114D?" Lydia questioned. Beetlejuice unlocked the door and pushed it open. "That door number doesn't make sense."
"It's the Neitherworld, babes" Beetlejuice said, as if that explained everything. The room wasn't huge, but it was larger than the average regular-world hotel rooms that Lydia had been in. It was done up with red walls, white marble floors, gold trim...and one large bed. Lydia dropped her things on the foot of the bed and crossed her arms. "What?"
"One bed?" Lydia asked.
"We're supposed to be a couple" Beetlejuice replied. He dropped his bag next to hers. He stepped in close to her, grabbing her waist and pulling them close, a grin on his face. "You don't want to blow our cover, right? I know you just LOVE being my girl."
Lydia squirmed and landed a few smacks to his chest. He backed up and laughed. "Just keep your hands to yourself, Beej."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah" He snorted. He went to his bag and pulled out a few toiletry items. "Better get ready to hit the casino, Lyds."
"What are you going to wear?" Lydia asked. Beetlejuice put his toiletries in the bathroom and then came out to lean against the wall. He gestured to his clothes. "You're not going to change? Won't you stand out?"
"People don't pay attention to me" He replied. He wagged a finger at her. "You should definitely put something sexy on though. They're going to be watching you."
"Oh please" Lydia scoffed. She dug around in her bag and pulled out a few things. "I'm like the third long lecture on a Friday afternoon. No one wants to pay attention."
"Whatever you say, babes" Beetlejuice replied. He moved back over to the bed, tossed his bag into a chair, set his hat next to him, and got comfortable on the bed. He grabbed the tv remote and wandered through the channels while Lydia got her things together. "You could just keep on what you have on. I mean, you look good. I know it's plain compared to some of the stuff you saw down there, but it's fine. I promise. Totally fine."
"Do I look dead enough?" Lydia asked. He looked over at her and moved to sit up straight.
"C'mere" Beetlejuice said rubbing his hands together. Lydia moved to the side of the bed he had claimed and sat facing him. Her dead look had started to fade. "Looks like you could use a bit of a touch up. Probably faded when I took you home for a bit."
He reached out with both hands and Lydia's heart suddenly raced. His hands went to her throat and she forced herself to calm down, not wanting him to notice. Instead, her cheeks reddened slightly and she stared at a beetle on his shirt. He smirked and squeezed just enough to make her sit still, then his hands fell from her neck leaving a refreshed mark. Beetlejuice took his time looking her over before raising his hands to her eyes and cheeks. He left them looking a little darkened, sunken, deathly pallor on her skin. He moved her head to one side, then the other.
"All good?" Lydia whispered. She cleared her throat, not having meant to whisper. "Beej?"
"Almost. Hang on" Beetlejuice said touching a spot of mold. He nodded in approval. "Almost done."
He pulled her into a sudden kiss, relishing the squeal he elicited from her. His tongue found its way into her mouth and he tried his best to make it enjoyable for her. Lydia squirmed and felt betrayed by her body when she realized that her mouth parted for him. She grabbed his shirt in her fists and tried pushing him, but he just leaned back, dragging her with him. Lydia's groaned, attempting disgust, failing terribly; instead it sounded encouraging. One of Beetlejuice's hands dropped to her butt and pulled her closer to him.
"No!" Lydia managed as she gasped for air. She shifted in the half-sprawled position, nailing Beetlejuice in the balls on accident. "Ohmygod, I'm sorry."
The ghost with the most reflexively curled up, silver shoes emphasizing his balled up position, holding himself. "What the fuck?!"
Lydia stood up and backed into the wall. "Sorry. I didn't mean to do that. Sorry."
He shot her a sour look as he started recovering. It hadn't been a hard hit with her leg, just very unexpected. Lydia ducked into the bathroom before Beetlejuice could move to sit up. She felt flustered and anxious.
The bathroom was stark white with brass trimmings like the faucet and flush handle on the toilet. Lydia shut the door and leaned against the bathroom counter. What the fuck am I doing?! Lydia shouted in her brain. She turned the faucet handle on the sink, then splashed a little water on her face. Get ahold of yourself, Lydia. That jerk kissed you and you put an end to it, case closed. Just finish up your work with him and it's all finished. No more worries. You go your way, he goes his.
Lydia glanced at the door, half expecting it to fly open with an angry Beetlejuice standing there, but it didn't. The wall next to the door caught Lydia's eye and she slowly realized that the walls were covered in a glossy white on matte white images of partially nude harem women in the midst of various sexual acts. She made a face. If only she could unsee the wallpaper…
"Lyds!" Beetlejuice said from the other side of the door in a calm tone. "Hey, I wouldn't rush you, but we should go make some rounds, scope things out."
"Just freshening up" Lydia told him. She turned off the faucet and dried her wet face. Her lips were darkened, her eyes looked dark and sunken...she really didn't even need make-up. She took a deep breath, calming herself, then opened the door. Beetlejuice stood there in his flashy shoes and beetle shirt looking like some sort of twisted Neitherworld version of an extra from 'Swingers' or maybe like he was planning on going to a Big bad Voodoo Daddy concert. What is that style called? Lydia asked herself. Swing revival?
"Let's go scope things out" Beetlejuice said calmly when Lydia came out from the bathroom. Lydia nodded. He held out her photo bag and Lydia put her big camera aside, opting for a small point-and-shoot camera. "No hard feelings. Let's just go grab a drink."
"No hard anything" Lydia muttered as she snagged a small black purse. She slung it across her shoulders and followed Beetlejuice out the door.
The casino was crowded and noisy. Waitresses delivered drinks to those gambling. The dead strutted around showing off their outrageous outfits. The more touristy casino patrons were snapping pictures and gawking. Lydia and Beetlejuice walked around to the lobby and stopped at a ticket desk. Show posters and event schedules were everywhere.
"There are so many shows!" Lydia's eyes were wide in amazement.
"Gotta be, babes. There's a lot of people here" Beetlejuice replied. He grabbed a few brochures before stepping towards the ticket counter. The smiling man behind the counter had a chunk of skull missing. "Can I get two tickets to that circus show with the clown brothers for tonight? I hear it's good."
"Certainly, sir. $120" The ticket agent replied. Beetlejuice slid some money to the man. The man pulled out a map and showed him the seating sections. "We have seating here, here, here, and over here. Your preference?"
"That looks like a good spot" Beetlejuice said, pointing to two seats in a blue-colored section that had a good view of everything. The ticket agent hit a few buttons on his computer and two tickets finally emerged.
"Enjoy the show" The ticket agent replied. His face never let the smile drop. Lydia wondered briefly if he was stuck that way for eternity. Beetlejuice snaked an arm around Lydia's waist and they headed towards a room full of tables with people playing various card games.
"We have a little time to kill before the show" Beetlejuice told Lydia. "Got a favorite game? Poker? Blackjack? Faro?"
"I'm not really a gambler" Lydia replied. A few people had overheard her and sneered. "I mean, not with cards. I'm more of a dice person."
"Have to watch what you say around these parts" Beetlejuice chuckled. He led her through the crowded room until they found a few roulette games. Chips were bought, bets were made, dice were thrown, and surprisingly they tripled the small amount they had initially bet. Lydia was on her second drink. She wasn't sure what it was, but it was bright red and had some submerged cherries. She waited at a bar table while Beetlejuice cashed in their chips. He had left her with the strange drink he had ordered for himself, something green with a baby snake or was that a worm? She tapped on the stein and the thing wiggled around.
"Ew" Lydia muttered to herself.
"Sneaking sips of my drink?" Beetlejuice asked. Lydia looked over at him and shook her head 'no'.
"Just poking at the thing in it" Lydia told him.
Beetlejuice moved close to her so they were shoulder to shoulder. "I just saw Fuzzo while I cashed out our chips."
"Really?" Lydia asked looking around. She could barely see over the crowd.
"He was carrying a trunk towards the backstage area" Beetlejuice said quietly. He draped an arm over her shoulders. Lydia grumbled, but stopped when blue-skinned man with a sour face stepped over to them. "Can I help you?"
"Were you talking about Scuzzo?" The man asked. His lip quivered. Beetlejuice's arm tensed just slightly around Lydia's shoulders.
"No. I told my lady here that I saw Fuzzo" Beetlejuice replied. "We're just waiting for their show to start."
"I want to meet those two so badly!" The blue man cried out. The sudden change in the man made Lydia's eyes widen. "Which way did he go?"
"Backstage I think" Beetlejuice replied. "Probably getting ready for the show."
"I'm going to see if I can get an autograph. Those two are the creepiest!" The blue man said suddenly walking away. Beetlejuice let his hand slide down Lydia's back until it rested at her waist.
"We should probably finish up these drinks and head for the show" Beetlejuice told Lydia. "Do me a little favor, Lyds." Lydia made a questioning noise. "Laugh a little and kiss me. We have to do a little PDA for this façade."
Lydia turned towards Beetlejuice and giggled. She put a hand on his chest and let her fingers fiddle with a button. She whispered to him so others wouldn't hear. "I'm not going to kiss you right now." He pouted and Lydia laughed. "I'm going to finish my drink."
"Yeah so...like maybe later then" Beetlejuice grumbled. He grabbed his green drink and finished it in three gulps, snake and all. "Mmm...venomous."
"Was that a snake in your drink?" Lydia asked. She took her time with her beverage, but it was in a much smaller glass.
"Yep" Beetlejuice replied. He set his stein down and plucked Lydia's drink from her hand, drinking the last of it. It burned a little going down. "Nice."
"Hey!" Lydia frowned.
"Stop your griping, babes" Beetlejuice curtly told her. The hand that rested on her back moved to take her hand. Beetlejuice pulled her behind him, through the crowd of the dead, towards the wide hall that led towards the auditorium at the Aztec. It occurred to Lydia as Beetlejuice pushed through the crowd and made sure she had some space, that despite being tired she was having a good time with her ghost. The crowd thinned out where the hall split.
"Don't we have to go to the Aztec Casino for the show?" Lydia asked. She was able to move closer so they were walking side by side.
"We're just taking the underground walkway" Beetlejuice told her. They passed through a few sets of doors and by a few storefronts displaying clothing and jewelry. The hallway sloped down, flattened out, and then sloped upwards.
The Aztec Casino had temple themes mixed with jungle vibes. There were flaming torches along the walls, Aztec carvings, brightly colored birds flying around, and gold encrusted things. Lydia managed to take a few photos before Beetlejuice pulled her towards the auditorium. The line to get into the show was steadily growing and people were lined up along a long hallway.
"This place is wild" Lydia said. A couple of tribal men with their chests opened up, showing a dark space where their hearts used to be, walked by. "Actual Aztecs?"
"Can't call it the Aztec Casino without Aztecs" Beetlejuice scoffed. Lydia didn't care for his dismissive tone. The line moved forward slowly.
"Beej, are you upset with me?" Lydia asked.
"Nope" Beetlejuice replied with a pop on the 'p'. He was lying and they both knew it. Lydia pursed her lips. She could read him like a book, or at least this little round of pouting. They stepped forward a few more feet. A ghoul in red passed by, staring at them.
"How about after this we head back to the room for a bit?" Lydia asked. Beetlejuice snorted and shrugged. Lydia reached for his arm, pulling him a little towards her. "Be grouchy now because later you won't be."
"What the he-? Yeah?" Beetlejuice perked up. He stepped in closer to Lydia. "Maybe after this I'll show you why I'm called the ghost with the most." He suddenly leaned in to Lydia and whispered in her ear. "Good show, babes."
Lydia swallowed when she thought about what had happened earlier in the room. She let the ghost wrap his arms around her, invade her space. "People are watching."
"The dead always like a good show" Beetlejuice whispered back to her. He dipped his head to kiss her neck. To the others in the line, they just looked like two lovers whispering sweet words to each other and getting just a little frisky. It took a boost of willpower to pull away from her pallid neck. It was easier once they entered the auditorium. They managed to disappear into the dim seats until they found their spot in the blue section.
Once in their seats, they both focused on the circus ring. The auditorium was lively with chatter, but that quieted down as soon as the lights dimmed.
"We might have been a little flashy, but this is sure to be trashy" Beetlejuice whispered to Lydia.