Passions Prologue
By Dana Keylits

Chapter Five: Wondrous Things

Day Three

She wanted to take me somewhere, somewhere clever and unique and underground, but she wouldn't tell me what it was, or where it was, or what to expect, except the unexpected. So, as I sat in my Constitutional Law class, watching the clock, praying for it to move faster, I ruminated over the past two days.

Had it only been two days? Well, really three if you counted the first night we were together, and then this morning, which had been fast, and itself unexpected, as we both had early classes; her teaching, I attending, and we didn't really have time for it.

But, we'd made the time. And, as I sat in my chair, listening to a lecture on the relevance of judicial precedence as it applied to Constitutional law, I found my thoughts wandering back in time to the delicious way she'd touched me, stroked me, fucked me this morning.

I sighed dreamily, and then shifted in my seat as I realized a few of my classmates had noticed my, um, altered state.

Bette was an adjunct professor, teaching art appreciation, which seemed fitting, considering her eye for the transformative. This meant that her work hours were as fragmented as my school hours, which actually boded well for us, since late nights weren't usually a problem for either of us, as we both generally (except for on Monday's) had later classes.

It also boded well for us because it meant more time together, more time doing things, hot things, things that I didn't know people could do. And, again, of its own accord my mind wandered back, my flesh remembering her touch, the feel of her mouth on my body, on my breasts, my nipples, my throat, my lips; her scent and vibration, her sound, her velvety, silky, smooth sound as she whispered dirty secrets and carnal promises, into my ear.

My body hummed with the ghosted memory of her and I had to cross my legs, apply pressure between them, to relieve the building tension, a side effect as I recalled our fast and furious lovemaking from this morning. She was strong, unbelievably strong, and had used her legs to flip me over on the bed, her fingers roughly exploring inside of me, coaxing me, teasing me, until I was writhing and bucking and coming beneath her, my face planted into the mattress as she took me from behind, her velvety voice saying my name, over and over and over again, as though performed with an a-capella chorus, every note perfectly in tune.

"Kate, Kate...Kate!"

I jumped. A hand was waving in front of me. I sat up, refocused my eyes and turned to look at the man next to me.

"Where did you go? You're a million miles away."

"Oh, sorry," I stuttered, hoping my face didn't betray the way my body was tingling beneath the flimsy material of my summer dress. Henry Barnett had been sitting behind me, he was the president of our Nebula 9 club, and a friend. "What did you ask me?" I looked around, the professor had long ago finished his lecture and the other students were gathering their books and backpacks and spilling out of the classroom.

"Are you going to be at the Nebula 9 meeting tonight?"

"Oh, Henry," I rubbed my forehead, having completely forgotten about the meeting. "No, I, ah," I paused, how was I going to explain this? "I have a friend who needs me to do something for her tonight," I half-lied, feeling horribly guilty as his face dropped. I patted the back of his hand, "I'm really sorry. But, I'll be at the next one, I promise."

He nodded, "We're designing our costumes tonight, so, you'll miss an important meeting."

"I trust all of you," I offered. "Just have Penny call me if she needs me to help put the patterns together."

He nodded, then chewed on his bottom lip, regarding me. "What's going on with you?"

My eyebrows shot up, "What do you mean?"

His eyes narrowed, "I dunno," he said as we both stood up and started walking towards the door. "You seem different, you seem," he gestured towards me, "effervescent."

Bette picked me up ten minutes early, which was true to form at least according to her. I spilled onto the seat next to her, barely closing the car door before she gathered my face into her hands, her lips plying a deep searching kiss on mine. She dropped one hand to my lap where she traced it up my bare leg, sliding just past my short skirt, her fingertips tapping against my warm skin in harmony with the languid pace of her tongue in my mouth.

I moaned, my hips chasing her hand as she pulled away, and she looked at me from the corner of her eye, her fingertips brushing past her bottom lip. "Hi," she purred.

My belly contracted.

"Hi," I smiled back at her.

We arrived at a huge building, non-descript no address even to identify it. Bette handed her keys to a tattoo covered woman who'd been leaning against the building, she had piercings all over her face, her brown hair manipulated into sharp spikes, and she wore a chain that went from her front belt loop all the way to her back pocket, protecting an oversized wallet, I assumed.

Bette held my door open for me, her eyes briefly darting to between my legs as I swung them out of the car door. My skirt had still been hiked up, and Bette whispered in my ear that she'd enjoyed the view. I blushed, glancing nervously at the "valet," who seemed completely indifferent to this exchange.

We walked through the windowless door, past a small darkly lit room where a woman was seated on a stool, a clipboard in her hands. Bette flashed her I.D. and the woman waved us through, pushing a button on the wall to unlock the door.

As my eyes adjusted from the bright light outside to the dim light inside, I gasped. The interior of the large room in which we were standing was as ornate and brilliant as the exterior had been humdrum. Dark, rich, hardwood adorned the walls and ceiling, while thick dark wall-to-wall carpet muted the sounds of the people milling about, most of them with drinks in their hands.

As I scanned the room, taking in the sights of the lovely décor, the lovely people, I noticed that many of the couples were of the same gender, although not all. I turned to Bette, my mouth cornered up, "Is this a gay bar?"

She laughed, ordering us drinks from a handsomely dressed twenty-something African American man. "Oh, no, Kate. It's more than that. Just wait," she leaned in and whispered in my ear, "Your mind is going to be blown before the end of the evening." Her breath was warm, inviting, enticing, "And, hopefully your body, too!"

A thousand tiny shivers raced down my spine and I shuddered, my body leaning towards her like a magnet.

I had noticed a couple in the corner, a man and a woman, well-dressed, young, and wealthy, judging by the clothes they were wearing. The man had his back to me, and I could only see the woman's heel covered feet and the edges of her white dress as he stood in front of her. She had her arms around his waist, and it was obvious they were kissing. After a couple of minutes, he stepped aside to accept the drinks that were being brought to him by a woman who was wearing a tuxedo, clearly custom made because it accentuated her curves in an erotic and unexpected way. I got my first look at the woman and my mouth fell open as soon as I noticed her dress.

It was sheer from the waist up, exposing her breasts, her dark nipples accentuated by the soft translucent fabric. I nudged Bette's arm and gestured towards the woman. Bette laughed softly, her lips parting, exposing a row of brilliantly white teeth. "Oh, Kate." She glanced at the woman and then back at me. "Prepare yourself, you're going to see a lot more of that." She took a sip of her drink and looked around, "Especially when we go into the next room."

"The next room?" I asked, my eyebrows arching with curiosity.

Bette inched closer to me and I lost my breath. She smelled so good. Like vanilla and honey. She skimmed her lips over mine and I found myself backing away, feeling self conscious in this room full of beautiful people. Her dark eyes captured mine, they were dancing, compassionate, trusting, and I relaxed, falling into her kiss, our bodies vibrating and synchronous, as though we were tethered to each other.

All around us were couples drinking, laughing, kissing, observing, humming with sexual tension and I couldn't help but get swept up by the seductive atmosphere. I leaned into her all wet and wanting, curious and afraid at the same time. Bette could sense it, sense my wonder, and she took me by the hand and towed me towards the curtain covered set of doors across the expansive room.

On the other side of the curtain was a rectangular room with a T-shaped mahogany stage running along the entire length of it. Oversized leather love seats were placed on either side alongside the stage. Small velvet adorned tables, illuminated by gas lamps, were carefully situated between each of the couches.

The room was full of people and it took us a minute to find a seat. Bette led me to a loveseat at the front end of the stage and we sat down just as the lights were dimming. She took my hand in hers, our fingers entwining, and held it up to her lips as she looked at me, a sparkle glinting in the corner of her eye. "Kate, you're gonna love this," she predicted.

And, before I could respond, an eerie mournful sound arose from the large speakers mounted to the wall on either side of the stage, filling the room with an otherworldly mix of chanting voices and booming drums, the sounds reverberating against the walls of my chest cavity, causing my pulse to race as my eyes went wide in the falling darkness.

A single spotlight illuminated the red velvet curtain at the top of the T of the stage, and with a pounding of the drums, the curtain opened and out poured a stream of naked, running, dancing, paint-covered bodies. Men and women, swirling and dancing, some holding long thin ropes of fabric that floated in the air behind them. And with a whoosh and collective gasp from the audience, a pair of men came swooping down from the ceiling, tethered only to small ropes of braided fabric. They seemed to crash into each other, and then spun around and around, their arms wrapped tightly around each other.

And, they were kissing.

They spun that way, their legs and arms coiled around each other, their mouths smashed together in a frenzied angry kiss, around and around, faster and faster, rising up to the ceiling before parting and then diving back down, sailing just past each other, as naked men and women danced and pranced all around them.

A booming gunshot from the speakers stopped all of the dancers, and they crashed to the floor, some in a crumpled heap of several bodies, others by themselves, yet others paired off, men and men, women and men, women and women.

The drums started again, slowly, softly, barely audible and the bodies began moving in concert. In front of us were a man and woman, he on top of her, and as the drums increased their tempo and volume, she opened her legs and he slipped between them, his penis erect, her body willing.

I clutched at Bette's hand, not believing what I was seeing at first. I leaned over and whispered, "Are they?" But before I could finish my question, he had entered her, his hips slowly grinding against her, establishing a smooth, easy rhythm. She coiled her legs around his back as he took one nipple into his mouth and sucked.

I looked around at the other dancers, and my mouth fell open as I realized they were all engaged in the same smooth rhythmic act of lovemaking, even the dancers who were alone, using their hands to pleasure themselves in time to the music.

I stared at this wondrous thing before me, unable to judge or think or comprehend what I was witnessing. It was fascinating and titillating and frightening all at the same time and I must have been holding my breath because Bette leaned over, squeezing my hand, her mouth hot on my ear.

"Breathe, Kate. You have to breathe."

A/N: Stay with me, we're going on an odd ride, but there's a reason for it. Hope you enjoy it! :-)