Ignite

by Nola Sarina

  Alice scoots aside and Shaun guides me to sit astride his lap. He’s beautiful in such a masculine way: full lips, a flawless smile, and skin so smooth I want to taste it.

  I have a moment of certainty that I’ve lost my mind in this place, but I ignore it, stretch out, and kiss his cheek, tasting his skin with the tip of my tongue. He’s warm and as smooth as he looks, and Alice strokes my lower back, whispering in my ear. “Shaun’s gentle. And a great dancer. Remember what I said about the rules here being different?”

  I nod, my heartbeat kicking up a notch with excitement.

  She winks. “Have fun, and catch up with me later!”

  Then she’s gone, and I’m alone, peering into the warm brown eyes of Shaun, his heat seeping through the scant barrier of my clothes as I sit on his leg.

  “So it’s Andee?”

  I try my best to give him a flirty smile. His hand rests around my waist, his thumb trailing up and down my side with just enough pressure that it doesn’t quite tickle. “Yep, Andee.”

  “What do you do, Andee?”

  I tuck a stray strand of hair behind my ear. “Uh, I’m in school. And I work at a coffee joint. Hot Bean.”

  “Hey, my brother lives right around the corner from there. Maybe I’ll stop in and see you sometime.”

  I don’t look anything like I do right now when I’m working. But he’s still trailing his hand up and down my side, and I like it. I like it a lot. I smooth his shirt over his pecs with my palm, admiring how solid he is. “I’d like that.”

  “What are you in school for?”

  I almost don’t want to admit my white-collar aspirations in a place with so much graffiti. But The Core seems like a collection of people who aren’t there to judge. We’re just here to live. “I hope to be a dentist.”

  “That’s cool,” Shaun says, a genuine smile breaking across his lips.

  I’m relieved by his cool reaction, and I lean forward to kiss him once more. I know he’s a stranger. But he’s just so fucking tasty.

  “Want to dance?” he asks, his baritone voice rumbling through his chest.

  I nod, smiling, forgetting everything but this guy, the muscles I can feel beneath his shirt and the way he looks between my eyes and lips like he can’t decide which he likes more. I think he likes both.

  And Then We Dance

  Shaun sets me on my feet and leads me up to the dark corridor beneath the DJ booth. The only light in the space is black fluorescent to highlight the graffiti on the walls, which is so elaborate I couldn’t read it if I tried. The fluorescents make my shirt glow bright, and Shaun’s shirt is so dark he nearly disappears into it.

  The song ends and a new beat strikes. Just the drums, at first, and my hips sway side to side with each hit. And then the music joins the rhythm, and I’m dancing again, grinding against Shaun this time.

  He’s hard at the same time as smooth, his body toned. I have to crane up when I want to kiss him, and his lips are eager, pulling at mine, his mouth hot. He moves against me, his leg between mine, until I press forward and straddle his thigh as we dance. It’s so sexual, and I’m aroused as hell.

  I don’t care that I’ve never done anything like this. Hell, the only one-night-stand I’ve had was my first time in senior year, and it was so quick I didn’t even tell my sister it happened, embarrassed I’d done something wrong. This isn’t quick or careless. This slow, deep dancing is beyond erotic. It mirrors sex, but with a complete stranger. I don’t know Shaun. Right now, I don’t want to know him. I just want to feel him in the way he’s feeling me: exploring something totally new.

  I’ve lived by so many rules for so long... go to college, get engaged, be a good girlfriend, don’t be extravagant... that this place of newness is too tempting to resist.

  I drop my head back and let the energy of the place course through me. Shaun holds me up while I lose myself in music, in movement, in heat. That second shot of vodka is doing its job well, and Shaun grins at me when I pull up to face him. He’s having as much fun as I am, and I spin around to let him press against my ass. His breath is shallow, washing down over my hair as I let my hands play over his thighs behind me. He leans down to kiss my neck, and it’s so sensitive, but his tongue soothes the tickle, and I let out a laugh.

  “You dance like magic,” he says, and I catch a faint whiff of rum on his breath. I lean back and reach up behind myself, stroking my hands over his scalp, scratching lightly along his tousled, dark hair.

  “Abracadabra,” I murmur, and then I cringe at my own lack of social finesse.

  But Shaun chuckles and runs his hands from my wrists down along the underside of my arms, to my breasts, and just barely grazes them as he moves to settle his hands around my waist. I moan at the sensation. Max always touched me like he was trying to turn on a computer to get a job done. Shaun’s touching me like he wants to touch me. Like the feel of me beneath his hands is the best thing in the world.

  Something about this place just magnetizes us, and I press back harder against him, arousal slamming through me when he loses his breath in a low groan.

  He spins me around and presses my back against the wall in the corner. I know this isn’t the way most girls meet boys. I know this isn’t what I usually do. But it feels so good that I don’t give a fuck. I lift my heel and hitch my leg around Shaun’s waist, and his hands are on my ass, pulling me against him. Heat spreads between my legs—I’m not sure if it’s mine or his, it doesn’t matter—and I find the zipper of his jeans with my fingertips, tugging it down.

  Shaun lets out his breath in a rush and glares straight into my eyes, begging permission. “You cool?” He asks.

  I lick my lips and kiss him to reply. He backs me further into the corner so I’m more hidden by the darkness, and I wiggle a heeled foot out of the leg of my jeans. The cool air washes over my skin and I gasp with delight. This is so hot. So public. I shouldn’t do this, but dammit, I’m going to.

  A crinkle of foil tells me he’s ready, and he breaks the kiss to slip a condom on. I steal a glance. He’s big, his erection even darker tan than the skin of his arms, and I like it. I’ve never fucked a guy this big before, but I’ve thought about it many times alone. Then I peek around him, looking at the crowd. Nobody notices us. Nobody cares. Half the dancers are grinding each other, and the other half are drinking or kissing. Are other couples fucking in this club? Is it allowed?

  I remember Alice’s words: It’s gonna feel so good. I know she’s right, and Shaun lifts my exposed leg up. His hand is so warm, grabbing my thigh with eagerness, and I can hardly keep my breath steady. He sinks into me—I’m so wet, I can’t help it—and I let out a whimper at the tightness, pleasure rolling through me in a wave. He feels even bigger than he looks, and when I meet his gaze, his eyes are on fire with wanting.

  I wrap my hands behind his neck and pull up a little, and then he presses into me harder and starts to move.

  In and out he thrusts, lifting me, letting me fall, my wetness cool in the public air. It’s so dark I can’t see anything but his muscular shape and the flash of lights behind him as the music picks up in tempo. Shaun matches the pace: he’s still dancing. We’re still dancing. And we’re fucking, too, and it’s so much all at once that I moan louder. Shaun doesn’t speed up, doesn’t lose the beat, as he fucks me against the wall. He’s so hard it builds an ache inside me, but the ache is matched by my own arousal coursing down his shaft as the thickness of his head hits just the right spot. I grab his shoulders tighter for support, and I can’t stand up anymore.

  Shaun grabs my ass and sweeps me up, both legs around his waist, my jeans dangling down to the floor.. He pins me to the wall and fucks me harder as the music escalates, and I lose control of my volume. I’m shrieking with every thrust, pleasure building lower, pressing down, flooding my system with a head-spinning cocktail of endorphins. He buries his face in the crook of my neck and starts kissing, tasting, and I roll my head back, giving him access to kiss my neck, my chest. He digs his
fingertips into the skin of my ass as he fucks me. It’s so good, so hot inside me... I can’t take much more. Shaun kisses up to my ear and whispers, “Give it to me. Come on me. You taste so fucking good.”

  His words ignite more nerves in my core, and I give it to him. I give it all to him. I ride his thrusts, I match his pace, pant, moan, and cry out as he hits the back of me. He nips my earlobe with his teeth, earning a gasp from my lips. And then he thickens, the climax surging forth, rocking me from the inside out. I tighten my arms around his neck, and then I crash around him, coming on his cock like he wanted me to, crushing his erection in waves. He drives it deep, pressing further. So fucking deep.

  I’m gasping, crying out, and then he groans against my neck, biting just a little bit, and he comes, too. I feel him throb for a moment, and then his muscles relax as he eases the intensity of his motion. He still moves to the rhythm, just softer now. Gentler. More caressing inside me. All I feel is the heat of our breath mixing together, our panting slowing as the tempo of the music changes. He slows to match it. Our rhythm was perfect, both of us dancing toward the same goal, and holy hell was it hot.

  I step down as he slides out, and he tilts my chin up with a fingertip, kissing me deep. I’m lost in the moment, still coming down from the peak, and he pulls the condom off and tucks himself safely away.

  I snatch my jeans and get that other leg stuffed back into them, suddenly desperate to cover up. That was so hot. But did I really just fuck this random, delicious guy in the corner of a rave? I glance around. Yes, yes I did. And nobody seemed to notice.

  Or maybe they did notice, but liked it enough not to interrupt. The thought lights a new fire in me, a fire of pride, as I feel exposed in the most tantalizing way. I grin at Shaun and he kisses me again through his smile, whispering a thanks.

  “No, thank you,” I say, and I mean it. I feel better—more alive—than I’ve felt in years. Or my whole damn life. This place is like a drug, and I want so much more.

  I’ll Drink To That

  We stroll through the crowd and find Alice, who seems to be match-making another couple by the bar. Shaun offers to buy me a drink, but I just ask for Sprite, this time. I’m high enough on the heroin that is the air of The Core, created by us, the energy that pounds with each hit of the bass, each beat of the hearts writhing together to the music.

  “So what do you do, Shaun?” I ask him, my bar stool angled toward him so my crossed legs tuck between his.

  Shaun drains his rum and Coke in one long pull. He plunks the glass down and smirks at me. “Sorry. Exertion, you know.”

  I feel my face flush, but he runs his hand from my knee to my thigh and gives me a reassuring squeeze.

  “I do motorcycle stunts. You know in movies when the good guy is fleeing a bunch of bad guys and he hits something explosive and flies off into the air, landing it perfectly?”

  I nod, surprised. Really?

  “The guy who does the jump—and lands it—is me.”

  “Wow!” I’ve never met someone with any kind of Hollywood job. “Sounds dangerous.”

  “A little bit. I love it, though.”

  I can see in his eyes that he truly does love it, too. He orders another rum and coke and nurses this one more slowly this time. He tells me about a time he didn’t land a jump and fractured his ankle. He’s even sexier talking than he is fucking, somehow, and I’m wearing a shit-eating grin of admiration when Alice parts ways with her friends and flits over to us.

  “You guys having fun?

  Shaun leans to kiss her on the cheek, and Alice flashes me a sneaky grin.

  “Your friend is hot,” Shaun says, dragging out the word hot. He squeezes my hand and I take a deep drink of my Sprite. The fizz refreshes me, bringing me back to Earth, though I’m somewhat wondering if we’re on Earth at all anymore.

  Something catches Shaun’s attention and he ducks his head down a bit so Alice and I can hear. He’s excited—I can tell by the way his eyes brighten. He looks so sexy when that anticipation flashes across his face. We lean in to hear his words, and his breath is sweet with rum.

  “I see my friend over there,” he says. “Catch you girls later?”

  Alice nods, and Shaun kisses me once, a slow pull on my lips. I flush when he breaks contact, and though I’m thrilled he’s so excited to meet his friend, a pang of longing hits me. I hope I get the chance to taste those tempting lips again someday soon.

  “You cool?” he whispers to me.

  “I’m cool,” I say. “And thank you.” No strings attached in this place. It was so easy to let Shaun in, and it’s just as easy to let him go. And for him, just that easy to let me go, too. As he turns and weaves into the gyrating crowd, I let out a laugh. I’ve always thought a real one-night-stand would leave me feeling used, or thrown away. My first time certainly left me feeling a little bit cheated out of the experience. But this is so far from anything unpleasant. He gave me something I wanted, and I gave him what he wanted back. When it was done, we were both satisfied. A relationship with a purpose, common goal, and duration.

  “You wanna see him again?” Alice asks.

  I nod enthusiastically. “Yeah. I wanna see him again.”

  “Shaun was really shy when I met him. He’s able to be anonymous in his work, you know, but socially, face to face, he struggles. Never knew what to say to girls.”

  “And now he’s...” I trail off, grasping for words.

  She laughs, a delighted jingle of bells. “A fucking sex-slash-dance god? Yeah, that’s him.”

  That description nails Shaun as precisely as he nailed me. I giggle. “And you helped him come out of his shell?”

  She shrugs. “It’s this place that helps people. We’re all here to feel nothing but good. No drama, no bullshit. We fuel each other. You two fucking in the corner probably helped three other couples find the courage to tell each other what they wanted.”

  So she saw us. I know I should be embarrassed, but a foreign sense of pride washes over me. Somebody’s getting off right now because I was willing to fuck Shaun where everyone could see. I suppose giving a stranger an orgasm isn’t the worst thing I could do.

  Alice nudges me. “Come on. Let’s go meet some more friends.”

  I pause. More friends? With the same goals as Shaun? I glance around. The booths are full now, but the couples that occupy them are still dancing though they’re seated. Or are they fucking? I can’t tell. Is this what raves are like? Or this place just that special?

  I turn to the bartender and call out for two more shots of vodka. The bartender’s muscled arm slides them down to me, and he’s grinning. I wonder if he saw me in the corner, too. If he did, he doesn’t seem to mind. Alice looks deviously thrilled when I hand her vodka over, and we toast and toss them back. I slam my shot glass down and turn to the crowd, elated to discover what else the night has in store for me. “Let’s do this,” I say, and we break into dancing right there at the bar.

  What a night. I just got fucked in public. Damn good-fucked, too. I can’t wait to see what I get to try next.

  That blue mascara was the best fucking thing I’ve ever bought.

  Coming soon from The Core...

  Shock

  “He’ll slow down the moment you ask him to,” Alice says. “He’s really sweet. But he likes it rough.”

  Rough. The word, combined with sex, sounds foreign and exotic. I wink at Alice. “Sounds hot.”

  She steps up a stair. “Okay. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!”

  Her tone is playful, but something about her words stalls my excitement. I just met Alice today. And I certainly don’t know Christopher, who likes it rough. I’m not used to rough. My ex was all clinical and basic, missionary and spooning. What the hell am I getting myself into? I grab her arm.

  “Hey, how can a place like this exist, Alice? What’s the point? I mean, I know what the point is...” I trail off, awkward. The point is sex. But who created a place like this, and why?

  She stops, tw
o steps above me. I have a moment of panic that if I let go of her here, she’ll disappear upstairs and my new view on life will vanish away from my reach with her.

  “Everyone is here for themselves. To find what they want, to find someone who wants the same things, but only until the party’s over.”

  I bite my lip, nervous. What about people like me, who don’t know what they want? Who want to try it all?

  Alice picks up on my insecurity and hops down the two steps to stand level with me. She puts her hands on my cheeks, pulls me closer, and kisses me once. Then, she turns my head and points over by the bar. “See all the single guys in jeans? One over there,” she points to the booths, “and one over there?”

  I follow her finger and pick out two men, both wearing dark baseball caps.

  “Hats aren’t allowed here, to make sure no one hides something they shouldn’t. So when you see guys in hats, you know they work here. Security.”

  I glance around and start counting—there’s over fifteen of them on the dance floor alone. “Whoa.”

  “Everyone is here to fuck. Or to watch. But everyone is comfortable, and there is no payment for anything. It’s totally legal. We just sell booze.” She grins.

  “If a quarter of the people here are staff, and you only sell booze to people who are here to get laid, how does the place make any money?” I ask.

  Alice smirks. “That’s where guys like Christopher come in. You wanna meet him?”

  I glance up at the floor above. I so desperately want to know what’s up there. It’s all such a mystery, this place, and I can’t resist the allure. It seems so surreal I’m afraid that if I don’t experience everything tonight, I’ll miss my chance. It might never happen again.

  I nod. “Alice.”

  “What’s up, Andee?”