by Lainey Fox
8
As the group made their way through the warehouse, to the exit they paused in the brightly lit yellow themed room. Tables were scattered about covered in shots just waiting to be consumed. Despite the number of people at the party, the shot tables seemed to be ever full. Crystal hesitated, running her finger around the rim of a glass. She didn’t want to get too drunk before walking to the academy.
“So what’s going on at this firefighter thing?’ she asked.
“They’re having some sort of festival, party, something like that. I’m not really sure,” Dan responded.
“That sounds cool,” Crystal commented. “Is there a theme?"
“Skulls,” Dan said, using his hands to wave in Crystal’s face. “Or something like that.”
She laughed, pushing him aside. He pushed back, tilting his head into hers. She bit his bottom lip, dragging it out between her teeth.
“Careful, you might want to save some of your energy for later.”
“Oh don’t worry, I’ll have more than enough energy to sustain me for the entire evening,” Crystal said, pausing for a moment. She glanced across the expanse of the room taking in the people and colors. “What’s up with this room? It doesn’t seem to have a purpose.”
There were ratty old couches lining the walls. Dan and Crystal were in the center, standing at one of the tables covered in drinks. Vance and Sierra had lagged behind and were nowhere to be seen. Crystal couldn’t tell what color the shots were because of the strange yellow light that spilled everywhere.
“I feel like this is probably the place where everyone does drugs,” Dan offered.
Crystal shook her head, figuring this explanation was as good as any. She didn’t really care though; she was itching for an orgasm, and kept pawing at his stomach.
“The alcohol getting to you?” he asked.
“Not even close,” she said, pulling him towards her for another kiss.
Dan pulled away from Crystal’s kiss and gave her one of his wolfish grins, biting on the corner of his mouth. She wanted him, now, bathed in this artificial sunlight. He wrapped his hands around her waist, digging his fingers into her back. There were whoops and claps from around the room. Crystal had forgotten they were being watched by a bunch of stoners and druggies. She didn’t care, though. She kept her hands on his face and neck, dug her fingernails into his shoulders.
“Let’s go before they decide to join in,” he whispered in her ear.
Placing his hand on the small of her back, he led her out of the room. She tried to focus on walking, but her legs felt like jelly. Dan’s hand on her back tickled her, reminding her that he had a hold on her that no one else could break. On their way out of the warehouse, they passed Vance and Sierra chugging beers in the main room.
“Wait for us!” Sierra called out. “We have to finish these beers.”
“Just ignore her,” Crystal said. “They’ll catch up soon enough.”
Surprisingly, Dan did as he was told. The only thing he could focus on was Crystal’s skin, and the seductive way she moved. The pair pushed through the front door and out into the chilled night. The air felt good on Crystal’s face and sent a chill down her spine. She pulled in closer to Dan, trying to siphon some warmth from his body.
They neared the academy only a few minutes after leaving the warehouse. The two buildings were only a couple blocks away from each other. Crystal was a bit sad it wasn’t a further walk, she was enjoying the brightly lit pumpkins that lined the sidewalks and her time with Dan. She was reminded of the fact that she was always around bright lights and beautiful colors. It felt like she was living on a stained glass windowpane, her world a mixture of rainbows and reality. The reality of what had happened with Dan begun to sink in the minute she left the warehouse. Though he’d acted blasé after walking past Sierra and Vance, she could tell he was still agitated.
Vance and Sierra had left a few minutes later, managing to drunkenly catch up shortly after. Crystal could hear Sierra’s obnoxious giggling, the way she clicked her heals across the sidewalk. She no longer cared that Vance was with her; she’d made peace with that. But Dan was another story. That would take a bit more effort. She held his hand and toyed with her collar, wondering what she had gotten herself into. She was excited with the promise of a long evening, and a party Dan’s friends were holding at the academy. He squeezed her hand and distracted her from her thoughts.
“So,” she began. “Are you okay?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?” Dan asked.
Crystal pulled him close. “I mean… because of what happened earlier. With Sierra?”
“It’s not that big of a deal,” Dan said, trying to brush it off. “We’ve been broken up a long time.”
“That doesn’t mean it doesn’t have to hurt.”
Dan said nothing.
“Or maybe it does,” she added quickly “I didn’t mean to offend you.”
Dan chuckled. “You didn’t offend me. I just don’t care about Sierra. Or Vance, for that matter.”
Crystal paused, a perplexed look furrowed her brow. “But you two are best friends.”
She’d never heard Dan talk this way about Vance. She thought they had been best friends since the academy. What had happened to change them? She didn’t want to ask this out loud, and figured the answer had something to do with a girl; perhaps Sierra.
“We haven’t been that close in a long time,” he said.
Her thoughts flitted briefly back to earlier, when Vance had been talking to Sierra about Dan. Crystal couldn’t get it out of her mind that he’d eluded to Dan possibly having feelings for her. She was excited and scared at the same time. Dan seemed to have a string of broken hearts following him around, and he definitely had trust issues.
“What does this mean for us?” She wondered to herself. “If there even is an us..”
From the parking lot, they heard loud voices, glasses clinking and the occasional sound of shattering glass. Sierra and Vance approached them, their laughter becoming quieter as they approached.
“So are we going to go in?” Vance asked.
“Of course,” Dan said. “I was just to… you know, embracing the moment.”
Vance nudged his friend in the stomach. “Embrace the moment, huh?”
Dan cracked a smile, shoving Dan in the arm. “Alright you big goof, get inside.”
Vance laughed and walked towards the frosted glass doors. They entered a long hallway with a black and white checkered floor. The hallway fed out into small classrooms. At the end was an enormous gymnasium covered in decorations. Though it was still a couple of days early, there were Day of the Dead decorations all over the place. An enormous piñata skulls hung from the ceiling, no doubt filled to the brim with some type of treats. The walls were covered in black crepe paper and there were three-dimensional skeletons guarding altars full of food.
Dan and Vance waved at a couple of their friends. There were at least fifty people there, some of them making out while leaning against the nearest wall, others were taking shots at the buffet table.
“Can we get some food before anything else?” Crystal asked. “I’m starving.”
He smiled at her. “Sure.”
Dan held his arm out and Crystal took it. Like clockwork, they started acting like a couple. They ate off plastic plates, he occasionally touching her waist. She reached up to smear orange cupcake frosting on his cheek at one point. From across the room, Dan’s friends were eyeing them. A couple of them had been friends since the academy, the rest were just hungry for something interesting to happen. Like vultures, they waited for their prey to walk into their hands.
“Some of your friends are really cute,” Crystal told him.
“I’m sure they’d like to hear that,” he responded.
Though he put up a facade, Dan was pretty easy to unravel. Just one intense flirtation from Crystal’s end and he was like putty in her hand. She found it endearing. He was good at playing both sides of the fi
eld, dominant when he needed to be and submissive when she caught him off guard.
“
I’m going to say hi to a few of them,” he said, leaving her at the buffet table. She smiled and nodded at him, pouring herself a glass of spiked punch. It was probably going to be a long night, and she needed a drink.
Vance walked up to her a few seconds later, leaving Sierra to talk to some of the guys.
“So how are things going on your date?” he asked.
Crystal could feel a rush of blood flushing her face. “It’s not a date,” she said.
“Oh I think it is,” Vance responded.
They stood in silence for a few seconds, surveying the scene. Dan turned around twice, no doubt to keep an eye on her because she was next to Vance.
“He likes you, you know,” he said.
Crystal shifted uncomfortable, trying to make sense of the tangled ball of feelings inside. “I’m not so sure about that.”
“Why not?” Vance asked, putting his arm around her shoulder. “You’re beautiful and available. I’ve seen the way he looks at you. I’m just saying, don’t let an opportunity like this pass you by.”
She didn’t respond. Though she was into Dan, this night was about more than that. She wanted warmth and hands all over her body, like flames licking at a log. She wasn’t used to attention from just one person. Having a threesome with Dan and Vance had awakened something in her that had lain dormant for a long time. She was into it all, from ropes and whips to a few things much darker. It gave her a head rush to think about submitting to a group of people. She was unsure if Dan would participate as he had done with Vance or if he’d wait on the sidelines for his turn.
Dan glanced back to Crystal and held up a finger, letting her know that he’d be back in a minute. Vance laughed and walked away. His absence was soon filled by Sierra, in all her pixie glory. She jabbed Crystal in the back to announce her presence. Crystal contemplated throwing her drink at her.
“That undeniable pull, huh?” Sierra said.
“What are you talking about?” Crystal responded.
“I see the way he’s been looking at you. And vice versa, of course. He used to give me that same look.”
Crystal sneered at her, not saying anything.
“It shouldn’t be a big deal that we broke up,” Sierra said. “I mean it’s not like he cared about me or anything.”
“I’m sure that’s not true,” Crystal retorted.
“Did you see the way he ignored me earlier?”
“You were talking to Vance— how did you expect him to respond?”
“Not like he did. I mean, we’re supposed to be friends. We fucked, so what? Do you know how many of my friends I’ve had sex with?”
Crystal wanted to tell her she sounded tacky. “I know what you mean,” she said instead.
“So have you two sealed the deal yet?”
“Um, kind of.”
Sierra laughed at her. “What do you mean kind of? You either do or you don’t.”
Wanting to change the subject, Crystal ignored the question. “So you seem to be really into Vance,” Crystal interjected.
“Oh yeah, he’s way hot,” Sierra said, happy to talk about herself. “I feel like I’ve had a crush on him since high school. We didn’t talk, though. I ran with a different crowd. But I remember you two dating.”
“We did date,” Crystal responded before adding: “For a little while.”
Crystal remembered that Sierra ran with the druggie crowd. It wasn’t a big deal anymore, but they’d never really been friends in the past. Vance had spoken to her a few times in math class, but other than that they never spoke. The fact that Sierra had somehow hooked Vance amazed Crystal. They were complete opposites of each other.
“I bet it was hot,” Sierra said. She was now looking around the room, no doubt for an easy exit. Crystal was doing the same.
“It was alright. We broke up after a while, shit happens.”
“That it does,” Sierra drawled out.
“Excuse me,” Crystal said, pulling away from the conversation.
She walked over to Dan and his friends, he greeted her by pulling her close. Dan introduced her to his friends. They were tawny and strong like Dan, and much taller than Crystal.
“So what brings you back to town?” one of them asked.
“I’m between jobs right now and decided, upon by brother’s pleading, to come home for a while.” Crystal smiled and leaned into Dan. “It beats being lonely in a city full of people I don’t know.”
“Yeah it sure does,” said the taller one with the clear blue eyes. His hair was the color of night, and he kept shaking it out of his eyes. “I bet it gets lonely after a while, being by yourself and all. A pretty thing like you should be taken out all the time and showed off.”
He lifted a hand to her cheek, caressing it slightly. She looked to Dan but he just shrugged. He didn’t seem to care, therefore neither did she.
“Thanks,” Crystal said, her own hand flying up to where he’d touched her.
“So what are you up to tonight?” Asked the black haired man. The others were silent; too busy looking Crystal up and down.
“Dan and I came here to have some fun, so I guess I could use another drink,” she said quietly.
“Sure thing,” said the blonde one.
They walked away to fetch drinks, leaving Dan and Crystal alone for a moment.
“What’s up with them?” Crystal asked. “They were awfully quiet.”
He whistled at her, giving her the once over. “You’re attractive, what do you expect?”
She smiled and touched his arm. “You jealous?”
He leaned to her ear, biting down hard on her lower lobe. “You have no idea,” he whispered.
“So let’s get out of here,” she said. She tried not to look to eager. “Head to my place.”
“It is a three-day party,” he said. “We could come back tomorrow?”
She grinned. “Good idea. But what about your friends with the drinks?”
“They’ll survive. Besides, we’ll just see them tomorrow.” He grinned. “Ready?”
“Absolutely… but Aren’t you forgetting something?”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
She gestured to Vance and Sierra, who were lip-locked a few feet away. “I’m not sleeping tonight until I get my fill.”
“Ah, insatiable with greed, aren’t we?” he asked.
“I prefer to go by Lust, it’s my favorite of the seven deadly sins.” She grinned and winked at him. “One of the things I studied in college was medieval lit.”
“Medieval huh?” he questioned. “What’s would it take to get you to wear a corset?”
Crystal grinned wickedly. “Give me some relief and I’ll wear anything you want.”
Speechless, he turned around and waved to Vance and Sierra. They walked over to him, asking what was up. He informed them that they were going back to Crystal’s and asked if they wanted to join. Everyone was drunk and horny enough that they quickly agreed.
9
The walk back to Crystal’s was longer and more difficult than it should have been. The four horny forms were bumping into each other every few steps, thrown off balance by the alcohol. When they got to the house, they found it was still empty. Petey rarely seemed to be home. Crystal walked over to the table and found a note scrawled on a piece of paper. It was Petey informing her that he’d found a new girlfriend and would be staying the night with her. She shrugged, tossing the paper into the recycling bin.
“So what now?” Vance asked.
“I have a pretty good idea,” Sierra said. “Crystal? Aren’t you going to show me your room?”
“Oh… um, sure,” she said.
The two girls went upstairs, leaving the men on the couch to contemplate what was going to happen.
“You got any lingerie around here?” Sierra asked once they were safely in her room.
“As a matter of fact, I do.”
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Crystal had brought an enormous suitcase and duffle bag with her, knowing that her visit might call for anything. From the duffle bag she produced a handful of corsets that thankfully had various levels of hooks. Sierra was taller and slimmer than Crystal, but Crystal had something that would fit her. She handed Sierra a bright pink corset with a lace bodice.