The Palace of Pleasure

Finally, Tiff dismounted and lay beside him, looking into his peaceful face. He was hot, in more ways than one, heat radiating from Jack and making his cheeks glow. She scooted closer and saw his eyes open, full of dark complexity and then a shining green the next second, so fast Tiff had to have imagined it. Jack blinked, eyes retaining their glittering jade as they should as he focused on her.

'I shouldn't feel like this.' Tiff thought, not knowing what to do when the person you've dated for over six years all the sudden becomes absolutely, astonishingly attractive. She watched Jack's eyes close and heard his steady breathing, waiting until he was for sure asleep before touching the beauty mark he wore every day of his life. Only now did it look like it belonged there and that's the thought she joined in him slumber with.

Hours later, when Tiff's phone went off, they both awoke and had to hurry to make it to her interview. Jack had to run to the bathroom and toss the condom in the toilet before rubbing deodorant on, then dressing while Tiff washed her face and pulled unruly hair back in a messy tail. She practically jumped in her clothes and then Jack was driving to the interview place, windows down and wind roaring as he drove. In a moment of panic she checked her phone to ensure the questions were still there and the relief at finding them reduced Tiff to a shaky mess, nearly having messed up her first real journalist outing.

"You okay?" Jack asked and she told him 'yeah', turning to find his unworried face in the strong and pure August light. There was no question, at least to Tiff: Jack was pretty and might be more. But as much as she wanted to peruse that thought, the first real interview of her life was minutes away so she did her best to calm down and be ready to do right by her profession.

Barely making it on time, Tiff walked to the outside table at a coffee shop, her hair in a sexy mess and acting with the utter confidence of someone who's recently had excellent sex. The city official, male, mid 40's, unable to resist her charms, accidentally gave a few real answers in the middle of his politician's waffling, those being jotted down in Tiff's notebook and recorded on her phone.

After, Tiff joined Jack by the car and kissed him hard, more insistent than usual and felt a savage happiness at seeing his shock before feeling him returning that passion.

"That good?" He asked, slightly out of breath and she grinned, making him feel good. Jack had no idea what to say after that kiss, especially in public, but that had to be a good sign.

"Absolutely." She said, still slightly stunned at seeing Jack with what might have been a halo, his hair glittering and face smoothed out from any worry. Tiff wanted to keep making out with him right there in the parking lot but he insisted they needed to grab groceries before she started typing the interview into an article. They shopped, talking all the while and Tiff noticed a few people looking at Jack in a new way, as if trying to make out who, or what, he was.

Jack barely noticed any of that unwanted attention, too busy with tapping out the beat that had invaded his mind, growing ever more familiar with it. Soon he'd remember more of the song and the relief from doing so might be better than the sex he'd had earlier. Maybe.

Back home, Jack cooked, humming and whistling while Tiff talked excitedly with her coworkers before typing furiously, only stopping when he handed her such an artfully prepared salad it that might have been served in a higher class restaurant. They ate together and then talked about watching a movie until it was too late to actually dedicate the time to watching one. But it wasn't time wasted, leading to conversations about nothing and yet when either would think back on it, that memory was a good one.

Instead they went to bed and Tiff asked if he wouldn't mind sleeping naked and he agreed, finding the question odd but he got it when she curled up against him. Yet when he woke up and took a leak, Jack found that 2 in the morning was once more his hour of discontent.

Pulling his wallet off the dresser, he opened it up and found the ticket there, with the unreadable word on the front and the pink ink stamped on the back. Both things stayed in his hand as he dressed quickly, shorts and a shirt, grabbing his shoes and pulling them on in the living room. There was no question of him going back to The Palace. He knew the beat and wanted another listen of the vocals, not thinking at all about the girls who had been dancing for him.

Driving down dark and nearly empty streets, Jack parked in the same spot and walked the rest of the way to the unmarked door, finding it unlocked. Up the steep steps and back before the teller with the tinted glass and there was the feeling of being stared at, a detail he'd forgotten and still didn't like. He slid the ticket under the glass, less weary of who was on the other side and heard the click of the door unlocking before it swung open slightly.

"Good to see you again and please enjoy your time at The Palace!" The woman's voice said as the ticket slid back out and he took it, keeping it between his fingers as Jack took the door's edge and pulled it open. The tiny, disquieting room with nearly black walls had another teller window along with the coin tray at the bottom of the panel, the sight of which made a surge of fear, then shame flash into Jack's brain. He'd forgotten those misshapen coins at home! Still, he walked to the window and pushed the ticket under the window, not sure how this was going to work thanks to his stupidity.

"Please enjoy." Said a voice different from the first as the door clicked open and he walked into the hallway, wondering how far it reached. There was nice carpet under his feet, almost like what would be in a new movie theater, soft and with patterns. Still, he skipped the first three doors and went to the fourth, opening the little window and listening for the song, eager to listen and place it.

But either it was too low or wasn't being played in that stall that night. Jack closed the slide and went to the next, knowing at once this was the right one. Reaching in his pocket without thinking, he pulled out another coin and popped it in the slot, all too ready to be back in the presence of that alluring music.

The handle turned under his hand and Jack walked in, taking a seat on the stool and not paying any mind to the woman checking him out. He only had attention for the song but either they had changed it or the speaker was broken as it wasn't as loud, not nearly as good as it had been from the outside or last night.

Finally looking at the woman behind the glass, she took her position as if to dance but Jack shook his head and asked about the music. She shrugged and pointed to the right, a knowing amusement playing over her face. Jack rose, thanked her and left, going to the next stall that looked like all the rest before opening the slide.

He didn't even look in this once, instead turning his head so he might hear what was being played in there. A different song but it had a similar beat and the same dark allure to it, like a vampire drawing it's victim by inhuman, immaculate beauty alone.

Feeding another coin to the slot, he opened the door and sat down. The woman inside began her dance before stopping, marching up to the glass and smiling as the person that was the whole of her audience wasn't even paying attention to the show. So she sat and watched Jack nod his head to the music, fingers tapping on his thigh before she rapped on the glass, scaring him badly. Her kind smile helped to slow his racing heart and she mouthed 'Sorry' before nodding her head to the music and Jack followed suit, grinning at finally being able to share this with someone.

The lady on the stage stood and gestured for Jack to rise, him seeing that she wasn't wearing very much and was very well endowed. Still, he stood, trying not to notice her body but he had no choice when she started swaying broad hips to the beat, thick thighs catching his eye. However, she got his attention and moved her hands along with the song as well as with her hips before pointing at him then nodding.

Feeling like a fool but unable to help himself, Jack started following along with the dancer, hearing guitars, drums, bass and there was at least two singers as before but the song was slightly different. And yet, he swayed along as if he already knew it, still looking at the woman but not paying her much mind. No, Jack was drifting along with the music, it was flowing stronger than when he'd had sex yesterday, stronger even than it had last night.

At the same time, Jack's eyes not focused on her, he and the dancer stepped to the left, then the right, hips swaying more, head and body going the opposite direction. His hands rose and then, as if feeling Tiff's figure, ran up and down a curve as they stepped left, then right, then left again in tandem. There was no making out what was being said in the song, it might not even be in English, but Jack understood it. The speakers might as well have been playing the audio version of making out in cool, sweet smelling darkness or seeing Tiff in the winter with her all bundled up, laughing as the snow fell around and over them, it was the feeling of belonging and not having any worries. Despite the darkness, the music promised freedom and so Jack danced, in celebration, in jubilation, for all of those reasons and so many more.

Together, separated by glass or plastic, Jack had no way of knowing, the right foot left the floor and the leg rose enough it was covering the crotch and showing off it's shape to whoever might be watching. Then it snapped down and the left leg did the same along with the song, the vocals rising to a roar as each dancer flung their arms out and stuck their chest forward before snapping arms over what was being displayed and stomping on the ground, standing there defiantly. And they stood there, squared up for some sort of fight against the other, the woman standing over him on the stage.

There was no reason Jack knew how to do this. Jack, unless with Tiff, didn't dance as he was bad at it. But the song! And that was the only answer he had. The song, if only you heard it you'd understand and that's all Jack had to said on the matter as he looked at the smiling woman, unaware that he was returning her glee with a smile of his own.

Then the driving beat, slow at times and pounding otherwise, started once more. Jack moved exactly along with the woman as she puckered her lips and pressed two fingers against it before blowing him a kiss, Jack unable to help returning it as the movements perfectly matched the music, hand to mouth, pause, then extend arm forward and wink. He missed the glimmer of darkness, of tempting colors all coming together at once in her lone open eye, as that extended hand rose, pointing upward and a step to the left, dragging the right foot against the floor until snapping it in place, then doing the same motion to the right while the other hand not lifted skyward waved to the left before clenching into a fist and the raised hand came down palm first and smashed against the flat of the fist and there was a clap of sound that wasn't the music. And it was done.

It was over for the night. Jack shouldn't have known that, standing there, sweating. But that didn't make it any less true. The speakers wouldn't play anymore. Why? No idea but tonight was over. The dancer behind the glass, with beautiful long red hair knelt before the barrier and gave him a wave good bye. He returned it and walked into the hallway feeling so very good it was as if Jack had lit a fire within and it was burning away all that wasn't happiness, leaving behind only that warm goodness.

Jack wasn't at all surprised to see the tall and completely covered woman waiting at the end of the hall, the mask with a female face drawn on it seeming just as happy as he was, impossible as that might be.

"I'd ask if you enjoyed yourself but I can see that you did." She said and Jack nodded, brushing sweaty hair out of his face, the ends of which were darkened by moisture and pointed like needles. "Like the music?"

"What is it?! Who's it by!" He demanded, drawing too close to her by the laws of polite company but she just laughed, taking one of his hands in her gloved own.

"It's a special sort of music but I'm sure you figured that out." She said and Jack was aware of her touch, even though the gloves. It was warm but light, as if she was someone much smaller and finer than her at least six feet and very generous frame suggested. The closest Jack could come to describing it was as if he tried to pick up a large rock and found it was made out of Styrofoam, the strangeness coming from it not matching expatiation.

"How about this: Give it another trip back here and I'll consider telling you. Just let me see your ticket before leaving please." Fumbling around in a pocket, he found what she had requested and handed it over, watching as she turned it over and put another stamp on the back she produced from a pocket. It was another series of numbers, still very small, fine print. "Show that as usual and be ready. Go back to Room 6 and if the music's not to your liking, then try Room 7." She patted the back of his hand with one of her too light ones and then he was being lead through the small, dark room and Jack was back back on the landing with only the booth window, lamp and stairs.

Here, the sheer happiness that had been burning from within faded somewhat, not in a bad way but similar to how the fizz on top of a root beer ran thin. It was the natural order of things that such utter joy fade and Jack walked down the stairs then outside humming the song he'd danced to that night, swaying down the sidewalk and bringing those two fingers to his lips and then blowing the kiss while winking towards a manikin showing off clothing in a store window. Jack was too wrapped up in his own world to notice someone on the other side of the street watching him dance along, the stranger not quite bemused but more impressed by the free show.

Jack still remembered that night's song and didn't think it was possible for him to forget it. The first night had different music but even those memories were faded, trampled over by tonight. This song, the one that had made him dance, was as close to perfect as anything he ever heard. Drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, he made it back to his place and was so happy to see Tiff laying in bed, striping and joining her. His eyes closed and he drifted off on what remained of that delirious happiness that yet smoldered within him.

Tiff woke up to something new: She was currently the big spoon and Jack was nestled oh so close to her, murmuring lightly in his sleep. Jack was warmth and soft and Tiff was fully awake now, urges and hunger making sure of that. Taking a chance, unable to help it, Tiff ran her hands about his waist and pulled him closer, like she always wanted him to do to her. And she gave a little moan as Jack's ass was now nestled against her crotch, inviting her sex between those cheeks and she bit back a moan. This wasn't ever planned or on the agenda. Whatever this was, Tiff liked it but Jack was sleeping and it felt naughty, like a betrayal of trust and-

"Oh." Jack said with the foggy voice of someone who's just woken up and Tiff thought she might die of any number of maladies, embarrassment being first among then. "Good morning to you too." And then he didn't move. Tiff laid there, heart beating hard enough he could probably feel it, waiting for the hammer to drop. But it never came, Jack shifting eventually but if anything he only pressed into Tiff all the more. Her trembling hands were still nestled together by his navel and he surprised her once more by placing his over hers', as if he was fine with all of this.

"Jack?" She said, trying to ask every question ever with his name alone but failing. So Tiff resorted to trying to be more clear and only ended up with: "Doing okay?"

"Well, I gotta take a leak but this is so nice I'm not sure I want to go." Taking one of her hands back, she slapped playfully at his side before rolling away from him.

"Don't wet the bed because of me!" She said while standing, stretching and feeling her spine crack. And she stayed like that as Jack walked past her, his sleepy smile nearly killing Tiff on the spot. Falling back on her ass, Tiff stared at the closed door until he was done in there and resumed gazing at Jack once he came back out.

"What?" Jack asked, not used to seeing Tiff at a loss for words. But she was just sitting there, giving her best thousand yards stare aimed at him.

"Jack, I... I don't know how to say this and probably shouldn't but you, your pretty." Tiff said while looking at him and she saw the blush spread over his face and that only helped her argument. With the bedhead sending his hair off in random spikes, it only further showed Jack's face was utterly clear of any blemish or worry. Currently he was bashful, readying his words to counter her statement but she, unable to help it, found it was time to confront this. Hopping up, still naked, she snagged his arm while leading Jack back into the bathroom, flicking the light on as they went inside and stood in front of the mirror.

"See?!" She pointed at the reflection, the thing that never lied and Jack saw himself for the first time in at least a week. He was so used to brushing his hair and teeth, washing his face if required and ignoring the mirror all the while. Jensen used the mirror, not him, and just thinking that set a reminder in his head to send his brother a text.

"Since yesterday you've looked different but today, Jack, My God..." She trailed off and he just looked into the mirror. This wasn't the reflection of a brother's keeper, he knew that for certain. But Jack wasn't that anymore, was he? Jensen was hours away at college, off becoming his own person. And the question of 'What now?' was asked in his head as he blinked, the pretty person in the mirror vanishing in utter blackness for a moment only to still be standing there after.

"Well, I'm not sure." Tiff said, confusing Jack until he realized he had to have said 'What now?' out loud. "I mean, I'm not complaining! Just, I can't not say anything about it." Jack looked at himself and wondered if he wasn't a brother's keeper, then what was he? A cook at a place one step above a fast food joint? Maybe but people who looked like him were servers, not back in the kitchen.

The answer hit Jack like a cue ball slamming apart a perfectly racked triangle of billiards balls, sending his thought flying all over the place. Jack looked far more like one of the dancers at The Palace, with his attractive face and chest that wasn't as flat as he remembered and what had to be hips blooming where his legs met body, the sort that might be compelled to dance if the music was right. Yet thinking that brought the song back, the guitar strumming along as the bass sets the tempo and the drums join in, waiting for the singers to carry the song along.

"I'm working later today so I should at least eat first." Jack said, feeling better with the song playing in his head. He saw the surprise on Tiff's face and smiled at her bafflement, unable to bite back the giggles that were coming to take over.

"That's all you have to say!" She nearly shrieked and Jack shrugged while covering his mouth.

"What else is there? Besides, we've got stuff to do so lets make sure that's done first before dealing with... This. Me." Jack said, gesturing to the mirror and that helped to stifle the mad case of giggles.

"I guess..." Tiff said before leaning over and kissing him on the cheek. "Now here's something I shouldn't say." Now whispering in his ear, Tiff's voice was lower, taking on an rougher tone. "If taking care of Jensen hid this face, then that bastard owes me." That made Jack laugh and he ended up clutching the counter and howling with hysterics as Tiff went and got dressed.