Chapter One

Chapter One:



Deep in an August night, the crescent moon hung with tiny balls of fire. The crisp breeze howled through the crack of trees. The brown leaves that had fallen crunched under the black thick sole boots as they tramped through at a steady pace. Patches of moss that grew on the sides of the trunks looked as if they were going to consume the tree whole. The spots without leaves showed thick green grass that had just been watered by the evening rain.

The forest soon thinned to reveal a deserted graveyard. The darkened figure paused and looked out into the space. The earth began to sleep with the day roaming creatures. In the far distance, an owl cooed calling out to the night crawlers it was time to emerge. Feet stretched once more to proceed onto the grey stone path that led throughout the yard. He ¬¬stomped over the path and walked between headstones, glancing from one to another, intrigued by the different shapes and different sizes. However, they were all very much the same. They held births, deaths, names, and loved ones underground in coffins. A few feet into the cemetery, he stopped. The side of the black trench coat was pushed to the side revealing a bouquet of a dozen purple lilies. Matching black gloves took three from the band and placed them down by the tombstone repeating the process for two other stones. A gold cross was pulled out of the pocket and brought up to blood red lips for a kiss.

“Scíth I Síocháin,” a thick Irish accent poured onto the simple three words.

“What do those words mean?” a soft child like voice spoke behind him.

He turned around to face the young woman who stood before him. She had long brown hair with mountains of curls that sat on her shoulders and under her jaw. It made her face look slim and beautiful. She had light blue paint on her eyes and a pink on her lips. He was memorized in the crystal blue eyes that sparkled brightly in the moonlight. Blush was added to her cheeks making them look fuller. She wore a simple black dress-velvet with modest cut bust line; the length fell to her knees.

“Rest in peace…” his voice low but with a bass tone, “in Gaelic.”

“Ireland…You are a long way from home,” she mused.

“Sort of…So what is a young lady like yourself doing out in a graveyard at this time of night? You know there are monsters out here.” He pointed out and watched as she walked around him with perfect balance on thin black high heels. He observed her eyes travel over him.

“You know, visiting some graves like yourself. And I am a big girl. I can take care of myself, thank you very much. I do not need someone with a dick to protect me. And besides sometimes the people that say they will protect you do not,” she said with hurt attached to it.

“That is very true. They say those who are the closest hurt you the most.”

“I know, it is completely daft. That’s why I have said: ‘Screw the world’ and ‘You better watch out because here comes Charlotte, to kick the world up and down the galaxy.’” She was really feeling her mini monologue and had waved her hands about. “So Mister Mysterious, what’s your name?”

“Why tell? When I can keep it a mystery?” he returned a question.

His eyes, she noticed, were a mixture of colors – honey brown entangled with emerald, specks of blue and gray. They seemed to glow in the darkness and made her drawn to him. She enjoyed figuring out mysteries. “Well Mister Mystery, can you walk me to my job?” she asked.

“I thought you were taking on the world?” His brow perked in interest.

“Tomorrow’s another night, and I would enjoy the company.” She slipped her hand onto his arm securely.

“Well, why not, I don’t have anything better to do.” He curled his arm in walking with her to the nearest opening of the black iron fence that surrounded most of the graveyard. When they made it onto the cement each step was sounded with a click of her heel.

“Going to work now? Is it not a little too late?” he asked.

~*~

“Not for my job. We are open late.” She gave a little smile as her baby blues looked up to him. His expression was so serious; his lips hugged one another in a flat line. He had small brown hairs above his lip only visible up close. The small, narrow nose made her smile. Men with big noses and large nostrils just creped her out reminded her of her pig of a father. She wondered if his name fit his appearance-dark and serious. With her heels on, he was only about a foot taller then her. Charlotte was amazed how strong he felt, most men she came around were not fit and did not take care of themselves. Most of the men she came into contact with were truck drivers or men that were passing through town. She had been surprised when she came across a few men who wore the motorcycle costume.

“Are you going to make me guess where you work? Or am I suppose to know through telekinesis?”

“It could be fun you guessing.” She paused, seeing his more serious expression decided not push it. “Do you know the Kitty Club on Madison and Broadway?”

“I know of it, yes.”

“I work there. Helps pay for school.” She shrugged slightly looking away.

Those eyes glanced down to see her watching their footsteps.

They soon approached the corner with packs of starving men outside. Some were waiting for other friends and some were just smoking. From the sidewalk, the customers would walk up a few wood steps onto the entrance porch where a built bouncer sat on a stool. He let some walk in and checked identification cards on others. Tinted windows wrapped around the building and a side sign that blinked and lit up in neon lights reading “Kitty Kitty.” The green and yellow really drew attention from people who were driving by. Some cars passing by honked and whistled.

         

~*~

He glanced back to Charlotte, amazed with a twist of shock that she could work in such a place.

“Well I have to go, thank you for the walk.” She leaned up on her toes placing her warm rosy lips to his cold smooth skin. She gave him a sweet smile and turned to head down the alley way for a side door.

“Charlotte” he called after her.

She stopped and looked over her shoulder.

“It’s Andress.” He bowed with a slight nod.

She looked at him for a moment. “Andress, why don’t you help yourself to a show, you might come to enjoy them.”

There was a gleam in her eyes that made his head nod up and down. Charlotte disappeared into a creaking door which slammed shut. Andress heard the bolt lock slide to seal the door from intruders. His eyes shifted to observe the group of men not far in front of him. Most nights, he spent wandering the streets mocking those who entered such a place. However, tonight, his curiosity over took his body and before he knew it he was walking through the threshold. He was first knocked over with the snatch of stale liquor and human odor. That alone would have made him turn around. Then those eyes took in the scenery, half-naked woman swarmed the place, delivering drinks to crowds of men who were ready to vomit from too much alcohol. Other males were grabbing the bottoms of any girl, they could reach. It made Andress want to rip their heads off-it was so disrespectful.

He sauntered across the floor, his boots thumping on the hardwood floor below. Andress stepped over bottles and walked around people taking a seat on the sidewall that had a decent view of the stage.

“Hey cutie, can I get you something to drink?”

“Vodka on the rocks-straight up.”

The girl quickly left and came back in a few minutes with his drink. She made sure to rub her breast against his arm and bend so he saw down her black tank top with the clubs logo on it. He rolled his eyes a bit when she left. His fingers clutched around the glass filled mostly with ice.

Dancers began to emerge on the stage and the beat of the music changed to use more bass. Instantly there were screams and loud whistling. Andress shook his head from side to side, What a bunch of dogs, he thought. Sometimes he wished that people still had manners even if it was a thin slice of respect. It was one of the true reasons why he shied away from the real world. He stayed out of sight. His normal routine included a drink at a bar, roam through the graveyard and back to the apartment with some female company that wouldn’t be going home at all.

He brought the cold glass to his lips, pouring some of the burning liquid into his mouth and let it stream down his throat. The stinging sensation lingered for a few more minutes then vanished and he took another sip.

Each dancer walked out in their own outfit, not one was the same. One wore neon green, others stayed with traditional colors like black, red, and pink. Some had a bikini cut another a hipster cut, some with strings others none at all. However, they all wore stello heels, made it more appealing to these desperate men. Some of the dancers went to the floor, going to a man to make a dream come true somewhere. A few moments later, another female emerged behind the curtain. She wore a black and purple corset top that tied in the back with a short leather skirt. Instead of stellos, there were knee high heel boots, with the long zipper on the side. Most of her long chocolate curls were pinned up in the back. He watched waiting for the female to turn around. When she did, he was partly surprised, it was Charlotte. He had thought she would be wearing something like the other ones. To his surprise, she was the leader of the dancers, she talked to the crowd, started games, choose men for them. For a slip second he wondered who she had slept with to get there, but the thought quickly turned into

“Hello Kitty Kitty company, and welcome to another night of dancing. Tonight, each dancer will choose a man to take back stage, for a private show. Who knows? Maybe one of you fellows will get lucky.” A wide sexual grin swept her lips as she looked around the room. Her gaze settled on Andress for a moment and then turned to the dancers. “We’ll start with five dancers at a time. After all, we need some entertainment for everyone else. I, myself, will choose last, making it a little more exciting…” She chose five girls to go, whispering something to each of them. The rest went back to bringing entertainment to the people. Charlotte disappeared behind the curtain once more. Some men yelled for her to return to the stage, taking a few steps towards the plateau. Security stepped forward in reaction, to make sure they did not jump onto the stage and chase after her.

Andress lifted his drink once more to his lips, instead of a simple sip; he finished off what was left. The girl who served him instantly came over as if she was waiting for him to finish every drop before she disturbed him once again.

“Another one, gorgeous?” she asked, with an innocent grin that spread on her lips like wildfire. It clearly showed that she would have much rather have been on stage with the other beautiful girls but must have not made the standards for a show girl.

Pathetic… “No thank you,” he answered.

She took the old glass and wiped the wooden table with an old damp cloth. “I’ll be back with your check.” Her indifferent tone leaked from her words as she briskly walked away.

Someone has their panties in a knot.

Charlotte quickly walked back onto the stage, lighting up the dullness in the room. “Come now, are we enjoying the time? Or we just being a bunch of bums!” She extended her arms out and waved on the crowd. All the ears of the men lifted hearing her voice-loud but songlike. She triumphed the stage with enuthusim and a wide sexual grin that made men drool even more. “Alright so we had another set of girls come out and choose a lucky guy. Now it is my turn.” The spiked heels clicked as she stepped down the three black stairs onto the floor. The spot light followed her swinging hips through the crowd. Her finger skimmed across some cheeks and chins, the men melting into the tiny touch. Her eyes followed from one male to another until they settled on Andress.

“I think tonight…” she paused for dramatic effect. “I am going to settle on tall, dark and handsome. With a little dash of mysterious in the mix. Sorry boys. Maybe another night, you can get lucky.”

She walked up to him, the spotlight on both of them. Growls of anger echoed through the place. Many dissatisfied customers went to the bar for another drink and demanding a dance from a girl. Charlotte’s hand rubbed down Andress thick arm to take a hold of his hand. Her other hand was held out in front of her as she curled her finger, motioning for him to come.

Andress stood slowly almost as if he was deciding to go with this. His hazel eyes locked onto Charlottes. Before he could decide, he was already walking pass a security shirt and entering through a doorway. Charlotte led him down a dimmed narrow hallway. Several round lights were burnt out or missing. The walls looked like their color was a deep forest green, but no one could be certain without proper light. There were a few dents in the walls and stops where the paint had chipped away. The back looked pretty run down.

“The owner plans on fixing up back here,” Charlotte said suddenly.

“How did you…” he started

“I saw your eyes wandering, silly. I am heartbroken that they are not on me,” she teased.

He gave a breathless chuckle. “For someone I just met, you sure want a lot of my attention.” He countered.

She responded with a smile over her shoulder. “Well because I enjoy catching the eyes of sexy men. It makes me feel more confident.” She pushed open the door to her domain. The door was formed from cheap wood with a gold painted handle. Inside revealed a half couch, half bed in the corner. A pole was positioned towards the one side and almost to the wall with the entrance, but was centered in front of the futon. There was a closet on the left with closed doors made of wood that were painted white. These doors had small white circle knobs that did not move. Then there was another door next to the closet that matched the entrance door. Charlotte pulled him in more to shut the door and lock it.

“Planning on keeping me as a prisoner?” he asked jokingly.

“Why not? It could be fun. It will give me time to figure you out.” She side stepped and walked to face him. “Why don’t you stay a while?” she said as she ran her fingers up his chest and over his shoulders, making the trench coat start to slip off.

Andress straightened his arms slightly behind his hips to let it fall to the heel of his boots. It revealed a black short sleeve collared shirt that buttoned down the front. The buttons matched the shirt making them almost invisible to the naked eye. The shirt hugged his chest, showing creases of his tone breasts and abs. 

Charlotte slowly started to undo the buttons to get to his chest. When she reached the bottom she pulled out the shirt from his pants. Her hands were warm against his icy skin as they crawled over him. “So cold...” she stated softly but meant it to be a thought.

He could not tell her the true reason why. A screaming woman was something he did not want to deal with. Andress quickly thought of a reason.

“The reason behind the trench coat.” It was best he could do she did not need to know.

She pressed onto her toes to run her lips softly over his neck directly over the thick vein in his neck. Charlotte moved the soft skin along his strong jaw bone and to his lips where she paused for a moment. She hesitated, which he took as a debate in her mind. Her hands pulled off his shirt letting it hug his trench coat on the floor.

A small shiver ran down Andress’ spine from the softness of the touch. His eyes fell to look at her and she closed the space for a kiss. Their lips met and a small spark ignited inside him. He knew what wanted to come out but was not ready for that. His arm suddenly scooped under her bottom and carried her to the couch. Andress laid her down and leaned over her. His fingers started to glide along her curves starting at her knees and made his way to the back of the purple corset.

She chuckled, breaking away from the kiss. “In a hurry?” she asked wanting an answer but he did not give her one.

He tucked his face under her jaw to move his lips along her neck. Her skin was so warm, so smooth. He could almost taste it, the sweet rich blood. It would warm his tongue and then smear down his throat and send excitement through his whole body, making him take whatever he craved. But something screamed at him no.

“You are making me out to be a turtle and you the hare. Do you think it is a race?” she said in a laugh.

He stopped and pulled away. “What did you say?” he asked looking down at her.

“Does it matter?” She gazed over his expression and sighed. She then repeated herself. “You are making me out to be a turtle and you the hare. Do you think it is a race?” The words echoed in his ears.

He got up and sat down next to her. His feet went flat on the floor and his fingers went through his hair. His mind was racing. Could it be? Is it possible? Again?