The door closing behind Gold was enough reason for the men to look up from their half-empty glasses. Her appearance immediately changed the depressing mood in the bar, with Gold’s sweet scent fending off the choking atmosphere.
Gold looked around and saw five men scattered around the establishment. Two older men were sitting at the bar, while another sat by himself at a table in the most distant corner of the room. The fourth leaned over a pool table and tried to play a game against himself, hindered quite rudely by the alcohol inside his system.
Behind the bar stood the only man who had bothered to shave. His bald head made it harder to estimate his age, but the wrinkles around his eyes gave Gold a clue all the same. He was slightly shorter than she was, but his core was very well built and his shoulders looked strong.
The man said, “Can I help you, sweetheart? Are you lost?”
Gold approached the bar and took a seat. “No, not lost. Just looking for some friendly company.”
The man smiled and gestured into the open air. “Not too much company here, I’m afraid.”
“Slow night, then?” she asked.
“It’s still early. The weekends get busier.”
Gold nodded and tried a smile on the man to see what kind of effect it would have. He was kind to her, but she sensed that it was a professional courtesy. She wanted to see how much more she could get from him.
“I’m Ray,” he offered. “Can I get you something, sweetheart?”
“A glass of wine would be nice.”
Gold heard herself say it. Wine. What even was wine? Was it tasty? Had she had it before? Why had her lips asked for wine if she couldn’t even remember what it was?
“Only got white right now, is that okay?”
“White is fine.”
Apparently white was fine. As opposed to what? Were there other colors that she could pick from? Gold’s lips spoke of things her mind could not recall, but in this dark and depressing bar apparently those words made perfect sense.
Gold watched as Ray took out a dark green bottle and popped the cork. Then he placed a glass in front of her and poured the wine.
The glass was different from the ones the men in the bar had. Its opening was far wider and where she had to hold it much thinner. Gold immediately knew it was a wine glass, though she had no idea where the knowledge came from.
Carefully she held the glass to her nose and smelled the substance inside of it. The scent was very sweet at first, but Gold sensed that there was something hiding underneath it. Not unlike herself, the first impression was dangerous and if you came too close, things could go sour very quickly.
Alcohol. The word popped into Gold’s head as she put the glass down again. This was alcohol, and alcohol was what made the evil drink. Yet the scent was familiar to her and she knew then and there that she had consumed it before.
Had she too gone mad from it? Had she too become a beastly abomination beyond all self-control, just as her mother had warned her all those long years ago?
Ray said, “It’s not the finest wine you’ll ever have, but it’ll pass. Don’t worry about it.”
One of the drunks at the bar said, “Can’t you see, goddammit? She’s way too sophisticated for your cheap shit! Give her some of the good stuff!”
Ray sneered, “This is my good stuff!”
Gold smiled at the men, her lips much more strained from the nerves than she wanted them to be. Then she picked up the glass again and felt a horrible fear pulse through her body. Could she really drink this? What would happen? Should she run away instead? She could never come back if she did, and this was probably the best place to hunt.
She opened her mouth the tiniest bit and allowed some of the wine to enter. Its sweet taste tickled her tongue, seducing her into believing no harm could befall her. It was just wine; millions of people drank it, and she would be alright.
Gold swallowed it and half-expected to go crazy on the spot. The evil drink could begin to speak its filthy lies to her at any moment. She had consumed it, so there was no way for her to resist its touch of insanity.
Nothing happened, however, and, seduced by the drink’s sweet taste, Gold soon took another sip.
Gold’s body had known a man’s touch before, but she herself could not remember it. That was why she felt so little control now, as the two of them fumbled around inside her store.
Rough hands on her hips, clinging to her breasts, reaching for her neck. These sensations were all so very overwhelming and Gold had difficulty focusing on what she actually had to do. On why she had lured this perfect stranger back to her place to begin with.
The warm feeling that ran from her groin all the way to her belly was numbed slightly by the quantity of wine she had consumed. The stuff really went to your head.
The stranger’s name was Ralph, or Ron, or something with an ‘R’ at least, Gold thought. He had told her but she couldn’t remember and it all felt so very irrelevant. Nothing mattered against the backdrop of her body slowly imploding on itself. The only thing she wanted was relief, and Ralph, or Ron, would have to provide it for her.
“Come on,” she said as she took his hand. “Upstairs. Let’s go upstairs.”
She led him to her apartment on the second floor.
While she struggled to unlock the door Ralph’s hands were all over her again, pulling her closer against his groin. She could feel the firmness of his instrument and almost allowed herself to forget about the door. Why not just do it right here?
No. She couldn’t. She had to go inside. They had to go inside or else all of this was for nothing.
Gold felt relieved when she finally heard the door unlock and quickly pushed herself inside. The man holding on to her almost lost his balance as she moved away from him.
“Whoa… easy there, Margaret! We got all night, baby….”
Margaret was the only real name she knew so when the men at the bar had asked her who she was, that was all she could think to say. Her grandmother had passed away and she was taking over the store; that part of the story she had concocted before going to the bar.
Gold turned around and grabbed Ralph’s rough hands. Quickly she pulled him inside and closed the door behind her. He was here now and there was no way he would ever leave.
Ralph’s intentions were once again made clear when he pushed her up against the wall and leaned in to kiss her neck. His lips were dry but Gold didn’t care. A man’s body pressed so closely against her own sent shivers down her spine. The scent of his sweat almost made her go crazy with desire.
Was this normal? Gold’s mind wandered briefly whenever Ralph stopped kissing her to gasp for air. She couldn’t recall ever feeling like this but somehow all of it made sense to her body. As if this silly vessel of flesh and blood knew things that her mind would never be able to grasp.
Gold pushed Ralph away from her and slipped by him. As she did so she threw him a playful smile.
“Come on. The bedroom!”
It was all she could do to keep control. Maintain a distance, even if it was a short one, so she could collect her thoughts. There was a reason she had brought him here. Gold couldn’t let her body interfere with those plans. They were too important to lose herself to whatever felt good.
Ralph followed her into the bedroom and began to undress himself. He had a beer belly but his muscles were toned from the physical labor he did at Brooks Mechanical.
When he took his underwear off Gold saw the instrument that she had previously felt riding up against her. It was bigger than she had imagined it would be. How could such a hard thing hide inside a man’s pants without ripping through?
Gold took off her dress and laid bare her amazing body. Her long, lean legs were muscular without losing their femininity and her abs were well defined. On her chest rested two big breasts that were perfectly symmetrical, her small nipples pointing almost directly forward.