Several Kinds of Hunger

Part 18

"Here you go miss." The bartender sets my drink down.

"Thank you." I smile and take a sip. "Will Mr. Leo want his drink?" He kindly asks me and I shrug. As Leo and I both walked over to the bar, something caught his eye and he excused himself, telling me that he meet me at the bar in a bit. Every inch of me hoped that he didn't go back and confront Blair. "I don't know," I tilt my head at him, "how did you know I was with Leo?"

He cleans a serving glass and smiles. "That's the only person I've seen you with since you started coming here."

"Well, that's very observable of you." I tell him and he laughs. "Maybe I'm here tonight...alone." I raise my glass.

The bartender comes in front of me and gets close to my face. "What's your name?"

"Lara."

He nods. "Nice to finally meet you Lara. I'm Will."

I shake his hand and he continues to look at me. "So tell me, how do you like the club so far?"

"Well, it certainly exceeds any imagination of intimacy I ever had" I can't help to giggle, "I mean, don't you find it kind of weird, bar-tending for such a club?"

He shrugs. "Not really. I get paid very well, more than any experienced bartender can make on the job, plus tips. When I first applied, the details of the club were vague. After they initially liked me and handed me the job, I had to sign an NDA. I kind of figured why my first night." He gives me a knowing look and I can't help to blush.

"Did you...or do you...like it?" I'm so shy in asking that I avert my eyes away.

"This isn't really my scene." I hear him say. "I like to be private about my...performance." He emphasizes that last part.

Agreeing with him, I say, "I haven't done it yet. I'm not that eager to do it, well, just yet."

"Can I ask you something?" Will says and I nod. "What's a girl like you doing in a place like this? You seem so- "

"Out of place?" I cut in.

"Well, yeah." I look at away but he continues, "Not like that. What I mean," He pauses and comes closer again, "Since the first night you came here and ordered a drink, I knew you were different from any other client."

"Different?"

He nods. "You're sweet, nice and you're the only one who has ever talked to me. Usually clients communicate their drink orders and that's it. But here you are, still talking to me." He smiles.

"Well you're nice. Why wouldn't I talk to you?" I simply say.

"Because people, especially this type," he motions to the crowd, "leave their identities at the door and apparently, their manners too."

"I haven't met anyone else other than Leo, oh and Blair."

"Hmm." Is all he says and he backs away a bit slowly. "Be careful Ms. Lara, especially if your involving yourself with the king of this place."

A second warning from another employee? What is about Leo that everyone has me rethinking this decision? "Why?" I want to know.

"A man like him is regent because of many reasons," his eyes show some concern, "and not all of them are good."

He sets another drink in front of me. "Can you give me one?" I hesitantly ask.

"How about that he'd like for you to finish that drink and come with him?" A familiar, deep voice says behind me.

When I turn around, Leo is standing, rigid and daunting. "Why don't you have a drink with me?" I suggest.

"No thanks." He curtly says. "That will be all, Will." Leo dismisses him. I look to Will and thank him again for the drinks. He nods and leaves us alone.

"What were you both talking about?" Leo asks, not moving at all. He seems quick to the point and his tone is coming off aggressive and angry. Did he hear our conversation?

"Just about the club. Our viewpoints about it." I let him know.

"Any questions you have about The Monarchy should be addressed to Blair and more importantly, to me. Please remember that for the future, Lara. I don't like Gossip" He instructs.

Now, I'm getting mad. "First of all, you wander off who knows where, leaving me alone at the bar. What was I supposed to do? Second, Will has been nice to me. Since my first night here actually. I don't get your hostility and you're seriously blowing this out of proportion." I take a sip of my drink, thanking liquid courage.

Leo's eyes bulge, as if no one ever talked to him like this. "No one's ever talked to me before like this." He mirrors my thought. "Finish it." He nods to the drink, his eyes hooded and intense.

He licks his bottom lip, a gesture I'm beginning to be fond off. After gulping down the last drop, I wipe my mouth and he grabs my hand, leading me to The Hallway.

"What are you going to show me?' I smile. He turns he's head back slightly and gives me an evil grin. "It's not what we're going to see, rather what we're going to do." He says, as we continue walking.

We enter The Hallway, passing through the crowds. I quickly take glimpses at the windows, seeing many masked patrons in various sexual acts. Leo takes us all the way to the end, where there's a door. He knocks and it opens. A masked, what I assume is a door handler, greets us. "Good evening, Mr. Leo"

"Evening, I wanted to know if room 7 is vacant?" Leo asks. I snap my head, realizing what Leo has planned. "What!" I whisper, tugging his hand.

"Let me check, sir." He nods and the doorkeeper closes the door. "We're not going to do what I think we're going to do?" I say, nervously. Leo smiles again, looking behind me and then taking my hand and kissing it. "We are." He answers.

My heart begins to race, am I going to do this? Am I about to perform? Have sex in front of strangers? I withdraw my hand and look at him. "I can't, Leo. I...I don't know if I can." I shake my head.

The door opens, "Its vacant. You are free to use it, sir." The doorkeeper politely says.

Leo takes a step forward, but he's stopped by my hand, holding on too tightly. I'm unsure and more concern that he's hating my anxiousness. But surprisingly, he looks at me with softening eyes. "I know we've just become, acquainted in a manner of speaking. "Leo says, giving me a small smile. "I want to show you what it can be like." He assures me. "Think of it like this. Imagine having the world see you, in your most vulnerable state, but still holding great privacy." Leo touches my mask, a finger tracing around it. He speaks with such wonderment and alluring fervor, making such a enthusiastic statement that my worries are beginning to fade away.

I close my eyes briefly, asking him, "Can I trust you?"

His fingers come down to my chin, tilting me to see him. I open my eyes, seeing strong sincereness in his brown eyes. He nods slowly, "For you...always."

I smile and he grips my hand harder, where the warmth of our contact begins to travel throughout my body.