Page 25 of Taunt Me (Dark Odyssey 2)

I get a gold mask from the receptionist and put it on straight away. She also hands me the golden token to give to someone I want to end my night with. I don’t bother to explain to her that I’m not here for that.

The receptionist who was here in the past never gave me anything like that because she knew I was here for Gabe.

I’m still here for Gabe just not the way I was ten years ago. Eighteen and ready to lose my virginity.

I go through the large oak doors and I’m enveloped by music and …the truly scandalous activities happening around me.

And still I’m as fascinated as I ever was. If there’s one thing I discovered about myself since meeting Gabe it’s that watching people live out their wild fantasies is something that fascinates me.

The Dark Odyssey intrigues me for the beauty and the temptation. It’s stylish, very stylish, with the grand gold roof and décor fitting to the masquerade balls you’d see in Venice. The hall is endless and packed as always.

Nevertheless, it’s what’s happening on the outskirts though that entices me to stare. From where I am I can see five cubicles and all the people inside are having sex. There are couples, threesomes, foursomes.

The music dips low as it changes and the moan of a woman crying out in pleasure grabs my attention. She’s to my left, practically a few paces away from me having a threesome with two guys, and my whole body flushes from the sight.

I find myself staring like I did the first time I was here, except that first time I was with Gabe and he only allowed me to see a little bit of what was going on because I was far too young to be in here. The club is for people who are twenty one and over. At the time of my first visit I was seventeen. The club opened eight months before my eighteenth birthday.

People are just as raunchy now as they were back then.Worse.

I watch as both men suck her breasts while she strokes their cocks. Then the guy to her right picks her up and settles her down on his cock in reverse cowgirl. The other guy moves to the front so he can plunge into her pussy and the two guys start pumping into her.

At least … given all I’ve been through I can still watch.

I still think it’s the power of the mask. It may look pretty but it was made for so much more than that. It hides your identity but gives you the freedom to watch and those you’re watching can’t really tell what your expression is as you do.

I won’t stand here all night though like some perv and continue to watch longer than what may be deemed acceptable.And… I’m not here for that.

I look away and continue to the bar, placing an order for a fruit cocktail when the bartender approaches me. Then I look around while I sit on a barstool.

Several men glance my way, giving me stares I always get from men. It’s the breasts. I’ve been getting attention like that since I was fourteen. The dress I’m wearing though has probably thrown them off kilter because no one else is dressed like me.

I must look out of place. I feel a little awkward as it is because the dress scallops around my thinner figure and it’s meant to be a little tighter.

Antonio wanted to keep me thin so he made sure I was given less food if he saw that I was putting on weight. That’s what happened recently. I was sick with the stupid bug that swept through the village and wasn’t well enough to see his clients. I lost weight from not eating then gained it back once I got my appetite and I gained a little more. He saw and decided I need to starve for a week then be given a bowl of soup and an apple in the weeks after.

I shake the memory of him free from my head. I don’t want to think about him anymore tonight. Over the last few days I’ve been back, there have been calls to Pa about him and the funeral. I told him to let them know I was too distraught to attend given the nature of the way he was murdered.

Thank God they understood. Someone else contacted us about money and inheritance to let me know my asshole of a husband had his will written so there was nothing there for me except my allowance for the year which came to a total of thirty grand.

He gave everything to his brother’s family and a dog charity. That’s what the man did.

He made sure there was nothing in his will that would leave me any money. It was because of the way that the allowance was set up however that I was able to get anything.

It was fine. I don’t want his money. What I do have is savings. Savings from the fucking allowance and the money I got from teaching at the school. I didn’t buy anything other than lingerie he gave me money to buy and personal items so I have a total of seventy grand in savings. It’s enough to get an apartment and take care of myself for a while.

If I get this teaching job I’ll make further plans. It would be nice to buy a house. My own place.

Small steps though.

This is however a big one. I’m here at The Dark Odyssey and I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do now.

I’m here and I planned to just see Gabe, that’s it.

Just get a glimpse so I can see he’s okay. Happy even. Not talk, or let him see me or anything where we communicate. I just want to see him for my own peace of mind and then I’ll let him go.

I need to because he’s part of the past and more so because he belongs to a life I don’t want to be part of anymore. People say you can’t change who you are. I beg to differ. I’m about to.

I don’t care what the circumstances are that gave me my freedom, I have it and I don’t want to live the next ten years watching my back or being afraid.

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