Fates Embrace Ch 06

Chapter Six

Joe and Jenny woke up past noon the next day, Joe quipping, "Welcome to night work. If I go to after-hours clubs, staying long enough for sunrise by the time I get home, I used to sleep close to having to rush to work like it was early morning rather than evening."

"I'm not going to get much sleep," Jenny realized.

"If you work weekends and Sundays, it will probably just be a couple nights," Joe told her.

"They got me working Thursday through Sunday next week."

"Just four nights too?"

"All they had, but that's fine. In fact I hope it stays that way."

"Me too, though service work can be flexible with time."

They showered and dressed and headed out. After stopping for falafels for breakfast, they headed to Trash and Vaudeville for Jenny to buy more black jeans, paying this time, then headed back to do some laundry. By the time they were done they headed to work, Joe wearing one of his older t shirts and Jenny wearing another shirt which Gene had given her.

"Is that...?" Jenny asked, seeing a pale man with white hair waving for a cab in front of Max's.

"Warhol," Joe told her. "His Factory is just on the other side of Union Square Park."

"Cool."

They had their free meal in the backroom, otherwise closed for the slower night, Jenny having a cheeseburger and Joe a cheese omelet. The free meals were limited. Jenny headed up with Candy, arriving just in time to steal some fries from their plates. Candy looked much better.

The restaurant ending up having a couple of rushes, before the first show and between sets, and the transvestites were prevalent. Not a lot had food, but enough for Joe to take a couple tables as a waiter. Being rushes he was able to stack the dishes aside in the dishwashing room to deal with when things slowed. With the show upstairs ending at closing, he had plenty of time to catch up and not have to worry about another rush, and in fact it was pretty slow, fairly typical of a Sunday, for the last hour or so.

When Jenny came down for her drink, not having one upstairs, both again enjoying the strong gimlet, Joe asked, "How was the band?"

"Like the Dolls actually, except not nearly as good, and more convincing in their female garb and makeup."

Joe chuckled.

"And half the show," Jenny continued, "they stopped playing rock and it was more like disco with the diva singer singing falsetto. The transvestites seemed to enjoy that more."

"Did you?"

"Not really. I suppose it was more danceable or something, but rock makes me feel like dancing more."

"Me too," Joe smiled.

"Speaking of dancing..."

"We should go," Joe agreed.

Joe had talked to Carol before they left for work and she'd insisted they come by whenever they were done. Because of it, Jenny had stuffed her backpack with a change of clothes for both of them, hers being tights and warm up clothing to wear over them.

They managed to wave down a cab on Park Avenue to drive them to Carol's apartment. Carol greeted them in a robe and nothing else, and after getting a hug and kiss, demanded Joe take a shower.

"I think I'll join him," said Jenny.

"Don't take too long," Carol frowned, but only for effect.

"I'll just get him ready for you," Jenny giggled.

They didn't linger in the shower, but it had its effect on Joe's cock, which Jenny grabbed once they dried and pulled him into the bedroom.

Carol lay spread out waiting for them, still masturbating. "Just fuck me Joe," she insisted.

"Mind if I sit on your face?" Jenny asked brashly.

"In a bit, okay?"

"Okay," Jenny muttered.

Joe, already rolling on a condom, headed mouth first to Carol's pussy.

"Just...Oh fuck!" Carol moaned.

Joe went all out, sucking and licking and adding fingers fucking her while Jenny worked mouth and fingers on Carol's tits, and just as Carol arched, nearing cumming, Joe slid up and Jenny aimed him and he pushed deep. "Oh fuck!" Carol approved.

Within a few strokes she was cumming, Joe gazing down on her with a smirky albeit pleasure filled grin, looking over Jenny's head still, her mouth still manipulating a nipple.

Joe kept fucking Carol, in fact amping up the strokes, and after he kissed her, Jenny climbed on and lowered her pussy for Carol to suck.

Another orgasm distracted Carol, and Joe soon reached his own, whereupon he collapsed beside her on his back. Jenny removed the condom and began sucking and once she got him hard again, shifted over to Carol, her head between Carol's thighs. Joe kneeled behind Jenny, practically at the end of the bed, and having grabbed a condom, rolled it on and fucked her.

At first grabbing Jenny's hips, Joe lowered his torso and had a hand plucking at nipples and the other rasping Jenny's clit, often switching hands and dampening fingers each time with his mouth. He soon had Jenny lifting her mouth off Carol exclaiming her orgasm, but she returned to the oral attention when Joe kept fucking her.

Carol ended up cumming next and actually slid from the attention and after recovering, taking over for Joe's digital efforts on Jenny's nipples and clit, allowing Joe once more to take Jenny's hips in hand and fuck her hard until they both ended up cumming close together. The threesome soon slipped into sleep.

Joe was awakened too early by wetness on his cock, a damp cloth which Carol tossed aside and replaced with her mouth. A condom soon replaced that, and Carol began riding Joe, shifting angles until she seemed to find the right one and riding him harder in that low position. Joe worked her nipples with mouth and fingers while Carol rubbed herself, almost desperate to cum and finally succeeding, and when she moved off him, it left him still hard while she rushed off to the bathroom, proclaiming, "Time to get up!"

"What the fuck," a tired Jenny murmured.

Joe glanced at the clock. "She's right."

"I'm going to go shower with the bitch," Jenny smirked.

"I'll see what breakfast she might have," Joe volunteered.

While he prepared the coffee, having to find the filter, Jenny came to him.

"Just a second," Joe said, grabbing orange juice from the fridge and pouring them a cup which they drank and only then kissed.

"She told me to wait until I hear the shower," Jenny informed him.

"I hope it's soon, because I got to piss," Joe told her.

"Piss in the sink," Jenny suggested.

"Fuck it," Joe agreed and after taking a couple plates and utensils out, turned on the water, both hot and cold, and pissed, letting the water take the urine and adding soap, also to his hands which he washed before returning the dirty dishes to the sink.

"That was weirdly cool," Jenny decided.

"Don't tell her," Joe chuckled.

"I won't," Jenny giggled.

She smacked his naked ass when he bent over to grab eggs and bacon. Though tempted, she didn't when he bent again, finding a green pepper and half an onion. "Perfect," he decided, and once he pulled out butter in a closed tray and half and half in a small container closed the door. He found three mugs and poured the coffee, letting Jenny fix up hers to her liking and adding cream and sugar to his, taking the spoon Jenny had used to stir it.

"My cue," Jenny grinned hearing the shower and hopped off to the bathroom. Joe washed and sliced and had the butter melted before putting the vegetables into it. He put the bacon in another skillet and grabbed a frilly pink apron hanging nearby to protect his sensitive bits.

By the time the two emerged from the bathroom looking sexy as hell in the slight sheen of their damp bodies, Joe told them, "Just pour the egg mix into the veggies and pop in some toast. The bacon's basically done."

Both women giggled at his outfit which he removed and headed to the bathroom for his shower.

Once done, and using mouthwash to cleanse his mouth and borrowing Carol's supposedly feminine deodorant in his armpits, he found the ladies in robes and panties, Jenny's obviously borrowed and very long on her. He was about to put something on as well when Carol suggested. "Grab a dry towel and sit and eat."

"Yes ma'am," Joe smirked.

Everyone enjoyed the meal, but didn't linger on it long, needing to go. Before they dressed, Carol had Jenny try on the Cocktail Party outfit, and though a bit tight at the breasts declared it fine.

At the studio, after stretches, the company, though it must have been old business to them, had no complaints about going through the Cocktail Party once again, slowly, so that Jenny could learn the moves. Meanwhile, one by one, Joe interviewed each of the dancers about their childhood and the separation from their family. This time Joe made notes, something he had to do after the fact before. Any question about Jenny's acceptance, and the company having to rehash things for her, became assured by Gio when Joe interviewed him.

"Jenny is well liked Joe, especially compared to Sam who could be a gloomy Gus while Jenny is a bit of sparkle and light, like a meadow rather than a swamp."

"Glad to hear," Joe grinned.

"Just hope Carol doesn't tear her down too much," Gio said quietly.

"Jenny's as resilient as anyone I've met," Joe told him.

"You two...?"

"It's early going, but we're fond of each other."

"That's good," Gio responded though not convincingly.

"Carol?"

Gio nodded.

Joe did too and began the interview, finding out both Gio's childhood and especially his leaving, coming out of the closet at the same time, had been hard. Like Jenny he seemed to come out of it okay, but Joe sensed an anger there and thought with the piece he and Carol were working on might just channel some of that.

The troupe took a lunch break at 1 for forty-five minutes, so Joe brought Jenny to his bank for her to start a checking account, depositing over half of her cash. She used Joe's address for hers since where else could she put and Joe was fine with that. They gave her blank checks and promised to send her a book of checks once they'd been printed.

The troupe went through what had been covered earlier during the second part of the day, and worked through some more choreography after. Joe continued his interviews.

Dismissing the dancers at 4pm, Joe and Jenny remained with Carol.

"How'd the interviews go?" Carol asked Joe.

"Good, though I'm not sure how I'm supposed to incorporate them into the poem unless we have them recite or something."

"No, I want you to recite your poem."

"The same poem?"

"Yes."

"I'll want to revise it some, but you want the same perspective?"

"Yes."

"So...?"

"It's about the film, the new footage."

"That makes sense. I asked about home movies, and most seem to have something."

"Good."

"So I'm thinking keeping everything 8mm, blown up to 16mm so they'll have a similar look. But I don't know about blowing up the raw footage unedited or having them let me chop things up before blowing it up, which would be a lot cheaper, but..."

"Destructive. Couldn't you just blow things up you want from the various reels?"

"That would mean instead of having a lab process it, I'd be doing it myself."

"Is that a possibility?"

"I actually did that with that performance piece you saw. I did it at Film in the Cities in Minneapolis. It's a nonprofit so I didn't have to pay for the time, just for the stock of course. I don't know if there's anything like that here. I can check around."

"What about renting the equipment?"

"I'm not sure if that's possible, but I'll look into it too."

"So, any plans for this evening?"

"I just want to kick back," Jenny said. "I'm pretty beat. But if you two..."

"I'm going to head home too," Joe interrupted. "I need to call around, use the Yellow Pages to shop basically."

"What for?" Carol asked.

"Mostly replacing stuff that was stolen recently from my apartment, including a component stereo system, all I have is a boombox right now, and I need to get a typewriter. And then there's the super 8 camera I'll need and at least a moviola for editing."

"You think the stealing is a onetime thing?" Carol asked.

"I hope so. At least I managed to stash the Bolex out of the way. I like where I'm staying, and I certainly can't afford a secure apartment like you have."

"I'd ask you to stay with me, but we're not quite there yet, and just the one bedroom would get close."

"Especially for three," Joe smiled at Jenny who looked like she'd become odd woman out.

"Let me show you something," Carol said and led them to a door near the back of the space Joe hadn't noticed. Switching on a light just to the right of the door illuminated a long narrow room. Across from the door was a small wooden desk with a typewriter, nothing fancy, and a nice wooden rolling desk chair. The desk had a drawer at the gap for legroom and four larger drawers to the right and a metal file cabinet the height of the desk beside them. A rolling bar/hangar held a few dancing costumes and a contraption with pouches which held shoes. Three cardboard boxes sat along the wall just past a cot on the same side as the desk. A closed door ended the space.

"You could get a larger mattress and put it on the floor," Carol suggested. "Maybe a chest of drawers."

"What is this space?" Joe asked.

"This was a performance space that didn't work out, shows below Canal weren't a thing yet. What you're looking at is the backstage area. You can still see the outlets where the lighted mirrors plugged in, so you could set up your editing equipment or projectors or your component system or whatever. Lots of outlets. That door leads to storage. I kept some of the chairs just in case, but Stella sold off most of the stuff."

"Stella?"

"Mark's family owns the building."

"That's how you got the studio."

"First thing she found for me to get my troupe going. Before I got my apartment I stayed here. One of the occupants upstairs runs a yoga and tai chi studio and I think him and his partner probably live here as nice as the bathroom he let me use. You can ask him to use it, and he'll definitely be more interested in you than me," she laughed.

"Gay couple?"

"Yep, and very nice guys, very spiritual as you can imagine. What do you think? No windows but vents and you get the central heating and air here like the rest of the building. It's a place to change so there wouldn't be windows, but you've got plenty in the studio."

Her studio, on the second floor, looked over a smaller street, Canal a couple blocks north, and it didn't get a lot of traffic or noise except the diesel trucks letting off cargo for some of the buildings that remained warehouses. It was occasional and rarely disruptive. There were a lot of windows and thus a lot of natural light along the length of the space. The end of it looked over an entrance to an alley, and Carol kept those covered because the building across the alley was close and Carol had noticed small groups of young Asian men gazing at her early on. She had no idea why they were there, the signage at the entrance of the building in Chinese.

"I'm thinking maybe I should rent a small truck to move a mattress here and the other stuff I need," Joe decided. "Though unless you want to charge rent, I'll want to keep my apartment since it's close to Max's. What do you think Jenny?"

"I like it," Jenny smiled. "And I could give you privacy if you want."

"Or vice versa," Joe offered.

"So far I like hanging around with you."

"Me too."

"But I can't imagine waking up Carol's friends in the middle of the night to use their shower."

"They're early birds, so maybe before rehearsal?" Carol offered.

"Sure," Jenny agreed.

"Want to meet them?" Carol asked.

They took the slow moving elevator upstairs and Carol pressed a door bell at the door in the same position as her studio, and moments later a slim mulatto man opened the door and immediately closed it behind him. "Yoga," he explained. "Hey Carol."

"Leroy, this is Joe and Jenny."

"A pleasure," Leroy grinned, his hand lifted and Jenny and Joe shook it. "You're tall," Leroy commented about Joe admiringly.

"So I've heard," Joe chuckled.

"They were wondering if they might use your bathroom like you used to let me use," Carol told Leroy.

"Same arrangements?" Leroy asked.

"Arrangements?" Joe responded.

"Cleaning up after and bringing your own towel," Carol answered.

"Of course," Joe agreed.

"Step into my office." He wore clingy sweats but had a necklace with keys, one of which he used to open a door beside the studio door, one which, Joe realized, matched a downstairs one which probably went to the storage area and eventually the office/apartment he and Jenny would be using. Leroy walked up to a shellacked black desk that looked Asian somehow with a green blotter at the middle and trays neatly placed on each side, from one in which he removed a sheet, a schedule.

"The best time so as not to disturb us," he explained, "is to arrive a few minutes before each session when the students arrive."

Jenny noticed one class ending at nine-thirty and the next starting at ten. "Could I maybe come by at nine-thirty?" she asked.

"Not unless you want to share a shower," Leroy chuckled. "Our first session tends to be the most energetic and Tom and I like a quick shower after. Ten to ten would work."

"Okay."

"Would sometime around now work?" Joe asked.

"Four thirty?"

"Sounds good," Joe nodded as did Jenny.

"Perhaps dinner after so we can get to know each other?" Leroy asked.

"I'd like that," Joe smiled.

"As would I," Jenny agreed.

"We're strictly vegetarian if that's a problem."

"Nope."

"Good. Just let us know and we'll fix up extra. Don't tell anyone but this is our apartment. The bathroom's through there," Leroy pointing to a door, "and beyond that our living area including a kitchen. It's fairly narrow but long just like we like it," he winked at Joe.

"I guess we'll be staying in the same sized space," Joe realized.

"I'll let you go," Carol said.

"Keep the schedule," Leroy nodded. "Perhaps you'd be interested in classes."

"I might be," said Jenny.

"Me too," said Joe.

Downstairs, Joe asked Carol, "Do you have a key to this door?" meaning the one that upstairs led to Leroy's office.

"I think it's the same as the studio," Carol replied, and trying the key worked. A light switch Joe turned on illuminated a long space with only a bunch of metal folding chairs at the end by the door that presumably led to the office/apartment. "Looks like I found my projection room," Joe grinned.