Chapter 9
Frustration leads to the unexpected...
Every night he left the windows opened, hoping and waiting for his mother to enter his room and life once more. Until one day he took the watch from its box noting it had kept perfect time. He wore it to work the next day when everyone commented on it, asking if he had a rich uncle. He decided he accepted her and wanted to have a connection with her. The marks on his neck and stomach healed. And enough time had elapsed he'd come to accept what happened in their first meeting. He decided he was finally in a place where he could accept her decision in doing what she did; without his feeling the need to pass judgment on her, like he did at first.
He found himself longing for her, even if she did pull off another disappearing act on him. Finally his frustration, concern and curiosity became too much for him. Leaving work one Friday; he entered
Sangre Maria's
, wanting to see if he could talk to Alexis. He thought she was the only one he knew who might be able to offer information about his mother and her whereabouts.
"Is there someone here by the name of Alexis? My name's Demetri, my mother's name is Anastasia. I was told I could see Alexis if I asked for her," he asked the bartender.
"Well, she's not here now but if you leave your phone number I'll have her call you."
"Okay thanks," he said handing him the business card his company provided their employees. The bartender squinted rubbing his chin as if to say, "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"
He went to a nearby deli filling a takeout tray, planning on eating in. He didn't know when and if Alexis would call hoping it would be soon. He was watching TV dozing off when the phone rang. He grabbed the TV remote placing it to his ear before realizing his mistake. It was almost ten when he took the call.
"Demetri, this is Alexis. I was told you stopped to see me at the club today."
"Hey. I haven't heard from my mother lately and was wondering if you might know something."
"Well, she gave me some messages to give you. I think its best I tell you in person."
"Okay, when," he asked.
"There's a private sex-club meeting here once a month, in the basement and it's tonight. I don't know if you're offended in seeing sexual activities but if you'd like to come after midnight, you might find it interesting. Tell the bartender you're my guest, he'll stamp your hand so the bouncers will let you downstairs. You'll probably see me pole-dancing along with Constance, Isabella and some of the out-of-town maidens here. Please come..."
She didn't wait for his response. The phone went dead with a click. It didn't matter, she gave him all the information he needed. The rest was up to him.
After watching TV for another hour he showered, putting on the clothes and items he received outside his door. He decided to wear the watch, the charm bracelet and one of the colognes. He looked good, maybe better than ever. He noticed the approving looks he got from others as he hailed a cab on his way to the club.
"It's not how good you are. It's how good you look," he remembered hearing somewhere. It occurred to him he was about to cross a line. Surely he was flirting with danger, wasn't he?
"Maybe it's my fate," he considered in being drawn closer to the very thing terrifying and repulsing him only weeks before. How different he'd become in such a short time. Thinking he was on a path his mother set him on. He imagined her at the end with outstretched arms awaiting his arrival.
Pleasure land express...
The bartender recognized him; stamping his hand and personally escorting him back to the wooden gates that had a sign on them: Members Only. The bouncer slid the gate open without a word spoken. The stairs were made of wood. The stairwell was about eight feet wide with wood railings on both sides of the staircase. He heard the raucous music and an occasional cheer as he descended the steps. He stood looking about the room; taking in as much as he could with the available lighting.
In front of him and to his right, there were at least twenty small tables bolted to the floor, as were the two swiveling chairs gracing each table. On his left there was a wall with what he thought were office doors followed by an area that looked like it might be used as a hat and coat-check station. There was a protruding shelf-like counter under a large window, the same length as the shelf.
As he continued to walk further into the room he saw the wall to his right, behind the seating area. There were numerous doors being used by the people entering and leaving, evoking his curiosity.
The age range of the mixed-crowd was twenty to fifty. What caught his eye was the large rectangular stage to his left. There was a bar surrounding the stage where numerous girls danced suggestively using the poles to rub up and down on. They wore red very tight vinyl hot-pants, nicely showing the lower half of their asses. They also wore white cut-off tee-shirts revealing the bottom part of their tits at times. Their tee-shirts had the words "I suck..." in large red letters matching the color of their hot-pants.
As he approached the bar he got caught up in the crowd, the music and the dancers. He saw how perfect the dancer's bodies were without a hint of fat on them. They were incredibly shapely, lean as could be. They looked more like athletes than the average girl did. He kept watching them, finding himself becoming excited by their sexiness and suggestive dancing. He made his way distractedly along the bar occasionally bumping into someone, muttering his apologies. He didn't find an open seat until he got to the far wall when he sat patiently watching the activities on the stage in fascination.
