"I've been trying to show you over and over/Look at these, my child-bearing hips/Look at these, my ruby red ruby lips/Look at these, my work strong arms and/You've got to see my bottle full of charm...."
I never sit down at my own parties, even on Valentine's Day. I need to be sure everyone else is happy. You finally catch me in the kitchen, simultaneously carrying several empty wine glasses, swinging my hips freely, and waving toward someone at the front door. I trade lines with three women clustered together in front of the prep table like flowers in a corsage: "Gonna wash that man right out of my hair/Just like the first time he said he didn't care/Gonna wash that man right out of my hair/Heard it before, no more/Gonna take my hips to a man who cares/Turn the corner, there's another one there...."
I deposit my burden on the table and just as my head falls back for the chorus, you reach out and grasp my elbow. I swing gracefully around, already laughing at myself for the jolt of surprise I felt at your touch. I'm a study in contrasts with my full, red taffeta New Look dress, like something out of a Douglas Sirk movie, my hair wild and full, and my makeup teetering on the edge of goth. "Hey," I murmur breathlessly, eyes crinkling with pleasure. "I've been waiting for you, doll." And then I say, "Open your mouth and close your eyes and you will get a big surprise!" You obey, expecting a soft kiss, and instead find that I have popped an hors d'oeuvre into your mouth, my fingertips lingering only the slightest bit on your lips.
When you open your eyes I've already disappeared into the throng again.
The next time you find me I'm on the deck, pouring champagne into a dozen outstretched glasses. The music is quieter, in deference to the hour. Frank Sinatra is crooning about the blues in the night, and you can see even in the feeble moonlight that I've managed to eat off all my lipstick, leaving my lips naked and a little swollen. You approach me from behind again, one hand circling my waist and the other in my hair, drawing it back from my ear as I settle comfortably against you. We rock a little, side to side, and I pass the bottle to Anna with a saucy grin. "Temptress," you whisper in my ear, the consonants tickling me. "Succubus. Darling. Angel. You steal my dreams -- now, what will you give me in return?" Pressing back against you, I say, as if to the group at large, "I need to fetch some more wine, I think," and then I stride into the house, pulling you behind, your fingers braceleting my wrist.
We duck inside my makeshift pantry, not much bigger than a closet, and as soon as the door shuts I lift my head like child, wordlessly asking for a kiss. My eyes are wide, my lips cold. It's the champagne -- they warm soon enough under your ministrations, and the inside of my mouth feels almost hot in contrast. "Good party," you murmur, your lips against mine, the phrase felt more than heard. No time for romance, though - as my right hand tenderly, lightly strokes the back of your neck, my left is already burrowing in-between us. I sense your reaction to my touch at the same moment that I cup your crotch, thumb tracing the length of your shaft through layers of fabric. We both gasp within the confines of our kiss. You burrow blindly beneath layers of crinoline, bat at it in vain for a few moments, toss it into the air only to have it gently settle over my thighs again. Finally you bunch it up in your left fist, holding it tight against my hip. The back of the dress falls down behind me like a train. The entire time, your mouth never leaves mine.