“I’m not in the mood tonight,” I lie.
He narrows his eyes at me as I down the rest of the water. “That sounds like shit, you know that, right?”
I laugh. “Yeah. I know.”
“What happened?”
“Nothing. I just feel a little off.”
He gives me an incredulous glare. “Off like what? We’re at The Dark Odyssey, Paul, are you kidding me?”
Since I know he won’t let up if I don’t provide more content, I decide to give him more context. “I’m just thinking about Jia.”
The second I say that, something flashes in his eyes. It’s recognition, acknowledgement of what I’m truly saying.
“What specifically?”
That’s just the thing. I don’t know. What am I actually thinking of? I don’t know if coming home, working at the same place, and having this problem with the building is creating this thing that’s making me remember how we were.
I’ve certainly seen her more times this week than I have in the last six years. I’ve definitely spoken to her longer too. Now that I’ve seen her and I’m here at the place that used to hold our fantasies, it doesn’t feel right.
“I don’t know, James. I think I should probably go home.”
This is the wrong place to talk about shit. Saturday night at The Dark Odyssey is supposed to be about fun. That’s it. I’m the wet blanket who needs to go. I stand up, and he looks up at me.
“How about I come with you? We can head to the bar and get a beer,” he suggests.
I glance over at the blonde he was talking to. She’s waiting patiently for him, and I know he only came here for one thing tonight.
I won’t deprive him of it.
“I’m good, bro. I’ll call you.”
“Okay, I’ll hold you to that.”
I chuckle and leave him. Wade is so lost in his girl that he doesn’t even notice me leaving.
It’s fine. I probably shouldn’t have ventured out in the first place with the way I felt.
I make my way past the booths with the couples having sex and entrances to different themed rooms. I’m an idiot. You don’t come to a place like this when you’re as conflicted as me.
I get to the stairs leading down to the dance floor and look at the crowd. There are so many people down there it’s going to take forever just to get through them.
I glance over to the entrance to the fantasy room and head there instead, to the secret passageway. There’s an exit there leading out to the parking lot.
I figured out a while back that the owners of the club set it up like a maze. A little like The Labyrinth, and there would be a different fantasy at every corner. Jia and I used to like the halls of Fantasium. Most people do.
I get inside, and the florescent lights cover me. There are couples all along the walls making out. Some are having sex.
I’ve been here so much and seen public sex so often within these walls that it’s normal to me.
What’s not normal is me walking through here because it’s the quickest way out.
I make my way to the passage that leads to the exit but stop midstride when a beautiful woman wearing a black negligee and a gold mask catches my eye.
I’d recognize that body anywhere. It haunts my dreams. Asleep and awake.
Long brown hair flows down the perfect body you’d imagine on a goddess. Her fully rounded breasts are enough to drive a man crazy. What seals the deal are those curves of hers in all the right places.