twenties, with a few older men who were apparently out for an
evening away from their families. This base allowed dependents to
live onsite, and from what she had seen, most of the older men wore
wedding rings. Those who didn't had more than likely slipped them
into their pockets hoping to get lucky, which didn't make sense to
Paige. The women who were in the bar were married to the men
stationed there, or were in the military themselves. So, they were
risking their marriage and possibly their career if they cheated.
Paige couldn't completely let her guard down. If she screwed up it
would affect her job. She was not going to be the cause of an
incident. She was on base representing her company and her own
pride wouldn't allow her to make a fool of herself or have anyone
think badly of her.
Rosa didn't have that problem. Her husband didn't care what she
did as long as it didn't affect his career and she wasn't responsible for
reporting to any of the upper staff on the contract or to the bases
commanding officers. She could relax and go play.
Again, a bit of envy slipped through her mind. Paige watched Rosa
with her arm slung across the shoulders of the men she flirted with.
Laughing and smiling while they talked, she reveled at being the
center of attention.
Pushing her way once again through the men and women who
surrounded the dance floor, Paige headed over to Rosa. One of the
men stood and offered her his bar stool.
She smiled her thanks. Stepping onto the bottom ring, she raised
her butt and sat graceful, but rigidly on the edge of the seat as her feet
dangled; another one of the irritations of being short.
Like she expected, Rosa didn't introduce her. She wasn't being
rude, Rosa just tended to be a little scatter brained at times since all
the attention was immediately diverted back to her. Two of the men
were pushing one another, arguing playfully over who was going to
dance with her next.
10
One of the men sitting at the table leaned over, his hand held out
and in front of Paige. "Hi, I'm Ben." His big hand enveloped hers in a
warm and surprisingly strong grip.
"Hi, Ben, I'm Paige, nice to meet you." She smiled, speaking
loudly to be heard over the music. He introduced her to everyone at
the table. They all lifted their beers in a mock salute and smiled while
continuing their own conversations.
"Where are you from?" Ben scooted his chair over and leaned
closer.
Paige wanted to laugh. He was barely old enough to be enlisted, let
alone be drinking. He reminded her of her youngest son with his baby
smooth face and scattering of pimples. "Texas, you?"
"I thought I detected a hint of an accent there." Ben smiled.
"Houston actually."
"Ahhhh no." Paige shook her head in mock disappointment.
"Dallas here."
He leaned back shaking his head too. "That's too bad."
The running rivalry between Houston and Dallas was funny. No
apparent reason, but it made for some fun jabs back and forth at one
another. Rosa had disappeared once again, Paige assumed out on the
floor, but instead, she spotted her on the other side talking with the
blonde guy she had danced with first, Mr. Dimples.
The kid beside her was doing his best to try to keep up an
intelligent conversation, but with little to no life experience, there
wasn't much he could talk about except boot camp and his job in
training as a mechanic on the flight line.
Paige smiled and held up her end of the conversation politely. She
had been around military bases enough that she had a good handle on
what he was talking about. But she was ready to go. The night was
boring and she should be studying. She really didn't know what she
had expected. This, she glanced around the club, was not her cup of
tea. It was either extremely young men or the way over the hill men
who came to talk to her in settings like this. Not that she was looking
for some hot middle aged guy to come sweep her away. After all, she
was married and loved her husband. She had transferred to a
temporary position in Korea six months early, and then when her
bosses had promoted her, they moved her to a temporary assignment
in Japan. Six months of not seeing her husband was beginning to take
its toll, making her feel a bit lonely.
The affair her husband had a couple years earlier weighed heavily
on her mind. She had forgiven his indiscretion and they had moved
on. Giving herself a mental shake, she had to let her stray thoughts
go. Just because she was lonely didn't mean she had any intentions of
cheating, she knew just wanted some mature companionship.
Ben said something, but she didn't hear since she was lost in her
own thoughts. Without another word, he got up and walked away.
The other men, she had already forgotten their names closed ranks,
but still talked to one another instead of acknowledging her. Not one
to butt into a conversation, or really start one on her own; she sat and
listened to their stories and jabs at one another. Smiling or frowning
at whatever they were saying, she remained quiet.
After a while, her beer was gone and she wanted another one.
Slipping off the seat, completely unnoticed, she once again stood in
line and paid for her drink. The bartender winked at her.
She smiled back. He was good looking she admitted to herself.
With the way his hair was spiked on top, the small goatee growing on
his chin, and the spacers in his ears, he was definitely not military.
Although she had to admit, his body was cut with muscles in all the
right spots. She watched him moving around behind the bar. A few
of his mannerisms made her wonder if he swung for the other team.
Not that it mattered to her. She took her beer and stood by the corner
of the bar and watched the dance floor with a grin at her wayward
thoughts.
Rosa was dancing with a group of women now, the men on and
around the polished wooden floor nudged others, all motioning in the
women's direction. One of the girls scooted around and came up
behind Rosa, running her hands along her arms and down her sides.
Rosa looked over her shoulder and smiled, backed up to the shorter
girl. Then to Paige's surprise, Rosa turned around and wrapped her
arms around the girl and they danced, rubbing the front of their bodies
12
against one another to the beat of the music. Their hands were all
over each other. The other girls in the group laughed and began
imitating them. But they couldn't compare to the sexuality Rosa
exuded.
Paige could not take her eyes off the two women, and neither could
the bar full of men. The girl turned in Rosa's arms, her back to her.
Her butt rubbed against Rosa's thighs while she reached a hand around
and caressed her leg. The shorter woman's hand rubbed along the
mini skirt, lifting it just a touch. Rosa's hand moved up along the
girl's waist, reaching around, her finger grazed the woman's breast.
Paige could all but hear a collective groan from the men.
She had met Rosa years earlier. They had been out many times,
always with their husbands or a group from work. This was the first
time she had ever seen her dance this way. Paige was almost
embarrassed at how sensual Rosa was with the other woman and in
front of so many people. She couldn't stop staring and wondered if
maybe she was beginning to have a girl crush on her. Shaking her
head to clear her thoughts, she sucked in a deep breath and released it
slowly.
Rosa was totally oblivious to anyone around her, as she did with the
men, all her attention was directed to the girl dancing in front of her.
Paige watched her tongue slide slowly across her full bottom lip,
then suck a corner of it into her mouth as she rolled her head back and
ground her hips against the girl's ass. She looked as if she was about
to have an orgasm right there on the dance floor. Judging by the
bulges in a few of the men's pants, Paige thought they were about to
join them and have an orgy right there in the club. Surprisingly the
thought was actually an interesting one and she felt a twinge of
excitement race through her body. Yeah, she was definitely lonely.
The music came to an end and the DJ came over the speaker before
staring the next song. "Ladies, now we're gonna slow it down for you
a bit."
A slow song came on and Rosa stepped back with a laugh. The girl
smiled up at her and they left the dance floor in opposite directions to
the dismay of the men. Paige realized it was all just an act on Rosa's
13
part. She knew exactly what she was doing and the affect it would
have on the people watching her. She thoroughly enjoyed being an
exhibitionist. Rosa sashayed off the floor.
The men began booing, yelling to her that they needed to back out
and continue, with a few even calling for them to "Take it off!"
She just waved, blew them a kiss and kept on walking. Joining
Paige, she grabbed the beer from her hand and down the rest. "Come
on. Let's get out of here." Grabbing her arm, Rosa pulled her towards
the exit.
"Where are we going?" Paige was puzzled. By the way Rosa was
acting she didn't think she was ready to go back to their rooms just
yet.
"We, chica, are meeting some friends down town."
14
CHAPTER TWO
Rosa's speech was a bit slurred, but she walked in her heels as if
she were a runway model. Paige didn't understand how she did it and
quickened her own pace to keep up with her long strides. The base
taxi driver was Japanese, but spoke English well enough and Rosa
told him where to take them. Settling into the back of the cab, they
rode in silence for a few minutes.
Paige didn't know what to think of Rosa tonight. She wondered
what had gotten into her. "Everything ok?"
She and Rosa were friends, but they didn't delve into one another's
lives like most bff's do. They worked together and went out with their
husbands, but that was the extent of it. This side of Rosa surprised
her.
"Everything's great." Rosa smiled, her bright white teeth flashing in
the darkness of the cab. "You having fun? I noticed you were talking
to Ben for a while." Rosa had a way of remembering everyone's name,
even if she had only met them once.
"Yeah, it's going ok." Then she continued, scrunching her nose.
"Ben was well, you know, young."
Rosa laughed at her response and hummed to a tune in her head.
Paige wasn't sure she really wanted to go out into town and meet up
with people she had never met before. Rosa was comfortable doing
this sort of thing, but she wasn't. They were military, like Rosa's
husband, Paige was not from a military background. Her husband had
an office job. The only way she was tied to the military was because
of her contract with the company she had been working with for the
past ten years. On her assignments she never hung out with the men
in uniform unless her company was invited to a special dinner or
something. So this was all new to her. She was used to going back to
her room in the evening and studying for the bachelor degree she was
working on.
The dream she had been having floated across her mind and she
frowned. She had strange dreams all the time that served to warn her
of impending danger. This one haunted her because she could never
15
see anyone's face other than her husband Dalton and Rosa. There
were others, but they were always hovering in the background. When
they came forward and spoke to Rosa and Dalton she could never see
their face, or hear their words. When Dalton looked back her, his eyes
glowed red, his fangs showed in a snarl. She always woke in a cold
sweat, heart pounding in her chest and all she could think of was
vampires.
Even if she decided she didn't want to leave base, it was too late.
She was already in the cab and they were driving through the front
gate and out into the city. The roads were rough and narrow. The
driver didn't seem to notice how close the other vehicles or even the
pedestrians were to his car as he zoomed by them. A nerve wracking
ten minutes later they pulled to a stop in front of a row of bars. Rosa
leaned forward, said something to the driver in Japanese, slipped him
some money and climbed out of the car. Paige had no choice but to
follow.
People lined the street, standing around talking and goofing off.
Paige found it a bit strange that it was mostly Americans. She
would have thought being in Japan there would be more Japanese out
and about.
Clubs lined the narrow streets and cobble stone alleyways. Their
entrances were through tight narrow doorways. Some led
underground, down steep unstable steps. While others led to second
and third story floors. Paige had never seen anything like it. She was
amazed and wondered how the drunks kept from falling down and
breaking their necks because of how steep the steps were.
It felt like they were climbing forever when Rosa pushed the door
open to the upstairs club. Loud music and cigarette smoke blasted
through the open doorway. Rosa pushed her way in while a couple
tried pushing their way to get out.
There was absolutely no room to move. No personal space
whatsoever. Pressing through the crowd, Rosa's height allowed her to
find the group she was looking for.
16
Paige moved into a miniscule vacant spot where she could at least
breathe without having her nose pressed against someone's back or
chest.
Suddenly, the music changed and everyone started jumping up and
down, singing along. Paige worried that the floor was going to cave
in from all the weight and worried about silly things like building
capacity limits. Shaking her head there was no room to do anything
but to shuffle and keep from getting stepped on. It was like nothing
she'd ever experienced.
She groaned "This is crazy!" Just then s
omething cold was pressed
against her hand and she glanced down to see that a bottle of beer had
been placed there. She looked up to say thank you and Mr. Dimples
stood before her with a grin on his face.
"Hey there, thought you might like a drink." His smile dazzled, his
body moved to the music. He really didn't have a choice. She noticed
a pair of hands rocking his hips from side to side, and then a face
popped over his shoulder.
"Hey beautiful, how you doin'?" This face she had not seen yet.
When he moved around from behind Mr. Dimples, she clamped her
jaw shut to keep from gawking and breathed deeply through her nose.
Wow, the man was built. His shoulders bulged with muscles and he
towered over her.
She stared at him, blinking, wide eyed a couple times before he
laughed and nudged her shoulder. "Dance with me."
Paige was surprised that he even asked. She glanced at Rosa who
was smiling brightly at her and nodding her approval. He leaned
towards her and she yelled in the vicinity of his ear. "Uh, how are we
gonna dance in a place like this?"
He laughed and grabbed her hips pulling him to her. "Like this."
He pressed her against him and her hips rolled with his.
She hoped to talk to him, frowning slightly when Mr. Dimples had
pressed through the crowd and moved away. She was smashed
against muscle man with no room to move. With Dimples gone, she
didn't have a reason to move away.
17
She wanted to dance. Her hand came up between them and rested
on his bulging chest, her other hand clutching her beer. She closed
her eyes and allowed him to move her body with his. The pace of the
music changed, much to the awes of the crowd to a slower song.
She found herself wrapped in his arms, her head on his chest. She
heard the deep rumble of his voice as he sang along to the song.
She relaxed when she realized he remained a gentleman, no
roaming hands groping at her. He actually knew how to lead and kept
the other couples from slamming into her. They had their tiny little
space in the room and she danced. When the music changed again to
one of the faster beats, he leaned in closer to her ear. "Want to get out