0 comments/ 39599 views/ 3 favorites Across the River By: raself There is a subtle and subversive beauty to walking into a strange bar for the first time. I felt it that day. The neighborhood was new to me, and I was adrift because the guy I was in the neighborhood to find didn't answer his door. What could I do? I found a little pub instead off the main boulevard that afternoon and it was a lovely haven, at once unfamiliar and yet altogether too familiar ... I had been there countless times, even though I'd never before set foot in the place. When my eyes adjusted to the room, I noticed a woman sitting about halfway down the bar ... She was a full figured lass, well-dressed in a skirt and with tasteful pumps on her stockinged feet, and she sat with an air of poise and containment, as if she were totally in control not only of herself but of anything or anybody that would come close to her ... an independent woman alone at the bar. I was immediately smitten and intrigued ... I have always had a profound & pronounced weakness for strong women, and this woman had an undeniable aura of strength and command about her . . . what an awesome and irresistible allure! No surprise then that I sent her a drink, in all humble appreciation. I was already under the spell of that intoxicating air of command that she projected. It was as if she had claimed me without my slightest objection -- Game. Set. And match. When she smiled in my direction, I picked up my own drink and moved down the bar. "Hello," I began, "my name is Ra's Elf ... and yours?" She turned towards me and her eyes delved candidly into my own. She was clearly and obviously an intelligent woman, but there was also a quality that went deeper -- when she looked at me I could feel her gaze reach down deep into the pit of my belly, as if she had found out my most private essence. She was a knowing woman, and she already knew me! The sensation was alarming, and I could feel my manly pride commence to bow at the waist -- although I didn't know it right off, what she was staking claim to was my own willingness to be altered and transformed from my male social nature into something much more privately compliant and malleable. "I am Marilyn," she said, "and I thank you for offering me a drink ... usually I won't accept a drink from a stranger, but you seem harmless enough ... " There was a slight mocking purr to her voice, something ever so slightly cat-like … The way she said it put me in a coy turmoil -- she was clearly flirting, but there was an unnerving edge to her manner, as if she fully anticipated my eagerness and was bound and determined to allow me every chance to expose my male weaknesses. Her comment about me seeming "harmless enough" seemed calculated to poke at my male pride. I was both confused and aroused and I knew then that I would be unable to say a single word that did not reveal my hopelessly adorational nature. I was already lost and Yes! it was so very true that I was harmless enough -- harmless enough that she could render my pride into whatever supplicant’s posture her strong nature desired. "Well thank you so much for accepting the drink," I stammered, "you seemed so all alone and all I wanted was for you to feel welcome." "I do feel welcome, Ra's Elf," she said, "your concern is noted and wholly appreciated. And since you are a rather attractive fellow, I'd love to hear more, but I have other business today -- perhaps you will join me Thursday evening -- there is a discreet little room I know over across the river -- a place called Secrets -- do you know it?" The mocking purr had left her voice, replaced with something much crisper, an undeniable certitude and assurance. I did know that place. I had been there several times, usually after having toured that small rivertown's assortment of titty bars. I would come into Secrets with a frazzled, horny buzz on, and I would stand at the bar uncomfortably, as if everybody in the place knew that I had been at the titty bars and was in a keen state of low arousal ... I'd try to be normal and cool, composed and in control, yet I always felt that I could not hide my secrets well enough in Secrets -- I always felt as if everybody had my number. Secrets was a bar I liked, but it was not a bar I really understood. Which was about to change ... Even though Secrets was an unremarkable enough tavern -- several tall tables in discretely dim lighting off away from the bar, a small dance floor and a tidy wee staging area, three pool tables in an adjoining room one could see down into from the bar, two televisions at either ends of the bar, a couple of goofy video game modules on the bar, one week-end night a week for karaoke, the other week-end night with a dj -- nothing really out of the ordinary, but as I thought about it, Secrets actually was oddly and unnervingly unusual, it had a flavor to it, rather subtle ... a typical bar but somehow not a typical bar, in a way I could not quite put my finger on -- yes, and it was odd and yet it seemed wholly appropriate for this poised and ever so obviously accomplished lady to mention Secrets. "I've been there a few times," I responded, "it's a nice joint, but why would you want me to meet you there?" Marilyn measured me with her bold stare. "Secrets is where no one will bother us," she said, and she grinned at me, a wide grin that seemed at once hungry and without mercy ... I stared into her eyes behind her wide glasses -- her gaze still had that deeply unsettling quality of having me pinned and cornered, but yet without threat -- it was a look from a woman who not only knew what she wanted, but who also was a woman who got whatever she wanted -- I felt I was being taken, and, both amazed and appalled, I couldn't wait to see what would happen when I showed up the following Thursday. On the Thursday night in question, Secrets was crowded, which surprised me -- the other times I'd been in the bar, it was quiet, almost in a trance, an alert joint but sleepy-alert. This night however was not only crowded, but loud. Strange for a weekday. Where had all these people come from, and why on earth were they all here? Almost immediately, I spotted Marilynn. She sat about midway down the long bar, facing away from the entrance, and her back was what caught my eye -- it was broad and strong, with shoulders that deep in my soul I wanted to lick and adore ... the shiver that ran thru me as I approached her from behind was so very strong, goosebumps radiated across my chest, and I felt my nipples stiffening involuntarily … The barstool beside Marilyn was unoccupied, which struck me as an enormous piece of luck, given that the bar itself was so crowded ... I slid in behind Marilyn, thinking about how to let her know I was there -- I wanted to lean close to her and breathe lightly on her neck, but I was afraid she would be irritated by the bold liberty of that, so I just sat there mutely, my hands not quite steady and my breathing shallow, not knowing quite what to do, and then she swung very slowly around on her barstool till she was facing me -- Again as before, her eyes took my measure, penetrating me viscerally -- I was immediately helpless, a breathless deer in the headlamps of her regard ... her gaze was so knowing and so pitiless that I knew she could command my least and every compliance -- I was not only helpless but thankful to be so. I could not take my eyes away from hers ... my entire being fell into her, and I felt myself consumed by her, and I became a creature without ego or independence, completely open to Marilyn's will. Her eyes dropped suddenly and rapidly down, as if telling me where she wanted my attention to go -- I looked down and noted her skirt, how she had let it ride high, almost mid-thigh -- and when my eyes returned to hers, she again dropped them, and I knew what she wanted. Marilyn wanted me on my knees, and she wanted me to kiss her, down there. My breath came in a sharp intake as I realized what she demanded. Blood rushed blushingly to my face, and it was so powerful an emotion that suddenly I was struck dumb ... I could not hear a thing and it was as if that entire establishment had gone silent. A great chill worked itself up my spine then, for it dawned on me that the entire bar had indeed gone silent ! -- my eyes darted to the left, then to the right -- I saw the barmaid, Snoopy, reach behind her to the jukebox volume knob and now even the jukebox sound was gone ... I looked around and every single person was facing me, silently waiting! I looked back into Marilyn's bold and commanding eyes and again her gaze dropped down and then back up, as if telling me ... Knowing my fate and welcoming it wholeheartedly, I sank slowly to my knees between Marilyn's thighs ... she moved her hips forward, one of her feet touching the floor, and spread her thighs even further. I pressed my cheek to the softness of her inner thigh, and then felt both of her thighs closing around my ears ... gently, she placed a hand atop my head, urging me to find what I most desired ... the soft ample flesh of her inner thighs gripped me lightly but insistently, and I could sense the great strength that she exercised in not crushing me ... when she relaxed her thighs, I pressed deeper between, inhaling the intoxicating aromas ... I licked into the darkness, feeling the warm silk of her panties on my tongue. I was at life's portal, the very source of All. I sucked hungrily at the thin fabric that enclosed my deepest, warmest, wettest Desire. Marilyn's hands descended to either side of my head, toying with my ears -- how could she know my ears were that sensitive?! With intimate pressure I felt her lifting me slowly away from her humid warm depths, pulling me gradually to my feet. I rose unwillingly but obediently, totally under the control of her touch, until at last I was again on my feet, staring into her hynotically penetrating gaze. She urged my lips toward her, and her tongue slid into me and I sucked at it, feeling its nimble wet length in my mouth, licking and tasting it ... her mouth widened upon me and I felt myself losing control, my very nature fuzzing over and changing -- her lips were to me in that moment the very same as if her cunt were on me ... I could feel myself transforming, turning into something other than what I had been. The sounds of the crowded bar came suddenly bursting forth upon us then as I sucked at her tongue, so that Marilyn and I were suddenly the center of a warm rolling aural embrace -- and as Marilyn's mouth continued at my face, approvals of applause descended upon us! And it was in that moment that I realized what had always been so unusual about Secrets . . . it finally dawned upon me that Secrets was a bar for gentle men, not at all a typical river town Gentlemen's Bar, not at all a dumb titty-type hole for horny jerks -- no, no -- Secrets was a saloon where women who knew how to demand respect brought men who knew how to give respect ... and when such respect was given, Secrets would put its hands together in warmest appreciation! As the applause subsided, my mind recalled it all - how women would take men into the corners of Secrets and unfasten their britches and play with them ... how casual it all was, how accepted that women could toy with males ... it was stunning that I had repressed the very memory of such behaviors taking place in Secrets! Why, of course -- Secrets had always been a place where men knew their place and remained carefully in their place, available and vulnerable and willing, the kind of bar where if men came in who were crude and chauvinistic, they would soon find themselves isolated and ignored, so that they would soon enough complain about what a dumb bar it was and leave ... Secrets was a bar where dominant women brought their humble male partners for public play, where men served either to be manipulated and humiliated, or blessed and honored, with bold, relentless attention from women of a certain character . . . I felt Marlyin unzipping my trousers ... she reached in and took hold of the upper elastic band of my briefs and pulled the band out and down, so that she was able to tuck the band under my privates, causing my penis and testicles thereby to be lifted and highlighted out from my opened britches. When Marilyn then took hold of my cock, her touch was knowing and sure -- she did not make the typical move of letting her hand brush the sensitive skin of my shaft, but she held onto my strained member snugly, so that the effect was of a deep massage, the flesh in her hand squeezed just tight enough so that there was no abrasive alarm, no startling sensation at all, just that deep rolling encirclement -- Marilyn knew how to hold a man's attention with firm yet delicate force, how to keep him from feeling discomfitted or abused. As these and many other revelations dawned upon me, I was of a sudden startled to feel someone behind me taking hold of my buttocks and rolling them aggressively in her strong grip -- "Marilyn!" came the exultant cry, "where have you been keeping this sweet thing?" I turned and had to look up, for the voice came from a tall woman . . . her bosom was at eye level and it was prominent and proud. She had red hair, and her manner was not so much bold as it was totally in control, and without apology or timidity. "Hi, you lovely fellow," she laughed, "my name is Melannie and I own the joint!" Melannie's laughter rang in my ears even as she kept up with aggressively fondling my butt cheeks -- "Marilyn, you always seem to bring us the most delicious and considerate gentlemen -- wherever did you find this one?" Marilyn kept her snug grip upon my cock, massaging it slowly all the while. I was being handled gently from the front and rudely from the rear, sandwiched, yet all I really wanted to do was go back down on my knees for the abundant and intimate charms of Marilyn ... I wanted to again place my lips at life's portal, to taste the place where life first comes forth ... "Now now, Marilyn ... you don't want to cause him to make a mess!" Melannie was leering down over my shoulder, staring at Marilyn's toying with my strained and tautly alerted cock. In parting, Melannie placed her lips close to my sensitive ear and breathed, "You lovely thing, you come back anytime, you hear?" And with that she left, striding down the bar. "Don't ever dare come in here unless to meet me," Marilyn teased after Melannie left, "some of these bold gals'd lock you up and tie you down and I'd never see you again!" And still, all I wanted to do was nestle my face into Marilyn's intimate recesses, but it was not to be. She told me she had to get up early the next morning and would I walk her to her car? It was chilly outside, and as I kissed Marilyn my longing was still to be engulfed by her warmth, to burrow there and lose myself in pleasuring her. "Come again next Thursday, around 10 or so," she suggested, "we'll find a dark corner, away from all the applause ... " She sucked on my lower lip and her hands went under my shirt, rising to my chest. "But don't you come back to this bar till then!" Marilyn's fingers tugged at my nipples ... and I knew that I would be helpless come next Thursday to be anywhere else except in the small river town, across the wide river from the big bad city, in the gentle man's bar, Secrets. On the way back across the river, I pulled off and stared at the imminent skyline, thinking longingly of all that had happened. Without even knowing I was doing it, I unzipped myself and pulled the elastic band out and down under ... I took hold of myself as Marilyn had, gently but firmly massaging, moving the flesh but not allowing my hand to slide over the tightened skin. I massaged myself with that deep slow motion until finally I could contain myself no longer ... the wet whitened cream covered my hand ... I held it up to look, wondering what Marilyn would do ... and in that isolate moment of self-gratification, I licked the juice from my own fingers, sucking each finger in turn, for I surmised that was precisely what Marilyn would have wanted me to do. In my mind's libidinous transport I felt as if I had become Marilyn, as if part of me had become a woman, a split personality, and as if my own ejaculate were an elixir, the very taste of sexual intoxication. When I at last put myself back in order, I drove on with a distinct sense that my identity was now doubled quite beyond itself ... I was two people in one body, and I was amazed to discover, even so soon after having climaxed, that one of those persons still maintained an arresting and wholly helpless erection! *** Across The River Chapter 1: The River Nyla looked down at the river and sighed. The stream's continuous flow seemed endless, but her reflection stood unwavering in the translucent liquid. "Ugh! Just my luck!" Nyla kicked a pebble into the river and watched it travel through the maze of stone that lay at the shallow beginnings of the stream. She suspected that her mother was furious by now. She didn't mean to travel so far into the woods, but when she noticed she had, she was already lost in the bewitching beauty of the landscape. "Maybe she'll laugh it off!" She placed her hands on her belly and a deep grumbling laugh escaped her belly. Then she dropped her hands in defeat. "Ny you definitely forgot who your mother is." She slumped on a flat rock and crossed her arms. After sitting for a while in thought she stood and walked along the rocks with her arms spread apart, one foot in front of the other. "Of course she wouldn't" she laughed. As she walked along the rocks she imitated her mother's reprimanding tone. "I worked so hard for what I have and all you do is sit around and cause trouble!" She giggled, but the laugh was filled with hurt and sadness. Nyla decided the best way to make her feel better was to get as jovial as she could get. So Nyla started to jump and skip along the rocks that lay at the border of the stream. She eventually became bold enough to actually skip along the rocks that lay in the stream. Suddenly she felt her body twirl over the very first slippery rocks that started to signal the flow of the stream into the river, but still in a laughing fight Nyla hadn't noticed she was falling until she opened her eyes and saw the rock that flooded her vision with hues of black and red. _____________________________________________ "Sasha, Alicia! Have you seen your sister! I have been looking for that girl all morning!" The buxom dark skinned woman placed her manicured fingernails on her wide hips. The first to answer was Sasha. She sprayed herself a second layer of skin with the Victoria Secret perfume she fancied. "Ugh! That girl is NOT my sister, and as for where she is. Don't know and definitely don't care." The girl primped herself in the mirror, more interested in applying heavy coats of makeup than the conversation. "Alicia!" The woman called again, her breast heaving as she turned to the other girl. Alicia lay sprawled across the bed in an all too small negligee, with the phone attached to her ear. With a quick eye roll she placed the phone down and replied. "The family dog went for a walk. I don't even know why you guys stress anymore. She'd just love it if the house went up in flames because of her absence!" The woman, turned with a pout heading down the corridor. Celeste hated how the twins talked about her daughter, but at the rate that Nyla was going they had a reason too. She would obey wholeheartedly when Celeste would threaten that dumb animal of hers, but now that the four legged mongrel was gone, Nyla had become even harder to control. If only she were like Sasha and Alicia! Her current husband's twin daughters were not the most perfect children, but they were easy to buy off. In a way she saw herself in the little brats. She shuddered at the thought of any real motherly relationship with the two. At the end of the corridor the stairs spiraled down into the foyer. There she saw the man who had swept her off her feet with the promises of immense wealth. Richard James Tyler IV was an immensely wealthy Haitian man in his 50's. When they had met he fell in love with the classy and sexy Celeste instantly. She was enough to have on his arm, but she also was a smart and vicious woman. He smiled at the woman, but she only pouted as she approached him. "Darling what's wrong?" He held her in his arms then felt the first groans against his shoulder. "That girl is just too cruel." Celeste held tight on too her husband. "What has she done now?!" Richard knew how bad Celeste's daughter Nyla was reacting to their marriage, so he tried to give the girl anything if she would behave. Celeste pulled herself from him and crossed her arms against her massive chest. "She ran away again. She's so difficult, she just hates that her mother's found a happiness with someone other than her father!" Richard sighed and cut his eyes. Celeste sensed his worry over her and her daughter and decided she wouldn't let that brat ruin what she established with him. "Honey let's go upstairs." she said already climbing the stairs. "For what?" Richard's breath was labored and he already knew what his insatiable wife wanted as he watched the sway of her hips. _____________________________________________ Somehow Nyla had gotten to appoint where she lie on her back floating, as the river carried her. She tried to open her right eye, but the red liquid would pour into it, so she stopped. Looking into the sky with her right eye, she heard the nothingness that was the morning. The peace of the woods was enchanting and although she knew that a peaceful death was coming for her... she cried. "Solomon, you were supposed to tell daddy I was alright" she whispered into the air. "Now look at me. I got my hair dirty and bloody, and it hurts all over." The gash above her right eye was deep, and although she was in pain for as she struggled to stay afloat, she was soon numbed, and so was the rest of her body. "Daddy..." she cried out in a small whisper. "...it's so cold here...this morning was warm so I wore the sundress you gave to mommy... but I'm cold now daddy." Nyla's right eye glazed over and although her eye was open, all she could see was a strong light. She smiled and accepted the heaven that held Solomon and her father. Across The River To Route 73 Barrett fidgeted then stood up from the bench and began to pace around the crowded platform occasionally glancing down the subway tracks while anxiously waiting for the next train to arrive. In another part of the city, Barrett's girl friend Abbey, sat in the back booth of a café sipping on a cup of coffee and nibbling on a hot apple pie while waiting for Barrett to arrive. Abbey, who worked as a paralegal, had only to walk a short distance to get to the café, but Barrett, who had a job as a dental assistant, in a medical building further into the center of the city, had to take the train. Normally the café was their oasis where the both of them would meet at the end of each work day to chit chat for a short while over some coffee. It was part of their daily routine. Afterwards they would go back to their apartment to shower, order out for some food, watch a movie together and then engage in their usual sexual activities before retiring for the night. Having sex with Abbey was Barrett's greatest joy. And Abbey was always thrilled at the happiness she provided for him. Barrett once said to Abbey that having sex with her was the greatest physical feeling, he as a human being, had ever experience and Abbey who always enjoyed pleasing him, would cater to his every need and sometimes had felt it was her duty as a woman to fulfil his every desire, but today was different. Today they would join each other at the cafe to carry out their plans to meet up with some of their friends in Camden, New Jersey, where a chartered bus would be waiting to take them to New York where they would attend a music festival together. Abbey took a gulp of coffee and swallowed down the last piece of apple pie she had left on her plate then turned and looked over her shoulder at the clock that hung on the wall behind her. It was four forty two pm and knowing the bus in Camden would be leaving at six pm, and that it was now rush hour, began to wonder if Barrett would be late arriving. While waiting she thought back to the last time they had been together with their friends. It was four months earlier during the first week of March when they had spent a weekend together with their friends at a ski resort up in the Pocono's, but because of the winter snow storm and the cold frigid air they were unable to go skiing and were left to spend the two days, with very little to do, in a cabin they had rented. And Barrett, who was never the kind of person to just sit around for a long period of time with the usual chit chat that seemed to be going on, and who was adventurous and never too shy, had livened things up by orchestrating a sex fest, a wild orgy, involving everyone there. Abbey remembered how enjoyable it had been seeing the naked bodies of her friend's scattered all around the wooden floor of the cabin having sex with one another and knowing that after the music festival they had arrangements to sleep at a nearby camp ground for the night and wondered if this time would be the same as the last. A loud roar came out of the tunnel along with an ear deafening screeching sound that took its place and echoed throughout the subway as the train came to a stop. The doors of each car opened and in less than one minute the passengers inside poured out and flooded the platform, pushing and dodging their way through another flock of commuters filing into the train. Barrett was among them hurrying and squeezing his way to a seat. "Quite hectic today," a voice could be heard from in the crowd of people. Barrett looked up to a man standing before him. The man was medium size, late thirties or early forties, solidly built with straight black hair that appeared to have been tightly pulled from the front of his head and plastered to the back of his neck. Barrett focused on his moustache, an extravagance as wide as his face, parted into two flaring jet black wings, stiffened with wax, which clashed with his charcoal suit and white buttoned down shirt. "Yeah," Barrett muttered. "It's always like that during this time of the day." "I'm sure it is," the man said with a smile. "Ordinarily I have a driver to chauffeur me around, but today is his day off and I had some business here in the city and I guess I had no choice but to rely on the public transportation that this city provides." Barrett just smirked and nodded his head then pulled up the sleeve of his jacket on his left arm and looked down at his watch. It was now four fifty pm. The train stopped, the doors opened and half of the cars emptied out and then refilled with a new group of passengers. The doors closed and the train pulled out making its way to the next station. It would be three more stops until 2nd and Market Streets where Barrett would get off and meet up with Abbey at the café. "The problem with living and working in a big city such as Philadelphia is that it can create a lot of stress and tension in a person causing them to sometimes be unhappy with their lives," the man said who sat down in a seat next to Barrett. "It sure can," Barrett sighed as he leaned away from the man to allow more space between the both of them. "I believe everyone now and then needs a place to go where they can relieve themselves of all that may build up inside of them that needs to be released," the man said as he reached inside his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. "Yeah, I suppose so," mumbled Barrett as he watched the doors open and close then felt a jerky movement throughout his body as the train left the station. The man opened his wallet and took out a card and handed it to Barrett. "My name is Raymundo Aznar and may I ask your name." "Barrett Hughes." "Well Barrett, I bought some real estate just across the river on route seventy three in New Jersey and there I opened a business of my own," he said with a sly grin. It's a place where one can go and take a break from their life and where one can enjoy the pleasures that I can provide. It's sort of a club, for members only of course, and at a reasonable rate as well." "I see," Barrett said. "It sounds very nice." " It's better than nice," the man said, smiling and revealing a set of bright shiny teeth that looked like they had just been whitened up from a laser. Barrett took the card from his hand and gave it a quick look and not really being interested in what this man had given him, just sighed and stared straight ahead only thinking about getting to his destination faster than he wanted too. The man continued to talk. "Just drop on by. I call the place "Selestino" Its Spanish. Meaning "Belonging to heaven" I think you'll enjoy it there." "Maybe another time," replied Barrett. "Tonight I have other plans." "Well," the man replied back to him. "If you change your mind we open after sunset and close at dawn. I assure you, you won't regret it." "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," answered Barrett as he glanced at the card once more then placed it inside the pocket of his jacket. "Fine," the man smiled then stood up as the train stopped and the doors opened. Barrett looked up at the man as he was leaving and felt a burst of curiosity build up inside him. "Just what kind of pleasure do you provide?" he then asked the man who quickly turned as though he was surprised by his question. "I'm sorry my friend, but this is where I get off," he said. "Please come by tonight and you can find out for yourself." I promise you won't be disappointed." The man then left and disappeared in the crowd of people making their way up to the street. Barrett leaned back in his seat as the doors closed and the train pulled away. His eyes closed as his mind drifted off and became full of visions of being together with abbey and their friends up in New York having a wild time at the music festival seeing and listening too many of their favourite bands. The event was something they all had planned out months ago and now the day had finally come. The loud sound of screeching brought him back from his thoughts as the train stopped and the doors opened. Barrett then got up from his seat and hurried out of the train and made his way up the steps and out on to the street. He took a quick glance at his watch then trotted along Market Street until he came to the café. Abbey's hands were wrapped around another cup of coffee she had ordered while her eyes stared through the windows at the front of the cafe. She inhaled a large amount of air and sighed with relieve as Barrett walked through the door and then came rushing up to the booth she sat in. He took his place across from her. They both stared at one another for a few seconds and then he shrugged. "Dam patients," he complained. "What," Abbey asked looking concerned. "Nothing," Barrett mumbled. "Well it must be something," Abbey said. "One patient came in late today," he grumbled. "That's why it took me so long in getting here." Abbey kept silent and watched as Barrett took in a deep breath of air and then exhaled slowly, trying to will his body to relax. She could see how angry and pissed off he was, but it didn't bother her at all, it never did, as a matter of fact she always liked it when he was that way. Abbey stared into his hazel eyes. She always liked to look at them whenever he was upset or annoyed by something. It turned her on to see him that way. It always did. She remained quiet and slightly opened her mouth and raised the cup to her lips and took one small sip of the coffee then laid the cup down on the table in front of her, never taking her eyes away from his. He looked back at her, staring deeply into her blue eyes, now breathing less heavily as a momentary silence came between them. Barrett once told Abbey that her eyes were like hands that could reach out and touch without ever being physical and that her facial expressions were like words she could use without ever being verbal. Barrett slowly took in a deep breath. "Let's go," he ordered. Abbey was always obedient to Barrett. In the three years they had been together in their relationship not once did she ever disagree with him or argue with him and not once did she ever disobey him. He was never mean or cruel or unfair or demanding to her, he just liked being the boss. He liked to be the one who set the rules, the one who was in charge, the one who gave the orders. She didn't mind it; she had been used to being treated that way by her father and rather liked being the one to take orders. So when Barrett gave the order " Let's go" she immediately, without any hesitation, grabbed the small back pack she always had with her and after paying the bill for the two cups of coffee and the hot apple pie, followed Barrett out of the café and out onto Market Street. The streets were still full of cars and the sidewalks covered with people as Barrett and Abbey hurried their way to south street. It was five thirty one pm when they arrived at their apartment and with very little time to spare Barrett quickly grabbed the phone while undressing, called for a taxi that would take them to Penn's landing where they would catch the ferry to New Jersey. He then dragged Abbey with him, and headed into the bathroom, helping her out of her clothes along the way and into the shower. No sooner were they in the shower when what seemed like only a few seconds later they were getting out and then getting dressed without getting dry and then out the door to a taxi that was now waiting for them in the street. They hopped into the back seat and sat tightly next to each other as the taxi pulled away from the curb and made its way down the street. Barrett turned and looked at Abbey; her lips slightly opened sucking in air while water dripped from her hair that slowly ran down along the sides of her face. Barrett turned her head and starred into her eyes, and with his right hand placed along the side of her face, slowly ran his tongue, licking at the water on her face. Abbey giggled as his tongue ran from the side of her jaw tickling her up to the tip of her ear lope. He then moved around to the front of her face and with one finger he gently wiped away the wetness from her lips as he placed his mouth upon hers. Abbey loved Barrett's spontaneous affection no matter where or when it would occur she was always happy to accept it that way. So when Barrett began to kiss her in the back seat of the taxi, she responded by acting helpless and weak to him and allowing him to have his way with her. And Barrett always felt like the luckiest man in the world having a girl like Abbey who would always give in to him at anytime he wanted too. Barrett pulled his lips away from Abbeys to glance at his watch. It was now five forty seven. His mouth tightened and the fingers of his right hand tapped attentively on his right leg as he sighed with disappointment. "Will never make it on time," Barrett groaned as his fingers were now clinched into a fist and his lips became even tighter on his face. "I'm sure the ferry has left by now," he complained with a slight sound of bitterness in his voice as he now began pounding his fist onto his leg. Abbey remained quiet as she always did whenever Barrett was upset and only sighed with discomfort and not pleasure at seeing him so angry for she too wanted nothing more than to be on that ferry going across the river to join their friends who probably were already waiting for them. It was six thirteen pm when they arrived at Penns landing and in a flash Barrett and Abbey were out of the taxi and down on the docks and to their surprise the ferry hadn't left. "Come on," Barrett shouted while dragging Abbey by the arm. "We're lucky the ferry didn't leave yet." The both of them got on the ferry and took a standing position at the front of the boat. "Now let's hope the bus didn't leave without us," Barrett grumbled feeling un-relaxed and eager to join their friends and be on their way to New York to enjoy the music festival. Abbey stood next to Barrett and warmly held onto him. She wanted him to cheer up. He wanted her to change his mood too. They stayed side by side for the twenty minutes it took the ferry to travel across the Delaware river. Once they arrived in Camden the two of them scrambled their way off the boat and trotted along a large green lawn that separated the river from the highway where the bus would be waiting. All along while the two of them were moving towards the meeting place Barrett's eyes were scanning everywhere searching for any sigh of the bus. When they got to the highway Barrett, not seeing any sighs of their friends or the bus, screamed in anger and cursed out loud while driving his foot into the ground and kicking dirt in to the air. "Shit, I can't believe it," Barrett yelled. " I can't believe we missed the fucking bus." Abbey stood there as her usual self, visible but quiet, just staring at Barrett while sucking in air in an attempt to catch her breath. Barrett stopped to look at Abbey standing there then walked over to where she stood and sat down along side of her leg. Abbey slowly sat down beside him and clutched his hand in hers. The both of them sat there in silence. A cool chill came into the air as a light breeze began to blow off the river. Abbey leaned closer to Barrett and gently snuggled up to him. "Are you cold," Barrett asked. "Just a little," Abbey said slightly slivering. Barrett then stood up and removed his jacket. The same jacket he had worn earlier in the day. He placed it around her as she stayed seated on the ground. "Thanks," she said with a smile as she slid her arms through the sleeves, pulled up the zipper and put her hands inside the pockets. "Feel better now," he asked. "Yes," she replied with a grin and then motioned for him to sit back down next to her. And he did. They sat there staring across the dark road at the trees then up to the moon and stars that brightened the sky. Abbey, while her hands were keeping warm inside the pockets, pulled out a card and began to read it. Barrett took notice and remembered it was the card the man he had met earlier that day on the train. "What's this," she asked. "A man I met while riding the subway gave it to me. He said. "He just opened up some kind of place where people can go to unwind from their miserable lives and become relieved from whatever bothers them." "Really," Abbey smirked. "Yeah, so he claims," Barrett smiled. "He invited me there and even assured me I wouldn't regret it." "Do you believe that," she said while still looking at the card. "I don't know," he chuckled. "He sure was a strange looking person." They both were silent as she again looked at the card and then the both of them looked at one another and as if they both read each other's mind. "Well, it doesn't look like we're going anywhere," Abbey sighed. "So, what are you suggesting," Barrett asked. "That we go and check out this so called wonderful place down on route seventy three so we can unwind and relieve ourselves from all of lives bullshit." "Well, you do seem like you could use some unwinding," Abbey giggled. "After all it has been a very long week for you and having the music festival on your mind and now not being able to go I'm sure it has caused a lot of tension and stress in you and now you need somewhere or someway to release it." "Yeah, I guess you're right," Barrett said with a sly grin. He reached down and helped pull Abbey up from the ground. "Let's go and see if we can find a taxi," Barrett said. Together they walked back towards the river and found a taxi in a parking lot just outside of where the ferries were docked. Barrett reached inside the pocket of his jacket and pulled out the card to get the address of the place he and Abbey would go too. There was no numbers to the address just a name of the place and the road it was located on. "We're looking for a place called "Selestino" Barrett said to the driver. " It's somewhere down on route seventy three." "Okay, said the driver, a small chubby man with a short stub of a cigar hanging from his mouth. " I think I know this place you're talking about. I took a man there just the other night." "Oh really," Barrett said while holding onto Abbey who was snuggled up next to him. "Yeah, it's some kind of private club, or at least I think it is." said the man while coughing out smoke and then opening up the window and throwing out what he had left of his cigar. "Yeah, that sounds like the place." Barrett replied back to the man. "So why are you taking a girl with you," chuckled the man. "After all there are plenty of them there already, unless of course she works at this place." Both Barrett and Abbey looked at one another not fully understanding just what this man was saying to them. "No," Barrett answered. "She doesn't work there and just what do you mean by that anyways." "No offense, but it's really not the kind of place to take a girl, it's the kind of place to find a girl. It's for men only," said the man. Barrett and Abbey turned and faced each other again and just stared into each other's eyes. Both wondered just what the night was about to bring them. Barrett took his arm from around Abbey's shoulder and leaned forward. "How do you know this," he asked the driver. "Well, I really don't know if it is or not," he answered. "I overheard the man I drove there talking to someone on his cell phone saying that it was a place to go for some good sex." Barrett and Abbey looked at one another and studied each other's facial expressions. "Well, what do you think about this place now that you know what it is," Barrett whispered into Abbey's ear. "What are you asking me," Abbey replied. "Whether or not I approve of going there."