Masked men took turns playing with the pearls, tonguing them against her clit and lapping at her cunt. Sometimes another player would pour champagne down her body and multiple men would lap at it, like dogs all fighting for the tastiest morsel.
Everyone in the room seemed to be in another world. Not like people usually looked when they were drunk, but not exactly sober. Their bodies were so loose, their eyes so bright.
“Absinthe, sir?” A beautiful waitress with an elaborate golden carnivale mask paused in front of Sully. She held out a tray of little cups filled a third of the way with bright green liquid, along with a few other objects.
Sully started to say no thank you but the woman leaned in, whispering in Sully’s ear. I wanted to punch the chick for her audacity—he was obviously here with me—but then I heard what she was saying. “It’s expected. Montgomery said to tell you they’re expecting you to drink.”
“Fuck,” Sully swore. Then he nodded tightly. “Fine.” He reached for one of the little glasses but the serving lady pulled it back.
“You aren’t wearing your mask.”
“Jesus Christ,” Sully swore, then pulled two crumpled masquerade masks out of his back pocket and handed one to me. His was black with a golden detailing. Mine was white with the same. They were both far less elaborate than the others in the room, but I was frankly glad for it. I would hate to have to focus on keeping one of those giant masks with the feathers on one side balanced all night.
I put on the simple, elegant white mask as the woman with the absinthe led us over to a small side table.
She expertly arranged two little absinthe cups, and then, laying a cute little spoon over the top of the glass, she suspended a cube of sugar in the center. Then she poured something on the sugar so that it partially dissolved and stirred the sugar into the absinthe.
“What’s that?”
She smiled wide and did not answer as she handed Sully and me the two glasses she had prepared. All she said was, “May you have a glorious evening reveling in the expansive pleasures of the body and the mind.”
Sully rolled his eyes. “Yeah whatever.”
Then he looked at me, clinked tiny glasses with me, and smirked.
“Bottom’s up!”
I glanced at everyone in the room again, and then at Sully. “Is this drink why everyone seems so… I don’t know… off?”
When I looked at the little glass a bit skeptically, he just laughed. “Come on, just take it like a shot. Get the burn done with. Like ripping off a band-aid. If we’re not going to fight them, we might as well join them and enjoy the ride.”
Okay, well it wasn’t like I had a choice. I nodded at him, and then together we both threw back the absinthe like a shot.
The green liquid burned down my throat. I immediately started coughing and gasping for breath.
Sully started laughing his ass off at my reaction. Which made me want to punch him, so I did—just on the shoulder but still!
“What was in that?” I barely squeaked out, my throat still on fire.
He shrugged. “Knowing these men… anything. I’d guess poison except they all seem to have drunk it.”
“Water,” I wheezed through my burning throat.
He finally stopped laughing and took my arm. The serving chick was nowhere to be found, naturally. Sully led me through the maze of mostly naked party revelers, and finally found a big pitcher of cucumber water. He poured me a glass and I downed it, then put the cool glass against my suddenly heated cheeks.
We stood in silence for several minutes, hours… I had no idea. My mind spun and my body soon hummed in a bizarre way I had never experienced before.
“Good God,” I whispered, covering another cough with my wrist, “who would drink that on purpose?”
Which made Sully start chuckling all over again. “I used to think your cuteness had to be an act, but I’m starting to think it’s just genuine. You can’t fucking help it.”
I glared at him. “I. Am. Not. Fucking. Cute.”
His lazy grin just got bigger. “Are too.”
“Am not.” Why did I feel like huffing and stomping my foot right now would do nothing to prove my case? Oooooooh, I really wanted to slap that grin off his face.
Or fuck it off him. Fucking it off of him would also be an excellent option.
I bit my lip and felt my cheeks heat. Time to look away from the very fuckable man. Yes. Do not continue that train of thought. No sir-ee.
“Well, what the fuck was that?”
I looked over at Sully in surprise. “What?”
“Whatever thought just made you blush like a virgin?”
My mouth dropped open and I looked away from him, no doubt my face blooming even pinker.