The Afterworld
The walls shook from the music thumping out its beat as Matty dragged me towards the line. We stood behind an eclectic array of guys and girls, excitement and apprehension evident on their faces. What was the big deal? It was just another club, our third for the evening. Matty kept a steady flow of conversation which I politely responded too. My alcohol buzz took the edge of my stoned mind and Matty’s enthusiasm began to rub off on me.
Each time the door opened I could make out the dance song as it resonated through to be muffled again as it closed over. The people leaving weren’t walking but floating along as though their feet were made of feathers. Silly grins splashed their faces as they disappeared into the night.
A few steps past the double doors, a couple stopped and began an exploration of tongues and hands. Their intensity and uninhabited passion, lust, locked my eyes to them and I couldn’t, didn’t want to look away.
An instant heat shot straight between my legs
“They turning you on, Juicy?” Matty’s use of the nickname I hated earned him a scowl for his trouble. “Sorry, Lucy.”
“What is with everyone coming out of this joint?” I returned my eyes to the amorous couple who looked like they might do it standing against the wall.
“You’ll see.” He grinned. “I’ve been coming here for a while and made some... friends.”
“Why haven’t I been here before then?”
Anticipation swelled inside me as I watched the couple doing exactly what I thought they might do. Every person in front of us, which were now only a handful, stared with the same voyeuristic stare that probably graced my face.
“I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about the... stuff that goes on here. It’s nuts but awesome. I’ve seen some crazy shit.”
“Like two people doing it against the wall, outside, in the street, in front of half a dozen strangers?”
“Not just outside.”
My eyes flicked to his momentarily and he sent me a knowing grin. We had been friends for as long as I could remember. Living two doors down across the street of my childhood home, he was the older brother I always wanted. Although we’d done exactly what the couple in front of us were doing on several occasions, we didn’t possess any romantic feelings for each other. Friends with benefits as they called it.
“Don’t get any ideas about us creating our own public scene.”
He shrugged and I frowned at him again. There would be no way I would publically fornicate. I was many things but an exhibitionist wasn’t one of them.
The couple finished with loud grunting before straightening themselves and gliding down the street. A bouncer indicated we could go in. Matty grabbed my hand and towed me towards the entrance. The thick wooden double doors contained large ornate handles and swirling iron designs. They looked almost antique, like something you would see on a castle in a horror movie. I glanced up as he opened the door, to discover the club had no bright neon sign spouting its name.
“No name?” I yelled over the music booming through the open door.
“The Afterworld.” He beamed.
Inside the music though loud seemed to be duller and conversation wouldn’t be a problem. As I tried to wrap my head around how it was louder outside, I observed my surroundings. Everything, furnishings, walls and carpet were in various shades of purple. The lighting was dull but somehow didn’t deter vision.
Matty hadn’t been wrong about the activity witnessed outside happening inside. Couples strewn across couches or leaning against walls were involved in different stages of sex, though they were all fully dressed which was a relief. A bunch of naked people would have made me uncomfortable. What surprised me was that I wasn’t uncomfortable about them engaging in these activities.
A DJ stood on a stage to the rear, surrounded by two long bars which took up half of the side walls. The sunken dance floor was packed and contained more of the same passionate embraces found on the couches which edged it. Girls with girls, boys with boys, as well as mixed couples and sometimes three or more fondled and groped each other. The term bumping and grinding came to mind as I watched the dancing and a grin pulled at my mouth.
“Cool huh?” Matty asked me.
“Is this a sex club or something?”
“Or something.” He winked. “Let’s get a drink.”
He hauled me towards the bar and ordered our drinks. We lent against the bar and I watched the spectacle before me in awe. I turned to Matty and noticed the lights above danced off his dark hair giving it a red glow. His blue eyes brightened as he scanned the crowd. In this muted light he looked hot, hotter than usual and I started to relax into this strange place. I trusted Matty with my life, my everything.
I took hold of his hand again and his eyes met mine, his smile crooked and alluring. He lent forward and kissed me, his tongue gentle and teasing. His hands wove up and down my back, sending shivers to my toes.
“I knew you’d like it,” he said after pulling back, leaving me breathless, wanting more. I don’t remember him kissing me like that before. “There’s someone I want you to meet.”
Matty scanned the room again and then gestured towards someone on the dance floor. One of his hands rested on my lower back and I found it reassuring and arousing all at once. I wanted him to kiss me again. Tearing my eyes from his chiselled jaw, was it always that way, I followed his gaze.
A blond head barely visible above the throng weaved its way through. I knew by the stature it could only be a girl. As she broke out from the crowd, her face lit up into a dazzling smile, her dark eyes moving from Matty to me and my breath caught. She was beautiful.
Her shoulder length hair a darker blond than I first thought reflected the light sending a halo around her head. Her large brown eyes lit up as they went first to Matty and then back to me again. She stopped and stood close to us. Close up, she was breathtaking. I have never encountered this feeling or reaction to another girl before. I could always appreciate a pretty face but never have I wanted to... I didn’t know what I wanted.
“Ally, this is Lucy.”
“Hi, welcome to The Afterworld, the land of never-ending happiness.”
I detected an accent, American, and my poor Australian heart quickened. I had always been a sucker for an accent. What was I thinking? Girls aren’t my thing. I like guys, don’t I? Her brown eyes penetrated mine and her smile returned.
“Hey,” I said and felt the colour rise in my cheeks as my eyes settled on her cherry lips.
“Hey yourself,” she said as her eyes roamed my face.
“I told you, you’d like her,” Matty said. Ally grinned.
“Matty, I haven’t seen you here for a while,” she said.
“Been kind of busy with work and stuff. I wanted to come back sooner.”
Matty gave her a look I couldn’t decipher, one I’d never seen him use before. It looked to me as though he wanted to devour her for lack of better word. I suddenly didn’t blame him, I wanted to in a way I never wanted anything before. How and why did this girl make me weak in the knees?
Ally turned her attention back to me for a moment before diving into her jeans pocket and placing something into her mouth. Her eyes darted to Matty’s, whose face filled with exhilaration, his smile wide and excited. His arm left my back as he stepped forward to meet Ally and their bodies locked together, tight.
When his lips touched hers they were gentle at first before his tongue darted into her mouth and returned to his. Nibbling at her lips for a moment, his hands roamed her back. After several moments I saw his tongue flick back to hers. I wanted to look away, I wanted to feel awkward but I felt neither.
Envy was the only emotion which filled me and not because Matty was kissing Ally but because Ally was kissing him. I craved for her to kiss me. Her glistening lips cried out to be tasted and he was the one enjoying the flavour. What was happening to me?
They stopped and Matty stepped back. His eyes explored the room, a languid expression prevalent in every feature. He looked content, serene... a word I couldn’t place. I brought my eyes to Ally who studied me with a similar expression. Then I knew. Matty had slipped something from her mouth to his, a drug which filled them both with something exhilarating. Apprehension and curiosity sent tingles over my skin.
I turned to Matty, unsure of what to say, what to do. His eyes met mine and his desire laden eyes sent shivers through me. When he kissed me again it was sudden but hot, breathtaking. I could no longer deny the arousal which poured through my veins.
“Your turn,” he said as he pulled away.
“Lucy,” Ally breathed out my name in a seductive tone.
I watched as she placed whatever it was into her mouth again and her eyes blazed brighter with further excitement. Did this mean she was going to kiss me? Did I want her to?
“Hold in on your tongue, don’t swallow, let it dissolve,” Ally said to me as she stepped closer to me.
Matty let out a short energetic laugh as her hand came to rest on my waist. It felt warm through my tight t-shirt. She eased me forward and as her mouth sought mine, I closed my eyes. Her lips were much softer then they looked or I could have anticipated. At first she placed gentle kisses on my lips but I craved more. I didn’t know what is was like to kiss a girl but I knew suddenly I was going to enjoy it.
When her lips pressed harder I placed a hand on her hip mimicking her movement. Her thin waist felt soft and warm beneath my hand. As her tongue touched mine I felt the pill so I held it there. It tasted sweet like banana and as it dissolved my tongue tingled. Ally nibbled my lips much like Matty had to her as the taste dissipated.
The feeling of her tongue against mine again was the only sensation I experienced. Mine so alight that every tease, every massaging of hers sent raw desire through me. I felt something cold and hard swirl between our tongues. Pierced. This sent a flood of lust through my already enhanced senses and body. I moaned. Her arms enclosed my waist and our bodies touched. Her soft curves pressed against mine. My body respond with fervour as my hands explored her supple skin.
“Wow,” I heard Matty murmur close to me as I felt his hand caress my back.
Ally eased her lips from mine and I slowly opened my eyes. I knew now why Matty’s eyes roamed and flit around the room. The once dull lights now shone sending an incandescent light around Ally’s blonde hair which caused it to shimmer in a golden colour. Her face so beautiful before now glowed with an ethereal beauty. She stepped back to allow me to gaze in wonderment at the sight before me. Everything was now iridescent and shiny. The music seemed to glide around me in a soft yet invigorating sound.
My eyes fell on Matty, to find his hair shimmered brighter than before while his eyes danced in various shades of blue. I flicked my eyes from him to her and realised why the couples, the groups of amorous people, surrounded them. I wanted them both at once, separately. What had they done to me? For a moment fear overcame me, all control over my senses completely gone. My inhibitions fell to the floor.
“Let’s go get crazy,” Ally said and grabbed my hand.
We swam, glided through the crowd with ease, everything blurry yet clear all at once. Exhilaration, calm, serenity were understatements for the whirl of emotions coursing through me.
“Here the sun is always shining,” Ally said close to my ear as she stopped on the dance floor.
I watched her dance as she moved in sync with the rhythm and when Matty joined her they writhed together with ease. I’d never seen him dance before and watching him, them, as their bodies moved as one sent a similar giggle to explode from my lips, as Matty had before. The music took me now and I easily fell into the same motions and movements with them. My senses were reeling and my desire was in overdrive.
What seemed like minutes or hours, I knew nothing of time, passed as I danced with Matty then Ally then with strangers, every touch and caress sensuous. Ally took my hand again and led me to a vacant seat on one of the long couches. Matty sat on the arm, gazing down at me with an expectant grin.
The thought of what I could be about to do in public fluttered through my mind. I let my eyes move around the room and take in the strangers around me all oblivious to each other yet consumed by the person or people they indulged with. I looked into Ally eyes as she sat beside me and then Matty’s. The whole world around me became light and only they existed.
“What did you give me,” I asked. “I...feel...” I couldn’t find the words.
“Purple banana,” Ally said.
“Kiss me,” I murmured.
Ally eased me back and devoured my mouth, her tongue and its metal rod tantalising me. Her hands roamed under my shirt to caress me. Matty groaned beside me as his hand trailed up and down my leg almost sending me over the edge. Ally’s kisses moved to my neck and began to trail down.
Matty’s lips sought mine and he kissed me with an intensity which overcame me. He drew away and I lay my head back as pleasure consumed me.
I opened my eyes and all I saw was white light. I blinked several times to discover I was staring at a ceiling. No music surrounding me or hands caressing or kisses so sweet. Images flashed through my mind of flesh on flesh, engulfing pleasure, tongues and teeth. As these memories surfaced a blush filled my cheeks and warmth filled my body. No they weren’t memories, it was a dream. I turned my head to find a sprawled, naked Matty face down beside me and smiled. We obviously got drunk again and ended up in bed. It wasn’t the first time I didn’t remember the night before and how we got home. I knew I was safe with Matty and sometimes overindulged.
The lingering pictures replayed over and over, it seemed so real. I shook it off, it was crazy, surely I didn’t do those things. I was losing my mind. My shrink would have a field day with this one.
Matty groaned, stirred, opened one eye and offered me a half smile.
“Hey,” he mumbled. “You were something else last night.”
What did I do? I brought a hand to my mouth and found swollen lips. Surely this was from Matty, they’d been wild before.
“I never thought seeing you with a girl would be such a turn-on.”
He rolled over towards me, propped himself up on one elbow and placed a soft kiss on my lips.
It was real? I am losing my mind. How did we get here?
“What happened last night?” I asked, afraid of the answer. Knowing what it would be. Part of me wanted to believe it was real, the ecstasy, the blissful erotic night with my best friend and the beautiful blonde. The other part sent another image to my mind. That floating feeling as though leaving my body and watching it from afar, did death knock on my door?
“Don’t look so worried, you don’t actually die. No-one is coming to take you away on the crazy train. It is simply The Afterworld.”
I tried to process the information as I remembered every wonderful, exciting detail. That pierced tongue as it caressed... oh god did she, did I? I waited for the discomfort, the outrage but something else rested in me instead.
“So you want to go again tonight?” Matty asked.
Without hesitation I answered. “Yes.”
Each time the door opened I could make out the dance song as it resonated through to be muffled again as it closed over. The people leaving weren’t walking but floating along as though their feet were made of feathers. Silly grins splashed their faces as they disappeared into the night.
A few steps past the double doors, a couple stopped and began an exploration of tongues and hands. Their intensity and uninhabited passion, lust, locked my eyes to them and I couldn’t, didn’t want to look away.
An instant heat shot straight between my legs
“They turning you on, Juicy?” Matty’s use of the nickname I hated earned him a scowl for his trouble. “Sorry, Lucy.”
“What is with everyone coming out of this joint?” I returned my eyes to the amorous couple who looked like they might do it standing against the wall.
“You’ll see.” He grinned. “I’ve been coming here for a while and made some... friends.”
“Why haven’t I been here before then?”
Anticipation swelled inside me as I watched the couple doing exactly what I thought they might do. Every person in front of us, which were now only a handful, stared with the same voyeuristic stare that probably graced my face.
“I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about the... stuff that goes on here. It’s nuts but awesome. I’ve seen some crazy shit.”
“Like two people doing it against the wall, outside, in the street, in front of half a dozen strangers?”
“Not just outside.”
My eyes flicked to his momentarily and he sent me a knowing grin. We had been friends for as long as I could remember. Living two doors down across the street of my childhood home, he was the older brother I always wanted. Although we’d done exactly what the couple in front of us were doing on several occasions, we didn’t possess any romantic feelings for each other. Friends with benefits as they called it.
“Don’t get any ideas about us creating our own public scene.”
He shrugged and I frowned at him again. There would be no way I would publically fornicate. I was many things but an exhibitionist wasn’t one of them.
The couple finished with loud grunting before straightening themselves and gliding down the street. A bouncer indicated we could go in. Matty grabbed my hand and towed me towards the entrance. The thick wooden double doors contained large ornate handles and swirling iron designs. They looked almost antique, like something you would see on a castle in a horror movie. I glanced up as he opened the door, to discover the club had no bright neon sign spouting its name.
“No name?” I yelled over the music booming through the open door.
“The Afterworld.” He beamed.
Inside the music though loud seemed to be duller and conversation wouldn’t be a problem. As I tried to wrap my head around how it was louder outside, I observed my surroundings. Everything, furnishings, walls and carpet were in various shades of purple. The lighting was dull but somehow didn’t deter vision.
Matty hadn’t been wrong about the activity witnessed outside happening inside. Couples strewn across couches or leaning against walls were involved in different stages of sex, though they were all fully dressed which was a relief. A bunch of naked people would have made me uncomfortable. What surprised me was that I wasn’t uncomfortable about them engaging in these activities.
A DJ stood on a stage to the rear, surrounded by two long bars which took up half of the side walls. The sunken dance floor was packed and contained more of the same passionate embraces found on the couches which edged it. Girls with girls, boys with boys, as well as mixed couples and sometimes three or more fondled and groped each other. The term bumping and grinding came to mind as I watched the dancing and a grin pulled at my mouth.
“Cool huh?” Matty asked me.
“Is this a sex club or something?”
“Or something.” He winked. “Let’s get a drink.”
He hauled me towards the bar and ordered our drinks. We lent against the bar and I watched the spectacle before me in awe. I turned to Matty and noticed the lights above danced off his dark hair giving it a red glow. His blue eyes brightened as he scanned the crowd. In this muted light he looked hot, hotter than usual and I started to relax into this strange place. I trusted Matty with my life, my everything.
I took hold of his hand again and his eyes met mine, his smile crooked and alluring. He lent forward and kissed me, his tongue gentle and teasing. His hands wove up and down my back, sending shivers to my toes.
“I knew you’d like it,” he said after pulling back, leaving me breathless, wanting more. I don’t remember him kissing me like that before. “There’s someone I want you to meet.”
Matty scanned the room again and then gestured towards someone on the dance floor. One of his hands rested on my lower back and I found it reassuring and arousing all at once. I wanted him to kiss me again. Tearing my eyes from his chiselled jaw, was it always that way, I followed his gaze.
A blond head barely visible above the throng weaved its way through. I knew by the stature it could only be a girl. As she broke out from the crowd, her face lit up into a dazzling smile, her dark eyes moving from Matty to me and my breath caught. She was beautiful.
Her shoulder length hair a darker blond than I first thought reflected the light sending a halo around her head. Her large brown eyes lit up as they went first to Matty and then back to me again. She stopped and stood close to us. Close up, she was breathtaking. I have never encountered this feeling or reaction to another girl before. I could always appreciate a pretty face but never have I wanted to... I didn’t know what I wanted.
“Ally, this is Lucy.”
“Hi, welcome to The Afterworld, the land of never-ending happiness.”
I detected an accent, American, and my poor Australian heart quickened. I had always been a sucker for an accent. What was I thinking? Girls aren’t my thing. I like guys, don’t I? Her brown eyes penetrated mine and her smile returned.
“Hey,” I said and felt the colour rise in my cheeks as my eyes settled on her cherry lips.
“Hey yourself,” she said as her eyes roamed my face.
“I told you, you’d like her,” Matty said. Ally grinned.
“Matty, I haven’t seen you here for a while,” she said.
“Been kind of busy with work and stuff. I wanted to come back sooner.”
Matty gave her a look I couldn’t decipher, one I’d never seen him use before. It looked to me as though he wanted to devour her for lack of better word. I suddenly didn’t blame him, I wanted to in a way I never wanted anything before. How and why did this girl make me weak in the knees?
Ally turned her attention back to me for a moment before diving into her jeans pocket and placing something into her mouth. Her eyes darted to Matty’s, whose face filled with exhilaration, his smile wide and excited. His arm left my back as he stepped forward to meet Ally and their bodies locked together, tight.
When his lips touched hers they were gentle at first before his tongue darted into her mouth and returned to his. Nibbling at her lips for a moment, his hands roamed her back. After several moments I saw his tongue flick back to hers. I wanted to look away, I wanted to feel awkward but I felt neither.
Envy was the only emotion which filled me and not because Matty was kissing Ally but because Ally was kissing him. I craved for her to kiss me. Her glistening lips cried out to be tasted and he was the one enjoying the flavour. What was happening to me?
They stopped and Matty stepped back. His eyes explored the room, a languid expression prevalent in every feature. He looked content, serene... a word I couldn’t place. I brought my eyes to Ally who studied me with a similar expression. Then I knew. Matty had slipped something from her mouth to his, a drug which filled them both with something exhilarating. Apprehension and curiosity sent tingles over my skin.
I turned to Matty, unsure of what to say, what to do. His eyes met mine and his desire laden eyes sent shivers through me. When he kissed me again it was sudden but hot, breathtaking. I could no longer deny the arousal which poured through my veins.
“Your turn,” he said as he pulled away.
“Lucy,” Ally breathed out my name in a seductive tone.
I watched as she placed whatever it was into her mouth again and her eyes blazed brighter with further excitement. Did this mean she was going to kiss me? Did I want her to?
“Hold in on your tongue, don’t swallow, let it dissolve,” Ally said to me as she stepped closer to me.
Matty let out a short energetic laugh as her hand came to rest on my waist. It felt warm through my tight t-shirt. She eased me forward and as her mouth sought mine, I closed my eyes. Her lips were much softer then they looked or I could have anticipated. At first she placed gentle kisses on my lips but I craved more. I didn’t know what is was like to kiss a girl but I knew suddenly I was going to enjoy it.
When her lips pressed harder I placed a hand on her hip mimicking her movement. Her thin waist felt soft and warm beneath my hand. As her tongue touched mine I felt the pill so I held it there. It tasted sweet like banana and as it dissolved my tongue tingled. Ally nibbled my lips much like Matty had to her as the taste dissipated.
The feeling of her tongue against mine again was the only sensation I experienced. Mine so alight that every tease, every massaging of hers sent raw desire through me. I felt something cold and hard swirl between our tongues. Pierced. This sent a flood of lust through my already enhanced senses and body. I moaned. Her arms enclosed my waist and our bodies touched. Her soft curves pressed against mine. My body respond with fervour as my hands explored her supple skin.
“Wow,” I heard Matty murmur close to me as I felt his hand caress my back.
Ally eased her lips from mine and I slowly opened my eyes. I knew now why Matty’s eyes roamed and flit around the room. The once dull lights now shone sending an incandescent light around Ally’s blonde hair which caused it to shimmer in a golden colour. Her face so beautiful before now glowed with an ethereal beauty. She stepped back to allow me to gaze in wonderment at the sight before me. Everything was now iridescent and shiny. The music seemed to glide around me in a soft yet invigorating sound.
My eyes fell on Matty, to find his hair shimmered brighter than before while his eyes danced in various shades of blue. I flicked my eyes from him to her and realised why the couples, the groups of amorous people, surrounded them. I wanted them both at once, separately. What had they done to me? For a moment fear overcame me, all control over my senses completely gone. My inhibitions fell to the floor.
“Let’s go get crazy,” Ally said and grabbed my hand.
We swam, glided through the crowd with ease, everything blurry yet clear all at once. Exhilaration, calm, serenity were understatements for the whirl of emotions coursing through me.
“Here the sun is always shining,” Ally said close to my ear as she stopped on the dance floor.
I watched her dance as she moved in sync with the rhythm and when Matty joined her they writhed together with ease. I’d never seen him dance before and watching him, them, as their bodies moved as one sent a similar giggle to explode from my lips, as Matty had before. The music took me now and I easily fell into the same motions and movements with them. My senses were reeling and my desire was in overdrive.
What seemed like minutes or hours, I knew nothing of time, passed as I danced with Matty then Ally then with strangers, every touch and caress sensuous. Ally took my hand again and led me to a vacant seat on one of the long couches. Matty sat on the arm, gazing down at me with an expectant grin.
The thought of what I could be about to do in public fluttered through my mind. I let my eyes move around the room and take in the strangers around me all oblivious to each other yet consumed by the person or people they indulged with. I looked into Ally eyes as she sat beside me and then Matty’s. The whole world around me became light and only they existed.
“What did you give me,” I asked. “I...feel...” I couldn’t find the words.
“Purple banana,” Ally said.
“Kiss me,” I murmured.
Ally eased me back and devoured my mouth, her tongue and its metal rod tantalising me. Her hands roamed under my shirt to caress me. Matty groaned beside me as his hand trailed up and down my leg almost sending me over the edge. Ally’s kisses moved to my neck and began to trail down.
Matty’s lips sought mine and he kissed me with an intensity which overcame me. He drew away and I lay my head back as pleasure consumed me.
I opened my eyes and all I saw was white light. I blinked several times to discover I was staring at a ceiling. No music surrounding me or hands caressing or kisses so sweet. Images flashed through my mind of flesh on flesh, engulfing pleasure, tongues and teeth. As these memories surfaced a blush filled my cheeks and warmth filled my body. No they weren’t memories, it was a dream. I turned my head to find a sprawled, naked Matty face down beside me and smiled. We obviously got drunk again and ended up in bed. It wasn’t the first time I didn’t remember the night before and how we got home. I knew I was safe with Matty and sometimes overindulged.
The lingering pictures replayed over and over, it seemed so real. I shook it off, it was crazy, surely I didn’t do those things. I was losing my mind. My shrink would have a field day with this one.
Matty groaned, stirred, opened one eye and offered me a half smile.
“Hey,” he mumbled. “You were something else last night.”
What did I do? I brought a hand to my mouth and found swollen lips. Surely this was from Matty, they’d been wild before.
“I never thought seeing you with a girl would be such a turn-on.”
He rolled over towards me, propped himself up on one elbow and placed a soft kiss on my lips.
It was real? I am losing my mind. How did we get here?
“What happened last night?” I asked, afraid of the answer. Knowing what it would be. Part of me wanted to believe it was real, the ecstasy, the blissful erotic night with my best friend and the beautiful blonde. The other part sent another image to my mind. That floating feeling as though leaving my body and watching it from afar, did death knock on my door?
“Don’t look so worried, you don’t actually die. No-one is coming to take you away on the crazy train. It is simply The Afterworld.”
I tried to process the information as I remembered every wonderful, exciting detail. That pierced tongue as it caressed... oh god did she, did I? I waited for the discomfort, the outrage but something else rested in me instead.
“So you want to go again tonight?” Matty asked.
Without hesitation I answered. “Yes.”