Chapter 1: Introduction
Mia's six-inch heels clicked rhythmically as she walked beneath the pulsating lights towards the bar. The beat in Flamingo's swelled in response to the energy of the crowd. The sea of colors and sounds of laughter that babbled like water across stones brought a smile to her face.
Leaning against the scarred-wood, Mia squirmed to find the best way to sit on the stool. Her silky, thigh-high dress pulled up higher on her thighs, enough to make the tattoo parlor artist on the end of the bar spill her drink.
She flushed, smirked at him, and fixed her skirt. She loved causing that kind of reaction; it built her confidence while keeping the pressure firmly on.
As she scanned the room to see if anything caught her eye, Mia noticed a woman dressed all in black, sitting quietly in the corner. Dark hair cascaded in gentle waves over her shoulders, her bangs framing her face and brushing the line of her thick eyebrows. Like an apparition, she smoldered and withdrew from the crowd simultaneously, drawing Mia in, intriguing her.
A jolt of awareness--part lust, part intense curiosity--traveled up Mia's spine. She wasn't familiar with this feeling, the unadulterated desire to draw near, to know someone on a level much deeper than the superficial masks they concealed behind.
An elegant woman at the peak of her powers. Confidence poured from her like a spotlight.
Mia took a deep breath, forced herself to break her gaze from the vision in black, and returned her line of sight to the bar.
The tendrils of desire remained intertwined within her, urging her to walk back to the woman and introduce herself.
She glanced at the corner one more time, but the woman had vanished, dissolved amidst the wave of people eager for evening entertainment.
*
Jessica observed the young, exquisite creature at the bar. She knew the type well; there was a hunger nestling in her sights, and it reeked of innocence.
She didn't want to break it, just to bend it--just a little.
Jessica hadn't intended to come to the club tonight; the real reason for her appearance remained cloaked in the shadows of a far-off memory. Instead, she had allowed herself to be caught up by the promise of excitement. She craved an adventure, preferably one she could control.
The young woman, still unaware she had an audience, lifted her glass from the bar and took a small sip.
Jessica leaned back into the banquette, following Mia's every movement.
The soft, black leather absorbed the remnants of the day, and its coolness brushed against her forearms, raising goosebumps in its wake.
The young woman at the bar continued her invigorating dance with the men and women who approached her. Jessica sighed and acknowledged she admired the carefree spirit Mia exuded. She watched as people attempted to converse - trying to charm and persuade her to return home with them.
Jessica smiled. There was no worry of Mia leaving with anyone tonight. It didn't matter.
Jessica knew a very different world, one filled with secrets and manipulation. Shadows embraced her, whispering hidden promises, tangling the threads of her desires.
As the hours passed, Mia ceased chatting with the numerous admirers surrounding the bar. She had excused herself and slipped from the probing eyes of the crowd. Unbeknownst to Mia, Jessica had been observing her, the glittering figure in the corner chair, blending with the inky night.
Mia strolled amongst the mingling patrons.
Drawn to the back room, already aflame with shuddering light, the hum of voices burned sharper here. There, standing in the shadows, Jessica questioned the sliver of light illuminating the crossdresser's face. Temptation, perhaps?
Jessica mused on the fragility of the present moment. The coming days would unfurl and shroud the endless, grasping hunger she nursed. Tonight, she hunched back, cloaked in the darkness, and waited for the ideal instant to spring.
Patience had always been her greatest ally, even back when she was just a girl, gawky and awkward, trying to find her identity. She had learned to bide her time, to pick her moments wisely and expertly the way a falcon does when it strikes suffocatingly near its prey.
Jessica had waited in the shadow of inexperience until the right time to strike - her eyes boring holes into the fabric of the society surrounding her; suffocating her with expectations she could never meet.
That was when she met Marcus, the epitome of male confidence, junior partner at one of the city's oldest law firms. Handsome, adventurous, Marcus seemed to have it all, except for one crucial ingredient: his unspoken desire to surrender to the allure of drag. She recognized that longing, buried deep within him, and knew that her hold upon him would only grow tighter if she could coax it out.
She coaxed him with love, acceptance, and a place to call home.