NGD The Big Party | Driftyourbonewheel

The Big Party

The house was Huge. Actually, calling it a house would probably be insulting; it was a “Mansion,” and still enormous for one. I still couldn’t believe my luck in getting an invitation… Or maybe I should thank Tony for letting me tag along. But he doesn’t want me calling him Tony while here either; he wants to be called Anthony because that’s the name he used to schmooze his way in here in the first place. Whatever. Doesn’t really matter all that much I guess. I just wish I had something better to wear. Compared to the other people showing up I look like walking bag of hand-me-downs; Black pants so long and baggy they’re closer to sweatpants, A button-up shirt too short to stay tucked, and a pair of steel-toe boots because they were my best pair. Add a pair of wire frame glasses and I felt exactly like a 1980’s grade A nerd. But hey, what’s a little humiliation for free food and booze, right?

So onward I go, up the walkway to the immense entryway. All around me, others mill about chatting or heading up the same way as me. Seeing all of them dressed in a rich person’s weekend best is enough to make my wallet shrivel like it just took a cold shower and make me want to make a mercy call of just running the fuck away. But I’m already in the line of entry and I’m pretty sure it actually possible to die of embarrassment, so running away now would just be suicide. Actually, being so close to those big double doors really sets it off just how BIG this is. Is this some kind of trick eye thing, where one end of a hallway is actually bigger than the other, only in building form? Why is the doorknob almost eye level?

The bouncer is some kind of gater-man or something, and he’s huge too. Easily at least a foot taller than my 5’11” slouch and wide enough to get stuck in a doorway… a normal one at least. He’s checking each and everyone’s ID and invitation before letting them pass. Lots of rich valley girls and young money guys are here, a lot of them are laughing too. Gater-man isn’t. Just a slab of scales and muscle with a face… and teeth, lots of teeth too. I’m up next and… that mask of his sours. Like he just saw a pile of crap on the street. I do my best to keep my poker-face on, nice and tight, and try not to sweat too much. Gaters can smell fear, can’t they?

I pull the invitation I got from Tony, sorry, Anthony out and pass it to Gater-man. He snatches it out of my hand and flips it open, scanning it as his sour mask turns to cottage-cheese. My heart drops into my stomach; Tony did give me a real invitation, right? Right?! A longer then healthy moment passes as I unwillingly hold up the line, feeling the others behind me stare daggers into my back. Another moment passes as I struggle to not piss myself when Mr. Gator-man finishes and closes the little paper with a snap. Impressive for paper really. He hands it back to me before disgustedly thumbing me to go in. Numbly I take it pass through the huge opening. Did I really do it? Did I just pass the gates of Hell into the promised land? I’m almost too stunned to believe it.

Then the music hits me. It’s like a wave that crashes over the crowed in front of me and I blink from how it smacks into my chest. I finally start using my eyes again as I walk further in. There has to be at least a hundred people here already and more are still pouring in behind me. Although, that’s hardly a problem considering just how freaking HUGE this place is! I’m pretty sure this is just the main entrance area but it already feels like a Victorian era ballroom. There’s a huge multi-level staircase at the back with a wolf DJ sitting on one of the landings as he lays out some beats. Knots of people chit-chat and dance and drink all around me and even on the balconies above. Does this place really have Three floors to it?! I could get a workout in this place just trying to find a bathroom. Oh, and there’s also a chandelier too… lovely.

I watch the crowd for a bit and more feel than hear the music. There are all sorts of people here; wolfs and felines seem the most common, humans too, but there’s also plenty others as well like lizards, and birds, a few foxes, a fluffy I-don’t-know-what, and more yet. But in the back, clearly visible over all the other’s horns, fur, hair and ears is a High Sergal woman. She’s clearly visible because she’s about nine feet tall at least and towers above her gaggle of followers as she laughs and drinks something out of a giant-sized glass. It’s hard to see in the flashing lights and pulsing strobes of the party but from what little I can see, she was also huge in other ways as well; her sleeveless black dress was styled in a long red eastern dragon style that matched her red-striped black fur nicely, this was probably perfect for her as the dress itself strained to contain her nearly absurd curves and the mix of colors would probably hide any imperfections. Her massive breasts were almost a shelf in front of her and while the crowd blocked my view of it, I was certain beyond the shadow of a doubt that she had an ass to match. I was suddenly extremely aware of where all the blood in my body was rushing off to as I stared at this red-black goddess of a woman.

Without a thought, I snatched a drink off of a passing waiter’s drinks trey and downed it. The sudden burn of good alcohol brought me back to my senses as I coughed tears to my eyes. Honestly, I had expected some kind of expensive beer to be the main drinking staple for this party, but whoever was catering had obviously brought out all the stops and held nothing back. At least, that’s what I hope this meant, because it this actually wasn’t the best of the best, I can’t even imagine what the real best might be. It’d probably have gold flakes in it or something, or maybe platinum.

Just then I noticed the pocket of relative quiet around me and was mortified to see that most of the gentry around were staring right at me. My ears started ringing as I forced a smile to my face and made a small show of downed the rest of my drink... this time without a coughing fit. That seemed to mollify the crowd a bit as they broke away into their own revelries. My eyes wandered back over to where the Amazonian woman was, hoping to catch another look at the huge beauty when I was struck by something far worse; she was looking at me. Given her obvious height advantage over everyone else, she had a clear vantagepoint of effectively everyone on the ground floor, and probably a good many on the next two. But instead, her focus was solely on me, staring at her, staring at me, quietly losing my mind in the middle of a throng of people who could probably buy real estate on the moon… for fun.

Something about those emerald eyes held my gaze, I couldn’t look away and I wasn’t sure if it just me, her, or the aftereffects of the paint remover I’d just downed, but luckily, I didn’t have to play deer-in-headlights for long.

“ARTHUR, MY BOY! THERE YOU ARE!” Someone behind me roared over the din of music and chatter as they slapped me hard on the back. Once more this night I was startled and almost fumbled my empty glass as I reflexively turned around to confront my attacker-savior. There standing in a padded lounge vest and what looked like an extra fancy reading robe was a tiger with greased back hair, (err, mane?) and inexplicably wearing sunglasses… indoors… at night. In one hand he held an unlit cigar like fat cigarette and the other held a glass of what was either apple juice or cider pretending to be champagne. I had the sudden feeling that he was posing for me to admire as he stood there smiling with all his teeth on display, which also had the misfortunate effect of making it look as though he just stubbed his toe and was pretending he didn’t.

“Tony! Hey man, Great to see you here! Really!” I wanted nothing more in that moment to grab him by the shoulders and run. Sadly, I wasn’t fast enough as he grabbed me by the shoulder pulling me down into a confidential huddle.

“C’mon man! I told you to call me Anthony! None of this Tony shit!” I could hear the desperation on his apple flavored breath as it fogged my glasses. “You know I worked hard for this so keep it together man and don’t ruin this for me, us, whatever… Please?” He peered at me over the rim of his second-hand shades and I there I saw the panic hidden just under the surface.

For whatever reason, I took heart from this and nodded a quick solid affirmative. Whatever he was pretending to be, me and him were in this together, so I guess there is strength in numbers. Sorta. I wasn’t sure he saw the motion through the strobes or his shades so I added in a quick “Got it” that he definitely heard because his playboy smile returned in a flash. Releasing my shoulder and raising up, he leaned back with a hearty laugh as though I’d just told him a joke like “fat girls need love too”. Tony always did prefer runway models to living beings.

“HAH! My man Arthur, you are just TOO much sometimes! HAH!” Each laugh was punctuated with another slap on the back. It really was a good thing my drink was empty, otherwise I probably would have been wearing it by now. “Man, you lookin a little shaken. Why don’t you go over to the bartender over there and have him stir you up a drink. Get It?! Shaken?! Stirred?! HAH! I’m gonna break something laughing one of these days!”

“Yeah, one of my ribs if you keep hitting me there,” I couldn’t help but to mutter. Thankfully, no one heard me over the music, and I quickly started making my way over to the bartender as suggested, careful not to look anywhere near where I’d seen Miss Big Dark and Curvy. Threading my way through the throngs of people, desperately careful to not steep on anyone’s tails, clothes or, god forbid, their shoes. Just one of those designer shoes would most likely cost more than my car… when it was new even. And still the music pounds; I’m not sure if my imagination or not but it feels like my heart is starting to sync with the harsh tempo and I have to force myself to not cover my ears with my hands. Not that It’d do much good when I feel it just as much as hear. How do the others stand it? Don’t like half of them have better hearing than I do?

The bar itself is set against the far wall of the massive room and is nearly packed with people either standing around chatting and laughing with their drinks or sitting at stools and tables nearby doing the same. Several bartenders dash around serving drinks as waiters’ bus trays of snacks and sips to the rest of the room. On the far side of the bar are two empty stools, sized up for some of the larger attendees until they were almost the size of love-seats.

I take the seat one away from the end and glance at the probably thousands of glasses and bottles of alcohol they have displayed on the back wall. I wasn’t sure but I had the strange feeling that there was enough booze here to kill a small town. I didn’t even recognize any of the brands but I’m sure I’d normally need to take out a loan to try some of them. When the nearest bartender, a fox I think, comes up to me I point to a random bottle on the wall as I set my glass on the counter. I figure it doesn’t really matter what he brings me so long as A: it keeps me busy, B: it doesn’t kill me, and C: it makes it look like I actually know what I’m doing. Fox-tender gives a quick nod as he grabs the bottle and one-handed refills my glass. I only notice too late that the drink in question is glowingly blue and the bottle it came in looked like it was made of gold and obsidian. Did the invitation mention anything about actually having to pay for drinks? I panic mildly as I try to think. I can’t ask anyone without looking like a fool and I feel it’d probably look odd to pull the card out again after I’ve ordered the drink.

I nod back to Fox-tender as I take the drink and give it a closer look. Yup, it’s definitely glowing alright. I give it an experimental sniff but I don’t really smell anything beyond some kind of berry sweet scent. Well, now or never I figure as I close my eyes and take a small sip… and I’m suddenly very glad indeed that I closed my eyes as I feel them cross almost painfully as the liquid traces a magnum path down my throat. Coughing isn’t even a physical option; I feel like that part of my diaphragm was just burned away with that one swallow. My face is going numb and the ringing in my ears stops as I simply go deaf for a moment. Did I drink booze or bleach? What the hell kind of suicide pact party is this?!

My thoughts slant sideways as the drink enters my blood stream and the feelings of mortality fade. My insides feel strangely liquidy and pleasantly warm as I finally manage to set my glass down, amazingly without spilling a drop. Some primal part of me, awakened by the blue pain elixir, sensed a new presence beside me as someone takes the empty seat. With a supreme effort, I manage to simultaneously lean against the bar in front of me as I half turn my head to this new person as a huge gold-black dragon with a swollen face greets my gaze. Slowly, higher brain-function returns as I realize that this dragon isn’t actually a dragon, but an article of clothing. My eyes trace higher to see just whom this cloth dragon is being worn by just as warning bells are starting to ring in my mind.

Luscious red lips, emerald green eyes, and black fur stripped with red and a tiny peek of white poking out beneath her chin. “Handsome And good taste as well. My, but you are a surprising one.” Miss Red-Black Goddess had just taken a seat right next to me. The object of my night’s embarrassment and the embodiment of pure, unbridled lust had just followed me, ME, to the bar, and did she call me “Handsome”???

Seeing her arrive, Fox-tender rushed over to her and awaited her order while others waited to be served. “It’s not often you find someone who appreciates ‘Azure Gold’ for its worth,” she spoke without taking her eyes from my face, eagerly taking in my features with a predator’s gaze. suddenly, Fox-tender catches some unspoken que and quickly fetches a fresh bottle of the nuclear blue drink, setting it down on the counter before diving back down for a clean glass. “Let alone someone who orders a whole glass instead of just a shot.” Without looking, she takes the entire bottle in one hand, almost eclipsing the whole thing, before popping the off the top with the other. Fox-tender is either too stunned or cowed by the huge woman to say or do anything as he simply clutches a large cup to his chest, holding it like a stone in the flood. Miss Red-Black then takes a big swig from the bottle itself, gulping a healthy portion of it like a beer, her plump lips nursing from the tip and I feel myself go lightheaded again as my subconscious suggests something else she might suckle upon. Her lips *POP* off the neck of the bottle as she gasps pleasantly. “Oh Man! This stuff is really too good!” She pats her own bust excitedly, setting the twin globes to swaying in a hypnotic manner, but I can’t look for fear of toppling over so my eyes stay locked on hers as much as I possibly can. She looks again at the now half empty bottle in her hand, slightly downcast, “Shame it takes a year to make each bottle… Should probably just buy their company and expand the production.” Shrugging off these thoughts she finished with, “Ah, another time maybe,” her eyes refocus on me suddenly, “Now though, perhaps you would like a little tour of the mansion. I like to keep my guests entertained, though I don’t seem to recall seeing you around before…?” She let her words trail off with a raised brow, turning it into a question that I had no brain power to answer.

I was suddenly startled as someone spoke between us, “It’s hard to say with so many people in such a dark place.” I was strangely proud that I didn’t flinch at this sudden speaker even though I had to chalk it up to more of the booze magic, but it could have also been because the speaker sounded very familiar for some reason. “I must admit, this is my first time going to a party like this. I tend to prefer more quiet company than loud music and flashing lights.” Who the hell was speaking? “That doesn’t actually answer your question though, does it? Well, my name is Arthur though my friends call me Arthur.” Oh, shit. I’m the one talking. I flick my eyes to the glass still in my hand, the action sloshing my brains about… the liquid bravado I had drunk must have knocked something loose in my head. Why the hell was I even bothering trying to talk her up, she was so far out of my league she may as well be in another solar system.

Her entire body shakes briefly (but mesmerizingly) as she lets out a surprisingly loud chuckle. “Funny too, no less! You really are the whole package, aren’t you?” She said admiringly, leaning down so she was closer to eye level. “I have to say, it really is nice change of pace to talk to someone as…” she paused, gesturing with her large hand as though trying to catch the right word out of the air, “nonchalant as you. Not to talk down on them but most of the other people here act as though they have something to prove or… gain.” She suddenly turned her head to the line of bottles along the back wall, looking almost disappointed as she took another swig of the starlight-blue booze. Just as I thought she had finished, I barely hear her saying over the music “Definitely gain,” not meeting my eyes.

Now I knew my higher functions were funked; I felt my heart reaching out to this strange giant fuzzy woman, as if I could offer something to the woman who had everything. But, again I felt my traitorous body seize the initiative as, for whatever insane reason, I brought the glass up to my mouth again and swallowed down that tiny blue ocean of madness, feeling it fuel my foolhardy chivalry as it destroyed any chance of escaping the upcoming humiliation. “In the end, I think it’s easy to say, ‘everybody’s after something,’ but what’s that worth if they don’t have anything to show for it, or even share it with?” What the hell kinda pseudo-philosophic bullshit was I saying?! I had to wrest control back to my side and force my words to be more like something I would actually say, or better yet, make an escape. “I think what I’m trying to say is, all these people here, in one room,” Think brain, THINK! “Maybe a change of scenery would be welcome, to clear the air, so to say.” Yes, Good!

Somewhere during my spiel, she had taken another pull from her bottle, but as I finished she pulled the bottle from her lips and set it on the counter with a loud, empty ‘Clack’. “Awesome! I know just the place where we can ‘clear the air’.” She suddenly stood from her seat, giving the Fox-tender what she probably thought was a cutesy little smile and wave as he cleared away her empty bottle and my mostly empty glass, but from what I could make out of his reaction, he took as a thinly veiled threat of some sort. Never the less, she gave me an insistent gesture to follow and, suffice to say, I was too drunk to object. I hopped off my seat, but quickly grasped the counter as I felt my legs threaten to buckle as soon as my feet touched the floor. Already miss Red-Black was making her way to a side door, swaying her hips back and forth as she seemingly glided through the crowd as they parted like the sea to the giant of a woman. She turned only once to smile and give what I presume was a wink over her shoulder to me just as she passed through the huge side door.

I was suddenly alone, in a world of money, surrounded by people alien to me and drunk off my rocker after only two drinks. Time was merely a suggestion as thoughts bubbled in the crockpot of my brain; I could totally run now; she was too much; she was totally into me for some reason; I should definitely do something. My feet stayed rooted, as did my hand on the counter, keeping me from drunkenly falling over. Somebody tapped on my hand. I look over to the Fox-Tender giving me a look of mixed annoyance and maybe a drop of fear. “You better follow her,” he said flatly as he polished my now cleaned glass.

The best answer I could force out was a dinky little, “what?” to which he simply shrugged and turned away, moving back to serving the more questionably sober guests. By this point, I guess I was simply too drunk to care; suicide by Amazonian sex-goddess sergal lady seemed preferable to running away. If it was just the rich people, running wouldn’t be that hard, they never really expected anything from some rando-nobody like me… and yet… she actually seems different. Maybe she actually believes that there’s something to me, false pretenses or not, that’s something to live up to. If I ran now, I’d be them right and her wrong. Hell, she seemed like a nice enough person. Right?

I was moving before I even realized it, my feet walked along as I was bounced about by the crowd as they danced and jived to the thump of the music. They didn’t even bother with moving for me as they had for Red-Black, but eventually, I made my way to the door she had disappeared behind. It was definitely scaled for one her height as the door handle alone was almost eye level with me.

The strangest sensation of being back in grade-school washed over me, as though I was about to enter the principal’s office. “Sounds like the plot of some shitty porno,” I mumbled as I turned the handle and pushed… and kept on pushing. The door alone was several times heavier than I expected and I had to use both hands to push it slooowly open. Finally, it was open enough that I could slip though the crack I made, and as I entered the hallway beyond the door closed slooowly behind me again. A quick look around for my benefactor showed only the fluffy white tip of her tail as it disappeared around a corner. Beyond that, the hall was strangely empty, though given it’s lush and warm décor, few would probably wish to spoil the rich atmosphere.

I, on the other hand, was too drunk by this time to much care for the cost of warm light fixtures or the tasteful art that dotted the walls; the closest I came to appreciate the decorators work was the fleeting thought of just how plush and cozy the thick carpeting was to my feet as I drunkenly ambled my way down the hall to where I had last seen the tail fluff disappear. My hands occasionally bumped against expensive side tables and the walls whenever I tipped slightly too far to correct by myself. Finally, I had reached the end, turned the corner and was greeted by the visage of my night’s desire eagerly beckoning me closer as she stood before another set of wide double doors. Held loosely in her hand was another bottle of Azure Gold, already half empty as she smiled at me, giggling excitedly with a shiny glow to her eyes.

‘What else could be more dangerous than a Rich Giant Sergal Woman,’ I thought to myself, ‘But a Drunk Rich Giant Sergal Woman.’ “Here he is.” She called slowly eyes darting from me back to the doors and the mystery they held. “I was thinking, that maybe you were right and we should have some more space from the crowd. It was getting kinda stuffy in there anyway, what with all the people and all.” Still holding the bottle in one hand she carefully grabbed both handles of the double doors, giving them a twist before pausing to smile at me once more. “Then I thought, ‘what better way to cool off than This!’” And with that, she flung open the doors spilling the cool florescent light into the hall as beyond the doors was a broad tiled walkway surrounding an immense Olympic sized swimming pool. I was only mildly surprised when she quietly said beside me “Aw, fuck.”

The reason for her displeasure was obvious; the pool was absolutely teeming with partiers. Cans, bottles, and little plates of snacks and foods dotted the surrounding tables and folding chairs all around. The exact reason why this upset her took my pickled mind a moment to process; she had wanted to make our little getaway privet. One on one. Just the two of us. Alone. Oh, damn.

“Well, shit.” She stood there in the doorway thinking for a long moment, toying with the bottle. After another moment, I toyed with the idea of saying something, but what, I couldn’t imagine. Before long she took her bottle and drained the rest of it off. Dropping the now empty bottle on the nearest side table, she swayed over to my side, placing one huge paw over my shoulder and saying in a somewhat conspiratorial tone, “Don’t you worry, though. I know one place that I just know we’ll have all to ourselves.” Concern suddenly chipped though my tipsy haze; the way she spoke was far more slurred and uncertain than it had been just a few minutes ago. I knew the drinks we had tonight were of a different caliber, but I hadn’t thought they were strong enough to work so fast on a woman her size. I didn’t have any time (or brainpower) to ponder on this though, as she suddenly gripped my shoulder and guided me to a different part of the hallway.

Around a corner, through another door and up several sets of steps we went; somewhere along the way she managed to snag another bottle, though this time not Azure Blue, but a bigger bottle of something called Ebon Wave going off the label on the side. She bragged about things as she half dragged, half leaned on me up the flights of stairs, already too sloshed to even manage her own balance as she kept her thick fuzzy arm wrapped over my shoulders. “The othersh down there jus don know how simple theys got it… They jus show up to the partiesh and throw their money around. But not you. Oh no, you haven so much as flahsed a bill or stared at my tits.” And yet here I am with said globes pressed against my head and neck, too busy trying not to get crushed to enjoy them. “You’re just so cute and little, so different to all of them (thish doors the one, I think) itsh like fate for sure.”

I open the nearest door to another expansive hallway, this time dotted with about half a dozen doors on one side and the expected expensive art, lights, and fanciful little tables on the other. Above me she mumbles something about any of the doors will do, sounding happily tired in a strangely distant way. This is just as well, as I’m finding her putting more and more of her weight on me, even as she giggles again and calls me cute.

I stagger towards the nearest door as I struggle against her weight and she stumbles slightly, bumping her tail into one of the side tables and knocking something to the floor. “Woopshy,” she chuckles, and I can’t tell if anything broke as her huge bust blocks my view so all I could do then was hope that whatever it was wasn’t that expensive. I’m panting and sweating under the strain of keeping her upright now; both of my hands are needed to prop her up so I can’t spare one to open the door itself. Thankfully, I don’t need to as the lady resting most of her weight against me mercifully opens the door for me. With the Mountainous lady still weighing me down, I manage to stumble inside, her tail bumping the door closed behind either by accident of purpose I can’t tell, but my goal is finally in sight.

The room itself is huge, much like the rest of the colossal mansion, and a single huge bed dominates the room with a wardrobe against the opposite wall and a surprisingly simple lamp on a table to the side of the bed and a large padded armchair to the side of that. I carefully but quickly guide the drunken miss Red-Black to the Emperor sized bed where she unceremoniously flops down, still holding me in what was effectively a headlock.

The red silk sheets of the bed were already opened to the side, inviting anyone who wanted to be embraced within its cloud-like folds. And just as well, for as soon as she laid down, her shiny green bedroom-eyes had quickly shifted to bedtime-eyes and her I was able to free myself from her thick and fluffy grasp. “Comon, Arthur. Juss a lil quiet time tween us two. Hey, you mus be thirsty after all thosh stairsh!” She reached up with one free hand and pulled open her million-dollar dress, ripping a huge tear in the fabric allowing one of her massive breasts to slip free. It was beyond big for a breast; easily the biggest I’ve ever seen at the size of a huge, over-ripe watermelon, wrapped half in red striped black fur and half in creamy white, topped off with a wide areola and a plump thick nipple as big around as a soda can.

I was thirsty; half carrying her up all those stairs left me covered in sweat and her breast looked so soft and firm and inviting that I wanted nothing more than to wrap my arms around the whole thing and lose myself in the experience. Here she was, the woman of my wildest dreams, ready and waiting for me to take her in what was probably the softest, most inviting bed I had never laid in, all I had to do was jump in and enjoy myself… but was that right?

I reached my hand out towards her chest as she followed the movement with half lidded eyes. My hand sunk into the thick, warm ruff of fluff at the nape of her neck between those womanly mountains and I knew then that I never had and never would feel anything softer in my life, not even the silken bed beneath her would compare. Gently but firmly, I pushed against her chest with my hand, forcing the behemoth woman down until she lay flush with the mattress, head pillowed against the softness of the pillows. She made some soft sounds of complaint as I reached over her to the other side of the bed and pulled the silk blanket over her supine body. I wasn’t really thinking at the time but a few moments after I’d finished tucking her in, I noticed the slow and steady rise and fall of her (well padded) chest and it struck me that she was already asleep. Some far away fragment of my mind thought that she would probably be feeling all this tomorrow but I figured that would be a different time and a different day. It could wait.

Slowly I staggered over to the chair in the corner of the room; it was, like much of the world I had wandered into earlier tonight, much bigger than what I was used to and could easily seat two or three of me if I wanted. But what I wanted right then more than anything was to rest. So, rest I did, sitting down on the thick padding as I pulled off my boots and curled my legs up onto the chair with me. Just a quick rest and then I could make my leave of this world of money and excess. Just a brief little nap…

Sunlight from somewhere stabbed into my eyes, cutting away the curtains of sleep and driving hot needles of pain into my head. My back ached from sleeping at an awkward angle and my neck was stiff from being pressed up against something. After a moment of trying I managed to pry one crusted eye open so I could examine my surrounding. This didn’t exactly pan out due to the fact that sometime in the night my glasses that I had failed to safely store had fallen off and that now meant that my world was a blur of shapes, shadows, lights, and colors.

A quick squinting search around the chair that I’d slept on turned up no sign of my glasses and leaving the room without them would just be inviting disaster so I knew I had to find them first. I looked over towards where I remembered the bed being and seeing a red moving blob there, I figured that the lady from last night was not only still there but also still sleeping, much to my relief. The last thing I needed today was having to give a rich Amazonian woman a hungover explanation. I eased myself from the chair to the plush carpet, careful to not make any sound that might wake the slumbering giant. I could just make out my boots to the left of me so I figured that might be a good place to start my search.

*CRUNCH*

One step. Only one step into the day and I already screwed up. There was only one thing that I could have possibly stepped on to make that sound and it was the one thing I didn’t want to. My hangover took this frustration as a sign to ramp up its game as the needles dug just that little bit deeper into my head. Suddenly, my eyes snapped to the bed as I heard a muffled groan and shifting coming from the silken sheets. The sound of my glasses being smashed had woken up the one person in the world I didn’t want to disturb right now and I didn’t have the seeing ability to run or hide. All I could do, was wait and try to make the best of whatever end came my way.

The mounded pile of silk sheets was suddenly thrown back, falling half off the side of the bed as miss Red-Black sat up, looking far more the worse for wear than I felt. The fur of her head was splayed on one side, flattened on the other, and completely fanned around the back of her head as one ear drooped groggily and the other bobbed about in some alien fashion. Her dress hadn’t fared much better; creased and rumpled from being slept in the dragon embroidery was in a sad state indeed and the tear that still exposed her breast had gotten wider in the night and now exposed the white fur of her stomach too. Her eyes stayed closed for a long while as she rubbed her head and cursed softly, only to groan as what I guess was the sound of her own voice being painful. Eventually, her eyes opened and blearily scanned the room, halting on me as cognizance returned along with mild alarm.

“Oh… you’re still here.” Her expression and tone was strangely devoid of emotion besides some traces of shock.

“I just woke up a moment before you did.” Honesty is the best policy, or at least, that’s what they lie to you with. I could think of nothing else but to cling to the hope that it wasn’t a lie this time.

“And we… Didn’t have sex…?” there was no accusation in her words, only what I could guess was confusion and maybe a subtle ‘why?’

“It wouldn’t have been right… you being… drunk and all. I just couldn’t bring myself to take advantage.” Parsing my thoughts was very hard with a hangover.

“And yet you couldn’t help but to tuck me in.” She gave a throaty chuckle before wincing in pain.

“Seemed the right thing to do at the time.”

She smiled softly, “Hmph, you really are something else Mr.… ah...”

“Arthur, Just Arthur. But my friends call me Arthur.” If a joke works once…

“Hmm. Well, Arthur, I can’t remember introducing myself last night, so I guess late is better than never. My name is Ashima, and my friends call me Ash.” Her smile faltered there as she looked off to the side shyly. “I acted like a real tit last night I’m sure. Got too into the moment and too into the bottle.” She sighed deeply, in preparation for something. “I’m really sorry I dragged you off like that. And… I hope I didn’t cause you any trouble.”

Was this really happening? She was apologizing to Me? It was just too weird. What could I possibly say to that? “That’s not… you didn’t really…” my words felt hollow and it showed.

“No. You didn’t do anything wrong. I just dragged you into my mess.” She curled up into a sitting position on the bed, folding her arms across her knees and resting her head on them. “Everybody else was there to do business or talk money or show off all their fashion nonsense. I never really get the chance to have fun in these, those kinds of ‘parties’. I just wanted something different I guess and, no offence but, you were pretty different.” She flashed a tiny embarrassed smile as she said that. “I’m really sorry I tried to take advantage of you.”

At times like this, I guess it’s just in my nature to try and comfort people, and now was no different. “Oh, don’t worry about it. If anything, I kinda used you to get away from those people. I don’t really care for crowds, to be honest. And besides, the night was very interesting while it lasted.” That managed to squeeze a real smile from her, so I decided to press my advantage. “Anyway, I’m not sure about you but I could use something to help with this hangover. I’m not really used to drinking the good stuff like that.”

“Hah, yeah. Me neither. Oogh. Think I might take a long break from ‘The Good Stuff’ as well. This head ache is killer,” she said, massaging the side of her head. Slowly she added, “Would you like to stay for some coffee… for the hangover I mean.”

And with that little offer, the sunlight streaming into the room started to feel, actually sunny, rather than just painful. “Sure, some coffee sounds real good right about now.”

“If you’d like, you could stay for breakfast, or lunch. Whichever’s closest really.” All the sultry bravado was being stripped away from her attitude, leaving behind this strangely shy and bubbly creature.

“Thanks, that sounds even better actually. Though first, I think it’d be best for the both of us to get cleaned up first.” I picked up my broken glasses off the floor. “And I should definitely get a new pair of glasses.”

“OH! Oh, don’t you worry about that. I can just get some of the staff to grab you a pair. Do you know your, ah, prescription off the top of your head?” She was already in motion, picking up a hidden phone from the side table.

“Staff? What do you mean?” I must have been more hungover than I thought, she couldn’t have meant what I thought she meant.

“Well, I mean the staff can take care of something like that easy. I mean, what else do we pay them for?”

“Wait, do you mean that this,” I gesture to the room around us and the mansion around it, “is yours?”

“Well yeah, technically.” She’d already finished setting things up with the staff and now strolled over to me. “I mean, It’s actually my mom’s but it’s all in the family really. Why you ask?”

“Oh, nothing. Just… nothing.” My glasses and the hangover suddenly seemed very minor compared to what I’d just gotten myself into.

“Don’t worry about it,” she chided me. “My mom is very nice about this sort of thing. You should meet her when she gets back from her cruise, whenever that may be. Oh, and Arthur?”

“Yes?”

Very slowly, very carefully, she took my hand in hers, covering it completely. “Thanks… for everything.”

I laced my smaller fingers between her much larger ones as best I could and gave her a gentle squeeze, smiling. “No problem.”