Moonlight

'Do you want --?'

Alice gestured towards the bottle of wine.

It must have taken all of Tom's strength to say not.

'Let's go for a walk,' she said gaily. 'Let's explore.'

They found a little bridge and crossed the stream. They walked through a small wood. It was peaceful and cool. The ground, covered with dead leaves and small branches, crackled under their feet.

'Tell me about the house you wanted to buy.'

Tom was dejected, lost in thought. Alice held his hand and gave it a strong squeeze: this didn't change anything; they were on the right track with each other.

'Thank you,' he said.

*

A few weeks later, Alice and Tom were having breakfast. Tom was reading the newspaper. In fact, you couldn't see his face. He kept it up, spread wide, almost to hide behind him. From time to time, he picked a piece of toast and ate it.

He kept clearing his throat. Alice was busy with the children, but when he coughed so loud the kids stopped eating and looked at him, Alice was forced to pay attention.

And there it was, on the front page of the newspaper, right before her eyes, Vincent's face in black and white.

Largest Private Lender Bankrupt! It said in large fonts.

Tom lowered the paper. He was beaming at Alice. She was speechless.

'The guys felt bad about what he did to you -- I did too, of course,' Tom explained. 'We decided to short his stocks. Some loans couldn't be renewed either.'

'It means --?'

'He's ruined, and nobody will bail him out.'

That was it: once you had lost your powerful friends, the laws of the country applied to you as they applied to those on five percent. There would be a trial, and all the irregularities that the people in the circle saw as a natural and necessary part of the way to conduct profitable business would come to light. The funds moved from general accounts to private ones, the holidays houses paid with investors' money, the missing invoices... Nobody would turn a blind eye to it now that he had been ostracised.

The kids were making noise again, but Alice couldn't take her eyes off Tom. He was the knight in shining armour who had come to her rescue. She didn't know how she had ever been able to forget who he was and what he meant to her.

Tom smiled, pleased with himself, and busied himself with the children.

'So, who wants some cereal?'

*

Alice didn't tell herself this would be the last night at the brothel, but walking up the steps had a sense of finality to her tonight.

She stopped by the manager. As usual, the old woman was sitting at her desk, chain smoking, fiddling with a pen, looking at figures on a book. The grainy images of the club flickered on the stickers behind her.

The woman didn't spend much time with the girls. Alice was sure that she knew exactly what went on, but everything was deputised to Athena and Phil.

Only once, she had come into the girls' quarters. A girl had been stealing from customers and dealing drugs. The club, obviously illegal, could exist only thanks to a mixture of the authorities turning a blind eye, and the customers being pleased with the service. Too much noise would have made it impossible for the outside world to ignore its presence, and they would be chased out into a desert they couldn't return from.

The old woman had looked at girl, straight in the eyes. Her presence was terrifying: the room was silent; even Alice, who had nothing to lose in this situation, felt nervous.

The girl didn't say anything, but her eyes seemed to give her away. The manager looked at the girl with disgust then walked up to her and slapped her very hard on the face, then walked away.

The girl left that day. She didn't say a word to anyone.

The manager looked at Alice.

'Bright, clever. Eleven words.'

'Intelligent?'

It fit.

'I just wanted to thank you for taking me in,' Alice said.

The old woman wasn't sentimental. She looked at her with her yellow, watery eyes and shrugged her shoulders.

'I might not be good with words, but I know numbers. So, we're square.'

She stared at Alice for a moment, and you could tell that she had seen girls a million times before, just like Alice, shuffling their feet, unable to find the right words, unsure whether to thank the woman or to send her to Hell, whether she was their helper or their tyrant. You could tell that she knew then.

Alice wanted to enjoy this night. Things were going well at home, and this was her last hurray. She walked through the couches. The girls, the customers, the music, the drinks, the stench of old tobacco. Nothing had changed since her first time, and yet everything was different: she was not scared anymore; she had a welcoming place to return to. She didn't need this anymore.

The evening started on a pleasant note. Athena came up to her, followed by two customers she knew by sight. They were two young professionals, well dressed, nice looking, well mannered. You could tell they would soon move out the neighbourhood and leave it behind.

One was tall and rather skinny, with a mop of floppy blonde hair. He had a sharp look in his eye, and his face was severe, like that of a medieval saint. The other, slightly pudgy and shorter than his friend, had short black hair. He had kind brown eyes, a square face with a little button nose in the middle.

'They would like to book the two of us for an hour,' Athena said. 'Shall we use my room?'

A foursome? That would be a first. Alice was pleased: she had grown fond of Athena. She liked her honesty and how she ran a clean, straight house with the girls.

Alice smiled and followed the other three up the stairs.

Athena's room was identical to Alice's. The pictures on the walls were different, but that was all. Everything -- the flowers, the towels and the linens, the toys -- was kept in the same place.

The two guys took their shoes off and sat up on the bed.

Athena started undressing. Slowly, sensually. Her long black wig swaying with her.

For a moment, Alice watched her too. She was skinny, athletic. She almost had no breasts, just two thick nipples protruding on her ribcage. Her legs and ass were strong, like those of a sprint runner, and the muscles bulged under the thin layer of her dark brown skin.

Athena looked at Alice and, with a seductive look in her eyes, gestured her to come closer. She wrapped her arms around her neck and started kissing her.

Alice felt her body quickly relax in the embrace, her initial surprise quickly melting away. She kissed her back, and the two women moved about, holding each other. Alice ran her hands along Athena's back, feeling her ass. Athena opened her mouth and her tongue started exploring Alice's mouth, playing with her tongue.

Before too soon, Athena had released Alice and had moved onto the bed. She took the blonde man. She started unzipping his pants. He was already hard, excited by the little show the two girls had put on.

Alice played with the other man's hair for a moment, then started unbuttoning his shirt. She was slow and methodical: she wanted him to go crazy with his desire for her. Then, she started massaging his crotch.

'Let's see what you have for me,' she said.

He took his pants off, and she started stroking his dick. She stared into his eyes while she did this.

Athena was already bent over the other man's groin and was sucking him. She was going up and down in strong movements.

Alice climbed the bed, and the two women were now side by side, on all fours, sucking off the two men. But this was just the beginning.

'Why don't you take that shirt off?' Alice asked the brown-haired guy.

While he got busy with this, Alice moved behind Athena and started licking her pussy. The noise of the other girl sucking stopped, and her laugh rang.

'You filthy girl!' she joked.

Alice liked exploring her friend with her mouth. She was not fully shaved and kept some hair, cut in short black curls, on the front. Her labia were thick, and their pinkness contrasted with the colour of her skin.

'Let's swap,' Alice suggested.

So, her other man sat in front of Athena, who quickly took him in her mouth, while the blonde guy came up next to Alice.

Alice started masturbating him, then gave his dick, which was long and pink, a few licks up and down the shaft. She put the head in her mouth for a long moment. Then, she expertly wrapped a condom around it, and guided the man towards Athena's opening.

Now, the girl was moving back and forth, positioned between the two clients. Her moans were already quite loud.

'What about you, sweety? You're all alone now,' Athena joked.

The four quickly rearranged the composition: Alice lay with her back on the bed, so that the brown-haired guy could penetrate her. Athena lay next to her, on all fours, with her man behind her.

Alice turned to the girl and started kissing her. Their breathing was fast, and the two girls were moaning at every thrust of their companion. Alice liked this feeling of camaraderie: her friends next to her, their pleasures growing together, sharing duties and merging their fantasies.

The blonde man now wanted to move to Alice, who was happy to comply: she sat on all fours and felt the man penetrate her slowly, as if to savour the moment. Athena crawled underneath her, and Alice eagerly resumed licking her. The smell of her friend's pleasure was strong and filled Alice's nose.

The other man came up to Athena, ready for action, but Alice intercepted him and started licking his balls. She carefully took him in her mouth. The taste of her own liquors was mixed with the flavour of the condom's rubber and the lube. Alice grabbed the shaft and guided it towards Athena's opening. The other woman moaned loudly, and the group resumed their movement: the two women embraced in the middle, and the two men on the outside.

Alice started rubbing Athena's clitoris, while the man kept pumping her.

Both men, almost at the same time, asked for a moment to catch their breath: they had money to spend tonight, and they wanted to enjoy the full hour.

The brown-haired guy was ready first, he lay on the bed and quickly got Athena to sit on his dick, then he smiled at Alice.

'Come here. There's room for you too.'

She sat on his face, and he started licking her. She started kissing Athena who was now facing her. She played with her nipples, and the other girl reciprocated by toying with her hair, caressing her neck, then her back and her chest. Alice enjoyed the feeling of Athena's skin against hers, the different textures that their bodies had, like velvet against silk.

From time to time, Alice had to take in deep breaths, and she felt coming closer to a conclusion: the man was good. He knew were to go with his tongue, how long to stay there and when to move away. He was never boring. At times, Alice wished he kept going with a sensitive spot, but he wanted to torment her to, and let her build up all the steam she had in her before exploding.

The other guy was now standing next to the women and was offering them his dick. Athena gave him a suck. Then Alice gave him one. The man playfully moved from one mouth to the other. He was gentle, but as his pleasure grew, he demanded longer and deeper sucks. Alice watched Athena swallow him, resting her lips on the base of shaft. She was probably running out of breath, but then Alice noticed the tip of her tongue flicker underneath, giving the scrotum little licks. Then it was out, and the girl grabbed it and guided it towards Alice's lips.

Alice let it slide down her throat and moved back and forth a few times. She focused a moment, then tried to get her tongue out, like her friend had done. Red in the face, she exploded in a volley of coughs.

'O my God, how do you do that?' she asked with a raspy voice.

Athena laughed.

'You mean this?'

And she did it again. She swallowed the whole length of the man's dick and got the tip of her tongue out, moving it in quick movements against the skin.

Then, it was time for another change.

The two women were on their backs, next to each other, and the men were on top of them. Each couple was staring at each other. They could read the pleasure in each other's faces.

Alice wrapped her legs around the blonde guy's back and her arms around his neck. She felt in the moment; she enjoyed all the feelings that her body was experiencing.

'Harder!' she whispered in his ear. 'I want you so bad.'

The man obeyed.

Athena, next to them, moan louder and louder. Her man was moving faster and faster, then, with a final groan, he came.

'Keep going!' Athena ordered.

'Don't worry: you're next.'

Her gave a few thrusts, but then he decided to get out and lick her instead. Athena grabbed his hair, pushing the man's face between her thighs.

'You're fucking -- oh, shit! -- there, there! Yeah!'

And with a loud, almost frightening scream, she came.

'Oh, fuck,' she said breathlessly, 'he's just great with his tongue.'

The two girls laughed. Athena put two fingers in her pussy and moved them back and forth, as if to milk some last drops of pleasure out of her body.

The blonde man was still going. Alice felt her body tighten and she was gasping for air in little bursts: she was coming, and she wanted the man to come with her.

He had his eyes shut and was biting his lips. He was close too.

Alice hugged him tighter.

'Now, please!'

There was a loud humming sound: the couple's moan had melted into one sound, it grew into a moan, then louder still into a groan. Then Alice screamed, her pitch higher than the man's, and her voice louder.

She hugged him for a moment, while his hips gave little, sporadic thrusts, and his body tightened and relaxed. She listened to him breathing in her ear. She could feel the sweat on his skin pressed on hers, his floppy hair against her face.

The two couples took turns with the shower. The girls washing the men carefully with intimate gestures.

The four walked out of the room. Athena gave Alice a look, hoping to share a complicit smile after the moment they had shared together, but found her lost in thought. Athena looked at her, trying to wonder what was on her mind, but Alice, noticing the probing gaze, gave a quick, nervous smile, and stamped a big kiss on the other's lips.

Athena smiled back and whispered, 'Thank God they didn't ask to play with the back, I'm still sore from this dude last night: huge!'

'You little slut,' she joked.

'You have a much dirtier mind than I thought,' Athena retorted. 'I've heard stories.'

Alice laughed. The men, walking in front of them, turned to see what the joke was.

'Don't worry!' the two girls said at once, and laughed once more.

It was a great night.

*

Alice walked once more into the room, looking for the next client. The music was loud, and Alice felt happy: she relished the sense of familiarity that this place now gave her. She knew its secrets and its stories.

Athena had disappeared who knows where. Some girls were walking around, parading their goods to the customers. Some newly formed, temporary couples disappeared upstairs.

A man came up to her. He had a cap on and kept it low, so you couldn't see him.

'Let's go,' he said and took her upstairs.

Alice stopped in front of the room where she checked the guys before taking them to her room. But the man grabbed her by the wrist.

'Which one is yours?' he barked.

'Hey, what's the idea?' she said.

He opened a door to a room. It was empty. The man dragged Alice inside and threw her in.

Alice stumbled across the room, hitting her head against a cupboard. She looked at the man, then, feeling numb with pain and fear, her heart racing, she looked around for the panic button. She tried to stand up to reach it, but her head was spinning, and she couldn't easily balance.

Then the man was on her again. He threw a punch, then another, then another. Alice felt the blows on her face, her chest, her arm. The man wasn't stopping and was not careful about where he was hitting.

Alice couldn't breathe. She felt tears running down her face and heard the loud scream that was coming out of her mouth.

Finally, the man stopped. Alice looked up. He took the cap off.

Vincent!

'What did you do? What the fuck did you do?' he screamed.

'I don't know...' she moaned. 'Please!'

He punched again, and again. He threw her across the room, then was on her again, kicking and punching.

Alice knew. Vincent was bankrupt, and he knew it had been her, even if indirectly. She tried to stop the blows, but she couldn't move easily: she felt pain everywhere, and he was on top of her, restraining her movements.

'I'm going to kill you!' he screamed.

Then it all went black.

*

The first sensation that Alice was aware of was that she had dreamt. She didn't know what the dream was, but dreams leave a scent behind them, you know they've been here.

Then, she was aware of a smell. It was warm, and it reminded her of home. But not home as it was now: home like it is to a child. It was a comforting and uncomplicated sensation. There were no questions to answer; there was no curiosity in that smell, no uncertainty.

Food...

It was something baking in the over, onions frying in the pan, fresh tomatoes stewing. Herbs and garlic.

Then, Alice was aware of cold air coming into her nose, carrying the smell. It stung. Breathing was painful. Her nostrils were filled with a burning sensation, and lungs expanded and contracted with difficulty.

She couldn't put all these different facts together.

Alice couldn't remember how she got home. She felt around with a hand, looking for the switch to turn on the light next to the bed, but she came across a wall. That was weird: her bed was free standing, and the only wall next to it was behind the headboard. And yet, here it was: a wall.

Her arm felt heavy. Now, she realised it was sore.

Then, there was the smell of food again.

Alice raised her hand and felt her face. The skin was puffy and tense, like the surface of a balloon. She felt the rough surface of bandages around her head.

It was dark all around. There was a noise in the next room. Somebody was there, doing something, moving about. And then, Alice realised the magnitude of that darkness: it went on forever; it was infinite. She couldn't imagine it could ever end. And yet, there was a next room, somewhere nearby.

Then, the little pains she had felt -- her ribcage, her face, her arm -- merged into a one. It was like small streams running along the side of the mountains, quickly being engorged by torrential rain. They filled with water and overflew. They became one river flooding the plains. Her whole body was now filled with the awareness of this pain.

There was somebody nearby. She could hear it. She could smell it.

A door opened, and the darkness was broken by the shape of a door, dimly lit from behind, by a light in some nearby space. Then a dark figure walked across the door.

Click.

The light was turned on. For a moment, the brightness of the lightbulb above her hurt her eyes; it even confused her warped senses even more. Then, the details of an unfamiliar room came into view: posters on a wall, a little study desk, a built-in wardrobe. And Athena, sitting on a chair next to her.

'Do you feel like eating something?' she asked.

Alice looked at her. She wasn't wearing her wig. Her face looked different. Then Alice noticed that she wasn't wearing make-up. She wore a jumper. It was too large for her. It was old, and it had lost its colour from too many wash cycles.

Alice wondered for a moment if this was a room at the club.

'I made you soup,' Athena said.

She offered Alice a bowl of broth. Thin noodles, pieces of carrots and chicken livers floated about. It was warm and smelled invitingly.

Alice straitened herself.