Sappho Intl (Songs of Silk Book 1) Read online

  We walked through the cozy and intimate room and I was introduced to some of the patrons that sat upon plush white sectional sofas and white Louis XV salon chairs.

  I even enjoyed a game of billiards at one of the custom white felt billiards tables as PrimaDonna and some of the other femme patrons watched and discussed my overall swagger. PrimaDonna and some of the femmes were impressed by how my body moved around the table and flirted with me as a group, as I effortlessly stroked ball after ball into the holes. I didn’t want to tell the innocent stud that this was one of the ways that I made my living in college and that the game was over before it even begun.

  I could feel a sense of entitlement in the smoke-filled room as I politely called and pushed the eight-ball into the corner pocket hole to become the victor for the night. It was a quick game of pool and even before the erupting applause had subsided from the impressed onlookers, PrimaDonna and I’d moved on to the last room.

  The last chamber was a private parlor with poker tables and a walk-in humidor. It was decorated in the same style as the vape and lounging room, except that its color swatches were more burnt orange and crimson red rather than light blue and champagne. The décor still retained a sophisticated and luxurious nature. But from the sunset color sequences, I could tell that that this was a much more serious room. This was where all the business was handled.

  “So what are you drinking and smoking tonight?” PrimaDonna looked into the hands of one of the pristine poker players to see what had been dealt. They conversed as though they had been familiar with each other for a long time.

  “I’m sipping Louis XIII Cognac and a beautiful Altidas Behike Cigar—in honor of how well you’ve mixed the beauty of France with the passion of Spain.” She said without budging.

  “I wish you would have been able to join us at this table, PrimaDonna? I think I would’ve had a little more room here for your chips tonight.” She smiled. ”Lady Luck has been good to me.”

  “Well, I’ve been a little occupied tonight.”

  After politely moving a few chips forward from her large pile of poker chips and vocalizing her bid, the beautiful blond finally looked up from her hand and coincidentally met my eyes.

  “Well, well, well—PrimaDonna, you have truly outdone yourself. The new club is immaculate and the newest stallion is supremely divine.”

  She held out her delicate hand, with the palm facing downward, and I seductively kissed the back of her hand. I could tell that she was instantly eroticized. I was her private aphrodisiac as she immediately laid her cards on the table and stood to peck me on my cheek’s dimple as if under a deep hypnosis.

  “I’m honored to meet your acquaintance.”

  The rest of the table became instantly captivated and PrimaDonna took the moment to announce me to the tables. I went around each table and shook all of the studs’ hands and politely hugged each femme member to welcome them to the social club. Some Sapphians also placed their hand out, so that I could grace them with my favor, as I’d done the first patron.

  PrimaDonna would tell me later that those whom offered their hands would be some of the Alices at Cloud9. They were already previewing my stock. And according to PrimaDonna, it was already gaining momentum prior to the big event.

  “You’ve made a charming impression on everyone relevant here tonight—including myself. I’m sure that where you are, is where you were always meant to be.”

  We walked out of the last parlor and back into the valve that was the main hallway.

  We were all alone for the first time since our initial meeting at the Sapphire Lounge. And seeing as how I wanted to take advantage of this moment, to make an even deeper impression on the queen while she was displaced from her rook, bishop and knight—this valve was the perfect corner with which to get just a little more acquainted with each other.

  “So, I’m assuming that you’re the one that designs all of the properties?”

  “Yes. I guess you might say it’s more than a hobby for me. It’s my greatest passion to take these structures and bring them to life”

  “You have a keen eye. Or I should say an authentic ability to capture the unique charm of your clubs and mansions. You ‘re very talented, PrimaDonna.”

  A person's creations say a lot about that person. And PrimaDonna had a tendency to hone in on the naturally unique qualities of the subject to architect a design that accentuated the positive to tell an intriguing story—in this way she and I shared an ability to mold and chronicle a narrative—hers through design processes and mine through lyrical writing and song. This would be a common thread that I would utilize to allow her to slowly let down her guard.

  “Your work truly tells a beautiful story.”

  “Well, thank you Silk. I actually studied art history and design at the university. It seems I’ve always had a knack for finding a diamond in the rough and expressing its full potential.”

  “Is that what you’ve accomplished with your entourage?”

  “I guess in a way it may’ve been a sub-conscious move early on, but over time they’ve become my closest friends. They know every side of me and they sincerely love and protect me.”

  “It follows my time-invested theory.”

  “…the time-invested theory?”

  This was a risky move, but I wanted to keep the queen on her toes.

  “It’s a theory that I have about freedom. Time, like money, can be a commodity. The more time that you’ve invested in the things and people around you, the more locked into the relationship you become, and the harder it is to evolve or step out of the environment. The investment of time ultimately lulls you into a sense of convenient security and diminishes your sense of free will—if you allow it to.”

  “I suppose that’s one way to look at it. However, despite the time invested into them, I AM a free woman and I’m unafraid of change. I’ve never been enslaved by money or time and I simply love my friends.”

  “Well, I guess my theory has some holes in it. I’m by no means a sociological expert.”

  I needed to move the queen back into the other direction. And quick.

  “In my opinion, helping to mold a person by design is truly noble as long as it’s progressive. It seems that you might have accomplished this IMPOSSIBLE feat with me and I’m truly grateful for it.” I said with sarcasm in order to change the tone of the conversation.

  “Well, Silk, it didn’t take much from me or my resources. It seems that out of everyone you were simply the easiest to place. You were already prepped, primed and polished as a diamond stallion. I simply found you and presented your natural brilliance. Even I find myself intrigued by your aura. It seems, you have a multi-faceted perspective on life and I’m simply held in awe of your beautiful complexity.”

  Her shimmering eyes glimmered like polished sapphires and dazzled me deeply. I wanted to tell her that the moon and stars paled in comparison to the splendor in her eyes. I wanted to tell her that I held a burning desire to take her even higher than this night. I wanted to kiss her passionately and sweep her off of her feet in fleeting ecstasy.

  But I didn’t want to move too hastily and spoil my chances of getting further in the game by making a premature move.

  Instead I practiced patience.

  I would surely get the perfect opportunity, soon, to show her a more intimate side of me.

  I deferred the hypnosis of her eyes and continued to converse, just to keep my poker face.

  “Maybe we should be getting back to the others. We wouldn’t want to give the Sheik another reason to hate me.”

  “She doesn’t hate you. She’s just more sentimental than most give her credit for. She has a certain nostalgia of the past that we’ve all experienced together and remains vigilante in keeping things frozen in time, as a way of continually pumping life into the love that we all share. I guess that you could say that Sir Sheik IS a prime example of your time-invested theory, in a way. She’s always been resistant to change and to her, you represen
t a real threat to a cozy way of life that she’s grown accustomed to.”

  “But anybody who’s ever known me will tell you that I’m quick to blend into my surroundings. All I want to do is enjoy the same things that you enjoy and that she enjoys—the ability to enjoy pleasuring a woman.”

  “Isn’t that what Sappho Intl represents? Isn’t that what YOU represent?” I whispered into her ear as we neared the entrance to the main room.

  She paused and began to slightly fall back to throw her guard up—but I reacted quickly.

  I smiled and began to joke around and look around in jest. “At least that’s what I was told…I mean I might have been misinformed…you know…or is it just a rookie’s prank and the joke is on me?”

  She began to laugh and I breathed her laughter in.

  “Over time, I think she’ll grow to like you and welcome you as the rest of us have. Just don’t allow her to change who you are because I definitely wouldn’t want that—you are a breath of fresh air for me and something that this organization had been calling for within the last few years.”

  “And you’re a breath of fresh air for me, as well, PrimaDonna.”

  I had her on the hook and things were getting really serious, really quickly, as we stalled before the main doors. But I wanted to be sure to make every move count. So I drew a little closer as we locked eyes, seemingly unable to will them away from each other. And I began to tilt into her sumptuous lips, until suddenly—we were stopped in our tracks by the opening doors of the main room.

  It was so abrupt that we both jumped a little, as a snickering femme and flirtatious stud stumbled through the doorway.

  And it seemed that their timing couldn’t have been any worse.

  We both smiled and without saying a word moved through the doorway to return back to our areas.

  Just when I was getting used to the feel of having PrimaDonna to myself, it was time to hand her back off to Sir Sheik.

  I could sense that Sir Sheik belonged to a nobility that looked down on me, without even getting to know me. My mere presence annoyed her to her core. Despite what PrimaDonna felt, I just knew that she despised me deeply.

  Even as we walked back into the main room, I could feel her eyes searing flames into me like the laser's red dot from the sniper's rifle.

  A few of the patrons, drunk with revelry had taken to the dance floor to enjoy the salsa mix that Midi had cooked up at the Playhouse. And a feverish impulse to retain the company of PrimaDonna for just one more moment rose up through my body. If I was going to make a move to stamp and seal a lasting impression on her, I would have to make a very risky move right now.

  The dynamic combination of rhythms from the world's African, Caribbean and Latin regions bounced off the walls, as the sultry salsa seduced the main room.

  “Ooh, I love this mix.”

  I took the opening and asked. “Before we go up, would you care to dance the dance of passion with me, PrimaDonna?”

  The words moved from my hips and up through my lips before I could even wrap my head around the calculations. There were only two responses that I could receive but with the Belair flowing through me, I couldn’t conceive a negative utterance from those beautiful lips. I would never know unless I took the chance. And from my experience, that would be the only way to play a good game of chess.

  "You are bold, Max Silk.” She looked up towards the V.I.P. area and then into my eyes. And before I knew it, her eyes said ‘yes’ even before her lips responded.

  “Why not? After all, it is your grand opening.”

  I must confess. I was a little taken aback but played it off by smoothly moving forward with a tender caress to the small of her back, as I led her to the floor.

  Now there was no turning back.

  We were instantly surrounded by flickering red floor lights as my hips flame dictated the flow of the dance. I’d officially entered the queen's court.

  The clave proceeded to mix up the salsa of congas, timbales, piano, tres guitar and bass. I took her hand and the small of her back as she took my hand and shoulder. I stiffened my frame's upper carriage to support the closed hold while my feet caught the downbeat. And our hips and legs began to slowly stir the salsa.

  The whole of the room breathed in the breadth of our commanding presence and it seemed that there was a unanimous gasp, as we took our first steps. Our bodies remained level and unaffected by the six weight changes in eight beats—save for our smooth hip movement—which moved with a passionate fervor.

  Our hips teased each other without touching, as our shoulders gyrated in sync.

  The full length of me supported her picture of perfection, within my golden frame, as we moved. And the other dancers stopped to create a circle around us, as our hips continued to move to the congas hypnotic rhythm.

  I swirled her hand above her head, as she twirled within my orb and our feet danced in time with erotic exchanges like a peacock’s mating dance. And then as the rhythm slowed, we revolved around each other, as the moon does the globe.

  As the verse ended, I lead her body to bow backwards slowly and seductively with a circular motion. My lead leg provided a stable post to her curvaceous frame and limber legs. And with shoulders back I gazed down at her passionately, as if she was now my prey.

  The scent of her jasmine wisped through my nasal cavities to ignite my senses and we were on the verge of perverting the dance floor with our bodies’ flaming intensity. I was enjoying this dance immensely—and so was the crowd.

  I abruptly brought her back to center, as we completed another cycle and I prepared to place her body on display. I spun her body's core on an imaginary axis, while my hand's palm led her into a lively swivel. My lead foot centered into her elegant frame and she continued to spin, as if her body’s orb was an exotic spinning top.

  We neared the final heartbeat to our salsa’s rhythm, as the song began to wind down. I wound her up one more time slowly then placed my hand to the small of her back to exact a common fluidity. Finally, without warning, I lightly bent her limber body backwards boldly and before the eyes of many, as it signaled the dramatic conclusion to the song and dance.

  I brought her back up and peered deeply into the twinkle of her sapphire eyes for what seemed like a millennium. I wanted to send her a subliminal gesture to indicate that against all the odds we were fated to be together—and in this moment, she seemed to decode the signal.

  We were tenaciously transfixed until the crowd erupted with applause. Everyone began to cat-call and whistle while we finally allowed ourselves to let the gaze go.

  We took a bow and walked arm-in-arm out of the center of the dance floor.

  I now felt that my impression had been fully embossed and would not regret passing her on to the entourage that awaited her.

  As we walked, I finally became conscious of the beauty of the diverse members of the audience. The crowd was an exotic sea of studs, femmes and burlesque girls. As we made our way through the circle, the beautiful array of females caught my eyes in deep desire. I had charmed the femmes and left a seductive scent for them to continue to sniff, even after I departed from the dance floor. Some even tried to rub up against me as I passed. And although PrimaDonna walked before me—they were not fazed.

  They wanted me badly and PrimaDonna could sense it as we headed back to the V.I.P. gallery.

  “Silk, that was sensational. I had no idea that you danced that well. I’m truly impressed.”

  “I’m a Miami native, so it’s almost a requirement that I dance the salsa that well.”

  “Well, that was breathtaking and now I KNOW you are going to give the other two a run for their money.”

  “I sure hope so.”

  We made it to the top of the stairs together and instantly I began to intercept the sights and sounds of the V.I.P. area.

  “Well. That was fun.”

  “I haven’t enjoyed a dance like that in a long time. Thank you.” PrimaDonna smiled. ”I’m gonna go visit the powde
r room to freshen up before we go back in.”

  While she and Flourish went into the private bathroom, I rounded the corner into our section and was content to let the experience marinade.

  The club was re-invigorated with the shock of our electricity and now felt lively and alive with the supplemented blood that was pumped back into the main room’s pulse.

  I breathed in the club's floral baroque, like smoke. And my mind glided within the bliss-filled supply of my natural high, as I sat back into the seat.

  I was feelin' real right and nothing could destroy my jubilation.

  It was then that the unforeseeable occurred.

  As soon as PrimaDonna and Flourish was well out of sight, Sir Sheik had instantly lashed out at me.

  The Sheik held a pocket knife to my neck and it’d finally occurred to me that I might’ve crossed the line, just a tad bit, by dancing with PrimaDonna.

  The Sheik had been on the prowl like the cat’s meow, just waiting for the opportunity to get at me. And right now, her blue and green eye blazed wildly.

  “Whoa, killa, did I miss something?”

  “You know—you dance really well. But I’m sure you are well aware that you have spit in my eye by stepping on MY toes. PrimaDonna belongs to me!”

  “Damn, it doesn’t look like it to me…” I halfway joked as I placed my hands in the air with a motion to surrender.

  “Whoa.” Pharaoh and Suez instantly stopped conversing with each other at the railing and placed out their hands with the same yielding movement.

  Sir Sheik gripped the knife harder, as I could feel the cold steel blade press into my neck.

  “You have upstaged and humiliated me within my own empire. And you thought I would idly sit by and allow this to happen to me! To ME—Sir Sheik!” She sniffed through her nose and twitched. “You know. I could slice you quicker than shit sticks and relieve myself of your filth.”

  “Okay…just be easy, breezy. You don’t want to do this with all of these witnesses around. ”