Reaching The Stars

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the songs or brands of liquor mentioned in this story. There are too many of them to list.

CLAIMER: It's probably pointless, but all the characters in this story are mine and any likeness where names are concerned are purely coincidental.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This chapter is written in the first-person perspective of the main male character, Jack Pembroke. I may write more FPP's in later chapters, depending on reviews.

Reaching the Stars
Chapter One: A Trip to the Cosmos

I finished mixing a Harvey Wallbanger for someone who just came from the dance floor when I noticed two friends and a girl I’d never seen before with them. Angie and Sarah, as usual, were in their spaghetti straps and dark denim jeans, and their friend wore a blue T-shirt and faded black jeans. The two of them were talking about something, but I couldn’t hear their laughing or whatever they were talking about over the din of the club. Their friend was quiet, nervous but very attractive.

Magenta beams, azure lights and verdant lasers played their way along the walls and the floor, sharing the surfaces with the glittering silver coming from the slowly rotating disco ball on the ceiling. The very air seemed misty, almost thick, with passion and the urge to toss all warning away and to succumb to the music playing around the club. Pairs of men and women, pairs of men and pairs of women, littered the dance floor, moving to the sensual beat of the song. I grinned as the little trio made their way towards the bar. Angela ordered a Tom Collins and Sarah called for a Manhattan. Their friend sat on the stool between them, entranced by the couples dancing and grinding to the song.

“Ma’am?” I called. She shook her head quickly and turned to me. She had eyes like sapphires, pure and mysterious.

“Umm, just a shot of vodka,” she mumbled.

“She’s a first timer,” Angela said with a wry grin. I shared their smile, and glanced at her sidelong. She looked to be about the same age as her two compatriots.

“Surprised you didn’t bring her here sooner, Angie,” I quipped, placing the small shot glass at the bar in front of her. I filled it up with Smirnoff Black, and left the bottle beside it as I looked at her. “What’s your name?”

“Christina,” she replied shyly. She seemed to tense up. “And you?”

“Name’s Jack,” I answered, wiping my hands with a towel. “I don’t know why Angela and Sarah never brought you around. You look great.”

Her cheeks glowed a soft rose. From the corner of my eye, I noticed the two of them trading knowing glances. I said nothing.

“Th-thank you,” she managed. “How long have you been working here?”

I shrugged. “About since this place opened, about a year or so ago.” A co-worker stepped behind the bar and slipped an apron on.

“Hey, Jack,” she said.

I whirled around. “Oh, Sheila, didn’t see you come in.” I grinned sheepishly. “Does this mean I’m done?”

“Only if you want to be, Jack.” She passed me a flirty smile and raised her eyebrows a little. “You know I don’t mind the company.”

“Don’t worry about those two,” I heard Angela say, poking Christina with her elbow. “She’s always trying to take him to her room.”

“And he won’t because…?”

Sarah leaned a little closer to her and whispered something in her ear. I noticed her double take, but didn’t give it another thought. It wasn’t much of a surprise; it was public knowledge that I always turn her down her attempts to spend the night. I hung my apron on a hook on the wall while Sheila mixed a drink for another person.

“I’ll be right back, okay?” I said to her, then glancing at Angela and Sarah. “Enjoy the sights and sounds of Cosmos.”

I ran to the Employees Only section of the club, swiped my card on the puncher, and ran to my locker. I changed out of my black shirt and khakis to my thick baby-blue sweater and a pair of baggy jeans. I tossed my steel-toes into the bottom of the locker and donned a pair of black sandals. I finished getting ready and jogged back towards the bar.

I smiled slyly as I noticed Christina blushing. She stared at the crowd as Emjay’s Take Me In Your Arms was playing. I figured Angie and Sarah had to have dragged her here. I motioned for Sarah to move a seat down from Christina, and she moved over quietly. I snuck in between them and filled up Christina’s shot glass with some more vodka.

“I know how you feel,” I said, voicing her thoughts. “When I first came here I thought that this was a place where you can move your body any way with anyone you choose.”

She gawked at me, and her face blushed brighter. I watched her look me over as I took in her form. She wore a tight blue shirt and black jeans. She had a medium bust, long arms and legs, and her hair was a light shade of brown, almost cinnamon, and wavy. She took a nervous drink.

“Something wrong?” I asked.

She looked up again. “…No,” she stammered. “…This is my first club.”

I smiled warmly at her. “I see. Well, Angie and Sarah took you to the right place.” I smoothly got up from the stool as the final chorus played loudly around us. “Come on, let’s hit the floor.”

She stared at me incredulously. “I’m not that much of a dancer…”

“This is a good song,” I countered as Kevin Little started to sing Turn Me On. “I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

“Go on, Chrissy,” Angie teased, pushing her out of her stool. She looked embarrassed as she took my hand and we waded into the sea of bodies. “You’ll be safe with him.”

“Just move your hips slowly, left to right,” I whispered almost silently as I turned around and began to dance once we hit the center of the crowd.

“Like this?” she asked shyly, following my directions and keeping in perfect time with the song.

I nodded, watching her intently. “That’s good,” I said. I couldn’t believe that she never went clubbing. Her first shot, and she was a natural. “Keep at it. I’ll dance with you. Just close your eyes and let your soul soar.”

She looked at me oddly, but the next few minutes seemed like a whirlwind of movement. The song continued to play, and I felt Christina’s body flow with it. It seemed as if she just let it all go. Everyone started to watch and form a circle around us. I put my hands on her waist, and moved my hips closer to hers.

As I caught her in a dip, her eyes shot open. As the song faded, all I could think about was what would happen if I left with the club with her that night, following Kevin’s words. I felt her suddenly tense up inside as everyone stared at us.

“Hey, hey, y’all! Let’s give it up to our very own Jack Pembroke for a stellar show,” Jupiter, the DJ, was shouting. Cheers erupted from all around us, and I hoisted Christina to her feet.

“All right! Don’t stop just ‘cause our main man’s takin’ off! Let’s keep the beats goin’!” Jupiter started up another song, which got the entire crowd on the dance floor in a near riot. Christina and I reclaimed our spots at the bar.

“Why don’t you ever dance like that with me, Jack?” Sheila teased.

I turned around and regarded her. “I only dance like that when I’m serious.”

“Serious about what?” she asked back, mixing up another martini.

“I’ll leave that to you,” I replied stoically. “Fix me up with a Smirnoff Black, no shot glass.” I turned away from Sheila and back to the dance floor.

“Serious about what?” Christina echoed.

I shrugged and leaned a bit closer to her. “I’m sure that Angie’s told you why I’ve never hit it off with Sheila over there.” She nodded. “What she doesn’t know is that her last two ex-boyfriends and her current husband were elementary school buddies of mine. We sort of split off when we went to high school but we keep in contact every so often. When they started talking about a girl that loved them and left them, or a wife as the case may be, I asked them about her, and I got the same description from all of them. I keep a nice face because she doesn’t know.”

She nodded, looking aghast. “I see.” She looked up at me. “That still doesn’t answer my question.”

I smiled. She really looked good. “I’ll be straight with you, Christina.” I leaned on the bar. “You’re very attractive, and what I’ve seen of you just now confirms my observations.”

She narrowed her eyes and grinned in a challenge. Any doubt faded from her, replaced with an arrogance I figured only surfaced around friends. “And what might these observations be?”

“You don’t get out much, you spend your days reading books in the park, if not at home with two cats and a dog. You’ve only been in a relationship with one other guy, who left you because of commitment issues.” I took a deep breath, knowing I had just put my neck beneath the guillotine’s blade. “Lastly, you’re jealous of Angie and Sarah and want to be as outgoing as they are.”

She looked piqued. “How did you observe that?”

“Your posture,” I replied. “You seem very closed up, not quite afraid, but unsure a lot.” I dared to touch her thigh as I pointed out her clothes. “Your jeans are faded along the thighs. A high-school friend owned three dogs and two cats, and she often complained that she wore out the color in her pants from getting pet hair out.”

“Go on,” she said, nodding in agreement.

“When you came in with Angie and Sarah, and after I served you your drink, I noticed you stare at the crowd while the music was going on. The way your eyes glazed over, you were almost about to give up all inhibition once before, but you got hurt. Part of you still wishes to get out of your shell.”

She nodded again.

“Finally, when Angie told you about Sheila, you stared at Angela first. You’re not used to gossip like that, let alone hear about it.”

She pursed her lips and nodded in reply. “Is there anything else you’ve guessed about me?”

I shook my head. “Nope. That’s about as much as I can figure from you.”

She smiled. “You’re a very observant man, Jack Pembroke.” I sighed, glad that I didn’t screw anything up. I’d never had the audacity to actually voice my thoughts to any woman the first night I met her, but Christina seemed different. Something about her told me that I did the right thing by challenging her the way I did.

DJ Sammy’s Calling You started up, and this time it was Christina who dragged me to the floor. “Hey! I like this song!”

“I didn’t know you like DJ Sammy,” I said, startled.

She flashed me an evil grin. “I may not go clubbing, but that doesn’t mean I know my music.”

“Hey, ladies and gents!” The deejay was announcing again. “We’ve got DJ Sammy out, and y’all know what this song calls for!” He lit a signal flare and threw it at the ceiling. Immediately, sprinklers over the dance floor activated, starting up a makeshift rain. The fast-paced beats began, and almost immediately, she twirled around and brought me close.

“Tell me again how to dance,” she said.

I smiled at her knowingly. “There are no lessons,” I answered. “Just let your soul soar.” The words flew through my mind as she took to my body, as if we were one single being…

…The rain just keeps on falling when you’re not around…

…When I wake up I am calling out your name…

Her body began to sink lower. She really was letting herself go.

…I’m calling you…

I didn’t realize that she was singing along, her voice mimicked the song so well. She was drenched, and her clothes clung to her like a second skin. As she rose and turned to face me, my eyes roamed her form like a starving man in front of a buffet. Her shirt clung to her so that I could fully drink in the sight of her upper body. Light glinted off the moisture on her skin, and her eyes glowed like something otherworldly. She had that slightly glazed look, like she wasn’t herself, but her eyes told me not to stop.

“Christina…”

She pressed a fingertip to my lips and shook her head. We continued to dance as she moved her lips to my ear.

“Don’t stop dancing, Jack…” she breathed lustily. “Take me away…”

I swallowed the lump in my throat and closed my eyes tightly. I took a deep breath, and at the next chorus, I held her close. I felt her body leading mine now, moving with a need that I’ve never felt before, a need that something inside told me that only she could fulfill.

All my rational thought had been tossed aside, and I simply moved my body in tune with her. I felt the warmth of her body against mine despite our soaked clothes, and as she knowingly stared at me with her mesmerizing eyes when I chanced a glance, she smiled with what I assumed was a similar need. Watching her focus on me so intently brought up strong, primal urges, and I brought her hips right against my own, partly to hide my arousal, and partly to let her know what she brought out in me. As if answering, and following the dying notes of the song in perfect time, she wrapped one leg around the back of mine, and dipped her upper body back, crushing her hips harder against mine.

I blinked, and felt the heat going to my face as I realized that the music had stopped, and Christina had a stunned look in her eyes. I looked around, seeing people with mouths wide open, others smiling. Embarrassed, more for Christina than myself, I picked her up and we plowed through the crowd surrounding us nearest the doors. We ran past them, nearly colliding into Harland, the bouncer, and ran into the alley beside the club. As I calmed myself down, the building rumbled in a riotous cheer, and a new song was started.

“Umm, Christina, I…”

“What?”

I scratched the back of my head nervously. “Well, I should apologize for…you know…” I cocked my head back in the direction of the club. “…For that.”

She grinned and blushed. “Oh, well…”

“I didn’t mean to just let myself go back there, and…”

She stifled my apology by pressing her lips passionately against mine. They felt like embers caressing my lips.

“Don’t apologize,” she said to me in a low voice. “I wanted you to.”

I stopped and stared at her blankly. “What? What do you…”

She stopped me again with a kiss, this time teasing me with her tongue. “I wanted you to dance that way with me, Jack Pembroke.” She ran her hand down my sweater. “I want to know more about you, Jack.” She smiled in a sultry way. I smiled, relieved to know that she felt the same way I did…


* * * * *


I pulled into my lot in the parking garage. Killing the engine, I tightly gripped the steering wheel. I was about to ask her something, but as I turned to her, her lips found mine, and I found myself restraining both of us. I felt something stronger than just throwing her onto the backseat and fulfilling my desires. Reluctantly, I forced her off of me, and I looked up at the ceiling of my car and pointed upwards.

“My apartment,” I managed. We both hurried out of the car, remembering to lock the doors and activating the alarm, and scrambled to the elevators. I opened the tenants-only door and pressed the button that summoned the elevator. I took her into my arms and pressed my lips onto hers with a passion I never knew I had. My hands ran down her waist, her clothes now only slightly damp, and back up underneath her shirt. Her hands wrapped around my forearms, but didn’t stop me from continuing my ascent. She broke our kiss to gasp for air, and in that brief moment, we stared into each other’s eyes.

“You’re sure you don’t regret what we did,” I looked at the lights of the elevator blinking quickly to the left, “and what we’re eventually going to do?”

“Jack Pembroke, you knew that I once wanted to let go of all my inhibitions, that I want to be more open like my friends,” she replied. She ran a cool hand up beneath my sweater. “I want you to be the one to set me free. I want you to be the first to truly experience what I’ve always wanted to be.”

The elevator arrived with a light tone, and the doors rolled open, revealing a brunette with a slight tan. She was blushing and wiping away lipstick with one hand, and rolling her shirt down with the other. Beside her, a Hispanic man was running his hand through his hair, one end of his collar up against his chin and the other end sticking out like a wing, lipstick smudged on the edge. As the two of them walked by us, giggling like sixteen-year-olds, I thought I noticed a deep red mark on the side of her neck. Christina pulled me into the elevator. I stuck one of my keys into a lock on the panel and tapped the button to the top floor, and the doors rolled to a close. The elevator rumbled and started its ascent as I reclaimed my key.

“It’s going to be a long ride,” I said.

“We better find a way to kill the time, then, hmm?” She tugged the collar of my sweater down, making my face meet hers. Our noses touched, and she smiled in a teasing fashion. I felt her free hand slip inside my sweater again, and I remembered I wasn’t wearing a thin shirt underneath.

“Angie and Sarah should have warned me about what I was getting myself into,” I gasped.

“They have no idea,” she whispered. She kissed my lower lip, teasing me with her tongue. I wanted nothing more at that moment than to press her against the wall and my body, to feel her against me without any barriers, but I think I wouldn’t have let myself, even if she wanted to.

“Christina…” I moved my head lower to meet her kiss, slipping my tongue out to caress her lips. She gasped in surprise, but didn’t break away from me. Instead, she fought back, entwining her own tongue with mine. As we kissed, I let her hands roam from her shoulders, down her arms to her hips. She let out a low moan as I slipped up her shirt again, up her waist to touch the fabric of her halter bra. I took my chances and started to tease her breasts with my thumbs, and she retaliated by pinching one of my nipples and using her free hand to reach down and get a firm grip on the bulge in my pants.

I broke our kiss in surprise, and she just smiled at me, feigning innocence. The elevator rang its arrival to my floor, and I looked out as the doors rolled open. I led her out and she gasped, realizing that the entire floor was my apartment.

“You own this place?” she asked.

I nodded, but I didn’t want to get into talking about me just then. “I inherited it.” As she stepped ahead of me, I caught up to her and pressed my hand on her hip, bringing her closer to me. “But I’ll tell you about that some other time.” I picked up a remote control from the coffee table and pointed it at the executive-style stereo in the corner. In seconds, Kevin Little’s Tempted 2 Touch started to play.

…To all the ladies in the dance…

I led her up the stairs, and she marveled at the pristine California king-size bed, the sheets neatly folded. She knew what I was planning, and turned and kissed me, pulling my body to hers as she stepped backward to my bed.

…I was all control when I see you standing there in front of me…

Our tongues met as she kissed me wildly, stopping long enough to work my sweater off of me. I was grateful that I exercised a lot as she looked me over with approval. I didn’t wait for her to say anything and dove down and started kissing her neck. Her skin was scented with roses and lavender, and she shuddered with the contact. I placed light kisses on her collar as I moved my hands down to her hips. She threw her head back and moaned seductively in reply.

…The way you’re winding, the way dancing, the way that you twist and turn your waist…

…Leaves me wanting, leaves me yearning, leaves me fiending for a taste…

I started to move my hips. She responded in kind as I let my hands roam up her shirt and to her bra once more. She smiled as I fumbled around with the clips, but I managed to get it undone without much trouble. It fell to the floor from beneath her blue top, and I lifted her shirt up so that it bunched up over her breasts. They bobbed up and down gently, as if liberated. Still dancing, I kissed her lips and pressed my naked torso against hers. I felt her nipples perk up on my skin, as I shifted my weight forward, catching her as I gently laid her down on my bed.

…Please forgive me, please excuse me, but there’s nothing else that a man can do…

“I can’t help myself, little woman, I just need to be next to you,” I sang in unison with the song. She giggled as she pressed my hips against hers, the fire in my loins being fueled by the inferno budding in hers. Without my realizing it, she had unbuttoned her jeans and was slipping them off underneath me. She gasped when I moved myself against her, and I realized that she had slipped her panties off as well. I lifted myself up and looked down at her naked form. She harbored no embarrassment as she stared back at me. She reached up to let her fingertips roam over my chest, her nails gently brushing against puckered flesh just under my collarbone. Smiling, I leaned down and kissed her as I unbuttoned my khakis and kicked them away. I pressed myself against her, both of us gasping at how aroused the other was. Her pussy was slick with her excitement, and I felt like I was going to burst out of my skin.

“Come into me, Jack,” she said lightly. I nodded and positioned my stiff and aching member against her opening. I gently slipped myself in, and she arched her back in pleasure, already tightening around me. When she relaxed, she put her hands on my waist and brought me closer to her, pressing the rest of my shaft into her eager and waiting sex. The heat was almost unbearable, and her walls closed around me like a vise.

“Christina…” I managed. It was bordering on painful how she gripped me, but it felt exhilarating.

“Jack,” she gasped. She threw her arms up over my shoulders and raked her nails along my back. “Don’t stop.” I started a slow rhythm, and she quickly caught on, countering my movements and forcing me deeper into her. She gasped once more and I felt her body quiver underneath and around me. I fought to hold back my climax.

She threw her head back and forth. “No, Jack.” She looked up at me pleadingly. “I’m almost there. Finish with me.”

I shook my head incredulously. “Christina,” I gasped, “if either of us moves, I’ll come.”

An evil grin tugged at her lips. “Well, then, you’ll just have to make me come, hmm?” She ground her hips fiercely against me, clenching her pussy around me. I bit my lower lip, trying my best not to reach my climax.

“I thought you were going to finish if I moved,” she teased me.

I returned her teasing glare. “Since you don’t mind…” I crushed her body between my own and the bed and began to pump my hips furiously. Her eyes widened with surprise and she yelped when I threw caution out the window.

“Jack!” she managed before her body shook violently. “God, Jack…” She lay back, and flowed with my thrusts, tightening around me.

“Christina, I’m going to…” I couldn’t hold back anymore as I reached my climax, exploding inside of her.

She screamed as her own orgasm hit, the quaking of her body shaking the bed frame, her pussy tightening around me painfully and forcing the remnants of my seed from me. She desperately clawed at my back, trying to keep her grip on consciousness. As the waves of her climax receded, she pulled me down over her to quell her shaking. Her breath was ragged, but she kissed me on the nose.

“Jack Pembroke…” she started to say, but she fell into slumber.

I kissed her lips, and she moaned in reply. “I know, Christina."

=[ End of Chapter One ]=