John takes Suzanne to the coolest nightclub in the area.

Immediately when the tone had rung, someone could be heard moving inside. It took only a moment and the door was swung open. Suzanne had thought to say something along the lines of “hello”, but immediately when she saw John again, every sane thought flew from her brains, and were replaced with thoughts that were indecent at best.

In Suzanne’s mind now, there was no room for disappointment. Just seeing him again, and doing him a favour was wonderful. But what lay on John’s mind, was far from trivial favours – This night had been planned well, and indecent things were very much the order of the day.

Suzanne realised that John was smiling at her, and she tried to smile back. But nervous as she was, it came out like a grin. She didn’t want to say anything either, it could ruin the moment, and it felt so wonderful. Shame that it had to end, even if it was for the better.

“I’m really sorry about this.” Suzanne felt like she was making a face like a question mark, but managed to make a muffled sound, something like a question. “I’m really sorry about tricking you to come over, when what I really wanted…” It felt like the ground moved, if this was going to another major disappointment… “was to go out with you.” Suzanne was unsure if she’d heard correctly, but his brilliant smile and hopeful eyes looking down, made her knees feel weak.

“You mean… That you… Huh?” She felt embarrassed acting like a thirteen year-old, but John didn’t seem to mind.

He laughed and asked: “Is that a yes to a date?” Suzanne could just nod and smile. As John put his right arm around her and started to lead her towards the car, she felt warm and safe. This was perfect. The only other thing she wanted now, was for him to make a pass. Usually with guys, all the way through a conversation, she dreaded the moment when they made a pass. Now whenever she took a deep breath, it was to draw attention to her breasts.

The feeling was exhilarating, she felt more alive than usual. When John open the door on the passenger-side, it didn’t feel awkward or foolish. His self-confidence and experience made everything he did seem intentional. He has probably done this like a million times – Suzanne thought to herself – He probably brings all his girlfriends to the same place. “So where are we going?” It didn’t really matter if he’d done this before. Tonight, at least, she was his girl, and it felt wonderful.

John smiled as if expecting that question and said that it was a surprise. Truth be told, dating wasn’t something of a habit for John Walker. Shannon had only been his second girlfriend, and had lasted up until a year ago. His confidence sprung from the long relationship he’d had with her, the wild life they had led, and the obviousness of Suzanne’s crush on him.

Keeping to the speed-limits, John made his way out of the town where they lived. Meanwhile the two made idle conversation about school, work, friends and everyday stuff. Suzanne noticed that her date consequently avoided the subject of his work, and she realised that she had no idea, whatsoever, about what job he had. Even asking more directly, she was unable to wring an answer out of him. He didn’t seem annoyed of this probing, so Suzanne spent the rest of the ride trying to figure this out. But when she saw the destination, all thought of it was gone.

Quake was the coolest night-club she knew about. None of her friends had ever been inside, with no lack in effort. It was expensive, and exclusive.

The facade was something special, it looked like an aeroplane had crashed right into it and was stuck halfway inside. Everyone who worked there were dressed to look like medical personnel, fire-fighters, policemen or just disaster relief-workers. Suzanne didn’t think they’d get in there in a million years. Or that they would at least have to wait in line for an hour, and then John would have to bribe the bouncer. But John simply walked around the line of people, and when the bouncer saw him, he opened the door for him and gave a polite nod as they passed inside.

The inside of the club was even more spectacular. The interior was true to the name Quake, ‘cause the place look like the epicentre of a large scale earthquake: Buildings that had crumbled, exposed steel frames, piles of rubble, bricks, and much more. The bar looked pretty much like a field-hospital, the dance-floor was seemingly a hole in the pavement down into the ‘sewers’, and accessible only by a ruined staircase or a rusty scaffolding.

But John didn’t seem very interested in dancing. At least not yet. Instead he lead her further into the building, towards what looked like the entrance to the subways. The stairs were guarded by two very large men, dressed in something that almost looked like a police uniform. Approaching the chain, Suzanne realised that it had to be the entrance to the VIP lounge.

When the two guards noticed them, Suzanne was sure they’d be thrown out. But instead, one of them immediately unhooked the chain, and the other spoke a few words into a radio before he made way for them to enter. Both nodded politely when they passed and started descending the stairs.

The basement was built like a subway platform. With train carts acting as more private rooms, there was a eating cart, and instead of tickets they had drinks. The two of them were shown to a cart for themselves and as the door shut, Suzanne felt like Alice in Wonderland.

The cart was very tastefully decorated, with something that looked like a cross between a sofa and a bed, two recliners and a table, all of it expensive looking. There was also a glass cabinet and a wooden cabinet. As far as she could see, the glass cabinet contained three leather-bound folders – She opened one, and realised that it was a menu. The food all looked excellent, and the prices weren’t extremely outrageous, as was everything else here. Opening another folder, she fond a menu of drinks one could order from the bar. The third, was something out of the ordinary: This was a list of services you could order – Including massage, bath, sauna, and many more things she didn’t bother to read.

Suzanne suddenly noticed that John was looking at her, and she gave him a questioning look. He motioned for her to sit down, and then sat himself down in one of the recliners. She chose the other recliner for herself, to late realising that it put the table and an uncomfortable distance between them. John didn’t seem to mind though.

“So, I guess you have a bunch of questions!”

Suzanne didn’t really have that many – she’d already figured out that he had some kind of VIP membership in the club, but one thing she’d like to know was how he could afford it.

John smiled – it was a patriarchal smile, sort of grandfatherly – “It’s not really that big a deal. It was Shannon that got us a membership here, and we used to frequent this club quite often.” Suzanne didn’t comment on that he hadn’t answered the question. Instead she asked about why they had come here?

“That’s another one of my surprises for you.” Suzanne felt she was running out of legitimate questions, and then there was something else: John sitting there and looking so intensely at her, made her feel very self-conscious. Stupid thoughts kept popping into her head: Does he like my breasts? Does he like the way my hair is done? Will he ever make a move?

“What do you want with me?” Maybe it was to straightforward, but it was to late now.

At that he rose from the chair, went over the glass cabinet and grabbed the ‘human services’ menu – “I want you to choose.”

This was suddenly very confusing. “Choose what?”

“Anything you want.” He gave her the menu and continued “From this you can choose whatever you want. I promise, it is well worth it.” Suzanne opened the menu and looked through it, finding three alternatives.