Safe and Sane

Even though it was a school night Andrew had headed out for the evening to unwind. He'd been grading papers for the end of the marking period all weekend and needed some kind of celebratory drink. Also, a change of scenery was overdue. He was at the counter putting a drink together when he noticed he was still smudged in blue and red ink. He lifted up his hand, studying the side of it.

"You think with enough scrubbing the ink would go away," he commented.

The room held few pieces of furniture. A bed, of course, and a large fireplace dominated the space, and the flames from the large fire he'd built caused the honey toned woods to glow as he waited for Andrew, clad only in a comfortable pair of lounging pants, skin damp from the shower.

The morning had been a long one, the afternoon longer for his lack of focus on anything resembling classwork, and as he stretched out on the thick carpet in front of the fire, blue eyes slid shut as he centered himself, locking every distraction away one by one until a knock at the door curved one corner of his mouth.

"Come in."

The club had been transformed. The main room was no longer recognizable as a lounge; it had been made over with mood lighting and subtle decorations. On one end there was a huge buffet, the bar was open and tended. There was even room for dancing on a small wooden floor that had been laid down on the opposite end of the room. Scattered about were bowls of candy of all kinds.

One of the smaller lounges hosted traditional party games -- bobbing for apples, donuts on a string, even a table set up for carving small gourds and pumpkins. A few of the private play rooms on the main level had also been opened, set up for groups or exhibitionism, but as in previous year that wasn't the focus of the night. And, in case anyone had forgotten a costume or hadn't been able to find one, the smallest public lounge was being used as sort of a large wardrobe.

A large poster in the hallway announced the categories for the costume contest: scariest, funniest, the most creative, best couple or group, and -- of course -- the sexiest.

Went had filed his list electronically, but there was a certain sense of satisfaction in putting it in the paper file at the bar, as well. Not that he felt all that comfortable about it, on the whole, but it was done, finally, and he took a deep breath, rubbing a hand over his head.

Done, and in about ten minutes he'd be meeting Andrew, and the thought brought a smile that spoke more of anticipation than nerves, a fact that went a long way to making him feel like he'd made the right decision.

Grabbing a bottle of water, he walked over to fold down onto one of the couches where he could see the door, and pulled out his phone to send a text to Yael, reminding him he was meeting Andrew and would be home later. As if summoned by his thumb on the send button, Andrew came in, and Went laid his phone down to stand as Andrew's glance caught the movement, smile widening.

The weather had been up and down -- freezing cold, not bad, and, if the forecasters were correct, outright pleasant for the rest of the week. The crew at the coffee shop had given up trying to predict what was going to sell and had decided to just offer everything up. Hot, spiced, cold, chocolate. If you wanted it, you could have it.