Shopping with the Dead

Joyce had begun to wonder what she had gotten herself into. They had first gone back to the hotel and gotten dressed for an evening on the town. Tara and Cordelia had convinced Joyce to wear some of the new clothes she’d bought; tight black paints with a black halter top, and a short tailored lilac colored blazer with strappy lilac heeled sandals. She didn’t go heavy on the makeup just a little lip stick and wore her hair down. It was kind of freeing actually, not having to dress like a mom or worry what the neighbors or her book group would think if she were seen. Cordelia had chosen to wear black leather pants and a barely-there black leather top with boots and a black leather studded choker. She looked surprisingly strong and butch, Joyce thought, for a young woman who had looked so feminine and sophisticated for most of the day. Evidently Cordelia could swing either way, and besides Joyce reasoned, black leather became her.
When it came to Tara, Joyce thought, they might have created a monster with this whole getting Tara to dress up more busyness. Evidently they had unleashed the glamour-with-in. She had chosen to wear the blue glitter platforms along with black bellbottom paints, a blue glitter halter top, with heavy blue eye shadow and enough body glitter to make David Bowie proud. Tara had piled her heavy blond hair on top of her head and held it in place with some hair sticks with little rhinestone butterflies, which was the only thing they had bought that Tara had actually picked out herself. Evidently butterflies held particular significance for the young witch.
When they finally had gone out Joyce had been expecting they would head to more of the club and nightlife districts of the city. Instead Cordelia had led them to a part of the city Joyce had never been. Now as she picked her way through a dark dank ally she wondered where exactly they where going? Cordelia stopped by a tiny black mettle door and opened it, then led them down a short flight of stairs, Joyce could hear music and see colored lights up a head. She started to relax. Then they came to what looked like a mettle-detector and a bouncer and Joyce stopped dead. Behind her she heard Tara gasp. The bouncer was huge muscular and in no way human, not unless there was a kind of green human with tusks.
“No humans allowed, ladies” the bouncer told them looking them up and down.
“Hey” Cordelia stepped up to him unafraid “Cordelia Chase here, I know the Host, and I’m definitely allowed”
The bouncer’s eyes narrowed, “how do you know Lorne?” asked clearly he did not believe a word of it.
Cordelia’s hands went to her hips and she opened her mouth, Joyce hoped that Cordelia was not about to loose her temper, what ever the bouncer was she did not want to get it mad.
“Cordelia!” a voice carried across the club behind them and Cordelia turned a triumphant look on her face. A man in a white suit was moving across the club floor towards them. No, Joyce corrected herself, not a man, he was even greener then the thing at the door with little red horns and very expensive taste in suits.
The demon in the suit reached them and flung one arm around Cordelia’s shoulders “Hey doll. How are you doing? How’s that brooding hunk of a vampire you work for? And who are these lovely ladies?” he turned a charming smile towards Joyce and Tara.
“Angels fine” Cordelia told him “and these are some friends of mine from my old town, Sunnydale” She gestured towards the demon “Joyce, Tara, this is Lorne the Host”
Lorne kissed both of them on the hand. “Welcome lady’s welcome to my humble establishment. Friends of Cordelia’s are always welcome here” He flung his arms around their sholders and swept them past the bouncer into the club.
At first Joyce couldn’t get oriented, everywhere she looked there were demons, more different kinds then she had ever imagined existed. Her brain began to go into over load, every instinct telling her to run. She was so busy fighting the desire to get out that it took her a few minutes to realize what the demons where doing. They where watching or singing karaoke. The sheer strangeness of a demon karaoke bar sent her brain into another spasm. By the time she had recovered again they where sitting at a table with a good view of the stage and Lorne had procured for them drinks. Joyce took a good swig of gin and tonic and found it helped. By the time she had finished the G and T she felt like she could deal with a karaoke bar full of demons. By to time she had downed her next margarita she was actually rather fascinated by what looked to be a three headed grey blob sing Johnny Cash’s “Walk the Line”.
Tara had looked timid about drinking at first. “I d,d,don’t really d,drink” she had stammered when Cordelia handed her a strawberry daiquiri. “don’t worry” Cordelia had patted her hand “I wont tell” After three daiquiris Tara didn’t seem to mind drinking any more. Cordelia kept ordering drinks and pretty soon they where all drinking strawberry daiquiris.
“So” Lorne was leaning over their table “who’s going to be the first to sing?”
Cordelia, Tara and Joyce looked at each other. Tara blushed and looked down at the table, Cordelia shook her head, Joyce raised her strawberry daiquiri “I haven’t had enough of these yet.” She told him “maybe in twenty minutes” She winked at Lorne who smiled and raised his own glass to her.
“in twenty minutes then” He said then sauntered off to the vampire couple in the corner.
“Did I just say that”, Joyce thought to herself. She couldn’t believe it, that cocky, smart mouthed, fun loving woman who had winked at Lorne wasn’t really her, or at least hadn’t been her for quite some time. She turned to see both Tara and Cordelia looking at her, and blushed. Cordelia laughed, and Tara smiled.
In the end and several daiquiris latter they decided to all get up and sing together. So after a few more parting sips, they where all up on stage arms wrapped around each other belting out Martina McBride “This Ones for the Girls”. Joyce was rather proud of how good she sounded. Although she would have never admitted it, she had been in a band while in college and was rather impressed how much of her singing abilities she had retained. It felt great to be on stage singing again and even better to be with Cordelia and Tara her arms wrapped around Tara’s body holding the younger woman tight against her.
When the song was finished they decided to sing another. So swayed their way through Sarah McLachlan’s “Ice Cream”. Tara blushed the entire way through the song but kept her arms wrapped around Joyce neck while Cordelia’s snaked her arm around Joyce’s waist drawing her in close. After the song all three women looked at each other and burst out laughing. They still were laughing with their arms around each other as they made there way back to their table, and Cordelia ordered more drinks.
“You’re drunk”, Joyce thought to herself, but she hadn’t felt this good in so long and decided she really didn’t care. Leaning forward on the table she watched the light reflect off of Tara’s glitter as the young witch reached for what had to be her fourth or fifth strawberry daiquiri, which had become quite the drink of the evening. Joyce felt detached as if she was dreaming watching herself at the table with these two beautiful women. As if in a dream she watched her self reach out and take the startled Tara around the waist and kiss her fully on the lips. Everything shifted into focus quickly and Joyce realized she was kissing Tara and that she didn’t really care.
Tara tasted of strawberries, honey, and rum, and something else that twisted and wove at the back of Joyce mind like waves braking on the shore. She closed her eyes and for a moment she could hear waves and smell the sea, then she felt Tara’s arms come around her, drawing her close and everything inside her body and her head melted. She felt Tara deepen the kiss, playing her tongue gently along Joyce’s lips. Joyce obediently opened her mouth and allowed Tara’s tongue to explore the recesses of her mouth, twisting and playing with her own tongue. Joyce’s hand slid up the other woman’s shoulders and back down to explore her full hips and her waist. After what seemed like forever Tara broke the kiss and looked at Joyce.
“Joyce” her voice as soft “I can’t”
Joyce looked at her “Willow” She answered realizing her mistake “You love her. I’m so sorry. I never should have started anything. I completely understand.”
Tara touched Joyce’s face running her finger to twist in one of the other woman’s blond curls, then down the curve of her jaw to her lips
“ you’re a beautiful women” Tara smiled “good and kind and smart and very sexy. Don’t get me wrong I want to be with you tonight very, very much. But” she dropped her hand to Joyce’s own on the table top “I love Willow and that wouldn’t be fair to her, and in the end it wouldn’t be fair to you or I either.”
Joyce nodded and Tara reached for her drink, a smile on her lips “Besides” she added “Why would I rob Cordelia of what she’s obviously wanted all night?”
Joyce turned to look at Cordelia who had been watching the goes-on with a definite smirk on her lips. Before she could do anything Cordelia’s arms where around her waist and Cordelia’s lips where covering her’s.
Where Tara had tasted of sweetness and summer, Cordelia tasted of a rich darkness and spice. Where Tara’s touch had been like waves breaking on the shore Cordelia’s was like electricity, like lightning in the sky. Before Joyce new what was happening she was sitting on Cordelia’s lap her arms wrapped around the other woman’s neck. Cordelia’s hands where exploring Joyce’s body, coming all too close to Joyce’s breast before skimming to down to her hips. Cordelia’s tongue was taking position of her mouth and Joyce now seriously doubted she’d ever be straight again, not after this. This was as close the real deal as she could ever get, so much better then any thing she’d ever had with her husband, and Cordelia had so far only kissed her. She glanced over at Tara who smiled and raised her glass in a salute.
“God you’re a beautiful woman” Cordelia whispered in her ear before covering Joyce’s lips again.