The baffled yet undeniably excited young law student stared around her in stunned bewilderment, taking note first of the ceiling which was painted in a deep midnight-blue interspersed with bright stars. Then she focused her eyes on the far end of the long narrow room where a voluptuous young girl draped in a translucent garment adorned with silver serpents spitting fire was belly-dancing around an authentic-looking stuffed camel. Many brightly-colored pipes shaped much like the one she'd smoked last night at Dizzy's apartment hung from the camel's velvet shoulder bags, and the bewildered young redhead noticed that most of the guests were inhaling a sweet-smelling tobacco that she immediately recognized as hashish. The belly-dancer was undulating in time to the loud sounds of rather incongruous rock music blaring from speakers hidden in several enormous potted plants.
"Wow!" Mortensen exclaimed. "This is really wild! Last time I was here it was a South Sea island. Why don't you sit down while I get us something to drink and smoke."
Although a little voice inside her brain was calling out a warning, the wide-eyed young law student felt her hypnotized body following the tall Dane's instructions. Sinking to an unoccupied velvet couch, she turned her attention to the other people in the room. They were dressed in a variety of styles, exotic costumes, well-tailored suits, nondescript jeans, all of which gave the Moroccan decorations a touch of Mardi-Gras spirit. Jill shook her head, finding it very hard to adjust the past few days. And today had been perhaps the oddest of all, what with her lapsed memory, the magical Hans Christian Andersen atmosphere of Tivoli, and now this extraordinary Club 33. Nobody back home would ever believe her if she told them about this place; they thought they were being pretty wild when they smoked a little grass and drank a case of beer in someone's beachhouse. In fact, the twenty-two year old had a hard time believing that she was not dreaming herself!
"I hope you'll like this," Erik said, interrupting her reverie. "It's what everybody drinks here – tequila."
"Tequilla?" Jill queried. "It's Mexican, isn't it? I've heard of it, but I never tried it."
"You do it like this," the tall blond man explained, licking his hand and sprinkling a little salt on it, then tasting it. Next he took a bit of juice from one of the lemon slices on a dish in front of them, and finally swallowed a small amount of the clear tequila. He appeared to hold this mixture in his mouth for a few moments before swallowing, his nose wrinkling slightly as he did so.
"Wow, that's good stuff! It's been awhile since I had any of that. Come on, Jill, you try it now!" He took her hand in his, lifting it to his lips and licking the back of her hand with his warm tongue and then scattering salt over it. The auburn-haired young woman gave a little gasp, surprised at the strong tremor that ran through her body at the touch of his moist wet tongue on her sensitive flesh.
"Now taste that, and then the lemon and tequila – but don't swallow yet," he instructed, smiling in excited anticipation as he thought of what the tequila coupled with a few pipes would do to this already slightly intoxicated American girl. "Okay, now swallow."
Jill followed his directions with a wry wrinkling of her pretty face. It didn't taste bad, just very, very sharp. Then, moments after the powerful alcohol entered her system, she began to feel its relaxing effect.
"It's very strange…" she said slowly. "I… I think I like it."
"You'll like this too!" the handsome Dane promised, lifting a red and gold enamel pipe from his pocket.
"Oh, I don't think so," Jill protested, her unpleasant memories of last night returning with a rush.
"You don't smoke?" Erik asked in the same incredulous was Dizzy's friends had done. "Why not?"
"Well… I feel so drunk already…" Jill hedged, not wanting to talk about her real reasons for fearing the mind-distorting drug.
"All the more reason why you should have a smoke," he declared. "The effects counteract each other – the alcohol deadens your perception, but the hash heightens it."
This explanation seemed too logical to argue against. After all, she was afraid she'd be really drunk if she finished the tequila… perhaps just one pipe wouldn't hurt. Last night she'd smoked too many to keep track of, and that was probably why she'd reacted so strongly. "Well, okay," she agreed.
Erik lighted the pipe, a happy grin on his handsome features, then passed it to Jill who inhaled deeply and managed not to cough.
I never used to be this way, the troubled redhead was thinking even as she drew the pungent smoke into her lungs. It seems that now anyone can talk me into doing things that I know are wrong. Why didn't I just go on home early like I told myself I would? Something's wrong with me…
Then her thoughts faded as the overload of intoxicants melted her brain into the same formless pulp of sensation she'd experienced last night. Tonight, due to the exotic overload of sensory stimuli in the Morocco-inspired clubroom, her reaction was even stronger. "I feel so strange…" she murmured to Erik. "Have some more tequila," he suggested helpfully, leaning very close to her and almost whispering into her ear. As he moved nearer, Jill felt the first obscene flames of desire flickering through her body.
Oh no… Oh God, no! It's happening again, and I don't think I can even move, the distressed young redhead thought to herself. Nevertheless, she did not try to pull away from Erik as he once again licked the back of her hand and sprinkled salt on it.
"I'm taking you to Marrakesh ooooooonnnnnnn the traaaain, ooooooonnnnnnn the traaaain."
Jill began to giggle, her serious introspective thoughts dispersed by the second swallow of tequila. "We're already in Marrakesh," she laughed, "but we came in a taxi!"
Erik laughed with her, overjoyed that she had not tried to pull away her hand which he still held after assisting her with her tequila. He was feeling pretty loose himself, this was some place Lars had set up all right!
"After we finish this drink, let's go upstairs and meet my friend, Lars Jensen," he suggested, glancing at his watch. It was almost time for the show to begin! "Jensen?" Jill asked rather blankly. "Yeah, he's the guy who runs this place. He'll probably be able to tell you lots of useful things about night life in Copenhagen," the scheming young man added.
"Oh… okay…" the intoxicated law student agreed. Actually, she'd quite forgotten about her research for the moment, and she didn't think she really wanted to remember it – it only made her feel guilty about the appointment she'd missed and the books she hadn't yet opened. But she supposed it was her duty to talk to this man, and even though she was perfectly happy sitting where she was, it seemed easier to do what Erik wanted rather than to argue about it.
So the couple finished their drinks, smoked another pipe, and then somewhat unsteadily mounted the carpeted steps to the second story of Club 33, and started down the long corridor toward the door at the end. With eager fingers Erik turned the knob – but it was locked. Goddamn it, his watch must be off! Shit, he'd blown a perfect opportunity, the American girl was in just the right condition to get all hot and turned-on by a sex show. Goddamn the fucking Japanese who'd made his watch! The frustrated blond man tried pounding on the heavy wood-paneled door, although he knew it was no use; the room was securely sound-proofed. What the hell was he going to do now? Jill stood beside the angrily pounding Dane, wondering what all the fuss was about. Actually, she didn't quite understand much of what was going on, nor did she particularly care. She was floating in a cloud of drug and alcohol-induced euphoria, and couldn't bring herself to consider anything else seriously.
"I know!" Erik cried out suddenly. He'd just remembered that there was a closed circuit television in Jensen's office. His friend would, of course, be inside the auditorium with the other spectators watching to see how the show was going, and he was sure they wouldn't be disturbed in the office at this time of night. Perfect! This was going to be far better than watching the show in a room crowded with other people!