“C&C?”  Shane asked, on her third drink, dulling the soft buzz in her mind that had started this morning… soft echoes of voices, that seemed to rise and fall at will.  She struggled to keep them at bay, and she seemed to be winning the battle, with a bit of help.

            “Coffee and Cuffs, Cuff’s and Coffee, we don’t know which, so we are calling it C&C until we finally decide.”  Susan said. Alice moved from behind the shadows of a sculpture and Susan saw her, dressed in a silky black dress that left nothing to the imagination, her hair slicked back, her makeup darker than normal. Susan smiled evenly.  Their eyes locked and Susan seemed to be speaking to her without words; Alice tucked her head down, a smile on her lips as she moved.

            “Have you seen Jo?  I saw her this afternoon, and she looked…  distracted, might you know why?”  Tina asked and Susan nodded yes that she’d seen her and shrugged as to why she was distracted. Shane’s whole body tensed at the mention of her almost Domme.  Whatever Jo had done to Shane, it had made her part of Jo.  Susan didn’t see Jo Wheaton bowing down to anyone, so in her book, that made Jo Shane’s Domme.

            “Yes.  Last night, she was in less than perfect health.”  Susan said as Alice slipped up next to her, kissing her neck, not even saying hello to Tina and Shane.  Tina watched her closely, and Shane just looked away.  The transformation in Alice was making Shane sick, and Tina thought that was interesting.

            “What was wrong with Jo?”  Shane asked, her energy level still high, but just not roving as high as the night before.  Alice’s interest was piqued at the mention of the Vampire Tomboy.

            “She was.  Drained.”  Susan said, and Shane met her gaze, finding it hard and digging into her soul, so she looked away.  Just in time to see Jo walking into the room with a tall brown haired young woman.  Jo was wearing jeans and a battered tee shirt, as if she wanted to look out of place, and the woman on her arm was in a dark suit with a silky red shirt underneath.