He heard a female voice drift across the noise-filled room. "Can you feel it?"

Chris had no clue what she was talking about. Was it to him? Why didn't anyone else notice her? A shiver worked its way up his spine, as his eyes met hers. Even through the heavy cigarette smoke from all the people crowding the small space of the restaurant, he saw her as clearly as a crystal.

Feel what? There was nothing there. Nothing... but cold, even though the place was filled with people in their best happy, warm Christmas moods..

He stepped closer to her, not quite sure who she was. She looked familiar. But...

You'll be walking your dog in a few hours... I'll be asleep in my brother's house... You're a thousand miles away... With food between your teeth

His head snapped away from the mysterious woman as the mellow music, which had been coming from the speakers all night, suddenly blasted extremely loudly through the room. Everybody in the restaurant jumped, turning their glares towards the blushing waiter by the stereo. Slowly the volume was lowered and everybody went back to their "old times talks". The lyrics, for some reason, stuck in his head. He stood completely still in the middle of the room, wondering why they affected him like that.

He jumped as a very drunk guy bumped into him from behind, spilling his Long Island Iced tea all over his Armani suit. The drunk took a step back, away from the murderous glare killing his jolly Christmas spirit. Pulling of his jacket, Chris made his way to the bathroom to survey the damage. As he stood there, frantically drying off his jacket, the song playing met his ear again.

There's no aphrodisiac like loneliness... Youth truth beauty fame boredom and a bottle of pills... There's no aphrodisiac like loneliness--

"You shouldn't leave me alone..."

There was that voice again! He spun around. No one was there. Just him, and the line of vacant stalls. Turning back to his cleaning with a shrug, he felt a cold breeze sweep by his spine. He froze, his jacket slipping unnoticed from his hand as he felt a hand touching his shoulder. Slowly he lifted his gaze from the paper towels in his other hand and looked into the mirror.

Nothing there but his own reflection.

He felt the small hairs on his arms rise as the hand moved from his shoulder to the back of his head, stroking his skin. He spun around again and jumped back, grabbing a hold of the sink for support by the sight that met his disbelieving gaze.

Before he could speak her name, a cold pale hand came up to his lips, shushing him. He blinked repeatedly, trying to wipe away the memories he thought he had banished.

Truth youth beauty fame boredom red hair no hair innocence... Saturday and a picture of you... A letter to you on a cassette--

"You shouldn't leave me alone"

The words slid of her red lips as feathers off a silk sheet.

Then there was silence. The music stopped. The lyrics that tickled his memory ceased. Seconds, which seemed like hours, passed before loud yells and cheers from the revelers erupted, shouting for the music to be turned back on. The laughter and shouts drew closer to the bathroom... the place where Chris, and the woman he wanted more than anything to forget, stood. Her touch prickled his lips as she traced the fingertips over them. His eyes fluttered closed, as her cold, white form pressed against him, bringing back longing he had tried for so long to push away.

Forty shaved sexy wants to do it all day... With a gun-totin' trigger-happy tranny named Kinky Renée... Tired teacher twenty-eight seeks regular meetings for masculine muscular nappy-clad brutal breeding...

He burst out laughing as the music came back and the woman took a step away, almost frightened by his outburst. He opened his eyes, laughing hard at the lyrics. It was a sad song... but he was laughing, as were the people in the restaurant beyond, their cheers filling the room, along with what sounded like human wolf howls.

He sobered slightly, momentarily forgetting about the woman with him. His eyes suddenly blinked and his head tilted to the side, seeing her confused face study him. His fading chuckle came to a complete stop and he narrowed his eyes, watching her.

It dawned on him. She wasn't... her. She was the image of--

Youth truth beauty fame boredom and a bottle of pills.

He took a step towards her, and she met his step forward with one back, moving away from him.

While his wife rough-wrestles with a puppy all aquiver on a wine-soaked strobe-lit Asiatic hall of mirrors and a dash of loneliness...

He laughed again and she edged further away. He laughed again and she did the same. He raised an eyebrow and released a thunderous laugh, just to see her reaction. He blinked, but didn't stop laughing as she stepped further and further away from him... fearing him. He moved towards her, still laughing, and he watched her sink to her knees, holding her pale hands over her ears, trying to prevent his laughter from reaching her chilled emotions.

He kept laughing harder and harder, mixing his laughs with cheers and whatever he could remember from jolly Christmas carols and he looked on as she went down on her side, curling up into a little ball. She was screaming but he didn't care. He only laughed louder and more forcefully.

Suddenly the door swung open and two guys stared at him like he just had sprouted a third head.

"What the f-FFUCK are you doing?!" one of them slurred out, waving an half empty bottle of beer in his hand, almost tipping over as the other guy behind him stumbled forward and spilled his eggnog all over the floor.

"Just killing the bad Christmas spirit," Chris replied, shrugging. He picked up his jacket from the floor and stared down at the spot where the woman who had ruined his life, and every Christmas ever since, had just been. He smiled wistfully and put on his jacket as he made his way past the two drunks, out into the restaurant.

There's no aphrodisiac like loneliness...

"Fuck that!" Chris shouted at the speakers. "Christmas is one helluva aphrodisiac... especially when you got the company of one of Santa's little helpers," he whispered and winked to the girl he sat down next to, taking her hand in his.

Chris's Christmas spirit was back. And this time for good, he hoped.

The End!


Lyric Wheel fic after these lyrics:

NO APHRODISIAC -- THE WHITLAMS.

A letter to you on a cassette
'Cause we don't write anymore
Gotta make it up quickly
There's people asleep on the second floor
There's no aphrodisiac like loneliness
Truth beauty and a picture of you

You'll be walking your dog in a few hours
I'll be asleep in my brother's house
You're a thousand miles away
With food between your teeth
Come up for summer I've got a place near the beach
There's room for your dog

There's no aphrodisiac like loneliness
Truth beauty and a picture of you

There's no aphrodisiac like loneliness
Youth truth beauty fame boredom and a bottle of pills

There's no aphrodisiac like loneliness
You shouldn't leave me alone

There's no aphrodisiac like loneliness
Bare feet like a tom-boy and a crooked smile

Truth youth beauty fame boredom red hair no hair innocence
Saturday and a picture of you
A letter to you on a cassette
You shouldn't leave me alone

Forty shaved sexy wants to do it all day with a gun-totin' trigger-happy tranny named Kinky Renée
Tired teacher twenty-eight seeks regular meetings for masculine muscular nappy-clad brutal breeding
While his wife rough-wrestles with a puppy all aquiver on a wine-soaked strobe-lit Asiatic hall of mirrors and a dash of loneliness
There's no aphrodisiac quite like it
Truth youth beauty fame boredom red hair no hair innocence impunity and a picture of you
I got a video set-up me love you short time she pay me suck his finger with some fine wine