Soon, servers wheeled dinner carts around and the women divulged in their delicious meal. Of course it was delicious, Pepper thought. It had been picked by Max, and the redhead looked around her table to see everyone in such a good mood, conversing happily with one another. She then she looked at the guests at the other tables. They also dug into their food and all looked to be enjoying themselves. Everything seemed so perfect, and she couldn’t help herself but to glance over at Max with approval. Her heart seemed to skip a beat when she saw him return her approving gaze and he held up his glass to silently cheers her.
Some time later, Pepper was scraping her dessert plate clean, Max rose up from his seat at the head table and clinked his glass, drawing everyone’s attention. All of the women at Pepper, Storm and Kitty’s table’s eyes lit up despite themselves. He then announced to everyone that BLISS would be hosting various after-dinner parties in some of the ship’s bars, clubs or other social areas. It was then his female staff entered the ballroom and delivered small letters to all of the guests.
Kitty’s round eyes lingered over the curvaceous woman who drifted over to their table. She smiled up gratefully at the busty attendant who’d handed over the invitation, and then looked back to her friends at the table. Grinning broadly, all her vapid mind could think of was to coo out out, “They’re all so pretty!”
There was a murmur of agreement at the table from most of the assembled women, although Storm did glance over and furrowed her brow. There was a part of her that wondered why Kitty was acting so strange but a growing portion of her mind questioned why her friend wasn’t complimenting her own new look. Her blue eyes drifted across the room and saw that nearly everyone in the room was simply captivated by these busty, beautiful women and Ororo silently wished she could achieve such attention from others.
Soon, all of the ladies opened up the little notes and began to discuss where they would all be headed that night. As it turned out, Pepper, Kitty, Ororo and Olivia were all invited to the same party at one of the ship’s clubs.
“Ooooh,” Kitty exclaimed, “A party at the Gold Club! That sounds so fancy! I can’t wait to get my dance on! Hopefully Yuri and Graham will also be there!”
“That was your friend you met earlier today?” Ororo asked. She had to admit that she had barely listened to Kitty’s story from before. She blinked her eyes and furrowed her brow slightly. It had become so hard to think of anything but herself and in the back of her mind she knew that was wrong. She concentrated on Kitty and asked, “And who is this Graham?”
“Yuri’s mother’s boyfriend,” Kitty said, rolling her eyes, “Haven’t we been over this, Ororo?”
“Yes, I guess we have,” Ororo said, and gave Kitty a long look. She was relieved they were heading to the same party so she could keep an eye on her friend.
Eventually, the dinner ended and all of the women said their goodbyes and went off to their respective parties. Pepper, Storm, Kitty and Olivia were all headed to the club. Kitty was leading the way and jabbering on about the pool party she had been invited to that day and wondered out loud if this could somehow top it. Ororo turned to the glamorously-dressed Stark Industries CEO with surprise at how the little brunette was acting.
"Pepper, do you think Kitty is acting strangely?" Storm asked. Pepper replied with a half-hearted shrug and the weather-controlling mutant elaborated, "I mean, she's bopping around like a Party Girl on a permanent sugar rush. That's not Kitty. I don't think it's right."
"It's vacation," Pepper answered. She then smiled, "Looks like Kitty is enjoying herself and isn't that what vacations are for? To get a little loosey-goosey and put your day-to-day troubles in the rear-view mirror."
"But the way she looks," muttered Storm, "So differen..."
"You're one to talk!" Olivia blurted out, putting a sudden end to Storm's train of thought. The med-student continued, "Complaining about how Kitty looks! Look in the mirror, O. You've spent the whole dinner preening and posing like a high dollar call girl!"
Olvia took in Ororo's shocked expression and laughed some more. Ororo, meanwhile, was seized by a sudden desire to drive her fist hard into the other girl's face. 'Her perfect, perfect face.' The thought came out of nowhere, and all Ororo could do was glare back at Olivia and was shocked to see no malice in the other's girl's face. Storm froze, uncertain of how to respond. As a mutant, Storm had spent a lifetime enduring the slings and arrows of those who would hate her for how she was born. She had managed it with grace and dignity, always proudly walking the high road. But the high road was easy to navigate when the intentions of those that jeered at her were clear to read. She could get nothing from Olivia. All she saw was a perfectly composed face with a sly smile and two dark eyes.
Frustration rose in the mutant's head and she was seized by the need to put the med-student in her place. Finally, she found the words and spat out, "You're one to talk! Looked in the mirror lately?"
“Ladies, ladies,” Pepper said, rolling her eyes. She stopped walking for a moment and both Storm and Olivia followed suit. They looked at the redhead with a keen interest, despite both being at one another’s throats just seconds before, “You are two very pretty, very lucky ladies to have both won a trip with BLISS. I don’t think you realize how many people would love to be in your shoes. So there is no reason to argue you like this. It’s both beneath you. You are two absolutely gorgeous women, and not only that. You are both smart, clever and successful. There is no reason to argue like this. Now, if we’re going to walk in together I will not have you two acting like animals. It is far better to live the BLISS life!”
Almost instantly Ororo and Olivia’s eyes grew wide, and wide smiles filled their faces. They both exhaled dreamily and Pepper looked on in approval. It was as if the dark clouds that had hovered above above both women’s heads had faded away and only positivity reamined. Little did the three women realize, but the phrase ‘live the BLISS life!’ had sent currents of pleasure straight to each of their loins. Olivia gasped out in pure pleasure, which was lost on both Pepper and Ororo.
“Now,” Pepper murmured, her eyes had glazed over. It felt so good to tell these two women what to do, “Be good girls and say you’re sorry to one another.”
“I’m sorry, Ororo,” Olivia said instantly. The med-student that had a world-weariness about her the night before gazed at the heroine with a vacant smile on her face.
“I’m sorry, too, Olivia,” Ororo murmured. Her blue eyes, once so fierce in her role as a superheroine or understanding as the grounded teacher at Xavier’s School for the Gifted, looked round and docile, “How very rude of me.”
“Now that that’s taken care of,” Pepper said and smiled at the two women who looked at her suddenly like lost kittens. She had to admit that it felt absolutely blissful to direct the two women around, “onto the Gold Club!”
With that, Pepper made her way forward to the pumping beat of the Gold Room’s speakers and Ororo and Olivia followed placidly a few steps behind.