Jack always wondered why the sushi shop on the corner never closed until 11 pm. His apartment building overlooked the little shop, and he saw customers moving in and out until around 10, when the city hushed into an informal curfew. But the lights in the sushi shop still flickered until an hour later, when they would finally go out, leaving a faint emptiness where the neon buzz had been before.
One night, a project deadline kept him at the office past dinner, so by the time he got home around 10:30 his stomach was very angry. Jack shrugged off his shoulderbag and went back out into the rainy night. He flipped up his hood and dashed across the street, not even bothering to glance for cars.
The shop bell jangled and the lone server – a slender, pretty girl of indiscernible Asian origin – glanced up from her stool. She gave him a smile and paused to grab two menus before crossing to the table he had chosen.
“Party of one?” she asked in a soft accent. Jack nodded and took the menus with a grunt of thanks.
The first covered his expectations: sushi rolls, miso soup, some haphazard teriyaki offerings. It was the second that caught his eye.
Above the top of the flyer, the words “RAINBOW ROLL” were displayed in glittering golden letters. Below the title was an image of a man reclining on pillows with beautiful, scantily clad women sprawled around him. Jack frowned and glanced up, catching the server’s attention.
“Can I try the rainbow roll?” he asked, tapping the second menu with two fingers. The girl kept her gaze on his hand, then met his eyes and grinned.
“Of course. Follow me, please.” She bowed slightly and waited for a confused Jack to stand and trail her to the back of the restaurant.
They passed through a bead curtain into a smoky room lit by candles and smelling strongly of incense. Jack turned the corner and froze, one hand on the wall.
The menu had not lied. Spread out across the length of the room, a veritable rainbow of naked women lounged: dusky black, creamy brown, soft gold, ivory white, and several in between. They smiled with their teeth and blew him kisses as the waitress touched his elbow to move him closer.
Jack turned to utter his thanks and surprise to the waitress, but he was unable to get the words out as his gaze raked up and down her thin body, her breasts and crotch outlined by a slim silver bikini. She cupped her hand around his ear and stroked it down his stubble.
“Enjoy your rainbow roll,” she said as the other women rose and surrounded him with eager hands and mouths, drawing him down onto the spread of pillows.