She pulls out her black membership card, handing it to Tex, and he enters her information before handing her back the card. Her nails are perfectly manicured and I wonder what she’s doing here. What’s she into? Why’s she here alone?
Not to stereotype, but a woman that looks like that, who obviously has money, typically comes here with a partner.
She must feel me staring at the side of her face as Tex hands her her drink. She goes to take a sip, but her lips part on a gasp as she looks at me.
“It’s you,” she says, and my eyebrows furrow. Her cheeks heat a delicious pink and she clears her throat. “Oh. Um, Kate. A few months back at Carlson’s Marina and Bar,” she says.
A wicked smile takes over my lips as I hold out my hand. “Of course,” I say, shaking her hand.
“I…uh…I never got your name.”
“Benjamin Carlson, but you can call me Ben.”
Gavin is absolutely going to fucking kill me.
6
KISMET AND NEGOTIATIONS
Two thoughts filterthrough me at once.
First, I’m not memorable; he didn’t place who I am right away and isn’t that a major fucking hit to my ego? Here I am comparing all the men I’ve slept with over the last four months to him, and he doesn’t seem to recognize me. Exactly how many women does this man fuck? I mean, I guess it’s not surprising with how he looks, and it also isn’t a deal breaker for me either. I’m not looking for a man who wants more than my body. If he can be this detached, maybe that’s a good thing.
Second, he’s the owner of the bar, not the bartender. All that talk about bending me over his boss’s desk, and he was the fucking boss. The realization makes me blush, but it also intrigues me.
So maybe he doesn’t remember me, but he’s here, and he’s the best I’d ever had. Not that I’d tell him that, unless under serious duress.
“So, divorcées in your office aren’t enough. You also come to Avalon?” I ask.
The smirk he gives me is devastating, and it’s the exact reason I let him fuck me from behind without knowing his name a few months ago.
But now that I know his name, Benjamin Carlson, I realize it fits, his name sounds as expensive as he looks. He’s dressed similarly to the night we met, except his button down is dark blue, which makes his eyes look more blue than green. I knew I was right about them changing color.
“Would it make you feel special if I told you that night was an exception to the rule?” he asks with a wink, taking a sip of his drink.
Oh, this motherfucker is good.
His throat bobs with his swallow and I can’t help but feel like this is kismet.
I was more nervous about coming here tonight than I’d ever admit. The amount of research I’ve done on sex club etiquette and the amount of time I spent on Avalon’s membership portal was borderline neurotic. But I wanted to be prepared, I needed this to be a good experience.
I even went in with the mindset that I wouldn’t leave the front of the room today, that maybe I’d just meet some like-minded people and chat.
And hereheis, sitting at the barstool next to me.
The man who has no clue the drastic impact he’s had in my life. He made me realize that I so desperately wanted to explore this suppressed sexual side of myself, and I’m not even sure he remembers that night at all.
“Maybe a little special,” I say. My flirting has increased tenfold since that night. Which doesn’t say much, because I still might be kinda shit at it.
“Is this your first night at Avalon, Kate?” he says my name in the same tone he did when we had our tryst, but somehow it seems like he’s saying it for the first time.
“What gave me away?” I ask, taking a sip of the drink, grateful that it isn’t too strong.
“Tex knows everyone who comes here. The needing to see your membership card was kind of a giveaway.”
“That would do it.”
He shifts his body so he’s facing me, his long strong legs spread on the stool. He’s effortless with his movements, someone who’s endlessly confident and knows what a wet dream he is.
