I pull her into my arms and give her a big cuddle. “Look, if you want me to play with you tonight, I will if it makes you feel better.”
“D, you don’t like vaginas.”
I step back and make a face. Ew. Vaginas. “No, they are gross, but I’m willing to take one for the team if it means you come with me.”
She bursts out laughing at me. Is that a good sign? “Wow, you must be really desperate to check this place out if you’re willing to play with my vagina.”
“Yeah, I really am. I want to try all those naughty things Christian has told me about that go on there. It would be like my Fifty Shades of Fantasy coming to life.”
Vanessa rolls her eyes and lets out a groan at hearing Christian’s name. “Please tell me he isn’t going to be there?”
I shrug because I have no idea. “And so what if he is? You guys have made up.”
“Yeah, but don’t you think it will be awkward if he’s there? Don’t you think I have seen him having sex with enough people to last a lifetime?” she argues.
That is true. “Um … maybe awkward for him having to watch all the hot guys drooling over you or watching you suck some hot guy’s cock.”
Vanessa’s eyes widen, and then I see them turn to petty.
“Fine, I’m in.” She smirks. I knew revenge would get her going.
“Shit, yeah! Now come on, let’s get you dressed. Tonight we’re finding Vanessa’s inner sex goddess.”
19
DERRICK
“Welcome, Mr. Jones.” The tuxedo-dressed doorman greets us at the door. He’s standing behind a leather-studded reception desk with two suited-up bouncers on either side of him. “Congratulations on becoming the newest member of The Paradise Club. Here is your card.” He exchanges the card in the letter for a gold credit card-looking thing. “Swipe this when you want to move through the different floors. Each level has a security door, and you will need this to access the next level.
“Miss Roberts, Miss Ferguson, Miss Eriksen, here are your temporary cards. It has the same access as Mr. Jones’ but only for one night.” He hands them the cards. “And here are your bands,” he advises, handing us multi-colored bands. “Each color represents what you are interested in. Pink if you’re into exploring with women, blue if you are into exploring with men. White is no sexual intercourse, but all other play is okay, red is if you’re happy to explore sexual intercourse in the club. Yellow is looking to explore with just one person, green is looking to explore experiences with more than one person. Purple is okay with playing in public, and orange if you would prefer to playbehind closed doors. People will understand your interests by looking at these bands. It makes everything more open and honest when you’re chatting with other people. Also, there’s a black band, which means no play at all. A lot of the staff members will have one on, but you will also see some with colored bands. You will be able to ask them to play at any time, and they will.” This is so exciting. I’m not going to be doing anything with anyone tonight because of Chance, but it doesn’t mean I can’t watch, it’s no different from porn. “Drinks and appetizers are complimentary, but the club is very strict on drunkenness. You can be ejected and your membership revoked if you mess up,” the doorman tells us, then launches into all the rules regarding the club. We all nod in agreement. The golden doors open, and a beautiful woman dressed in an emerald evening dress walks toward us.
“This is Lucy, she’ll walk you through the club showing you where everything is.” Lucy gives us a blinding smile.
“Welcome, Mr. Jones, and party, please follow me.” And we do, we follow her through the golden doors and into the club.
Wow, this place isn’t at all what I thought it would be. It feels like we have stepped onto the set ofThe Great Gatsby. I like the vibe, there’s soft jazz playing over the speakers. Lucy escorts us over to the bar past the booths. I’m trying to take it all in, but it’s a little sensory overload. I look and notice the ornate gold chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and wonder who cleans them. Would it be hard to clean them? Does a sex club get dusty? My eyes then take in the dark walls, which seem to be painted black with gold Art Deco designs swirling across them. Is that real gold? It sort of shimmers like it is. That is baller using gold leaf on the walls of a sex club. Lucy smiles at the hot bar staff, who have glasses of champagne ready for us, we each take a glass.
Lucy speaks again. “This level is the safe room. There’s no nudity allowed in this area. Later in the evening, a DJ will play, and the dance floor fills up. It doesn’t take long for people to move on to other areas of the club.” She then leads us away from the bar to the grand staircase, which has bouncers guarding the entry.
Lucy stops at the bottom and smiles at the men. “There are five levels of play. The further you ascend, the more intense the levels get.” I squeeze Ness’ hand, not sure if I’m ready for what happens on the top floor. Then Lucy takes us up to the first floor, and my heart is beating like crazy as my nerves get the better of me. I’m not sure what to expect.
“This level is for voyeurs and exhibitionists.” Lucy points to a large glass cube room in the center of the room. There’s a threesome happening—two women and a man. He’s lying on his back with one girl riding his cock and the other riding his face as they kiss. My brain isn’t processing what I’m seeing. Lucy’s sweet voice pulls us from the porn show happening. “I’ll be leaving you on this level. You have your map. Please know that at any time you can use the club’s safe word ‘paradise.’ When it’s used, everything stops. If it doesn’t, then one of the bouncers will make sure it does.” She points to the men dressed in black who disappear into the shadows before vanishing herself.
“Okay, I’m trying not to freak out, but we just watched people have sex.” Isla giggles.
“I know, it’s kind of hot,” Stacey confesses, and we all burst out laughing.
“Maybe we should go back down to the safe room, have some drinks, and then work up the courage to continue our journey,” I suggest. The girls all think that’s a great idea as we travel back downstairs.
We head over to the bar. “Tequila shots, kind sir.” I give the hot bartender a once over. Is everyone who works here a damn supermodel?
“Coming right up, sir,” he says, giving me a once over.
“Not yet, but maybe later I will be,” I fire right back. There’s nothing wrong with flirting, it’s healthy, but I would never do anything unless Chance is here with me and is okay with it.
“Sounds like something I’d like to be a part of.” The bartender smirks and shows off his bracelets to me. Oh. This man is one of the staff who likes to play. Of course, just my luck. The man is very tempting, but I’m not a cheater. He delivers the shots to us and gives me a wink, and we all slam them back. I think the nerves are running high with all of us.
“Is it going to be weird if … you know, we see each other doing something?” Isla asks.
