“So, I’m wearing all white under my coat.”
“Like old times. Was it really only a couple of months ago?”
Eden nodded. “What’s the Black & White party? You ever been?”
“Personally, no. It’s more for swingers and single people.”
“Oh.” Eden was only slightly surprised. “Like a mixer.”
“Sure. All I know about it, besides the dress code, is that it’s freaky. Should be right up your alley. Are you sure it’s your boys who invited you?”
“It has to be.” Eden pulled a small envelope from her coat pocket, which included a formal invitation from the club, but passed through a third party. The invitation got her into the back room. Typed, unfortunately, because by this point, Eden knew both Liam and Benson’s handwriting. “Who else could this be?”
Blair read the invitation that Eden had already memorized by heart, because she had stared at it for so long after it was delivered by private courier on Friday morning.
To a Beautiful Butterfly
You are cordially invited to attend a night of fun and frivolity in the heart of Manhattan. Hotel and train tickets are provided. Simply provide the attached invitation to the club hostess. It’s suggested you arrive around 9 pm.
It’s also suggested that you dress in white, as befitting your station as a Beautiful Butterfly. It also matches the theme of the party.
Your every need will be tended to. Your every desire will come to life. This is guaranteed.
Signed,
A Mysterious Benefactor
Blair laughed. “Not even subtle.”
“The hell are they up to?” Eden had already brought her friend up to speed about their week-long break of little to no contactwhile figuring out what they wanted. Well, in Eden’s case, that was a job search which had, so far, turned up fruitless. “Is this an orgy or something?”
Blair shrugged. “Not that I know of.” She handed back the invitation. “But it’stheclub. Shit goes down every weekend. It’s the whole point. Makes The Dark Hour look like a ‘90s fast food playpen.”
“Ball pits?”
That almost made her friend fall out of her chair. “Ball pits!”
They made their way over to the club after paying their tab. The Manhattan “club,” a haven for all of New York’s richest, raunchiest freaksters that didn’t show up on GoogleorApple Maps, was in the basement levels of a former warehouse that had since been converted to offices that cleared out by five on weekdays. The entrance was more nondescript than The Dark Hour’s, despite that club also being in a basement level. The bouncers, for one thing, did not stick out like a little sign announcing anightclub here!to anyone else walking the streets. One didn’t even know that there was an underground fiesta until they reached the bottom of the wrought-iron stairs, turned a sidewalk-covered corner, and saw a set of double doors that said,NO ADMITTANCE – MEMBERS ONLY.Of course, women like Blair walked right up and helped herself with Eden right behind her.
“Oh, I remember you.” Blair cut off the bouncer, an ex-military guy covered in tats but dressed up in black and with slicked back hair. “I’m part of the entertainment tonight. My partner Mira already came here.”
He was not in love with her casual wear, but he likedher,so he kicked her right up to the hostess past the coat check. To Eden, he grinned, apparently liking the cut of her figure in her winter coat.Good thing he can’t see what’s beneath it.That was for the coat check to see. “What can I do for you, Miss?”
She produced her invitation, but admitted she didn’t have a long-term membership. That was enough for him, who sent Eden to another counter to sort out her one-night membership. As it turned out, she was already added as somebody’s +1 and had it arranged for her to show up later. She didn’t have to pay anything, but she was asked to sign a few NDAs and other documents before proceeding to the coat check.
When she removed her coat, she knew exactly what she looked like – especially when compared to the other women coming in wearing dark dresses and sleek coats over bright red and baby blue lingerie.
“I love your outfit!” called one lady on a gentleman’s arm. “You’re rocking that thing!”
“Ah, thanks.”
The stranger waved at her in confidence before dipping in with her date.
Well, here we go.She had no idea what to expect. The girl at the front counter, where she signed documents and vouched for her identity, handed over a free drink token and gave Eden a white beaded bracelet to wear as proof she was invited into the Black & White party. Otherwise, she left her wallet and phone inside a locker by the entrance before proceeding inside.
This better be good, boys.Already, the electricity emanating from the front room, where guests schmoozed, mingled, and drank, had her thinking about all of the possibilities to come.
She approached the bar for her free drink. After tossing her hair behind her back, she remembered what it was like stepping out onto La Mariposa for the first time.
