Pappy patted my shoulder roughly as he rounded the desk and reached me.
“Hopefully this shit is good enough so that you’re calling out.”
“I’m not about to let that Scotsman put me on my ass. What would the ancestors think?”
Pappy smirked as he headed out of his office with me trailing behind him.
“If it’s good, hopefully we’ll be having a conversation with them soon.”
My alarm blaring in my ear shocked the fuck out of me since I was normally up before it could go off. I had it set as a precaution but my body had acclimated itself to waking up before the sun rose, which was why my alarm was so jarring. I sat up and snatched the silk scarf off my head, tossing it on the pillow next to me. My hair was usually pulled off my face at work so I slept with a braid just to keep it from getting all fucked up during the night. At any time I could be called in and the last thing I wanted was to worry about hair as I got ready to go.
My time with Pappy had been good and true to his word, the whiskey Deuce sent over had done its job. After the first shot, I knew better than to take more than three since I had to make the drive back into town. Deuce had chosen a damn good bottle and I knew Pappy would let him know that we’d enjoyed it the next time he talked to him. I already had plans to text Li and tell his ass to send me a crate of whatever it was.
My place was about an hour away from Pappy’s in Georgetown. It was close enough to work to make the travel easy but far enough away so I didn’t run into a bunch of people I worked with. Besides, few of them could afford to live out here even if they wanted to. My profile was purposefully low but I wasn’t about to slum it to maintain appearances.
As my feet hit the floor I mentally went through what I needed to accomplish as I headed toward my bathroom. The silence of the morning was only interrupted by my stream landing in the toilet. The sound echoed in the room because I didn’t like noise in the morning. At least not until my brain had fully woken up. The silence allowed me to have a slice of peace before my job snatched it away. I shook my dick and flushed the toilet before remotely setting the temperature on my shower. I had my entire space customized for me since standard features were typically mounted too short and cabinets were set too low. I even had a tall toilet because I wasn’t about to have my legs cramped while I was trying to take a shit. The bathroom was wide and the ceilings were vaulted so I felt less claustrophobic. There were dual vanities, at Pappy’s instance and his and hers water closets. Again at Pappy’s insistence. He was hollering about resell value but I knew he didn’t give a shit about that. Pappy still hoped and with each wedding of my friends he attended that hope grew. I wasn’t sure how to kill it so I let him have his way with the little shit. I just needed him to understand that the person I was would never measure up to who he hoped I would be. That acceptance was going to break his heart but I had no choice.
My favorite feature of the bathroom was that it was a wet room. The central drain in the middle of the malachite tiles made the room easier to clean and prevented me from worrying about water on the floor. The shower took up one entire wall of the room and I made it large enough for me to stretch out on thefloor and let the water beat down on me the way the rain did on our compound in Kapa’a.
Under the multi-head shower spray, I let my mind drift to the business I’d discussed with Pappy. Having to discuss my retirement without them pulling some bullshit would be difficult enough as it was. But nothing was going to stop that from happening. They’d gotten eighteen years out of me. Eighteen years of not being able to fully be who I was and I wasn’t going to waste a second longer than necessary putting up with another man’s shit. I knew a meeting was necessary so I could understand who was moving into place to assist the family and how I could help them. Despite the travel that would need to happen with my position in Nakoa Shipping Industries, my home base was DC. I was the most likely candidate to be the liaison for whoever was put in place, which meant I had to work well with someone new. That thought irritated my soul but it was better than the alternative.
I soaped off my body feeling lighter for the first time in a while. Freedom was close and I would do whatever was necessary to ensure I reclaimed my life.
And soon.
ASHA
It was busier than I expected tonight.
The number of people here should’ve delighted me but tonight I was apprehensive.
Something was in the air.
It wasn’t danger but it was almost foreboding. Ineededto be here tonight. Something had pulled me from the comfort of my luxury high-rise, poured my body into this dress and gotten me behind the wheel of my car for a reason. But standing in front ofthe building, noting the cars in the lot, I hesitated. The volume of people would give me more to observe but I could also be more exposed. Of course, that was the reason I’d done the physical and mental mask that cloaked me from the outside world as I journeyed into this den of lust.
I shook off my hesitation and walked toward the door, thankful that the club took measures to ensure arrivals were staggered and there was no chance of people meeting up in the parking lot with strangers. The VIP entrance housed private garages that could only be accessed through a tunnel and led you through a private garage bay. That way you weren’t able to be observed entering the club. The tunnel had one-way glass so you could still observe your surroundings as you entered. The club had it scheduled so that if you missed your arrival window you had to wait to be reassigned and that could take hours or days depending on how often you were late.
My presence here was a testament to how damaged I really was.
It was one of the few ways I felt I controlled my life. And currently, one of the few legal ways that allowed me to fully express myself.
When has legality ever been a hindrance though?
I kept my humor at my thoughts carefully hidden as I glided into the private entrance and flashed the keycard against the sensor that was cleverly hidden beneath a disguised piece of the door frame. I was here one minute into my five-minute arrival window and the anticipation of what I would observe started to grow. The entire building was sleek — no previously empty warehouse that had been repurposed for debauchery. This place had been specifically crafted for the purpose in which I was here: the unbridled expression of lust and desire.
The application I’d put in at this place had been on a whim. Born of a late night when my mind wouldn’t quiet and mymemories attempted to chase after me. The only way to quiet them was to control them, which led me down a course of action in which my participation still left me confused. With the money and status I had, there was no need for my current secret activities but they were almost what gave my life meaning at times.
How dreadful.
The culmination of that night’s activities led me here. To a secret society that existed in a place calledExplicit. There was no shortage of sex clubs in the greater D.C. area but this one had more than simple discretion. It was the type of place that was whispered about among the others and almost viewed as a figment of one’s imagination. In a forum calledThe Rabbit Hole, there’d been whispers about it. And of course, I refused to stop my search until I knew if it was true.
I walked up to the door attendant who was shirtless, oiled and a beautiful specimen of a man. The attendants rotated based on the preferences of the member being admitted into the facility. They wanted your undivided attention the moment you walked in the door. His dark skin glowed in the dim, golden light of the vestibule. The walls were soundproofed so no sound from inside the club or from the bowels of the establishment could be heard here.
“Thank you for joining us this evening, mistress. I have the items you selected here at your disposal.” He held out a silver tray that had a wristband and second keycard on it. This wristband was red with a long black tassel hanging from it. “Do I have your permission to attach your wristband?”
“Yes.”
He grinned broadly and placed the tray down on the wide podium that was the lone piece of furniture in this area. When he turned back to me, he nodded toward my hand and I raised my arm so he could affix the band. His fingers grazed the insideof my wrist and despite his obvious attractiveness, I didn’t react. No goosebumps, no flares of lust or outward.
