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“Hey, I can still appreciate beauty.” She winks. “I’m just thankful I got to Dalton before you could get your hooks in him.”
“He’s not my type,” I say with a shrug.
That’s a lie, of course. Dalton is tall, with dark brown skin and abs that won’t quit. He was a new member of the club when he and Brenda met and he asked her to play a scene with him.
Neither one of them has played with anyone else since.
“Bullshit,” she says. “He’s totally your type.”
“Okay, you got me.” I put my glass down and spin on my bar stool so I’m facing Brenda. “What if Dalton and I had played together? Would that have messed up our friendship?”
“Besties forever.” She takes another sip.
I finish my lemon drop.
“You want another?” Alfred asks.
When I look up at him, his eyes are sparkling.
If I’m going to the club, I want to keep my wits about me. They serve alcohol down there, but the bartenders are very careful. Anyone who appears to be the least bit inebriated isn’t allowed to go back into any of the playrooms.
“No, but thank you.” I give Alfred a smile.
He returns my smile with a nod and then moves down the bar to help another customer.
Brenda finishes her cosmopolitan, sets the glass down, and then turns to me. “You ready?”
I sigh. “Not even slightly.”
She hops off her barstool, grabs my hand, and pulls me off mine. “Look. You don’t have to do anything. Let’s just go down there. You know I’m not going to play tonight. We can sit at the bar the whole time if you want. Or at a table. Or we can dance. Just have fun. Girls’ night.”
I roll my eyes. “Right. Girls’ night. At a leather club.”
“Why not?”
“I’ve tried going down there before, Brenda. It just hasn’t worked.”
“Mary, you paid all that money for a membership.”
“It’s not that much. You know that. Single women’s memberships are pretty cheap.”
“Still, you want to get your money’s worth, don’t you?”
I breathe in. “What if I told you I’m thinking about not renewing?”
Brenda drops her mouth open but quickly closes it. “Well…that’s up to you, Mare. But while you’re still a member, take advantage of it. We won’t do anything you’re uncomfortable with. We’ll have another drink. Do some dancing. Maybe chat a little. Nothing serious. And we’ll leave as soon as you want to leave.” She grins wide.
I eye my empty glass that Alfred hasn’t picked up yet, tempted to order another. Not because I really want one. Because I’m stalling.
She’s right, though. I can go to the club and do whatever I want. This doesn’t have to be anything I don’t want it to be. And the minute I’m ready to leave, I will. I should at least try…
I draw in another breath. “All right, Brenda. Let’s go.”
The two of us check in with Alfred and then take the stairs behind the bar down to the club.
Claude, head of security and the bouncer, doesn’t hide his surprise—or his delight—to see me again. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen him smile, including tonight. He’s usually stoic, almost cold, but looking at him now gives me a warm jolt of something familiar. Maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea after all. So far, so good.
He steps aside to let us in after we surrender our cell phones. Photography isn’t allowed at Black Rose Underground.
