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“Tadaaaa!” Lulu startles me as she jumps from behind the bar sitting against the right wall, fairly close to the stairs. We wanted to give people this proximity, as some could be overwhelmed when they first step into the fetish club. Even in normal clubs, most people run to the bar first. It’s a comfort thing.
Her icy blond ponytail whips around as she dips behind the black marble-topped bar, and the music quiets. I walk toward her, but my eyes are gazing anywhere but in her direction, mesmerized by the reality of this finished space. I’m in awe, speechless at how insane the finished product looks. I mean, I’d seen it only a week ago, and it wasn’t far from this stage, yet… it still shocks me. The implication of it being finished, more than the look of it.
“I can’t believe it’s finished…” I almost whisper. “Is it really?” I whip my head to Lulu, my excitement seeping through.
“It is! I was dying to tell you we would be done today, but I wanted to surprise you! It’s fucking beautiful, isn’t it?” She clutches her fists to her chest, an emotional look in her eyes as she looks around the space.
I rest my back against the bar, facing the center of the room where a large circular stage stands, two stripper poles on it because as much as it is a fetish club, everyone loves seeing some good dancing skills on them. It’s funny, actually, Lulu insisted on them, and I still think she did because she knows how much I enjoy pole dancing, and how hard I shy away from being seen doing it. I reckon this is her way of kicking my confidence into gear. Either way, the stripping, the dancing, it will provide amazing background entertainment when the stage isn’t used for its main purpose—shows. We’re taking our inspiration from the club in our university city, Rosston, where experienced couples or groups booked the stage for various activities, either actual play or instructional sessions. Watching those shows will certainly be… intriguing. The rest of the space is filled with booths and tables, with enough space around to still dance.
“I can’t believe we’re three weeks ahead of schedule.” I push away from the bar and walk around the counter, my gaze set on the bottle and glasses stashed behind it. The bar isn’t stocked yet, but we kept a bottle of Bourbon here for tough times. There’s just under a third left… there have been quite a few tough times so far.
I pour two fingers into each glass and hand one over to Lulu, clinking with her.
“Congratulations, Miss Dietrich.”
“Congratulations to you too, Miss O’Rourke.” I take a large sip, then head toward the right, the opposite side of the room from the stairs, where a corridor splits the wall, each side covered by large windows from wall to wall and two doors, each leading to separate playrooms. They’re special double windows, so from inside you can choose if you want the small crowd to watch you, or turn it into a mirror. Or you could just pull the curtains and have private playtime instead.
I drag my free hand over the dark wood paneling covering the wall, admiring the equipment sitting beautifully behind the windows—benches, St Andrews crosses, toys, crops, tables, and just simple chairs. The main reason this place cost us pretty much all our savings is because we made sure all the equipment is of excellent quality, comfortable, a lot of it handmade by a great local carpenter and tanner we found. One of the things the club in Rosston was lacking was quality equipment. We’re new to the business world, and we wanted everything about this club to scream excellence and taste, last thing we need is to give someone an excuse to tell us we’re not serious about this venture, especially since our market research showed us there’s enough elite in this city seeking this kind of place somewhere else. Safe to say, after making all these for us, the carpenter/tanner decided he will be our first member, and we can’t wait to welcome him.
“We’re keeping the same opening date, right?” We reach the end of the corridor, which opens into a small hallway, to the right heading toward the bathrooms, a security desk and the fire exit, and toward the left, where we’re heading right now, is our office and private bathroom. Lulu walks in, sits at the desk, leaning back and propping her legs up on it.
“I think it’s a clever idea.” I follow suit, sinking into the sofa and propping my legs up on the coffee table. “It gives us time to reach our member goal, but we could potentially hold a pre-opening party for the ones who have signed up so far. There’s enough there for a good one, and I’m almost done with their background checks. We can invite a few guests to play, put up a show, create a great atmosphere, and offer an incentive at the party for the current members, if they recommend another potential member.”
“It’s a great idea! We can ask Rose and Jasmine if they are available to entertain earlier than planned. Maybe talk to a few people from the club in Rosston to come and play.”
“Are you gonna play?” I ask Lulu as she downs the rest of her drink. We want to give members the comfort of feeling free, without people recognizing them, or seeing that they are in the presence of someone they know personally. Of course, it’s impossible to promise true anonymity since it depends more on them than us, especially when tattoos are involved, but the least we can do for them, and our staff as well, is to make masks mandatory; simple carnival style, or on the tasteful horror side, it doesn’t matter.
“I’m sure Luke would enjoy that, but the party is too important, and it will be hard enough to keep myself focused, so I don’t need to get involved as well.” She smiles, but I don’t miss the slight roll in her eyes.
“Yeah, you’re right,” I agree. I pop my glass on the coffee table and lay all the way down on the sofa. Damn, it’s comfortable… I would rather sleep here than go to my parents’.
Lulu actually met Luke in the fetish club up in Rosston, and they clicked from the start. After uni, he pretty much followed her here, not that it was a big move, as his hometown is about 200 miles up North from here, close to Venator. However, who wouldn’t want to be here on this Topaz coast, close to the light blue waters and white sands it got its name from. It feels almost tropical without most of the discomforts of a tropical climate, although we still have the humidity and stickiness.
This place attracts a healthy number of tourists, but our mayor has limited the number of hotels that can be built, by local ordinance, to avoid ruining the landscape and infrastructure. Every single local agreed. That number was reached a few years ago, so even as a tourist town, it’s fairly exclusive. And not many people move in, since most don’t want to leave, and the real estate is through the roof expensive.
Queenscove is a corner of paradise.
It’s one of the reasons why I knew I couldn’t refuse Lulu for long. Getting this apartment from her was a godsend! It was also a godsend that her grandmother left her this place, along with some money. Her parents and older sister got an equal share of inheritance, but none received real estate as big as this, not as dilapidated either. Her grandmother knew she was the right person to take care of this beautiful old building properly. Long before our time, it was a small hotel which Lulu’s great-great-grandmother owned, only she decided she would make each floor its own apartment instead.
“You alright?” She pulls me out of my thoughts. “You wanna crash at mine?”
“Nah, you and Luke need your space. Besides… I don’t wanna give my parents, or Ryan, any other reason to be suspicious of me.” I get up and down the rest of the drink. I really want more, but I have to drive back.
“We have enough for you too, but I understand.”
I know she does, but Luke is kind of weird about his privacy. He was the same in university when he came to our apartment. I like him, but there is something about him that makes me feel… unwanted.
“Thanks, honey.”
“You found out anything else?” She settles back into the chair, the expression on her face suddenly serious.
“Let’s not do this. We need to enjoy this huge victory. Our club is ready…fuck! It’s incredible! My family and darling boyfriend can wait for another time.”
I don’t miss the silent sigh as her chest slowly deflates.
“Come on. I want to show you something else.” She gets up and walks out without waiting for me to agree, and all I can do is scramble to rush after her.
What the fuck?!
