purse.
“Maybe this is a bad idea,” Wendy said. The effects of the idol seemed to decrease after a few minutes.
“No backing out now.” Gloria grabbed her elbow and steered her to the rear of the parking lot behind a dry cleaners. A closed steel door barred their way
“What, is there some kind of secret knock?” Wendy chuckled.
“Yeah, there is.” Gloria proceeded to wrap out a pattern on the door. “I’ll teach it to you, and it changes every month.”
The door swung open and a huge man filled up the entire doorway.
“Hey, Gloria.” His deep voice and impressive size would scare away anyone who didn’t belong. If he hadn’t had a friendly expression on his face, Wendy would have been scared off, too.
“Hey, Jack. This is Wendy, the new member.”
“They told me. Welcome, Wendy,” his voice boomed. He stood aside and waved them in.
Wendy squeezed past, her nipples brushing against his hard chest as she went. Music drifted up from below. Gloria led the way down a narrow flight of steps.
“Gloria, is this some kind of sleazy dive in the basement of a dry cleaners?”
“Relax,” Gloria answered. She pushed open the door at the bottom of the steps and Wendy’s breath caught in her throat.
She scanned a beautiful oasis. The lights were low, but it wasn’t dark. People lounged on cushions and low sofas spread around the large room. Sheer fabrics draped from the ceiling, along with strings of glistening beads. Soft Asian music added to the exotic mood.
“It’s Eastern month,” Gloria said in her ear. “I liked English castle month better. The suits of armor were cool.”
Groups of people and couples of different ages sat close together, chatting and laughing. This was exactly what Wendy expected. She’d spend all evening talking to some guy that she may or may not end up liking. He may or may not end up liking her. She could possibly get him into bed tonight, or maybe his car. More likely, she’d strike out and end up wasting her time when she could be home getting a good night’s sleep. She sighed. Gloria would never forgive her for leaving now.
Wendy spotted the bar. A drink would ease the pain.
She and Gloria went over to the bar and a handsome bartender approached.
“Hi, Jim, this is Wendy.”
“Oh, the new member.” He extended his hand.
“Hi.” Wendy shook his hand. “I’ll have a gin and tonic, Jim.”
“Oooh, sorry. I guess you don’t know all the rules yet. No alcohol.”
“We’ll have that fizzy punch you make,” Gloria said.
“Two fresh fruit punches coming up.” Jim pulled out glasses and pitchers.
“Okay, Gloria. No alcohol? Well at least there are snacks.” Large bowls filled with candies sat on the end of the bar. Wendy reached out for a handful.
Her hand froze in midair.
Those were not candies.
Chapter Six
Packaged condoms of every color and texture filled two bowls. A third bowl overflowed with feathery things, and the last held a variety of plastic rings.
“Come on, let’s have a seat over there. You’ll have a good view.” Gloria carried two drinks in her hands and directed Wendy over to a sofa by the far wall.
“Gloria, you didn’t tell me everything about this place.”
“Yeah, but you’ll forgive me.” Gloria nodded to the opposite wall.
When they had entered, Wendy hadn’t looked behind her. If she had, she would have noticed a wall with a large plate-glass window. Behind the glass were four people, maybe five, all naked and.…Well, they might all be having sex, some certainly were, others were involved in some way. It was difficult to tell with the blur of bodies.
Wendy stared straight ahead, unable to remove her gaze. Her mouth hung open.
“You haven’t even tasted your drink. Jim uses fresh fruit,” Gloria said.
Wendy inspected the untouched drink she held in her hand. “Are they expecting me to do that ?” Wendy pointed toward the window.
“Oh, gosh no. That’s only for people who are into that stuff. The main
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