write.
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
I grab my laptop, find the email with Josh’s
application attached, snuggle into my soft, white pillows, happily
listening to Avicii and Audra Mae serenade me, and begin
reading:
Name?
“Joshua William Faraday,” he writes. And, yet again,
the sight of his full name sends a shiver down my spine. “Sexy
man,” I say out loud in my empty hotel room.
With this application, you will be required to
submit three separate forms of identification. The Club maintains a
strict “No Aliases Policy” for admission. You may, however, use
aliases during interactions with other Club members, at your
discretion.
“OK,” he writes.
Age?
“29,” he writes.
Provide a brief physical description of
yourself.
I scan his full response to this question again. But
this time reading Josh’s words, my heart races and leaps: “I prefer
not to talk about the meanings of my tattoos at length, so please
tell whoever gets assigned to me not to ask about them.”
A wave of excitement washes through me. If that’s
how Josh felt when he wrote those words, he certainly doesn’t seem
to feel that way now—or, at least, not when it comes to me.
With this application, you will be required to
submit three recent photographs of yourself to your intake agent.
Please include the following: one headshot, one full-body shot
revealing your physique, and one shot wearing something you’d
typically wear out in a public location. These photographs shall be
maintained under the strictest confidentiality.
Just for the heck of it, I click onto Josh’s
naked-bad-boy-photo and stare at it for a moment. This man sends my
pulse racing and my blood boiling in a way I’ve never felt before.
Damn, boy—just like Audra Mae is singing in my ear right now—I’m
absolutely addicted to him.
Please sign the enclosed waiver describing the
requisite background check, medical physical, and blood test, which
you must complete as a condition of membership.
“Done,” he writes.
Sexual orientation? Please choose from the following
options: Straight, homosexual, bisexual, pansexual, other?
“Straight,” he writes.
Do any of your sexual fantasies include violence of
any nature?
“Yes,” he writes.
Whoa. Holy shitballs. Not what I expected. I move
quickly to the next section.
If so, please describe in detail. Please note that
your inclination toward or fantasies about sexual violence, if any,
will not, standing alone, preclude membership. Indeed, we provide
highly particularized services for members with a wide variety of
proclivities. In the interest of serving your needs to the fullest
extent possible, please describe any and all sexual fantasies
involving violence of any nature whatsoever.
“I have a sexual fantasy in which I come to the
rescue of a woman who’s been bound and raped.”
Whoa again.
Are you a current practitioner of BDSM and/or does
BDSM interest you? If so, describe in explicit detail.
“BDSM interests me insofar as it relates to
fulfilling the fantasy described above.”
Payment and Membership Terms. Please choose from the
following options: One Year Membership, $250,000 USD; Monthly
Membership, $30,000 USD. All payments are non-refundable. No
exceptions. Once you’ve made your selection regarding your
membership plan, information for wiring the funds into an escrow
account will be immediately forthcoming under separate cover.
Membership fees shall be transferred automatically out of escrow to
The Club upon approval of your membership.
“I’m interested in a one-month membership,
administered according to my exact specifications, described below.
If additional payment beyond your usual monthly fee is required for
you to deliver exactly what I’ve asked for (below), I’m open to
further negotiation of your fee. Please advise.”
Oh my effing God. My heart is pounding forcefully in
my ears. I can’t read Josh’s words fast enough.
Please provide a detailed explanation about
Lisa Black
Margaret Duffy
Erin Bowman
Kate Christensen
Steve Kluger
Jake Bible
Jan Irving
G.L. Snodgrass
Chris Taylor
Jax