"It doesn't have a name."
"It should. Maybe I can come up with a name for it."
I give him a small smile. "That's all right. I think it's better if it's left to the imagination."
He steps closer. "Girl, there isn't anything left to the imagination in that."
Until he said that, he seemed fine. But now I don't like how close he is to me. I shift away from him, but he follows. I can smell alcohol on him, and I'm inwardly rolling my eyes. It's barely eleven. Of course there's already drunk guys like this in here. I suppose all clubs have some like this, though it's never fun.
"What do you say we go upstairs to the fantasy room, we can play with that imagination you were talking about."
"No thank you," I say through gritted teeth. "I'm waiting for someone."
He laughs. "Well if you're waiting for him, then he's not here. Seems like you're free to me. Don't know why anyone would leave a hot thing like you waiting." He wraps his arm around my waist. "I promise I'm more fun anyway."
My body is in complete lockdown. "Take your hands off me. Now."
"Come on, baby, I'm just trying to show you a good time." He pulls my body against his, and I can feel his obvious erection and I'm overwhelmed by the smell of vodka as he gets in my face. "Who are you waiting for that could be better than what I've got?" He tips his hips into mine and I cringe.
I don't know how to get out of this. "Please leave me alone."
"Baby, you are going to be so glad that you didn't wait for that other guy. I promise."
"No, I'm not," I say. "What part of ‘leave me alone' did you not get?" I'm really tired of him touching me.
I push against his chest but that makes him hold me tighter. "What is it with you bitches who keep trying to get rid of guys who just want to show you a good time? I bet you're not even waiting for anyone, just being a fucking bitch."
A hand lands on cowboy's shoulder. "Actually, I believe she's waiting for me."
There. That voice. That's Hudson. Somehow I forgot how tall he was even though it's only been a few hours. He yanks the cowboy away from me and makes it look easy. He nods his head towards the back of the bar and suddenly a security guard is there. "Escort him out. Make sure you get his name and photo for the ban list."
"You're banning me?" The cowboy explodes, causing the people around us to look. Apparently wherever I go I cause scenes that make people curious. "Why?"
Hudson smiles that small, amused, smile that I saw this morning. "If you're here you know the rules. Zero-tolerance. No means no. I think it's pretty clear that the lady was saying no. I was standing there long enough to see you ignore her wishes more than once."
The cowboy looks at me, mouth gaping, like I'm going to defend him. Like he thinks that this accusation is somehow ridiculous. Instead, I shrug. "I told you to stop. You didn't. Bye now."
I hear Hudson chuckle, though I think it's low enough that only I hear it. Cowboy is still gaping as the security guard drags him across the dance floor. Watching him leave, ass-less pants weren't a good choice on him. I'm sure that some women rejected him on that alone.
Hudson leans on the bar next to me, keeping a careful distance. "Are you all right?"
"It seems like you keep having to ask me that."
He smiles. "I don't mind, so long as you are all right."
"I think so," I say. "But I'm glad that you have excellent timing." I take a moment to absorb him. He's wearing all black, a button down and pants. And he's wearing a simple black mask like mine. Though I don't think anyone would have trouble picking him out even if he were wearing an obvious costume.
"I'm sorry that happened," he says, sighing. "We really try to keep the atmosphere here safe and positive. Some bad apples always manage to slip through."
I take a deep breath, my body relaxing, my instincts telling me that I'm safe now. "It's not your fault. Creeps are always creeps. Though it's nice to know he won't ever be coming back."
"He won't." His voice is all certainty.
"Good," I say. "And I think you offered to buy me a drink this morning?"
I can see his eyes crinkle with his smile behind the mask. "I did, and seeing that you're in my club, and you just had an unpleasant experience, I insist."
"Wait, what? You're the owner?" That's why the bouncer upstairs said he was a V.I.P. And also why security came over instantly. Holy crap.
Hudson gestures for the bartender. "I'm one of them, yes. I share the ownership with two close friends." He orders a beer and I order a martini. It's been a while since I've had one, and why not.
"Well, shit. No wonder you couldn't come out for dinner."
"Yeah," he says. "It might have looked bad if I hadn't shown up to our own party."
"Even though you're not really in costume."
"Neither are you," he says, his eyes drawing down my body all the way to my toes. It has the opposite effect of the cowboy. My body heats the same way it did watching that couple on the stage, and I lean back further on the bar, letting the robe slip open a little bit more. Dressed in this costume, I feel like I can be the kind of woman that deserves him.
"I don't know. This just seemed right."
"Believe me," he says, taking a sip of his beer. "I'm not complaining."
I take a sip of my martini, and for a moment I feel like I'm looking at myself through someone else's eyes. Decked out in an outrageous outfit, perched against a bar with the hottest man I've ever seen, drinking a cocktail. How is this my life? That little tagline from the business card and the website pops into my head. Be who you really are. Is this who I really am? I have no idea, but it doesn't hurt to find out, just for the night. For tonight, I can be … somebody else. A woman of mystery who isn't a boring girl who spends most of her evenings watching TV and editing pictures. It feels good to let that go for a bit. My heart rate spikes. I can be whoever I want.
"So how does someone own a sex club? It's not something you find at most career days."
He smiles that small smile, and I wonder what it might be like to feel that smile against my lips. "No, it's not. Unfortunately, it's not as interesting a story as you might think. My friends and I wanted a place where we could be ourselves when it came to sex-whatever that meant. And every club we went to seemed too restrictive. So we started our own. As long as something is consensual and not illegal, you'll probably be able to find it here."
"I can see why it's so popular." I shift my weight closer to him. It's not much, but he notices.
"Would you like a tour?"
Something about the way he says it makes me think that a tour isn't all he has in mind, but that's fine with me. "Sure." I tip the rest of my drink back and let him take my hand and draw me across the club. We climb the stairs to the second floor, and I try not to let my jaw gape at what I see. There were pictures of the theme rooms on the website, but seeing them with people is a very different experience. The orgy room is so filled with limbs and bodies that it's hard to see where one person ends and another begins. My eyes are drawn to a man whose head is between a woman's legs, and that same woman has someone else's cock in her mouth. I feel that wetness gather between my legs again even though Hudson pulls me past the room. We see a woman dressed like a secretary in a staged office. I guess she got the memo all wrong because her boss is spanking her. There's a room that looks like a meadow with what looks like a castle tower in the background.
"This is our newest room. It seems to be popular."
Two people are having sex on the ground in the false woods, medieval costumes in piles around them. "I suppose the damsel in distress fantasy is something a lot of people have."
"What about you?" he asks.
"I don't really have fantasies."
Still holding my hand, he draws me closer until I'm pressed lightly against his side. "I don't believe that for a second. Everybody has fantasies."
I press my lips together to keep from laughing. "I don't think so." I'm not lying, I've never had one fantasy that really gets me off. Yet another aspect of me that's thoroughly average and mostly boring.
Hudson leans closer until I think he might kiss me, but he doesn't. His face is so close to mine that I can taste his breath, and it's sweet. "Well, maybe we'll have to find out for sure."
"Is that a service you provide here at Club Deep?" I ask, a little breathlessly.
"Most people come here knowing exactly what they want. So helping someone explore that is gratifying."
I let myself lean into him, "You didn't answer the question."