I think I’m mostly feeling awkward because I know deep in my heart there is nothing that would ever prevent Avril and me from crossing that line. We already know each other so well. We’ve shared so many things with each other that there is no mystery as to who exactly the other person is. Both of us respect the shit out of each other.
We love each other the way best friends can.
But I don’t look at her like she’s a sibling, and despite her declaration of “ewwww” just now, I don’t really think she feels that way about me.
Which makes tonight actually dangerous in a place like this. I don’t want to watch Avril because I’m afraid of what I might want, and it always brings up the age-old question… If friends cross that line, will it ruin the friendship?
Not willing to take that chance.
“Okay, let’s go,” I say and turn toward the elevator. Avril starts walking alongside me, the click of her high heels echoing in the garage. She crosses her arms almost protectively across her chest while holding a tiny black clutch purse in one hand, and I know her so well I know that move has nothing to do with nervousness. She’s just cold.
Without a word, I put my arm around her shoulder and pull her into me, my hand curving around one of her bare arms to help warm her up. She snuggles in, and we walk in perfect cadence with each other to the elevator.
I push the button, and it takes a few minutes for the car to arrive. Before we step in, Avril pulls slightly away from me so she can look up to catch my eyes. “No matter what happens in here tonight, it doesn’t change how we look at each other tomorrow, right?”
“Right,” I tell her confidently, because I don’t care if she’s here to get her rocks off. Good for her, I say. She’s been hurt and she’s pissed, and if she can spend just an hour or so tonight getting lost in good feelings, that would make me happy. I didn’t have the satisfaction that Dane had of landing a solid upper cut into Jamie’s stomach on Wednesday when he came by to pick up his stuff. I wasn’t surprised Dane had lurked on Avril’s porch waiting for Jamie to show up, and not surprised he punched the douche.
Avril, of course, knows nothing of the justice Dane dispensed. Just as she doesn’t know the extent of the damage Dane did to Jordan Massie’s face our junior year at Berkley. That’s just the way Dane handles things.
We all have our roles. While I’m the one that will ward off the chill when Avril’s cold, Dane is going to be the one to exact vengeance on her behalf, and she’ll never even know it happened.
The three of us through thick and thin.
When Dane came up with a venture idea his senior year in college to create a machine that analyzed a pinprick’s worth of blood for hundreds of diseases, no one thought he was crazy. Not me. Not Avril. And not any of the professors he ran the idea by.
By the time he graduated, he was well on his way to raising capital to begin research and development. He offered Avril and me immediate positions with his company he’d named Caterva BioTech, selling his own patch patent he’d already developed to fund positions for us.
But we weren’t quite ready to take active seats. Dane wanted Avril to get her MBA, and he wanted me to go further in my molecular-biology education. Avril officially joined Caterva as the chief operations officer the day she graduated with her MBA, and I joined two years later after I finished my Ph.D. in molecular biology as Caterva’s chief scientist. My designation didn’t mean I knew the most about blood analyzation, but it did mean I oversaw the research and design of the machine we were trying to create. Fast forward five years, and we had a product being beta tested on the market and Caterva was a Fortune 50 Company. Dane offered us tremendous stock options, which made us insanely wealthy and increased our personal stake in the company.
I mull over our history together as we take the long elevator ride up to The Wicked Horse. In all the things we’ve been through together, I never imagined I’d be coming to a sex club with Avril so we could both get our rocks off.
But Dane was right. I’ve been in a fucking dry spell, and I work so damn hard it’s impossible to meet women. Besides, I’ve been burned enough times by “love” that I just don’t have it in me to try for something that requires work. My experience has been it’s all for naught, or at least that’s how I started to view things after Claudia and I broke up after almost four years together through college.
When the elevator doors open, I’m not surprised by what I see. We step out into what looks like an upscale bar with dozens of beautifully dressed people mingling around with drinks in their hands. It’s exactly what I expected when Dane told me that this place was high end. The five-hundred-dollar per night entrance fee if you didn’t have a yearly membership ensured that the people within this club probably shit gold bricks.
We step up to a podium where a woman as beautiful as a cover model greets us. “Good evening. Do you have reservations?”
“We do,” I say, and I pull my phone out. The Wicked Horse has become so modernized, evening passes are purchased online with a bar code to show at the door. The woman behind the podium scans my phone, which shows two passes I’d purchased today after Dane walked out of my office. Avril and I decided to just get online and buy the damn things so we wouldn’t puss out. I paid for them, which Avril didn’t raise a stink about, but she’ll most likely leave a check on my desk on Monday to reimburse me.
The woman takes a few moments to explain the club and the rooms that are available, as well as the policies. Much of it I already knew because Dane has never held back from sharing his exploits here. If there’s one thing Avril was right about today in the office was that she is treated differently because she’s a woman. Dane would never share that shit with her, and I suspect it’s why he bailed on us tonight.
We’re offered a guided tour, but we decline, figuring we are really coming tonight just to gawk and have a good laugh. Avril buys us vodkas on the rocks. With our highball glasses in hand, we start to head toward the double doors on the far end of the room that will lead us to the various rooms that people can have sex in.
♦
My cock is aching, and I’m so fucking horny that I want to just whip it out right here and rub one off. But that would be stupid when there’s such an abundant supply of pussy for the taking. I got over being embarrassed by my hard-on over half an hour ago when Avril leaned over and whispered in my ear, “Andrew… I’m not sure if it makes me a slut or what, but I’m definitely getting laid tonight.”
I had to laugh at her, but I was also relieved. Watching so many sex acts going on as we walked the various rooms had a profound effect on me. I’m stirred beyond lust, and all I can think about now is fucking.
I walk into The Orgy Room, my eyes scanning the dim interior. There are recessed lights in the ceiling that shine down on the various pieces of furniture that are in use, holding writhing naked bodies as they fuck. I don’t see Avril, which is a relief because we promised each other we wouldn’t watch the other. My eyes do land on a blonde I had talked to earlier. We flirted, she overtly invited Avril and me to a threesome with her, but I declined because… well, hell no to a threesome with Avril there.
Just no way.
But Avril and I decided to part ways out on The Deck, both determined we were going to make good use of the money that was spent to get us in these doors.