It feels so good just to rest there, head on his chest. I’m not bound anymore, but I still feel like I don’t have any worries. I feel…safe.
“I’m thirty-two years old.”
“Hmm?”
He draws a calming hand down my side. “You wanted to know more about me, so I’m telling you. I’m thirty-two. I’m an only child. My favorite kind of food is Italian. I’m a dog person. How’s that?”
“I want to know more.”
“How much more?”
“All of it,” I grin.
He tilts his head to look at me. “That’s going to take some time.”
“I know.”
He leans down to kiss me. “All right then.”
9
And that’s how it happens. Suddenly, I’m swept up into Cole’s world, and we fall into a comfortable rhythm of talking and sex. Over weeks, I explore almost all the rooms and play with him. He makes me come on his tongue in the Ocean Room so many times I get dizzy. In the Office Room, I play the naughty secretary and let him bend me over the desk while he spanks me. He ties me up again, this time in the Dungeon. There’s even a time when he stops the VIP elevator between the floors and lifts me up, fucking me against the wall.
And in-between there’s talking and texts. We learn about each other. I tell him about Brownie and her surgery, and he tells me about how he grew up in Montana. I learn that he hates wearing jeans and he’d almost always rather be wearing a suit. I learn that he was a junior rodeo champion. Little by little I learn who he is, besides the man who makes my body feel like it’s burning up with pleasure. And little by little, I let him see me. It seems like a long time since I’ve had that with anyone. My last relationship was in college, and it didn’t end well. Ever since then…it hasn’t seemed worth it.
It’s a Friday when I get the text:
So I’ve been thinking…we’ve never seen each other outside of Club Deep.
I think it’s time we went on a real date.
My heart thumps in my chest. I’ve been wondering when this would happen, and I’m not sure I’m ready. Fucking the boss when no one knows about it is one thing, but making it clear that you’re dating the boss is entirely another. I’m starting to gel with the other waitresses. Rosie seems to like me, and I’m making friends. I don’t want any of them to hate me because they think I’m trying to sleep my way up the ladder or something.
I type and delete my response several times before landing on one that I think won’t hurt his feelings.
Going public will change things. I’m not sure I’m ready for that. Can I think about it?
His response is immediate, and I relax.
Of course. Whenever you’re ready, you let me know. I’ll see you tonight.
By now I should know that Cole would be the last person to pressure me into something I’m not ready for. All this time he’s been helping me explore, and if I say no to something, he doesn’t push, doesn’t press. If it’s a hard no, then that’s the end of it.
See you tonight.
When will I be ready? I need some kind of signal because I’m not used to any of this.
“I want to try something different tonight,” Cole says, appearing next to me as I punch out.
I jump. “Geeze. How do you do that?”
“Do what?” He’s smiling innocently, but he knows exactly what I’m talking about.
“Sneaking up on me like that. It’s like you’re a ghost or ninja.”
“I prefer ninja,” he says, taking my hand and pulling me towards the VIP elevator. “Ghosts can’t touch anything.”
“Oh?” The elevator doors close behind us. “There’s something you plan on touching?”
“You could say that. We’re going to the Yellow Room.”
We’re passing through the circular hallway, stopping when we come to the portion filled with yellow light. “What’s in here?” He scans the door open, and I see for myself. Just like the blue room, most of this room is made of glass. Though this one opens up to the dance floor on the main level below, allowing the pounding music to flow in. Unlike the blue room, there’s a cage in this room. It’s just like the dancers’ cages down on the main floor.