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“Thanks.” Sliding onto the barstool, I watched him move about the bar, expertly mixing me another cocktail. I couldn’t get enough of his hands, throwing ice into the mixer, shaking it just like they do in the movies. He was talking and laughing with a group of people, relaxed now and in his element. Whatever had passed between us a few moments before in the small office seemed to have been forgotten. Catching me looking, his face broke into a grin and he winked at me. Okay, fuck, that was hot. It wasn’t hot when Thelma did it, but from Wolfe…well, my insides just melted.
He brought me the cocktail. This one was a cloudy, pale green concoction with leaves in it. “Just so you know, if those are spinach leaves, I’m not keen.”
His deep chuckled reverberated through me. “They’re mint leaves, and this is a lychee mojito. Half strength.”
“Probably for the best.” I was already halfway to LaLa land on the few I’d had. Grabbing his scotch, Wolfe came around to my side of the bar, standing a little closer to me than was strictly necessary. I liked it.
“Oooh, this one is good.” The lychee flavor burst in my mouth, fresh and sweet.
“Thought you’d like it.”
Wolfe introduced me to the crew around the bar: Chad in construction, Sarah, a dance teacher, and a couple others. Lila slid next to me, linking hands with Adele. A few others clustered behind them, but their names blurred in my mind.
Surrounded by their lively chatter, I grew comfy. With Wolfe behind me, the urge to lean into him was almost too strong. He announced it was my birthday, earning me a flood of drink offers. I declined, not wanting to end the night in the ER—or worse, drunkenly pouncing on Wolfe.
As the night wore on, people came and went. Wolfe was unmistakably the star here, but without the excessive reverence I’d noticed elsewhere. I tried to piece it together, but the cocktails clouded my thoughts.
My mind fuzzy, I watched a few people head towards a door in the far corner of the room and disappear. There was a lull around us now, so I could watch uninterrupted. At least ten people passed through the door over the next three or four minutes. “Where are they going?”
Wolfe looked at where I was pointing. “Downstairs.”
“What’s downstairs?”
“The Cavern.”
“What happens there?”
“Everything.”
More than what I’d already seen up here? “Show me.”
He hesitated, his eyes roving over my face, looking for something. I don’t know what, but he found it. “You’ll probably want another drink for this.”
Now that really got me wondering, and I was in a fever of anticipation and curiosity while Thelma made me another mojito.
We wended our way through the dance floor, and I almost smiled when I caught sight of Drake and Grace. They’d found a friend, after all. She was leaning back on the couch, Drake’s head buried between her legs, kissing Grace and fondling her breasts for all she was worth. Good for them!
Sarah, Adele and Lila were in a pile on another sofa while Chad watched on, playing with himself all the while. How strange. Moments ago, we’d all been chatting like we were at a Sunday barbecue and now they were all fucking each other.
Finally reaching the far end of the room, I took a fortifying sip of my drink as Wolfe threw the door open and gestured for me to go on ahead.
The stairs were dark and narrow, lit by more purple lights. It was dim enough that I almost lost my footing and had to grab onto the railing to stop myself from going ass over. Wolfe grabbed me from behind, his hands strong and warm on my waist, steadying me.
“Thanks,” I said, my voice shaky.
“No problem.”
He pulled away, and I wanted to cry out,No, come back.Instead, I held onto the railing and descended the rest of the way to the bottom floor, turning toward the noise and light.
Blinking a few times, I tried to take in what I was seeing. A long polished concrete corridor, with alcoves on either side. The muffled bass from the music upstairs filtered down, sounding a bit like a heartbeat. And people were screaming. Moaning. Laughing. Jesus, it was so much more intense than what I’d already seen.
“You wanna go back upstairs?”
“Nope,” I replied, popping the p for extra emphasis.
I walked forward, glancing from side to side as I went, sort of seeing but not really seeing. A fleeting impression of the first alcove, with a woman in a swing suspended from the roof. Cuffed to the swing. Her legs spread wide. A guy fucking her. She was bent right back. Gripping the straps in her hands. Her head hanging over the edge of the chair. Sucking another guy off.
Second alcove. A woman on a bed. Giving a guy a blow job. Riding a vibrator. Moaning. Loudly. Two others sitting on a bench against the wall. Watching. Masturbating.