Page 44 of By Invitation Only

CHAPTER TEN

In the last two weeks, I still hadn’t heard from Peyton. It was starting to feel like it was a losing battle and I should cut my losses. I hadn’t heard from Trent either, so I assumed that meant Ava hadn’t made her decision.

Trent was proposing what I’d suggested about dividing the houses and buying Ava out of the one he was living in Beverly Hills. He was also asking for Ava to give him another chance. One offer was an actual pleading, and the other was a letter to Ava. If she were to choose the latter, Peyton would need to prepare a Request for Dismissal for me to sign and then file with the court.

If Ava and Trent were together tonight, I had that answer. If Peyton showed up tonight, I had that answer, too.

“Are we going together tonight?”

I looked to the door of my bedroom to see Carrie in the threshold. She was wearing a black trench coat. I knew from over the years that she was only wearing lingerie under the coat. I straightened the cuffs of my tux as I turned.

“Don’t we always?”

“What will happen if that woman comes tonight?”

“What do you mean?”

“You like her.”

“I’ve liked plenty of women before,” I clarified.

She shook her head. “Not like this. Usually they do the chasing, not the other way around.”

“Who said I’m chasing her? We haven’t even talked about it.”

“Because you’ve shut me out since the last party,” she whined.

“Exactly, so how do you figure I’m chasing her?”

“I talked to Amelia.”

I started for the door. “Ihaven’t even talked to Amelia.”

“Butyoutalked to Randy,” Carrie said as she followed me down the hall.

I should have guessed. Carrie and I were close like Randy and Amelia were. However, they weren’t married or even dating. Amelia was married to someone else and had children. Carrie probably vented to Amelia, who then called Randy to get the gossip since Randy and I worked together and he could find shit out for them.

“Look, if Peyton comes tonight, get a ride. I’m not chasing her, but if she shows, then that means something.”

“I could help, you know.”

I stopped walking and turned to face her. “I think you’ve already helped enough,love.”

She rolled her eyes, but my dick did nothing in my trousers. It only craved Peyton’s mocha ones.

“Forus, I hope she gives you a chance.”

“We’ll get over it, but first she needs to show up.”

I pulled my Mercedes into the circular drive of Sensation. We’d been in the queue to enter for twenty minutes, and I was more nervous than the first time we attended the club. That night I’d had no idea what to expect. I was invited by a classmate of mine who had used inheritance money for his membership. It’s not every day you get asked to attend a sex party, and somehow my classmate knew I’d be into it. I mean, who wouldn’t be into walking around a mansion in Beverly Hills with people fucking everywhere?

That night, I’d only observed. I was in my mid-twenties and knew exactly what it meant when people said, “Like a kid in a candy store.” That was me. I came home and jerked off until the sun rose. I couldn’t get the images out of my head: women together, men together, threesomes, bondage… If you can imagine it, I probably saw it, or have since.

Now I was a regular and, of course, I had Carrie get a membership, too. She was still set on the fact that she would never get married (even though laws had changed), so I brought her along to eat all the pussy she desired. We each started with the Ruby level. Back then it was five-hundred dollars a month to join. Now I had no idea how much it was, but over the years I’d upgraded, and now I could afford to be a Diamond member. Granted, when I became a Diamond member, it was cheaper than it was now.

“If she doesn’t show, at least have a good night, Booker,” Carrie said from the passenger seat as we pulled up to the valet.

“I will, sweetheart. Don’t worry about me.”