Page 8 of Dirty Little Secrets

“ W here are we going?” I ask, shifting in my seat as the black Mercedes pulls to the curb in front of a sleek high-rise five blocks from Landon’s apartment.

The vehicle is too nice to be a regular Uber.

Too quiet. Too secure. But I don’t say anything.

After last call at the bar, we all headed out and there were Ubers waiting out front of the hotel to take us all back to our respective places.

Kristina said it was courtesy of Drazen Enterprises and to get in.

Landon and his other coworkers headed out together.

I didn’t argue and took the opportunity to leave in the Mercedes with Kristina.

I didn’t want my night ruined with Landon’s incessant criticism ruining of the best nights I’ve ever had.

The light in the interior car brightens when she opens the door. Kristina flashes me a sly smile. “We’re going to my place. I haven’t even given you your real birthday present yet.”

“You already did,” I say, stepping out as the doorman nods politely.

Kristina tugs my arm. “That was just the warm-up. Come on.”

In the year I’ve been working a Drazen Enterprise, I’ve never been to Kristina’s apartment. Our time is spent at the office or at lunch. At a café two blocks down or in the break-room.

Since moving here with Landon, I haven’t had the time to make any friends outside of work but I’m glad I met Kristina I’m first day and we hit it off.

She’s awesome and funny. A carefree attitude that doesn’t take shit from no-one.

The added bonus is that she has connections all around city.

She knows who’s who and where not to go.

I follow her inside. The lobby is sleek and modern. Polished marble floors. Silver accents. A concierge desk with uniformed staff. I don’t ask how she can afford it.

We step into the elevator, and I stare at our reflections in the mirror-paneled walls. “Landon’s going to freak if I don’t show up tonight.”

Kristina shrugs. “Let him. You don’t want to go back there anyway.”

She isn’t wrong. Landon will give me shit over the top I wore and more shit because I let Kristina drag me to happy hour on my birthday at the last minute. He’ll twist it all, like always. And I’m tired.

When the elevator opens on the tenth floor, she leads me down the hall, stops at her door, and presses her thumb to the biometric scanner.

I blink. “Fancy.”

“ I inherited some money after my father passed away. His only condition? Invest wisely.”

“I’m sorry about your father.”

“Don’t be. He was hardly around.”

“At least you met yours and left you something. I don’t even know what my father looks like or know his name.”

She opens the door.

The apartment is gorgeous. Cream walls, deep brown floors, a modern kitchen that gleams like a showroom. A huge balcony with views of the city.

I set my purse on the counter and accept a water bottle she gives me from the fridge. “This place is amazing.”

“It’s just walls without good company. And lucky for me, I’ve got you tonight.”

She taps her phone and places it in front of me. A sleek black diamond rotates slowly on the screen.

“What’s that?”

“Your birthday present. It’s called Obsidian. ”

The name alone feels forbidden. Dangerous. “What is it exactly?”

“An exclusive members-only sex club. Discreet. Private. Elite. Only the top one percent get in. And I got you a one-year membership. I remember you saying Landon was ‘average’. Maybe leveling up is what you need.”

My mouth dries. “Kristina?—”

“Don’t worry about the cost. It’s already covered. You just need to activate the account.”

I stare at the screen. The letters Obsidian glitter as it moves. A symbol wrapped in silver chains, spinning like it carries secrets. “How does it work?”

“It uses your phone’s data to build a profile—likes, interests, habits. Then matches you with someone compatible. It also gives you access to the club where you know…people meet up for sex.”

I raise a brow. “So, it also spies on me.”

She grins. “Only if you let it. That’s the loophole. You tap Allow Access , and boom—it learns everything. Then it finds someone into the same things you are. And girl from what I heard… they’re not vanilla.”

My pulse kicks up at the t thought of eyes watching me. Fantasies that I made up when I didn’t understand what my body wanted but I felt it. I swallow hard. I should say no.

But instead, I whisper, “Have you ever been inside the club?”

She shakes her head. “I’ve heard stories. My friend said that there’s one room with no cameras. That’s where the real stuff happens. But discreet.”

I breathe through the nerves for reasons I cannot say to her. “Kristina, what if someone finds out? I’m with Landon?—”

“You’re leaving him,” she interrupts. “You said so yourself. And this… is your clean slate.”

I look down at the phone again. The black diamond glows. The screen flashing, asking for a code. I pull out my phone and find the app in the app store and download it.

She hands me a slip of paper. “Use this.”

I type it in. The screen goes black, then flickers.

WELCOME TO OBSIDIAN, NORIANA SUMMERS.

A new prompt flashes.

Please enter your username.

Kristina leans in, smiling wide. “Choose something badass. Something just for you.”

My fingers type: RED

It’s who I’ve always been. Beneath the fear. Beneath the past. Beneath the bruises. The color that haunts me like a red ribbon tying my past, present, and future together.

“What about Landon? I can’t just leave. Where would I go?”

I have looked at potential places but all of them are too expensive or too far from the office.

“Stay with me,” she says simply. “No pressure. Just until you get on your feet.”

Tears sting the corners of my eyes. “Really?”

She laughs. “Of course. I’d love the company. Just promise to tell me everything you see inside Obsidian .”

I nod, smiling for the first time in days. No one has offered me a place to stay before that didn’t want anything in return. “Deal.”

And deep down, I know this is the beginning of everything I was too afraid to want. Everything I was never allowed to have. Freedom. Power. Control. A friend.