Page 7 of Seth’s Doll

My eyes are narrowed behind my thick-framed glasses, my face stuck in a mask of fascination and fear as I watch my new friend Crystal freefall from the ceiling in a graceful upside-down pose, then catch herself on the silver pole a mere inch before her head hits the floor.

But the fear in my expression has nothing to do with the extremely talented and professional pole-dance instructor’s safety. She’s clearly got this.

No. It’s because, apparently, I’m here in her new studio to get on one of those spinning, floor-to-ceiling, cylindrical death traps myself.

Astrid lets out a whoop and applauds, and all the sound my mind blocked out when I first realized what Doc, my sister, and Crystal expect of me today comes rushing back in, making my heart race faster than it already had been.

Come to find out, Seth had taken Crystal and her husband around to meet several people after we left the coffee shop and I went back to work yesterday. Which I didn’t know about until this morning.

After my session with Doc and before Luna and I went home, he had a quick, private discussion with Astrid in the kitchen—who I saw jump up and down excitedly before covering her mouth—while I helped my daughter gather her things in the living room. My feeling of foreboding was damn near tangible, especially when the beautiful couple approached me cautiously, like I’d choose that moment to learn how to run instead of freeze when stressed.

Astrid stood next to Doc, clearly trying to stop a grin from lifting the corners of her full, pink lips, as he told me, “Okay, Twy. It’s all set. Tomorrow morning will be your first assignment. Your sister will accompany you for moral support and accountability.”

My apprehensive stare shifted between the two of them.

“So then why does she have that evil little glint in her eye?” I asked him.

He glanced down at his wife, and she tilted her head back to peer up at him, her face a mask of pure innocence as she shrugged, then she looked down at me once again, the wickedness reappearing right back where it had been.

He swatted her on the butt, and she yelped then giggled.

“You don’t worry about her. Just go with her when she arrives to pick you up in the morning. And remember… trust me.” He didn’t break his impenetrable stare until he finally received my nod of agreement.

“So this is what I get for trusting your husband?” I murmur to Astrid as Crystal cuts off the thumping music and walks over to us.

I’m in black biker shorts that hit me mid-thigh, and a black sports bra topped with a loose T-shirt that reads, Chemistry. It’s like cooking, but don’t lick the spoon, after Astrid arrived this morning, took one look at my jeans, and told me I’d need to change into something I could work out in. I traded my bottoms and kept on the shirt, slipping my feet into tennis shoes rather than the flip-flops I had on, thinking we were going to Doc and Astrid’s beloved gym. Maybe he wanted me to take a yoga class or something to… calm my chi? Wasn’t that a thing? Weren’t yoga classes supposed to be good for centering yourself and letting go of negative feelings? I could buy that. No problem. I’d just choose a mat hidden in the back where no one could see how unathletic I am.

Seth and I moved into a house close to the other couple right before I gave birth to Luna, since our loft wasn’t big enough for the three of us, and we didn’t want to raise our baby right above a sex club. I loved living just up the street from my big sister. But as she stopped at the stop sign, instead of making a right out of our neighborhood to head toward the gym as I expected, Astrid turned left. I glanced in the back seat at Luna in her car seat, before facing the blonde menace beside me as I nervously asked, “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see” was all she said in a singsong voice.

When we parked on the street right across from Imperium Security and Club Alias, I was completely confused. And then a feeling of dread took over when Astrid hopped out of the car, opened the back door, unhooked Luna, and slammed it closed with her hip before skipping with her niece over to the sidewalk next to my door. Where I saw her point to the still-signless storefront closest to us.

And that’s when it hit me where we were going.

“Astrid Walker!” I hissed as I stepped out and closed the door, hearing the car lock. “We cannot take a baby into a strip club!” My panic made the wrong words come out, and my sister jumped on the opportunity to correct me.

“One, she’s not a baby. She’s four. And two, it’s not a strip club. It’s a workout studio. Plus, she’s not staying. She has a playdate with Corbin and Vi’s little ones up the street at the children’s discovery place so you can focus. See? There she is now.” Astrid looked over my shoulder and waved, and I turned to spot Vi walking quickly toward us on the sidewalk.

When she was near, she reached out to Luna, who immediately squealed, jumped into her arms, and pressed her cheek to Vi’s, squishing their faces she hugged her auntie so tightly. “I’ve got her, Mama. And you’ve got this. Imma hurry back though, because I don’t want to leave the kids unsupervised. Love y’all,” our best friend—and the wife of one of the other team members—assured, and then she disappeared through the door she had come from.

I looked at Astrid, my face showing my annoyance. “Does everyone know what I’m being subjected to?”

She shook her head. “Of course not. Just us girls and Doc. Because we have a plan.”

“What plan?”

“Well, it’s not fully formed yet, but part of it is to make sure you have something special to give your husband for his birthday.”

And with that, she grabbed my arm and hauled me into Crystal’s studio, who locked the frosted door behind us with a grin.

Now, as the woman stands in front of me—sans all the makeup, false eyelashes, and cleavage from yesterday and instead wearing one of those high-impact sports bras that zip up the front to her collarbones—that whole freeze thing I’m known for kicks into high gear. As sweet as Crystal is, I get the impression she has the ability to flip a switch and could suddenly become a badass drill sergeant, running this place like a boot camp if she chose to.

Much like my sweet, goofball husband, who at the drop of a hat can conjure the intimidating Dominant, Seven, who lives just beneath his always-sinfully-beautiful surface.

I wonder if Crystal has a name for that other persona I somehow sense within her.

What was your stripper name? I wonder, and when she asks, “What? Crystal isn’t stripper enough as it is?” with a laugh, I want the wooden floor to open up and swallow me as I realize I asked that question out loud.

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