Page 5 of Doubling Down

“Let’s get Sarah a drink,” Rick says. “She looks a little shellshocked. Case, what’d you tell her about the club so far?”

“Not much. This place is hard to describe. Easier to just give her a tour. She needs to go through the Chloe gauntlet before we can actually show her anything, though—you know that.”

“Well, let’s not waste time,” Max says. He hands me a glass of champagne, then tilts his head for us to follow him down a hallway.

I take a sip of the bubbly, which fortifies me a little. It tastes expensive. “At least give me the short version so I know what to expect,” I say. “I’m starting to feel a little out of my depth.”

“Whitewood is a kink club,” Max says. “That about sums it up.”

“You mean BDSM?” I ask. After some of the secrets Casey shared with me before we quit speaking, I shouldn’t be surprised, but now I’m even less sure I belong here.

“It’s more complicated than that,” Rick says. “It’s a safe space for a variety of kinks. Not everyone who’s kinky is into bondage and discipline. For example, one of our most popular Doms is more about control. He doesn’t do pain or bondage at all, but expects his subs to obey his voice alone. His subs, on the other hand, are into pain, so they often take turns playing with each other while he gives the commands. It’s a trip to watch.”

“We’ll introduce you to all the kinks a bit later,” Casey says. “For now, just be polite and honest when Chloe interviews you.”

I raise my eyebrows as we stop outside a door. “Interviews me for what? I thought I was just tagging along.”

“You are. But you can’t go upstairs without answering some questions and signing an NDA. If you get up there and decide you want to participate, you need to be aware of the rules.”

The door opens, and a distinguished-looking woman with silver hair stands there, blue eyes taking me in. “This is your friend Sarah?” she asks.

“The one and only. I trust her with my life,” Casey says. “Be gentle with her, okay?”

“Wait, you’re not leaving me, are you?” I ask, mild panic sinking into my gut.

Casey squeezes my arm. “I promise, as long as you’re here, you never have to do anything you don’t want to do. You’ll be in good hands.”

“Where are you going?” I ask.

“I have to go to work,” she says, giving me a peck on the cheek, then turning to go with a wink. She disappears down the hallway, flanked by Max and Rick.

Blindsided by my friend abandoning me, I steel myself and look at Chloe. She gives me a warm smile.

“Don’t worry, it’s not as scary as you think. Come, let me give you a refill while we talk. Please, sit.”

She gestures to a pair of armchairs situated near an unlit fireplace. A sheet of paper rests on the table between them, a pen laying diagonally on top of it. I sit and peek at the paper, which turns out to be the NDA Casey mentioned.

Chloe refills my drink and proceeds to grill me about my sexual history and interests. She’s disturbingly thorough, but despite feeling cornered, this is the first time I feel free enough to talk about my month with the twins. I don’t name them, of course; I just explain how there were two boys fostered in our house who I had my sexual awakening with. She’s so accepting of the story that the level of shame I still feel seems like overkill.

“Interesting,” Chloe says, a smile on her face that makes me wonder if she somehow gets off on hearing people’s secrets. “And these twins… they were your age, correct?”

“A few months younger. They weren’t eighteen yet. I was. Maybe that’s wrong, but we were all consenting.”

She waves a hand. “I believe you. I also think you will fit in quite well at Whitewood. Facilitating our patrons in exploring their secret fantasies is what we’re best at.”

“As fun as it sounds, I don’t know if I can afford to be a member,” I say, laughing. “Besides, I’m only in town for the summer. I leave for my last year of college in a couple months.”

“You’re a guest of one of our most popular trios. Max and Rick are two of the best Doms on my staff, and if they’re willing to sponsor you, you may visit once a month at no cost. There are rules you must follow, of course. And if you want to visit more frequently, you must either pay the membership fee, or agree to perform.”

Perform? Not a chance. I give a nervous laugh. “I doubt it’ll come to that. I’m just curious. It’s okay if I’m just an observer, right?”

Again she smiles. “Of course. No one here is ever coerced into doing something they don’t want to do. However, I will need you to sign this. It’s to protect you as much as the other members and performers.”

She pushes the NDA closer, then lifts the sheet, revealing a second piece of paper underneath, also with a signature line. “And please review this list. These are all the activities our members engage in while here. Please rank each one by level of interest from zero to five—five being enthusiastically interested, and zero being a hard no. At the top here is where you list your safe word.”

“What do I need to do this for, if I’m not participating?” I scan the list, eyes widening at the variety of acts covered. With most there are two options, which involve both giving and receiving of every activity. But when I recognize several of the things I did with the twins, my panties moisten. This is a place that accepts what we did without question or judgment.

“It’s to protect you, Sarah. We are very strict about maintaining the safety of our members, but on the rare occasion someone has a bad experience, we need to have a record of your hard limits. This list does not indicate tacit consent for any of the items on it; it’s just for information purposes. I’ll give you a few moments to fill it out, then I’ll have a member of the staff give you the tour.”

---