Page 11 of Taking Chances

As soon as he leaves, I start peeling off the paint from the walls in my living room.

Since I could remember, I used physical fatigue to deal with my emotions. It used to be working with my grandpa when I was little and continued into hockey, which was so physically draining it worked wonders in numbing my emotional state.

Now that hockey is done, I’m in need of another way to physically drain myself. Working around the house will help, but after three hours of work, I barely built up a sweat.

Hopefully, Lace & Leather will help with that.

At 8:00 p.m. sharp,I pull up in front of the location Connor sent me. The unassuming building doesn’t seem like a sex club, but that’s not out of the ordinary. Rarely does a sex club scream sex club from two blocks away. It’s also a good sign, alluding to the fact that they care about the privacy of their members.

Rina and Connor pull up a few minutes later. Connor is suited up in a dark navy suit, while Rina sports a short black dress.

“Hey, Lennox. Glad you could join us,” Rina says, pulling me into a quick hug. I’m not much of a hugger, but I appreciate the sentiment.

Her light brown hair is curly, her hazel eyes highlighted by dark makeup, and a subtle, black leather collar accentuates her neck. Connor is almost as tall as me, so he towers over her petite frame, and when he pulls her closer by the waist, she melts into his touch.

“Well, he won’tactuallybe joining us,” Connor jokes, making me chuckle. Rina swats his shoulder.

“Very funny,” she responds as we enter the black metal door, marked with an iron ‘L&L’ sign.

The hallway is discreet, the only thing out of the ordinary being two big security guys guarding a black velvet curtain. We show them IDs, and they let us in behind the curtain.

“You’re going to love it here,” Rina says with a smile.

We reach a reception desk and another black curtain. Connor pulls out two black cards and hands it to the attractive goth girl working the reception desk. “He’s our guest. And he’s in the process of signing up for a membership.”

“Can I have your name?” she asks, sizing me up.

“Cade,” I respond, and she checks her laptop.

“Lennox Cade?” I nod. “We probably didn’t get the chance to inform you yet, but your membership was just approved today. Let me check for your card.”

She goes through the desk drawer until she pulls out a sleek black envelope. “Here you go, Mr. Cade.” She hands it to me with a seductive smirk.

“Thank you.” I open it, finding a black card like the ones Connor and Rina have.

“You signed our NDA, so you know that the safety and privacy of our guests is our top priority. Consent is mandatory and there is a two-drink maximum at the bar.”

“We’ll take care of him,” Rina states. The girl hands Connor a small brass key as well, probably the key to the private room they’ve reserved.

I follow them into the bar area of the club. The area consists of a long, dark-wood bar, an interconnected maze of velvet booths, and a stage. There’s a male pole dancer on the stage, showing off his impressive skills and every single muscle in his body. Though most sex clubs have a similar feel, this one looks pretty good.

We sit in the booth closest to the bar, and I observe the club’s clientele walking around. Some of them notice us quickly, nodding a greeting to Rina and Connor. Some are sitting alone, keeping their eyes on everyone in the club, and some are already in intimate positions with partners—standing just a little too close to each other, sitting with their legs intertwined together or their hands not in open sight. The sultry bass music accentuates the sexy atmosphere, and I take a deep breath.

Here, there are no surprises. Here, I have control. Here, I can take the edge off without confusing feelings happening on the other side.

BDSM is inherently deeply intimate. The amount of trust it takes is more than that of a casual sexual encounter. Meaning lines get blurry quickly with unexperienced submissives and totally erased with regular girls.

“You like it?” Rina asks after we order our drinks.

“Seems nice. But I need to see more of it.” My shoulders shrug. “How was your meeting yesterday?” I ask Connor, remembering what he told me.

“It was great. We’re ahead of schedule, which in the construction world is pretty much unheard of.” A satisfied smirk appears on his lips.

“Great, man. What are you building? Another rent-controlled building?”

“Actually, he’s building the BYC a new building.” A soft blush overtakes Rina’s cheeks while her eyes stare at him lovingly.

“That’s the place you work at, isn’t it?” I ask and she nods in response, keeping her eyes on Connor.