by Helen Cooper
“No.” He grinned at her puzzled face. “You’ll see.”
“I’m so confused right now.” She laughed and Max turned towards her undoing his seatbelt.
“From the first time,” He held her hand. “That’s the name of the poem.” He gazed into her eyes and tried to penetrate her mind. He wanted her to understand how deep his words were and how honest he was being. He cleared his throat and started to recite his poem:
“From the first time I saw you,
I knew that I was yours.
In the infinity of time and space,
That moment was destined.
The way your heart beats in mine,
The way that your eyes make me see,
The way that your smile makes me happy,
The way that your tears make me sad.
I’d give a million lifetimes for one day of your life,
I’d give a billion dollars for one kiss from your lips.
I can not be without you.
I can not see without you.
I can not live without you.
I knew all this from the first time I saw you.”
“Wow.” Sophie looked at him with tears in her eyes. “No one’s ever written something so sweet for me before.”
“I hope it doesn’t sound creepy.” He smiled at her gently. “I’m not some perverted man. I didn’t love you love you from the first time I met you as a kid. But I did feel a connection with you. It wasn’t until later that I knew that I loved you as more than a friend. As more than a sister.”
“I know.”
“I tried to fight it, Sophie. I did everything that I could. You deserve better than me.”
“Max, you are my life. There is no one better for me than you.” She leaned towards him and whispered in his ears. “And I knew the very first time that I saw you that I was going to love you for an eternity.”
“Oh Sophie.” Max’s voice was emotional. “Please let us always remember these words and feelings, no matter what happens.” His words held an ominous tone and Sophie felt scared inside. She had a feeling that she had opened Pandora’s box by insisting on going to the sex club and she wasn’t sure if their relationship would ever be the same again.
***
Max walked slowly to the restaurant with Sophie’s arm tucked under his. He had a foreboding feeling in the pit of his stomach. He had already seen a few Mercedes and BMW’s that he recognized. Some of the old Johns were still frequenting the club it seemed. Maybe they had a contingent of Japanese men come over for business. They were the ones that paid the highest to get taken to clubs like these. And they were always taken to ‘The Games’ because it was innocent and fun. The X Club was for the men and women who knew what the lifestyle was about and had a lot to lose. Men like him, and men like Senator Frank Phillips. The X Club was for the men of power who liked to take control in all aspects. Max never wanted Sophie to see that place.
“Hello, we have a reservation.” He greeted the Maître d’. It was still Pierre and as always Pierre’s face was blank as a slate. No one would have thought they had known each other for years, that Pierre had been his hook-up for a countless supply of drugs and women.
“What name is the reservation under, Sir?” Pierre looked down at the pad in front of him, pen in hand. Maxwell wanted to laugh at how seriously Pierre took his role.
“Max.”
“Mr. Max?” Pierre looked up.
“Yes.” Max paused. “I’m here for games night.”
“Oh, I see.” Pierre looked at him and smiled tightly and then looked at Sophie and frowned. Max knew what he was thinking. Sophie looked too innocent and too gentle. She didn’t fit the look of the normal kind of woman that came to these places. She looked too fragile but Max knew that Sophie was strong enough to withstand the men of ‘The Games’. It was The X Club that he was most scared about.
“Can we go down, Pierre?” Max slipped up and addressed Pierre by his first name and the man frowned at him again. He looked agitated and scratched his head nervously.
“I guess so,” he finally said and opened a side door. Max grabbed a hold of Sophie and they walked through it quickly. Sophie gasped as they walked through a dark corridor. The only light came from tall white candles and classical music played as they walked. She thought she recognized Bach. The corridor was fragrant, and reminded her of jasmine. She heard light laughter coming from further down and she felt her heart beating quickly. This was it. She was finally going to see inside Max’s secret world. “Ready?” He turned to her and smiled and she squeezed his hand, too overwhelmed to say anything.
They walked into a large room that had bright lights and a lot of beautiful women. There was a long bar at the far end and lots of vases of beautiful and exotic flowers. Max nodded at Sarafina, the Eastern European Mom to all the girls. She was sitting on a long chaise chair talking to a middle-aged Mid-Westerner. The guy looked like it was his first time in paradise and Max held a smile. He supposed this was like a candy store for men. He saw the man turn and look at Sophie and he grabbed her closer to him. He didn’t want anyone to get any ideas.
“So, where is everyone?” Sophie looked at him curiously. “I don’t see anyone having sex,” she whispered into his ear and he laughed.
“What exactly do you think a sex club is?”
“Where people have sex?” She frowned and looked embarrassed.
“So, let me tell you a little secret,” he whispered back into her ear. “We’re not in the club yet. This is the façade for the cops and the losers who think they are coming to a whore house like that guy over there.”
Sophie turned and looked at the guy with Sarafina and studied him closely. “He doesn’t look like a freak.”
“A freak?”
“You know, the type of guy that would come to a sex club.” Sophie’s face turned red as she realized what she had said. “Oops, I’m sorry, Max. You know what I mean.”
“It’s okay.” He laughed. “I’ve been called worse. Let’s get a drink.”
“Should we drink?”
“Yes.” He smiled at her warmly. “They need to think we are inebriated enough to not judge the others. We won’t get in without consuming alcohol.”
“Oh wow. Okay.” Sophie walked up to the bar and tossed her hair over her shoulders. Max watched her sashaying with a smile. This was a Sophie he had never seen before. “I’ll have a Tequila Sunrise, please.” She looked over her shoulder at Max. “And whatever the man’s getting.” She took out a twenty dollar bill from her purse and laid it on the bar. “Keep the change.”
Benny, the bartender, looked at her with a smile. “I’m going to need another twenty for your drink alone.”
“Forty dollars for one drink?” Sophie’s voice rose and Max walked up to her quickly.
“Don’t worry about it, Benny. I’ll take care of you.”
“Thanks, Mr. Max. It’s good to see you again.” The bartender beamed at Max and Max tried to look away, hoping that Benny would get the hint. “I’ll have to let Gina and the girls know you’re here.”
“That’s okay—” But before Max could finish his sentence Benny was calling out to someone across the room.
“Gina, Mr. Max is here,” he shouted out to a tall statuesque blonde and Sophie watched the scene unfold in front of her like a movie scene.
“Why Max, it’s so good to see you.” The blonde came up to Max and pressed her lips against his. He was so taken aback that he didn’t immediately withdraw from her gaze. “Tasting as good as ever.” She tinkled while pressing her ample bosoms into his chest. He smiled at her coolly, and introduced her to Sophie.
“Gina, I’d like you to meet Sophie.”
She turned around and studied shy and nervous Sophie, who looked beautiful and completely out of place. “Your new assistant?” she asked with raised eyebrows. “She looks different from the rest.” She reached over and grabbed Sophie’s breasts in her dress. “And her breasts are real?”
Sophie s
tood there with a dazed look in her eyes, like a deer in headlights. Max wanted to grab her close to him and protect her but he knew that there was no way they would get in if he was acting like a protective father or husband.
“She’s not my new assistant.” He smiled, not wanting to say more than that.
“Oh?” Gina looked at him hard then, studying his face. “You do look different.”
“Thanks.”
“I haven’t seen you at X recently either.”
“No.”
“We’ve missed you.” She grabbed his hand and placed his middle finger in her mouth and sucked it. “I’ve missed you.”
“I took a break.” He slowly withdrew his finger, not wanting to upset her. She was the number two woman in the club after Sarafina and he knew that she would kick them out if she felt offended. He sighed to himself as he made eye contact with Sophie; she was staring at him with hurt eyes. He’d have to explain to her why he was acting the way he was afterwards.
“So is this your first time at the club, doll?’
Sophie nodded wordlessly and Gina cackled. He’d never noticed just how witchy she had sounded before.
“Are you guys looking for a threesome or just sampling the fun?” Gina slid an arm around Sophie’s shoulders and played with her hair. “Cause I’m available tonight.”
“I think we’ll just test the waters tonight. Thanks, Gina.”
“No problem, Max.” She sidled back over to him. “You know where I am if you change your mind.” She ran her hands over the front of his pants and grabbed his cock. “I miss fucking you. No one knows how to work a long wide cock quite like you do.” She smiled at him and walked off.
Max walked over to Sophie and she glared at him.
“What the fuck was that?” Her voice was high and angry and he looked at her in shock. He had expected her to be angry but he hadn’t expected her to show it so clearly.
“Sophie, I—”
“Why didn’t you introduce me as your fiancée?” Sophie glared at him. “Or would you rather Gina didn’t know?”
“Sophie.” His voice was pained.
“Yes, Mr. Max.” She spoke in an accent.
“Don’t do this.” He looked at her with serious eyes. “Please trust me. You wanted to do this.”
She stared at him with unshed tears. “I don’t know anymore. I don’t want to see you with other women.”
“I won’t do anything with other women.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.” He pulled her towards him. “I love you, Sophie.”
“I love you too.” She looked around her. “Though I don’t think I’m a big enough slut for this place.”
“Sshh.” He laughed. “Trust me every guy in here wishes he had a chance with you tonight. You are gorgeous, sexy and you look like an angel. Everyone is wondering what I did to get someone like you.”
“Whatever.” Sophie laughed.
“Trust me.” He kissed her and grabbed her ass, bringing her in close to him so that she could feel his hardness against her belly. “I want to fuck you right here and now. I want you so badly.”
“Oh Max.” She groaned against him. “Is it bad that I feel so horny right now?”
“If it’s bad, then I don’t want to be right.”
“Max, you are so corny.” Sophie giggled.
“That’s why you love me.”
“I knew there had to be a reason.” She poked him in the stomach.
“Are you sure you want to go in, Soph? We can leave now and I can make love to you in the parking lot.”
“In the car?”
“Nah, bent over the car.” He licked his lips. “With your ass high in the air.”
Sophie stared at him with wide eyes and he grinned. “Don’t worry, we can still do that after.”
“Maybe.”
“Okay, let’s go.” He grabbed her arm and walked to the bar. ‘Just follow my lead,” he whispered to her.
“Okay,” she squeaked.
“I’d like to order two mai-tais, please.”
“Virgin?” The bartender looked at Max knowingly.
“Extra virgin.”
“This way, please.” He nodded at Max and Max and Sophie followed him down a hall to another door. “Enjoy your evening.”
“Thanks,” Sophie muttered but the man was already gone. Max led her into a dark room and she could barely see through the thick smoke. It wasn’t cigarette smoke but seemed like some sort of dry ice. Sophie could hear women screaming and moaning and one man kept grunting out “fuck yeah.” She tried not to look around her as she didn’t want to draw attention to herself but this atmosphere was completely different to the bar outside. She felt very uncomfortable and made sure to stay close to Max.
Max guided Sophie through the room, unsure of which station to take her to. He knew that she had been freaked out by his encounter with Gina and he wanted to make sure that she wasn’t hurt by participating in this experience. There were four stations in ‘The Games’: the swapping section, the watching section, the anything goes section and the blind section. All of them held the potential for disaster but some were better than others. There was no way that he was going to take her to the swapping section, though that was the section he had frequented the most at the club. He hadn’t cared which women he had been with when he’d been at the club and so it had been the most fun for him. He didn’t really care about the watching section; he didn’t want to watch other people doing it and he didn’t care if people watched him or not, it certainly didn’t get him off. So that left him with the anything goes section, where he and Sophie would be able to use any of the machines available in the large macabre room. He thought that may be the best bet, however, the only problem was there was potential for someone else to join in or watch. And they would have to do something. There was no way they could go in the room and just sit there. The other choice was the blind section. This was the section where you could do whatever you wanted to whoever you wanted and you never quite knew who you were doing. He knew that he could make sure to hold on to Sophie and try to ensure that they were paired together but one wrong movement and they could end up with someone else. There was no way he was going to let that happen.
It seemed to him that their best bet would be the watching section—that was the only section that he could guarantee that they stay together. And if all went according to plan, they could just watch someone and then leave.
“Come Sophie.” He held her close to him and tried not to smile as she took in everything going on around her. He was impressed that she hadn’t begged him to leave already. He knew that most people weren’t comfortable with these types of clubs. He had no use for them anymore himself and he wanted Sophie to realize that this wasn’t his life anymore.
They walked into a dark room that was filled with people in various stages of undress. Many of the couples were making out, a few were having sex and some were just staring at the couple on the stage fucking. He recognized Gina as the female and she smiled at him slyly as they made contact. He didn’t know the man but he was sure that he had paid Gina handsomely for the night’s pleasure.
Max took a seat and Sophie sat next to him. She leaned over and whispered in his ear, “Are they really having sex?”
“Yes.” He grinned at her and ordered them both drinks.
“Wow.” She curled up next to him and placed her hand on his hardening cock. “This turns you on, huh?”
“You turn me on.” He smiled at her and she laughed. She continued to rub his cock through his pants and he reached over and ran his hand up her leg. He allowed it to travel up her thigh and she opened her legs slightly to let his hand in. His fingers touched her pussy and he grinned. She hadn’t lied; she really had on no panties.
“Max,” she hissed at him and brushed his hand away. “People might see.”
“That’s the point.” He laughed but moved his hand. One of the waitresses brought them their drinks and Max noticed that Sop
hie was trying hard not to look at the lady’s naked breasts. He handed her her drink and she guzzled it down quickly.
“I’m not really feeling very drunk,” she whispered in his ears. “Do you think they water the drinks down?”
“It’s not alcohol, Sophie.” He grinned at her. “You can’t drink alcohol remember?”
“Oh shit,” she exclaimed and her hand flew to her mouth. “I completely forgot.”
“It’s okay, Sophie. I assume you’ve never been pregnant before?”
“I just can’t believe I forgot.” Max could tell that she was distressed. “What sort of mother am I going to make to Jacob and to my own baby?”
“It’s okay, Sophie. That’s why I’m here.”
“Oh Max.”
“You can always count on me. I’m always here for you. And I looked into parenting classes today, we are going to be able to start in a few days.”
“Oh Max.” Sophie smiled and looked away. She was happy that Max was really stepping up to the plate but she was really disappointed in herself. How could she have forgotten she couldn’t drink alcohol? What sort of damage would she have done to her baby? All because she was consumed with Max’s past and coming to this club. “My baby is more important than this,” she whispered to herself.
Max cursed himself mentally. He should have told her that he had already called ahead and told the bartender to make the drinks virgin. He knew that Gina and Sarafina would be suspicious if he had ordered virgin drinks so he hadn’t said anything to Sophie beforehand or when he ordered the drinks. But Benny knew the deal; they were old friends and hadn’t even questioned his request. Max sighed and drew Sophie towards him.
“Let’s enjoy tonight and put all worries aside for tomorrow, eh?”
“I’ll try.”
“Well maybe I can help.” He pulled Sophie towards him and placed his hand over her breast, molding it to his palm. She leaned into him and kissed him pushing her tongue into his mouth with urgency. He slipped his finger down the front of her dress and pinched her nipple. She squirmed against him and he felt his cock pushing against his pants uncomfortably. She reached down and massaged his cock before undoing his zipper and pulling him out. He was surprised that she seemed to be getting as into it as she was. He groaned as he felt her warm hands around his cock, squeezing the tip and he pulled her dress up a bit so that his hand could slide up to massage her pussy a little easier.
