Phoenix Rising

by Lagomarsino, Giulia

  “How did they know what Smack even was?” Ivy asked.

  “I guess it was that BDSM photo I put up. It must have drawn the guy in.”

  “Wait,” she stopped me, putting a hand on my arm. “It was a guy? Isn’t that a little weird?”

  “I thought so too, but he was very insistent. Maybe it’s some rich guy that wants all this kinky shit for his girlfriend, but doesn’t want to go to an adult store.”

  “I’m pretty sure rich guys have people that do this stuff for them.”

  “Would you relax? This is our first party! Get excited. It’s going to be a huge hit and if we sell enough stuff, imagine how much more inventory we’ll be able to buy!”

  “I guess, but we need to call in the other ladies so we can be prepared for tonight. We don’t want our first party turning into a big failure.”

  “Oh!” I said with wide eyes, gripping onto Ivy’s arms. “Don’t tell any of the guys. You know how they get around other men. If they knew we were doing a sex party for a man, just imagine how that would turn out.”

  She nodded vigorously. “Right. Definitely no men. Alright, I’ll call the ladies and you start packing and putting together something fun for tonight. Oh! What should we wear?”

  “I’m thinking bustiers and tight, black pants with heels. Or skirts. Sexy, but classy.”

  “Got it.”

  Ivy ran off and I started packing up what inventory we had. Now would have been the perfect time to blackmail one of the guys into helping us, but if there were men there, the guys definitely wouldn’t do anything to help.

  “Okay, I’ve got Isa, Cara, Claire, and Raegan coming in tonight. Everyone else is covering child care duty and feeding the boys and distracting them. Lucy wanted to come, but she’s been interviewing like crazy for a teaching position. I think she’s too stressed for this right now. Our cover story is that we’re researching tonight.”

  “I’m surprised that Cara wanted to be part of this.”

  “Don’t count that girl out. She’s been taking back her life and kicking ass.”

  “I meant because her brother is a cop. It just seems like it could be awkward for her.”

  “It’s not like she’s a prostitute. I mean, she’s selling sex, but not physically. Besides, the girl needs to let off some steam.”

  I narrowed my eyes at Ivy. “Seriously? You don’t think she gets to let off enough steam with Sinner?”

  “Okay, don’t you dare ever tell anyone this, but when I first met Sinner, I used to have dirty dreams about him.”

  I set down what I was working on and gave her all my attention. “Tell me everything.”

  “Well, at first, it was just about meeting him and falling for him. You know, I would run into him and flirt with him. But then it turned into him fucking me in the backroom of the shop.”

  “Oh my gosh! Did you ever tell Jules?”

  “Um, yeah. That conversation went something like….Your teammate is really hot and I wouldn’t mind fucking him sometime if he weren’t already married.”

  “You did not!” I said in outrage.

  “Of course I didn’t. Believe me, you would have known if Jules had found out. He would have locked me up with him, and I’m pretty sure he would have found a way to get me to commit a lot sooner.”

  “What is it about Sinner that makes all the guys feel so emasculated?”

  “It’s his body.”

  “That’s not it,” I shook my head. “All the guys have amazing bodies.”

  “Well, then it can’t be his moves. All the men have moves.”

  “But not all of them make a girl feel like she was just flirted with and fucked all at the same time.”

  “I don’t know,” Ivy said. “One look from Knight and I feel like I’ve been flirted with, fucked, and then fucked over.”

  I sighed dreamily. “Do you think they’d ever agree to one big open community?”

  “Would you really want to share?”

  Before I could answer, my phone rang. “Hello?”

  “This Smack?”

  “Yes, it is. How may I help you?”

  “I’m looking for some product. What time can you meet?”

  “Um…” I mouthed ‘wow’ too Ivy and did a happy dance. “We’re actually not available today. Could I get your name and number and I’ll call you back to reschedule?”

  The guy hung up and I growled at the phone. “Men are so rude. He could have just said no thank you.”

  “Two calls in one day. How weird is that?” Ivy asked. “What did you do to advertise?”

  “I put it on Craigslist.”

  “Craigslist? Seriously? You’re going to get us murdered!”

  “I’m pretty sure the Craigslist killer didn’t kill women at sex parties,” I said dryly.

  “And where else would you find a bunch of unsuspecting women, drinking and being totally careless for one night?”

  I thought it over and grimaced. “I’ll take the ad down.”