I wrap my arms around him. “Tim, you scrub up well.” I smile at him, so happy to see him. Pen was right; this is exactly what I need to get my mind off that rat.
“I have a wonderful fiancé to thank for that.” His eyes light up as he tells me.
“Oh my God, congratulations! I’m so happy for you.” I’m genuinely happy for him.
“Thanks, darling. I hope that you’ll come to the wedding.”
“Of course, nothing can keep me away. So, what’s going to happen with your family?” I really hope that he can work things out, there’s nothing worse than not having the love and support of your family.
“My sister knows and she’s happy for me, but my parents don’t know. Is it stupid that I’m scared to tell them?”
“No, of course, it’s not stupid. You want them to approve and to love the man that you love.” I link my arm through his. “Come on, Tim, let’s go and have some fun.”
He laughs as I intended him to. “You just want to get up-to-date with the gossip.”
“Of course, so come on, inform me on everything I’ve missed.” I smile at him as we walk into this gala. I feel as though everyone is watching me, not in a nice way either. I feel as though they’re glaring at me.
“Oh, darling, so much! You have missed so very much. So, Rodger uses an escort too, I wonder if you know his date?” He nods his head in the direction of the balding, heavy guy who looks like he’s in his mid- to late fifties, and he’s staring at this young brunette who is the ultimate package. Busty and curvy in all the right places, with a tiny waist and legs that go for miles.
“Yeah, that’s Natalie, she’s one of ours.” I stare at Nat, hoping that she’s okay, there’s something about her that pulls at my protectiveness. I think it’s her eyes, they hold so much hurt and devastation that I hardly look at them.
“Oh, and then there’s James.” My heart speeds up at the sound of his name. “That poor man; such a bitch of a wife he is chained to. I swear to you, Stef, if I weren’t a man, I’d slap her silly.” He makes a tutting sound. “Shall we mingle?”
I want to ask him about James but I don’t even know if it’s my James. No, he’s not my James anymore, he’s a lying, cheating arsehole. “I’m just going to powder my nose, I shan’t be long,” I say in the poshest voice I can muster.
“Oh, darling, that is perfect, I love it. I shall get us some drinks and we will reconvene when you’ve finished.” He pulls out his phone, no doubt checking in with Gary.
I walk towards the bathrooms and I can feel eyes on me, as I pass a couple they’re staring at me. “Ooh, that’s her, she’s the one that was having an affair with James Moore, poor Valerie, she must be heartbroken. I’ve heard she won’t be coming to anymore events; she’s too scandalized to even come. Everyone knows what’s happened,” I hear them say and my breath catches and my feet stop. What the hell?
“You’d think it would be her, not Valerie that would have the decency not to show her face at any of these events. She’s caused enough damage as it is. I can’t imagine the shame Valerie’s in, finding out that your husband cheated on you is one thing, but with a prostitute. That has got to hurt. Then to have her flaunting about with poor Tim, she’s a tart, plain and simple.”
Oh my God, I’m the talk of this gala. They all think I’m a tramp!
Taking a deep breath, I don’t let it affect me. I can’t. I have a job to do. I feel eyes on me as I walk into the toilet, but I don’t turn, instead I wait for her to come to me. As soon as I’m at the sinks she walks in, putting on a brave face. “Bored yet?” I ask her and her pouty face breaks out into a smile. “God, you got stuck with a dud, huh?”
She sighs, crossing her arms over her chest as she does. “Yes, ugh, he wants to bring me to his hotel room afterward.” She looks disgusted but this is what we do, we make our clients happy. I’m lucky because I don’t sleep with my clients; Pen makes sure that only those who want arm candy get passed to me. Nat though, she does everything and is paid well for it.
“Can you blame him?” I honestly don’t know how she does it, I’m not judging her, I just couldn’t sleep with men that give me the creeps.
“Happy birthday to me.” She has the fakest smile on her face but behind those eyes hold sorrow.
“Happy Birthday!” I give her a hug. “How old are you now?”
“The big one eight! Anyway, I had better go back out there, no doubt he’ll send a search party if I don’t. Have a good night, Stef.” She leaves the bathroom without looking back.
I’m standing here and I can’t wrap my head around it. She’s only just eighteen, she's been working for Midnight Lovers for about six weeks now. How has Pen even let this happen? When I met Pen she told me that I couldn’t sleep with the clients, so why the hell is she letting Natalie? I open my clutch bag and pull out my phone, I need to text Pen, I can’t let this lie.
Me: Pen, what the hell? It’s Natalie’s birthday today, she’s just turned 18!
Penelope: Yes, I know.
Me: Pen, why the hell is she sleeping with the clients?
Penelope: That has nothing to do with you.
I put my phone back realising that I’ve overstepped the mark. What Pen and Natalie do isn’t my business, but I can’t help it. Natalie is so young, she shouldn’t be doing this, and she shouldn’t be selling herself. I slept with James and even before I knew he was a cheater I felt dirty. I felt cheap and used and I wouldn’t want that for anyone.
I fix my make-up and walk out of the bathroom and back to Tim. I'm going to make sure that we enjoy this gala, forget about all the crap that has happened in the last few days. God knows I need it, it’s usually times like these that I’d tell Jess what I’m feeling. But I just can’t bring myself to admit to her that I made a mistake, that I slept with a married man, that I’m in love with him.
That plan goes downhill as soon as I walk out of the bathroom, everyone is staring at me and they’re all whispering.
“Darling, you are the biggest scandal to hit this scene in a long time,” Tim tells me with a smile, at least someone’s happy to see me. “Ignore all of those idiots; they’re all listening to their wives who got the information from the wicked witch herself. Those who know James know that he’s been really happy the last few months and we’ve had you to thank for that.” He links his arm through mine and pulls me towards the guests who are staring at me like I’m the devil.
This is going to be a shit event and the sooner it’s over the bloody better.
Chapter Two
It’s been three days since I saw the man I love with his wife. Since then I haven’t seen him or spoken to him. He’s left a few voicemail messages and I’ve only heard one.
God, that just added to the heartache.
“Stef, I’m so sorry. I never intended for you to find out about Valerie like that. God, I’m so sorry, baby. Val and I, we’ve been married for fourteen years and we’ve been going through a rough patch for a really long time. She had a baby nine months ago, I’m sorry... She’s not right…” I end the voicemail and delete it, not wanting to listen to anymore. He has a child? God, this couldn’t get any worse.
How stupid am I? I honestly thought that he was going to explain how it was all a big misunderstanding. Stupid me, huh? I hope that he gets the message that I don’t want to talk to him.
“Who was that?” Penelope’s husky voice makes me look up. We’re in Midnight Lovers’ headquarters and I’m standing in the foyer.
“Nobody important. You look fancy today, what gives?” She’s dressed up to the nines, which isn’t unusual for Penelope as she always looks her best, but today in her tight black leather trousers, matching Basque with ribbons, her hair pulled into a tight ponytail, and her fuck me heels she looks as though she’s a dominatrix.
“So, it was the cheating rat? Have you spoken to him?” She raises her eyebrow, just like a mum would do if they were checking up on you.
“Yes, it was James, and no, I haven’t spo
ken to him. I’m not going to. You know that, Pen, I don’t trust anybody that cheats. I lived the aftermath of my dad doing it.” I physically shake the thoughts of my dad out of my mind.
Nope, not going there.
“Where are you off to?” I ask yet again, knowing full well she ignored me the first time.
“Fine, you nosey cow. I’m going to meet someone. I have a date.” She huffs at me and something about the way she’s standing and the way she looks clicks in my mind. She is a dominatrix.
“Don’t look at me like that. Mind your own business.” She wags her finger at me and I can’t help but laugh.
“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” She raises her eyebrow at me and it’s like I’m seventeen again and meeting her for the first time.
“Yes, I’m going. Arthur needs a date and I’m the lucky lady.” Just the thought of this date has me wanting to run and crawl back under my duvet.
“Hmm, seems you’re not the only one. Tell that weasel to keep his hands to himself. He tried it on with Natalie only a few days ago and you know what Natalie’s like, she told him she’d break his hand if he tried it again.” I shiver in disgust.
Arthur is in his mid-fifties and looks as though he’s in his seventies. He thinks he’s a ladies’ man, when in fact no one can bear to be around him. I don’t know how I ended up being stuck as his date.
“I’ve got to go, try and be civil to him; we don’t need another complaint from one of our clients.” She saunters off out the door and I’m left wondering who the hell her date is.
A door opens from upstairs and I frown, wondering who’s here. The sounds of heels on the marble staircase have me looking in that direction. Walking down the stairs dressed in the tightest, skimpiest dress I’ve ever seen anyone wear is Natalie. As she reaches the bottom step she gives me a once-over before frowning. “Did you not get the memo?”
My eyes narrow. “What memo?”
“Seems as though Awful Arthur has hired the two of us for the night. He’s requested our ‘company’ for the evening and we’re to wear the tightest clothes we have.” She curls her lip in disgust. “The perv is bringing us to an S&M party.”
“No way! Nuh-uh. Not happening. I’m not going.”
She smiles and that smile makes the hairs on my arms stand up. “Stef, I have the perfect dress for you, seriously, this guy is full of shit. He knows nothing about this shit, he’s going to look like a twat and I for one want front row seats.”
My eyes narrow suspiciously. “How do you know he doesn’t?”
“I asked him if he prefers a riding crop or a paddle and the idiot thought I was talking about horse racing.” She raises one of her perfectly arched brows daring me to say no, to be a part of this farce. “He’s a twat, Stef, and the sooner he realises that he’s playing in the big leagues the better, he’ll never use Midnight Lovers again.”
“Fine, you’ve twisted my arm.” She rushes towards me and grabs my arm, pulling me towards the staircase. She brings me into one of the rooms up here—it’s what we use as a dressing room. “So, where’s this dress?”
She reaches into the Mendes bag and I know that shop, it’s the sex shop that’s two streets away from here. “Okay, so you need to strip, no bra and no knickers.”
“Nat,” I cry, God, I’m not walking into a bloody S&M club not wearing underwear.
“Shush, just do it, okay, we’ve not got much time.” She spins me around so I’m facing away from her and I start to strip out of my clothes. It doesn’t take me long to try and get everything into this scrap that Natalie calls a dress, it’s like an X that goes tightly across my chest, barely covering my boobs. It barely covers my arse either. I won’t be able to bend over otherwise my arse will be exposed. “You look hot, are you ready?”
“No, why the hell aren’t I wearing knickers? I don’t need to air out my damn vagina.”
“Wear the knickers if you need to.” She rolls her eyes at me almost as though she’s talking to a child. I do wear the bloody knickers; I’m not walking around that sleazy arsehole without them.
We walk to the club, it’s only a ten-minute walk, plus it’s a nice evening out. Nat hasn’t said much and I think she’s tired of hearing my voice by now. We come to a stop when we see Arthur standing outside the club, he’s wearing a white suit and by the looks of it a black silk shirt underneath.
“Ah, ladies. You’re here, fabulous, and you both look ravishing.” He licks his lips as his eyes roam our bodies. “Shall we go inside?” He holds both of his arms out for us to take. I give Nat a look and I watch as a smirk forms on her pouty lips, the woman has nothing but pouty lips, they’re all natural and look phenomenal. She’s going to enjoy herself and I really hope she’s right. Arthur is the worst client that Pen has and we would all rather he pissed off. I take his arm as Nat takes the other and we walk into the club.
It’s bold—red and black everywhere. It’s very sophisticated and even though it’s bold it’s comforting. Arthur brings us into a room and we sit on the chairs that are facing a glass window. A light goes on and a man and woman walk in, shivers run through me with anticipation, I’ve heard about these clubs, I’ve never been to one though.
My eyes are glued to the glass, watching the couple play out their scene. Nat was right about Arthur realising he was in too deep, as soon as the man started tying the woman up he was gone. Well, Nat didn’t help matters; she told him she preferred tying the man up. That for her to get off, she has to be in charge. His face went a deathly grey colour, and then she told him that she would whip him. He shot up and stammered that he wouldn't be seeing us again. Both Nat and I decided to stay. I wanted to see what was going to happen between them and I think Nat’s into this sort of thing. I always thought that BDSM was like a Fifty Shades kind of thing but it’s so much more, it looks so natural and so exhilarating. I really wouldn’t mind being tied up and spanked but only with a hand, I couldn’t bear the pain that a cane would bring.
This couple seem to be so in love but I don’t know if it’s part of the act or not. This club seems to be a place people feel safe in; they can come here and freely get with other people who enjoy the same things as them. I watch as the woman gives the man a blowjob and the couple in front of me starts to get handsy with each other before getting up and leaving, no doubt finding a room for themselves and getting their frustrations out. “Does this interest you?” I ask Nat quietly as the couple start to have sex and that doesn’t interest me, I enjoyed watching the scene as it was new to me and I was fascinated.
She tips her head towards the door and I follow her out. “It doesn’t necessarily interest me, it’s more of what I’m used to,” she tells me mysteriously, opening a door to the left. “In here.”
My eyes widen when I see a man on his knees and a woman standing over him with a whip, but what has my eyes widening is the fact that it’s Penelope whipping him. “You knew she’s a Dom?”
“It’s a Domme for a woman.” She draws out the “e” and it clicks—Mrs Robinson in Fifty Shades of Grey was a Domme. “Of course, I knew that she was one, that woman has to be in control of everything. She’s an amazing Domme that looks after her subs really well, she’s one of the most sought-after Dommes,” she tells me watching Pen as she kisses the man.
“How did you and Pen meet?” I know that Penelope brought her in, she’s looked after her much as she did for me. I know that Nat and I are different, Nat sleeps with her clients, whereas I don’t. I always wondered why Pen let her when she was adamant I wasn’t allowed.
“I met Penelope when I was fifteen; I met her again just over six months ago. I owe her my life. Do you want to stay and watch or are you finished?” she asks, her eyes glued to Penelope and the guy she’s with. I can’t look, I feel as though I’m intruding. I stand and Nat follows. “You know something, Stef, you’re different than I imagined you to be.”
“Oh yeah, and what had you imagined me to be like?”
“A bitch. You’re gorgeous and
the run-ins I’ve had with girls that are pretty have been that they’re bitches. You, well, you’re different. You go out of your way to help people. What do you get in return?” she questions and I feel bad for her, she thinks that everyone is out to get something from her. She mustn’t have had any real friends. I wonder what her family life was to make her this sceptical, to make her need to be an escort. “Hmm?” she asks getting impatient as we walk out of the club. The fresh air hits us and she grabs hold of my arm as we start walking back to the Midnight Lovers building.
“Nothing, except friendship. You see, not everyone is a bitch.” She gives me a look that tells me to dream on. “No, sometimes we can be bitches if we choose to be. I can be a bitch when the time comes. But, Nat, most of the time I just either want to help or be your friend, no hidden agenda.”
She doesn’t say anything as we continue to walk. “How did Pen save your life?”
She gives me a knowing smile; we stop outside the building where my car’s parked outside. “Ever heard curiosity killed the cat? Know what, Stef, if you ask me again in the New Year I’ll tell you,” she tells me and it’s better than nothing, she says it in a way that she doesn’t think she’ll be here by then.
“You’re on. January first, I’m hunting you down. Goodnight, Nat,” I call out as I walk to my car.
“Night, Stef,” she calls back; I can hear the laughter in her voice.
I’m awoken with a wet feeling. Getting out of bed, I see blood between my legs and on the bedsheets. My period must have come during the night.
I go to the toilet and more blood comes out. It’s like it’s flowing, but I see clots. What the hell? That’s not normal.
A pain comes into my lower stomach, it’s bad. I clutch my stomach hoping that it will pass but it doesn’t. This has never happened and I’m so scared right now as I don’t know what is going on. The cramps are so severe that I’m doubled over. Hobbling back to my bedroom I grab my phone, I search Google for the reason as to why I’m in so much pain. My mind is running in circles, what is going on? Google is of no avail, different links pop up, POCS, menstrual cycles, and menorrhagia—whatever the hell that is all pop up and it makes me even more confused.
The Scandals of Life Page 2
