CHAPTER 16 #2
“What can I get you?” the girl at the counter asked, wiping the stainless surface with a damp cloth. She had a pixie haircut and radiated bubbly energy.
Jannie eyed her name tag, which read, Piper, then looked at the menu on the wall. “I don’t see prices.”
“Everything is included with your membership.” She grinned. “Or with your guest pass.”
“Oh. OK.” A smoothie would fit the bill, Jannie decided. “Which smoothie would you recommend?”
“I like the strawberry-pineapple-banana,” Piper replied without hesitation.
“Sounds good. One of those, please. And a green apple, spinach, and banana. With almond milk.”
“We call that one the Hot Pilot!” Piper winked. “Nick always orders it. Would you like to add a vitamin and protein boost to both for additional energy and nutrition?”
She wasn’t a fan of unnecessary supplements. “No, thank you.”
The girl nodded and set about scooping and measuring fruit and juice into a blender carafe. “We haven’t seen Pilot Nick in a while,” she said.
Jannie pulled two straws from the dispenser. “Oh?”
“Yeah, he’s usually in here every day for at least a couple of hours.
Works out like a beast, that man. We were wondering if he moved away or something, or if he was flying a different route nowadays, or maybe got sick, because no one has seen him in, like, forever.
” She looked at Jannie with open curiosity.
“Are you his new girlfriend or something?”
Or something.
Before she could think of a reply, Piper went on.
“Sorry, you don’t have to answer that. I’m way too nosy.
” She waved her scoop in the air, then flipped the switch on the blender, eliminating any possibility of further conversation.
Jannie inhaled the aroma of strawberries and bananas, watching the mixture swirl in the carafe and turn a pretty shade of coral.
The moment the blender stopped, Piper continued. “There’s a rumor that’s been going around. They say he has a brother. Is that true?” She made a pouty face. “Please say yes.”
Jannie’s heart squeezed. “Nick is an only child.”
The girl’s face fell. “For real?”
“I’m afraid so.”
Disappointment flickered in Piper’s eyes. “Aww, that’s too bad. It would’ve been so cool if that were true. They said they were sure he had a younger brother who looked just like him.”
She yanked the carafe from the base, ripped off the lid, and poured the fruity mixture into a tall paper cup. “Wishful thinking on their part, I guess.” She sighed. “They broke the mold when they made that man, that’s for sure.”
She pulled a plastic lid from a stack behind her. “They also say—” she lowered her voice conspiratorially “—that he owns a sex club.”
The last two words were a loud whisper, and Jannie struggled to keep a straight face. “Really.” It didn’t come out as a question.
“Yeah. That’s why none of us could get to that monster he packs in his shorts, not even for a quick bang in the storage closet.”
The storage closet? Jannie swallowed back a snicker. Apparently, the hospital wasn’t the only place where those rooms did double duty. As for the monster—
“’Cause he likes, you know … weird stuff,” Piper said conspiratorially.
Jannie gritted her teeth. In her opinion, people’s sexuality was personal, private, and certainly not a topic for gym gossip. Furthermore, what Nick liked or didn’t like was none of anyone’s business, and they had no right to call it weird.
“I wouldn’t know,” she said.
“I know a little.” Piper leaned in. “I’ve heard … things.”
“What kinds of things?”
“Like, stories about people who went there and were never normal again.”
“How so?”
“They say—” the girl glanced around “—that the orgasms you get there are something crazy. They have these … devices.”
“Devices?”
“Yeah, like, um, cum machines.”
They’re called vibrators. Jannie nearly rolled her eyes.
“Not, like, vibrators,” Piper said, as if reading her thoughts. “They’re, like, multiple point stimulators people get hooked up to.”
This conversation was becoming increasingly bizarre, not to mention inappropriate. Yet something compelled Jannie to find out what people were saying, even if only to inform Nick so he could put a stop to the outrageous stories.
“And you know this for a fact.”
Piper shrugged. “Nah. Just rumors. For all I know, they just use E.”
Ecstasy? She couldn’t believe that Nick would supply or permit drugs in his establishment.
Jannie’s eyes narrowed slightly. “It sounds to me like people who couldn’t get in let their envious imaginations run wild.”
“Could be.” The girl grinned. “There’s only one way to find out. Unfortunately for me, I’ll never have the kind of money to get into a place like that. And you bet I’m jealous.”
Piper slapped the lid onto the cup and slid it across the counter. “Here you go, enjoy! I’ll whip up Nick’s real quick.”
Whip up. Interesting choice of words.
Jannie took the smoothie. “Thank you.”
“Sure! Enjoy the rest of your workout!”
Across the floor, Jannie saw Nick straining to lift a barbell, closely observed by Reginald. Completing the reps, he waited for Reginald to replace the bar, who said something to him, apparently in jest, because Nick laughed heartily as he sat up.
He spotted Jannie and flashed her a cocky grin as he reached for his towel and wiped the sweat off his brow.
People went there and were never normal again.
Jannie crossed the floor, watching him chat jovially with Reginald. Looking at Nick, no one would guess he was anything but a regular guy, albeit a drop-dead gorgeous one.
Her stomach flipped. What exactly went on at his club, and what did he do there?