Sinner Chapter 1 #2
I stood by him when he wanted to go to college and study business. I’d been encouraged by his choice. Only he used those four years to party more than to study. He’d graduated by the skin of his teeth. I then assumed he had gotten all that out of his system in college when he told me he had a job.
He hadn’t. He went from one job to the next, and when he grew tired of those, he tried to start his own company.
He came to me requesting help with it. Against my better judgment, I loaned him the thirty thousand he said he needed.
The business centered on cryptocurrency.
I knew next to nothing about it, but the way Rowan talked about it made him sound extremely knowledgeable.
I was hesitant, but gave in to the argument that the things I might do weren’t what he would do.
His business plan had sounded solid as well.
He had a written one that he presented to me.
So, like an idiot, I gave him the loan. He’d lost all the money in six months.
That was when I offered him a job working with me.
He’d jumped at the chance. I’d spent the past two years showing him everything I knew.
He found it boring. He kept wasting the opportunities given to him.
I was done. Just a few more weeks, maybe six at the most, and I’d let him go to find his own path without me to fall back on.
Some people might say that was cruel. We were family, which was true. But it didn’t mean that, as a family member, he had the right to use me for his entire life. Rowan wouldn’t get serious until he had no safety net or rigging line to save him.
Sighing, I turned back to my desk. I had work to finish, and then it would be time to head to Lustz.
I knew even if I found no one to play with, I’d likely see at least one friend with whom I could have a chat and a drink.
It wasn’t always about sex when I went there, despite what some might think.
Often, I practiced my art without it ending in sex.
?
My body relaxed the moment I got to Lustz.
It began as soon as I greeted Damir at the door.
He was the doorman-slash-security guard.
His job was to vet those entering to ensure they had the right to be there.
If not, he’d send them on their way. If they tried to enter anyway, well, he’d show them the error of their thinking and, if necessary, call a friend or two to help drive the lesson home.
He split his time out here with another guy, Tuck. Both did a great job.
As I passed inside, I was greeted by Babs.
She was one of the club’s greeters. She was also the person to get your beads from.
Lustz easily denoted what each individual was into by using colored beads.
The color of them and whether they were placed on the right or left wrist told the story.
Patrons could add or subtract beads as they wished.
If you were new, this would be the place to get your bracelet and initial bead or beads.
Babs smiled and said hello. I smiled as I said it back.
From there, I passed through to the first floor.
It was like a dance club and bar combo. There was seating all around, with a dedicated dance floor where a DJ played a variety of music.
There was a large bar where one could have both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.
If you were drinking alcohol and wanted to progress to the second floor to engage in any type of play, there was a two-drink maximum.
Each patron and patroness had a card scanned whenever they ordered.
As a person moved to the second floor, they were stopped, and the card was scanned.
If it showed they had more than two alcoholic drinks, they were turned around and sent back to the first floor.
No one would be permitted to have an altered mental status and potentially play.
The main floor was a place where people could dance, flirt, socialize, and talk.
If you wanted to observe and/or participate in various acts, you went to the second floor. There, you’d find stages and rooms. Some of the stages were for demos, and the rooms were themed based on common kinks and fantasies.
Several people greeted me. The staff waved, called out hello, smiled, or nodded.
Others who greeted me were patrons and patronesses who knew me by sight.
When it came to them, among the women were some that I’d played with or had sex with.
I wasn’t into men. No judgment if other men were. It merely wasn’t my thing.
I took my time circling the first floor. I was offered a drink, which I declined. I wasn’t sure if I’d want to do anything on the second floor, but I wanted to keep the option open.
When I was done checking out who was here, I went up to the second floor.
I let my card be scanned to ensure I was good to go.
Up here, there were two kinds of stages.
One kind was for Lustz-employed dancers, who would perform dances and sensual displays to heat people’s blood. They didn’t engage in sex.
The other stages were where patrons would demonstrate different types of kinks.
If you were on this floor, you shouldn’t be shocked to see sexual acts happening pretty much anywhere.
They didn’t have to be on the stage or in the themed rooms. Those rooms could be as private or open as the ones using them wanted.
I scanned the dimness, trying to see if any of my friends were here.
I was fortunate not only to strike up friendships with other patrons but also with the owner and his club manager.
Mikhail owned Lustz. His manager was Reuben, who was also a member.
Then there were Carter, Hoss, Iker, Sawyer, Odin, and Atlas.
In addition, I was friends with Tajah, Cady, Lexi, and Cristiana, who were the wives of Mikhail, Hoss, Carver, and Reuben.
Cristiana and Reuben had met here five months ago.
They’d fallen for each other at first sight.
I’d been intrigued enough by Cristiana to attempt to get to know her to see if there could be a play partner or more there.
But when it was clear Reuben was crazy for her, Iker, Odin, Atlas, and I backed off and offered her friendship instead. I was happy for them.
I found it amazing and slightly encouraging that all four couples had met and gotten together because of Lustz. And anyone who knew them could never argue they were anything but love matches. But sometimes they made me question whether I’d ever have more than I did personally.
Sure, professionally, I did great. I had a nice home, a more-than-decent income, and no major debt.
Sure, I had Rowan to deal with, but he wasn’t something I counted as a major, long-standing negative despite the headache he gave me.
The area that was lacking was on the personal side of my life.
I was thirty-five. I’d never been married and had no kids.
My last serious relationship was five years ago.
It was after that relationship broke up that I went to Lustz to see what they had to offer.
There were several reasons my girlfriend and I ended things.
Sex and differing needs hadn’t been the only things, but they were part of it.
It was after coming here that I discovered shibari.
It was as if two parts of me merged. Those fantasies about doing more than handcuffing my girlfriend’s wrists together found a name.
And no one here thought I was a deviant for wanting to do it or for exploring the other things I’d been curious about.
No judgment was a key foundation here. It went along with what many people didn’t know.
Communication and consent were at the core of everything done in the BDSM lifestyle.
I’d met a rope master not long after joining Lustz.
He went by the name Hitch, an apt name for him.
I wasn’t sure whether it was connected to his real name or just to his love of rope.
Lots of people used different names at the club.
Hitch was a master not only for his extensive knowledge and experience in shibari, but also for his ability to make a living teaching the art to others.
He lectured on the topic and held conventions across the country and the world. I’d paid him to teach me the art form.
Yes, it was more than just getting off on tying someone up.
Sure, there was a sexual aspect to it, if you allowed there to be.
But not everyone I’d tied did I have sex with.
Some were merely rope bottoms. Occasionally, there had been those who were rope bunnies.
The difference was something Hitch had taught me as well.
A rope bottom was the person being tied when there was no formal Dominant/submissive relationship between the two engaged in the act.
Bunnies were those who got off sexually from being tied.
I’d played with both. However, the one thing I hadn’t ever found, but deep down was what I craved, was a rope model.
Rope models were more about the art’s aesthetics. They were there to create art with their bodies and the rope. Often, that included taking photos. If I were honest with myself, I knew that I had no hope of settling down, marrying, and having a family if I couldn’t find my unicorn, as I called her.
My unicorn consisted of a woman who would not only be my rope bottom, bunny, and model all rolled into one, but who was also open to exploring and playing with other aspects of the kink lifestyle.
Not merely doing it to please me, but because she gained pleasure and more from it.
Not everything about a permanent partner was about the BDSM side of things.
I had plenty of other wants and needs in those aspects as well.
I called that unknown woman my unicorn because I doubted she existed.