Chapter 3
Beck~
Now, while it was hard to have a bad time at a bachelor party, it was impossible to have a bad one when it took place at The Fantasy Factory.
Though I’d never been here before, the place had an impeccable reputation as far as sex clubs went, and after a solid year in business, it was still going strong.
When The Fantasy Factory had first opened, there’d been quite a few people that had clutched their pearls, but not enough that it had stopped the place from opening.
It was also more than just a sex club, if I was being completely honest. The first floor had a regular club vibe to it, and it also had two separate party rooms, one for men and one for women.
The rooms’ monikers were also aptly named, as the room for the women was called Ladies’ Night, and the room for the men was called The Bachelor Pad, which we were currently occupying.
However, it was the second floor that made the place interesting.
With security for women being the place’s main concern, there were four rooms upstairs that you could use to explore your sexual fantasies.
You could choose between voyeurism, BDSM, multiple-partners, and degradation, and you also had the choice of booking a room to participate or using one of the observation rooms to just watch.
Either way, it was reputed to be a good time for everyone.
At any rate, one of my colleagues was getting married next weekend, and because his bride hadn’t wanted a mess of hungover men at her wedding, they had agreed that the bachelor and bachelorette parties would take place the week before, ensuring that nothing would go wrong.
Now, while I was at my wit’s end where weddings were concerned, Sherman Randall was a good guy, and so when he had invited me to his party, I’d said yes.
Plus, when he had explained how it was going to be a small wedding because his wife didn’t have any family, it made sense why he had invited people that weren’t part of the wedding party.
There was also the fact that I couldn’t remember the last time that I’d gotten laid, and so this party was the perfect opportunity to remedy that unfortunate fact.
While I had no desire to take one of the strippers home, I wasn’t opposed to checking out the rest of the club for something interesting.
Plus, I was fairly certain that the hired entertainment was for show only anyway.
Though they were all beautiful and doing their thing like the professionals that they were, most of the men in the room were keeping their hands to themselves, especially Sherman.
Honestly, I was pretty sure that the women were here for aesthetic purposes only, which was fine.
I mean, after all, what was better than being surrounded by beautiful women?
With that thought in mind, I walked over to where Sherman was sitting, and while he seemed to be having a good time, I’d bet a year’s salary that he was missing his fiancé; he just had that vibe about him, and that definitely made him a good guy in my book.
Leaning down, I said, “Hey, if you don’t mind, I’m going to stretch my legs around the club.”
The man just grinned at me. “Have at it.”
After patting him on the shoulder, I left the room, making my way to the bar for a fresh drink, hoping that it wasn’t going to take forever.
It was a Friday night, and the place was packed, proving the success of the place.
For it being a sex club, the place was tasteful as fuck, but that was because the owner was a woman; I was sure of it.
No matter how talented the architect, men just didn’t pay attention to the small details the way that women did.
Luckily for me, a fresh drink was immediately placed in front of me, and when I looked at the bartender, he said, “A gift from the woman in the purple dress.”
When I looked to the other side of the bar, my knees almost gave out on me, and I couldn’t decide if I was pissed or surprised.
As sweet as you please, Thandie Ames was sitting at the end of the bar, a drink placed comfortably in front of her, and she was dressed to kill, though not as you’d expect in a place like this.
Instead of wearing something short and skimpy, she was wearing a very classy dress that you might see at a gallery opening.
Her soft curls were natural and framing that stunning face of hers, and she actually looked like she might have dressed to have dinner with the governor or something.
She looked professional, elegant, and like she could eat you alive if you got close enough.
Goddamn it.
Grabbing my drink, I made my way to the end of the bar, and once I was standing in front of her, I said the only thing that I could think of. “So, you weren’t kidding about this weekend after all,”
Thandie grinned. “If I’m not a full-blown alcoholic by the time your sister is married, it’ll be a goddamn miracle.”
“You’re not lying,” I huffed, sharing in her suffering.
After a few seconds, she asked, “What are you doing here, Beck?”
“Remember that bachelor party I texted you about?” I jerked my head towards The Bachelor Pad room. “Complete with strippers and everything.”
“Then what are you doing out here?”
“I needed some fresh air,” I semi-lied.
Her brows scrunched a bit. “So, either the party is boring as hell or out of control.”
“It’s somewhere in between,” I grinned. “The groom is very dedicated to his bride, so the strippers really are for show only.”
Her face softened immediately. “It’s good to hear that there are still some nice guys out there.”
“They exist.”
Thandie’s brows jumped in surprise. “Are you saying that you’re not one of the nice guys, Dr. McKenna? I don’t believe that.”
I shrugged. “I guess that depends on your definition of nice.”
“You’re an oncologist who saves lives,” she replied pointedly. “I think that’s about as nice as a person can get. Well, unless you’re The Pope.”
“I’ve got news for you, Ms. Ames,” I retorted. “You can be a doctor and still be an asshole. Trust me, I’ve met plenty.”
“But not you,” she said quickly. “You’re one of the good guys, Beck.”
Though the words were complimentary, something in the tone of her voice suggested otherwise.
While I was doing my best to keep my dick from getting hard right now, she was friend-zoning me, and all because she thought that I was a nice guy, and a nice guy couldn’t possibly present any challenges, right?
“And what about you?” I asked, ignoring her assessment of my character. “Are you a nice girl, Ms. Ames?”
Her dark brown gaze flashed seductively. “No, Dr. McKenna. I am not.”
“And why’s that?”
“A nice girl wouldn’t have the professional success rate that I do,” she explained proudly. “A nice girl wouldn’t survive one day in criminal court, and neither would a nice guy for that matter.”
“How about outside the courtroom?”
“I don’t wear my personality like a change of clothing, Beck,” she answered. “I’m who I am, no matter where you see me.”
I mulled that over for a bit, and she was right.
Every single time that I’d ever run into this woman, she was always the same Thandie Ames as before.
I’d never seen her be anything else, and I attributed that to her level of confidence as a successful woman.
Thandie wasn’t insecure, so she didn’t need to dumb herself down to fit in.
Either people rose to her level of sophistication or not, and either way, she didn’t rearrange herself to fit other people’s molds.
“And what are you doing here?” I finally asked.
“Getting drunk,” she quipped.
I immediately shook my head at her. “You could do that anywhere. In fact, you could do that in the safety of your own home, no risk to anything.”
“You’re my best friend’s older brother, so I’m not sure if I should be sharing my deepest, darkest, dirtiest secrets with you,” she joked. “You might forbid Kelly from hanging out with me.”
That got a smirk out of me. “Well, let’s forget that my sister’s grown and would tell me to go to hell if I ever dared tried such a thing, but I’d still never do that.”
“Oh, really?”
“Really,” I insisted.
Thandie leaned in closer to me, and her subtle scent of perfume almost fried my brain. “Even if I told you that I was here to explore Room Two?”
Room Two was the BDSM room.
“What?” I nearly choked out.
This time, she was the one smirking at me. “Oh, Dr. McKenna...are the tips of your ears turning pink?”
“That’s not funny, Thandie,” I said as I straightened to my full height, needing some space.
“It wasn’t meant to be,” she replied coolly, making me regret that I’d ever left the other room.