Chapter 4
Teal~
I wanted the ground to open up, then swallow me whole.
Seriously.
When I had made the decision to come here, I’d been na?ve enough to believe that I wouldn’t run into anyone that I knew, but I could see now how stupid that’d been.
Regardless of what went on upstairs, The Fantasy Factory had a solid reputation for a good time.
Many people reserved the party rooms, and the bar area really did resemble a normal club that you’d find anywhere in the city.
While sexual options were available here, they weren’t forced upon you as a customer.
In fact, if you had no idea about the second floor, then you’d never be able to guess that The Fantasy Factor was really a sex club.
I was also here because of Jacob. I’d been minding my own damn business at the bookstore, browsing the psychiatric section, when I’d spotted Jacob, and he hadn’t been alone.
He’d been with a very sweet-looking blonde, and my first thought had been how good they looked together.
They looked like they’d be on the same level, and I had actually been happy for him.
However, he hadn’t returned the sentiment.
Even though he’d been the one to break up with me, it’d been clear that he resented how I had wasted his time with our relationship.
With his girlfriend watching, he had approached me to inform me that a good person didn’t toy with other people’s feelings, and for me to date a man that I’m actually interested in next time.
Now, while he’d been unexpectedly rude, he hadn’t been wrong.
I had wasted both our time by pretending to be satisfied when I’d hadn’t been.
So, after that little set-down, I had decided to quit being a bystander in my own life.
I knew that there was no way that I could ever get serious with anyone unless I explored this sexual hangup that I had.
I needed to finally experience this unexplainable need, and there was no better place to throw caution to the wind than The Fantasy Factory.
Even before I’d done my research on the place, I’d heard about it and its infamous second floor.
Still, I really hadn’t expected to run into anyone that I knew, so when Riaz Marco had approached me, I’d wanted to run for the front door and never look back.
Ignoring the fact that he was also here, I’d still been embarrassed at being ‘caught’, but that was nothing compared to how I was feeling now.
I had no idea why I’d decided to tell him the truth, but I’d had, and now there was no going back.
“You know, I never imagined that you’d pick that room,” he finally said, making me want to crawl through the floor. “I just...while there’s nothing wrong with it, you just seemed very prim and proper all the time that we’ve spoken previously.”
Wait, what? He didn’t see anything wrong with that?
Trying to get my shit together, I said, “Well, as a teacher, I’m expected to behave a certain way while on the clock. Well, if I’m being honest, off the clock, too.”
“Then why are you here?” he asked, but he sounded genuinely curious. “Couldn’t it cause problems if someone from the schoolboard witnessed you going upstairs? I mean, even if they can’t see which room you’re going into, all four rooms are pretty risqué.”
That was another thing that I’d given a lot of consideration before finally deciding to bite the bullet, but again, that’s where my naivety was coming into play.
I’d really been under the impression that I wouldn’t be recognized here, and so I really had given this move some considerable thought before deciding to come out, and maybe that made me stupid.
Nevertheless, I’d felt so brave when coming here, and it would feel like a failure if I left now.
“It might,” I admitted. “But I’ve got tenure, so it might not be a battle that the schoolboard would want to fight. Plus, it’s not like this place is hidden behind some back alley somewhere. You don’t need a secret knock to get in, so it’d be the height of hypocrisy to judge me for being here.”
“I don’t disagree,” he replied easily. “It’s just...well, the world can be rather unforgiving at times, and it takes only one asshole to go on the internet and damage someone else’s life with pious assumptions or straight up lies.”
Unfortunately, he wasn’t wrong. “Yeah, the world is full of miserable people.”
“So, have you decided if you are just watching, or are you looking to participate?” he asked, and it honestly felt weird that he was making me feel so comfortable about all this.
“I want to watch first,” I told him. “I figure that’s the best way to find out if it’s something that I really want to try or not.”
His brows furrowed a bit. “You don’t watch porn?”
“I do,” I admitted. “However, there’s no getting out of the fact that all those scenes are manufactured and edited for maximum effect. I think that seeing the real thing will help me realize if it’s something that’s more trouble than it’s worth, or if it’s really an experience worth having.”
As soon as I’d said the words, I almost cringed. For something so uninhibited, I was taking all the sexiness out of it by talking about it like an assigned book report. I was talking about research and assessing the ‘situation’, and I really did sound like I had not one passionate bone in my body.
However, instead of looking at me like I was crazy, Riaz just grinned sweetly. “Honestly, that’s the best way to go about not getting in over your head. Too many people find themselves in precarious situations because they hadn’t taken the time to think things through.”
“You...you don’t think that sounds boring?”
Grateful for his discretion, Riaz leaned in close before saying, “Ms. Cromell, I’d never call someone who wants to experience Room Three boring.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “At this point, I think that it’s okay to call me Teal.”
Riaz’s grin just widened. “Nice to meet you, Teal.”
I grinned back. “It’s nice to meet you, Riaz.”
“So, not to overstep, but what would you say to me joining you upstairs?” he asked, surprising me.
“Wh...what?”
He immediately took a step back as he gave me a firm nod. “My apologies. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.” Then he finished off his beer before adding, “I’ll just head back to my friend. You have a good time, but don’t forget to be careful.”
I wasn’t sure what possessed me, but I reached out, grabbing his arm. “No...uhm...no, you didn’t make me feel uncomfortable. I was just...I was just surprised that you...that you wanted to.”
Those dark eyes of his regarded me seriously enough that I quickly let go of his arm. “Why wouldn’t I want to? I mean, you can’t tell me that you weren’t aware of my interest the day that we installed the security system.”
Feeling vulnerable really did suck.
“Yeah...well, that was before you learned that I wanted to try Room Three,” I replied honestly. “I can understand how that wouldn’t be for everyone. Especially, a man.”
“Ah, querida,” he replied smoothly. “Not all men are the same.”
“What does that mean? Querida?”
“It’s Spanish for darling,” he answered, another grin on his face.
“So, you’re telling me that you’re fine with...with Room Three?” I asked, seriously doubtful. After all, males were territorial creatures, which made it hard to believe that he was.
“How about we discuss it upstairs?” he suggested. “I’ll see if there are any observation rooms available for Room Three, and if there are, we can kill two birds with one stone. You’ll get to see what it’s really like while we talk about it.”
My eyes narrowed a bit, still skeptical. “You really don’t mind?”
Riaz shook his head. “I really don’t mind.”
“Okay,” I said, my voice a little unsteady, my nerves coming back again. “Let me flag down the barten-”
“Yeah, no,” he quickly said, cutting me off. “I will be reserving the room, and the participation room if you end up deciding that you want to go for it.”
I watched as Riaz got the bartender’s attention, and he really was turning out to be a bit of an enigma. Though I didn’t know the man well, he’d always come across as an alpha whenever we’d spoken to one another, making it hard for me to believe that he was okay with participating in a gangbang.
Granted, I wasn’t his girlfriend or wife, so without any emotional investment involved, I could see how a man might not care about sharing his one-night stand or whatever.
What did he care if a woman was entertaining more than one man?
I mean, as long as he also got off, that was usually the only thing that men cared about.
Well, I should say single men. I liked to believe that married or committed men cared enough about their partners to make sure that she was somewhat satisfied.
At any rate, his easy acceptance had me feeling hopeful. While I hadn’t ever expected to get involved with Riaz Marco, I couldn’t deny that it settled my nerves a bit to know that someone whom I trusted was here in case things got out of hand, and I did trust Riaz.
I mean, how could I not?