“Come with me, and I’ll give you guys a tour.”
I spare one cautious glance back at Drake before we follow Mario into the club. The expression he gives in return is unreadable and a little too cold for my taste.
“Pitch is separated into four main areas: the main floor with the bar and some tables and plenty of lighting to see who you’re talking to, and then we have three dark rooms.”
The first room we enter is clearly the one he just mentioned, and again…it reminds me of Salacious. There’s no stage or dance floor, and it’s not nearly as big as our main room, but the sudden reminder of our club has me feeling a surge of unexpected homesickness.
Instead of a multitude of doors off the main room, there are only three. Each is guarded by an employee, and although the music plays in here, I can tell it plays even louder in there.
Mario walks us over to the doors. Without opening them, he gestures to each one. “The first room is for those who identify as female, the second for those who identify as male, and the third is for…all.”
“And it’s completely dark in there?” Drake asks, peering curiously at the doors.
“Light enough that you can find your way around, but dark enough that you can rely on anonymity. When you’re in there, it’s liberating. You can touch anyone, be touched by anyone, or just bask in the vibe.”
Drake and I are just staring at the door in front of us, the one with two male icons on the center, my heart starting to race at the idea of what a room like that can hold.
Reading our hesitation, Mario adds, “It’s amazing how much you can see in the dark, about yourself, I mean.”
I force myself to swallow.
Mario kills the silence as he starts walking again, pulling us along with his conversation. “Now, you’re probably wondering about safety. All members are required to use protection, show a negative test every month, and pass a rigorous background check. There are bouncers in each room, equipped with night-vision goggles to ensure everything is consensual as well as emergency alarms within reach almost everywhere. Not to mention, our bar is alcohol-free. We take safety very seriously.”
“I see that,” I reply, but honesty, I was only partly listening. I’m still staring longingly at the rooms. I’m suddenly not in the mood to discuss work.
Rule #22: It’s amazing how much you can see in the dark.
Drake
“Why don’t we head up to my office to talk numbers,” Mario says to Hunter, and I immediately halt in place.
“Uh, I think I’ll just wait at the bar. Numbers aren’t really my thing.”
Hunter’s expression has a hint of panic in it and I like that. I like that he doesn’t want to let me out of his sight here.
“Feel free to have a look around. Get the full Pitch experience,” Mario says with a suggestive bounce of his brow.
Hunter’s expression of panic and concern only deepens.
“Sounds good. Meet you back here in an hour,” I say, waving at Hunter as we part ways, him to the office and me to the bar. Of course, I’m not actually going to the bar. Why would I waste my time sitting alone drinking a Dr. Pepper when I could be checking out these fuck fests behind me?
I’m not going to touch anyone. I may not be the best guy, but I would never do anything to hurt Isabel or Hunter.
I’m just too fucking curious to pass this up. But as I head toward the rooms, I’m suddenly faced with three doors—well, technically two, since one is for women only. I don’t know what leads me toward the men-only door, but maybe it’s the promise that male sex tends to be a little more enthusiastic, in my experience. It’s likely to be a better time, even if I keep my hands and cock to myself. It’s also going to be harder to keep those things to myself in here, since men are also a lot less subtle, but I can handle them.
The moment I pass through the doorway, I walk down a longish hallway until I meet the guard at the end. There’s a door behind him and a door to the right labeled locker room.
“First time?” he asks.
“Is it that obvious?”
He smiles, then gestures to the door on his left. “Feel free to use the locker room before going in. You can wear whatever you want in the dark room, but condoms are mandatory and I will be checking.”
My brows rise as I nod. “Yes, sir.” I guess that means I’ll be hitting up the locker room first…and getting myself hard while I’m at it, since I have to go in suited up. Shouldn’t be too difficult. Even through the loud music, I can hear everything in the other room. It sounds exactly like what it is. Lots of people fucking.