Page 65 of At the Heart of It
“Yes. Yeah. Um, yes.”
Jonah wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. “Do you want company?”
“Oh dear God, yes.”
The eagerness in her voice sent a thrill through him. He took a deep breath, pretty sure what he was about to say was not his smartest course of action.
“I’ll be right there.”
Chapter 10
Kate took a sip of her vodka soda and tried not to make eye contact with anyone. Not the woman strutting past in a purple corset and fishnet leggings. Not the guy in latex pants and a red denim vest dotted with metal studs. Not the leather-clad octogenarians Kate felt fairly certain used to play in her grandmother’s bridge club.
“Ma’am? Are you looking for someone?”
Kate’s pulse kicked up, and she turned to watch Jonah slide onto the barstool beside her. She’d never been so glad to see anyone in her life.
“Jonah! Thank God you’re here.” She hated how needy she sounded, but she really was glad to see him. “I was hoping they wouldn’t give you any trouble at the door.”
“That was a first for me.” He grinned. “Having my name on a guest list at a members-only sex club.”
Something about that grin dissolved the tension in her shoulders, and Kate felt herself start to relax. “Thanks so much for coming. I didn’t want to leave without getting a feel for the place, but?—”
“You didn’t want anyone getting to feel you?”
“Exactly.”
“Quite the crowd they have here.”
She watched as Jonah studied the scene, hands clasped on the bar in front of him. Kate followed his gaze, watching as it skimmed over the dance floor, then up to the second level where a row of people leaned over the balcony with drinks in hand. She wondered what he thought of all this.
Lights throbbed in time to the music, bathing the room in a glow of pink light and perfume. A disco ball swirled overhead, casting glittery rainbow spots on a dance floor packed with writhing bodies. Some were dancing and some were . . . um, that definitely wasn’t dancing.
“I had no idea this was even legal,” Kate admitted.
Jonah glanced at her, then followed the direction of her gaze to a couple undressing each other in the corner.
“Huh,” Jonah said. “They’re really going for it, aren’t they?”
She nodded. “I guess I thought the sex part would be more discreet. When the owner gave me a tour, she showed me all the playrooms. Some have doors that lock and curtains you can close.”
“Or leave open, I assume?” Jonah shrugged. “I’m guessing a place like this is the perfect spot for exhibitionists and voyeurs to get together and turn each other on.”
“I hadn’t thought of it like that.”
Jonah laughed. “I’m guessing neither of us had given much thought to sex clubs before this.” He raised one eyebrow as a woman at the other end of the bar began playfully spanking a woman wearing nothing but a red bra-and-panty set. “Can’t say I even knew this place existed.”
“I find that tremendously comforting,” Kate said. “That you’re not a regular part of the swinger scene.”
“My most memorable swinging experience was on a porch in Ashland with you.” He grinned and leaned closer, making Kate’s heart skitter in her chest. “That’s probably not scandalous enough to be part of an arced storyline, huh?”
“I take it you’ve talked with Viv.” Kate felt her smile start to wobble, but she held it steady.
“Yep.”
He said nothing else as he made an unsuccessful attempt to signal the bartender. The guy was focused on lining up a large tray of beers for a man wearing leather chaps and a dog collar. “Viv seemed pretty focused on wanting one of us to get back out on the dating scene,” he said.
“This might not have been what Viv had in mind for the dating scene.”
