Page 64 of Push & Pull
“Eh, you never know. I might do something really gross or say the wrong thing. I have to build up points now to cash in later. Besides…” Petra was close enough to wrap her hand around Simone’s knee. Her touch was always electric, but Simone’s adrenaline had revved up enough that she became self-conscious that everyone socializing behind them could see how much she enjoyed Petra’s attention. “How can I resist putting every move on you? Everything about you screams‘come get in my business, Petra.’You think I don’t know what kind of place this is?”
Simone leaned against the bar, fingers concealing her twitching lips.Can’t shield my eyes from her, though.Not without giving everything away.Mystery wouldn’t hurt my image. Just because she can seduce me as easily as saying ‘let’s fuck, babe,’ doesn’t mean I don’t at leasttryto be a little hard to get.Simone was up for some roleplay if Petra was. All Simone had to do was hold back. For two minutes.
“You’ve been here before, huh?”
“Nah, but anyone who has friends like Hailey has heard of this place.”
“Ah, yes, I forgot she had a membership.” Simone rolled her eyes. “She’s not like that, though. She’s barely into sex.”
“Sure! Ask me how I know!”
“Don’t tell me we’ve slept with some of the same women. It would be too much for me to handle.”
“I highly doubt it’s more than like… one or two. Definitely not Hailey.”
“Definitely not.”
“Those Marseille sisters, though…”
Simone sighed. If Petra was on a mission to kill the mood, she was succeeding. “What about them?”
“I have to know. What is that cutie Daria like in the sack?”
More of Simone’s martini disappeared down her throat.I’m going to need another one tonight.“You’d love her. She’s the epitome of a pillow princess.”
“Really! That’s funny. I thought that was you.”
“Like I’ve said before…” Simone sat up straight, drawing her arms and hands off the bartop and into her lap. “Women often see something in me that isn’t there. I’ve been playing the boyfriend for as long as I’ve been cutting my hair and wearing pants.”
“Butch submissive women aren’t exactly a dime a dozen, this is true.”
“I’m not reallybutch,though. You’re more butch than I am.”“Isn’t it all a state of mind, anyway? An attitude that you either own or you fake until you make it?” Petra finished her martini before Simone had the chance to consider the rest of hers. “Anyway, let’s not get mixed up in that. We’re here to have fun tonight, I presume.”
Simone was non-committal beyond a sardonic look in Petra’s direction. “Sounds like it. You’ve got a business meeting tomorrow.”Petra once again turned away. “Yup. Gotta get work done. My uncle wants his money, and it’s my job to get it out of people.” She grabbed Simone’s martini glass and finished the contents for her, olive and all. “I do the best job, he says.”
“If you’re going to be in the family business, you better be good at what you do.”
“Yeah…” Petra tugged on the lapel of her fitted blazer. “Then the next day we’re taking you home.”
“What will you do after that?”
Simone hadn’t wanted to bring it up tonight of all nights, but there had never been a better chance to discuss the shit going on in her head.Might as well do it in the place where my father met his second wife.Simone hated thinking about that every time she was here, yet she still had the membership, and she still popped in whenever she was in town.
Petra’s hand tapped against her thigh. “I… don’t know,” she said, eyes downcast toward the bar. “Seriously thinking about quitting my job. That’s scary enough as it is, but it’s time to strike out on my own.” She flashed Simone a smile. “Don’t suppose you know anyone who’s hiring. I’m a great people person.”
“I could ask around, but nothing comes to the top of my head.” She slipped off her barstool and donned the mask that had been in her pocket. “If you don’t mind, I’m popping into the ladies’ room for a few minutes.”
“If I’m not here, I’m still around.”
“No cell phones allowed inside, so…”
“Trust me. I’ll find you. Or you’ll find me. This place can’t be that big.”
You’d be surprised.The club covered a good bit of Manhattan’s square footage, many of the locations underground and undoubtedly private. Simone had only scratched the surface in her multiple visits over the years. Sometimes, she was too paranoid to explore further or, God forbid, attend one of the sponsored events since she never knew what she might see.Not only talking about kinky sex I’m not really into, either.Drugs. It was against club policy, of course, but people always snuck shit in for their private parties. Or to raise hell in the bathroom, where Simone was heading now.
Luckily, temptation and triggers did not lie in wait. A few women milled about the sitting area in sparkly masks, sneakily checking their phones or taking selfies from the bottoms of their bags, but the counters were clean of the kind of party drugs that sometimes got left behind. Not that Simone would indulge, even if offered. She merely wanted to avoid the unfavorable memories.
She was already in a strange space, anyway. Her entire world currently gravitated around a woman she had only known a few days.One I’ve slept with every single one of those nights.They were practically girlfriends now. Except Simone knew nothing about Petra, and Petra didn’t know what Simone could really be like when she didn’t get her way. While Simone was content that Petra didn’t have those preconceived notions about her, what would happen if Simone was pushed to the extremes that often haunted her mental health?
