1
Hedonism, where people come from all over the world to live out their fantasies.
Ava Jennings pulled the color brochure from her office printer and swiveled in her chair to face her desk. A shaky breath exited her lungs. Not a sigh of relief, but of… Of what? Excitement or trepidation?
Her office door popped open, startling Ava. She dropped the brochure and shuffled a file folder to cover it. When she focused on the person standing there, Ava found Katie, one of her best girlfriends. After attending the same college, Katie and Ava had ended up in Manhattan together working on different floors of the same building.
“Ready to go?” Katie asked, sliding into a chair across from Ava’s desk.
“Not quite.” She straightened the papers. “You got here fast. Why don’t I meet you at the bar?”
Katie’s blue eyes darted to Ava’s desk, and a suspicious smile crossed her friend’s freckled face. Leaning forward, Katie shoved aside the mountain of busywork and plucked up the color brochure. “Ah-ha.”
“Hey…” Ava grabbed for it, but Katie was too fast.
“What have we got—” Her words halted as her eyes took in the tantalizing photos and descriptions. “An adults-only, all-inclusive erotic vacation destination on the Mexican Riviera?” Her gaze shot to Ava’s. “Is this for real?”
Ava wanted to chastise her friend’s disbelief. But the truth was even this tiny show of doubt made Ava second-, third-, and fourth-guess the whole idea.
“Don’t look at me like that.” Ava shut down her computer and closed the lid.
“Like what? Like I’m ferreting out an alien takeover of my very best friend?”
Ava was both amused and frustrated with Katie’s accuracy. “Shut up.”
“Okay. I’ll shut up, and you talk.” She laid the brochure on Ava’s desk and flattened her hand over the images of paradise. “Because I’ve never heard you even hint at interest in anything like this.”
Ava straightened her spine. “I think it’s time I did.”
“Catering to guests who prefer clothing-optional spaces, sex-club-level entertainment, a hedonistic all-inclusive gourmet menu?” She looked at Ava. “For a woman who doesn’t like the way her perfect body looks in a bikini? A woman who exercises obsessively to control said perfect body? A woman who doesn’t even know what happens at a sex club? A woman who hits four different grocery stores to shop organically?”
There was only one of those statements Ava could challenge. “My body’s not perfect, which is why I eat organically and exercise—”
“Sex toys available,” Katie continued reading, crossing her legs and swinging one sex-kitten pump. “Along with willing participants for group sexual adventures at an additional cost? To my knowledge, you’ve never even used a sex toy.”
“I’m almost thirty.” Ava’s cheeks burned with embarrassment. “I think it’s about time I checked out sex toys.”
Instead of giving Ava the spirited approval she expected, Katie tilted her head and asked, “Why? Because you’re interested or because Matthew is?”
“What difference—”
“And why would you ever consider a place like this for your honeymoon? You’re supposed to be relaxing and decompressing from the wedding and work, not getting all stressed out about sex toys and your birthday suit. Definitely not sharing your new husband with ‘willing participants’ in group sex adventures.”
“It also says all activities are optional,” Ava pointed out. “And that couples who prefer to remain monogamous and quiet are also welcome.”
“Quite the consolation.” Katie shifted in the chair and slung one toned arm over the back. “Matthew’s pressuring you for something kinky again, isn’t he?”
“No.” It was only a half lie. He wasn’t pressuring her for this particular trip, but he’d been hinting and pushing for months. Ava slid her laptop into her briefcase. “I just wanted to do something to surprise him. And maybe I’m ready to check out some of these things too.” She plucked the brochure from Katie’s hand and dropped it into a file folder with more information about the club. “Maybe that kind of environment would help me open up.”
“You’re a warm, giving, fun-loving person,” Katie said, then gestured to the room, indicating the office and the company beyond. “This place and these heavy-handed, know-it-all men you work with are what stifle you. I’ve always believed you’d open up in the bedroom with the right man.”
“I wouldn’t be marrying Matthew if he wasn’t the right man.”
“You work too damn hard at this relationship.”
“Relationships take work.”
“From both parties,” Katie countered. “You’re the only one I see working.”
Katie nailed one of Ava’s most prevalent underlying frustrations about her relationship with Matthew—she always felt like she worked harder. Like she made all the concessions. Like she could never quite please him. But she also knew Katie was envious. She’d been hopping from man to man, dissatisfied, for years. Matthew might not be perfect, but he was handsome, intelligent, and charming. And Ava and Matthew had common goals and dreams.
“It’s hard to have a relationship when you work together,” she told Katie. “Especially when work is so stressful.”
“For both of you. Which is my point about you doing all the work in the relationship.”
Familiar and uncomfortable doubts crept into Ava’s gut. She exhaled heavily, frustrated with her friend’s lack of support. Even more frustrated Ava bought into Katie’s doubt.