Watch Me (Phoenix 1)

“I wouldn’t get too excited,” said Zoey, kicking off her heels and plopping into the chair across from Elise. “I had sex.”

Hazel rolled her eyes at Elise. “She had sex.” Her gaze fell to Zoey, and she waved her on. “In a room full of people. Oh my God, Zoey, tell me everything.”

Again, Zoey laughed. “I don’t really know what to say. It’s just as you’d imagine it to be. Rich, luxurious atmosphere. Everyone wears masks, which honestly, made things less scary.”

“So, it wasn’t creepy?” Elise asked.

“Surprisingly, not creepy,” Zoey replied after a moment’s thought. “Actually, very sensual. Like the room was vibrating with lust. It’s like there is no judgment there. Just a connection to watch others.” She was sure she wasn’t getting it right, so she shrugged. “It’s hard to explain. It’s just…not creepy… It’s sexy as hell, and I shockingly liked it.”

Hazel sat next to Elise, leaning forward. “And did you take off your mask? Did Jake and Scott see you?”

Zoey nodded. “Even behind the masks, I knew who they were.” Their faces were burned into her mind.

“And?” Elise pressed. “What happened?”

“They took one look at me, lost all the color in their faces, and left.”

“Fucking cowards,” Elise snapped.

“Wow,” Hazel breathed, leaning back against the couch, hands pressed to her chest. “That must have been empowering for you.”

Zoey thought it over and finally nodded. “I think it was the biggest fuck you I could have given them. That I knew, and they knew and saw, that the lies they spread were never true. That I was a virgin up until tonight. And that they didn’t break me or make me afraid of them. I’ve already been in front of people, exposed completely, and that was not my choice. This was my choice. On my terms.”

Elise gave a firm nod. “Good for you. Fucking pricks.”

Zoey smiled. “My sentiments exactly.”

Hazel bounced on the couch. “So, what happened after that?”

“The virginity-taker slid the mask back on my face and whispered in my ear that I owed him answers.”

Elise’s brows shot up. “Did you give him those answers?”

“Nope, I snuck out before anyone could question me.”

“Atta gir

l.” Elise grinned.

Hazel shook her head slowly as if she couldn’t believe any of this was true. “Wait. What was the guy like?”

Zoey dropped her head back and shut her eyes, swearing she could still feel his breath by her ear, his hands on her body, his cock deep inside her. “Incredible,” she breathed, glancing back to her friends. “I’ve never met anyone like him. He was so passionate. I didn’t know a touch could feel like that.”

“Wow,” Hazel said again, eyes twinkling. “Well, as far as losing-your-virginity stories go, yours wins, every time.”

Zoey nodded with a smile. “Maybe an unconventional way to lose your virginity, but he definitely made the experience memorable. I wasn’t really expecting him to care about my needs; I just figured he’d want to put on a show.”

“But it wasn’t like that?” Elise asked.

Zoey shook her head. “He was just tuned into me. Does that make sense?”

“Total sense,” Elise agreed with a smile.

Zoey grabbed some chips out of the bowl on the coffee table, tossing them into her mouth as Hazel asked, “Did they ask you how you found out about the place?”

She finished chewing then answered, “No, they have nothing more than what I put on the application.” In which, she said she’d heard about the club from a member. In actuality, Hazel was a reporter and had gotten wind of the secret sex club in Manhattan.

“Did they have any idea that I hacked in to get that code?” Elise asked.