Bridget waves her hand in the air dismissively.
“Oh, don’t mind them. The girls get competitive, but it’s all in good fun because everyone knows that that’s just how things are. Besides, there are plenty of gigs coming up, so there will be other opportunities to shine.”
I nod.
“I suppose that makes me feel a little better.”
Bridget grins. “Good. Now, tell me about yourself. Melissa wanted me to check in with you to make sure you’re okay, and to get to know you a bit better? After all, you’re a part of our family now. So how are you doing?”
I take a deep breath and smile. “I like the sound of a family actually, but there’s really not much to tell. I’m from Wyoming and I came out to party with the club. Everything happened so fast, and now I’m with Zane.”
Bridget giggles merrily.
“Yes, but what else? Like how much are you seeing Zane?”
I shoot her a naughty look.
“I basically live with him now. And yes, we go at it like rabbits whenever he’s home.”
“OMG!” Bridget squeals. “You are so lucky because I saw how hung he was at the hunt. But aren’t you sore, girl? I mean, you’re practically limping now, right?”
I giggle too.
“Yeah, at first I seriously thought about using a cane to help me get around. But now, I’ve gotten used to it for the most part, although the back door poundings still get to me. I swear, I waddled into this café.”
We erupt in giggles then as other patrons in the coffee shop shoot us dirty looks, but we don’t care.
“God, you’re a lucky girl,” Bridget says with a tone of envy in her voice.
I grin. “I am lucky because my man is awesome. The few moments when we’re not… well, you know doing that, we still have fun. We watch TV together or go out on dates in the Sanctum compound. I had no idea how massive it was! There are like seven different buildings with various bars, restaurants, and things to do.”
“I actually think there are ten,” Bridget adds while sipping her joe.
My eyes widen. “OMG. That’s insane! They really have everything don’t they? But now, I’ve been talking way too much. Tell me about you.”
The pretty blonde laughs. “Yeah, but I’m supposed to be interrogating you!”
“You already know tons about me,” I protest. “So how long have you been with the group?”
Bridget smiles.
“For a few years maybe? I love it, and I usually attend as many as I can on weekends, so yeah, I know a lot about the guys at the compound and a lot of them are big. Like big, big. Us girls consider us lucky.”
I titter at that.
“Is it your main job?”
The blonde shakes her head.
“Not even close. I actually work at an Estee Lauder counter selling makeup to ladies who lunch. To be honest, I love it because makeup’s like hope in a bottle, and I can literally see our customers walking away with a spring in their step.”
I scrutinize her pretty features.
“You definitely look good. I’ll need you to give me some pointers because I can only do the absolute basics.”
“Yeah, but you’re gorgeous,” Bridget exclaims, studying my face. “You have amazing cheek bones and great bone structure, Jemima. You don’t need much.”
But then I bite my lip and change the subject. “Actually, so long as you’re here, I do have a question. You know that the chase was called the Virgin Hunt, right? They didn’t mean it literally, did they?”
Bridget laughs.
“Of course not! No one was hunted down, and no one was killed or injured, don’t worry.”
I wave my hands in the air.
“No, no, not that. I just meant that everyone isn’t actually a virgin, right? That we’re all experienced girls?”
Bridget bursts out laughing. “Oh God, of course not. Not a single one of those women were virgins. Hell, we work at a sex club so how could we be virgins?”
I shake my head, exhaling slowly. “I know, right? But I think Zane thinks that we were virgins, and even more, that I was a virgin before the hunt. It’s a little weird, but he mentioned paying extra to the club to make sure that we were untouched.”
Bridget’s jaws drops.
“No way. There’s no way management would agree. I mean, how would you even find thirty virgins in this day and age?”
I shrug.
“That’s why I think there’s some miscommunication here. I lost my virginity at a crazy young age, so I honestly don’t know how you’d find inexperienced ladies short of recruiting the Virgin Mary herself.”
My new friend rolls her eyes.
“I agree. Besides, virginity is a social construct and there’s no scientific way to determine if a woman has had sex or not, so how could Zane even think that? No, it’s just a myth and I’m sure he misunderstood somehow.”