“Oh.” I shake my head as I reach for a plastic cup to fill it with red wine. “I am just fine. I don’t need to settle down with anyone.”
“We’re not talking about settling down,” Charlie replies, lowering her voice. “We’re talking about getting laid, Maggie.”
I nearly spit out my Merlot. “Again…I am just fine.”
“Liar,” Isabel replies, muttering into a bottle of water.
I scoff at her. “Traitor.”
“It’s true, though,” she continues. “I’ve known you for years, and I’ve never seen you with anyone. What is going on? Do you have a secret lover?”
“Ooh,” Mia replies, moving closer.
I respond with a laugh. “The only lover I have is handheld and doesn’t care if I have makeup on or if I shaved.”
“We need to get you hooked up with someone,” Charlie replies. “What’s your type?”
“Again…handheld,” I reply, taking another drink.
Mia squints her eyes as she stares at me, and I start to get the ominous feeling that she’s plotting something I won’t like.
“What?” I ask.
“What were the results of your kink quiz?”
Dread settles in my belly. That stupid kink quiz. I didn’t take it seven years ago when Hunter developed it for the app, and I’m not taking it now. I don’t need some stupid Cosmo personality quiz to tell me what I’ll like in the bedroom. And it certainly won’t make some perfect man miraculously land on my doorstep.
Owning a sex club was a big enough step for me. No one seemed to understand just how out of my element I was at the club when it first opened. Sex wasn’t something I was used to seeing so freely. It was hard enough just hearing the guys talk about it so much. So while the three of them have been off having their fun at Salacious, I’ve spent the last year flustered, overwhelmed, and terrified.
Am I going to lie and pretend nothing has affected me in my time at Salacious? No, obviously some things have been more resounding than others. Watching Madame Kink dominate in the voyeur rooms. Letting my imagination get away from me when stocking the bondage room. Hearing what comes out of the punishment room.
But every time I was even caught staring for the slightest moment or spent too long in the voyeur hallway, the shame would creep in, and I couldn’t brave the nerve to go back.
I can own a sex club. I just can’t handle being there.
“Um…” I mumble.
“You’ve taken the quiz, haven’t you?” Charlie asks.
“What if I’m just vanilla and proud?” I reply.
Mia scoffs. “No way.”
“Well, there’s only one way to find out.” Charlie puts out her hand as if she’s waiting for me to hand her something, but I stare in confusion. “Your phone, please.”
“No way,” I reply.
“Oh, come on. We’ve all taken it,” she argues. “And nothing on that list could be crazier than anything we’ve done. Isabel is getting railed by two guys at once. I’ve been auctioned off at Salacious in my underwear, and Mia…well, Mia clearly has no shame.”
“Nope,” Mia replies proudly, and I laugh. For a girl who literally uses masturbation as a performance piece, she’s the last person I would ever feel embarrassed around.
It’s obvious they’re not going to give up, so with a sigh, I hand over my phone to Charlie.
She’s quick to pull open the Salacious app, which has barely been touched in years. I downloaded it when we launched, but I never actually used it. The purpose of the app is to match up users based on a special form of compatibility—their kinks. So voyeurs and exhibitionists. Doms and subs. Sadists and masochists. And absolutely none of it interests me, so I never bothered checking it out.
“Okay, question number one—” Charlie starts, but I hold up a hand.
“Wait. I need more wine.”