Chatter and laughter echoed within the space, while a live band at the opposite end of the room played cover songs for the guests that had chosen to dance.
The modern music clashed with the Renaissance décor, but somehow, it also worked.
“I kind of feel like I’m Kirsten Dunst in that movieMarie Antoinette,” Georgia said, a smile on her lips.
I chuckled at her adorable randomness and nodded toward the bar. “Do you want a drink?”
“Yes, please. And while you get the drinks, I’m going to run to the ladies’ room really quick. The corset I’m wearing under this dress is about to squeeze the pee right out of me.”
“Okay, baby,” I agreed with a laugh and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.
Once I reached the bar and noted from a distance that Georgia had safely found the restrooms on the opposite end of the ballroom, a bartender dressed in a tuxedo smiled toward me.
“What can I get you tonight, sir?”
“A scotch on the rocks and a glass of white wine.”
While he made our drinks, I turned back toward the ballroom, resting a hip on the edge of the bar and taking in the view.
People chatting and laughing and dancing occupied the giant space.
Scanning the crowd superficially, I spotted a man and woman deep in a passionate kiss, their clinch so tight that the side of the woman’s breast was only a scant millimeter from escaping her dress.Damn, they’re really going for it tonight, I guess…
But that thought started to become a theme when I continued to look around the room and found not one, not two, not even three, but seven other couples involved in the same passionate display of PDA.
And then, when I moved my gaze to the far corner of the ballroom, where a sitting area of couches and chairs was located, alarm bells sounded in my head. Two women and two men went at one another ravenously, bouncing back and forth between partners with the kind of cozy familiarity I’d never had with any of my friends.
And by cozy, I mean I just saw tits.
Tits out in the open, getting a good old-fashioned tongue-lashing world tour.
Georgia said the lady from the bar had said this party was fun, but I don’t recall her mentioning that Pornhub was sponsoring it…
Immediately, I looked toward the bathrooms and watched as Georgia stepped back into the ballroom, but she only made it halfway toward the bar before she was stopped by a male and female in purple masks. She smiled, and by her reaction to their presence, I had a feeling the woman was Paula from the bar.
“Here are your drinks, sir.”
I turned around to find the scotch and wine sitting on the bar and the bartender smiling toward me. The niggling voice in the back of my head said I should leave them there and run, but not wanting to be unnecessarily judgmental, I forced myself to pump the brakes until I had a little bit more information.
“Thank you,” I said and tossed a few bills into his tip jar.
“Appreciate it, sir. Enjoy thepleasurablefestivities.”
Pleasurable festivities?Okay. The way he said it made me feel exactly like I had when our driver Nico saidlike-minded couples. Danger, Will Robinson. Danger.
“What kind of ball is this, exactly?”
The bartender looked at me, eyes slightly confused. “What do you mean, sir?”
I ground my jaw, not wanting to have to try to explain this shit aloud, and he seemingly caught on enough to give me an answer without it.
“Uh…” The bartender paused and leaned over the bar to get a little closer to me. “If you’re wondering when partners are supposed to be selected, I’m pretty sure we were told that most couples will be heading toward the rooms upstairs around ten or so.”
“Heading to the rooms upstairs?” I questioned. “What rooms?”
“You know,the rooms,” he said, finally breaking into a kind smile. “Let me guess, this is your first time to a swingers event?”
Oh. Holy. Fucking. Shit.