Bedroom Bully by Harper West

8

Rebecca

“I just need to go home,”I said breathlessly.

After standing on the sidewalk for nearly an hour, I made my way toward the nearest coffee shop. I got myself a small caramel coffee with a cheese danish and perched myself in a corner near the window. I loved people-watching. It was one of my favorite pastimes. My father and I used to do it all the time together, especially in the summer when other kids flooded our neighborhoods well past their bedtimes.

And as I sat there, my phone started ringing.

“Damn it,” I hissed.

I expected it to be JoJo calling me for the seventh time or some bullshit, but I found Brit calling instead. I furrowed my brow as I watched her number scroll across my screen, and I debated on whether or not to pick it up. For all I knew, she wanted to get together and back me into another corner. For all I knew, this was somehow her shot to take me down once and for all. But I also knew how stupid that all sounded, so I sated my curiosity by picking up the phone.

And I was glad I did.

“Hey there, Brit.”

She gasped. “You picked up! Hey!”

I furrowed my brow. “Where the hell are you? It sounds like there’s an entire circus behind you.”

“Girl, you have to get here now. There’s a burlesque show going on in one of the clubs, and it’s a wild ride. You have to experience this.”

“Did someone not go with you or something?”

“You mean to tell me you haven’t checked your text messages? I’ve been trying to get in touch with you all night!”

I pulled my phone out and saw that I had four missed texts from her. All of them were a version of the same thing, though. She kept asking me why in the world I wasn’t answering and if I was interested in attending a show that sexually liberated anyone who dared to step into the confines of their walls at the club.

How could I say no to something like that?

“Sure, I’m down. My night’s a bust anyway. Shoot me the address?” I asked.

She yelped with joy. “Yes! Okay, okay. I’ll get a ticket with your name on it and set it aside at the ticket booth for you. But drinks are on you.”

I smiled as I downed the rest of my coffee. “Deal. How much are the tickets?”

“Fifty bucks.”

“Then, it sounds like we’re getting plastered.”

“Woo hoo! I’m shooting you the name of the place now. See you soon!”

I laughed as I tossed my trash in the trash can. “See you soon.”

It didn’t take me long to flag down a taxi, and after paying for the seventeen-minute ride I found myself standing in front of a place called Highest Rise. I had no earthly idea what that was a euphemism for, but after snagging my ticket at the booth, I was led down a red, velveteen set of steps into what looked like a decked-out dungeon with two bars, and at least thirty different tables of all shapes and sizes, crystal as far as my eye could see, and dazzling lights that were ready to show off.

“Becca! Over here!” Brit exclaimed.

To my surprise, I found Brit with a few of our other female co-workers. They all embraced me before I sat down at the table and a waitress in a positively salacious outfit came over to take our drink orders. And after placing an order for a mango margarita, I relaxed against the plush chair.

“I mean, I had no idea what this place was, but I never would’ve figured all of this would’ve been inside.”

Kelly, a new girl down in H.R., nodded as she sipped her wine. “I came here once for a July 4th show, and I wasn’t disappointed in the slightest. I mean, the girls were wearing these red, white, and blue bras with sparklers poking out of them. It was insane!”

And as our waitress came back with our drinks, I asked her to keep them coming for both me and Brit.

I’d cover whatever tab it took to wash away the sins of my finicky mind.

I wasn’t too involved with their conversations, especially since they kept talking about work. And talking about work only served to remind me that, for the smallest of seconds, I had called JoJo just to see how he was doing. As if I had that right or something. It didn’t take long for the show to start, however, and as the music cued up all of the lights went down.

Before a singing woman emerged in a feathery costume that only covered exactly what it needed to.

“Are those peacock feathers?” I asked.

“Sh!” all the girls said in unison.

I downed my first margarita just to get going, and as I grabbed my second one from the waitress’s hand, I found myself entranced with the show. A woman in what looked like a latex outfit that she donned from head to toe came out cracking a whip in her sky-high stilettos. She got the main singer that had opened the show down onto her knees before tying her hands behind her back. My jaw dropped as the show progressed with the latex-clad woman barking commands.

And every time the woman said, “good girl,” I imagined JoJo calling me exactly that.

“Wow,” I whispered.

Brit nudged me. “Hell of a show, huh?”

I leaned back into my seat. “Want to know something embarrassing?”

She scooted her chair closer. “I’m always up for some gossip. Hit me with it.”

I leaned into her ear. “Doggy style was the epitome of my sexual escapades until I moved here.”

She gasped. “You’re fucking joking.”

I downed my second drink. “Not one damn bit.”

“What’s up?” Kelly asked.

Brit giggled. “Becca here gets kinky with that doggy style, you guys.”

All the girls whipped their heads in my direction and immediately, my sex life and its lack of spice became to the topic of conversation. Granted, I had experienced some things since my first time back in high school, but I sure as hell didn’t want to give them anymore fuel to add to the fire.

And after the waitress brought me my third drink, I felt loosey-goosey enough to really kick back and watch the show.

“Who’s ready for a little tease!?” the announcer asked.

So many people leapt onto their feet and started cheering. The main woman from the very beginning, who had been relieved of her binds, scanned the audience for someone to bring up onto stage. I sank lower into my chair, hoping and praying her eyes passed me over.

But the second she locked eyes with me, I knew I was fucked.

“Why don’t you come on up here, sexy, and join me for a little while?” she asked.

Brit and the girls looked at me before they started clapping their hands. They whooped and hollered while a few catcalls bellowed from the crowd. I joined the woman on stage before she ushered me to sit in the very comfortable chair on stage.

Then, she held her microphone to her lips. “So, my dear, what brings you here tonight?”

She shoved it into my face and I cleared my throat. “A failed date.”

Everyone busted out laughing as the woman grinned. “Sounds like you need a little… pick-me-up, then.”

“Yes, she does!” Brit yelled from the table.

The crowd erupted into applause as my cheeks turned red. I hated being the center of attention like this. But, with every act and with every trick, my mind opened to the unimaginable possibilities of what it meant to be intimate with someone. There were men donning leather straps that guarded the entrances and exits. Women of all shapes and sizes wore things like assless chaps while women dressed in leatherbound clothing whipped them while they sang. It was damn close to a fucking softcore porn video, and yet I didn’t want it to stop.

I wanted them to keep teaching me like the good little girl I wanted to be.

“Well,” the woman in the feathers said as two men approached me from either side, “why don’t we get you into a little bit of trouble, then?”

One of the men whipped out a blindfold and quickly tied it around my eyes. I heard the girls practically shrieking as I gripped the plush arms of the chair. I felt one of the man’s hands on my shoulders, massaging them in an attempt to get me to relax.

And the second I did, the music queued up.

“Holy shit!” Kelly exclaimed.

A whip cracked in the air and I flinched. I felt something being tied around my ankles and my eyes widened. The massage crept up the back of my neck as the woman in feathers started singing with her angelic voice, and all the while I heard feet dancing around me in unison.

Before someone slapped handcuffs around my wrists.

“What’s your name, sweetheart?” the man asked.

I heard his voice echoing into the room, which meant he had a microphone as well.

“Rebecca,” I said softly.

He chuckled. “Well, Rebecca, let me ask you something.”

“Sure, of course. Go ahead.”

And that’s when he yanked the handcuffs, pulling me to my bound feet. “Are you a dirty little whore?”

For JoJo, yes. “I—I want to be?”

The woman started talking again. “Then, let’s give it up for our main event!”

Feathers tickled my skin and fire being blown at me caused me to twitch. At one point in time, someone shoved me back into my chair before they started grinding on me. With all my might, I wanted to see what was going on. I wanted to digest everything they were doing so that I could put a few of those tips in my back pocket.

I knew I hadn’t experienced much in the way of sexual bliss, but I wanted to experience all of this. I wanted to be bound by someone. Teased by someone. I wanted to get down on my knees and be praised for my hard work. I wanted someone to own me. Please me. Control me, in all the best ways.

And I wanted JoJo to be the guiding hand while I explored.