Page 1 of Hurt Me Not
Chapter 1
Pearl
Who would ever think I would actually get invited to New York's hottest queer BDSM club?
Not me.
But somehow, I found a shiny invitation in my email on Friday morning, and ever since then, I’d been trying to scrounge up something suitable to wear.
Not only that, but I even gave up my shift tonight just for a chance to see what could happen, which is meaningful in itself, since this is the night when I make most of my weekly tips.
Because it’s not only about going to a BDSM club—I was asked to attend an auction. Their first-ever auction.
Maybeattendis the wrong word, since I will be the item being bid on.
Regardless,it was an opportunity for me to pay back all my student loans. The same ones that reminded me every month just how much of a failure I was.
It was dark outside, even with the stars glittering above, watching. There was a small chill to the air, the small neighborhood somehow feeling twenty degrees cooler than the city, calming my heated skin and giving me much-needed clarity.
Clarity to realize that the loans were eating up all my paycheck. I barely had enough to pay for my apartment. All my food came from leftovers at the restaurant.
So I needed to go through with this. I needed to do something to turn my life around.
And yet I couldn’t make myself move any closer to the house. I was just… standing there, looking at it.
You’re already here, Pearl. No backing out now.
I forced one foot in front of the other, gripping my phone tightly in my hand as I walked up to the door of the imposing house. There was a man there, his gaze so hard that I found myself shrinking under the weight of it. Saying nothing, he simply opened the door behind him.
I shifted my mask onto my face before even daring to take a look at what was inside. I had chosen pink, my favorite color, in an attempt to boost up my self-confidence, considering what I was about to do. But as soon as I got a glance of the people around me, I realized it was all for naught.
They're gorgeous.
A girl was standing in the entryway, and behind her were a few people walking in the foyer. Many were holding drinks, laughing, seemingly having a good time, some with partners and others on their own.
All of them had masks, but their beauty shone through. There was an air of sensuality about them in the way their dresses hugged their skin or their suits were unbuttoned just enough to show some chest.
I wondered how they did it. How they felt so at ease in a place like this instead of afraid like me.
I could pretend to be them, though. Try to emulate their easy smiles and straight backs, using the mask as my shield. Fight through the nervousness.
With an uneasy envy in my heart, I faced the girl waiting for me.
Pretending it is.
She met me with a friendly smile, but my eyes were pulled from her face to her skintight red latex suit. My mouth watered at the sight of how good it looked on her, and I wondered if I could pull off anything similar.
“Name?”
“Emmy,” I replied, my skin heating at using a shortened version ofhername. She'd be pissed if she knew, butI couldn't think of anyone else. She was the only person who could've given me the strength to do this. The only person I wished could be here. “I am here for the auction.”
The hostess’s face brightened up immediately, and she started typing hastily on her iPad.
“Oh yes!” she gushed. “How exciting! Let me add some stuff in here and I’ll show you where you need to go.”
I followed her through the club, my eyes lingering at the blown-up pictures of queer people together splattered across the walls. The more I saw, the less nervous I felt, and I felt warmth starting to expand in my chest.
I like it here.
