“Even better. I told them that you fondled me while I watched the baseball game and then knocked me over in bed and showed me who was boss.”

“Braden.” I laughed, hoping he was kidding. I heard him laugh too. Phew!

“Actually, I told them that I’ve never been happier and that I’m very content to spend my nights with you.”

“Oh. That’s sweet. Did Adam vomit?”

“Actually, I think he’s jealous.”

“Adam’s in love with you?” I teased.

“No! I think he’s jealous of the fact that I found somebody who I can go home with at night and who makes me so happy.”

“You must be drunk,” I teased. “He wouldn’t want to limit himself to ha**g s*x with only one woman.”

“He would if it were great sex. I know he’s jealous of our sex life. Just to let you know, not all casual hook-ups are great. Novelty just goes so far.”

“You tell him stuff about our sex life?”

“Not details. Just general stuff.”

“What kind of general stuff?”

“I don’t know. Like for example, if he said, ‘Hey, Braden you’re looking really cheerful, you must have gotten laid last night, I might point out that I get laid most nights, but I wouldn’t mention that I spanked you and you liked it.” He laughed.

“Well, that’s okay, I guess.”

“And I’ve told him that you blow my mind in bed but I haven’t mentioned that you’ve also blown it in the jury room. Although I suspect that Mark will so I’ll probably be hearing about that soon.”

“I’ve told Jess some general stuff about you, too.”

“Like what?”

“Like you have the stamina of an Energizer Bunny.”

“An Energizer Bunny? Oh shit! You did not.”

“You’re going to complain that other women know that you keep on going?”

“Okay, fine, just don’t share anything more intimate than that.”

“Define more intimate.”

“Oh, fuck!”

“Would that include the information that the Harvard endowment is very large?”

“The Har … Oh Jesus! Gabrielle!”

“I didn’t think guys would really mind women knowing that. I mean isn’t that, like, a source of pride?”

“Yeah, when you’re twelve! Honey, the size of my dick is nobody’s business but yours. How about from now on we both try to be a little more discreet, okay? If you do let anything else slip, though, don’t tell me about it. There’s some shit that I just don’t want to know.”

“Okay, it’s a deal. So what’s the plan, Harvard?”

“Well, this is supposed to be a date, but Adam, Mark, Cameron and Drew are on their way here now and we were just talking about cabbing it because we’ve all been drinking. Drew’s crashing with Cameron, so he’s at his place.”

“Why is he crashing with Cameron instead of with you?”

“Cameron has an extra bedroom so he wouldn’t have to sleep on the couch. Besides, I want to get really freaky and mildly kinky with you tonight and I have a feeling you may have a hard time being quiet.”

“Oh! I see.” That tickly feeling? Yeah, it was way beyond tickly now.

“Anyway, I got us on the list. How about if you three share a cab and we’ll meet you there in the VIP lounge lobby at about ten?”

“Sounds like a good plan. See you later sudsy guy.”

“Bye. Too much information, girl.” He laughed and hung up.

I went over to the mirror to check myself out one last time. I looked sexy without looking sleazy. Exactly what I had been going for. My long brown hair looked a little tousled and Jess and Lily had done a fabulous job helping me do my makeup. They had used smoky colors to compliment my hazel eyes and a deep rich color on my lips. I had decided to go without stockings and I rubbed lotion onto my legs and slipped on my black heels.

“Who else is going again?” Lily asked suspiciously as soon as I came back into Jess’s room. She must have overheard me mentioning Adam to Braden. The walls in that place were so thin. I went over to sit down on the bed and take my turn at adoring Bruno.

“Braden’s younger brother Drew, Cameron, Mark from our office, and Adam.”

“Oh Christ!” Lily said, making a face. “Why didn’t you warn me?” She came over and sat down beside me with a thud, looking like I had just told her she would have to take the bar exam again.

“He’ll also be there this weekend too,” I admitted and she took on a pained expression and stared at the ceiling. “But I warned him to behave! What is the problem between you two anyway?” I put Bruno on her lap. Nobody could stay upset when faced with that much cuteness.

“He thinks I’m an uptight bitch,” she answered with a distinctly unhappy look on her face. Could it really be that bad? Bruno nuzzled her hand and she petted him … and smiled. See, I told you.

“Uptight?” Jess asked, turning around to look at us. “You write raunchy books.”

“He doesn’t know about those. He sees me as a mousy librarian who writes thrillers to make her boring life seem more exciting.” Lily looked very annoyed by that. I wondered why his opinion mattered so much to her.

“Well, you look like one of your sexy book heroines tonight,” I said with a smile.

Actually, in the past year, Lily had really blossomed. She had always been attractive, but now she just exuded a new sense of confidence that made her seem very sexy. I wondered if it had anything to do with her parents moving away, and I was also curious to see if Adam would notice the difference in her.

The cab pulled up to a big, plain, industrial-looking building. There was no outside line like at other clubs but there was a sign pointing toward the back. We went through a pair of heavy steel doors and immediately saw that everything was hidden behind the facade of what looked like an old abandoned factory.

We followed along a winding hallway with bare brick walls. Videos were being projected in various places — newsreels with reports about Elvis sightings, Lone Gunmen, and aliens. There were framed editions of papers like News of the World and the National Enquirer hung on the walls and various Masonic symbols and hieroglyphics painted or scrawled here and there as well. This joint was really well done. We approached two large men dressed all in black of course. (Men in Black? Get it?) They had ear pieces in and held clipboards. I gave them our names and they directed us to what looked like an elevator from a sci-fi movie to our left. Apparently the VIP area was on the second floor.

When the doors slid open again with a whoosh, I saw people mingling about, a bank of TVs on a wall, all showing UFO footage, and another set of doors straight ahead just beyond a sign for restrooms. Jess said that she had to make a pit stop and Lily decided to go with her. I told them that I would go in and let the guys know we were here. I let another set of men in black have my name and they directed me through the doors. I walked down a hallway that turned around a bend. Up ahead I could see a large room with several sofas and low tables scattered around. The bare brick walls were lit only by the ominous glow of recessed green neon lights but I could still make out the details of the room and what was going on inside. I figured that this must be the VIP lounge lobby.

There were arches on the left and on the right that looked like they led into the actual VIP lounge and club area. Like everywhere else in the building so far, the décor was industrial with a sort of Metropolis feel. There were people sitting on the sofas and others standing in groups chatting, including our gang of guys.

I paused to take it all in. Leaning against a wall, tall, blonde and beautiful, Braden stood in the middle, wearing a white linen shirt rolled up at the sleeves, and a pair of tan pants. Adam, with his dark hair and eyes looked sexy dressed all in black. As usual Mark looked funky, dressed in a black jacket over a white T-shirt. And then there was Cam, stylish as always, in what looked to me like Armani. Drew looked just like a younger version of Braden, but I saw that he had his own style – a horizontally striped baby blue and white shirt that showed off his blonde good looks in a summer beach boy way. There was something for everyone.

I watched them as they talked and laughed looking all masculine and confident. Occasionally a club chick would pass by wearing a dress that was too short, too tight and too revealing, and one or more of them would check her out. Braden didn’t look interested, though, which made me very happy. It was only a couple of minutes but it was enough time to see what kind of impact they made on their surroundings. Suffice it to say, by the looks they were getting from the other women who saw them, I didn’t think any of them would want for partners to help them unwind.

I started walking in their direction. Just then Drew looked up and I saw him mouth the words, “holy shit.” I almost stopped in my tracks. I looked quickly behind me in case I was about to be mugged or something. There was nobody there, though. Was one of my boobs hanging out? They all looked up then and by the looks on their faces I realized that it was probably just that the sexy designer dress and shoes had been a good choice. I did glance down to make sure it wasn’t the boob, though.

A few things happened in the next couple of seconds. Braden’s eyes glazed over; Adam’s eyes fixed on my six inch heels, and Mark’s eyes just got wider. Cam and Drew immediately started a conversation between the two of them that included a lot of eye contact. I figured it was because they were Braden’s relatives and likely assumed that they were in the most possible danger if caught ogling, so they were taking precautionary measures.

“Hey guys,” I said with a smile. Braden continued to stare openly but the other guys quickly snapped out of it and looked curiously at him. Were they waiting for him to do something? What did they expect, that he would throw me down on the carpet and share our love with the crowd? When he didn’t appear to be doing much of anything, they just looked anywhere but at me.

“Hi, Gabrielle,” Cam said, talking to the ceiling. There was a chorus of ‘Hi, Gabrielle’s’ addressed to various locations around the room. Braden seemed a little stunned.

“I don’t think we should stay much longer,” he said, sounding very distracted. His eyes dropped to my body and his gaze slowly traveled back and forth from my boobs to my six inch heels. Several hundred times. He looked like he had just seen a miracle performed. What, did I normally look like a bag lady or something?

“We just got here,” I reminded him. “Jess and Lily aren’t even out of the bathroom yet.”

“Right,” he mumbled. Just then I heard someone call out to him.

“Braden! Where the hell have you been?” Two tall, well-dressed, exceptionally good-looking guys who were leaving the lounge came sauntering over. They had an air of wealth and good breeding about them, just like he did. When they noticed me, they stopped in their tracks. They both checked me out, but a bit more subtly than Braden, who was still checking me out.

“Well, hello,” said the blonde guy who had called out. The look he was giving me practically screamed ‘player’. I figured there would be a line coming momentarily.

“Girlfriend!” Cam suddenly exclaimed, sounding like he was shouting, ‘abandon ship!’

“This is your girlfriend, Cam?” the other guy, who had dark hair, asked.

“Mine? No! She’s just my friend! I swear!” The two newcomers looked understandably confused. Cam collected himself and went on. “She’s Braden’s girlfriend!”

“Ah!” blonde guy said, and they both nodded politely as if that explained Cam’s little outburst. “Wait, his girlfriend?” he asked dubiously looking at Braden for confirmation. Normally, this would have been the point where Braden would have come over to drape a possessive arm around me but he was still busy making the visual journey up and down my body. I think that he might have been experiencing some kind of fugue state.

“Gabrielle, this is Kurt van Ryland and Kevin Bryce. We grew up together,” Braden said still sounding very distracted.

“Evan. Evan Bryce,” said dark haired guy who Braden had grown up with, but whose name he apparently didn’t know, while reaching out to shake my hand. “We also went to college together.”

“Yeah, they went to Howard,” Braden mumbled.

“Harvard,” Kurt corrected with a smile as he shook my hand.

“Gabrielle went to Yale,” Cam put in. “That’s where we became friends. Just friends!”

Kurt and Evan were looking at Braden and Cam like they thought that maybe they were high or something. Drew decided to help out at this point. So, of course, things just went downhill from there.

“Kurt, Ev, this is Gabrielle Ginsberg, who’s Braden’s actual girlfriend. She’s like the only woman he’s sleeping with now. And Cameron’s not sleeping with her at all anymore.” Well, I was glad he had cleared that up. I saw Cameron look up at the ceiling. He may have been praying. Luckily, Braden still wasn’t really completely with us.

“Any relation to Ruth Bader Ginsburg?” Evan asked, tactfully avoiding Drew’s little revelation. Kurt was looking back and forth between Braden and Cam with what looked like confused amusement.

“Uh, no, sorry. Just Ben and Judy Ginsberg,” I said with a smile.

“Not Ben Ginsberg, the CEO of Marlton Radcliff?” Kurt asked, suddenly turning his attention back to me and looking very intrigued.

“Yeah, he’s my dad,” I answered and I saw Kurt and Evan share a surprised look. Then they looked at Braden like he had just become their new hero.