Chapter 1

 

 

"Did you get it?" Lexie looked up anxiously from the computer screen where a young brunette woman was strung up and being caned. She watched as her roommate entered their apartment, after her shift at the Billionaires Club. Her roommate, Nadine, a beautiful and slender twenty-two year old, black woman worked as a shooter girl at the club.

"What? No hello? No, how was your shift tonight Nadine? Nothing huh?" Nadine huffed at her childhood friend as she hung her jacket and tiny black handbag in the coat closet by the front door.

"I want you counting the lashes!" the man in the video yelled out.

Laughing, Nadine made her way across the living room and peered over Lexie's shoulder to the video she'd been watching. "I see you've been doing your homework." Nadine watched for a moment as the brunette counted down between lashes.

"8... 7..." the woman called out, wincing - but only slightly - each time the cane made contact with her reddened ass.

"That girl is taking it like a pro. Props to her," Nadine joked, turning away from the screen, suddenly disinterested.

Lexie huffed and exited the video. She had more important things to find out, such as, whether or not Nadine secured a member badge to the club for her. By the smug look in Nadine's expression she would wager it was a yes.

"So, did you get it?"

Nadine reached down the front of her tight red cut-off tank top and produced a small silver badge, about an inch in length and half an inch in width and waved it under Lexie's nose. Lexie eyed the badge, a wide smile forming on her lips. She was finally going to get into the club that could quite possibly give her the news story of a lifetime, and would kick-start her career as a journalist. She was currently a gossip columnist for a small time local gossip paper in San Francisco. But this story could launch her into the big time; it could turn her into a 'real' journalist. Excited, Lexie made a grab for the badge, but Nadine snatched her hand back and quickly backed away.

Nadine wagged her finger at Lexie. "No, no girl. We're going over some ground rules here first before I give you anything."

Lexie sighed and rolled her eyes at her friend. "Look, I know. I know. I heard you the first hundred times you stated your terms and conditions."

"Nah, I think we need to discuss them one more time." She flopped onto the thread bare floral patterned sofa, and gave the badge another shake in the air. "This could cost me the best paying job I've ever had. If anyone finds out you're not a member and I gave this to you then I will not only lose the best job of my life, but I could be facing legal action."

Lexie ranked a hand through her long flaming red curls and sighed. "Even if caught, you know I would never, ever give you up."

"It wouldn't be that hard to link us Lex. We grew up in the same town in Nebraska." she waved at their surroundings. "We share an apartment. I think they'd catch on."

"My legal address is still listed in Omaha," Lexie reminded her standing, crossing the room and flopping into an equally worn matching armchair.

Nadine sighed and passed the badge to her. "I'm trusting you. Don't fuck it up."

With a wide grin on her face Lexie accepted the badge and looked down at it. On the silver plate was the engraving T5S in black letters "So what does T5S mean anyhow?"

"Ummm. Well, here's the thing. I just couldn't walk up to my boss and ask him to give me a member badge."

Lexie shrugged. "I suppose not."

"I managed to get lucky and noticed a badge had fallen from a member's clothing and it was lying on the floor. Now if we happen to see a badge and pick it up we're required to turn it in to management. Instead, I tucked it into my bra and kept working. I could be fired for that alone, you know."

Lexie nodded. She doubted she could ever come up with the words to describe the gratitude she felt towards Nadine for sticking her neck out and risking her job to help launch hers. "And I thank you for that. I promise I will make this up to you."

"You're damned right you will," Nadine teased, bending down and unzipping her thigh high stiletto boot.

Lexie looked back down at the T5S and cringed. Something told her she wasn't going to like what it stood for. "So what does the T5S mean?"

Nadine sighed and gave her a sympathetic smile. "It means tier five submissive."

Lexie shrugged and stared blankly at her friend. "I have no idea what that means."

Pulling off her first boot she kicked it under the plain wooden coffee table and began unzipping the second one. "Well, to simplify things for their members the club has established a system with those badges. Those labelled with an S or D, submissive or dominant, are ranked one to five."

Glancing down at the badge, Lexie shrugged. "So what does a five do?"

Looking up and meeting her friend's eyes, Nadine grinned and gave her a wink. "You do it all baby."

All? What the fuck does she mean by all?

Nadine continued with her explanation. "You like it as rough as they'll give it to you. Caning, gangbanging, humiliation, electrode stimulation, you like it as hard as they'll give it. Pain is your thang baby."

Lexie blanched, her jaw going slack. "Are you fucking serious?" She'd been watching the videos online that Nadine had directed her to, in order to be prepared for virtually anything and everything she may encounter going on at the club. Doing it all was not even close to what she was signing up for.

Nadine groaned, shaking her head. "It's not like you're actually going to do any of it. Geez, Lex. Be fuckin' happy I could get you one at all." She reached over to snatch the badge from Lexie's fingers, but Lexie was too fast, jerking the badge out of her reach.

"I am. Thank you Nadine." She stood and gave her friend a quick hug. "I owe you big for this."

Lexie's brow creased when she pulled away and peered over at her friend, noticing the devious look in her expression. "What's that look for?"

Nadine laughed and gave her head a quick shake. "You don't owe me a thing girl. My payment will be getting to see you try and handle yourself in a place like that."

With a huff, Lexie threw herself back in the armchair. "And why would you say that? I've been watching the videos."

Nadine's increased laughter unsettled Lexie slightly. Of course she could handle it; it wasn't as though she was actually going to partake in the... activities or anything. She was going solely for the story. Get in, get the story and get out. Easy peasy.