The Club

Author's note: This is a part of an ongoing story. It is best read after reading the earlier chapters to put everything in context. This chapter, too, is part of the buildup to the rest of the novel.

*****

Suzie and I talked over dinner about Julie's and her lunch date. Suzie and her best friend Julie had met for lunch as they did every Wednesday. Recently, their conversations centered mainly on Julie's revelation that she and her husband, Bob, were into BDSM.

This week Suzie had brought up the subject right away and recounted their conversation to me almost word for word.

Suzie started, "I asked Julie, 'Have you recovered from Saturday night at our house?'"

Suzie went on, "She said, 'Oh, sure. By Monday, except for some soreness on my ass, I was back to normal. Actually, I've had much worse...or better, depending on how you look at it. Bob went easy on me. He didn't want to scare you guys off.'

"Then I told her that I have a hard time digesting all this stuff. It's so foreign to me. And I asked her why she told me that she wished it had been me instead of you that was pummeling her butt with that wooden spoon?

"She said, 'It's hard to explain, Suzie. You have to remember that what we do is for each other's pleasure, not for punishment. And who would you rather have giving you pleasure more than someone you love? Not that I don't love Tom, mind you, but you and I have a special relationship. Look, you didn't want to inflict pain on me, but Tom did. Not because of his great love for me, but to see how it would be to inflict pain on someone...anyone. You showed how much you loved me at that moment.'

"I told her that maybe I have to love her even more before I want to beat her up! That made her laugh.

"I mentioned to Julie that you and I were both surprised again when Bob made her face us, naked like that. She said that she's used to it, given all the times she and Bob have been with other people. I asked her if they do the BDSM thing with the others and she said 'Of course. Bob and I have kind of an open relationship as far as that goes. We rarely go as far as penetrative sex with others, though.' "

Suzie went on, "I mentioned to her what a beautiful body she had and she said that her breasts, being bigger than mine were showing the effects of gravity, she being older and having a couple of kids. Then she said that Bob likes them bigger...a bigger target. I asked her what she meant by target and she said that he hits them with a riding crop which hurts a lot, especially when he strikes the nipples. But that also really turns her on and, in her words, makes her pussy wet."

Almost in shock, I said only, "Unbelievable!"

"Then I asked her about the Gala and The Mill."

"Oh, yeh," I said. "I'd forgotten all about that."

"I asked her, besides the fancy meal, what's so special about it that people are willing to pay $500 a person to go, even though I know it's a fundraiser for charity? She didn't have time to go into all the details about the club, but she just

had

to tell me one event they had as part of the entertainment last year. Wait 'til you hear this, Tom. I thought it was horrible and disgusting. But Julie said everyone there, including the two who it was being done to, thought it was fun, exciting, sexually arousing. See what you think.

"In this large room they had built two wooden frames, about a foot high, in the shape of a square, about ten feet. The frame had a black plastic sheet covering it and the floor within. Kind of like a fishpond liner. They brought in two volunteers, a guy and a gal. They were both 'subs', if you know what I mean."

"I get it, Babe. Go on."

"OK, these subs were both naked except for a hood covering their heads, with only small holes over their noses. Nobody knew who they were, unless they recognized their bodies, and if they did they weren't supposed to tell anyone. So, they lay these two in the boxes on the floor and cuffed them spread-eagled to the corners of the frames. Then they put a couple of boards across the frames covering their heads. All that was showing now was their naked bodies, face up, from the neck down.

"Now at this point, I found myself getting a little turned on myself. Over the guy, they also placed a twelve inch plank on each side of him, resting on top of the frame. You following this, Tom?"

"Yep, I think I'm with you so far."

"Now comes the kinky stuff. These two were supposed to be there for thirty minutes. For the first ten minutes, people paid $5 each to either walk on the boards alongside the guy or the planks covering the gal's head and tickle or tease them with a feather attached to a yardstick. For just thirty seconds!"

"These people are big on yardsticks, aren't they," I interjected.

"That's forty people. $200 in just ten minutes. All for charity, though. And Julie said there were even more people that wanted to do it but there wasn't time. For the next ten minutes people paid $10 to stand over one of the subs for thirty seconds and drip hot wax from the many candles that were burning nearby, on the subs' bodies. She said the people that crowded around were screaming with excitement. That was another $400. But wait. Here was the grand finale. Only men could do the female sub, and only women could do the male sub."

"Do? Do what?" I asked.

"This was sick. For $25 apiece you could stand over the sub and urinate all over him. The guys stood over the gal's head and squirted all up and down her body. The women, first removing whatever clothing they needed to, straddled the guy's body and urinated all over him. What sickos! But, Julie said that was the biggest hit of the affair. It's mainly why they're so excited about this years' Gala. And, they made another $1,000 from all that pissing. Tell me, Tom. Would you have paid $25 to piss on some naked girl?"

"Yeh. Probably."

"You're sick too."

"Maybe. But I'm apparently not alone. There's more people into this stuff than we ever imagined."

"That's for sure. Does knowing what went on last year make you want to go to this year's Gala?"

"It kinda does. I'll talk with Bob after golf Saturday. Find out more about the club. We may not ever want to join the club, but other than the ticket price we've nothing to lose. We don't even know if we want to adopt their lifestyle. We've barely tapped the surface. I haven't even spanked you yet, have I Babe?"

"And you maybe won't ever spank me, 'Master'. That'll be the day when I call you 'Master'. How about we start talking about me spanking

you

? Where is that wooden spoon anyway?"

"Whoa! Hold your horses. I ain't nobody's sub, Babe."

"We'll see," was Suzie's last statement before getting up from the table and starting the cleanup process.

Saturday, at the 19

th

Hole in the clubhouse, over a couple of beers, I picked Bob's brain about The Mill Club.

"Suzie and I have pretty much decided to go with you to the Gala. There're still a few things I'd like to know about the club."

"Sure. Julie told me that she described one of last year's entertainment events to Suzie. I'm sure she filled you in. It was a doozy. Everyone there that night loved it. Made a lot of money for the charity. Could have made more if there was more time. I bet this year they allow more time for folks to participate if they want. Seems people will pay big money for a chance to do that kind of thing. There were some non-members there and a few of them joined the club afterwards. It was real successful. Now, whatcha want to know?"

"Well, you explained how the club got started, and I know about the Gala coming up, but what're the everyday activities like. People pay big money to join, and fairly expensive monthly dues. For what?"

"Good question, Tom. Let me tell you what it's not. It's not a promiscuous whorehouse. It's a place where like-minded folks can gather together to socialize and play. The club has much more equipment than any one member would otherwise have access to. And it's safe. Safe for everyone to explore their inner feelings and sexuality. Let me explain some of the rules which are enforced emphatically.

"First, when a person joins, he fills out an extensive questionnaire about him or herself. Medical history is one important question, including results of recent tests for STDs. Then there's a long list of BDSM activities to be checked off as to whether you are willing to participate in them or not. Or, if you don't know. A place to check 'hard limits'...that's stuff that you absolutely don't want to be involved with. For example, you may not want to be involved with 'golden showers'. That's when one person pisses on another. Also when you sign up you declare your gender, of course, but also if you are straight or gay, or bi. A dom, or a sub, or a switch. You can change those designations any time, but whatever is listed in the club's records is how you have to act when you're at the club.

To make sure you do, and all the members know what your designation, or proclivity is, everyone must wear something identifying their status. The subs must wear a leather collar when they're in the Mill. The doms must wear leather wrist cuffs. One of the members works with leather and he makes all of these to order. The collars and the wrist cuffs are marked with clearly visible symbols that let the other members know what they can or cannot do to you or expect from you. For instance, a rainbow indicates gay or lesbian. If you're not the same sex you don't try to start something with them. There's a symbol that means you only interact with your own partner. A symbol for 'I don't do water sports'.

"One more thing about safety. Whenever the club is open, which is usually on Friday and Saturday nights and maybe one night during the week, there is always at least one 'dungeon master'. He's in charge and keeps an eye on everything that's going on. If he senses that someone is going beyond what the person he's with wants, or he sees something that's not safe, he steps in and puts a stop to it. Doesn't happen often, fortunately. It's a pretty responsible lot of people that are into BDSM. No alcohol or drugs are allowed on the premises of The Mill. And anyone showing up drunk or stoned won't be allowed in. There's no place for that when you're inflicting pain on another person and might not realize when it's time to stop. A couple of members have been thrown out of the club for just that."

I had heard enough of their rules for one sitting and wanted to head for home. "I get the drift. Sounds like they've got it all figured out to be successful. I definitely want to go to the Gala. Suzie and me joining the club is a long way off. Right now I don't think Susie is inclined to go beyond a little bondage once in a while. That's the 'B' part. The 'DSM' will have to wait...or may never show up. We'll see."

"That's OK. It takes time, I know. But from what I've observed the two Saturday nights where Julie and I showed you a little of what we do, I suspect you two may have more interest in the idea than you're admitting."

"You may be right. Anyway, I'll get a check for $1,000 to you this week and you can get our tickets. OK?"

"Sure. Julie will be pleased that you're going. We'll have a blast there. Now, let's get going. I'll see you later. Say 'Hi' to Suzie."

"So long," I said, trying to remember all the new things I had to share with Suzie.