THE INTERVIEW
I'd been in Atlanta only a week and really didn't know my way around, but from the map it looked like the MARTA stop at Piedmont Road was close to where I needed to be, so that's where I got off. It was a short walk to Habersham Road. Number 358 was a fairly new brownstone, pretty much the same as the others on both sides and across the street. The marble stairs led to the front door. "Edgemont Club" it said above the doorbell, so this was the right place, or at least according to the card Ben had given me. I rang the bell.
No answer. The house was quiet. The whole block was quiet. It was two in the afternoon, and, to afford these places, I assumed everybody was at work. I rang the bell again after a decent wait. Still nothing.
Waste of time, I was thinking, and just then I heard footsteps and a voice on an intercom I hadn't seen. "Yes? Who is it?"
"Jason Stirling. A friend of Ben Gladstone?" Shit, I hated that I'd phrased it as a question.
The door was opened by a gorgeous brunette wearing a gray pantsuit. Obviously a businesswoman. Maybe the manager? She extended her hand as she motioned me in. "I'm Shelly. Welcome to the Edgemont Club."
I gently shook her hand. "I'm Jason. Pleased to meet you."
"This way," she said, as she turned and entered a large room just off the main hallway. In it were two other women, one standing by the door, and one slouched on a sofa at the back. "May I introduce Abigail?"
"Hello," I said to the woman in front of me. She looked like a stereotypical librarian. Blond hair swept back, eyeglasses with thick black frames. Small breasts, but well shaped. Dressed in a satin blouse and a long skirt that came down past her knees, concealing what I judged to be great legs, although I could only see her great calves. She gave me a half-smile and then sat down in one of the two chairs behind a small table. She crossed her legs, revealing just a tiny bit more of those sexy legs.
"And that's Monica," said Shelly, motioning to the woman on the sofa. I couldn't tell, but she looked taller than the others, with long black hair. Unlike Shelly and Abigail, she was dressed in what looked like a one-piece black leather outfit that hugged her sleek body.
"Hello, Monica," I said. Monica said nothing, but continued to glare at me, as though I'd interrupted something. She shifted her long legs on the sofa and turned to look out the window.
Shelly sat down. There weren't any other chairs, and I wasn't about to walk over and sit on the sofa next to Monica, so I just took a couple of steps towards the table and remained standing.
Shelly got right to the point: "How do you know Ben?"
"We played tennis in Chicago a couple of times a month. When he heard I was moving to Atlanta, he gave me this card." I gave the card to Shelly who glanced at it and then tossed it into a wastebasket.
"He told you about our club?" asked Abigail.
"Only a little. Well, there's no other way to put it, he said it was a sex club." I smiled. I wasn't sure I should have said it that way, but what the hell, that's the way he'd put it. Maybe I'd made a mistake, because this looked more like an office than any kind of club.
Shelly smiled, Abigail was expressionless. Monica was texting on her phone, ignoring me.
"That's true," said Shelly. "A very selective one. We take members only by referral, and you have to have lived in Atlanta for a year before we can even talk to you about membership."
Silence.
Finally, Abigail said, "But we make exceptions for Ben, since he's one of the founders. We'll check with him before we can qualify you, but we'll let you start the process."
"Which is?" I asked.
Shelly answered: "There's a five step audition, each Friday for five weeks. If you pass, and Ben gives us the OK, we'll waive the residency and you can join. We have a $10,000 initiation fee, non-refundable, and dues of $300 a month."
Interesting facts, but they'd skipped one thing. "What do club members do?" I asked.
Shelly smiled again, but expressionless Abigail answered, "We have sex."
"With other members?" I looked at Abigail, trying to be businesslike, even though the conversation had taken a sudden turn.
"Of course, that's the point. We go by a simple rule: When a member is in the club, they do anything requested by anyone of the opposite sex, no limits, but with two sub-rules. Safe sex, and nothing dangerous or harmful."
"Opposite?"
"We have a sister club, too, but this one is hetero," answered Shelly.
That sounded like what Ben had described. What could be simpler? Initiation, Ben's sign-off, which was guaranteed, the money, which I could easily afford, and lots of sex. I started to relax. I glanced at Monica, who hadn't changed position or taken her eyes off her phone. I wondered why she was in the room.
Silence again.
"We can do the initial interview now, if you're ready, and then Step One can start on Friday," said Shelly. "So, are you ready?"
"Yeah, I guess so," I answered. The talk of sex, the two beautiful women behind the desk, and the mysterious Monica on the sofa was starting to turn me on.