Chapter 3 - Coming Out
I typically don't enjoy a cold shower, but after the sweltering encounter I just experienced, the iciness of the water is a welcome relief.
The locker rooms are much nicer than I anticipated. From what I have seen so far, every room in The Parade is kept immaculately clean and the showers are no exception. In fact, they were far nicer than the Massage Envy Oscar and I treated ourselves to for our last anniversary. The Parade kept surprising me. I hadn't imagined that a sex club could be so
nice
. The showers here are nice and roomy, though, come to think of it, they were probably built that way to accommodate multiple bathers. Each shower stall has a large rainforest showerhead in addition to several misting jets built into the walls. Every inch of me was positively drenched the moment I stepped into the bath. I'll let Oscar know that it's time to remodel our bathroom.
The misting spray leaves pleasant little droplets all over my body. They catch the piercing bright LEDs in a way that makes my whole body glow like a being made of divine light. It makes me feel pure. Clean. I fight the urge to stay in the shower all night and let the bright droplets play on my skin. The Parade has so much more to offer me.
I shut off the shower and grab a heated towel from the wall. The soft warmth on my breasts reminds me briefly of Not Keanu. I wonder if I can return the favor to him tonight. I wonder if I'll ever know
who
he is. There's almost no way for us to recognize each other out in the club unless I walk around topless and hope he recognizes me by the beauty mark near my left tit. The thought of bumping into him again excites me and I'm reinvigorated to get back to The Parade and take it all in. Maybe, he'll get the chance to
bump
into me.
As I dry myself, I replay the tour in my mind and think of where I want to go next. My brain is flooded with too many options to choose from: should I fuck Oscar while other people watch? Maybe I'll take a turn in one of the gloryhole rooms. Or we could try one of the many bondage devices in The Catacombs. It's all very out in the open and it sounds alluring in practice, but I'm still a recovering introvert and I'm worried that I'll psych myself out of it when the time comes to perform. I'm exhilarated and frightened at the same time.
I slip my tunic over my head and step out of the shower to blow dry my hair. I feel for the mask on my face just to be safe. It's my security blanket, I don't know that I'd have the courage to do
any
of this without the safety of the tiny protective strip of leather over my eyes. Though the elastic string digging into my ears is a constant reminder that it's there, I check anyway. The last thing I want is to be recognized by someone who knows me.
As I walk toward the sinks, I see someone who knows me.
Hannah.
Cold prickles shoot down my spine and I feel the blood drain from my face. Now, I'm one hundred percent certain it's her. I clearly recognize her face in the brightness of the locker room which means she will definitely recognize me. She's busy drying her hair in the mirror, dressed only in a soft white towel and a pair of shower shoes. Her long red hair is wet, slicked-back tendrils creeping down her pale freckled shoulders. She's got a tattoo now, a large one on her clavicle, but I don't have time to stop and admire it. I duck back into the shower stall and pray that I haven't been noticed.
My heart is beating through my chest again and I'm not doing myself any favors by imagining the worst-case scenario. Panicking comes easily to me. She'll probably post to social media about a pervert teacher who stalked her into the bathroom in a sex club. Teachers have been fired for less, so the PTA would probably burn me alive at the stake.
Calm down, Nicole. Breathe.
Four-second breath in. Hold four seconds. Four-second breath out. Wait four seconds. The hair dryer is still going. All the confidence is gone again. What was I thinking? The club isn't
that
large, of course I'd cross paths with her again. I should have gotten a bigger mask, a full face mask like in that Tom Cruise movie with the secret party and the big orgy. Hell, while I'm at it, I can get myself a big cloak and a suit of armor. I want to wall myself off and never be seen again.
But the tour guide said something like this might happen. See someone you know at The Parade? Well, that means that
they
are here, too. Plus, Hannah isn't even a student of mine anymore, she's a grown woman. Why am I hiding from her? Why was I hiding at all? I feel like such a coward all the time. I'm always so scared of what might happen if people
see me
that I've wasted half my thirties sitting at home and saying "no" to any gathering of three or more people. I've got to get over this now if I'm going to be able to enjoy myself without looking over my shoulder every few seconds. I want to be dangerous, to feel the real risk that can only come from coming out of the shadows. Fear can't control me. I slip the mask into my back pocket and step out of the shower once more.
Time flies when you're stuck in a spiral of existential dread. Hannah is now fully dried, dressed, and just finishing applying a thin cat eye. Despite being in her mid twenties, she still looks like the Hannah who quietly completed all her work on time before disappearing into whatever fantasy novel she was reading at the time. She wears the grungy-goth schoolgirl look well. It's cute. The big boots, baggy plaid shirt, and skinny little legs remind me a bit of a Bratz doll.
Hannah looks toward me as though she has been expecting me and my heart stops in anticipation for what she might say. Hannah smiles. I'm glad her eyes don't have the cold perfectness as a Bratz. They are warm and kind and slightly creased by her smile.
"Hi, Mrs. Olsen! Remember me yet?" Not the level of enthusiasm I was expecting, if I'm being perfectly honest.
"Hi Hannah," I'm not sure what to say in this situation, but its not my place to scold her or interrogate her for being here. She's got the same right to be here as I do, so I try to forget that we're in a sex dungeon for a moment. "How have you been? It's been so long! Sorry I didn't recognize you earlier. It's dark out there."