Heartless

by Sophie Stern

  “Have you played here before?” I asked David suddenly. We were both members of Classified. I was a newer member, though, and I had only come by the club a couple of times to observe scenes. I hadn’t actually participated in any scenes at this club until tonight.

  “Yes,” David said. “Although, to be honest, I don’t play very often.”

  “Why not?”

  “Well, lately, my heart has been a bit hung up on a girl from California,” he smiled, and I thought that my insides were going to turn to mush. Wasn’t he sweet?

  “Hey strangers,” a familiar voice sounded, and I turned to see someone I’d known long ago coming across the room.

  “Theresa?” I asked, grinning. “Is that you?”

  “The one and only.”

  Theresa March was an attorney, like Felix and David were. She was kind and wonderful and fun, and we’d played together long ago when she was out in California visiting some mutual friends. We’d spent a crazy night together, and we’d both kept in touch.

  “I didn’t know you played here,” I told her honestly.

  “I do,” she grinned. “This is kind of my scene.” Theresa turned to David and hugged him, too. “David, good to see you.”

  “And you.” David pressed a kiss to Theresa’s forehead, but it wasn’t sexual. It was just a friendly sort of kiss. They were both tops, so I doubted they’d played together before, but even if they had, it would be kind of ironic, wouldn’t it? A couple who had both been with the same girl long ago?

  “What are you crazy cats up to tonight?”

  “We just had a scene, sort of,” I looked to David for confirmation. The spanking had been short and unrehearsed, but fun and exciting, and I was still pretty turned on from the entire ordeal.

  “Oh, I caught that,” Theresa smiled. “And I knew that I had to come by after. You looked damn gorgeous up there, sweetie.”

  “Thanks,” I blushed. Theresa was just as nice now as she had been long ago. “I’m glad you liked the, um, the show.”

  “I loved it,” she said. The three of us stood, chatting and talking for a few more minutes. Eventually, Theresa took off to meet up with a couple of submissives she was planning to have a scene with, and that left David and I on our own.

  “Well,” he smiled.

  “Well,” I agreed.

  I was once again caught off-guard by just how comfortable I was with him. I was happy. Content. At peace. Fuck, if those weren’t wildly scary feelings to have for a guy who had just spanked me.

  “What should we do now?” I asked.

  “Well, we have a few choices,” David said carefully. I liked how he always considered his options. In some ways, he was so analytical. In others, he was wild and carefree.

  “Let’s hear them,” I laughed.

  “We can get a private room here and go fuck like our lives depend on it.”

  “Or?”

  “Or we can go back to my place,” he said. “We can have a few drinks, and we can watch a movie like you told your brother we were doing months ago.”

  That brought a burst of laughter from me. Okay, so I probably shouldn’t have lied to my brother and Lauren about what I was planning to do with David. It wasn’t really any of their business, though. It was mine.

  “I don’t want to wait to go back to your place,” I told David honestly. “Let’s find a quiet corner here.”

  “A quiet corner or a room to ourselves?” David asked, raising an eyebrow. I knew what he was asking. Did I want him to fuck me in a place where anyone could see? Was that the kind of thing I was into? I mean, a little. David was just the kind of guy I felt like I could unwind with. Here, I didn’t have to worry about anything except closing my eyes and just letting him guide me.

  Before I could answer, though, I heard another familiar voice, and it wasn’t one I was expecting. Oh, seeing Theresa had been surprising, but that had been a good surprise. We’d known each other in California, and we’d had fun together. We’d parted on good terms, but the voice I heard now was one I hadn’t heard in years. I turned before I could stop myself.

  “Anna?”

  13

  David

  As soon as I heard Anna’s voice, I knew there was going to be a problem. Zoey and I both seemed to recognize her speaking at the same time because we both turned in her direction. Sure enough, there she was. She looked exactly the same as she had in high school, only a few years older. Anna and I had never been close, nor had we been friends at all, but she and Zoey had been inseparable. When Zoey and Felix moved to Kansas City, Anna had been Zoey’s best friend.

  Judging by the shocked expression on Zoey’s face, she hadn’t expected Anna to be here. If Zoey didn’t know Anna came to Classified, then it was a safe bet that they hadn’t kept in touch. I didn’t know why, and it wasn’t my place to ask. I reached for her hand and squeezed, letting her know I was by her side. Zoey seemed to know I was there, but she didn’t say anything for a long time. She just looked at Anna.

  As if on cue, Anna turned toward Zoey. Her jaw dropped as she took in Zoey’s appearance. While Zoey was wearing a gorgeous white corset top and a lace black skirt that hit just above her knees, Anna had on full fetwear. She was basically wearing lingerie and stilettos. She looked like she wasn’t sure whether she was a Domme or a sub or something else entirely. She was pretty, to be sure, but her outfit seemed awkwardly lacking direction.

  “Zoey?” Anna asked.

  “Uh, hey,” Zoey offered a little wave. “Long time.”

  The discomfort between them was so thick you could probably slice it with a knife. I offered a wave to Anna, as well, to try to bring the strange moment to an end, but it didn’t work.

  “What are you doing here?” Anna asked.

  “I come here,” Zoey gestured to the room.

  “I’ve never seen you here before.”

  “Well, I just moved back to the area,” Zoey explained politely. “This is one of my first visits to Classified.”

  “Did you come here because you heard about us?” Anna asked. Her eyes narrowed, and suddenly, she looked like a total bitch.

  “Us?”

  “Me and Eric,” Anna said. Just then, the asshole I’d punched out in high school appeared beside Anna.

  “Hey, baby, they don’t have any open rooms right now, but we could grab a stage if you want...”

  His voice trailed off as he realized that Zoey was standing in front of Anna. Then, when Eric’s eyes swung over to me, he stopped speaking entirely. If there was any doubt in my mind that he knew who I was, it vanished with that one simple look. Yeah, it was safe to say that he knew who I was. He remembered, all right.

  “Nope,” Zoey said. “I can honestly say I had no idea you two were a pair.”

  “Well, we are,” Anna said quickly. She was speaking fast, as though she needed to hurry up and get the words out. “I figured you wouldn’t care. I mean, you know, high school was a long time ago, and besides, we haven’t really kept in touch or anything.”

  “You’re free to date whoever you want to date,” Zoey told Anna politely. She was keeping her cool impressively well. If my former BFF was dating someone who hurt me terribly, I probably wouldn’t have stayed as calm. The problem with situations like this was that Eric had never apologized. Zoey had never truly gotten any closure. Eric had simply graduated and left. He’d never acknowledged that he’d hurt Zoey or that he’d been rude to her.

  He’d just left, and he’d moved on with his life, and he’d acted like the past was in the past where it belonged. Only, the past wasn’t in the past, and it wasn’t where it belonged. It was here with us, swirling around us like a damn tornado. Zoey certainly hadn’t forgotten everything that had happened to her long ago.

  I hadn’t forgotten, either.

  Anna pressed her lips together. Zoey was too nice. She didn’t know that Anna was going to say something else, something shitty, but I did. I’d been an attorney long enough to know when a client was about to dro
p a bomb that I didn’t want to deal with.

  “Well, I didn’t ask for your permission,” Anna said sharply. It was strange because a moment ago, she’d sounded awkward and shy. Now, with Eric by her side, it was a bit more obvious who Anna really was. I wondered if she’d been jealous of Zoey in high school. Was that why they’d stopped being friends?

  “I, um, okay,” Zoey shrugged and nodded tensely. “Well, it was nice to see you, I guess.” Zoey looked over at me, as though asking me to take her away from here, and I was more than happy to oblige, I nodded politely to Anna, ignored Eric, and turned away to take Zoey out of the club. Without her having to tell me, I knew that the moment was gone. Neither one of us wanted to have sex here tonight.

  Only, the night was far from over. We hadn’t even stepped out of earshot before I heard Eric’s voice, loud and clear. There was a lull in the music, so his words carried easily, and I was able to hear him as sharply as I had all of those years ago.

  “See? I told you she was a slut.”

  Zoey heard him, too. She tensed from beside me, and I didn’t even hesitate or wait. Classified had a no-fighting rule, but they also had a no-slut-shaming rule. This was supposed to be a safe space. It was supposed to be a haven. This was the kind of place where you were allowed to be yourself.

  We’d come here tonight hoping for a reprieve. We’d come looking for a way to shut out the rest of the world and just enjoy one another. Anna and Eric were ruining that. Without a doubt, this was the worst night I’d ever had at Classified. Luckily, this was going to be the only bad night.

  I turned around, took two steps, and slapped Eric in the face like a little bitch. Despite the music, the entire club seemed to fall silent. There were a couple of gasps, and pretty much every scene stopped. Eric’s jaw dropped as he reached for his cheek, cupping it.

  “You hit me!”

  “Get out,” I said through gritted teeth.

  “You can’t hit me!” Eric protested. He started looking around, presumably for a dungeon monitor, but he was the newbie here. He didn’t realize who I was or what my relationship was to the people here. I’d saved the asses of many club members, and that wasn’t the kind of loyalty that would be forgotten.

  “What’s going on here?” One of the monitors arrived and looked from me to Eric and back again.

  “He slapped me!” Eric pointed at me, waving his finger. “Kick him out! He assaulted me! I want to press charges.”

  The dungeon monitor, Kyle, looked at me nervously.

  “Sir?”

  “I slapped him because he verbally degraded a non-consenting member of the club who did not agree to that type of humiliation. Furthermore, he shamed her for a scene she just performed with me.” I lowered my voice and whispered what Eric had said. Kyle’s eyes got wide. Then they narrowed.

  “I’m going to need you to come with me,” he said to Eric.

  “What? Me? I didn’t do anything wrong!”

  “Sir, I’m not going to ask again. Come with me now. We’ll talk in the office.”

  “Are you fucking serious?” Anna snapped. She shook her head, and then her gaze swung to Zoey. “This is all your fault! You always ruin everything!”

  Zoey stood still. She was almost in a daze as she reached for her chest, as if to ask, “Me?” Was this really happening to her? It was like the nightmare dream that nobody wanted to ever actually experience. Her high school best friend and her high school ex-boyfriend had both come back to haunt her, apparently, and in the stupidest way possible.

  “What’s going on?” Theresa appeared next to me, and she took in everything that was happening. Again, I told her, and she gestured for Kyle to grab Eric. “Get him out of the club,” she said. Then, to Eric, she spoke again. “You’re not welcome here again. Your membership is being revoked. No refunds will be given. If you come to the club again, I’ll have you removed for trespassing.”

  “Who the fuck do you think you are?” Anna was the one who snapped this time.

  “Your membership is revoked, as well,” Theresa said coolly.

  “You can’t do that!”

  “As the owner of Classified, I assure you that I can, and I am,” Theresa said. “Now leave.” She pointed to the door, and Kyle grabbed Eric and tugged him in that general direction. Another monitor appeared to escort Anna out of the club, and Theresa turned back to me and Zoey. Her eyes softened when she looked at Zoey.

  “I’m guessing there’s a long story about what just happened,” she said, lowering her voice so only I could hear.

  “I’ll fill you in later,” I promised.

  “No need. Just get her home and take care of her.”

  “I will.”

  “David?”

  “Yes?”

  “If you hurt her, I’ll cut your balls off myself.” Theresa turned back to the crowd that had gathered. “Nothing to see here, folks. Get back to playing or get the fuck out.”

  That seemed to be enough for most people, and they quickly started fanning back out, filling the dungeon again. Within minutes, the sounds of orgasms and kissing filled the space. Someone started flogging someone else, and that drew even more attention. I turned back to Zoey. She had wrapped her arms around herself in a sad little gesture. She was trying to protect herself, I knew.

  “Come on, Zoey. Let’s get you home.”

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered, looking up at me.

  “For what?”

  “I didn’t know they were going to be here,” she said. “I didn’t even know they were a couple.”

  “It wasn’t your fault.”

  “What he said...”

  “It wasn’t true. Even if it was, it doesn’t matter. Nobody deserves to be talked about like that, Zoey. Nobody. Do you understand?”

  She nodded, but her eyes were filled with sadness, and I was devastated that the night had ended in such a horrible way. What was supposed to be this fun, wonderful adventure for both of us had ended in anxiety and pain and disappointment.

  “I understand.”

  “Good. Go to the locker room and get your shoes, your bra, and your panties,” I told her. “Meet me in the lobby as soon as you’re done, okay?”

  “Okay,” she whispered. I didn’t make her call me “sir” or follow any sort of protocol. We’d come on a whim, and my only goal was to make sure that Zoey made it back to my place in one piece. I didn’t need her to be hurting or broken for the wedding tomorrow. I didn’t need her to feel bad about exploring her sexuality.

  When I reached the lobby, Kyle was still there. He was standing at the door and looking outside.

  “They’re gone?” I asked him.

  “Yeah. I kicked them out and they got in their car and left. Crazy people,” he muttered, shaking his head.

  “Do they come here a lot?”

  “I’ve only seen them here once before. They caused a bit of a scene and pissed off a couple of people, but they left right after.”

  “Well, it seems as though they won’t be a problem anymore.”

  “Good,” he nodded, satisfied. “Good.”

  Zoey appeared, and I took her in. She looked terribly sad. Her eyes were red and swollen, and her makeup was smeared. Her hair was a mess, and her shoelaces were, once again, untied. She had her shoes on, at least. Her bra and panties were clutched firmly in her right hand.

  “Will you please take me home?” Zoey whispered.

  I nodded. I’d never turn down a request like that. Never. Not from Zoey. I reached for her and lifted her up into my arms. She snuggled against me. Kyle grabbed the door for us and let us out of the club. Without a word, Zoey and I went to the car. As soon as I reached the vehicle, I opened the passenger side and set her down on the seat. She was perfectly still as I buckled her in. Then I walked around and got in, started the car, and drove off into the night. We were halfway to my place before she spoke again.

  “I never talked to Anna again after Eric and I split up,” she said.

  “Why not?”<
br />
  “When I told her what had happened, she blamed me. I never told anyone about that. She thought it was my fault for being too easy.”

  “She’s an idiot.”

  “You can say that again,” Zoey muttered.

  “Some girls are jealous of what others have,” I finally said.

  “No, David, some girls are just bitches. I thought Anna was my friend, but a real friend wouldn’t have cared whether I kissed too soon or gave it up too easily. A real friend wouldn’t have called me a whore just because some guy said we slept together or that I blew him. You always believed me, and we weren’t even close friends.”

  “Of course, I believed you.”

  “When I realized that Anna didn’t, and worse, that she was upset Eric got punched, I didn’t feel the need to speak to her again. She transitioned easily into the popular crowd and I was left by the wayside.”

  “You weren’t left by the wayside,” I corrected her. I didn’t want her to doubt herself. She was incredible, and she’d done wild, fantastic things.

  “Maybe not,” she admitted. “I think I worded that wrong. I just mean that it was easy to blend in after that. You and Felix were gone, so it wasn’t like I had any sort of legacy to live up to. As far as everyone knew, I was just the weird transfer kid who kept to herself. I bided my time, and after graduation, I decided to go live my dreams and be the high-powered businesswoman I wanted to be.”

  “I’m sorry,” I told her. I hated that I hadn’t known about her isolation after Felix and I had graduated. Zoey had done so well for herself, but it sounded like there had been an incredible cost. “I wish I had been there for you.”

  “It’s okay,” she said. “I didn’t want you there for me. I didn’t want anyone there for me. I was still hurting and sad after Mom died. I felt lonely and you know, honestly, I kind of just thought everything would be easier if I dealt with it on my own.”

  “And how did that work out for you?”

  “Well, I learned to be self-sufficient,” she giggled lightly, and I reached for her hand, squeezing it tightly.