Submission

Chapter 20

 Lorelei swirled her wine in her glass as she scrolled through pages of hotel listings. Molly sat across from her with her laptop on Molly's kitchen island. They had been planning Molly's bachelorette party for the past hour. Anthony was sitting on the couch behind them. His feet were up on the coffee table and he had a beer in his hand as he was watching a baseball game.

Molly let out a deep breath, threw her head back, and rolled her shoulders. Lorelei giggled before taking a sip of her wine.

"This is next to impossible," Molly said.

"If you can't plan three days in Montreal then how are you going to put together a wedding?" Lorelei asked.

"I was the only one that got a say in all the choices for the wedding," Molly said.

"Thanks, babe," Anthony said, giving a thumbs up from the couch.

Molly laughed before leaning in and focusing on her computer screen.

"Jenna, Katelyn, and Katrina all have different things they want to happen on this trip," she said. "I can't please everyone."

"Then don't," Lorelei said. "It's your bachelorette party. Do what you want."

"I want to make everyone happy."

"Why even go to Montreal? We could go somewhere closer. There are a lot of places in Toronto."

Anthony got off of the couch and walked toward the kitchen. He set the empty beer bottle in the sink. He leaned against the counter and looked at Molly's screen.

"Why don't you girls come to Muskoka with us?" Anthony asked. "We're just going to spend two nights getting drunk in the woods."

"We can't have our parties together." Molly rolled her eyes. "That defeats the purpose."

Anthony chuckled. He kissed the side of Molly's temple before pulling another beer out of the fridge and leaning back against the counter.

"What are we even going to do in Montreal?" Lorelei asked.

"Strip clubs and booze," Molly said.

"No strip clubs," Anthony said. "I thought we had a rule."

"You have a rule, and it is a ridiculous one," Molly said. "You went to The Alibi last month with your buddies for your birthday."

"Which is why I said no strip clubs," he said. "I know what goes on in there."

Lorelei bit down on her lip as she remembered Jody on a leash. She wondered if Mateo and Jody were regulars at The Alibi. She was curious if he had seen Jesse do something scandalous with another girl at the strip club. Had Jesse ever brought another girl to The Alibi before? He must have.

"What goes on in there, Lorelei?" Molly asked with a wink.

Anthony raised his brows.

"You've been to The Alibi?" he asked.

"Only once," Lorelei said. She fought to keep from blushing. "I went to the male portion."

"There's a male portion?" Molly asked. "How did I not know this, and how come you did not tell me?"

When Molly had asked about the night Lorelei went to The Alibi with Jesse and his friends, she kept it short. She knew that Molly wanted details, and she was not going to provide any. She did not want to admit to how drunk Jody got her or how Jody and Mateo would do such a taboo thing in public. She was unsure how Molly would react to it. She knew that it would be either with pride or disgust.

"The basement is male dancers," Anthony said. "Who did you even go with?"

"Her boyfriend and his friends," Molly said.

"He's not my boyfriend," Lorelei said.

"You're right," Molly said. "Her Dom and his friends."

Lorelei thought her heart had stopped beating when she heard Molly say those words. Anthony's brows managed to go even higher and his jaw was hanging open. Molly giggled. Lorelei buried her face in her hands. She curled her fingers into her scalp, taking fistfuls of hair. She wanted to throw something at Molly.

"Your what?" Anthony asked.

"My friend," Lorelei said, raising her head. "He's just a friend."

"A friend she is having kinky sex with," Molly said.

"Molly!" Lorelei yelled.

Molly winked before taking a sip of her wine. Anthony scratched the back of his head and watched as Lorelei shifted her weight on the stool. Her cheeks were bright red and she could not stand to look at either of them.

"Don't be embarrassed," Anthony said. "I'm marrying Molly. That makes me like your best friend by proxy."

Lorelei let out a deep breath and shook her head.

"I don't think that's how that works," she said.

"Is this why you've been ignoring Bryan?" Anthony asked. "You know, he won't shut up about you. You should really give him another chance and shoot him a text."

Lorelei closed her laptop and drank the remaining bit of wine in her glass. She hopped off the stool and shoved her computer into her bag.

"I should get going," Lorelei said.

"Come on," Molly said. "I was just joking around. Besides, we still have more planning to do."

"There's no judgment here," Anthony said.

Lorelei sighed before sitting back down on the stool. Molly smiled and turned her laptop so that they could both see the screen. She had a list of hotels up and was scrolling through them. Anthony kissed the top of Molly's head before returning to the couch.

"I can't believe you said that," Lorelei said in a harsh whisper.

Molly bit down on her lip to suppress a smirk.

"I don't know why you're so embarrassed," she said. "Lots of people are into it. Especially once that book and movie came out."

"I don't want people thinking I'm a freak," Lorelei said.

"Well, you kind of are a freak."

Molly wiggled her eyebrows. Lorelei looked over her shoulder at Anthony to see that he was no longer paying them any attention. She leaned in across the kitchen island and Molly did the same.

"Jesse wants to start introducing pain," Lorelei said softly.

Molly's jaw dropped before she smiled.

"Chains and whips?" she asked. "Me likey."

"Can you take anything seriously?" Lorelei asked.

Molly giggled.

"Are you going to try it?" she asked.

"I think so," Lorelei said. "I'm just nervous. He thinks that I will enjoy it."

"You may," she said. "You never know."

"I may. Plus, he said that if I wasn't enjoying anything I could use a safeword and end it."

"Then do it. You have nothing to lose."

Lorelei sighed and leaned back. Did she have anything to lose? She did not want to get hurt. She did not want to disappoint Jesse. She knew she would have to trust him. He always said that trust was a big part of kink, and she was going to have to believe him.