Each of the women is of a distinct type. But at the same time, they defy the typical stripper clichés. I don’t think I’ve met anyone quite like any of them before. They don’t seem like any of the exotic dancers I’ve met in the past, not that I’ve met many. They seem empowered, and smart, and not-to-be-fucked-with. I like them all immediately. Almost makes me wish I was one of them...almost.
“You are one lucky girl, landing our VP,” Blaire says, sipping heartily on her blood mary, “That Leo is quite the ride.”
“Oh...” I say, “You’ve...slept with him, then?”
“Oh yeah, tons of times,” she says, “I love a good roll in the hay with Leo. You should see what he can do with a length of rope and a blindfold.”
“Oh, I love the blindfold,” Quinn chirps.
“Me too,” Emma adds, “Especially when it’s just a bandana he’s been wearing or something. So sexy.”
“For sure. I guess that makes all of us who’ve had him,” Rachel says, “Right, Kelly?”
“Um...” I say lamely, “Actually...”
“Oh my god. He hasn’t nailed you yet?” Blaire exclaims, “That’s so...sweet!”
“Not like him at all,” Emma says.
“He’s usually a fuck first, ask questions later sort of guy,” Quinn nods.
“You must really rate,” Rachel smiles, “He’s got something special in mind for you, I bet. So cool.”
“I guess I’m not really clear on the etiquette of all this,” I laugh, “I think he’s just trying to make me desperate.”
“You’ve never been around an MC before, have you?” Rachel asks.
“I was a bit, when I was a kid—seventeen or so,” I reply.
“That’s how old I—” Rachel begins to exclaim, but the other girls hush her.
“That’s how old you were last year, right Rach?” Quinn corrects her pointedly.
“Oh. Right. Of course,” Rachel replies, giving me an exaggerated wink, “But you were saying, Kelly?”
“Just that I almost came around as a sweet butt when I was your...approximate...age,” I say, “My cousin Matthew is a member of the SoCal chapter—”
“Oh, I know Matthew!” Emma exclaims.
“Biblically?” I ask.
“Of course,” she says, rolling her eyes.
“So, you’re back after all these years to finally give club life a go?” Blaire asks me, “Why the change of heart?”
“Went through a nasty breakup,” I shrug, “Realized I didn’t like the life I was living. So, I decided to try another path.”
“That takes guts,” Blaire nods, “We can all speak to that. Good on you, Kelly.”
“Thanks,” I say, “It was a pretty impulsive decision, but I’m glad I’m here.”
“Make yourself at home,” Emma says, “This is the one place in the Devil’s Nest where the women are in charge.”
“Sure, the Wraiths think they call the shots in the Playpen,” Quinn laughs, “But they have no idea that we’re the ones with all the power.”
“We’ve got them twisted around our pretty little fingers,” Rachel grins.
“But hey, it’s mutually beneficial,” Blaire shrugs, “We and the other girls bring them in a shit ton of money, we get a great gig and good protection from low lifes and pimps.”
“How many girls work here?” I ask.
“About twenty or so,” Quinn says, “There’s kind of a quick turnover. Not every girl can hold her own against the Wraiths. The four of us have risen through the ranks. We’re kind of like Playpen royalty.”
“Celebrities is more like it,” Emma says, “You’d be amazed how many suckers come all the way out from Vegas to meet us.”
“Word spreads pretty fast in our line of work,” Rachel smiles, “But we get a little boost from our web presence.”
“Web presence?” I ask, “You guys have a website for the Playpen or something?”
“Or something,” Blaire grins, “You see, we all come from a...film background.”
“Oh. You’re porn actresses,” I say, catching on, “That’s why you have followings.”
“Porn stars,” Quinn corrects me, “Each and every one of us.”
“And now that you’re here, we can finally get back to our roots. I miss the camera,” Emma sighs.
“What do you mean, now that I’m here?” I ask.
“Well, we heard all about how you’re a computer genius,” Rachel says excitedly, “So the girls and I were thinking—what if we launched a brand new site, just for the girls who work at the Devil’s Playpen? You could help us get it up and running, and we could provide all the content in the world. If we built up our stable of bona fide porn stars, men would make freaking pilgrimages to come here.”
“You want me to help you...build a porn site...” I say slowly, looking around at the gorgeous women. If only my nerdy male Berkeley classmates could see me now. They’d drop their cushy Silicon Valley jobs and be here in a heartbeat.
“Yeah!” Blaire exclaims, “It’ll be awesome. We could go the feminist porn route, really be in charge of what we create.”
“I don’t really know the first thing about porn,” I tell them.
“You don’t have to be in front of the camera,” Emma laughs, “Just behind the keyboard.”
“We’ll give you some time to think about it,” Quinn allows, “But trust me. You want in on this. We could make so much bank for ourselves and the Wraiths, it wouldn’t even be funny.”
A porn company...me? Is it crazy that I’m not totally appalled by the idea? Porn stars making films that are run by women sounds like a pretty alright idea to me. Too bad I’m only going to be here long enough to get Kassie back. Otherwise, I might just jump on board. But I can’t let them know that I’m not planning on sticking around. Have to keep my cover, after all.
“You know what? I’ll think about it,” I tell the girls.
“Really?” Rachel asks excitedly
“Really,” I promise, “But for right now, I want to focus on getting the hang of things around here. I bet I could actually do some good for the club with my computer skills. I doubt that anyone’s tinkered with the operating systems around here since the nineties. Mind if I head on back to the office and get the lay of the land?”