Claire Visits Club Red

==== Wednesday ====

"shit ..." Claire mumbled, tuning out Dr. Robbins and rubbing her temples and willing her head to stop spinning. Though she'd deny it to her last she knew she was a mess, and not the good kind. At twenty-six she'd managed to beat a hundred other applicants and was admitted to medical school. Three years later the giddiness of the first day felt like it was a lifetime ago; now she was desperately trying to keep her head above water, and for the first time in her life dangerously close to failing.

"Claire, are you OK?"

Ava's question yanked Claire back into the classroom, with the cruel realization she'd just missed 5 minutes of lecture in the class she needed the most help in. "I'm fantastic, can't you tell?" Part of her felt bad for snapping at Ava, but it bothered her more than she liked that no matter how stressful school was, no matter how little sleep they got, nothing seemed to get under her friend's skin.

Claire considered the rest of class a huge success; she hadn't clawed Ava's eyes out, and for the most part managed to keep fantasies of glorious self-destruction at bay and on days like this that was a bigger accomplishment than it should be.

"Seriously, what's up with you?" Ava asked at lunch, between bites of what passed for "fresh salad" in their cafeteria. "It's not like you to tune out lecture."

Anger flooded Claire's veins, she wanted to hit her, to yell for Ava to mind her own fucking business, that she was fine and to quit "worrying" about her. Yes, that's what she meant to say but when she opened her mouth all that came out were sobs and the last six months of frustration all spilled out, in the middle of the cafeteria.

"I'm going to fail"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm not good enough, not smart enough. It doesn't matter how much I study; how much I give up for this fucking place." A voice in her head screamed for her to shut up, but she'd started so she might as well finish. "I've NEVER failed, but I'm going to so why does it matter if I pay attention to the stupid lecture?"

Ava almost told her friend telling her friend to knock it off, she was being ridiculous, dramatic, that of course she would pass. But something stopped her, she'd known Claire since the first day. Back then she'd annoyed everyone, hung on every word the professors spoke, recorded every lecture, and burned through notebooks. She hadn't merely attended med school, she attacked it like it was a thing to be conquered. Claire had won for two years, but it was clear school was dangerously close to scoring a knockout.

"Claire ..." She started, taking her hand and searching for words that could help without getting herself punched in the process. "Look at me."

Claire didn't want to, she wanted to be done with this place and everyone at it. She wanted to run away, to pretend the past few years hadn't happened ...

When Claire finally looked up Ava saw the excitement, determination and sheer will power she had come to admire in her friend had been replaced with shame, disappointment and exhaustion, in that moment her heart broke. "When was the last time you had fun?"

"What?" Claire had expected to be lectured to, told she had started so she had to finish, asked what she would do with 200 grand in student loans if she quit now. When the last time she had fun was the last thing on her mind.

"Fun, you know smiling, laughing, a good time not worrying about school ... you know fun?"

Claire struggled to recall, but all she could think of was rushing to class, countless nights of staying up studying, weekends filled with study groups and even listening to recorded lectures while driving to school. "I don't remember."

"Claire ..." Ava whispered. "You can't let this be your life, you have to have fun."

"I don't have enough time to study, I'm surprised I haven't been fired, I didn't have time for Mark, how am I supposed to have fun?" Claire cried. "Tell me!"

"Enough of the pity party, life's hard I get it." Ava had had enough, after all Claire wasn't the only one stressed to the breaking point. "But I'm not going to let you destroy yourself. You're spending the weekend off campus with me, and you are going to have fun, understood?"

The next two days seemed to take forever. Claire had tried to get out of spending the weekend with Ava, claiming she had to study. But Ava had pointed out that if she was going to fail anyway then she had no reason not to spend the weekend with her. Claire couldn't find fault with her logic and to be honest it wasn't spending time with Ava that was bothering her, she did need a break and not knowing the last time you laughed wasn't health.

No, what was bothering her was Ava wouldn't tell her the plan. Her entire adult life Claire had not only known what the plan was, she was in control of it and she didn't like not knowing one bit. By the time Friday came she was as relieved about finally getting to know the plan as she was happy about getting away from school.

==== Saturday Morning ====

"This was a good plan Ava" Claire mumbled as the masseur she forgot to get the name of hands' danced over skin, finding a seemingly endless number of knots in her back. "It has been forever since I've had a massage."

"I can tell" he replied. "You're carrying the most tension I've felt in a long time."

"School is ..."

"No talking about school" Ava interrupted, sternly reminding her from the next table over. "Those are the rules!"

"Fine then, LIFE has been very busy and stress ..." Claire trailed off, it had either been longer than she remembered or this masseur was very good. It was as though tension lept from her body each time he touched her. Of course it didn't hurt that he wasn't bad looking either, what woman wouldn't want his hands on her. She decided to have some toy with him a bit, after all Ava had demanded she have fun, she didn't get to decide what kind.

"You give such an amazing massage" she baited. "Have any women thrown themselves at you?"

"Claire!" Ava gasped. "Sorry Alex, she's not got out much."

"What? I want to know!" Claire was enjoying this, let Ava be embarrassed, she had gone two whole days not knowing what the plans for the weekend were. "His touch is Heaven and he spends the day rubbing nearly naked women, I'm sure a few have wanted more, right Alex?"

To his credit Alex didn't miss a beat, finishing a long stroke down Claire's back before replying. "More in a massage wouldn't be ethical or legal and I would lose my license."

"Oh come on" Claire teased, lifting her ass a little at the end of his next stroke so it ground against the palm of his hand. "You're seriously want me to believe if this were a solo massage and I begged you, you wouldn't fuck me right here on this table?"

Claire had never been one to flaunt beauty but deep down she knew she was a lot prettier than most girls. She had never had a shortage of guys and even occasionally girls trying to make their way into her bed, and when it had been her idea no one had ever turned her down for sex.

Alex's hand rested just a bit too long on her ass before moving to her thigh. "I'd be flattered but no, I wouldn't." As his stroke neared her upper thigh she opened her legs just enough for him to notice.

"So what you're saying is I'm not pretty enough?" Claire teased, thoroughly enjoying herself.

"You're not being fair Claire" Ava said. "If he says yes, he hurts your feelings and doesn't get a tip, if he says no you've put him in a spot."

"I'm just having fun Ava, you're the one that told me to do that so relax." Claire wouldn't fuck the masseur anyway, but she enjoyed wondering if she could get him to want her.

"This is how I pay my bills so I can't and haven't ever jeopardized that." Alex replied, carefully considering what to say next. "You are a beautiful woman, if I met you nonprofessionally and the offer were made it'd be stupid to pass."

"There are you happy?" Ava asked.

"Yes actually I am" Claire immensely enjoyed the next thirty minutes of her massage, his hands were like magic but what made her smile was knowing Alex had to be fantasizing about fucking her each time he touched her skin. And for the massage but more so for his frustration she tipped him, very well.

"You are so mean!" Ava exclaimed as they passed through the doors. "Getting poor Alex worked up like that."

"What do you mean?" Claire smiled innocently. "He seemed fine to me."

"You didn't have the view I did. The entire second half of the massage he had a giant boner."

"Oh good, he did want to fuck me, I wasn't sure." Claire laughed, unable to keep a smile away, it was always nice to be wanted.

"I'm glad to see you smiling but no more being mean, are you ready for the next part of our weekend?"

"What next part?"

"Shopping, of course"

==== Shopping ====

Claire didn't enjoy shopping nearly as much as Ava but it had been made clear to her that no matter how much she didn't like it she wasn't in charge this weekend. Although part of her still felt like she should be studying it was nice to be doing something, OK, anything else and she wasn't ready for the break to end.

Claire hadn't been shopping in the last two semesters and by the end of the afternoon both girls had amassed a couple bags of clothes, makeup and perfume they just "had" to have.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!"

Claire and Ava both turned their heads to the unexpected intrusion on their shopping.

Two men in their twenties sitting on a bench were openly leering at them. "Looking good girls!"

"Keep doing that, girls love it" Ava said, disgust covering her face. As gross as the guys were, Ava did have to admit they looked good. Claire had been smiling all afternoon, and even joking and she had a face that literally glowed when she was happy.

"I swear if I didn't like cock I'd be a lesbian" Claire whispered as they walked away."

"Speaking of cock when's the last time you had some?" Ava replied. "And Bob doesn't count." Bob wasn't a guy but the name they'd given their vibrators their first year of med school.

"I haven't since Mark."

"That was eight months ago, no wonder you're about to have a mental breakdown!"

"I am NOT!"

"What was I thinking, Wednesday was perfectly normal behavior!" Ava teased. "I'm just saying, a little loving' might keep that smile on your face and going eight months isn't healthy."

"You're probably right but where am I supposed to find a guy that's not a jackass that's OK with not seeing me four or five days at a time?"

"I might have a solution for that." Claire didn't know it but this was the opening Ava had been waiting for all day, now the door was open she wasn't sure it was a good idea. What if Claire wasn't as open minded as she hoped she was, these types of conversations had destroyed many a friendship.

"He seems like a nice guy but I'm not fucking the masseur Ava!"

"What? No that's not what I had in mind."

"Then what Ava?" Clair paused a moment. "Spit it out!"

Ava was committed; there's no way Claire would let it go now. "There's a private club I go to now and then, it's for people like us that are too busy to date."

"A sex club? Ava!"

"Before you judge come with me, just once." Ava was begging now. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to." Claire was silent. "Please, say something?" The color draining from Ava's face, what seemed like such a good idea a day ago seemed like the world's biggest mistake now.

"Where?"

"It's called Club Red, we meet tonight."

==== Club Red ====

Claire stood, in her closet. "What do you wear to a sex club?" she wondered aloud. Finally, she settled on a short red dress that hugged her hips, and showed plenty of cleavage.

A sex club? Claire had no idea what on God's green earth made Ava think suggesting a sex club was a good idea, but she did know Ava had been terrified of losing their friendship and she didn't want to lose her either. And as Ava had said, going didn't mean she had to do anything.

The doorbell yanked her from her thoughts and a shot of electricity up her spine "A sex club" she laughed, shaking her head, her mom would lose her mind if she knew what her baby girl was about to do.

"Damn you look gorgeous" Ava exclaimed with a smile, her eyes lingering on Claire's exposed breasts perhaps a moment too long.

"Too much?" Claire asked, taking in Ava. She was wearing a short black dress with what appeared to be a collar around her neck. "I've never been to a club like this before."

"No it's perfect, and remember you don't have to do anything you don't want to do, the club strictly enforces that rule."

"Let's go then" Claire said with a smile. She was glad the club strictly enforced that rule but she already knew there was no way in hell she was doing anything with anyone tonight. Tonight was to save a friendship and secretly satisfy some curiosity; after all it wasn't every day you got invited to a sex club.

"Club Red" turned out to be a normal looking 4500 square foot "cabin" in the woods, during the drive Ava explained it got its name because "Red" was a popular safe word in the lifestyle (whatever that was), because the club wanted people to feel safe and because it was catchy.

"Remember," Ava whispered as they walked toward the still completely normal looking front door. "The club requires discretion, there are a lot of successful people that come here, we don't talk about the club or the members."

"I remember Ava, I'm not going to run around talking about who I saw at a sex club no one knows exists."

The illusion of normalcy ended as soon as Claire walked through the front door. a burly man in a full suit sat just inside the front door. "Welcome to Club Red, have you visited before?"

"She's a referral" Ava replied for Claire.

"Fine, fine, before you go further I need you to review the rules and sign a confidentiality agreement." The man paused, apparently having realized she' noticed he was speaking to her breasts. "Our guests appreciate knowing their privacy is protected."

Claire scanned the rules, no talking about the club, no means no, no talking about anything that happens at the club, no pictures, all enforceable through lawsuit of course and lastly quarterly STD testing if membership is maintained after the initial visit. She read there were two common "play" areas and six private bedrooms. Claire initialed each line and handed the form back.

"Through there, have fun miss." the greeter said glancing at Claire's breasts once more before greeting whoever had come through a door behind them.

"Oh my" Claire exclaimed as she stepped through the door into the club. There was a dance floor crowded with couples, what seemed to be a full bar, with well-dressed men lounging around the tables, none of which would have been out of the ordinary if the cocktail waitresses weren't naked save for a steel collar locked around their necks.

"What the?"

"The collars are a symbol they are taken" Ava whispered, a finger tracing the collar around her own neck. "No one can be with them without permission."

"Permission from who?"

"Their master of course" a man's voice answered.

Claire's jaw fell open as Ava dropped to her knees in front of Alex, the masseur!

"Sir!" Ava exclaimed

"Stand." Alex said. "Nice to see you again Claire."

"Ava what the fuck?" Claire demanded.

"I see you obeyed and haven't explained our arrangement to your friend." Alex said, amusement shining in his eyes. "You may do so now."

"Claire," Ava said, taking her hand. " Alex is my dom, I am allowed to submit to him in all things sexually, to please him."

"So you're a freaking sex slave?" Claire asked, pulling her hand away.

"Not quite" Alex responded. "A good dom cares for his sub, in giving up her own will she allows me to teach her, to please her in ways she didn't know she wanted to be pleased. She isn't burdened with needing to be aggressive, or in charge but in submitting is free to fully enjoy what happens to

"Claire, this is how I deal with stress." Ava was speaking quickly now, sensing she didn't have long to explain. "Work is stressful; school is ... well you know how school is. I need ONE place, I am not in charge, where I don't need to have a plan, where I can just follow."

"So you do he wants, whether you want to or not."

"Not everything, there are limits" Alex answered for her. "There's always red."

"Are you OK?" Ava asked

"I came here to be shocked, I just didn't know it would be from you." Claire responded.

"This way then." Alex said, walking past the first play room, pausing a moment before walking through the doors into "the dungeon."

==== The Dungeon ====

The dungeon lived up to its name and easily could have been another world. The walls were painted a deep shed of purple, with various instruments, some of which Claire recognized from school, hanging on the wall. Benches, tables with straps protruding from them, and even an exam chair filled the inner space of the room.

"Off with your clothes, both of you" Alex commanded. "There are no clothes in the dungeon."

Claire turned to ask Ava if he truly expected her to strip but saw her friends dress was already laying in a pile on the floor, "Yes sir."

Suddenly Alex's hands were on her hips, pulling her against him, his lips dancing across her neck before whispering "Claire you don't have to do anything you don't want to but if you're staying clothed you need to go back to the lounge, do you want to leave?"

Part of Claire wanted to tell him to go fuck himself or more aptly to go fuck Ava since apparently she was his sex slave but another part was more curious than she wanted to admit and whether she liked it or Alex's soft kisses on her neck had sent electricity down her spine and even into her clit. It had been a very long time since she been touched and being in this place was making her ache.

"No"

"No don't touch you or no you'd like to stay?"

"Fuck it" Claire thought. "He's already seen most of me and had his hands all over me anyway." She stepped away from him, letting him have his answer with the soft sound of her zipper sliding down and the dress hitting the floor.

"I want to stay" she whispered.

"AVA" Alex barked, breaking the mood. "Help our guest to the rack"

"Yes sir" Ava said, taking Claire's hand and pulling her towards what looked to be a cross between a cross-fit rack and a torture device. She sensed the tension in Claire's body as she lifted her wrist. "Relax" and before Claire fully processed what was happening her wrists and ankles were securely strapped to "rack."

"Excellent, you make quite a decoration Claire" Alex said laughing, making no attempt to hide the hunger on his face as he took in the view of the now helpless and naked woman in front of him. "You have no idea how frustrated you made me this morning, and now I'm going to pay you back."

"Ava how long did you say it's been since Claire's spread her legs?"

"Eight months' sir"

Claire's felt the blood racing to her face, anger radiating from her body. She had shared that with her friend, and it infuriated it had been shared, especially with Alex.

"Oh she doesn't like I know that does she Ava?"

"No sir."

"Ava fetch the Hitachi."

Claire watched her best friend walk to the wall filled with strange devices, a moment later returning with a white wand like appliance, not quite meeting Claire's eyes as she passed.

"Eight months is a long time Claire." Alex said, approaching her. "I'm not going to do anything to you that you don't want but before the night's over you're going to be begging me to fuck you."