Pandora's Box Ch. 01a

Without warning, Martine's voice cracked and she turned to face Dani, her lower lip trembling.

"Shit, Dani... I should have said something to her. When I heard the rumours..."

Dani was shocked. Martine was usually a bit of a hardass but seeing her on the verge of tears made her heart melt.

"Babe, it's ok. Don't cry." Dani stepped forwards and the two girls embraced in a tight hug. Attempting to inject some levity into the situation, she chuckled and said, "I mean it. You've spent 20 minutes doing your eyeliner, you'll ruin it!"

Martine snorted with laughter and sniffed, blinking away her tears. "I just... I feel kinda responsible..."

"Don't," Dani said firmly, grabbing her friend's hands in front of her and squeezing them tightly, "you were right before. What's done is done, and we can help Sofia as much as we want. But tonight is our night. Let's get ourselves looking hot as hell and we'll drink some extra shots in her honour."

"Amen to that," Martine smiled. Shakily, she picked up her lipstick while Dani started applying her own eyeliner. Over the next hour the two girls finished their makeup and hair, dressed into their party clothes, and caught a taxi to their destination.

But Dani, despite her best efforts, found that one persistent thought continued to gnaw at her all evening. Every time this thought resurfaced, she would down a shot. Every time this thought crept up on her, she would spring up and jump to the beat of the music. Every time this thought bored into her, she leapt into the view of the closest cute guy and flirted fiercely with him. But the thought just kept coming back. And this thought was about Pandora's Box and Pregnancy Craps. Could it really be true? Behind the burlesque front, did rich and powerful people use the venue to play sex games with the waitresses? And did some of these games really carry a risk of getting knocked up if you played them?

By the end of the party, around 4AM, when many people had cleared away, Dani turned down a guy's offer of staying round at his to escort a very drunk, almost passed out Martine home. But, although she genuinely did want Martine home safe, she was glad to have a good reason to sleep in her own bed tonight. Because Dani already knew she was going to be lying awake thinking about the mysterious Pandora's Box for a very long time.

The Day After

Dani woke up late the next day; naked and tangled up in her bedsheets, she rolled over to look at her phone.

13:07

"Could be worse," she muttered. She seemed to have escaped a hangover, although her throat was drier than the Sahara. To her pleasant surprise, she had actually succeeded in falling asleep fairly quickly, although Pandora's Box had indeed been the only thing on her mind until sleep had claimed her. And now it was one of the first things on her mind when she woke up too. Great.

Untangling herself from her covers, Dani threw on a pair of grey track shorts and a white tank top before tottering into the kitchen. She was greeted by a significantly worse-off Martine, still dressed in her clothes from the night before, sat at the table with her head in her hands and a glass of water in front of her. She had clearly been puking.

"Morning good lookin'," Dani croaked, beaming at her friend. Martine scowled at her.

"Seriously?"

"Just trying to lighten the mood," Dani smirked, pouring herself a glass of water.

"What the hell did I drink last night?"

"You mixed your drinks pretty badly. Vodka, tequila shots, that weird punch, I think even some gin."

"I hate gin."

"Oh, and then there's what you ate," Dani said, grinning slyly as she seated herself opposite her friend.

"Ate?"

"Yep."

"What are you talking about?"

"You spent the whole night devouring Evan Taylor's face."

"Oh my God," Martine groaned, as Dani laughed.

"He's a decent-looking guy. You could do a whole lot worse."

"He's fine, but he's a bit clingy. And not all that smart. He was trying to talk to me about moon landing conspiracy theories at the keg party last week. I made out with him then too, just to shut him up."

Dani burst out laughing, and even Martine managed a small grin.

"So, you're clearly feeling fine then. What's on the agenda today for Miss Daniella Cruz?"

"I haven't decided yet. Maybe I'll go to the gym."

"You went to the gym yesterday! Chill out for once, will you?"

"Hey, it's hard work looking this damn fine," Dani responded with a grin.

"Pfft. You can do whatever you like. I'm gonna order takeaway and watch some movies. That's Martine's Saturday sorted." With a low groan, Martine shifted out of her chair and stumbled out of the kitchen and into her bedroom. Dani giggled at her friend's lethargic exit before returning to her own room.

Once inside, she collapsed on her bed and considered the day ahead. It was a completely free Saturday, and there were a whole bunch of things she could potentially do. There was, of course, the gym. She could go to the beach -- it was a beautiful day, perfect for bronzing her already tanned skin. She could do some shopping downtown, or even go to the park. Or maybe she could even go and check out Pandora's Box...

Dani's heart rate sped up slightly as she considered this last option. It was early afternoon, so the club definitely wouldn't be open for business yet. It was probably the safest time to go, before the madness got underway. She could slip in, ask a few questions, and leave again. She could even do it on the way to the gym -- there were perfectly viable routes she could take that would have her pass Pandora's Box on the way to her workout.

Dani's heart started to drum in her chest as she thought about this. She still didn't necessarily believe anything Martine had told her the night before. But she was curious as to the truth behind the rumours. She wanted to know what Pandora's Box was really like. If she could prove Martine wrong, even better -- not only would she enjoy teasing her friend for being gullible, but it would help put Martine's mind at rest regarding Sofia as well.

Her mind was made up. Quickly changing into a light blue sports bra and shorts set, skin-tight and leaving little to the imagination as usual, Dani grabbed her purse, shouted 'goodbye' to Martine, and headed out the door of their student flat.

Alma's Offer

The drive downtown took only 20 minutes. Dani felt increasingly nervous as her destination got closer and closer, and her breathing began to deepen as Pandora's Box crept into view. It was an incredibly unassuming building; large and composed entirely of brick, it stood out from the Victorian buildings either side only due to its façade, which was almost entirely devoid of any decoration whatsoever. There was a small concrete staircase leading up to a single pair of black double doors; a deep crimson awning was the only feature that singled the building out as anything significant and, even then, it barely stood out amongst the overbearing austerity of the naked brickwork. There were no windows at all, unlike the buildings it was sandwiched between -- indeed, there were brighter and newer patches of brickwork where previously existing windows had clearly been covered up.

Dani drove straight past and parked up in a small car park at the end of the street. As she switched off the ignition, she forced herself to try and breath normally. Her palms were sweating, and she hastily rubbed them dry on her sports shorts, leaving faint moisture marks. Was she really going to do this?

Dani took another deep breath and tried to rationalise the situation: why was she even nervous? She had heard some tall tales about sex games in Pandora's Box. So what? Did she think she was going to be forced to partake in one if she went in? It wasn't even open for business at this time.

She smiled to herself. It was only a rumour. It had to be. Besides, Martine came up with all sorts of rubbish all the time. It wasn't her fault, but she could be a bit gullible at times. It would be funny to tease her about this afterwards.

With her confidence creeping back, Dani opened the door and stepped out into the warm afternoon sun. It was a gorgeous day, and she enjoyed the feeling of the sun's rays enveloping her bare arms, legs, and midriff as she skipped cheerily towards Pandora's Box. Whoever opened the door was going to think she was a complete lunatic, asking all these strange questions, but at least her mind would be at rest. It's not like she was ever going to come back.

Jogging up the short staircase, Dani reached out to knock on the door -- she hesitated briefly, took a deep breath, then rapped on it with her knuckles. Her heart rate sped up slightly again as she took a step back, waiting to see who would answer.

About 20 seconds passed with no response. Dani looked around; there weren't many people around at this time, so hopefully nobody she knew would notice her going in.

Another 20 seconds went by. Dani took a step forward and knocked again, harder this time, and waited. A small fluttering of butterflies took root in her stomach as she took some more deep breaths to steady herself.

A full minute passed and there was still no response. Dani gave it another ten seconds and, counting down on her phone, knocked a third time.

The long wait renewed Dani's sense of nervousness, and she had started to contemplate walking away when voices could be heard drifting down a small, narrow alleyway to the right of Pandora's Box.

Intrigued, she entered the alleyway and followed the voices. The sun disappeared behind the buildings, replaced with the cool draft of the alleyway, making Dani shiver. Her nipples hardened in response to the cold, and she bit her lip as she felt them poking through the material of her sports bra. A grubby-looking door lay at the end of the alley, slightly ajar, and Dani skipped through it.

Dani found herself in a large, expansive dressing room. The wooden ceiling rafters stretched high above her and a myriad of decorated and brightly coloured divider screens split the space into a maze. Large, antiquated gas lamps were lined along the walls, bathing the dressing room in a comforting orange glow. Dani, awestruck, began to pace through the room -- there were large, oval tables piled high with a vast assortment of clothes, costumes, and outfits of all kinds, along with large open wardrobes bearing similar sartorial variety. She had never seen so many clothes all at once and resisted the urge to stop and spend the next few hours sorting through all of them. She had to remember why she was here.

There were only a couple of dozen people spread about -- the room was likely capable of comfortably holding ten times that number -- mostly dressed in polos and work pants, consumed by their preparations for the night ahead. They all appeared to be costume designers, stage directors, and of other similar vocations -- Dani couldn't see anyone that she assumed to be a performer, or even a server.

To her surprise, most of the people in the room seemed content to ignore her. As one woman hurried past, Dani reached out and waved to get her attention.

"Hi, excuse me- "

"What?!" the woman snapped, turning around irritably. She gave Dani a quick look up and down, taking in her skimpy gym outfit, and the clearly marked derision on her face grew stronger.

"I- sorry. Are you in charge here?"

"No, I'm not," the woman sighed, her features softening slightly. "If I was, I wouldn't be this stressed." She looked Dani up and down a second time. "Are you one of the waitresses or something?" Suddenly her eyes lit up. "Oh! You're the contortionist for tonight, right?"

"No, no, no, no, no, no!" Dani gasped, laughing. "I'm not a performer or a- "

She stopped herself and, thinking quickly, reconsidered.

"I, uh, I am a waitress though."

"I see." The woman smiled. "You must be a new hire, if you're here now?"

"I... am, yes. I was told to speak to the boss."

The woman laughed. "'The Boss', huh? You're gonna have to be more specific. Who did they point you too?"

Dani fidgeted as she tried to sound convincing. "Um, they didn't give a name. Well, actually, they did, but I've forgotten it. I was told to speak to the person in charge of the waitresses."

"There isn't anyone in charge of the waitresses specifically."

"Oh. Right." Dani could feel herself going red.

"I'd guess it's Alma you need to talk to. She's the front-of-house co-ordinator. You see that door over there with the big red 'exit' sign?"

"Yeah."

"Go through, down the hallway, last door on the left. Knock before entering."

"Thank you!"

Grinning to herself, Dani exited the dressing room through the afore-mentioned door and found herself in an austere grey hallway, a far cry from the colourful world she had just left. She proceeded down past rows of locked wooden doors before reaching the last two in front of a fire escape. Turning to the door on her left, Dani took a deep breath to calm her nerves, and knocked.

Unlike the black front doors, the response was instantaneous.

"Come in," a velvety yet commanding voice called from within. Dani opened the door and stepped through.

The room she found herself in was another departure, but this time from the hallway. Dani found herself in a miniature version of the dressing room she had just left, well-furnished in expensive looking antiques and bathed in a warm orange glow. On the left was an elegant chaise lounge sofa, deep red in colour with velvet cushions. A large free-standing mirror was next to it, and a gilded gold dressing table with a smaller mirror was placed directly opposite Dani on the far wall. To the right was a much more utilitarian wooden desk and, sat behind it, the woman presumably named Alma.

She was perhaps in her late forties, with striking raven black hair, sparkling green eyes, pale skin, and a pursed expression. She clearly had lip fillers, although Dani noted that they were remarkably well done despite being obvious. She sat back upon Dani's entry, fixing her intense green eyes on the beautiful young college girl in the doorway.

"Can I help you?"

Her disapproving look made Dani anxious, and she swallowed hard before replying.

"Y-yeah, I, uh- "

She froze. She had completely forgotten what she even wanted to ask. Alma frowned.

"Are you here to waste my time, then?"

"I- no, I wanted to ask..." Dani trailed off again. This woman was going to think she was crazy.

"Look, sweetheart, I'm very busy, so if there's really nothing swirling around in that pretty little head of yours..."

"Sex games! Uh... they happen here?" Dani blurted, without thinking.

Alma stared at Dani, a look of total bemusement on her face. "I'm sorry?"

"Ugh. I'm sorry. This is going to sound insane." Dani took a couple of deep breaths, trying to collect her thoughts and then, instead, started rambling.

"My friend told me that you guys play sex games here and that one of these sex games is called Preggo Cramps, or something, and the girl who gets chosen for it can get pregnant, and the girl has to be one of the waitresses, and also waitresses get really great tips here. Is that why? Because they might get pregnant? My friend worked here and she's pregnant. I was told this is how it happened. At the sex game. I..."

Dani trailed off, breathing heavily, as Alma stared at her with raised eyebrows. Dani gulped. Then Alma started to laugh.

"Oh, my... where did you hear this sweetie?"

"My-my friend told me."

"Does she work here?"

"N-no. She heard it, as a rumour, I guess."

"Do you believe her?"

"I..." Dani paused. "I... don't know. She comes up with all sorts of shit sometimes."

"Do you normally believe any of the other stuff she says?"

"Not really."

"Yet, for this, you came into my club to find out the truth for yourself." Alma grinned disarmingly at Dani. "Tell me something sweetie... do you want it to be true?"

"I... I don't know," Dani said, blushing a deep red.

Alma smiled calmly to herself and leant forwards. "Ask me your questions again, one by one. I will answer them frankly."

Dani nodded timidly and, her heart pounding, tried her best to recount all the questions she had.

"Do you play sex games here? Other than the acts on stage?"

"The acts on stage are nothing more than suggestive. No actual sex takes place, despite how obscene they can be sometimes. But we do hold private sex games, yes."

Dani's eyes widened and she felt the butterflies in her stomach return. She forced herself to focus on her next question.

"Is one of the sex games called Preggo Cramps?"

"Pregnancy Craps," Alma corrected with a wry chuckle. "Yes, that's a game we have here. The name is a play on the term 'pregnancy cramps'."

Dani gasped, and she felt the butterflies contort into a tight knot. She swallowed hard before continuing.

"So, girls get knocked up when they play it?"

"They can do. It's a game of chance, like real Craps; except you wager on the outcome of a risky creampie rather than a simple dice roll. Sometimes they get pregnant, sometimes they don't."

"And the waitresses are the ones who play it?"

"That's right. Any serving girl who is working within 5 days of her ovulation, or ovulating on that day, can choose to wear a blue badge on her uniform when she is working. This signifies her willingness to play Pregnancy Craps specifically. There are other games with other coloured badges. Obviously, the girl can't be on birth control of any kind, otherwise there would be no game."

"I see," Dani breathed.

"We have private suites overlooking the main stage -- these are hired out by clients looking to partake in our games. Pandora's Varieties, they're called. They look out for the badges and, when they find a girl they like the look of, she's asked to join them in their room to partake in the game."

"Holy fuck." Dani gasped, going wide eyed and clamping her hand over her mouth in shock.

Alma grinned at Dani's response, but continued nevertheless. "For Preg Craps specifically, the waitress will be having sex with the room's occupant. That's a given. She will serve as their waitress for the duration of the show but, once it's over, whoever picked her gets to play with her."

Dani listened with rapt attention. The knot in her stomach was as hard and tight as a diamond, and both her thoughts and hormones were racing. She could feel heat and moisture begin to build between her legs as Alma carried on.

"There will be numerous outfits for the waitress to change into, each fitting the theme of the room. Here is where the chance aspect kicks in. Depending on which outfit the waitress picks, she needs to re-enact whatever happened to the last girl who wore the outfit. It always involves sex. What changes from outfit to outfit is how safe the sex is. One girl may have used a condom -- so, if you pick the outfit she wore, you also get to use a condom. However, another girl may have decided she was too good for protection and opted to go bareback instead. If you pick the outfit she wore, you're also going bareback."

Dani gasped again. She could feel the wetness between her legs getting more severe, and she glanced down nervously to check that no damp patches were appearing in the crotch of her tight blue shorts.

Alma, seemingly oblivious to this, continued to speak. "I cannot stress enough that last part. As soon as you are chosen, you will have to choose one of those outfits; you have to roleplay the scenario, which will involve sex, and possibly unprotected sex. You will be committed, and there are no second chances."

"Fuck," Dani whispered, blushing furiously -- she herself was not on any form of birth control. She had started taking the pill briefly when she turned 16 but quickly stopped when it had a highly negative effect on her hormones, as well as making her periods about ten times worse. Due to this, the concepts of bareback sex and creampies had always been highly taboo for her -- dangers to be avoided since there was nothing to protect her from an unwanted pregnancy. She had only ever had sex using condoms and had even started buying them herself once she realised how persistently guys tried to avoid using them.