Page 34 of Illicit Education
The now-familiar cologne I’d smelled throughout the day teased my nose, locking my body in place as every hair stood on end. I tilted my head back to breathe it in, closing my eyes on a long blink. It was a scent I’d only just discovered this morning, but it was quickly becoming my new favorite. My stomach twisted into an excited little knot. Opening my eyes again, I scanned the store for the man it belonged to, hope blooming in my chest like a weed.
But there was no way he’d be here, right? What were the odds Cabot Reed would be at a lingerie store anyway, but also… we’d never crossed paths before today, and now suddenly we’d be bumping into one another at White Rabbit of all places?
Ha.Right.
A man and woman stood near the cash register. He must wear the same cologne as my new boss, which wasn’t an unlikely scenario. Bumping into Cabot Reed outside of Reed Tower, however, was as unlikely as they came. I was almost embarrassed by the way my body reacted to that scent and the way–shamefully–I’d actually hoped to see him.
“What are you doing?” Greer asked. “You look like you just saw a ghost.”
Smelled one.“Sorry,” I said, forcing my feet to move forward again.
Movement caught my eye at the back of the store as Mina stepped out of her office. “Ready?” she asked.
I nodded. Ready for what, I didn’t know. Bondage and latex, I guessed.
Mina turned to face the back wall. Beside the door that led to her office, and hidden among the ivy stretching from floor to ceiling and covering the entire back wall, was a keypad. She keyed in a sequence of numbers and a door that I hadn’t even noticed slid open to reveal a dark stairway leading below street level.
A flutter of nervous anticipation tickled my chest as I side-eyed my best friend. What exactly had I allowed her to rope me into?
Something exciting, sure, but also a little scary.
Provocative music filled the air, the deep thumping of bass traveling up to us from the underground club. My pulse beat a little faster as the music, combined with the mystery of the dark stairwell, filled me with an intoxicating buzz of adrenaline. The fact that Cabot Reed’s cologne lingered even in this stairwell didn’t help matters, and every breath made me more excited. Whatever it was, the brand must be extremely popular. Maybe I could pick some up for myself… then whippit the shit out of it.
Don’t judge.
As Mina motioned toward the stairwell, Greer slipped her hand into mine, laced our fingers together, then gave me a firm squeeze.
“Ladies, welcome to the Rabbit Hole.” She turned and began to make her way downstairs.
As we followed, I took it all in. Black walls were draped with swathes of deep purple velvet. The stairs were painted black until about halfway down, where they became black and white checkerboard, starting out in smaller squares and morphing into larger squares the further they descended, giving an optical illusion effect that made them almost appear to be moving. TheAlice’s Adventures in Wonderlandtheme from the lingerie store continued down here, taking on a more sensual vibe. Sexy.
Dark and moody.
Rawr.
A woman stood at the base of the stairwell, smiling up at us. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a high ponytail and her eyes were covered with a three-inch swatch of black lace. She wore a black corset similar to mine, only, instead of velvet, hers was latex. And instead of pairing it with slacks like I had, the woman was in an ankle-length hot pink latex skirt that fluted out like a mermaid’s tail at the bottom.
This had to be Lacey. I glanced at Greer to confirm and–
Oh yeah.We definitely had a cartoon-hearts-shooting-out-of-the-eyeballs situation on our hands.
“Mistress Sinclair,” the woman said. “Thank you for coming.”
“You know I wouldn’t miss your debut for anything.” Mina leaned forward and placed a kiss on each of the woman’s cheeks. “Lacey, this is our newest hire, Rylan, and I think you already know her friend. Rylan will be taking over at the store when Laurel leaves to have Isaac.”
“Welcome to the Rabbit Hole, Rylan.” Lacey smiled widely, then looked back at Mina. “So Laurel’s not going to just pop the kid out in the stock room and keep on working?” They both laughed, then Lacey focused on Greer. “I’m glad you came.”
Greer squeezed my hand but didn’t say anything.
I’d known the girl since middle school and seen her speechless all of zero times.
“Um,” I said, attempting to take the focus off my friend’s lovestruck awkwardness. “Thank you for telling Greer about the job opening, Lacey.”
“Yes,” Mina agreed, “I have a good feeling about Rylan. Thank you for making the connection.”
Lacey bowed her head. “My pleasure, Mistress.”
“Shall we?” Mina asked, motioning into the dark underground.