Chapter 5

Maddy

Club 99 was more popular than I'd expected. I'd had an image in my mind of it being some dingy, dark bar with canned music and guys giving blowjobs in the hallways by the bathrooms, and maybe a couple of dingy kink rooms where people got naked and did public SM sex things.

Instead, it looked to be a huge and thriving social club scene with a huge bar and dance floor, and gorgeous scantily clad boys dancing on three different stages. One stage was set up with a flogging post. People stood in line to participate. Two lines, actually. One for floggers and one for floggees. The current guy getting flogged looked anything but submissive. He was hugging the post and calling out commands. He wore nothing but skinny black bikini briefs that rode up his ass cheeks, and the flesh on his back looked red and glistening, but he seemed happy enough.

There was a line at the bar where Dan headed first. The dance floor was filled with bodies and lots of leather. Leather and bare skin and sweat on dancing, gyrating bodies where the dim gold-pink lights flashed made everything look overly sexy and hot.

Dan got me a simple rum and Coke. He was a generous guy and I appreciated it. But I still looked around wondering where I, not to mention Kornie, fit in.

Dan winked. "Baby room, Maddy. This way."

I frowned, looking at the rum drink in my hand. "I'm not a baby." For some reason I still didn't want to admit it to him. And I disliked him calling me that word even if he was right.

"You're not? Then why are you walking around with a stuffed unicorn in your arms?"

I wanted to stomp my foot at him, but he'd already turned his back on me.

We had to fight our way through the crowd, which pushed us back toward the entrance.

And there he was again. Mister Menacing. With his sleeves rolled up and his tanned forearms sprinkled with what I could now see were tattoo stars and tiny blazing comets and crescent moons. Kornie had the same types of stars and moons on his satin horn, and on his hooves. They both matched.

I couldn't help but stare. When my gaze rose to Mister Menacing's face, he was staring back.

I jumped a bit and maybe I let out a little sound like an "eep." Whatever I did, it was embarrassing because his mouth went tight and turned down, and he gave me a mean squint.

I gasped and grabbed Dan's leather vest again, letting him lead me deeper into the more private sections of the club.

What was it with that bouncer guy? That was twice now that he'd rattled me without a word. I knew sticking my tongue out at him earlier wouldn't win me any favors, but my stomach tensed and fluttered with a weird, empty feeling like need. Or want.

The psychic vibe here was strong. That had to be what it was. So many men drinking and looking for hookups in close proximity were bound to affect a person's libido.

I noted as we got deeper into the club there were at least two halls that led to various rooms. Dan dragged me down one hall. I slowed as we passed each door that was open; I was feeling naughty and wanted to spy.

The rooms were far from dingy, as I'd earlier expected. They looked clean and orderly; several were quite crowded.

In one room, two well-muscled guys were hanging from the ceiling bound in an elaborate decoration of ropes. In another, guys were strapped to tables, some face-down, some face-up, receiving spankings or hand jobs or more. In yet another, there were several Saint Andrew's Crosses set up, all being used for flogging, which appeared to be a lot more intense and naked than the flogging on the stage by the dance floor.

I wanted to go slower. I wanted to see, to watch. But Dan seemed to be in a hurry. I knew he liked both being flogged and getting flogged, but beyond that I hadn't asked him for more details. Maybe he was in a hurry because he wanted to make use of one of those rooms?

I felt bad that I was a burden to him, and decided I would go wherever he took me and be fine with that so he could leave and do whatever he liked.

We came to a set of double doors. Dan opened one side so I could peek in. What I saw made my mouth drop open.

Colorful toys were scattered around a large blue carpeted play area. Trucks, race cars, games, blocks, stuffies. Pink, blue and green beanbag chairs sat in every space. There were low tables where boys could sit and do puzzles and color. Against one long wall three couches lined up where several men, again most wearing leather, sat overlooking the scene.

More than half a dozen boys sat on the floor playing, or ran about the room giggling and shouting at each other. It was quite apparent they knew each other from times before. Most of the boys were dressed in shorts or onesies. One was in diapers. I secretly liked diapers. Seeing him made me feel more okay about myself.

Shelves along the wall facing the couches held more toys and books. I wanted a closer look and pushed at Dan to get my foot in the doorway.

"I thought you"d like this room," Dan said, stepping back. His grin was so wide it showed his teeth.

He was right. But he didn't have to be such a butthead about it.

"Want to go in?"

"Sure. You know, just to look around."

"Of course."

I stepped through the doorway and felt some pressure in my mind break free. Back in the bar and overlooking the dance floor, I hadn"t quite felt comfortable. But in here, I could relax, be myself. I hugged Kornie tightly to my chest and walked into the room.

I went straight for the shelves, wanting to see the books and games. And also, the stuffies. I wasn"t going to touch them. Who knew who might have put their grubby hands on them before today, or what they would have done with them? But the room was super clean and everything looked brand new.

Dan followed behind me. "Hey, do you think you might like to stay in here for a while?"

"Sure. I"m fine. I don"t need a babysitter."

"Uh, right. So you say." He clasped his hands together. "Then it"s okay if I go scout around for a while?"

"Sure it"s okay. I know you have other interests here. Go ahead. I"ll be fine."

"Well, if you do leave the room just text me, okay?"

"Sure thing."

Dan could be annoying, but he was also pretty nice. I didn"t want to get his in way and I was very sure he didn"t want to keep hanging out here with me.

At the very least, I could get a sort of firsthand education on boys and littles. The daddies hanging around on the couches might also give me some insight into behaviors, expectations and the like.

I found a coloring book with the wrapper still on it, untouched, and a brand-new box of crayons. I loved to color but rarely indulged myself, being still too self-conscious and new to the idea of being a boy. Or, now that I knew the word, a little.

I hurried to a space at a low table where two other boys were quietly coloring, knelt and spread out my newfound prizes. I set Kornie beside me and my drink on the table.

"Is that a daddy drink?" one boy asked.

"Uh. It's rum and Coke."

"No daddy drinks allowed on the table," he muttered, not looking up from his wild coloring which, I might add, was all outside the lines.

"Oh. Okay." I grabbed the drink and set it on the floor beside me.

I unwrapped the coloring book and pushed the cellophane to one side, always a glorious feeling to unwrap something new. Then I began to thumb through it. I found a page with unicorns and flowers on it. So perfect.

I glanced up to see if anyone was looking, or if anyone might rib me for preferring what might be a sort of girlish work of art. The unicorns were dressed in flowers and jewels.

No one paid any attention to me, although I could see the other boys at the table looking up through their eyelashes every few seconds at each other as they furiously colored in their own books.

The boy who'd told me I couldn't have my drink on the table had his tongue out and was now dragging his crayons across the paper so violently his pages were tearing.

Coloring was a good way to hide my fascination. I could fill in the lines well at the same time I was watching what others were doing in my peripheral vision. The room was not silent, so I also managed to eavesdrop on several conversations.

Two boys on the floor to my left we"re setting up a race car track, giggling and talking.

The first one said, "I like the red car best. My daddy gets me all the colors I want but I always ask for red. I have ten red cars better than these at home."

"So what? I have cars at home, too."

"Probably not as good as mine."

"Oh yeah? What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, except that it"s just the truth."

As they continued to mumble, I grew bored listening to them, so I focused on the daddies sitting on the couches as I colored one unicorn's horn pink.

The first daddy said, "Yes, he can be difficult at times, but he"s really, really good where it counts if you know what I mean."

The second daddy chuckled. "Where it counts? Valente, you're so shallow."

"There are plenty of pretty boys around. If I was so shallow, I"d grab one of them. The reason I put up with him goes far deeper."

"Ah, are you telling me you"re actually falling for him? You? The confirmed bachelor of ten years?"

"Don"t tell anyone, okay?"

I wondered which boy they were talking about. Not any of the ones coloring. Probably it was the guy running around the room in teensy shorts and no shirt yelling incomprehensibly and throwing stuffies and blocks everywhere, making a total mess. He had a mass of dark curls, down his back, and long limbs and a slender waist. I had to admit he was beautiful with absolutely zero filters or inhibitions. I couldn"t imagine behaving like that. I was far too shy.

As I colored, trying to make my picture the prettiest of all, my body slowly began to relax and enjoy the process. Without knowing anyone here, I still felt more at home than I had in a long, long time. And there was so much to see. To process.

If anything intimidated me, it was the daddies. Most of them were all muscular, big leather dudes with lots of hair on their arms and, from what I could see, on their chests as well. I could imagine they dominated their boys with great intensity. That thought sent a little thrill through my body. Intimidation within reason could be sexy as hell, I decided.

The very bad boy who was still running around the room and making a mess, and looking quite beautiful and cute as he did so, stopped immediately when one of the men on the couch called out.

"Sully! Stop! Pick all of that up now."

The boy stomped his foot. "All of what?"

"All the toys on the floor. Do it. Now."

Sully's hands curled into fists. "But Daddy, I didn"t do anything wrong."

"You know the rules, Sullivan. You make a mess, you clean it up."

"I didn"t make all the mess." He whimpered. "Some of it was here when I got here."

"I don"t care. Do as I say."

Sully stomped his foot again. "No!"

"For a neat freak, you"ve been a very naughty boy tonight. What"s gotten into you? Did you sneak too much sugar again?"

Sully giggled. "I love sugar."

The daddy said to the other daddy, "This is not like him. But we come here so he can let off some steam."

"Daddy, I won't clean it up. I won't!" said Sully. "The other boys helped make the mess, too."

"Boy, you're going to get a spanking when we get home for sure. Now do as I say!"

To my surprise, the beautiful boy bent and began to pick up the toys he'd thrown about. He grumbled under his breath.

Again, his daddy, the one the other daddy had called Valente, spoke. "You are really asking for it tonight."

Sully smiled under his long curls.

Understanding started to dawn on me. For all his protests, Sully was having fun. He smiled because he wanted that spanking. It was as if he'd gotten himself into trouble on purpose.

The boy gathered up blocks and stuffies and stacked them all neatly on the shelves. He even put the blocks in alphabetical order. Then he began to fuss with the toys on the shelves, things he had not touched, straightening them. He puffed up the beanbags and went to other tables, putting loose crayons back in their boxes and picking up candy wrappers and throwing them away. It was very odd behavior to see after witnessing him doing such a good job messing everything up.

Right at that moment, the two boys with the race cars started to tussle. At first, I thought it was all in fun, too. Making trouble just like Sully for the fun of the drama and maybe some sexy punishment afterward. But after a few seconds I realized they were truly fighting, their mouths tight, their eyes angry.

The boy who had been tidying everything up froze at the drama. His daddy, Valente, yelled, "Hey, you two boys! Stop this fighting at once!"

I couldn't tell if the Valente daddy knew them or not.

The boys on the floor didn't stop. They were rolling on top of each other now, punching for real at each other.

Valente and another daddy rose up, shouting, and ran to the boys. Arms flailed. The bigger men pulled the smaller men apart just as the door opened and two bouncers stepped in. One was in a security uniform. The other I recognized as Mister Menacing from the front door. Both of them ran toward the fight, helping to break it up.

The boys were out of control, crying and yelling. One boy got in a last-ditch angry move. He held up a red race car and threw it as hard as he could. It came straight toward me.

As soon as I saw it, my brain went blank in shock. I simply froze.