Chapter 5

Chapter

Five

I guess they like curvy girls with attitude.

It only takes an hour for the transition team to weed out half of the applicants, leaving me and four other virginal Portlanders, two of whom are guys. Jolene is twenty-two. She's an outgoing, adventurous type. Piper is my age and quiet, either by nature or because, like me, she's still wondering what the hell she got herself into. Of the three of us, I've definitely got the most curves. Brad and Nick are both twenty-three. Nick is the more gregarious of the two, but both men seem at ease in these strange surroundings. I'd admire their confidence if I weren't already so impressed with my intrepidness.

Once the unselected men and women leave, all of the transition team members move to the back of the room except one. Blanche. If the team had a CEO, she would be it.

Blanche is not what I expected. On the phone, she was rather no-nonsense—concise and professional. Aside from the cooter comment, she gave me no real sense of the woman on the other end of the call .

But in the flesh? She's something special.

Blanche is literally a real-life embodiment of my favorite Golden Girl. She's gotta be sixty if she's a day, with short, bleach-blonde hair and large glasses with clear frames. With her peach-colored pantsuit and petite build, she appears demure. That assumption lasts until she opens her mouth. If profanity were an art, she'd be a master. I need to up my game if I'm ever going to reach Blanche status.

"Alrighty," Blanche says, sweeping her eyes over us as we sit facing her from a line of chairs. "Before you pop your cherries and start livestream fucking, you need to know the ins and outs," wink, wink, smirk, "of the finer points of the Pleasure Academy.

"The island is a place for you to explore your sexuality. While you may have dabbled, you've yet to do the deed, and the Pleasure Academy is where you will… shall we say, awaken." She pauses and tilts her glasses down, sweeping the five of us with her gaze. "Of course, there are rules to follow. Limits you can set for yourself. You can't just traipse through the island fucking everyone in sight."

I give a soft snort.

"Oh, you may think such a thing is beyond you, Ms. Banks. But I assure you that once you've had a fine cock, you'll be wanting more."

She stares at me until I squirm, then continues.

"Those of higher rank will guide you in your sexual journey, but you will decide how far down the rabbit hole you wish to go. I suggest you go wherever the white rabbit wishes to take you. But the choice is yours. At the end of your stay, you may have only dipped your toes in your role as Novice, while others may have reached the rank of Acolyte."

Blanche releases a long sigh and turns to stare out the window at the gray sky. "If only I could go back to when I was a fresh-faced virgin and have a Master give me the first fuck of my life." She returns her attention to us. "You have no idea how fortunate you are. As Novices, you will obey the commands of Mavens and Masters. While outranking you, Acolytes cannot give you orders unless a Master accompanies them. As your contract stated, cameras are situated around the island so viewers can access your journey. While not required, it's best for your ranking if you suck and fuck in front of a live virtual audience."

I don't recall the contract using the terms sucking and fucking, but it was crystal clear that a camera would be ever-present.

"Being virgin territory, you might be considering having your first time off-camera." She sweeps her eyes over us, mouth curving into a wily grin when she adds, "So you're aware, there's an extra twenty grand if you do it live."

One of the guys claps and yells, "Sold!"

Blanche strolls toward him. "A word of advice, Mr. Hansen. Wack off a few times before your performance to ensure your audience isn't treated to a disappointing five-second spasm-fest."

He laughs. "Good advice."

I like Brad. He's two years older than me, with short, curly brown hair and blue eyes—kind of a looker. I was surprised he was here until he informed the group that he recently ‘left the church,' as he put it. Talk about a one-eighty! Did he get kicked out for being into kink? Was he caught jerking off on the altar? Okay. That's probably crossing the line, but when I see a line, my brain wants to pole-vault over it. I'm dying to find out if he was part of some cultish religion where they speak in tongues and drink snake's blood. I've clearly watched too many docudramas.

Blanche clears her throat, and my face flames as I realize she asked me a question and has been waiting for a response for God knows how long. "Sorry," I mumble.

"I realize I'm not as interesting as the huge cocks you'll see swinging in the breeze on the island, but you'll have to get my approval before feasting on one."

Brad snorts, and I jerk my head toward him, saying sweetly, "I don't think Blanche was talking about your little sausage."

"How do you know it's little?"

My eyes flit to his crotch, then slowly return to his face. "Call it an educated guess."

"Well played, Eden." Blanche turns her attention to Brad. "I do hope she's mistaken, though. It'd be a shame if that pretty face and mouth were all you had to offer. Then, again, a talented tongue is a prized skill." She leans in and puts her hands on the arms of Brad's chair. Her face hovers in front of his as she says in a low voice, "Long, thorough licks, my boy. None of that porno bullshit of lightly flicking a clit with your tongue. Got it?"

Brad gulps, nodding slowly. "Yes, ma'am."

"Very good. I like a man who takes orders." Blanche draws away, her mouth curved in a broad smile. She controls the room. All of us are watching her, ready to do her bidding. "Submission, ladies and gentlemen. That's the name of the game as a Novice. Submit to the will of your Master. Learn from them. Discover the pleasure you can give and receive. Abandon yourself to the Pleasure Academy and find out who you really are. Now, let's get back to work."

The next two hours are spent going over the expectations of a Novice. We are subservient to a Master who selects us within our first week on the island. Until selection, we are fair game for Acolytes, Mavens, and Masters. While they are not permitted to enjoy us sexually, they are free to test our limits and subservience through other means. Blanche glosses over this point despite me asking for specifics. Waving her hand nonchalantly, she only says it'll be things like serving at mealtimes and participating in ‘games' before moving on so quickly I can't help but wonder if she's being deliberately vague.

I'm relieved that the camera situation isn't all up in there, so to speak. Cameras are discreetly placed throughout the island, some visible and most hidden. They offer subscribers an immersive experience where they can watch the goings on of daily life and dip into various chambers to view the erotic activities. But even in those rooms, the cameras have an eagle-eye view, offering watchers a look at the entire space and whoever uses it. Listening to Blanche explain what subscribers can access based on their particular plan, I have visions of the Truman Show. Truman had no idea he was constantly on camera, but I sure as shit will. I wonder how long it'll take until I adopt a ‘fuck it' attitude and do whatever feels right, cameras or no.

With all of this access comes a ranking system. The more fans an inhabitant acquires, the more financial perks they receive, including offers extending stays into multiple years, as they increase their fanbase. Interestingly, moving from Novice to Master is not predicated on a length of stay as I'd initially assumed. If you dive headfirst into Titillationtown, you could move from Novice to Acolyte within a few months.

At the end of the session, we're each given a bag of toiletries. I open mine and frown. There's an at-home waxing kit stuffed at the bottom.

"What's the problem, Eden?"

"Oh." I close the bag and look at her. "Uh, I've just never waxed before."

She gives me a long look. "You're never too old to start. You might want to consider waxing it all off. A smooth pussy is fun to play with."

My face bursts into flames, and I stammer something nonsensical about wax and skin coming off because I don't know what the fuck I'm doing.

Blanche chuckles. "Oh, the Masters will fall in love with you." She cups my face, and I look into her eyes. "You're like an unpicked flower on the cusp of blooming." She sighs. "I almost wish I could be the first. But I will certainly enjoy watching those petals open."