Leila was both nervous and excited. She could not believe what was about to happen.

“How do I look?” Grace asked, entering Leila’s bedroom. “Never mind how I look. You, my friend, look stunning.”

Leila rolled her eyes and turned to the mirror above of her dresser. “Really?”

“Really.”

“Thanks. Honestly…” She looked back at her friend. “…I feel pretty.” And she did, in the knee-length, fitted, sapphire-blue dress. With a deep V-neck and an exposed zipper down the back, it showed very little skin but hugged all of her curves in the all the right places. She would never be tall and skinny, but she decided long ago that she was through trying to be what she wasn’t. If a man didn’t find her curves attractive, then screw him.

She glanced at herself one more time. Yes, she looked good.

“You look beautiful. And…” Grace glanced at herself in the mirror. “…so do I.”

“Yeah, but you always look great,” Leila said with no anger or jealously. It was true. Since the moment they met ten years ago, Leila had always felt like the lesser of the two: shorter and plumper. When Grace had waltzed into their dorm room, Leila groaned inside. How was she going to survive her freshman year living with someone so tall, beautiful, and like her name said, graceful?

Grace’s height and beauty intimidated most of the boys in their freshman class—even made a few of the male professors turn their heads a time or two—and tonight would be no exception. She glowed in a short, green dress that left little to imagination. Her perfectly styled, short, red hair brought out her huge green eyes that could bring a man to his knees if she so chose. Thankfully, Grace had chosen to use her powers for good, not evil, by becoming a lawyer.

Lucky for her, Grace turned out to be the best friend she’d ever had, and they ended up living together all through college, only going their separate ways when Grace went off to law school, and then eventually taking a job in another city.

“What are you smirking about?”

“I was just remembering our first day of school and how lucky we were to have found each other.”

Grace hugged her. “Indeed we were, in more ways than one,” she said with a devilish grin.

Leila laughed. “And tonight, we finally get to get a real taste of that too. I can’t thank you enough for this, for tonight.”

“Oh, honey, don’t thank me. Like I said, that bastard of a client of mine owed me. Owed me big. Lucky for us, he just happened to know the proprietor of Dark.”

At the mention of Dark, the city’s elite and uber-private sex club, Leila’s stomach did a somersault with excitement. Well, mostly excitement.

“Come on, girlfriend. I think we could both use a drink before we head out.” Grace led the way to the kitchen. “Sit.”

Leila sat. Funny, it was her apartment, yet Grace per usual waltzed in as though she owned the place. She was only in town for two nights, but she’s made herself at home, and Leila couldn’t be happier to have her friend back.

A few months back, Grace had called to tell Leila not only that she would be coming to town for a meeting, but also about the opportunity for them to go to Dark. Leila literally squealed with excitement. How often she imagined what it would be like at Dark, but she never imagined she’d be able to go. It was too expensive.

Even though they were only being granted a very special “one night only” admittance as a huge favor to Grace’s client, they’d still had to go through the entire application process that all members were subjected to—mountains of paperwork, physical examinations, and a background check. Now their night was finally here.

Grace joined Leila on the couch and handed her a glass of white wine. “Here’s to a night of adventure like we’ve never really known.”

“Here, here,” said Leila, adding, “and hopefully to finally being properly tied up by a real man.”

Grace threw back her head and laughed. “God, woman, I do love you.”

“And I, you.” Leila faced her friend and became serious. “Thank you. Without you and your honesty, I don’t know what I’d be now. You made me understand what I felt, that wanting to be submissive in bed was okay. I love you for that, and so many other things….”

“The feeling is mutual. You did the same for me. Being able to share my secret with someone was so freeing. Remember how you noticed the rope burns on my ankle and asked me how I’d gotten them?”

Leila nodded, remembering how freaked out she’d been seeing those marks, not because she thought it was wrong, but because they were an exact match to her own. “Oh my god, I can still see the look on your face when I took off my socks and showed you my ankles.”

“Fucking Bobby,”

“Bobby Kerner.” They said in unison and laughed.

Leila shuddered. “I can’t believe we both slept with that Dom wannabe. Ick!”

Grace stood and picked up both glasses, bringing them into the kitchen. “Thank goodness those days are over. Honestly, I’ve yet to find a really skilled Dom. Even if nothing earthshattering happens tonight, I hope I’ll learn what I need to look for in the future.”

Leila stood and smoothed out her dress. “I’m sure you will have it all. You can’t live in this city and be even on the periphery of the BDSM culture without hearing about Dark. I do believe we are in for a treat. Ready?”

“Have been for years.”