My student loans are due and I still havenât found a job that pays more than minimum wage. So I decide to make an arrangement through The Club. Iâll get what I needâ¦money to pay my loans. And heâll get what he wantsâ¦access to my bodyâ¦whenever and however he wants it.
ROSE COLLINS is a recent art school graduate with overwhelming student loan debt and no way to pay it.
JAE ROTHKO is a wealthy and renowned artist who doesnât have the time or patience for a relationship.
Jae joins The Club so he can have one woman when he wants and how he wants with no attachments and no expectations.
He selects Rose to be that woman.
By the time we get to The Rock Stop itâs already crowded with twenty-somethings, who all look eager to hook up with anyone whoâs willing.
I pass by two guys, who are already half-drunk and gawking at my breasts, before I hit the relative safety of the bar area.
âWhat do you want to drink?â Cali yells over the loud Top Forty music.
âWould I look too conspicuous just holding a glass of water?â
Cali purses her lips at me. I tell her she looks like a duck when she does that but it doesnât stop her.
âIâll get you a beer. You donât have to drink it but I donât want you to embarrass me or yourself.â
âYes, Daffy,â I tease.
âI do not have duck lips,â she insists.
âYou do when you pucker them like that.â
âI think youâre on crack.â
âJust get the beer.â
She waves in order to get the bartenderâs attention but no such luck. Heâs busy with a group of girls at the other end of the bar.
âHey, Babe.â An arm reaches over Caliâs shoulder. âI wasnât sure Iâd see you tonight.â
David nods in my direction. âWhatâs up?â
He never addresses me by my name even though heâs been hooking up with Cali for over a year and Iâve seen him dozens of times.
David is the kind of guy I always hated in high school. His family has money and heâs never had to work a day in his life for anything. Cars, clothes, expensive vacations, you name it, and his parents have handed it to him on a silver platter. As a result he has a sense of entitlement that knows no bounds.
No doubt thatâs why he feels like he can treat Cali any way he pleases and she just keeps coming back for more.
He runs his fingers through his short brown hair. Iâm not sure whether itâs a nervous habit or if he thinks that his fingers are like some kind of comb but he does it all the time.
David is a good-looking guy in a frat-boy kind of way. Cali says he played baseball in high school and he looks like he probably still plays sports. Heâs not huge but heâs definitely in good shape.
Cali met David at a frat party. Even though sheâs never set foot in a college class sheâs spent a lot of time at college parties. David likes to brag about the fact that heâs a business major. I donât see what the big deal is though. I feel like business is a degree for people who donât really know what they want to do with their lives.
Not that I have any room to talk. Apparently I earned a degree for people who donât really want a job.
Before I know it, Cali and David have disappeared somewhere and Iâm alone at the bar.
Great.
I didnât even want to come here in the first place.
I have a choice. I can leave or I can order a drink. After the day Iâve had a drink is actually starting to sound appealing.
As soon as the DJ starts mixing, nearly everyone moves to the dance floor. The bar area is now pretty empty except for a young woman seated at the far end. She glances up at me when I approach and gives me the faintest of smiles.
Sheâs an attractive blonde with stunning ocean blue eyes. Sheâs the definition of a blonde bombshell. Sheâs got curves that would give Marilyn Monroe a run for her money.
I order a Crantini and the bartender wastes no time filling my order.
âTough day?â the blonde asks.
I nod.
âHave a seat.â She waves to the stool next to her.
âThanks.â
I climb onto the stool and take a sip of my drink. Itâs strong and I cough a little as it goes down.
âRuss likes to make them strong.â She laughs. âMaybe he thinks heâll get lucky at the end of the night.â
The bartender looks like heâs in his mid-thirties and kind of rough. Heâs completely bald and built like a brick house. Definitely someone I would want to have on my side if a fight broke out.
âAre you waiting for someone?â I ask. She looks a little too dressed up for the place weâre in. Itâs mostly a denim crowd and sheâs in a little black dress and pumps.
âYou could say that.â
I nod. A cryptic response but I get the impression that sheâs not going to say much more about who sheâs waiting for.
âSo whatâs your story?â she asks.
I laugh. âDo I look like I have a story?â
âYou definitely look like you have a story.â
âYouâve probably heard it millions times before.â
She glances at her watch. I canât help but notice itâs a gorgeous Rolex. The blonde doesnât look that much older than me. I doubt sheâs even twenty-five. It makes me wonder how she can afford such an expensive watch. When I look at her more closely, I notice sheâs also wearing a diamond tennis bracelet and huge diamond stud earrings. Also very expensive.
Maybe sheâs like David and has a generous daddy with lots of money.
âIâve got a few minutes before my friend gets here. Tell me this story Iâve heard a million times before.â
I take another sip of my drink. Sheâs right. Russ does like to make them strong.
âI recently graduated from art school. I have a fine arts degree but no professional job and no prospects. My student loans are set to go into repayment and I have no way to pay them. Iâm barely making ends meet on my salary busting my ass at the local coffee shop. Pathetic, right?â
She shakes her head. âItâs not pathetic but youâre right. Itâs a story Iâve heard a lot. Maybe not a million times. Half a million tops.â
We both laugh. It feels good to laugh about it. At least for one night.
She reaches into her purse, a pricey Coach bag, and pulls out a business card. I expect her to hand it to me but she places it on the bar between us instead.
âI donât do this very often but I feel bad for you so Iâm making an exception.â She points to the card. âYou can pick it up if you want to, after I tell you what itâs about. Or you can leave it on the bar. Itâs completely up to you.â
My curiosity is definitely piqued. When I glance down at the card I notice it only has two words: The Club followed by a phone number.
âWhatâs The Club?â
âItâs a kind of dating service.â
I frown. âDo I look like need a date?â
âNo, but you said you need money. This is a special kind of dating service for extremely wealthy men.â
I assume thatâs how she got her Rolex and other jewelry but I donât want to be rude. âAre you saying itâs kind of like having a sugar daddy?â
She laughs. âThatâs kind of an antiquated term but sort of. Most of the men in The Club are older and they have very specific tastes. Most of them want younger women but more importantly, they want women who will be there whenever and however they want.â
I gulp. Then I whisper. âAre you talking about prostitution?â
She gives me a little smile. âProstitution implies that youâre with multiple men and theyâre paying you for sex. Itâs not like that. Itâs more like youâre being paid to be one manâs mistress.â
âAre they married?â
She laughs. âSome are. Some arenât. Does it matter?â
âI think it would to me.â
âWhy?â
Itâs a good question. Iâm not married. Heâd be the one doing the cheating.
âDo you mind if I ask how much money youâre talking about?â
âThatâs negotiable between you and the man who selects you. Itâs called an arrangement. You can negotiate any sort of arrangement you want.â
âCould you give me a ballpark figure?â
âUsually between three and five thousand a month.â
My eyes grow wide at the thought of that kind of money. My ten dollars an hour at the coffee shop, even with overtime and tips, doesnât even come close to that.
âAnd that doesnât include all of the perks. A lot of the men like to provide their girlfriends with generous gifts in addition to their arrangement.â
âYou said a lot of the guys are older. How old?â
An image of a geriatric using a walker crosses my mind. Iâm not sure Iâd be able to have sex with someone that old, if he could still even have sex.
âThe guy I have an arrangement with is fifty-four.â
Thatâs ten years older than my dad. I can feel my stomach start to knot. Am I really considering getting involved with some kind of club and being paid to have sex with a guy who could be older than my father?
The blonde leans in close. âDonât let his age fool you. He can still perform in bed. And I only have to see him two days a week for a few hours. And my arrangement is non-exclusive. He doesnât mind if I date other guys.â
âI donât really date that much,â I confess.
âThatâs even better. There are a lot of guys who want exclusive arrangements. Not as many girls go in for that.â
I stare at the business card for a few seconds. Is this something Iâm actually considering? Iâm just not sure. Thereâs no doubt that I need the money but Iâm not sure about having sex with someone I donât even knowâ¦for money.
âItâs really not that bad,â she insists. âI wasnât sure at first either but you get used to it. And Alex can be a really sweet guy.â
She makes a point of pushing the business card a little closer to me. âAt least meet with Claudia. You can always back out if a guy selects you and you donât like him.â
I pass my hand over the card and hesitate for a moment. I feel like this is a pivotal moment. Like my whole life could change just by picking up the card.
I take in a deep breath then grab the card from the bar. Now that itâs actually in my hand I feel like calling the phone number is inevitable.
Ren Monterrey lives in a small town outside Phoenix, Arizona with her husband and their bloodhounds. She writes New Adult and Contemporary romance under a number of different pen names.
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Black Dog Nights Serial by Ren Monterrey. Reviewed by Sirenda from Swoon Worthy Books. 4 Stars
Rose Collins has some difficult choices to make, after earning her art degree jobs are scarce and bills are coming due, without job prospects she turns to an unconventional way of getting the money and falls into the arms of Jae Rothko. While the concept isn't new I thought the author did a great job of making the situation her own, and I loved the way that the initial encounters with Jae and Rose were written. It wasn't all hearts and romance, it was almost cold and impersonal which was incredibly fitting for the situation. I was very impressed with the way the author brought about the change in their relationship from impersonal to real and tangible. The only reason I'm not giving the series 5 stars is because there were a few instances of incredulity and few places where I thought that the author should have gone into a bit more detail to make the character's reactions make a little more sense. However that being said I felt that series was a great read, and that the author did a fantastic job. I'd recommend the series to anyone looking for a fast but steamy read.