Hidden Desire (Silk Grove part one) by Aurora Dupree

“I'm still not sure how I feel about
this.”
    Naomi examined herself in the mirror, the
sleek black dress clinging to her body. It looked expensive, sure,
but she felt like it was accentuating all the wrong areas. Her butt
stuck out at an awkward angle, and a little bit more of her
cleavage was exposed than she was comfortable with.
    “Nonsense. You look fantastic.”
    Cherish, her buxom, buoyant best friend,
obviously had no such qualms about dressing up. She was adorned in
a skintight red cocktail outfit, and Naomi couldn't help but feel
jealous. Not to mention her fiery red hair was hanging down her
back just perfectly so, while Naomi's own brunette frizzes had
taken many hours to straighten and untangle. She sighed, with the
sinking feeling that this was as good as she was going to get.
    “What's the deal with this place again? Some
club?”
    “It's not just any club,” Cherish said,
applying a final touch of lipstick to her mouth. “It's the Silk
Grove. The most exclusive place in the city. We never would have
gotten in if my friend who works for the magazine didn't drop our
names.”
    “The Silk Grove, huh? I've never heard of
it.”
    “That's because it's exclusive.”
    “Can a place be so exclusive that no one knows about it?”
    Cherish smirked.
    “ Don't be a buzzkill. We're
going to go, and we're going to have a great time. Who knows, you
might even meet a rich, handsome guy there. Someone to get your
mind off of Clarence.”
    Naomi had broken up with Clarence, her
ex-boyfriend, just a few weeks ago. He was a good-for-nothing:
lazy, slovenly, with no job and fewer prospects. But
still—sometimes even a shitty boyfriend was better than none at
all.
    “ I doubt it. I bet all the
guys there will be douchey frat boy types.”
    “ Naomi my love, you still
don't understand. This place is the crème de la crème. They
don't let douchey frat boy types in
here. They wouldn't even be able to get past the door.”
    “ Still. I'm not
optimistic.”
    “ That's an attribute you
should change if you want to have a good time.”
    Much as she hated to admit it, Cherish was
right. There was truth in the whole bit about self-fulfilling
prophecy and all that. She was going to brace herself and try to
enjoy the evening, no matter how she felt about things.
    They hailed a cab and soon they were whizzing
across the city. Cherish stuck her head out the window like an
overeager dog and hooted.
    “ Silk Grove,
bitches!”
    “ Jesus Christ, are you
trying to get yourself killed?”
    She ducked back into the cab, grinning like a
Cheshire cat.
    “ Lighten up. We're going to
have some fun tonight. I won't have any sort of pessimistic
attitude.”
    Soon they arrived at the busy avenue. Up
ahead Naomi could see the front of the club. The name “Silk Grove”
adorned the building in tasteful script, with two swaying palm
trees on both sides. A long line of fashionable people were waiting
around the block, hemmed in by a velvet rope. The cab let them out,
and Cherish whisked them both to the front of the line, clutching
Naomi's arm.
    “ Come on,” she said, her
voice ringed with anticipation. “We don't need to act like plebes
today. We've got a front row ticket.”
    They approached the bouncers, two bald, burly
men who looked used to dealing with privileged, entitled
people.
    “ Back of the line, ladies,”
one of the bouncers said. “Don't be clogging up the
flow.”
    “ We're VIPs,” Cherish said.
“So you should let us inside.”
    “ Are you on the
list?”
    “ We'd better be!”
    The bouncer scanned the clipboard in his
hand.
    “ Names?”
    “ Cherish Riley and Naomi
Spencer.”
    “ All right, sorry about that
ladies. Come on in.”
    Cherish turned to Naomi, smiling, and Naomi
nodded, impressed. The place did indeed look fancy. She couldn't
believe how quickly they were going to get in. The bouncer undid
the velvet rope and ushered them inside, much to the dismay of the
others waiting in line. They entered into