Dark Alley: Stranger (Dark Alley #1)

Five

Alice carried the envelope like some sort of shield as she walked from the metro station down to Elm Street. It was 11am and the streets were mostly quiet in this area, apart from a few people who were out for brunch.

She still wasn't certain if it was a good idea to take a look at the Dark Alley in broad daylight, or if it even was allowed. There was nothing to be found in the contract or brochure. And yet, she asked herself why she hadn't had the idea yesterday, before she went in head first. Chances are it wasn't her mind that had been in charge of the reins, so to speak, but the fact remained that she had thoroughly enjoyed herself.

Just like the evening before, Alice stopped on the other side of the street in front of the gate, which she now knew would lead her to the club. She breathed in deeply before she made the first step towards it, never taking her eyes off it as she crossed the road.

Alice hesitated as she lifted her hand to push open the gate, and held her breath. A part of her was expecting that it wouldn't move.

What would she do then? She would have come later during the official hours of the club.

Relief flooded over her as she released the breath she had been holding. The gate moved almost inaudibly and allowed her to step into the alley. Despite this first triumph, Alice was still very nervous.

Would she gamble away her chance to become a member? Or would she ruin her experience of the place if she saw it in broad daylight?

The second thought made her stop in her tracks. Would sex feel differently if she knew how the place she'd had that mind-blowing encounter looked like? She had no idea.

Suddenly something else caught her attention. There was another gate, one she hadn't seen when she had been here yesterday. All her worries felt now obsolete, because Alice simply knew that this gate was locked.

With a few quick steps she stopped where Big Guy had guarded the door and welcomed her. Alice carefully placed her left hand around one of the bars and pulled and pushed gently. The gate didn't move an inch.

"Miss? Can I help you?" A stranger's voice reached towards her from behind and she spun around.

Whoever he was, Alice definitely had not met him in the disco on Friday or in the Alley yesterday. He was half a head taller than her, was slender, almost lean, but not thin. Rather the physique of a runner than just being gawky. His hair was of a darker shade of blond, almost reddish in a way, and his eyes, which held an expression of open friendliness, were clear blue.

"Oh, it's okay." Alice felt herself blush; partly because of embarrassment and partly because of this guy.

He was handsome, in a way, not billboard-gorgeous, but definitely good looking, and appeared to be around her age, hopefully.

"I must have made a wrong turn," she said, trying to pull her look up from the ground, back to his pleasing face.

Feeling a bit self-conscious, Alice hugged herself and ended up gently squeezing the envelope to her chest. Alice made another mental note – a real one this time – to check if the papers were creased, so she could exchange them if she needed to.

"I haven't seen you around here before," he mused, looking at her with real interest, and Alice felt her heart speed up just a little.

"Obviously, I'm not really familiar around here," she smiled, almost shyly.

Alice would never be able to tell him what had brought her here until she noticed that he was holding his hands behind his back. Inadvertently, she craned her neck, which he noticed with a charming chuckle. Now it was his gaze that fell to the ground as he revealed what he had hidden. An envelope of the very same kind as Alice's own. Her jaw dropped.