Resisting Sin (Gold Diggers #1)

Episode 4 : The Fifth Wheel

Hayley had never been to Imperia before, mostly because she'd been to clubs only once or twice in her life. The building was a converted house built during the fifties. The iron-wrought front gates opened into a courtyard dressed in lights. Lined up on either side of the walkway to the entrance were men in powdered wigs and what looked like 17th or 18th-century French footmen uniforms.

A woman dressed in a pink low-cut heavily corseted gown with enormous skirts greeted them with a smile. "Bon soir, mesdemoiselles," she said. "Je m'apelle Claudine. Welcome to Sugar Rush."

Jenna handed over their invitation. Claudine gave it a thorough perusal then nodded to a footman beside her. He stamped both Hayley and Jenna's wrists with iridescent colored symbols.

"You'll find the masks and tiaras inside by the door," Claudine said. "Masks are optional, but you'll need to put on the tiaras." She waved them through.

"Marie Antoinette, really?" Hayley whispered to Jenna, who was looking around her in awe as they made their way to the house. "Don't they know how her reign ended?"

"Well, if they let the peasant girls into parties like this, maybe the poor wouldn't have revolted," Jenna replied with a shrug and a giggle. They stepped through the door and into a vestibule. "Isn't this exciting?"

Hayley was just about to roll her eyes, but thought better of it. She promised not to judge. Instead, she studied the array of masks on the massive table in the middle of the room. There were masks in a variety of colors, each made from silk and lace. Some had beads, sequins, feathers or glass. There was also a few stacks of tiaras.

"The black masks are for the sugar daddies and mommies," Jenna explained, picking up a tiara and fitting it on her head. "The babies wear the other colors. And this." She preened at her reflection in the large mirror set up in the middle of the table.

Hayley picked up the biggest mask she could find and gingerly tried it on. It was made of cream-colored lace and tiny gold feathers. It was pretty, she had to admit, and more importantly, it covered half her face. She checked her reflection on the mirror. At least if she was caught in someone's selfie, she was adequately disguised. "Which one are you wearing?" she asked Jenna.

"Not wearing one." Jenna picked up another tiara and affixed it on Hayley's head. "I didn't spend an hour on this eye make-up to cover it up." She pulled Hayley by the arm and looked at their reflection in the mirror. "Don't we look amazing?"

"I guess."

"You ready to catch yourself a sugar daddy?"

"Uh, no?"

"Fine. At least try to have some fun. C'mon."

When they entered the ballroom, Hayley realized her friend wasn't kidding. There was a lot of women. In fact it looked like there were three or four times as many women as the men. She did see a couple of women without tiaras or wearing the black masks, but that was it.

A footman offered them champagne. Jenna swiped two and handed one to Hayley. "Let's sit over there, where the light is good."

"Jenna, there's hardly any men here," Hayley said, eyeing two men on a sofa surrounded by ten women who were laughing and giggling at whatever the men were saying. "There's, like, ten guys. In fact, I'm beginning to fear for their safety."