it gets, and didn’t I come here wanting the full Manhattan experience?
Brayden aims narrowed eyes at me. “What’s with you?”
“Nothing.” My voice comes out just a little too earnest. “I just figured it was a day to laze about in pajamas. And aren’t you supposed to be studying?”
“I studied so much this week my eyes are going to fall out,” he says. “I studied so much I could perform brain surgery right now.”
“Ewww,” I say, as he leans over me and mimes sawing my skull open. “Don’t test your newly acquired knowledge out on me.”
“Seriously, not only do I have a dedicated study date tonight, but I’m doing pretty good in the learning department. We have the entire day left to veg, so you won’t miss out on the lazy Saturday experience, and I still owe you drinks from Thursday.”
“It’s just a scam,” I say. “They want to lure you in, treat you nice, and try to convince you that you really need to join. That belonging to Dark Pleasures is the secret handshake that will make your medical career.”
“When you put it like that, maybe I should join. If there’s even an off chance that I’ll learn the secret handshake…”
He trails off with a grin. I just roll my eyes.
“Oh, come on. Who cares if it’s a sales pitch. One night of free drinks and appetizers? Besides, the building’s awesome. It’s been around since the mid-nineteenth century and I’ve always wanted to go inside. It’s just a few blocks away on 63rd Street.”
I open my mouth to protest again, but I feel stupid putting my foot down like this, especially since I can’t explain—not even to myself—why I’m so damn hesitant. “Fine,” I say. “But in that case, we’re not lazing around today. If you’re going to drag me to some hoity-toity private club, I’m going to drag you shopping.”
For a minute, I think that may be enough to make him back off the plan. Brayden has a rich boy’s fashion sense, but he’d rather take a bullet than brave a department store. But then he cocks his head. “Lunch while we’re out?”
“Indian food?”
He thrusts his hand out. “Deal.”
And as I put my hand in his, I can’t shake the weird sensation that I have just taken a giant step. But toward what, I have no idea.
*
“Not bad,” Brayden says as we stand on the sidewalk in front of 36 East 63rd Street.
I turn my attention from the five story building and focus on my friend. “Understatement much?” I’d thought that Brayden’s building was amazing, and it is. Sleek and modern, it reaches majestically to the heavens, the walls of glass providing residents with exceptional views of the city.
But compared to Number 36, Brayden’s building is cold and austere. A snooty bitch rather than a welcoming friend. Because despite being accessible only to members, there is no denying that the entrance to Dark Pleasures is as inviting as it is elegant, as if it is reaching out from a different age when the business of society was, in fact, to be social.
The building is only five stories tall, and though it is shaped mostly like a box, the first two floors are convex, making it look a bit like a building with the tower at the base instead of the top. The mix of red brick and off-white plaster adds to the impression that the building is an elegant antique trapped in a modern city.
But what I find most interesting is that the building is actually set away from the sidewalk in a way that manages to be inviting even while making clear to passers-by that it is an exclusive venue not meant for the general public.
I have my hand on the black iron fence that surrounds the property. Five steps lead down to a courtyard and then to the heavy wooden door that marks the building’s entrance. I glance at Brayden, then start down the stairs. “Here goes nothing.”
He paces me, and we reach the courtyard together. As I’d expected, it really is like entering another world. Even the air seems cleaner and more
Brayden aims narrowed eyes at me. “What’s with you?”
“Nothing.” My voice comes out just a little too earnest. “I just figured it was a day to laze about in pajamas. And aren’t you supposed to be studying?”
“I studied so much this week my eyes are going to fall out,” he says. “I studied so much I could perform brain surgery right now.”
“Ewww,” I say, as he leans over me and mimes sawing my skull open. “Don’t test your newly acquired knowledge out on me.”
“Seriously, not only do I have a dedicated study date tonight, but I’m doing pretty good in the learning department. We have the entire day left to veg, so you won’t miss out on the lazy Saturday experience, and I still owe you drinks from Thursday.”
“It’s just a scam,” I say. “They want to lure you in, treat you nice, and try to convince you that you really need to join. That belonging to Dark Pleasures is the secret handshake that will make your medical career.”
“When you put it like that, maybe I should join. If there’s even an off chance that I’ll learn the secret handshake…”
He trails off with a grin. I just roll my eyes.
“Oh, come on. Who cares if it’s a sales pitch. One night of free drinks and appetizers? Besides, the building’s awesome. It’s been around since the mid-nineteenth century and I’ve always wanted to go inside. It’s just a few blocks away on 63rd Street.”
I open my mouth to protest again, but I feel stupid putting my foot down like this, especially since I can’t explain—not even to myself—why I’m so damn hesitant. “Fine,” I say. “But in that case, we’re not lazing around today. If you’re going to drag me to some hoity-toity private club, I’m going to drag you shopping.”
For a minute, I think that may be enough to make him back off the plan. Brayden has a rich boy’s fashion sense, but he’d rather take a bullet than brave a department store. But then he cocks his head. “Lunch while we’re out?”
“Indian food?”
He thrusts his hand out. “Deal.”
And as I put my hand in his, I can’t shake the weird sensation that I have just taken a giant step. But toward what, I have no idea.
*
“Not bad,” Brayden says as we stand on the sidewalk in front of 36 East 63rd Street.
I turn my attention from the five story building and focus on my friend. “Understatement much?” I’d thought that Brayden’s building was amazing, and it is. Sleek and modern, it reaches majestically to the heavens, the walls of glass providing residents with exceptional views of the city.
But compared to Number 36, Brayden’s building is cold and austere. A snooty bitch rather than a welcoming friend. Because despite being accessible only to members, there is no denying that the entrance to Dark Pleasures is as inviting as it is elegant, as if it is reaching out from a different age when the business of society was, in fact, to be social.
The building is only five stories tall, and though it is shaped mostly like a box, the first two floors are convex, making it look a bit like a building with the tower at the base instead of the top. The mix of red brick and off-white plaster adds to the impression that the building is an elegant antique trapped in a modern city.
But what I find most interesting is that the building is actually set away from the sidewalk in a way that manages to be inviting even while making clear to passers-by that it is an exclusive venue not meant for the general public.
I have my hand on the black iron fence that surrounds the property. Five steps lead down to a courtyard and then to the heavy wooden door that marks the building’s entrance. I glance at Brayden, then start down the stairs. “Here goes nothing.”
He paces me, and we reach the courtyard together. As I’d expected, it really is like entering another world. Even the air seems cleaner and more
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