Chapter 18 Kate slept upstairs while Michael tiptoed through the kitchen. It was dark except for the harsh glow of the microwave clock, which read 3:12. He cracked open the refrigerator door and squinted into the white light. He wasn't hungry, not really. He just couldn't sleep and was tired of lying in bed trying to force himself. Michael couldn't shake the image of Kate's body tensing in the dark, the way her breath had...

Chapter 17 The next morning at Echelon, Victor wasted no time with greetings. He took out the black measuring tape and knelt beside Kate. He cupped his hands around her ankle and then slowly slid his hands upward. He dragged his fingers along the lines of her calf, then over her knee. He flattened his hands as they passed over her thigh and settled the inner edge of his hand along the crease where her thigh met the seam o...

Chapter 13 The next morning, Kate passed through the Echelon lobby, greeted the receptionist, and made her way down the hall to the Locker Suite. The steps felt almost ceremonial—changing in room Twenty-three, slipping her wedding ring into the safe, pulling on the black leotard. Then it was off to meet Victor. In Suite One, Victor did not waste any time with pleasantries. He immediately took out the measuring device with...

Chapter 9 Michael stared at himself in the mirror the next morning. He held his razor in one hand and the can of shaving cream in the other. He wasn't sure how to do this. Sure, he'd been shaving his face since his late teenage years, but he'd never even attempted shaving his groin before. He pulled off his briefs and studied his matted pubic hair in the mirror. He contemplated using the sink like normal, but decided on t...

Chapter 8 Michael drove home with the window cracked, allowing the cool night air to hit him in the face. His pulse hammered, and his heart still beat hard from the workout, but that wasn't what unsettled him. It was the leotard. Not just how humiliating it was for him to wear it, but how natural Victor and Ava made it seem. Then there was the tug on his pubic hair and Victor's words: I don't want to see this tomorrow. Hi...

Chapter 6 Kate and Michael ate dinner mostly in silence. The clicks of forks against the plateware echoed off the walls of the dining room. Kate made small talk about errands and about the phone call she had with their daughter, who was feeling nervous about the college Econ exam she'd just completed after being up late cramming for it the night before. Michael nodded at the mention of their daughter but didn't lift his e...

Chapter 1 Kate paused in the shadow of her front door. Ever since the kids moved out, her house has always been still at this hour. She stood there, weighing her keys in her hand, just long enough to let the moment register: this was the last time she would arrive home from work. Her emotions bubbled, and she let out a deep sigh before she straightened, unlocked the door, and stepped into the foyer. Kate dropped her keys...

Billy sat in his car, counting what little cash he had left. He had been here every night for the past week and distantly wondered how much longer he could avoid his landlord. He was two months behind on his rent, but this... this was more important. "Forty-nine and ninety-eight, ninety-nine... come on, you... I know there's another one here somewhere... yes!" At last, he withdrew his hand from between the seats and found...