“Large coffee black, shot of espresso,” she said, her voice energetic despite the early hour.  When Dan heard her, he headed up to the counter.  She smiled sincerely as she passed the steaming cup to him.  Same as any other morning, their eyes met as they exchanged brief pleasantries, same as any other morning.

According to the tag she wore, her name was Nina.  But he’d never been so forward as to address her as such.  She seemed sweet and outgoing, and he guessed that she wasn’t older than twenty-two.  She had red hair and pretty features, her shining green eyes framed by a black pair of retro cat’s eye glasses.  He wondered if her car was the shiny Hybrid he saw in the employee lot every morning with the “Coexist” bumper sticker.

Dan headed for the tiny table where Gary sat before a sugary drink containing more whipped cream than coffee.  At the moment he was reading his work emails on his smart phone, but when he noticed Dan, he set the phone down.

“Can’t believe I forgot to have them stamp my card,” Gary said.  “Next one would have been free.  Now I gotta wait until Tuesday.”

“I got mine,” Dan said, fishing the tiny white Coffee Club card out of the pocket of his dress shirt.  He waved it in Gary’s face, showing off the freshly-inked coffee cup stamp.  “Membership has its privileges.”

“Whatever,” Gary said, and took a sip of his drink through a straw.

“I’ve always wanted to fuck that one chick,” Dan said, tilting his head in Nina’s direction.  “You want your customers to keep coming back, you make that a privilege of membership.”

“You really want to fuck that chick?” Gary asked on their way to work.  Dan answered in the affirmative, of course.  But the fact was that he wanted to fuck anybody.  His dry spell had gone on for way too long.  Nina was just someone friendly and easy on the eyes, who he might have asked out on a date given half a chance.

“A girl like that doesn’t go on dates,” Gary told him.  He let the statement hang there, cryptically, but Dan didn’t take the bait, didn’t even ask what the hell he meant by it.  A few minutes passed, and then Gary just went for it:  “Look, if you want, I’ll introduce you to her sometime.  Away from work.”

“What, you know her?” Dan asked.

Gary didn’t offer any details.  “I take it that’s a yes?”

And that’s how they came to find themselves standing outside of a nondescript storefront after work that night.  Gary knocked, and after a moment the door opened a crack.  Dan could see light from a street lamp glint off of the links of a chain that bound the door to its frame.  He couldn’t make out the guy standing on the other side of the door, but his voice was gruff.  He asked them for their tickets and ID.

Gary withdrew a folded piece of paper from his wallet and held it toward the open door.  The man inside took it.  He followed that with his ID.  “I’m sponsoring him,” Gary said, indicating his friend.  “He’s not a member yet.”

“Still need to see his ID.”  Hearing this, Dan took his wallet from the pocket of his jeans and pulled out his driver’s license.  He handed it to Gary, who passed it through the door.  The man on the other side shut the door, then disengaged the chain and opened it wide.  He was tall and heavy-set, a full beard adorning his face while the hair atop his head was thin.  They walked past him into a dimly-lit hallway with a staircase at the end.

Gary led Dan up the stairs.  As they climbed, they began to hear the unmistakable sounds of fervent, vigorous sex.  By the time they reached the top, the sounds were beginning to slowly die away.  They passed through a beaded curtain and into a large room.  A thick crowd of men – twenty-five, easily – stood with their backs to Dan and Gary.  Some knelt or crouched.  All were naked, or nearly naked.

“Okay guys, take five,” someone said, and the group of men dispersed to reveal a large mattress.  A young woman lay atop it, mopping semen from her breasts and face with a towel.  Her pretty features were unmistakable, especially her eyes shining even brighter without the cat’s eye glasses.

Nina noticed Dan.  “I know you!” she exclaimed, her voice as energetic as ever.  “Large black coffee.”  She paused.  “Shot of espresso.”

The sun hadn’t yet come up when the two men finally left.  The early morning air was cool but not cold, street lamps casting light on the sidewalk as they made their way to Gary’s car.

“That was fun,” Dan said.  “Thanks for bringing me.”

“Anytime.  And now that you’re a member, you don’t need me to get you in.  Next Friday it’ll be Suzanne.  She’s a mousy soccer mom with a wild streak.  You’ll like her.”

“Sounds good.  You coming back?”  Gary said that he was as he fished his car keys out of his pocket.  He unlocked the doors and they got into the car.

“I’m hungry,” Gary said as he twisted the key in the ignition and the car roared to life.  “I feel like getting some breakfast.”

“Join the club.”