“Hey, babe,” I hear Austin’s voice, but I can’t really process what he’s saying. Lazily, I open one eye and then the other. He’s kneeling beside me, looking at me with a tired but happy smile. He’s still wearing his slick Armani, so I figure he must've arrived home from the club just now. Lately I’ve been staying at home; I’m a mom after all, and the club life isn’t really the most productive use of my time. In Austin words, I should focus on being a mother first and a businesswoman second. To be fair to him, he also considers himself a father first and a businessman second.

“Hey,” I whisper, my voice as lazy as my eyelids. God, I feel so sleepy. I must have fallen asleep in the couch. I take one quick look at the watch on my wrist—it’s 7 am—and I realize that I spent the whole night in here, huddled under a blanket. Which is good, you know? Since Anna showed up in our lives that I’ve been struggling to get a good night's sleep. Not that I’m complaining; she’s the most perfect little creature I have laid my eyes on, and every red-eyed morning is worth paying just for having her in our lives.

Oh, right, who’s Anna? you’re probably asking. She’s our baby, of course, the cute little one asleep in the crib inside our bedroom. We named her Anna after Mistress Strokes, her real name. I liked the name, and I also fell in love with the idea that I was naming my baby girl after a strong woman, one brave enough to fight for what she believes in and make a real difference in the world. A woman good enough to be a role-model to my daughter. Because my girl will grow up to be just like that, you better believe it.

It was actually a shock when the doctors told us we were having a girl. Both Austin and Strokes assumed we were having a boy, and I kinda fell for it too. I mean, who wouldn’t love to have a miniature of Austin running around? But it was a girl, not a boy. But it didn’t matter; in fact, Austin was over the moon when the doctor broke the news for us. He was delighted that there was going to be a mini-me in the house. Can you imagine him playing with dolls? Neither can I, but I’m betting that’s the kind of father he’s going to be.

“She’s still asleep?” he asks, laying a kiss on my forehead. I close my eyes as I feel his mouth on me, glad that he’s finally home.

“Yeah, she slept all night.” And thank God. I really needed a few hours just to crash.

“That’s good,” he whispers more self-consciously now, making an effort not to wake Anna up.

“Yeah,” I agree, rubbing my eyes and sitting up on the couch. I don’t remember when was the last time I slept an entire night undisturbed. “How was work?”

“Crazy.”

“Like always.”

“Like always,” he repeats after me. “All the floors were packed, and some girl got into her head that she needed to go up the stage and have Maverick dance for her. She just climbed onto the stage and tackled him; can you believe it? She could have just asked.” Just another night, then. It seems that there’s always something crazy happening at Dirty Python, the hottest place in New York. No, scratch that, the hottest place in the East Coast.

Since we’ve opened doors that it seems that we’re making headlines in some media outlet. We climbed out from the seedy columns in newspapers into the mainstream. Every single day there’s a reporter knocking at our doors, or calling us up trying to schedule an interview or an exclusive piece. It was fun in the beginning, but we mostly just turn them down now. Our club is a place where people, both men and women, can enjoy themselves free of society’s prying and judgmental eyes. It’s a safe haven, and we don’t have reporters there pestering our customers. That’s probably one of the reasons why we’ve grown so successful.

Austin used to joke that he wasn’t still a few millions away from becoming a billionaire, but that changed pretty fast. We’re making so much money with Python that we’re already considering opening another club just like it on the West Coast. That is, if you find someone trustworthy enough to run it. Strokes isn’t really interested in running a club again.

Oh, yeah, you’re probably wondering about her. She actually spent half a year in Barcelona, and then she travelled all over Europe for two more months. She came back to the States the day she found out I was about to give birth. She bawled her eyes out when I told her we were naming our baby after her.

She eventually settled in New York again, the city no longer feeling like a bad place full of bad memories. These days, she only sees possibilities wherever she goes. She’s gotten into her mind that she wants to be a lawyer, and Austin promptly said we should pay for all of her tuition. I agreed in a heartbeat.

“Come here,” I whisper at Austin, placing my arms around his neck and pulling him in for one long kiss. I close my eyes, savoring his kiss as if it was the first one. It seems like everything happened a lifetime ago… Remember when I went to Python just so I could spy for Lester? Everything spun out of control after that day and, by God, I couldn’t be happier that it happened the way it did. In a twisted turn of events, Lester was the one bringing us together.

Oh, about him… He actually did leave New York as Austin made him promise. He quit his position as the Police Commissioner, and then just packed everything and moved to Las Vegas. There, he decided it was good a good idea to try out the roulette and, next thing he knows, he’s flat out broke.

Eventually he decided to turn his life around. The last time we’ve heard from the people keeping tabs on him, it seems that he had gotten a job at a coffee shop. That’s right, from Police Commissioner to minimum wage barista in Las Vegas. If you ever come across him, make sure you place an extra complicated order for him. And don’t tip.

“Do you think we have the time before she wakes up?” Austin whispers, that mischievous grin of his flaring up something inside of me. It’s like this every day, really. You’d think that all that electric lust would start dissipating after a few months of fucking every single day, but in fact it’s been just the opposite. Sure, it’s trickier nowadays with the baby; I have learned to be quieter, that’s one, but we still can’t go a day without sex.

“I think we do,” I whisper back at him, my arms still around his neck. I pull him after me and he lies down on top of my body, his hands going down to my waist.

“You know… Sometimes I find myself wondering if all this isn’t just a dream. You, Anna, the club… How in the world did I ever get so lucky?”

“I wonder the same sometimes,” I take my hand to his crotch and then squeeze his cock, feeling it already hard and pulsing against the palm of my hand. “But then I just feel you inside of me and I realize that this is as real as it could be…”

“Well, let’s make the test then. Just to be sure,” he smiles as I start unbuckling his belt and pushing his pants down. Yeah, let’s be sure.

But he’s right, you know? Our life seems like something out of a fairy-tale. We’re the envy of the whole world. Could life be any more perfect?

I doubt it, I really do.