We caught our first subway train just as we entered the station. Still, we had to transfer, and it took forty-five minutes to get to our Brooklyn apartment. There, Ann-Marie and I rushed through showers and helped each other pick out outfits. I could hardly breathe as I wiggled into my black sequined miniskirt, and I turned to deep breathing to calm my nerves. I told myself that most of the things I’d heard about Enigma were probably false, but that didn’t stop my nerves from skittering to the top of my skin.
The address on the invitation took us back to Manhattan. It was close to midnight as we walked through Alphabet City, but the late hour didn’t mean anything to the crowds milling around us. Most of the clubs were probably only just filling up.
Ann-Marie scanned the passing addresses as I carefully watched for subway grates. Jumping sideways to prevent my high heel from catching in one of the steel traps, Ann-Marie stopped a few feet behind me.
“What’s up?” I asked, backtracking to stand next to her.
She peered at a glossy black door and lifted her hand to trace a bold red stripe. There was also some graffiti on the walls around it, and a faintly flickering lamp, but no sign hinting at where it might lead. “I think this is it.” She checked the invitation again. “Yep. This is it.”
A shiver ran down my spine. Sure, Enigma was “underground,” but I didn’t think its facade would be so… creepy.
“You okay?” Ann-Marie asked.
I swallowed and nodded, but avoided her eyes. I was nervous, but not about to chicken out. “Let’s do this.”
She pulled on the door’s handle, but it didn’t budge. Just as she raised her hand to knock, the door flew open. A bulking man in black, who couldn’t be anything other than a security guard, gazed down at us. His eyes fell to the invitation in Ann-Marie’s hand, and one of his brows slowly rose.
“Invite?” he asked in a low and rumbling voice.
Ann-Marie nearly shook with excitement as she handed our invitation over to him with a flourish. “Here it is.” He checked it, tucked it into the breast pocket of his sports jacket, and stepped aside. Anne-Marie and I entered a dimly lit hall where a second security guard nodded and opened another heavy door.
I braced myself for an assault of music and lights, but there was none of that. Instead, the club was subdued. We stepped through the doorway onto a small platform and paused to take in the room spread out in front of us. A short bar sat to the right. In front of it were about a dozen round tables with cushioned, curved booths. The place wasn’t exactly crowded, but each table was occupied by at least a couple people. On the far wall, an empty stage waited to be used. The place was decorated in red and black, much of the low lighting due to red bulbs. A second tier resting above our heads was even darker, but I could make out tables and a few bodies moving around.
The place was small, no doubt, but whoever designed the club was an expert at working with constrained spaces. There was also a sensual, mysterious quality to the room that gave me a whole new kind of shiver.
Ann-Marie squeezed my hand and grinned at me. I smiled back — seeing the inside of Enigma had immediately put me at ease.
“Oh my God,” Ann-Marie gasped. “Is that Gisele?” I followed her eyeline and found the supermodel sitting at a table only a few yards away. “This place is amazing,” Ann-Marie practically squealed.
A man in a tuxedo approached us and gave a slight bow. “Ladies, welcome to Enigma. I am your host, Fernando. Please let me know if you need anything during your visit.”
I slid my eyes toward Ann-Marie. This whole expedition was her idea, so I was pretty much deferring to her. She grinned wide. “Thank you, Fernando. We’ll just grab some drinks and have a seat.”
“If there is anything I can do to make your time here more enjoyable, it will be my pleasure.” With a half bow, he gracefully went on his way.
I grabbed Ann-Marie’s hand and pulled her down the platform’s few steps. Now that I was in Enigma, I was pulsing with energy. “Let’s get drinks!”
The bartender saw us coming and stepped up to meet us before we were even at the bar. “Good evening. What can I get you, ladies?”
We went with his suggestion of two Old Fashioneds. The whole experience of getting a drink at Enigma was different than at any other club or bar. There was no hoard of people pushing and vying for the bartender’s attention. The guy getting our drinks didn’t stare at us with zombie-like eyes, slam a beer bottle on the bar, then walk away. Instead, the bartender carefully garnished our drinks with perfect orange slices and a cherry each, then served them to us like he was serving the queen of England.
“Cheers.” Anne-Marie held her cocktail up, and I clinked mine against hers. The sharp whiskey filled my nose, and the orange peel hit my lips as I drank.
Fortified with alcohol, I looked around again. Ann-Marie and I settled into two stools at the end of the bar. It was a perfect vantage point, one from which we could see almost everything happening around us.
“See?” Ann-Marie asked. “This isn’t so bad, is it?”
“No. It’s amazing.”
She twisted on her stool to gaze at the stage. “They have shows. Maybe there’s something tonight.”
No sooner had she said the words than the lights came up on the stage. Soft music began, and for the first time, I noticed the upright piano pressed into the corner. At it, a man played the keys like he was making love to them.
A woman dressed in a slinky gown that shimmered like melted gold slipped onto the stage. She fluttered a peacock fan and began to dance. I wasn’t sure just what I was watching, but it was captivating—like a cross between modern dance and burlesque, but also so much more. The woman on the stage moved with a passion that I’d never seen. Like she was full to the brim with this life force, this agonizing sensuality, and not moving wasn’t even an option. She took each step like it was both the most painful thing she’d ever done and the most exquisite.
Sweat from my Old Fashioned collected in my palm, and I went to set my drink on the bar. As I did so, I got that sensation of being watched. My head automatically turned up and to the left as if drawn by some magnetic force. A man stood on the second tier, just above me, his legs pressed against the railing. His face was shadowed, but I knew he looked at me. I could feel his gaze pressing on me like a heavy weight.
The piano played on, the notes filling the club and wrapping all around me. I stared back at the stranger’s dark face, wondering if he could see me watching him. My head spun, and a strange, ballooning feeling filled my chest. It was like I was flying away into space.
The song ended, making me jerk and look down at my lap. My heartbeat filled my throat as the blood rushed through my ears. What was going on with me? I was staring at that man like I was in a trance. It couldn’t have been my drink. I only had two sips.
No, it was Enigma itself. It was something about the whole place. The second I walked through the doors, a spell was cast on me. I could now see why the club had such a reputation.