Page 18 of Dance for Me

Vanessa had completely forgotten about the damn pole. She just started to get her footwork down and now she had to try and dance with an inanimate object while trying to look sexy.

* * *

Having it not been that long after practice, her feet were already sore and her calf muscles cried. Shoes with a heel that tall should be banned. She stared in the mirror in the dressing room as Raven walked her over another shot.

“Here. Last one before showtime.” Vanessa shot it back and clunked it down on the vanity in front of her. “Thanks.”

“If it helps, I’ll be on the smaller stage across from you.” Vanessa’s heart slowed a bit.

“Actually, that does help.”

“Good. I’ll see ya out there.”

As soon as Raven walked away and through the stage door, Trixie sat down next to her and started applying her lipstick.

“If I were you, I would quit before you totally embarrass yourself.”

Vanessa looked at her from the mirror and watched as she applied her cherry red lipstick. Maybe it was the alcohol speaking for her but she didn’t care.

“Well, if I were you, I would rethink that color.”

Trixie’s mouth dropped open and she slammed her lipstick down. “Jack only hired you because he felt sorry for you. You do realize that, right?”

Vanessa shot her a questionable look.

“It’s not like he actually thinks you have what it takes,” Trixie grinned. “Well, don’t choke up there.” She whipped around and stomped out.

That woman was truly terrible and as much as Vanessa wanted to let her words not affect her tonight, they probably would.

Jazz came down shortly after and instructed Vanessa to the stage. It was a flashback to her seventh-grade school play. One that she would rather not remember because she forgot her lines and ended up running off the stage. It felt the same except, she wasn’t twelve, she was twenty-six and she was about to be half naked in front of who knows how many eyes.

Standing there, Vanessa waited for her queue to walk out. Raven gently squeezed her arm as she waited alongside her.

“You’re gonna kill it girl. You're gorgeous, so they won’t notice if you mess up.”

“I feel like I’m going to throw up my lunch.”

Raven laughed, “That’s all part of the experience.”

Vanessa gripped her robe tighter and nervously played with the knot that was holding it together.

Raven gave her one last reassuring smile before she walked out onto her stage. The audience sounded pleased with their clapping and whistling. It was a Friday night, so there was no denying the busy crowd that probably waited for her.

After counting to twenty, like she was told to do, she started to walk out. “Here goes nothing.”

Because the overhead lights were off, and the pink spotlights were on, it made the audience not as visible as when she practiced. She couldn’t see much of the men sitting below. Which made her feel more comfortable. She did, however, hear the drunken cat calls being shouted from them. She tried to drown them out by the sound of the music and she closed her eyes like Jazz taught her. She took a moment to get lost in the song and then she untied her robe and let it fall. She felt the chill from the cold air and knew she only had the small bubble gum colored bikini covering her.

More shouting and calls were being made from the floor as she took center stage. She could do this, she thought. She had to do this.

She approached the pole and lowered her body down it, then slowly came back up. She tried not to, but her focus went to the back of the club. It was almost as if she was being drawn there. Standing there, arms crossed, Vanessa saw him. Not only did she see him, she felt him.

Jack held her attention and she stopped, but only for a second before she continued dancing. It was like he was the only one in the room with her. She ran her hands down her body, then up again. Never breaking eye contact. Then, she grabbed her hair and moved her hips in a suggestive way and smiled in a flirtatious manner. His gaze burned a hole inside her and it was as if her body awakened. Before she realized her actions on what she was doing, she playfully teased him. Running her hand over her breasts. Licking her lips with her tongue. His eyes lit with desire and need. She was playing a dangerous game with him, one she never played before. When he was around, she felt like her body was being released from a cage.

When a man shouted “take it off” from the audience, she froze. She was so focused on the dancing part that she completely forgot the stripper part. As part of her job, she was required to take her top off.

When she moved to untie her bikini top from behind her back, she stopped, she couldn’t do it. Her stomach was suddenly in knots.

She finished her song and then walked off stage back to the dressing room. She never looked back at Jack.

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