Page 8 of Dance for Me

And Sinker

Vanessa flew out of there so fast she was already ordering her Uber. Which was probably the same one that dropped her off considering she was inside for about a whole five minutes. There was no chance in hell that she was working at a topless bar. She wasn’t even comfortable changing in front of other women, like at the gym. The thought of it made her almost regurgitate her Cheerios from this morning.

Hot man, check.

Total pervert, another check.

Total points for the test, F for dumbass.

“Vanessa!” She heard Jack call her name from behind.

Too bad she already stopped to wait for her ride or she would have just kept walking. She stood there with her arms crossed over her breasts.

“Vanessa, wait. Where are you going?”

When he finally caught up to her, he was standing there in black dress pants and a grey dress shirt, sleeves rolled up. He seemed to always dress professionally, but not in a stuffy sort of way. More like a bad boy vibe with a slight edge to him.

“I’m waiting for my ride because I’m leaving.”

“And why are you leaving?” he asked her. Sounding completely oblivious to the fact that when he asked her to sign up for this little gig, he left out the actual job description that she should have very well been informed of.

“Why? Because you own a fucking strip club, that’s why.” She was suddenly aware of the fact that she was shouting. Also, everyone in the parking lot became aware of the same fact. Maybe she sounded a bit harsh, but she was feeling just a tad irate right now.

He gently took hold of her upper arm with one hand and his other grabbed onto her waist, guiding her around to the side of the building. Most likely to avoid the audience they were drawing. He pressed her up against the wall with nothing but inches between them. In any normal circumstance she would have been scared, but with him, she wasn’t.

Being so close, she noticed his scent. All men had a scent and his was of mint and spice, which was alluring. She was guilty of leaning in just a tad so she could enjoy more of it. Oh right, she was upset, she had to remind herself. Extremely angry.

“I’m sorry if you didn’t know what my club was exactly.”

She let out an ironic laugh. “It was difficult to know when you failed to mention the stripping part of it. Had you have mentioned it at the café, I would have flat out told you no.”

Though, now that she thought about it, the name alone should have sent off red flags. What kind of nightclub that’s called, Pink Lace, wasn’t a strip bar? No normal one that she was ever at. C’mon Vanessa, she thought. She was smarter than this. She did blame the fact that his appearance alone left her in a foggy mess.

“I apologize for the misconception but I’m not really understanding why it’s an issue.”

Was this guy for real? Was he really being that naive right now? “It’s a strip club, enough said. And you were going to hire me as what… a stripper?” Stupid question. She realized that after the fact. But maybe he was looking for a smart woman to balance his books.

She got up from the wall to leave, but he gently pushed her back using the hand on her waist. “A gentleman’s club.”

She heard him but she was also focused on the heat that was radiating off his hand onto her waist.

She paused for a moment and then asked, “What?” It sounding softer than she wanted it to. Stay angry Vanessa, she kept telling herself but it was hard to do that when his hand was on her.

“It’s a gentleman’s club.” His gaze landed on her lips. “And yes, I wanted you for a dancer. You’re beautiful and you could bring me more business.”

She shook her head. “Sorry if I’m not flattered by your so called compliment. There are still naked women dancing on a stage, grinding on a pole. No thanks.”

“And your point being?”

Vanessa shot him a disgusted look. “It’s degrading!”

“I don’t see it that way.”

Oh, this man was really testing her patience. But she was starting to see it, a man this good looking had to be arrogant. She didn’t see him out in a lily field picking flowers to hand off to women.

“So, you don’t think women dancing up on stage, naked, while men shout vulgar things and throw money at them, isn’t degrading?” She finally took a breath.

“No, I don’t.”

---