Page 110 of Body Shot

“She’s twenty-four, but yes, just out of college. And I was her first adult relationship.”

“This could be growing pains,” Aiden suggests. “But how does she say she needs space? Or maybe this other guy is showering her with attention, and she wants to make sure you’re the one for her before any more of a commitment.”

I grunt again.

I don’t want to think about her with another guy.

I liked being her first and only.

The thought of her fucking someone else makes me want to punch someone.

“Whatever her reasons are, she dumped me,” I say. “Talking about it doesn’t change or fix anything. So how about we leave all this emotional bullshit behind and focus on naked ladies and lap dances.”

“Sounds good to me.” Jordan rubs his hands together.

If only I could round up some excitement at the prospect of seeing naked women. I’m saying the right things but my heart—and my nether regions—are far less excited. Hopefully, that will change after a few drinks, but damn, this is hard.

The breakup with Martika wasn’t difficult because I didn’t love her. The pregnancy left me a little out of sorts, because I would have to deal with the kid, but the loss of the relationship had very little impact on me.

This is totally different.

Claudia became my world in a very short time, and I’m having a hard time imagining what’s next. I spent all day trying to figure out where I’d messed up, and what I’d done to send her into another man’s arms, but that probably isn’t fair. There’s undoubtedly some truth to what Aiden had said about her wanting to see what else is out there. I believe that she didn’t cheat—it’s not who she is—but the fact that someone else caught her eye so soon leaves me feeling a bit unsure of myself.

Is it something I did? Something I didn’t do? Should I have told her I loved her?

These are all questions I can’t answer, and I try to push them out of my mind as we pull up to the club. The parking lot is full, and there’s a line of men outside waiting to get in.

“We might not get in,” Jordan says, echoing my thoughts.

“Fuck that.” I pull a couple of hundred-dollar bills out of my wallet. “They’ll let us in.”

Sure enough, slipping the bouncer two C notes did the trick, and we’re at a table by the stage within minutes.

There are perks to being both wealthy and recognizable locally.

“Come on, being single is way better than being tied down,” Jordan says as a big-busted brunette brings us drinks.

“Nah.” Scotty shrugs. “I like going home to the same woman, having someone to talk to, sleep with, share a life with. Being single is…boring. Yeah, sex with hot strippers is fun—but I’ve done it. It’s not new anymore, and frankly, I’m too old for that bullshit.”

“I’m over strippers,” Aiden agrees, “but not being single. I do agree that sleeping with the same person more than once is nice because one-night stands can be hit-and-miss. Sometimes it takes a while to get to know what your partner likes. It’s the emotional stuff that bugs me, and unfortunately, you usually can’t have one without the other.”

“Round of shots!” I call the waitress.

“What’ll you have, boys?” she asks, grinning.

“Teq—” I start to say tequila, but Aiden cuts me off.

“Notequila,” he says firmly. “We have practice in the morning. Bring us a round of jagerbombs.”

“Coming right up.” She disappears and I gaze up at the stage.

The woman dancing is attractive.

She has a great body, perky tits, and a pretty smile.

But watching her twirl around on the pole does nothing for me.

Zero.

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