Page 12 of Neverland

Simon chuckled. “We, ah… we don’t want our ladies seeing our statements.”

Lies. No wedding rings.

I nodded, playing along. “That’s fine. Drinks are pay-as-you-go, and the first hour is to be paid up front.”

Jason rifled through his wallet and withdrew a wad of cash. I gestured for Blaze to join us, and as she dazzled with her smile she caught my pointed stare. Receiving the message loud and clear, I could see her eyes moving over every inch of the men looking for clues.

“I’m thinking a round of house cocktails,” I said to Blaze.

Simon raised his hand stopping her. “No, we’ll pass on the cocktails. We’ll get a bottle of scotch and a couple of glasses.”

Blaze swallowed hard and I silently prayed she’d relax. It’s not like she hadn’t been in this situation before, yet her growing tension was becoming noticeable, so I worked to distract the men. “So, the wives are at home and you boys are here to play. What type of night are you looking for?”

With the formalities over, the men visibly relaxed. “Well…” Jason began. “We saw you up on stage earlier, and that was enough for us to want to spend the night with you.”

I bit my lip to stop a smile, Jason’s eyes rounding when he realized. “No! Not like, spend the night with you, just a few hours.”

“I understand.” I laughed to put the men at ease because I was unsure how these ‘few hours’ were going to play out. “So,” I said, standing between them, feeling their eyes roam my body. “How can I treat you boys?” Wiggling between Jason’s legs, I ran a polished nail down his chest. “You want a mini-lap first?”

Jason’s fingers circled my wrist with a grip tight enough to still me. His eyes darted quickly around the room before meeting my curious stare. “How about we have a few drinks first and enjoy some conversation.” Glancing at Simon, I noted how he rubbed his jaw before licking his lips. He was nervous. They weren’t very good at playing it cool. Jason guided me around his leg and pulled me back onto the lounge.

They were ticking all the boxes and had no idea how conspicuous their behavior was.

Blaze returned with a silver tray complete with a bottle of Scotch and four glasses. As she set it out on the small glass table in front, she observed the tension and decided she wanted no part in it. “Be right back,” she said shyly while folding the tray under her arm. I didn’t blame her. She was hopeless with pressure and tended to cave under it.

“So…” I began. “You boys like paying premium price for conversation with a pretty lady?”

“Yeah.” Simon nodded with a sly smile. “We don’t like to objectify women.”

I laughed despite the feeling of unease. “You do know you’re at strip club, right?”

Jason chuckled. “Yeah, we see the irony in it. So…” his tone changed, “…what brings a gorgeous girl like you to a place like this?”

Tick.

“It pays for college,” I lied. He noticed.

“What are you studying?” Simon asked.

“Business.”

He waited for me to continue and when I didn’t, he simply nodded, his stare seeing straight through me.

To my relief, Simon poured the Scotch and handed us one each.

“Salud,” he said, and we raised our glass before drinking. The alcohol, not my favorite, burned my throat on its way down. Over its rim, I noted Anton relieving Carter from his duty. The situation had worsened a hundred-fold.

“That song,” Jason said, interrupting my thoughts.

“Which one?”

“The one we saw you dancing to… I’m on fire.”

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

---