Page 14 of Dream Lover
Heat crept up my neck. I was getting pissed. Even her best friend was giving her awhat the fuck are you doinglook.
There was a car waiting, and we got in. From there Rebecca announced, “We’re going pole dancing!”
At first, my stomach dropped, not being the most coordinated person in the world. But quickly after, excitement hit me at this new adventure. It was something I’d never done, but I’d watched Jennifer Lopez do it in a movie, and she was hot.
We were served mimosas on the way. I grinned, making the best of feeling like a fifth wheel to their close party of four. Part of me wished the guys were here, so I’d at least have Conner and my brother as a buffer between us. But no, I was on my own, wishing too that Carrie was here. If it were us taking these classes, we’d have a blast. She loved stuff like this.
Arriving at the studio my palms were sweating, and my stomach was burning. The poles in the center of the room were intimidating as hell. Sure, I loved to dance at a bar or something, but I had never attempted a sexy pole dance in my life.
We were divided up into two groups, and lucky me I was stuck with Rebecca. “Don’t be shy, Quinn,” she taunted me, but I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of a reaction. This would be what it would be, and I for one intended to make the best out of the situation. If she wanted to be bitchy, that was on her.
There were two instructors. One began stretches, and I prayed that I didn’t pull a muscle or break a bone. With my luck it was a grim possibility. One instructor, Sheila who started stretches, was fit and made it all appear so seamless and fluid as she moved. There was a definite grace to her. I was in shape, but I wasn’t sure I had the upper body strength required to flip this ass over on a pole.
After stretches, we broke into our groups. Sheila was our instructor and Shelly was the other.
The pole was smooth against my hand, and I walked around it several times getting my steps together. Thank goodness Sheila started off slow. Watching in avid fasciation, Sheila took to the pole in a routine that made me want to do what she did. It looked fun and incredibly sexy.
Practicing it, though, wasn’t pretty.
Glancing over at the other girls, Paula wasn’t fairing much better. Shelly was attempting to lift her ass up while she tried to climb the pole. She had zero upper body strength.
Laura, though, was a natural. She graced the pole like she had been doing it for years. Elegant, graceful, and sexy as all hell. I wondered if she had ever been a stripper or had a private pole at home.
I managed to get up the pole a bit, but the moment I leaned my head back to swirl my hair, I slid, my thighs rubbing the metal on the descent and making that horrendous shrieking sound.
That was definitely going to chafe. There was nothing sexy about raw thighs. Sheila told me to clamp my thighs more to hold on, and the fourth attempt, I was able to flip my hair like a crazy woman. I felt empowered.
As the day wore on, I wondered when Rebecca was going to announce today’s challenge. This class couldn’t be all she had unless the plan was to tape the whole day and throw a viewing party for the guys. That was all I needed to make a fool of myself in front of Conner. He already thought I was a nut.
I pushed those thoughts away and ignored Rebecca as she twisted and turned on the pole, but not in a sexy way. More slutty than sexy. It was kind of gross the way she was humping and gyrating on the pole like a porn star. That wasn’t right—porn stars had way more talent than Becky.
Music was added, and we went through a few more steps. I was beginning to get the hang of it if landing on my head only twice counted.
Despite Rebecca being my partner and critiquing my every move, I was having fun. Witnessing her land on her ass, though, was the highlight of the morning. I didn’t even try to hide the laughter. It was impossible. Her friends were entertained by her flub as well. She wasn’t as amused and let us all know it with her sneers.
Then it all came crashing down when class switched and turned into a strip tease course all about how to take your clothes off and seduce your man. I always knew Rebecca was up to something dirty. She couldn’t just do the dancing; now we were to do stripping too. Lovely.
“Quinn needs all the pointers she can get.” Rebecca’s jab landed right in the center of my chest as she intended it to. How could this woman be so cold? If she thought her shit didn’t stink, she was in for a rude awakening.
Carley gave me a look of pity, but I ignored her. I didn’t need her or anyone to feel sorry for me. It wasn’t like I was horrible or anything. Something told me, though, that Rebecca was giving me a test. One to see if Conner was really my man or not. Hopefully, I was reading more into it than it was, but with Rebecca, one could never tell.
What I needed was divine intervention to open up the floor and swallow me because while Conner was bad enough, dancing in front of my brother made me want to puke.
After our class, we had a light lunch and returned to our hotel. I needed a shower desperately. If nothing else, today was a hell of a workout.
Conner was still out so I made use of the bathroom, feeling antsy and keyed up. Our challenge hadn’t been announced, but I wasn’t stupid and knew we’d be dancing and stripping. Knowing Rebecca, she was planning to try to embarrass me some way. It seemed to be her entire goal for this trip instead of spending time with her man.
In the shower, the water streamed down my body, relaxing my muscles. They were going to hurt like a bitch tomorrow.
After my shower and getting dressed, Conner returned to do the same because we needed to get to dinner.
Tonight, I opted for a simple black party dress that had a bunch at the side along with the slit. Underneath I had on one of my favorite lacy black bra and panty sets. Something about sexy coordinating underwear made me feel empowered. I loved to hold surprises under my clothes, not that anyone saw them, but it was one of my quirks.
“Did Drew happen to mention what the couples challenge would be, or did we get the day off?” Yes, I was completely and totally hopeful that we wouldn’t be dancing in front of everyone.
“No matter what it is, babe, we got this. Just relax, cut loose, and enjoy the ride.” My breath hitched in my throat at him calling me babe. Conner was always calm, cool, and collected. The words just flowed from him like he’d said the endearment every day of his life. Why it hit me so hard, I didn’t know and didn’t have time to evaluate.
The phone rang and Conner answered, relaying that the car taking us to dinner was waiting. We went to some sushi place where we were served oysters and a variety of different sushi treats.
