I glanced around, trying to take in the crowds without looking too closely. Surprisingly, the club wasn’t filled with slavering old men and perverts. There were a few men watching the dancers intently, but most were chatting, laughing and drinking with their friends.
“Right, I’ll see you in a moment. Gotta go get ready,” Tori shouted, wiggling her fingers as a farewell before disappearing through the crowds.
“How are you doing, sweet?” Louise yelled at my ear, pressing a sticky kiss against my cheek.
“Yeah, alright. Yourself?”
“Sure, can’t complain.” She smiled at Jackie as she motioned towards the bar and nodded before looking back at me. “Jack and Coke?”
“Please.”
Jackie muscled her way to the bar and Louise grabbed my hand, leading me to a booth. We both sat on the same side, close together.
“Any more updates on the love life?” Louise asked, shooting me a knowing look. “Last time I saw you it certainly looked to be going rather well.”
Of course, I hadn’t seen Louise since the night Rowan had met me in Juice. The night I’d ended up going home with him. I felt my neck grow hot.
“Yeah, I mean, as well as it can. All things considered,” I replied. “There’s been a few bumps along the way, but that’s to be expected.”
Louise nodded. “Definitely. Have you fucked him yet?”
I gave her a scathing look but chuckled. “That’s none of your business.”
Louise narrowed her eyes playfully. “That’s a yes if I ever heard one. Have you done the whole—” She held up her one hand, making a loop with her index finger and thumb, like the ok sign and slid the index of her other finger through it.
“Lou!” I chided.
“I never know if it’s official between you fellas until you’ve gone that far,” she teased. “It’s not a problem I have, clearly. You boys are spoilt for choice on where to stick what.”
“I dunno about that, they make some pretty impressive strap-ons these days,” I shouted, not noticing Jackie by my side until it was too late.
“Why are we talking about strap-ons?” She laughed, placing our drinks down atop the table.
“Don’t ask,” I groaned with a laugh. I grabbed my drink, taking a large mouthful.
It was nice to catch up with Louise and Jackie. We chatted and laughed easily, recalling past hijinks and gossiping about our friends in common. Every now and then, a woman dressed in a tiny, sequin bikini appeared to refresh our drinks, making it impossible to keep track of how much we were drinking. It became apparent rather quickly that was by design; getting you inebriated and loosening your purse strings. Before long I was drunk. Really drunk.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket, but everything was in soft focus. I squinted at the bright screen, trying to make sense of what I was looking at.
“Ah, ah, ah,” Louise scolded, snatching it from my hands. “No drunk texting, Max. You’ll only regret it in the morning. I’m going to hold onto this for a bit.”
“Hey, wait. That’s not—”
She ignored me, unclasping her purse and dropped my phone inside. “You can have it back on your way home. I’m just being a good friend, trying to stop you doing something stupid.”
I snorted. “You know me too well.”
“I really do.”
The music quietened down slightly, and the DJ mumbled something loud and incoherent. Louise sat up and clapped her hands excitedly.
“Tori’s up.”
We all turned our attention to the main stage. The lights dimmed and a new song began to play. Tori stepped out onto the stage, dressed to the nines in a tiny black leather leotard that left nothing to the imagination.
Louise yelled and Jackie cheered. I put my fingers in my mouth and whistled loudly. We watched as Tori began to roll her hips, gyrating against one of the chrome poles in time to the music before dropping down into a split. The crowd went wild.
Whilst I didn’t find Tori sexually attractive in the least, I was in awe of her flexibility and strength as she climbed up the pole, twisting herself into positions that didn’t even look possible. It was a real artform.
