Charlotte, who had been prepared to make some witty remarks about the women on stage tonight, is completely blown away by Zaza’s talent. She shows off her flexibility and acrobatic skills in and around the pole, sinking into multiple, full splits. It doesn’t take long before people walk up to the edge of the stage, waving cash in their hands. Charlotte watches slack-jawed as Zaza approaches each person and points to where in her bodysuit she wants them to slide the money.
“She’s so… athletic,” Charlotte whispers in awe. Riley nods, her eyes glued to the stage. “Right?” she agrees. “These women aren’t just strippers… they’re athletes. Artists.”
Before Charlotte registers what’s happening, Riley reaches for her purse, fishes out a ten-dollar bill and walks up to the stage. Zaza, who’s on her back on the floor now, smoothly rolls over to Riley and pulls on thefabric of the bodysuit near her thigh so Riley can slide the money in. She winks, blows her a kiss, and slides back, elegantly lifting herself back up in the pole.
When Riley returns to her seat, she’s all giggles.
“Enjoying yourself?” Charlotte muses, licking a bit of salt off the rim of her margarita before taking a sip.
“You have no idea.” Riley lands back in her seat with a chuckle, grabbing her drink and copying Charlotte’s movements.
When Charlotte registers how flustered Riley is, the knot in her stomach is back, and it tightens. She feels something winding up inside of her, a strange kind of energy that starts in her center but very quickly spreads throughout her whole body. It vibrates, it’s alive, it makesherfeel alive, and she needs to stop it before it makes her want to do something bold. Tearing her eyes away from Riley, she decides that taking another large sip from her drink is probably the best course of action here.
The song finishes and the crowd goes wild: everybody is cheering and more people throw their cash on stage. Charlotte wonders how Zaza is going to collect all of those bills, and is surprised when she leaves them. Instead, she takes a final bow and walks off. One of the bartenders, who is one of the more decently clothed workers here in a tank top and shorts, hauls himself on stage and quickly gathers the money with a broom.
“Don’t worry, she gets all of it,” Riley answers Charlotte’s unasked question. “It protects their dignity when they don’t have to collect it all themselves.”
More acts follow, one of the most intriguing ones being a woman climbing two pieces of silk that hang from the ceiling. Some others just dance, occasionally actually stripping, and there’s a mesmerizing performance by a woman in a large suspended hoop.
Charlotte feels a strong sense of pride when she sees Gabi absolutely having the time of her life, totally blown away by the dancers and stealing looks and kisses from Lou every now and then. When Gabi’s eyes catch Charlotte’s, she blows her a grateful kiss across the room. Charlotte rolls her eyes, but blows one back.
Yet, neither Charlotte’s second nor her third margarita do anything to stop the coiled tension in her body from building up. Her cheeks feel hot and it doesn’t help that the energy in the room changes too. With every dancer the acts get sexier, more clothes come off, and both dancers and guests get bolder.
When the next act finishes Charlotte finds herself whistling on her fingers, and from the corner of her eye she sees Riley’s mouth fall open. Oh, she’s on a roll now. Encouraged by Riley’s gaze still on her, she picks up her glass and takes a long, filthy lick of salt before downing the rest of the liquid. She keeps her eyes on the stage, but she knows that if she were to look to her side now, she’d find the other woman crumbling down completely.
“Prepare yourselves for… Nuria!” The next act gets announced and once again, the energy shifts. The lights dim, giving it a more intimate feel. As the next stunning woman takes her place on stage, the low bass ofGlory Boxfills the room. Nuria is tall, muscular, and wears nothing more than shorts and a bikini top. It’s clear right from the start that she is not shy about making intimate eye contact with the people closest to the stage. She falls on her knees in front of Lou, making a show of sliding her hand down her own shorts. Lou moves her arms up and down like she’s worshiping her, and slides a bill onto the stage before returning to her fiancée’s lap.
Nuria whistles however, and Lou looks over her shoulder. The dancer turns her back toward Lou and points at the string of her bikini top. All the women from Gabi’s friend group, Riley and Charlotte included, scream when Lou pulls the string and the top comes off.
“Straight women are so weird,” Riley sighs, seemingly out of nowhere.
Charlotte almost pulls a muscle turning her neck. “What do you mean?” There’s that faint tug in her stomach again.
“There is no way this doesn’t turneverybodyon,” Riley says incredulously.
Charlotte wants to respond, but a lump in her throat prevents her from doing so. She swallows, and tries to find new words.
“I mean, they’re all beautiful women,” she says, her tone almost business-like. “Sure. And they’re extremelytalented; there’s no way I could ever do what they’re doing—”
“Oh come on!” Riley exclaims, a bit too loudly. “'They’re all beautiful women'? They’re hot, Charlotte, they’re sexy as fuck!”
Charlotte laughs when she sees the color of Riley’s cheeks matches the feeling of her own. “Careful dear, you’re drooling,” she says, reaching out to tap the underside of Riley’s chin. But before she gets there, a shadow casts over her.
She looks up, and Nuria is right in front of her, topless and smirking.
“Oh no. Oh no—” Charlotte buries her face in her hands as the stripper straddles her, grinding her hips to the rhythm of the music. “Damn, buy a girl dinner first—”
Next to her, Riley squeals in such a high pitch she’s convinced she just burst an eardrum.
Nuria reaches for Charlotte’s wrists, pulls them away from her face, and slowly brings them up to her own naked breasts. Charlotte squirms in her seat, somewhere between giggling and wanting to combust on the spot.
“Pick her, pickher!” Charlotte screeches as a last resort, whipping her head toward Riley. “She wants it!”
Nuria looks over to Riley, who to Charlotte’s surprise, nods enthusiastically. The stripper shrugs,your loss,and moves over to Riley. Instead of straddling her, she walks backward, crooking a finger to beckon her. Riley smiles wickedly before pushing herself out of her seatand following the woman onto the stage. She’s welcomed by everyone in the room cheering her on; Gabi and Lou lurch forward to miss nothing of what’s about to happen.
The sultry melody of the song continues as Nuria places her hands on Riley’s hips, and their bodies start moving in sync. Every step, every beat, every cheer eggs them on, encouraging them to make their moves even dirtier. Nuria turns around in Riley’s arms, her back pressed to the other woman’s front now, and she reaches behind her to take Riley’s wrists. There’s a lustful look in Riley’s eyes as her hands are brought around the stripper’s body and they land on her breasts.
Charlotte suddenly feels like she’s in a chokehold, but when she claws away at her throat, there’s nothing there. She tears her eyes away from Riley and sees the other women jumping up and down, going completely out of their minds. There’s a sharp pain in the palm of her hand; when she looks down she notices indents from her own nails digging into the flesh.
