All Around Me - Interlude 3 - Clubbin'

[Dano]

Subby's bachellor party had been a fairly subdued affair. We had hijacked him at work, taken him out to the parking garage and handcuffed a bowling ball to him. It wasn't easy wrestling him into submission, even with the four of us. After that, we had taken him to the Varsity for a few too many shots, and from there to Austins for some steak.

Piling into the van, we made the trek out to Waverly, NE, to hit the juice bar. All nude, all the time. What better way to send your buddy on his way into wedded bliss? On the ride out, Subby had tried in vain to get us to take the handcuffs off, and had even resorted to trying to fight them out of Brad's pocket, but Brad and Tim had sat on him, effectively squashing his fighting spirit. Of course, he puked, which as far as he was concerned, made everything even.

We got there, paid the cover, told the doorman it was his bachellor party, and were each given a free drink ticket. There were a few grumbles about the lack of alcahol, but you had to trade one for the other.

We got a table near the rear stage, and settled into our routines. I hadn't been in a strip club for a while, so I was a little distracted by the dancers. I didn't notice her until she came at sat on my lap.

"Hey Tommy. It's Anne, but my name here is Charlie."

She sat back and I got a good look. I hadn't seen her in a few years, and somehow she was even sexier. Maybe it was the lack of clothes and the fuck-me makeup. She smiled brightly, and I could smell the sweat and body lotion that made her glisten.

"Come back into the private dance room, I'll give you a freebie."

She stood up and gave me a great look at her nude body. Rolling my eyes and feigning a put-out sigh, I got up. My buddies all cheered for me, except Subby, who was engaged in trying to figure out where to put a dollar bill.

I followed her back to a curtained room, and ducked in, taking a seat on the overstuffed leather armchair. She came over and straddled my lap, burying her face in my chest. She pulled back and smiled again, but it looked sad.

"So, I'm down to this."
"This isn't so bad... Charlie?"
"Yeah, I know it's stupid." She sighed.
"Hey, it could be a lot worse."
"Yeah, I could still be waiting tables and getting my ass grabbed for $3.85 an hour plus tips."
"At least here they can't touch you. What do you pull in a night?"
"Depends, usually at least $200."
"See? Could be a lotworse."

She didn't look convinced. I hadn't ever seen her nude before, and although it was nice, I couldn't leave her eyes. A new song started, and she sighed, making a big show of turning into a vamp. For propriety's sake, I'll just say that she's very good at her job.

The song ended, and she collapsed back onto me, sweating even more and hugging me tight. When I handed her the money, she smiled.

"I told you it was a freebie."
"No, you earned it."
"Well, this is too much, let me get you change."
"Anne, that's what you're getting, ok?"

She looked up at me as she pulled on a robe. A hint of a smile played across her face, but the same saddness invaded it as before.

"I need to go upstairs and get dressed for my next set onstage. How long are you guys staying?"
"I think we're here for the haul."
"Ok, I'll be by your table when I get offstage. We can catch up."
"Right on."

She reached for me, and I bent down to hug her. I wasn't ready for her to kiss me softly and whisper "thanks" into my ear.

As the night wore on, she and I sat near the back and talked about this and that, interupted by her stints on stage and her occasional lap dances for other guys. She told me about her little girl and the new guy she was dating, and I told her about being back in school and the Reiki training I had gone through. Overall, we were both glad the other was doing ok, and found out that sometimes old friends are the best friends.

When we left for the night, she handed me a matchbook with her phone number written on it, along with the inscription "You're a good friend Tom. Love, Anne"

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Raise Love / Om Namaha Shivaya / All Stories Are True / My goal's Beyond

"We're lonely and isolated. We live in hairless bodies without exoskeletons - so fragile even thoughts can hurt us." -- Chilimuffin



[This message has been edited by Dano (edited October 26, 2000).]

[Chilimuffin]

that was... really really sweet. As usual, I love the way you put things, the way normalcy is given depth and strangeness given normalcy. yeah....

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"Noctu, nihil pedalum pigmentum refert." - Discordelaidh