Stripped (9 page)

“That job pays for the money I just gave you, the
cable you’re watching and the pizza I’m about to order,” Abby said. “Where are
the girls?”

“I don’t know.”

Abby found her sisters on her bed watching the
Disney Channel.

“I’m going to the gym and then work for the night,
guys. I’m ordering pizza and leaving money on the counter for it.”

“When’s Justin coming home?” Audrey asked.

“He’s off work at 7, and he’ll be home after that.
Hey, as soon as I wake up tomorrow, why don’t we go in to the city and do
something fun?”

Both girls smiled.

“The big museum?” Sara asked hopefully.

“That sounds fun. And shopping downtown?” Abby said.

“Navy Pier! Please?” Sara begged.

“There’s a chocolate festival there this weekend,”
Audrey offered.

“Okay. Be good for Justin tonight, guys.”

Abby kept staring at the text message she had typed,
unable to make herself press “send”.  She was afraid Chris would think it was
too much. He had been distant since getting back from Vegas, making no moves to
kiss or touch her. But her mind kept drifting back to the idea, and she
reminded herself that he could always say no.

“Nikki, you’re almost on,” another dancer named Kim
said. Abby read the words one more time.

Want to come into the city with me and
the girls tomorrow afternoon? Shopping, museum and Navy Pier…

She pressed “send” and slipped the phone into her
bag, checking her makeup in the mirror. When it was her turn, she strutted
confidently to the stage, holding on to the pole and arching her body back
until her hair grazed the floor as she waited for her music to start.

The dance was a familiar one, and Abby moved through
it fluidly. The faces watching her were a blur. She grasped the pole, gyrating
her hips against it before climbing it in a swift motion. Her mind was on Chris
as she danced. She pictured him in his scrubs, looking serious and sexy.

The image made her feel light and happy as she
approached the men holding bills out toward her. She wiggled and grinned as she
allowed them to tuck the money into the string of her panties.

As Sam took the stage for her dance, Abby hurried
backstage. She grabbed her phone eagerly, her heart sinking when she didn’t see
any messages. As she stuffed the phone back into her bag, she shook her head,
frustrated with herself for asking him. Chris always wrote her back
immediately. He probably didn’t know what to say.

Lap dances were in hot demand, and Abby went from
one man to the next. She tried to keep her mind off Chris, but it was
impossible. Their burgeoning friendship had been going so well, and she knew
she had rushed him. Asking him to spend time with Sara and Audrey was a big
deal for her, and he probably saw it the same way. They hadn’t even known each
other for two months, though.

After nearly two hours of nonstop lap dances, she
returned to the stage for another pole dance. Her feet ached when she finished,
and she went backstage to drink a bottle of water and relax for a few minutes.
She was afraid to check her phone again, but couldn’t stop herself from doing
it. She exhaled loudly, relieved, when she saw that Chris had left her a
message.

I’d love to. I’ll drive. Let me know
when to pick you guys up.

Abby broke into a huge grin, staring at the screen
and reading the message several times. Another one appeared as she was looking
at it.

Sorry it took me so long to get back to
you. Had a gunshot wound.

Audrey and Sara were using large cushioned blocks to
build a tower at a children’s museum exhibit. Abby smiled as she and Chris
watched from a nearby bench.

“Sara’s a very happy kid,” Chris observed.

“She is. Audrey’s much more like me.”

“You’re not happy?”

“Oh, I’m just more serious, I guess. Introspective.”

“What kind of dancing did you take lessons in?” he
asked.

“Christy’s Mom taught several different kinds, and
we learned all of them. I liked tap the most, but I think ballet benefitted me
the most. I was always too tall for serious ballet dancing, but I love it
anyway.”

“Do you still get to do that kind of dancing?”

“Not much. But it helps me choreograph routines for
the club. This probably sounds silly, but I take pride in my choreography. I
try to make my dances artistic and challenging.”

“That’s not silly at all, Abby.”

“Mickey does theme nights sometimes, so I have
routines for the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s...then there’s black and white night,
costume night…You should see my Flashdance routine. By the end I’m wearing
nothing but legwarmers.”

“That sounds like something I’d like to see,” Chris
said, grinning.

“You can be my test audience if you want. I’m going
to the club in the morning to practice something new I’ve been working on.”

“Do you want me to watch you?”

Abby looked away, feeling shy under Chris’ probing
gaze.

“If you want to. It would be nice to get unbiased
feedback from a man. They always think if you ask for an opinion, you’re
interested in them.”

“Then tomorrow morning it is. So what’s black and
white night?”

“We divide up, and half the girls are white, so they
dress up in angel costumes. The other half get to wear black and be vixens.”

“Ah,” Chris said, his eyes sparkling. “And which are
you?”

“I’ve been both. Which do think I’m best at?” she
asked in a teasing tone. Chris laughed and shook his head.

“I bet you’re quite talented at both…Hey, whatever
happened with the guy whose number you took?”

Abby waved dismissively.

“I never called him. I decided you were right. Or
maybe I was right to begin with. It’s not a good idea to date men from the
club. Right now it’s not a good idea for me to think of dating anyone. I don’t
need any more drama.”

Chris rubbed his face in the darkness, wide awake
though he had been trying to sleep for more than an hour. It was always hard
for him to sleep at night since he was so used to third shift. But tonight he
didn’t think he had a chance.

Abby asking him to watch her dance had almost undone
him on the spot. The way her cheeks had flushed…and the image of her as an
angel or a vixen, either one, had made him hard. He hoped she hadn’t noticed.

He wondered if seeing her dance would get the
fantasies out of his system. They had intensified since she’d told him about
accepting another man’s number. He was wondering if she would move on to
someone new before he even had a chance to sort out his feelings for her.

Tomorrow would help him figure out just how deep he
was in. Maybe she would strike him the same way she had the first time he’d
seen her dancing at the club: as just another woman with a great body. 

But as he once again grew hard just thinking of her,
he doubted it.

Chapter 6

Abby hadn’t felt nervous before dancing since her
early days at Mickey’s, but she did as she stretched on the stage, waiting for
Chris to walk through the door she’d left unlocked.

It was mid-morning, and the club was empty. It was
so different from the flashing lights, blaring music and crowds of onlookers
she was used to that it didn’t even feel like the same place.

She wore a camisole and body-hugging boy shorts,
because she had decided not to strip during the dance. It was too intimate. For
anyone else, she could, but not Chris.

“Hi,” Chris called as he walked in.

“Hi,” she said, the knot of nervousness in her
stomach intensifying as she jumped up. “I got this chair out for you.”

“I get to come up to the stage?” he asked, raising
his eyebrows as he climbed the stairs. The chair was on the opposite side of
the stage from the pole, so he could see her well.

“Yes. Sit,” she said, disappearing backstage to turn
on her music. “Should I start with the new one or warm up with an old one?”

“How many do you have?”

“A lot. I try to do a new one every month. Let’s
see…Fiona Apple? Aerosmith? Smashing Pumpkins?”

“Smashing Pumpkins? I used to listen to them. What
song is it?”

“Ava Adore.”

“Nice,” he said, smiling. “Just surprise me.”

 Abby advanced the digital music player to the
Smashing Pumpkins song.

As the music started, she swung her hips, too
nervous to meet Chris’ eyes. She moved slowly, rhythmically, hooking her legs
around the top of the pole and letting her body slide slowly down to the floor
before she reached up to grab the pole and parted her legs into the splits in
the air.

She was halfway through the song before she could
bring herself to look at Chris, who sat staring at her with his legs open,
resting his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward eagerly. The baseball cap
he wore made him look young, the ends of his hair flipping up beneath it.

Abby smiled at him as she swayed her back against
the pole, bucking her hips as she slowly made her way to the floor. She quickly
grabbed the pole again, swinging herself around it until she wrapped her legs
around it once more.

Usually Abby was engrossed in the dance, focusing on
every touch of her body and flip of her hair she had choreographed along with
the steps. But she couldn’t stop thinking of Chris’ eyes on her and wondering
what he was thinking. As she moved down the pole, she felt a tingle of arousal
at the feel of it between her legs.

As the song ended, she approached Chris, smiling
seductively. He opened his mouth to speak and she pressed a fingertip to his
lips as the Fiona Apple song started.

She started the lap dance slowly, running her
fingertips down his shoulders and arms. His eyes never left hers, and her
arousal flared at the heat she felt from him. This was her chance to touch him
however she wanted, in the name of the lap dance. She flipped his hat off and
ran a hand through his dark blond hair, down his neck and back to his cheek.
The day-old stubble gave her an unexpected thrill.

As she straddled his lap, keeping her feet on the
floor, Chris’ eyes closed and he inhaled sharply. Abby felt his hardness
beneath her and knew he was as turned on as she was. She stroked her fingertips
down his cheeks, neck and chest and he threw his head back. As she leaned
forward, she grabbed his biceps for support and whispered against his ear.

“Touch me,” she said. His hands moved quickly from
his sides up her thighs, to her back, and down to cup her bottom, pulling her
tight against him.

Abby’s murmur was unintelligible. It had been a long
time since any man had put his hands on her like this and not been shut down
within seconds. Her body responded to his immediately, and she was embarrassed
by the intensity of her arousal.

He ran one of his large hands up her back and into
her hair, pulling her toward him and kissing her, lightly at first. She knew
this was a bad idea, but she was swept up in a wave of desire she hadn’t even
realized she felt. Abby knew she was attracted to Chris, but the longing she
felt as their bodies pressed together surprised her. He kissed her more deeply,
becoming very unlike the aloof, easygoing Chris she was used to.

As he continued pressing her hips into him with his hand
on her bottom, Abby squirmed, self-conscious about her building desire.

“Chris,” she said, her voice a whimper. “Oh, God,
you have to stop.”

She wanted to stop moving her hips against him, but
Abby had lost control, and she knew she was heading for a point of no return.
Chris held her head firmly and pressed his mouth against hers, harder, and she
moaned helplessly.

“Chris, no. I’m about to…”

He pulled her hair back, releasing his lips from
hers, and when Abby felt his warm mouth moving toward her neck, she knew she
was about to be pushed over the edge.

“No, not like this,” she said, breathless. “Let’s go
in one of the bed rooms.”

“Right here, Abby. Just let go and come for me,” he
said in a low voice, kissing his way down to her chest.

“No. This should be for both of us. Come on.” She
pushed back against his shoulders, her body still pulsing with desire.

Chris stayed in the chair when she got up, looking
at her with longing. She walked a few steps, waiting for him to follow, but he
didn’t.

“What’s the matter?” she asked. He sighed, raking a
hand through his hair.

“Abby, I’m unbelievably turned on right now, but I
don’t think we should.”

The desire she had felt seemed to melt into a
puddle, replaced by shock.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“It’s just not a good idea.”