Royal Stripper

by Sienna Valentine

  Amber turned and walked away towards her bedroom. Joel's eyes fell towards her ass as she did, admiring it. Her jeans were tight and well formed. She was definitely a girl that liked to keep in shape. He kept watching until she turned the corner into her bedroom.

  Chapter 12

  Amber

  Digging through her closet, she finally located the sweatpants. They were a dark grey, and seemed like they would fit him around the waist for sure, but may be a bit short. Her ex hadn't been quite as tall. The hoodie she had was actually an extra large because she loved wearing oversized tops around the apartment in the winter when the landlord wouldn't turn the heat up enough, but it was an extra large woman's, which probably would also be a bit small on him. Still, she couldn't have him continue to walk around her apartment with no shirt on. It was starting to get distracting.

  The pipes started to bang against the shared wall of her bedroom so she knew he'd started the shower. She grabbed another towel from her closet, one of the good ones reserved for guests. She placed the three items into a neat pile and went out to the bathroom door, intending to leave them just outside but was surprised to see that Joel hadn't closed it all the way. Maybe to allow her to drop them inside.

  The mirror above the sink was in plain view through the gap, and when she looked at it she caught a glimpse of Joel just as he was stepping into the shower. The muscles on his back were rippling as he reached into the shower to pull the curtain back and test the water, but she couldn't help letting her gaze drop lower, ignoring them for a moment.

  Biting her lip to hold back a gasp, she watched as his firm ass moved when he stepped over the tub and in. There was very little hair on his behind, and only a bit on his well toned legs. His back was to her, even as he pulled the shower curtain shut, leaving her oddly disappointed that she didn't get a view of the front.

  Stop being a perv, she admonished herself. It hasn't been that long!

  She pushed the door open and placed the pile she was holding on the closed toilet lid. "I'm leaving the clothes and towel here," she said.

  "What?" Joel asked from behind the curtain. The running water was probably making it too loud for him to hear her clearly. Before she could repeat herself, though, the curtain was pulled to the side and Joel stood there before her, in all his glory but looking like nothing at all was out of the ordinary. "What did you say? I couldn't hear you."

  "I- uh," she couldn't help it, her eyes fell immediately between his legs and her mouth opened in awe. With a mighty force of will, she tore them away from his impressive appendage and looked up at his face again. He was still looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

  "Clothes," she said, pointing lamely at the toilet.

  "Oh, thanks," he said. The spray from the shower was coming outside of the tub now with the curtain no longer containing it.

  "You should close that," she said. She pointed at the floor.

  Joel looked down and noticed the wet floor. "Oh, sorry. Right." He yanked the curtain shut.

  Amber stood there, unable to move for a few more moments as his shower continued. She couldn't believe she had just seen this man completely naked. She had only just met him an hour ago! He seemed completely unconcerned as he had stood there talking to her, like he didn't even notice how inappropriate it was.

  She then realized that if she was still standing in the bathroom by the time his shower was over, he was likely to end up giving her another show. The fact that she hesitated for a moment at that thought before leaving made her face get hot. She hurried out into the living room to collect herself and wait for him to emerge.

  Chapter 13

  Joel

  The hot shower felt great against Joel's skin, as much as he hated to admit it. Certainly better than the group stalls at the YMCA where he usually took them. The water there was often lukewarm at best, and he always felt like he had to rush because there was often people waiting to get in. Consequently, showering with other people around was the norm for him, so he thought nothing of it talking to Amber with the curtain open, but he realized as soon as he saw her face that she wasn't as open.

  Not his fault she had hang ups about bodies. Although he had noticed her check out his package immediately. Not that he could blame her. If the situation had been reversed, he certainly would have taken a look as well.

  Just the thought of seeing Amber soaping herself up in the shower started to arouse him, and he shook his head to clear the thought. He needed to forget about that. He didn't know this girl, and he still didn't trust her. Even if she was attractive and overly friendly.

  His body now clean, he tentatively reached up to touch his head to see if he'd be able to rub some shampoo through it. He winced in pain as his fingers met the cut at the back. He knew it would be even worse if he got soap in it, so opted instead to simply lean back and let the hot running water flow through his hair. It stung sharply when it hit the wound, but he ignored the pain as he watched the dirt from his hair collect along the bottom of the tub, swirly madly before disappearing down the drain. He ran his fingers through it until the water beneath him ran clean and then decided that was as good as he'd be able to do for today.

  After turning off the water and pushing aside the shower curtain, he wasn't surprised to see the bathroom was empty, but he felt an odd twinge of disappointment at that fact. That feeling annoyed him slightly.

  He quickly dried his body off and put on the clothes that Amber had laid out. His soiled pants were in a dirty heap on the floor, and he wasn't sure what he was going to do with them. Now that he was clean, he didn't relish putting them back on later.

  "How was your shower?" Amber asked as he emerged from the bathroom. She was sitting on the couch, as she had been earlier, but had changed out of her wet clothes. She was wearing pajama pants and a white tank top. Her breasts were pressing noticeably against the fabric of her shirt and he was pretty sure she wasn't wearing a bra anymore.

  "Refreshing," he said. "It's nice to be clean." He noticed her eyes again, quickly scanning his exposed chest and stomach. He hadn't bothered to do up the hoodie.

  "Your head okay?"

  Joel nodded, still standing by the bathroom door. He wasn't sure what to do now.

  "You can sit down again," she said.

  "I should get going," he said quickly. "It's late." Probably too late, in fact, for a spot at the shelter. With this rain, it was likely already a full house.

  "You have somewhere to be at 1 AM?"

  Amber was pretty direct, he'd give her that. And he didn't have somewhere to go, but that didn't mean he felt comfortable being in someone's debt. He was still expecting some sort of catch to all of this goodwill. On the other hand, he wasn't anxious to getting back into the rain and cold, especially with the prospect of not having a place to sleep looming.

  "I thought maybe you would need to get up early tomorrow."

  "No. I work in a bar, they don't even open until noon. You're welcome to stay a while."

  Joel shrugged and then moved back over to the couch, across from her again. He noticed her eyes continued to stray towards his chest and abs, although she was making an effort to not make it obvious. His own eyes flickered to her chest and he noticed the outline of her nipples pressing against the cloth of her shirt.

  "Does it still hurt?"

  Joel shrugged. He could deal with pain.

  "You do that often? The fighting?"

  "Whenever they want me to. Usually every few days."

  "You just fought last night as well."

  "That's right. I saw you there. Randy needed a last minute replacement. I don't generally turn a fight down."

  "Why not?" Amber's green eyes were wide as they spoke. He could tell she wasn't use to talking to someone like him. Her world was safe, despite the shitty neighborhood she lived in. She couldn't imagine his lifestyle.

  "For the money." Because it's all I know how to do. Because I'm alone, but pain is familiar.

  "There must be easier ways to ear
n money? "

  "Not for me," he said sharply.

  "You could get a job at a restaurant, don't discount how much you could earn in tips, or-"

  "I'm not asking for career advice," he snapped.

  Amber jumped slightly. He was right, she didn't have a clue about his world.

  "I'm sorry," she said. "I just... it just seems so dangerous, and you got hurt pretty badly today."

  Joel stared down towards the center of the couch between them. He regretted raising his voice. If she wasn't actually after something from him, she didn't deserve it after all she'd done for him. Even if he didn't ask for any of it. He never asked for anything. Have no expectations and get no disappointments. It was the one piece of advice from his father that he'd actually found valuable since being kicked out.

  "No," he said. "It's fine. My head is okay. I've had worse. Fighting is just what I do. I've always done it. It's the only thing I'm good at. I'm not looking for anything else."

  Amber just nodded slowly, her eyes on the same spot between them.

  "I've watched fights on television," she said after a moment. "You seem just as good as any of them."

  Joel laughed and Amber looked up in surprise. "Those guys are in a different league," he said.

  "Is that what you want to do some day?"

  He snorted. "I don't even dream that big."

  "Why not?"

  Joel threw up his hands. "How do you think you get to do that professionally? Not by fighting in alleyways. Those guys all belong to expensive gyms, they train at different clubs in different martial arts disciplines. They start off fighting in small local promotions, basically small MMA events, and then either get noticed or get a manager and try out for something bigger."

  "Where do you train?"

  "I don't," he said. Not anymore. "I was on my high school wrestling team. I did well on that. Never lost a fight. I also studied a bit of Judo and boxing after school for a few years." If my dad had known that, he probably would have went out and took lessons himself so that he could beat me even worse. Smartest thing I ever did, doing all that behind his back. "These days I just work out at the Y on my own."

  "Clearly," she said. She was looking at his abs again. He watched her until she broke off and looked up at him. When she saw that he had caught her staring, she started to turn red.

  "Umm, do you want something to eat or drink?" Amber stood up. "I need a drink." She turned and walked towards the kitchen before he even had a chance to respond.

  Chapter 14

  Amber

  It took her a few minutes in the kitchen before she felt like her face had lost enough of its heat that she could go back in there. She couldn't believe she'd let him catch her staring at his chest. What was she, 16? He was so fit, though. She could definitely see him fighting professionally, although from what he said it wasn't that easy. Something about what he had been talking about had seemed familiar, though. She'd heard about those smaller MMA events before but she couldn't remember where.

  She grabbed a couple of beers and walked back into the other room. She handed one to Joel and he took it without his usual argument. He even thanked her, which was almost as surprising as when she had heard him laugh a few minutes ago.

  She sat back down and the two of them drank their beers in silence for a time. Joel wasn't much of a talker, but that didn't really bother her. She kind of just liked having a man around again. It had been a few months since she and Colin had broken up. She missed little things about his presence, like the manly smell he left on her towels and sheets whenever he spent the night. Joel finished his beer quickly and she got him another one.

  "You're a bartender?" Joel asked suddenly, as he opened the new bottle.

  "Currently," she sighed.

  "What would you rather be doing?"

  "Anything. No, that's not true. There are definitely worse jobs. It's just not where I saw myself after high school. I was going to go to college, but then I got this job and I liked having the money and freedom and the lack of homework and all of a sudden, two years later, I'm still here."

  "What would you be doing then, if you had gone to college?" Joel was finally opening up and asking her questions. She wondered if guzzling the beer so quickly had loosened his lips a bit.

  "I would love to be a nurse," she said.

  "I can see that." His eyes flicked over to the towel sitting on the coffee table, still stained with the darkness of his blood.

  "Yeah. Well, first I have to stop serving drinks for a living." She took a last sip of her beer and looked at his, it was almost empty again. "Speaking of which, do you want another one?" She couldn't believe how fast he could put them down. His belly didn't look like he was much of a drinker. Then it struck her.

  "Shit," she said. "You're probably hungry, right? Do you want something to eat?" She had asked earlier but not waited for an answer, and then all she did was bring back beer. He slept at shelters for god's sake. He probably hadn't had a decent meal in who knew how long. Not to mention fighting probably worked up an appetite as well.

  This time Joel seemed embarrassed. He just shrugged and looked down at his beer, his fingers turning white around the bottle as he gripped it.

  "Let me see what I have." Amber went back into the kitchen and found some left over pasta she had eaten for dinner last night. She threw it into a bowl and nuked it for a minute.

  "Here, have this," she said, handing the bowl and a fork to the fighter.

  Joel took it with a small smile and then started to eat. The food was moving so fast into his mouth she didn't think he was even tasting it. She went back into the kitchen to get him another beer and by the time she got back out, he was finished.

  "Wow, it was that good, eh?"

  "Great," he said, taking the new drink from her. This time he only took a small sip before putting it down on the coffee table. "Thanks." The word was seeming to come more easily to his lips.

  She didn't want to embarrass him further by asking when the last time was that he ate, but she had a feeling it had been a while. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to have to rely on handouts for everything. Especially not for someone like Joel, who seemed to hate taking anything from anyone and was suspicious every time he did. Sleeping with a bunch of strangers every night must suck.

  "Listen, did you want to stay here tonight?" As soon as she said it she couldn't believe she had. Her mother's voice in her ear was silent but she was pretty sure it was because it had just fainted. "On the couch, I mean," she added.

  "I don't know," he said.

  "It's not a big deal either way," she said. "I just thought maybe you'd like a break from the shelter. That way you wouldn't have to go out in this rain again." Through the windows she could see that the storm hadn't let up yet. If anything, it had gotten worse. Occasional flashes of lightning lit up the room as they were talking.

  She could see the indecision weighing on his face, as if deciding whether to spend the night was a life or death decision. It was almost comical to her, given that Joel was someone that punched people in the face for a living.

  "Ok, sure," he said. There was another pause, because clearly manners were still foreign to him, but he finally added "thanks."

  "Great. Let me get you some blankets and a pillow." She stood up, still wondering whether she was making a big mistake.

  "Slater," Joel said. Amber turned to him and raised an eyebrow. "My last name. It's Slater."

  She smiled, turning to head to her room to get the bedding. Progress.

  Chapter 15

  Joel

  It had been more than a year since he'd stayed anywhere other than a shelter. The last time had been when he'd sprung for a hotel on his 19th birthday with some of the money he had gotten from panhandling, before he'd started to fight. He remembered how fresh and clean the sheets had smelled, and how much more relaxed he had been without having to worry about what sort of bed bugs he was laying on, or whether someone was going to try to pick his poc
ket in the night. He knew he might regret staying here, but in the end, the thought of another night even close to that had been too alluring.

  A couch may not be better than a hotel bed, but it was miles better than a shelter cot. And he had nothing to steal with him anyway, even if he thought he had to worry about Amber. Which he didn't. He decided she was really just a sweet girl that probably would have someone take advantage of her kindness one day. People like her never stayed nice for long before they got screwed over by someone looking out for number one. Then they became bitter and jaded like everyone else.