by Laura Lee
“May I pour you a glass?”
I’m trying not to freak out. Trying not to wonder what he’s thinking right now. I’m not doing so well with either.
“Please do. I’m rather thirsty all of a sudden.”
Our fingers touch as I hand the glass over and sparks shoot under my skin. “Enjoy.”
He takes a sip and leans back into the chair. “I believe I’m about to. Shall we get started?”
“Sure.” I walk over to the sound system and hit play. Each dancer gets to select their own playlist. I simply have to press a button and viola; sexy beats begin thumping through the speakers.
The VIP rooms feature a small platform with a pole that lies between a wall of mirrors and the chaise. I allow the beat of The Weeknd’s “Earned It” to flow through my body as I step up. I hook one leg around the pole, kick off with the other, and send my body spinning. Midair, I clench the pole with my thighs and flip upside down. I slide down slowly, arching my back sinuously. I open my legs into a wide V until my thighs touch the floor. My heart is pounding but I’m determined not to falter in front of him. I keep telling myself this is just like any other dance.
Our eyes meet as I lift up and make my way toward the chaise. I lean forward, placing my hands on his knees. His large intake of air tells me he’s not as cool as he’s pretending to be. I crawl up his body until my cleavage is at eye level, peel the champagne glass from his hand, and take a sip before placing it on the side table.
With my breasts practically smothering him I say, “Do you like what you see, Mr. Cooper?”
“Much more than I should.”
His pupils are dilated and filled with heat. A thick vein bulges from his forehead and his jaw is set into a hard line. He raises a hand and places it on my hip.
“No, no,” I scold as I remove his hand. “No touching allowed.”
“Is that a special rule for me, or for all your customers?”
“It’s a house rule. Hands off the entertainment. You can look all you want but you can’t touch.”
“And that’s what you are? The entertainment?”
“You tell me.” I roll my hips and press my chest into his face. “Are you entertained?”
“You’ll find out if you go any lower.”
I smile as I lift off his lap and turn around. He groans when I bend forward and touch the floor. I lower my body into a full split, before crawling forward on all fours. I turn toward him and scissor my legs suggestively before opening them wide, allowing him to look his fill.
“Jesus, Kat.”
I join him in the chair again, straddle his legs, grab onto his shoulders, and move my body in a wave-like formation. “So, Mr. Cooper, do you come here often?”
“First time.”
He grunts as I lower my body and grind into his lap. I give him a cheeky smile when I feel how entertained he is. His lack of control emboldens me. My nerves have taken a back seat and Red is now at the helm. I slowly lift the nightie over my head and throw it behind me. My breasts are heavy; swollen with need. Typically, I’d wait longer before removing more clothing but the material from my bikini top abrades my hardened nipples. I reach behind me and loosen the ties. His eyes are fixed on my movements as I remove the tiny scraps of material and dramatically drape it around his neck.
“What do you think so far?” I press my breasts together and roll my nipples through my fingertips. “You didn’t look very happy when you first came in.”
“I wasn’t.”
I place my hands on his chest and throw my head back as I ride him over his clothes. Goosebumps scatter across my flesh as I envision doing this to him while neither one of us are wearing anything. I normally do whatever I can to refrain from any lap-to-ass contact during a private dance, but my body seems to have a mind of its own at the moment. I grind into his erection shamelessly, watching with pleasure as his eyes sparkle with unfettered lust.
I bite my lip to stifle a moan. “And now?”
He grabs onto my hips again and this time, I don’t stop him. “I don’t know…blood isn’t flowing so well… to my brain right now.” He pulls me into him to punctuate his statement.
“Mmm, I happen to like where it’s flowing at the moment.”
“Of course you do; you know I’m at your mercy right now.”
I laugh unabashedly. “Ah, the power of the pussy.”
He smiles. “Only yours.”
“Speaking of…”
I stand up and prop my leg on the end of the chair to unsnap my garter. Gavin watches as I remove my shoe and unroll my fishnet stocking. He’s fixated as I do the same with the other leg. I untie the strings of my bikini bottom but keep them around my fingers, holding them up, delaying the seduction.
“Is that why you came here? For this?” I release the strings and allow the material to float to the floor.
He bites his knuckles. “Fuck. What are you doing, Kat? What happened to that line you were so fond of drawing?”
“It was erased the minute you requested a private dance.”
I climb onto his lap, fully nude while he’s fully clothed. I’m sure if I looked down, I would see the evidence of my arousal all over his jeans. I grab the glass and take a healthy sip, needing a moment before I put myself out there. His hands are lightly brushing over my back, down my arms, and across my thighs.
I nibble his full bottom lip. “Why are you here, Gavin?”
He gulps. “I saw the sign out front. I had to see if my suspicions were true.”
Ah, the wonderful sign Marcus had insisted on posting, much to my dismay. Come meet our newest Princess, Red. This buxom brunette will make all your fantasies come true.
“And now that you know? Now that we’re here like this? What’s next?”
He hangs his head on my shoulder. “Nothing,” he whispers. “Nothing can come next. I shouldn’t be here; I just had to know.”
I’m instantly irate. I can’t believe I fell into this trap again. How many times do I have to make a fool out of myself before I learn? I jump off his lap and grab my robe off the back of the door.
“Kat, wait!”
I pull the collar together and open the door as my eyes fill with tears. I hold my hand up to stop him. “I believe your twenty minutes are up.”
“No, they’re not.”
“I don’t want your fucking money; I’ll have the club refund you. Goodbye, Mr. Cooper.”
I slam the door and run into the dressing room right before the waterworks break loose.
“WHERE WERE YOU DURING SECOND PERIOD?” Dylan asks.
I shrug. “I skipped.”
I couldn’t bear the thought of facing him this morning. After Gavin left the club on Wednesday, I faked sickness so I could go home early. I couldn’t handle the thought of him staying there watching me dance all night. He may have left right after I did—who knows—but I couldn’t take the chance. I think the only reason I made it through my shifts over the weekend was because I knew he was out of town.
I’m still angry, but mostly at myself for letting him get to me like this. I feel so lonely without him. I know how ridiculous that is but I can’t seem to stop myself. I’ve had very little growing up, but I’ve never felt like I was missing much before he came into my life. Now, I feel like there’s this gaping hole inside of me that only he can fill. The only time my chest doesn’t hurt is when he’s nearby. I felt it the first time we had sex. I was bereft the moment he left my body and every minute that he hasn’t been inside me since.
“What do you mean you skipped? You don’t skip.”
“I just didn’t feel like discussing The Scarlet Letter this morning.”
“Where’d you go?” Bree questions.
“Library.”
“You skipped Lit class to go to the library?” Dylan says. “You realize how ironic that is, right?”
I say nothing and take a bite of my apple.
“Miss Kennedy, may I see you in my classroom for a moment?”
&nb
sp; I practically choke when I hear his voice. Shit! Did he overhear our conversation?
“Why, Teach? Have I been naughty?”
Dylan smirks at my smartass comment while Bree’s jaw hangs open.
Gavin narrows his eyes at me. “Because you skipped my class this morning. Unless you’d like to talk in detention after school, you’ll come with me now.”
“Fine,” I huff. I gather my things since lunch is almost over anyway. “I’ll see you later, guys.”
“Good luck, Kitty,” Dylan calls.
Grudgingly, I follow Gavin down the hall into his classroom. When we step inside, he closes the door and turns the lock. I’m fuming by this point so I take the privacy as my license to get everything off my chest.
“What’s wrong, Teach?”
“Why’d you skip class, Kat?”
“Why’d you lock the door, Gavin? Are you looking for another lap dance?”
He glances at the door nervously as I begin lifting my shirt. He charges forward and pulls it back down.
“Stop it!” he growls.
“Why?” I ask coyly. “You don’t want to see me naked?”
“I always want to see you naked!” He pulls the ends of his hair. “Damn it! I didn’t mean to say that. Forget I said that.”
I place my hand on my hip. “Something like that is kind of hard to forget, Teach.”
“Stop calling me that.”
“Why? You’re my teacher, are you not?”
“I won’t always be your teacher. In just over six months, you won’t even be a student here anymore.”
“What does that mean?”
He shrugs. “It’s a factual statement. There’s no hidden meaning.”
My head spins as I try reading between the lines. Is he saying that he wants to pursue something after graduation? Is he asking me to wait for him?
“Stop playing games with me. What are you trying to say?”
“I’m not playing games,” he insists. “I can’t say anything. I’m trying to do the right thing here, Kat. Can’t you respect that?”
“I’d respect you a lot more if you’d cut the shit and just tell me the truth. I’m a big girl, Gavin. Whatever it is, I can handle it.”
Unless he tells me that he doesn’t want me. I don’t think I could handle that.
His eyes fill with fire. “Fine! You want the truth? The other night…when I saw you taking your clothes off in front of all those men? I wanted to fucking kill them for seeing you like that! I wanted to throw you over my shoulder and haul your ass out of there. When we were alone in that room…I wanted to claim your body so badly that it would erase every memory of those assholes leering at you on that stage. I spent the entire holiday weekend drinking myself into oblivion trying to forget the look on those fuckers’ faces. Trying to forget how much I want you. How much I miss talking to you. Seeing you laugh. Being the one responsible on the rare occasion when your face does light up. The truth is that I want to be in your orbit every second of every day. I want to find some way to make this work. And right now, in this very moment, I want nothing more than to throw you over my desk and fuck you until you’re screaming for mercy.”
He’s breathing hard by the time he finishes his rant. So am I. My body is screaming for his. I’m soaking wet, pliant.
“So do it,” I whisper.
He doesn’t give me a chance to change my mind. Not that I would. He grabs me behind the neck and pulls me into a punishing kiss. He picks me up and lays me down on the desk, our mouths never leaving one another’s. Miscellaneous items are digging into my back but I ignore the pain because the pleasure I’m feeling is much more intense. We’re so lost in each other that we don’t hear the bell ring. Or the knocking.
“Mr. Cooper, are you in there?” a voice calls.
Gavin pulls away from me. “Shit!”
I jump off the desk and we do our best to quickly right ourselves. I take a seat and try looking like I wasn’t about to have sex on the desk. Again.
Gavin unlocks the door and swings it open. Students are piled up, waiting to get in. I notice a few curious glances as they walk into the room but no one seems to notice anything is amiss. Until I make my way into the hallway and see Dylan leaning against a locker directly in front of the door. He’s glaring at someone over my shoulder so I turn around to find the target of his ire. Gavin is standing right behind me, returning Dylan’s cold stare. Dylan’s eyes meet mine and quickly flicker down my body. I nervously look away, fidgeting under his scrutiny. When I realize how guilty I appear, I meet his gaze and act aloof. That’s when I see it. His eyes widen—marginally at best—but I know him well enough to read him. He knows.
I quickly cross the hall. “Dylan—”
He holds his hand up. “You’re fucking the new guy? You’ve got to be kidding me, Kat!”
He slams his open hand into a locker before storming away, leaving me standing there wondering what the hell I should do. I turn around and see Gavin standing in the doorway to his classroom, clearly having witnessed the entire thing.
“What should I—”
He shakes his head, silently telling me to shut my mouth. “You’d better get to class, Miss Kennedy. We can review your questions about the assignment after school.”
“Right,” I nod.
Hopefully shit won’t hit the fan before then.
I LINGER BY MY LOCKER AFTER SCHOOL as the halls filter out. I tried speaking with Dylan several times but he was doing everything possible to avoid me. We had two classes together after lunch and he acted like he didn’t even notice I was in the room. If I didn’t catch the occasional glare directed my way, I would’ve thought I imagined the whole incident earlier.
I wait until I’ve felt enough people have left before making my way to Gavin’s room. He’s leaving just as I reach his class.
“Miss Kennedy, can I help you with something?”
I remind myself to be discreet. “Um, I was hoping to ask you about the assignment that’s due on Friday.”
“I’m sorry but I’m not staying after today. I have to meet the cable guy at home. I’m having issues with my service.”
“Oh.”
He widens his eyes. “So I’ll see you later?”
“Yeah, I guess.” How is he not worried about the massive pile of shit we could be buried under if Dylan says something? I stare at him blankly trying to figure out what to say.
“Okay, so I’m going home then. I’ll be there all night. You know those cable guys; they’re never on time.”
Ah, I get it now. “Right. Well, I’ll see you later then.”
Seemingly satisfied that I’ve read between the lines, he nods. “Have a good evening, Miss Kennedy.”
“You too, Mr. Cooper.”
I take the long way to the parking lot so we’re not seen leaving together. I spot Gavin pulling out of the lot as I reach my car and count to sixty before starting the ignition and following. I pull into his driveway as he’s opening the door to the detached garage. He motions for me to park inside and waits as I exit my vehicle. I notice his eyes darting around nervously.
“You’re sure he didn’t follow you, right?”
“I’m sure. I saw his truck parked at Perk Up on my way over. His shift usually starts right after school on weekdays.”
He nods, seemingly satisfied that I’ve taken necessary precautions. “We need to be careful, Kat. Really fucking careful.”
“That’s why I’m here, isn’t it? To figure out what we’re going to do about Dylan?”
“Right.” He gestures for me to step inside and closes the door behind me. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“A beer works.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Really? You’d like to add contributing to the delinquency of a minor to my list of bad choices?”
I mimic his gesture. “Are you calling me a bad choice?”
“Point taken.” He smirks as he heads into the kitchen to retrieve two bottles of beer.
&nbs
p; I take a long swig before heading over to the couch to take a seat. Gavin joins me and stretches his long legs on the coffee table in front of him. He releases a heavy sigh and turns toward me.
“Have you talked to him since lunch?”
I shake my head. “No. He’s pointedly ignoring me. He’s pissed.”
“Because of me? Or because you’re with anyone other than him?”
“Probably both,” I admit. “What are we going to do?”
“He has no proof, Kat. We just need to be careful not to give him any.”
“Easier said than done,” I argue. “Dylan knows me…he knows how to read me. He could tell what we were up to by just looking at me, for fuck’s sake!”
“He assumes he knew what we were up to.”
I shake my head. “Gavin, you’re not taking this seriously enough. Trust me, Dylan knows.”
“Why are you so sure of that?”
“Because…he knows what I look like when I’m…in the mood.” I don’t miss the scowl forming on his face as the words leave my lips.
“I still think we should go with full denial. He has no proof. And we’re not going to give him any. We’ll stay away from each other at school outside of second period.”
“I don’t know if that’s going to work, Gavin. What if he says something to Principal Edwards? Or anyone for that matter?”
“Then we deal with it as it happens. You know him better than I do—obviously— but I think you should talk to him tomorrow. Say whatever you need to say to alleviate his suspicions. Convince him to keep his mouth shut.”
“In other words…you want me to flat out lie to him. Dylan is smart, Sparkles. I really don’t think it’s going to work.”
“Kat, we don’t have a choice. Unless you don’t want to move forward with me?”
“I’m not going to change my mind. If you’re willing to take the risk, I am too.”
“I am,” he says. “I definitely am.”
“Okay…but it’s only a matter of time before he does the math. I told him I met someone—somebody that I wanted to be exclusive with. He knows that it would take someone pretty special to make me consider that.”