Her Gentle Giant, Part 2: Remember to Dance (22 page)

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Eli had a good time talking and laughing with all the men. They kept their stories mostly clean until Charity finally had enough and told the dirtiest joke she could think of. That broke the ice real good, and they’d acted like red-blooded American men from that point forward. He was glad Charity had been on her phone with an important call for the last few minutes because the talk had gotten fairly raunchy.

When they had gotten to the club, Jack tipped the doorman, who found them a large table at the main stage. Eli realized they were insulating him from contact with the dancers once they left the stage and mingled on the floor. Although there was plenty of beautiful bared flesh to look at in the club, none of it did much for him. He could appreciate a lovely pair of breasts and long legs as much as any guy there, and he might even have had wood a time or two, but none of these were what his body was craving. There were beautiful smiles and probably even deep-blue eyes here, too, but none that could compare with Rachel’s.

A waitress delivered their drinks, and when she smiled and placed his in front of him, he tipped her and smiled back. Topless or not, this was a job to her. Charity and Justin stood up at the bar talking for a minute before he kissed her and came back to the table and sat down, chuckling.

“You’re not gonna believe this.”

“What?” Eli looked over at him briefly and then smiled at the dancer on stage. Jack and Ethan looked over at Justin, too.

“The manager offered Charity a job as a dancer. No audition,
nothing
, just liked the way she looked and moved when she came in.”

Eli chuckled as the blonde on the stage dipped in front of him and smiled flirtatiously. “I’m not a bit surprised, Justin. Charity is gorgeous, and she’s got guts. What did you say?”

“That I’d be her best-tipping customer, and I asked her to reserve her first lap dance for me,” he said with a chuckle. “Shit, man. The mother of two half-grown kids, and someone offers her a job based solely on the way she looks and carries herself. No way was I going to tell her no. She knows her own mind.”

“In other words, you trust her to make the
right
choice?” Peter asked, admiring the dancer’s long legs as she swung over him on the pole.

“No, I trust her to know what she can handle and what she can’t. Working nights is hard. I know. I did it for years.”

They clapped for the dancer as her song came to an end, and each of them tipped her several more bills. She smiled at Jack, Ethan, and Justin and hooked her finger in her G-string, inviting them to tuck the bills in for her. Then she sauntered in her skyscraper high heels over to Eli, half-squatted in front of him, and hooked her thumb in the other side of her G-string. He slid a couple more bills in under the string. She smiled seductively, blew him an air kiss, and worked her way down the stage.

“They’re going to be all over him with that long black hair,” Justin muttered.

Eli chuckled and looked back at the bar, where Charity was chatting with the pretty blonde who had just finished her dance. The blonde nodded and smiled enthusiastically. She moved away from Charity to work the room while Charity talked to a petite strawberry blonde with shoulder-length curls. She nodded and made her way to the door that led backstage.

A song started, and another dancer took the stage, this one of medium build with long auburn curls. Her body shimmered as the lights reflected off her body glitter while she danced. She worked her way down the stage and over to their table when the men held paper bills between their fingers.

She grinned and flirted as she danced, blowing his dad an air kiss as she trailed her hair over his shoulder when she spun over him. He grinned and “mmm-ed” but politely kept his hand gripping a bill at the edge of the stage, flirting back. She did it again, slipping the bill from his grasp in the same move. She paid similar flirtatious attention to all the men as the bills kept coming before dancing her way to the other end of the stage.

The club had gotten busier, and they were on their second round of drinks when the pretty blonde dancer made her way to their table. “Hello, boys. Did you like my dance?” she asked flirtatiously, slipping her forearm through Ethan’s and sliding her hand over Jack’s shoulder. The men commented positively and slipped her more bills, for which she thanked them kindly.

“We sure did, sweetheart. What’s your name?” Ethan slipped her a ten as Justin rose from his seat next to Eli and offered it to her. She smiled at him and sat down.

“My name is Charlotta. I haven’t seen you here before. Where are you all from?”

“Most of us are from Divine. Can we buy you a drink?” Justin offered when the waitress reappeared. Charlotta nodded and told the waitress what she wanted.

“I understand there’s a man among you tonight who’s tying the knot soon,” she said, looking up at Justin.

Justin slapped Eli on the back. “This is Eli, one of the best friends a guy ever had.”

“Well, congratulations, Eli,” she said in her smooth-as-honey voice.

Charlotta made conversation with them for several more minutes while she drank her mixed drink as a couple of other girls approached and chatted with the other guys. All of the men were well aware of the rules and did not touch any of the dancers but allowed the women to touch them. Poor Brice had his hands stuck in the pockets of his jeans, like he was afraid he would forget and wind up getting kicked out, but his grin was a mile wide.

A dancer with platinum blonde hair came and sat in Peter’s lap and began flirting with him. Cool as a cucumber, he grinned and offered to buy her a drink. He chatted with her as if this happened to him every night and twice on Sundays, but he kept his hands resting on the arms of his chair. Wes and Evan were approached by a sexy little dancer with short, black, spiky hair who evidently knew them from previous visits, calling them by name. She offered a lap dance to them, and when they accepted, she led them to a couch along one of the walls not far away.

Charlotta sat and talked for another minute or two with Eli and Justin about mundane things, telling them that she was student working online toward a degree in psychology. The tips helped to pay bills and tuition.

The next dance song began, and the tiny little strawberry blonde with shoulder-length curls bobbed out on the stage, dressed in a schoolgirl outfit, dancing to Nickelback’s “Shakin’ Hands.” She danced and flirted with the customers from the stage, revealing her tight little tush as she spun on the pole.

Dancing to the hard rock beat, she made her way down the stage to the bachelor party, gyrating and dancing for the admiring men. She winked at Charlotta, who grinned conspiratorially as the little blonde popped her top open in Eli’s face, making him grin broadly. She slipped the necktie off and draped it around Eli’s neck and pulled him a little closer as his friends hooted and hollered in encouragement. She gave him a crooked little grin and winked then pecked him on the cheek very lightly, and this time her smile reached her eyes when all he did was wink back and nod appreciatively, handing her a paper bill for her efforts.

She spun on the pole at their end of the stage, and the men kept the tips coming, assuring her continued attention. Her top came off to loud cheers, revealing her perfect, full breasts, just right for her small size. As the song came to the final chorus, she stripped her schoolgirl skirt off, revealing the pure white G-string underneath. The only other thing she had on were her little white lace anklets and her white schoolgirl high heels. She returned to their end of the stage and thanked the guys and flirted briefly as she collected the tips they gave her. Eli handed her the tie she’d slipped around his neck and a couple of folded bills, thanking her as she blew another kiss to him.

“That’s Cami. She’s a little sweetie. Thanks for remembering the rules earlier, you know, not touching?” Charlotta added softly to Eli. “A drunken customer pulled her from the stage one night last week while she was dancing. It scared the daylights out of her. We appreciate the men who really
are
gentlemen. Eli, may I offer you a lap dance?”

She asked so sweetly, Eli imagined that she never got turned down. He smiled apologetically at her and said, “I’m sorry, Charlotta. I wouldn’t feel right about doing that. My fiancée—”

Charlotta held up her hand to stop him from apologizing further. She seemed more impressed than rejected by his refusal. “Don’t apologize, Eli. I think it’s sweet of you, but I did have to at least offer. Well, I need to go get ready to dance again. Would you mind if I stopped by your table again in a little while?” she asked as Eli rose from his chair.

“We’d like that very much, Charlotta. We’ll save your seat,” Justin replied.

Eli was developing a nice buzz when Cami walked up, bubbly as could be. “Hiya, fellas! How was my dance earlier? Did you like it?” she asked as she smiled up at them. She could not have been more than five feet tall, though her high heels helped. The other men greeted her and slipped her numerous bills, which she tucked in her G-string, thanking them enthusiastically. Eli doubted all of those were ones.

“Could we buy you a drink?” Eli said, offering her his chair and standing to his full height.

“Oh, my goodness you’re tall as an oak tree, aren’t you!” she said giggling. “I’d love a drink, thank you.” She sat in Eli’s chair and gave the waitress her order. “So what brings you here tonight? Are you from out of town?”

A couple more girls who’d finished their dances joined the group, making small talk with the men after ordering a drink.

“Bachelor party,” Eli said as Jack slapped him on the back. “I’m getting married next Saturday.”

“Oh! Congratulations! By the way, I’m Cami. So what do you do…” She hesitated.

“Eli! Sorry, my name is Eli. I’m a bouncer at a club in Divine.”

“Really? Divine is such a pretty town. What’s the name of the club, if you don’t mind me asking?”

He told her, and they talked for a few minutes. They asked her if she liked her job, and she said she did most of the time and the money was good. She asked them if they had traveled much and then revealed why she was working in the club.

“I’m a student right now, but after I graduate in May, I’m taking off for three months to travel through Europe with a couple of friends. I’m dancing three nights a week right now and putting the money I make away for the trip. It’s sort of a last hurrah before settling down in a career.”

“What’s your major?” Ethan asked, hailing the waitress for another round for the ladies.

“Thank you. My major is business management. I’d like to have my own nightclub someday. The hours suit me.”

“Ethan here owns The Dancing Pony in Divine,” Jack said, joining the conversation after the dancer he had been talking to left to go perform on stage.

As they talked with the girls, they never ignored the dancers who performed on stage, showing their appreciation with their tips. The pace of the conversation was different than in a regular club. The dancers who sat with them allowed them to enjoy the view, spreading the money around, so to speak. Wes and Evan returned to the table and offered the dancer who had just given them both lap dances a drink, which she gladly accepted.

“Charlotta told us about your scare last week. I’m glad you weren’t injured,” Justin softly remarked to Cami.

“Me, too. I guess the poor guy got too drunk and forgot the rules of the club. By the way, thanks, Eli, for remembering them earlier. Your whole group are real sweethearts, and I appreciate the tips.”

“You’re welcome, Cami.” A few minutes later, when the waitress returned, Eli said, “Buy you another drink?”

“Sure, I have time for another quick one, and then I’ll need to get back to work. Eli, since this is your bachelor party, could I offer you a lap dance?” Cami asked, her voice silky and seductive as she leaned into him a little. She looked over his shoulder and smiled. Eli looked up and saw Charity standing behind him with a devious grin, holding out her phone to him.

“A quick phone call for you, sexy.” Eli took the phone and put it tightly to his ear so he could hear.

“Hello?”

He smiled as Rachel said, “Hello, handsome! Are you having a good time?”

“Yeah! How about you?”

“None of them compare to you, Eli.” Even over the noise, he could hear the sexy tone she used.

“Same here, angel.”

“Eli, listen, I want you to have fun tonight. No regrets, right? I trust you. I want you to let Charlotta and Cami dance for you this evening. I want you to enjoy yourself.”

“Angel, are you sure? I’m having a good time.”

“Let them dance for you, but remember when we get home tonight I’m giving you a
real
lap dance.” He growled into the phone at that thought and heard her giggle. “I love you!”

“I love you, too, angel.” The connection ended, and he handed the phone to Charity and asked, “What have you been up to?”

Charity scoffed and rolled her eyes and grinned at him. “You weren’t cooperating with her
plan
. I had no choice but to call her. I think it made her night when I told her you refused the lap dance from Charlotta.”

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