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Jesus!

Deeply tanned, badass black hair, and staring straight atEden My heart skips a beat Fuck raphs have not done him justice Dressed totally in black except for a pair of brown snakeskin boots, he is conificent stairith the kind of effortless, lazy power of a tiger

He is too far away for me to see the expression in his eyes, but the intense, barely leashed tension around him has a thunderstorm effect It makes the air between us vibrate and crackle like electricity, taking h alert My spine goes rigid and all the tiny hairs on the back of my neck rise up like those of a cat that coer

For a few seconds we stare at each other, instant sexual adversaries

Then I tear my eyes away fro open another door Taking a deep breath I go through it It leads into a dimly lit corridor The air here is cooler I look at y That has never happened to ered to have him inside my body The sensation is raw

‘Changing roo his eyes toward another door farther up the corridor ‘Meet me upstairs in fifteen er’

Then he disappears in the direction we ca roo are super clean and reseirls i into Jake Eden has unexpectedly and unfathomably unnerved and unsettled me, and I have to close my eyes and take a quick ht with arousal When I open littering bright I have a task ahead of me I look cool and composed

As I openand pull out my specially commissioned, easy to remove red dress laes, the redhead is stepping into sparkly gold shoes Suddenly she is a six feet tall goddess She is iirl has taken off her bomber jacket and underneath she is ripped like a racehorse and wearing a black catsuit with fluorescent green and pink geometric patterns I quickly slip into my dress and take my plastic red platform shoes out While I secure the straps I notice that the life-size Barbie doll is dressed in a schoolgirl’s uniform She catches my eyes in the mirror and mouths, ‘Hiya’

I est competitor It turns out the sleekly beautiful olive-skinned beauty has the longest legs I have ever seen on a hulass-effect shoes As if by unspoken agreement we are all ready at the same time

Together we go up the grand staircase Jake Eden had coold and black doors

I have been in nightclubs when daylight starts filtering in before, and it always looks dirty and sordid, but not this place Here it is as if we have stepped back into a decadent tih heels Froold on black brocade upholstery on the armchairs and settees, the rich wallpapers, the heavy velvet curtains, to the massive chandeliers it is just over the top splendor The richPatrick is standing at the lip of the stage talking to a balding man He beckons us over

‘This is Mark He’s the er so be nice to him’

‘Hey,’ Mark greets with a sht volley of hellos and heys

Mark doesn’t waste time He zeroes in on the olive-skinned beauty ‘Haven’t I seen you before, sweetheart?’

She shakes her head decisively ‘Nope This is my first time here’

‘Yeah? Weren’t you here about six o?’

Saying nothing she starts walking away

Mark looks at Patrick

‘Roamers’

Patrick shrugs That’s a co

I watch her go—one down, three to go Later I would learn that roamers are hookers ork a few sessions in strip clubs every few months to look for customers they can turn into private clients

‘I’ll be at the bar,’ says Patrick turning away from us

‘First time for anybody here?’ Mark asks

I raise my hand

‘Right We run a squeaky clean club here No drugs No prostitution Zero tolerance Got that?’

‘Got it,’ I say quickly

He nods ‘Did you bring your music?’

I nod

‘Great The set-up is you’ve got two songs Keep your clothes on for the first song Start getting undressed for the second and by the middle of the second track you have to be topless You have only one objective By the end of your second track you want every guy in the place to want to empty his wallet all over you’

I nod slowly

He turns toward the redhead ‘Want to go first, sweetheart?’

‘Sure,’ she says with a sweet sives him her CD He sticks it into a se ‘Ready when you are’

She takes her ti to the pole

‘Ready,’ she calls out once she is in position

Mark hits play and the club fills with the sound of Pussycat Dolls belting out, ‘Don’t You Wish Your Girlfriend Was Hot Like Me’ The redhead is OK, but nothing special, and oes up a notch As the seconds tick by I realize I aet a chance to finish her first number before Mark snaps off the music

‘Thanks, sweetheart, but you need more moves Get some dance lessons and then come back for another audition with the House Mother,’ he dismisses It is a no, but he has left the door open He turns toward the black girl

‘Can I have only the ultraviolet lights on, please?’ she requests

Mark shouts over to the barman who slips to the back of the bar Seconds later when the stage is lit by a purple glow she steps into it and suddenly her dark skin reen patterns Justin Timberlake’s ‘Sexy Back’ coy onto the pole and begins to execute the most intricate eoets out of her catsuit is pure class She is daood and so impressive to look at my heart sinks a little If this is the standard I a this job When thethe job