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Kate tilts her head to the side "She’s…he’s…not so bad"

"I think " I motion to the other co a slow death"

Kate sips her beer "It’s just the wrong song for this kind of place The right one would wake them up"

"You’re nuts"

She slurs just a little, "Betcha’ I could do it"

"No way Not unless you plan on doing a singing striptease"

And that, boys and girls, is a shoould give my left nut to see

She takes er at ets up and walks on stage Hear the groans of pain froins?

But then she starts to sing:

I don’t stand a chance

When you look atfor you

And I’ll shout it for the whole world to know

Oh, honey, that’s what you do toGod

Her voice is deep, and perfect, and arousing Like a phone-sex worker at one of those nine-hundred numbers It floats around the room and washes over me like…like verbal foreplay My body reacts instantly to the sound I’irl who cares to see

Or gives a daround

But whenever you come around

I’m helpless

Baby, I don’t stand a chance

Every tisher hips in tiine how perfect she would look on her knees I can’t take …hypnotic

And I’ht I’d be like this

But you showedfor your kiss

In alltoelse in the dust

But it’s you I just can’t give up

She has the full attention of everyonyx eyes…are looking right at od

I’ve never let anyone get this close to me before

Distance keeps ot my heart twisted with yours

Better than it’s ever been, there’s a lot to lose

But even so much more to win

Oh, baby…

She tosses her hair back, and I picture her doing just that as she rides otten lap dances from some of the best strippers in the city, and I’ve never co to do if this song doesn’t end real fucking soon

I feel so helpless

When you look atfor you

Only for you

The bar erupts into hoots and whistles and clapping hands as Kate walks off the stage Sounds like a frigging rodeo She siddily as she walks toward me I stand up, and she stops just inches away

She looks up at me and raises one brow "Told you I could wake the"

I want to kiss her More than I want to fucking breathe Iood she felt in my arms I need to kiss her The smile slowly slides off her face, and I know she needs it too I push a strand of her hair back behind her ear and lean in…

And the shrill scream of her cell phone co up from a trance and picks up her phone "H--Hello?" She flinches and pulls the phone fro voice on the other end "No…Billy, I didn’t forget I just had a difficult evening No…yes…I’m at a bar called Howie’s It’s on…" She stares at her phone aup on her Her eyes are completely sober now